An Experiment

“The machine has successfully swapped the two subjects’ brains,” Dr. White explained to his colleagues, “Now we will return the two volunteers to their homes. The hidden cameras in their homes and implants in their heads will transmit data to us back here in the lab that we can analyze to see how they adapt to their new bodies.”

“But isn’t the experimented tainted by the fact that they’ve volunteers who knowingly agreed to swap bodies with someone of the opposite sex?” Dr. Park asked.

“Ah-ha, but they don’t know they agreed!” Dr. White smiled, “When we swapped their brains, we were able to pluck out their thoughts and memories about agreeing to this experiment and really anything about the experiment completely. As far as either of them will be aware, they are simply waking up in a different body with no context of this, which was of course part of the agreement that they don’t remember. The memories will be returned to them once we have concluded and placed them back in their own bodies, of course, but it should be fascinating to see how the two subjects deal with being in a different body, particularly as this is our first pairing of two people of different genders. It should be quite fascinating.”

In the Right Hands

Neil had to admit that he had outdone himself with his latest invention. With what he had created anyone could make themselves look like anyone else. But it wasn’t a mere illusion, more like a transformation. He simply adjusted the settings and his body morphed from a 5’11” male weighing 200 pounds to a 5’4” woman at just a little over half that weight. Anyone touching him would only feel his now soft feminine skin. And even his own body would feel and react as if this was his actual body.

The potential for this technology was limitless. In the wrong hands, it could be used for criminal activities or to impersonate celebrities. In the right hands, it could treat gender dysphoria or used as a welcome vacation from one self.

But for now? Well, for now the invention was all in Neil’s hands. And it was time for him to test some limits and maybe have a little fun.

Atypical

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or a crisis, please know you can reach out to the Suicide Prevention Hotline. <3

Stephanie absolutely hated the new law that required all cybertronic hybrids to have one obvious part exposed. She hated the day they removed the skin from one of her arms for the sake of “compliance;” she longed for the days when she just looked like a typical girl.

She no longer blended in; she was almost always bombarded with questions. She either wouldn’t answer, or she’d lie. Sometimes it was blatent. She’s say she was an AI or that it was just her arm. Sometimes she would start with the truth -- explaining that she had died, and her brain was transplanted into a cybertronic body. What she’d never share is that she had actually attempted suicide, or that she had once a guy named Stephen.

For the former Stephen, her brain inside a cybertronic body that looked like a woman was an instant dream come true. Everything felt right with the world, and she was truly the person she was meant to be. And then that stupid law passed. She felt so dehumanized by being forced to reveal a robotic piece of herself. It was why she switched to a pre-law major at her college. She was going to fight this for the rest of her life -- and the life expectancy of a human brain inside a cybertronic body was very likely going to be a very long life.

Just the Way New York City Is

It didn’t take long for Elizabeth to find her body after the Great Shift; it was sitting in the same spot she had been prior to the massive body swap event. She didn’t know quite how to introduce herself.

“So, did we...” Elizabeth cleared her thought after hearing her new masculine voice for the first time, “Did we swap with each other?”

“If I have your face, then I guess we did. Because you certainly have mine.” Theo replied.

“You’re really calm about suddenly being a woman. Everyone actually seems really calm about this whole thing. I would’ve expected massive freak outs.”

“Oh, people are. I was reading news reports about it on your phone. But New York City is just...different. We’re all just used to weird stuff, I suppose.”

“But switching bodies? That’s like really weird. Even for New York.”

“It’s not like either of us are freaking out about it. At least not outwardly so; we’re still able to talk about it calmly like human beings. And speaking of which, I guess we have a lot of things to talk about...”

Bad News

Megan and Ryan had been dating for a few years. They were in their mid-30s and often talked about getting married. Megan was sure Ryan was going to ask any day now. When the Great Shift happened, and Megan ended up in the body of a 59-year-old woman, she was sure it would accelerate their plans. After all, she wasn’t getting any younger! And one day when Ryan asked to sit down with her in their apartment, she was sure this was it. The bad news blindsided her.

Despite Ryan now being in the body of a 19-year-old woman, he rarely acted like it. But in this situation, he was fumbling his words as he explained why he was breaking up with Megan. He touched on their age difference; he mentioned how he was finding himself attracted to guys; he talked about how he labored over the decision.

Megan didn’t say much. She just listened as Ryan drifted from point to point; she also knew he was right. She could just feel it was doomed in her heart. The only reason she had wanted it to work was because of how nice it had been before the Shift, but with their new bodies, they were absolutely growing apart. She finally told him to stop speaking, and simply said it was all okay and that she accepted it.