Prologue:
I was twenty-four years old and soon my life would change forever. I studied the interactive display that loomed before me. The vividness of the whole brought to mind an innocent childhood memory of a beautiful painting I had seen once upon a time: a depiction of a young girl extending her hand to touch the face of a fallen Knight. It seemed she offered him comfort in his final moments. Something about the girl had stirred me, though I did not understand why - then.
My memory flickered to another time. I was visiting somewhere, playing a children's game of hide-and-seek. I had just entered into a strange room and closed the door quietly behind me, when something vivid, purple, stuffed into a cardboard box in the corner, caught my eye. Curious, I crept over to it and leaned down, gently pulling the purple object loose from what I now recognized was an assortment of stuffed animals. I turned it in my hands to see a worn ragdoll in a white dress with purple hair. Her face had been sewn with orange thread to mend a tear and her eyes seemed to be looking at me - intently. A small string with a ring at its end dangled from her tummy. I pulled it until there was some resistance and then let go.
"Hi. My name is Violet... will you play with me?" the doll said.
I looked at her, brushing my fingers over the purple yarn that was her hair, when suddenly the door banged open and the girl I was attempting to hide from came prancing in. She saw me and stopped, her expression becoming very child serious, and then she shouted, "Hey, you can't play with that! You're a boy. Boys don't play with dolls."
My focus returned to the task at hand. The display revealed what I was allowed to see: the information I needed to review and approve. There were checklists I would complete, options I would choose, and binding agreements to which I would consent - just a positioning of my right index finger was all that was needed to navigate and select, even to finalize and enter into binding legal contract, my fingerprint captured in perfect high resolution. The cost would be extreme, and far beyond my financial means. I would pay a different price.
I was not alone. Jocelyn sat, across the room, peering closely at a display like the one before me, her gaze intent, finger poised to interact. She must have sensed me looking at her though, for she turned at that moment and caught my gaze. One could see the subtlest hint of distant Asian ancestry about her eyes. She offered a tentative smile, and then she mimed tapping her finger toward her display and mouthed silently, "Checklists - do them."
She was petite and lovely yet she chose to present herself modestly. She wore no makeup and her clothing was very unisex, just as it had been on nearly every occasion when we had been together. A dark blue exercise suit was her choice today, the cowl of her hoodie drawn up around her face, her chin length hair just peeking out. I watched her turn back to her display.
Jocelyn and I were staged in a psych-med processing room deep within a facility known simply as Chalis. The place was an opulent fortress set in a small valley surrounded by alpine forests somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. Chalis was a cutting-edge scientific research site for bio-science and viral engineering. It was also an extravagant playground for the super rich who spent lavishly to indulge their every desire. There was little that could not be had if one was willing to pay a high enough price. Chalis also provided personnel to be used in certain types of strategic operations. Contracts existed with elite private special ops groups as well as covert branches of select Governments around the world.
I glanced at the timedate: 09:01:26, 10 April, 2053.
Leaning closer, I began to read in earnest.
Terms and Conditions Brief:
In lieu of advance payment in US currency, ten years of service to Chalis authority under conditions of absolute obedience is required as payment for the procedure. There are no restrictions to what may be required of the subject except subject will not be directed intentionally to harm innocents or be placed in harm's way without reasonable chance for succor and for reason of greater good. Cost of procedure is US currency $5,000,000.00; equivalent to two years of service per million dollars. Poor performance will cause the service term to be extended until such time as debt is paid in full. A modest percentage of the money earned for Chalis by the subject will be placed in a secure account for access by subject once service term is complete. If at any time during service, subject gains wealth sufficient to pay remaining amount owed to Chalis, and subject chooses to pay remaining amount owed, subject will be released to private life.
Procedure Brief(Layman's version):
Viral induced genetic modification; typically arranged between two persons of opposite gender who desire to be the gender that is not their natural born biological gender. Genetic modification phase of the procedure is one-time, and irreversible. Success rate: 98% (2% fatality). Brain is selectively protected during modification, though peripheral non-cognitive changes are likely to occur and hormonal changes post migration may affect personality to some degree. Duration of gender migration procedure is three months in a dual "womb chamber". Virus code-named *** [redacted].
Scientific nature of the procedure i.e. what does the virus do?
The pristine virus infiltrates every human cell, targeting one chromosome from each of the 23 pairs, including the 23rd chromosome pair (which determines sex) and "steals" one chromosome from each pair. The virus has been engineered to always prioritize Y chromosome theft, and will only steal a random X chromosome if no Y is present. The virus also makes a copy of each chromosome that is not stolen from every pair, essentially cloning the cell it has stolen from, within itself, leaving every "victim" or "donor" cell bereft of one half of its chromosomes. The mature virus containing 23 pairs of chromosomes assumes properties of the specific cell type it has cloned, and searches for a like cell type to bond to(mate with?); however, the virus will not mate with a cell which contains a chromosome that it has copied as part of its theft and copy action. This is the key to the mature virus seeking unlike DNA, i.e. different chromosomes to bond to. The virus will bond to the similar type cells of a different individual vs. the individual from whom the chromosomes have been stolen and copied.
The virus always donates the stolen set of chromosomes, then slowly dies, effectively discarding the copied set of chromosomes. This guarantees that when mating, in the case of male - female mutual gender migration, the cells and chromosomes from the source female will bond exclusively with the cells (with only half set of chromosomes) of the source male. Likewise, the cells and chromosomes from the source male will bond exclusively with the cells (with only half set of chromosomes) of the source female. When the procedure is complete and the virus has fully rewritten one half of each subject's chromosomes, the subjects will each possess half of their original genetic code and half of the other person's genetic code, with gender reversal achieved. The original male subject will be a fully functioning biological female(with intact hymen i.e. virgin) capable of being impregnated and giving birth while the original female subject will be a fully functioning male capable of inseminating a female and fathering a child. The pair who has exchanged gender and genetic makeup with each other should not attempt to procreate; however, sex between the pair is completely acceptable if the situation should arise.
Post Gender Migration Service Occupation Brief:
The terms were clear and the language straightforward. Once migration was complete, I would be a high class prostitute for Chalis, while Jocelyn would become part of a special operations team. Each of us would have the opportunity to rise through the ranks so to speak in accordance with our performance. Our quarters, clothes, food, and financial provisions for "retirement" would correlate directly to our performance and to feedback received from our clients as well as evaluation by superiors. There were some notes here discussing my psychological profile. The gist was that my profile showed the highest level of submissive tendencies among all of the subjects who had undergone migration to date. It was expected that I would be in high demand by Chalis clientele as well as within the social structure formed among the girls themselves.
I paused, noting the next folder I would access. Until now each folder had been captioned with an abbreviated name of its content topic - black text on a ghost-white folder graphic. The next folder was rendered in pale carmine and captioned with one word: Violet. This was the name I had chosen for the new me. I tapped this folder and the display altered dramatically, presenting a three dimensional avatar of a young woman. Virtual pushpins and indicator lines to points on my avatar as well as late stage migration customization and minor surgical option widgets glowed with multicolor brilliance before me.
There was an option to provide a detailed overlay onto the avatar - my likely future appearance in detail as projected by computer modeling based on my genetic code blended with Jocelyn's code. I opted not to enable the detailed overlay - I did not wish to see the real new me until I was truly her. I glanced over to Jocelyn's workstation - she had scooted up close, examining the male avatar on her display, her slender finger poised. I felt a stirring within me of deep gratitude to her for what she was offering to me. I knew that she felt the same way toward me. We had shared many of our innermost thoughts with each other during the year leading up to this moment. I can not describe the excitement, and anticipation I felt as I began to choose and specify.
In the end, I had chosen two specific "extra" genetic modifications and a suite of minor, mostly cosmetic surgical procedures. Given Jocelyn's hair type and color(straight, black), my post migration hair would be the same; however, I had considered this for a long while and in the end, I chose a gene mod that would alter my hair color to a soft white, like the color of a pearl. I imagined myself with a "Cleopatra" style coiffure, yet pearl white vs. the jet black with which she was often portrayed. My brows and lashes would follow suit. The second gene mod I chose altered my projected eye color from a dark mocha brown to a gentle silver gray like clouds on a rainy day. These mods were perhaps unusual, but they were also rather tame compared to many of the modifications available in this era of bio-engineering. One could encounter some rather wild and exotic things, especially in the great urban centers spread across the globe.
For the duration of the three month procedure, we would be drugged, unconscious except for brief periods when we would be induced to near consciousness to verify proper brain function, but we would still be heavily sedated - the intermediate stages of the migration could be traumatic to the psyche. Body mods and cosmetic procedures would be performed during the final three weeks of the migration procedure. The level of drugs in our systems would be lowered gradually, and at this stage, one could be removed from the womb chamber by handlers, for brief periods, and the procedures performed. The benefits of performing the surgical procedures during the final weeks of the migration were that the alterations would become permanent. As the virus completed our tranformation, changes would become a natural part of our final structure so to speak - as a simple example: piercings would never close.
I reviewed my chosen list of mods:
1. Total laser depilation of entire body from neck down, to include vulva.
2. Full body skin scan and laser removal of all skin defects or discolorations.
I wanted my skin to be a pristine blanket of milky cream perfection.
3. Triple-piercing of both ears: single piercing of lobe, double piercing of helix centered at apex and separated by 1cm.
4. Single piercing of navel.
5. Single piercing of clitoral prepuce(hood).
6. Birth control implant: 3 year efficacy.
