The soft clack-clack-clack of Savannah's heel impatiently tapping away on the floor echoed across the length of the hallway. "I just don't see what the problem is." She repeated, crossing her arms to reinforce her displeasure. "It's just that this test is kind of a big deal, and it makes the most sense for Shane and I to--" she cut me off mid sentence. "We're six weeks behind schedule and I've got a meeting this afternoon. I'm not delaying this test another few days just because your partner got sick." Narrowing her eyes at me, she gave one last petulant stomp before delivering her final command. "Go get the machine ready."
Savannah Stevens was my boss. She was a project manager at our engineering firm, and had been riding my ass for weeks. She was tall and thin, with pale skin and long black hair that she kept neatly tied in a bun on the back of her head. Emphasized by her permanent scowl, she had the sunken cheeks of a model, and a pair of icy blue eyes to match. She was probably in her late 30s, but none of us were ever brave enough to ask her exact age, given that her exacting expectations and dour personality eclipsed any pretense of feminine warmth that might have once been present within her slender form. Lately she'd been on my case about an experimental project my partner Shane and I had been working on.
It was supposed to be a neural synapse exchanging device. Two years ago, Shane and I discovered that under the right conditions, the human brain could be altered in such a manner as to house another human's consciousness. The plan was for us to perform a complete neural scan, and then use a series of electrical pulses to rewrite our neural pathways, essentially exchanging consciousness. Shane and I had been preparing for this swap for weeks, even going as far as to make arrangements with each others' wives. Now Savannah was demanding that I try it out on her. I shuddered at the thought of being trapped inside her spindly female flesh, but what could I say? I had a pregnant wife at home and I couldn't afford to be laid off.
As we climbed into the machine, I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. Savannah frowned, gesturing at me to move faster. The importance of being on time for her 3:00 meeting overshadowed the fact that she was about to be the human in history to exchange bodies with another person, I suppose. With our headsets on, I initiated the exchange.
I felt a surge of electricity rip through my body, causing the my perception of the room to spin wildly as I thrashed around in my chair. My senses dissolved into pins and needles as my consciousness began to separate from my male brain, being processed, packaged, and shot across a wire, where it would soon find itself binding with Savannah's female one. A bright, white light filled my vision as we invaded each other, and I felt weightless for a few moments. When our transfer started to finalize itself, the light that had consumed me faded. My senses gradually returned, and I became dimly aware that my chest didn't inflate as much as it used to. Disoriented and confused, I swirled my tongue around the insides of my mouth, noting that the taste was off. I opened my eyes slowly, vaguely aware of the fact that my head was hanging limply over my lap. As my vision came into focus, I was met with the uncanny sight of a tight, green dress clinging to wide hips and a slender waist. I snapped my head upwards, to find that my own body--mouth hanging open in shock--was staring back at me.
"IT WORKED! MY GOD IT WORK!" I cheered, climbing out of the chair. I must have looked like a newborn deer attempting to stand for the first time, because I rolled my ankle as I tried to fully stand up, unaccustomed to the long legs and heels I now possessed. Wincing in pain, I glanced up at Savannah, who was grinning and sliding her hands up and down her flat chest beneath the folds of my lab coat. She stood up with apparent ease, striding over to me confidently.
"I must say Ryan... I'm impressed!" She said, flexing her new biceps.
"Thank you!" I beamed, despite suddenly feeling a bit overwhelmed by the disparity in our new sizes. Savannah was taller than most women, but my old body still had three or four inches on her. Not to mention how much broader and stronger I was. I felt as though Savannah could snap my dainty body like a twig. The thought of Savannah's large, masculine hands roaming my body sent off a flurry of butterflies within my stomach. "What the hell is wrong with me???" I thought to myself, my pale face reddening. I'd only been in Savannah's body a few minutes and I was already having thoughts like THAT...
"Well..." I said, thoroughly freaked out by my momentary excursion into Savannah's feminine fantasies. "I think we should switch back now, we wouldn't want you to miss your meeting."
"You're right. In fact, what time even is it?" Savannah asked curiously, momentarily taking her eyes of her new male body. I held up my wrist to check my watch, but found only a small golden bracelet.
"Oh, uhh, do you mind?" I asked awkwardly, as Savannah smiled and held up my old watch.
"Oh shit!" She groaned, placing her hand on her forehead. "It's 2:56. The meeting is at 3!"
"Fuck. What should we do?" I asked, placing my hands on my waist. To an outside observer, it must have seemed odd for a manager to default to her employee's judgement.
Savannah thought for a moment, before a sinister grin spread across her borrowed face.
"Well, since YOU'RE Savannah at the moment and there isn't time to switch back, you're going to attend the meeting for me. Since I'm Ryan, I'm going to go home, and the two of us can swap back in the morning."
"Absolutely not!" I protested, but was again cut off by Savannah.
"You don't have a choice. Remember, I'm still the boss, even from inside your body." Though I didn't quite agree with her logic, I gave in to her demands. We awkwardly walked down the hallway side-by-side, before parting ways as I neared the conference room.