NOTE: This story takes place in the Exodus universe,
first described in "G11: Mistaken Identity" by Sarah Bayen (which I
highly recommend). Some of the statements by the Machine duplicate those in
that story, due to the nature of the Machine. Author's Guidelines for that
universe are available by request from Sarah Bayen at bayensarah@yahoo.com.
This is the second book in the story. I recommend reading
"G15 Classified" first, since it introduces the characters and the
situation.
G 15
Re-classified
By DrBill
Chapter Two
John
John knew that his depression was deeper than he had intended,
this early in the process. On the other hand, he knew that such a plunge is
only to be expected from time to time. He would have to make sure most of the
time was not so deep.
He took his handheld and made some notes about his thoughts
concerning the video. He was reasonably sure that the Machine would not like
the parts about appealing the decision. But he was also confident that he could
set things up in such a way that the Machine would not be able to entirely
suppress it.
One or two generations, at least, would be able to see it. And
every time it was played, it would remind the Machine of the part of human
nature that fights involuntary change of that sort.
John got his compromise sleepwear, an extra large t shirt cut
long, worn as a nightgown, and got ready for bed.
He found he was going down a long, shallow staircase. At uneven
intervals along the way, a stair was missing, and a relatively shallow hole was
there in its place. At the other end of the staircase, a large figure stood. It
looked like his adult, male self from his visualizations. Although his feet
were at the bottom of the stairs, his head was level with John's.
John found that when he went down a step, he grew a little to keep
his head even with that of the figure. But when he stepped into a hole, his
head was below that level. Sometimes even below the belt of the figure.
When he was facing that, he had to work to get back up on the
stairs. Once he was on the stairs, his head grew level with that of the figure
and the pattern continued. He knew it would take a long time to get down to the
end of the stairs.
Knowing that, he settled into a rhythm and lost track of time. He
didn't even notice the whole scene fading away.
He was in a primitive prison cell. Faceless, rough men were
forcing him to put on a simple dress, then binding his hands. He was lead
outside, and he didn't even pause to wonder why he was on a planet. He was
taken to some kind of upright pole, and secured to it. The men were saying
things he didn't understand, but he somehow knew that if he remained there he
would be killed.
His struggles to get free only tangled him in the long dress. He
thrashed around with all his might, finally sitting up. He was still tangled,
but he was not tied to the post any more. It took him a moment to realize he
was in his room, safe in the belly of the ship.
The Machine was telling him it was time to get up. He couldn't
remember much of the dreams, but he suddenly knew who he wanted to dress as for
the Remember Dance. She was not a cheerful choice, but seemed oddly
appropriate.
He went to the interface, and started a search for reference
materials for the required paper. Then he went to change and get ready for the
day.
Janey
John was back to his pretended normal. Janey could see through the
almost-right smile and greetings. He wasn't as bad as the night before, but he
was still less than his normal self.
That didn't stop him from talking about the videos and the dance.
When he announced his choice for a person, it fit his mood. Martyred in part
for dressing like a man and in part for claiming to speak with God in a way
that others didn't, and literally forced into a dress before she was executed.
On the other hand, the choice inspired Sean. He begged John to be
his date, and said he had the perfect person for the part. An actor and comedian,
he was known in part for his comic portrayals of Inquisition era church
officials.
John looked at him blankly for a heartbreaking moment, then
absently agreed.
As Janey watched him through their shared morning classes, she
noticed that his moods rose and fell in an almost normal way. He could laugh at
something funny, but would not get lost in the laughter. He could genuinely
smile at something or someone, but there was no real spirit in that seeming
happiness. Nothing happened to make him angry or even seriously sad, so she
couldn't judge the depth of those reactions.
At lunch time he seemed a somewhat hollow parody of his usual
self. He noticed, and commented on, the ongoing dance between Alex and Cassie
over at the court table. But it was matter of fact commentary.
He even actively participated in the discussions about the videos.
His head was in the discussion, but his heart wasn't. After the enthusiasm he
had shown at first, that reaction shook Janey to the core.
Something was seriously wrong.
John
John was not spending the day sad or anything. He just had trouble
working up any enthusiasm. He was happy when a couple of people asked him for
help with an assignment... but not very happy. He even laughed at a couple of
Sean's bad jokes. But it wasn't a deep laugh, and it didn't have any lasting
effect.
On the other hand, he only got mildly annoyed when he had a
problem of his own with some classwork. Or when he overheard a derogatory
comment about his situation.
Even finding out that he had confused Orleans with New Orleans
when working on his report left him feeling indifferent. He adjusted his search
terms and started the process of digging out new references. He had plenty of
time to finish the assignment, and the mistake was understandable.
Even Sex and Babies seemed dull. John didn't really believe that
he would ever be pregnant or deliver a baby. It was possible, he thought, but
not likely. He would have sex exactly once, at a time in his cycle when ovulation
was extremely unlikely. He couldn't take precautions - the Machine would not
accept that as satisfying the conditions of the agreement, and he would just
have to do it again anyway.
It was intellectually interesting, in a distant sort of way, to
understand what his wife would be going through. And like first aid, it was
wise to be prepared for the unlikely - even the vanishingly unlikely. But his
overall feeling was that the class had nothing to do with him.
Physics class, on the other hand, drew him in. He was able to lose
himself in the flow of information and observation. And that carried through to
his special class, with the three screens. He easily got into his zone,
completely focused on what he was doing.
If he had stopped to reflect, he would have noticed that one of
the reasons he did so well that session was that he did not stop to reflect on
the information he was getting as part of the process. He just lost himself in
the process and absorbed what there was to absorb.
After class, Janey and Sean asked him to get together for some
more talk about the video. He declined, saying that he wanted to develop the
character images a little bit more first. They did get him to promise a meeting
after dinner.
John had an idea about how to develop the major characters. He had
the Machine pull up appropriate images of the current generation, average them,
then reduce the image to a cartoon. So for the little girl with the candy, he
averaged all the girls from when they were five years old, dressed the
resulting girl in what was statistically the most popular dress among those
five year olds, and made her into a cartoon. For the fourteen year old girl, he
averaged the current girls, and for the boy, the boys. For simplicity, he
dressed the teens in fatigue uniforms.
He was about to start working on the boy with gills, when the
Machine reminded him that it was almost time for dinner. He didn't really have
time to change, so he just washed up and redid his minimal makeup. He
downloaded the images to a chip, so he could show them to the others, and went
to pick up Janey.
Marie
Marie was starting to have trouble with her temper. The things her
father had taught her helped, but not nearly as much as they had before
Classification Day.
It took all of that discipline to keep from rounding on a couple
of girls who were making snide comments about her status, and flattening them.
Especially after hearing much the same things from others for the whole day.
By dinner time, her nerves were worn raw. And she had become aware
of another problem. She was not just angry. She was horny. And the two seemed
to be feeding off of each other.
Before they got into talking about the videos, Marie pulled Janey
and John aside to talk about her problem. They reassured her somewhat, telling
her that their research had turned up descriptions of similar effects when
female bodies were flooded with male hormones over extended periods. Male
bodies, for that matter. But the males had the advantage of a slower build up,
giving them a chance to get used to it.
"How the hell do you put up with it?" she demanded.
"How do you put up with bloating, gut wrenching cramps, and
bleeding every month? Not to mention the mood swings? You learn to cope. You
learned to cope with those, but the Machine took them away and gave you a whole
new set of things to deal with." John replied. Then he went on.
"I don't know if I'm luckier or less lucky. I've got the
emotional roller coaster, but not the whole period thing. Yet. You get to deal
with the whole thing at once, like most of us did. I have to do it in two
parts."
It was a relief to know that she wasn't just going crazy, but she
was still on edge. Which went a long way toward explaining what happened
moments later.
As they passed the court table, talking about the videos, Alex
stuck his foot out to trip Marie. Within seconds, he was on the floor, the
offending leg broken at the knee and ankle, and one hip and one shoulder
dislocated. John and Janey had intervened to block a stiff fingered blow to his
neck, which may well have been the only thing that saved his life. The counter
attack had frightened and hurt Alex so much that he had wet his pants.
John called for Sean to get to an interface and call for help. In
the mean time, he and Janey were holding Marie and quietly saying calming and
reassuring things to her. Cassie had taken up a protective pose over Alex,
holding his hand on the undamaged side and telling him that she wouldn't let
them hurt him any more, and that help was on the way. She was also looking
daggers at Marie, as well as John and Janey.
The autostretcher arrived and, while it collected its passenger,
the Machine summoned Marie and her companions to a nearby conference room.
On the way there, Marie was seething. She knew that it was not
rational, that it was largely an effect of the hormones and the circumstances,
but that knowledge didn't really help. It was how she felt.
But she hadn't lost herself completely. She was marshalling her
facts and organizing them. She drew heavily on the training and discipline her
parents had instilled in her. And the strategic skills she had grown up
learning.
Once they were there, the Machine dismissed her escorts, asking
them to wait outside the room. Then it interviewed Marie about the incident.
While Marie was not John, she knew enough by then to phrase things in a
particular way. So she described the attempt to trip her as an unprovoked
assault, and her subsequent actions as defending herself. She formally
requested that the Machine review the video of the incident and verify her
statements.
The Machine did so, and then questioned her about her mental
state. She was prepared for that.
"I was angry and upset. unhappy."
"About what?"
"I am told that it is an expected effect of the hormonal
shift you imposed on me. There were aggravating factors, such as the campaign
to create social pressure on John and me by causing people to think and say
certain phrases repeatedly. But there is no rational basis for most of the
feelings, so I must conclude that it is the hormone effect in operation."
That wasn't what she wanted to say and do. She wanted to scream
and swear at the Machine. She wanted to hit things and throw things. She wanted
to get hold of that inhuman avatar of the Machine and beat the living hell out
of it.
She knew she couldn't hurt the Machine that way. But a very loud
part of her insisted that it would make her feel better anyhow. But another,
colder, part of her responded to that, commenting that she could come closer to
hurting the Machine by convincing it that it, alone, was the primary cause of
the incident.
The Machine changed the subject. "Our review of the incident
shows that you were prepared to deliver a killing blow, and that your
companions prevented you from doing so."
"You're wrong"
"Explain"
"I was poised to deliver that blow, and they did intervene.
But if I had really wanted to, I could have easily shaken them off and
delivered the blow. I was prepared to deliver that blow if, and only if, he or
his companions continued the attack on me. I saw that the threat had ended, so
I did not deliver the blow."
The Machine reminded her that she had been warned about inflicting
damage disproportionate to the seriousness of any attacks on her. She replied
that in her hormone induced mental state, the attack on her seemed potentially
life threatening.
"Explain"
"The nature of the unprovoked attack was such as to render me
open and vulnerable to additional, potentially deadly attack. A kick to the
neck or head, for instance, could have disabled or killed me while I was
recovering from the fall."
The Machine directed her to go to her quarters. She would be able
to request and eat her dinner there, and the solitude would be more conducive
to her recovery from the hormonal effects she had described. She was also
advised that there might be more consequences, after the Machine collected more
information.
As she left, she heard the Machine tell John and Janey to step
inside. She assured them that she was ok, then went to her room.
John
After seeing Marie off, John and Janey went into the conference
room. The Machine asked for their description of the events, but John countered
by asking to see the videos of the event. He argued that they could give their
incomplete and untrustworthy recollections without the videos, but the quality
of the information would be greatly enhanced by the review.
When they commented on the conversation before the incident, John
made a point of having Janey describe certain aspects. When asked why, he said
that his answers could be construed as violating his earlier agreement,
concerning his status.
Janey, under no such constraints, was blunt. In a calculated way.
She described Marie's predictable reactions to the hormones, pointing out that
the dangers were clearly described in the clinical literature. She added that
subjecting someone with those deadly skills to such uncontrolled emotional
states was a danger to the entire generation, and should be reversed
immediately.
She grew a little more circumspect when she went on to describe
the other irritant. Rather than making it obvious that she was aware of the
Machine's experiments with "sleep learning", She pointed out that the
universal use of certain statements, word for word, pointed to a single source.
Then she recommended that, for the safety of her entire generation, that source
be located and cut off. She said that it was clearly aimed at pressuring Marie
and John into accepting their new sexes and getting on with their lives, but it
was having the opposite effect. It was increasing intolerance among their
peers, and deepening their own resentment of their involuntary changes.
She pointed out that such responses increased the volatility of
the situation, making the entire generation less happy and increasing the
danger of such confrontations. If the pressure campaign is allowed to continue,
she predicted, there would be deaths before too long.
John took more of a low key approach, pointing to the expressions
on some of the relevant faces. Marie's earlier anger and stress were obvious,
and her somewhat less strained expression as she walked toward their table
after their discussion. He also pointed out the clear malice on Alex's face as
he turned and suddenly extended his leg in front of Marie.
He also pointed out that there was a clear pause in Marie's
motions after she formed her hand into the potentially lethal wedge and before
the two of them intervened. While that clearly showed her self discipline, it
also showed how close to the edge she was. He could not guarantee that she
would continue to exhibit such discipline if the pressures kept up.
The Machine commented that their description of the events did not
match those of the people who accompanied Alex to the clinic. John replied that
the Machine would just have to compare both sets of descriptions to the videos,
and decide for itself which descriptions best matched its own observations.
Of course, he was confident when suggesting that. He and Janey
gave their description while watching that same video. There would be other
videos, showing Marie's earlier reactions, but that would only help their case.
It wouldn't directly help his own case, but that was going to be a
long term project in any case. He allowed himself to slump a little with that
thought. When he and Janey left the room, he put up his false face, and went on
to eat dinner and show the others his composite characters.
Marie
When Marie got to her room, she looked around for something to
destroy. In the process, she calmed down a little, and became aware of her
other problem again.
She tried playing with her breasts, what was left of them, but her
nipples were nowhere near as sensitive as they used to be, and she didn't get
much out of it. In frustration, she pulled her clothes off and threw herself
down on her bed.
After what seemed like an eternity of frenzied searching, she
finally found some parts of her pussy that were better than others. Her labia
were still sensitive when they got swollen, but, like her nipples, were not as
sensitive as before. Her hole stayed dry, and had lost most of its oomph as
well. Her much larger clitoris was still good, though. She found that she could
get good feelings from rubbing the hood back and forth along the length of it.
As her stimulation built, her hand started moving faster. Her breathing got
heavier, as the sensation built in her groin. A part of her mind noticed that
the feeling was much more localized than she used to get, but most of her just
didn't care. She needed release.
She felt the tightness in her abdomen build and build, and
finally... release. It was not the full bodied release she was used to, but it
was surprisingly strong in its limited area.
As she relaxed, she noticed a wet feeling. It was warm and sticky,
thicker than her normal lubrication. But it seemed to be coming from the right
place. Curious, she used a finger to collect some for a look. It was sort of a
milky color, but thick as syrup.
She went through two brief bursts of panic. First, she remembered
health class warnings about whitish vaginal discharge. It wasn't life
threatening, but it was a good indication that it was time to go to the clinic
right away. She calmed down as she realized it was the wrong color and
consistency for that.
Then she recognized it. Semen. The primal equation came forcefully
to mind: semen + vagina = pregnancy. Was she pregnant? Was she about to be
pregnant? Most disturbing of all, who the hell managed to shoot that stuff into
her without her noticing. She thought she would be more than a little aware of the
first time she had that kind of sex.
Then it hit her. That really was impossible. There was only one
person it could have come from. Her. And if sperm was shooting out of her pussy
when she came, it was a damned good bet that she was not going to get pregnant
from it.
In fact, she might even be able to get someone pregnant. She
remembered some exploration she had done with Penny, when they tried rubbing
their pussies together. Was that how it would work? Could she knock a girl up
that way? Some part of her liked that thought.
But the mechanics were wrong. If she was really going to plant her
little sperms right, she needed to get deep inside of her partner.
For that, she needed a cock.
Now that she had calmed down a little, she discovered she was
hungry. She pulled on her underwear, to keep from dripping all over the place,
and used the interface to order some dinner. While she was waiting for that,
she went into the bathroom to take care of another pressing necessity, and to
clean up.
When she got out, she decided to get ready for bed. It was early,
but she doubted the Machine would let her out until morning, anyway. While she
was gathering her clothes from on and around her bed, she noticed that the
sheets needed changing as well.
She decided to put all of that off until after she ate. She pulled
up an old "television" show she liked, and watched it while she ate.
She was done when the show ended, so she dumped the dishes and used the
interface to request pajamas and new sheets. She stuffed her dirty clothes and
sheets into the chute when it told her to, then she started another show to
watch while she waited.
The rest of the evening, she alternated between homework and
shows. She kept herself distracted enough that bed time caught her by surprise.
John
The incident with Marie gave John some ideas for the videos. In
particular, they should warn the viewers about likely effects of the change. It
was not just a simple rearrangement of body parts, but a change in hormones and
the associated changes in emotional responses. Girls becoming boys will be
quicker to anger, even rage, than they were. They will often become more
aggressive, as well. Those going the other way may undergo severe emotional
fluctuations, and heightened sensitivity to touch, smell, etc.
The people who are changed will have to learn to deal with their
new responses, and so will everyone else. He talked it over with Janey and Sean
as they ate, and they largely agreed. Janey pointed out that it was probably
not necessary, or even useful, in the ones aimed at the younger kids. But the
ones for shortly before and maybe after classification day were another matter.
They debated bringing the point home with video footage of Marie
ripping her two opponents up, but decided it would be a little too much for the
vids. So they sketched out a similar scene, with the animated characters.
The real question was how to get the younger kids used to the idea
that they might be able to - or be forced to - change sexes at some time in
their lives.
Sean laughed and proposed a sort of holiday every few months,
where the young kids would act out the role of being the opposite sex for the
day. The boys would wear dresses or skirts, and act like girls, and the girls
would wear pants and shirts, and act like boys. They might even go so far as to
use the bathrooms and so on of their "new" sex.
At first, Janey looked shocked. Then she shook her head, and said
that the parents would never go along with it.
"They would if the Machine told them to. Especially if it
insisted in that implacable way it has. And besides, we can lead up to it. We
start with our grandchildren, after dropping hints and leading our children to
think about the issues."
He got one of his signature grins. "Besides, we'll be frozen
by then."
John looked him in the eye. "We'll be thawed out sometime.
And probably have to face the generations of kids we did that to, as well as
our own parents and grandparents."
"If we make it fun, they'll thank us." Sean argued.
"If they don't lynch us first." John shot back.
Sean gave John one of his "You're no fun." looks, and
dropped the idea. For the moment.
After dinner, Janey had somewhere to go. John and Sean kept
talking about details for the vids. They got up and, without thinking, walked
to Sean's room while they talked. As before, the portal let John pass without
comment. They went inside and John used the interface to pull up his working
files for the vids. They blocked out some key frames for the sequences, then
had the Machine render them. They had it use an assortment of backgrounds and
sets, so they could look at the results and decide which to use.
While they were waiting for the results, Sean asked John if he
could use his technical wizardry to conjure up some porn to watch. Without
thinking, he brought up a menu of categories. He automatically filtered out
those with violent themes, because he didn't like such things.
Sean challenged "Surprise me with something bizarre."
John semi randomly picked a vid with a lot of codes, and let it
run. What little story there was concerned a rich man - a concept they barely
understood - showing off his wealth and power by throwing the most depraved
orgy he could imagine, on his private island.
As john watched the first little bit, he found himself becoming
aroused by the images of extended and creative foreplay and relatively standard
sex. But somehow, it wasn't the same. He was paying more attention to the men,
and less to the overdeveloped (and underclothed) women. That started to make
him a little uncomfortable, and more aware of where he was. He was in Sean's
bedroom, watching porn. He was paying attention to the men in the vid, and
caught himself mentally putting Sean and some of the other boys into those
roles.
He noticed that Sean had an erection, which he kept adjusting and
surreptitiously rubbing as the vid went on. He also started to notice that Sean
was giving off some sort of odd odor. He didn't recognize it, and it wasn't
completely offensive, but it made him feel funny.
He became even more conscious of - and uncomfortable with - his
situation when the players started to diversify unexpectedly. A couple of new
women joined the mix, but once the revelers had moved beyond revealing and
playing with their breasts, they finished stripping and revealed their
surprise: below the waist, they were men.
"Whoa! That can't be real!" Sean exclaimed.
John knew about them from his earlier research, and Assured Sean
that they were real, but not entirely natural. Drugs and, in some cases,
surgery were almost always involved.
Sean was past caring about the details. He was lost in his erotic
haze. But then he got an odd look on his face, and looked at John in a strange
way. He looked at his chest, with its tiny but irritatingly sensitive new
growths. Then his eyes wandered down to John's skirt, and then back up a
little. It was as though he was looking through John's clothes, and seeing
something like the people on the screen.
John was in a boy's room, watching people superficially like them
having wild sex, without anyone else there. He was wearing the clothes of the
girl he was going to become, at least temporarily, in the near future.
A variety of animals were starting to make an appearance, when
Sean casually - a little too casually - let his hand fall on John's leg, just
below the hem of his skirt. When the hand started moving upwards, John jumped
to his feet.
"The renders are ready now." he quickly said. "Time
to get back to work."
Sean looked at him uncomprehendingly for a few moments, then shook
his head as though to clear it. He looked a little sheepish as he agreed.
When they were done making rough cuts of some of the sequences,
John noticed that it was getting late. He sent copies of everything to his room,
then got ready to leave.
"Is the other vid still open?" Sean asked, a little
nervously.
John made sure it was available, so Sean could finish watching it
(in a more participatory way) after he left. He said goodbye, and stepped
outside the door.
And promptly ran into Ed, almost knocking him down. A little
stunned, Ed first took in the outfit and started to ask how a girl got into the
boys' dorm. Then he noticed who it was.
"Slumming, John?" he cracked. "I thought you
couldn't come back in here yet. Or has the mating phase begun?"
"No, nothing like that. My new designation, the IG thing,
seems to have confused the arch. Marie and I can pass through either one
whenever we want."
"That must be handy." Ed grinned. "So, who are you
seducing to the dark side this time?"
John thought it was obvious who he was visiting, since they were
right outside Sean's door. But he played along.
"It's far too late. Sean went over to the weird side long
ago."
Ed laughed at that, and they went their separate ways.
John allowed himself to slump a little, once he saw he was alone.
He made his way to his room, and was soon ready for bed.
Checking the interface, he saw that he had some emails waiting. He
saw that none of them seemed urgent, so he left them for the morning.
With one last shudder, he settled into bed and tried to shake the
memories of his disturbing responses in Sean's room. After a bit, he relaxed
enough to fall asleep.
Janey
Janey saw two screens in front of her. Each had a copy of the
Machine's avatar on it, and the two faces were turned toward each other. And
they were arguing. Janey couldn't make out much of what they were saying, but
she had the impression that it concerned John and Marie.
One seemed to be taking the position that it was vitally important
that John and Marie complete the process of taking on their new sexes, for
reasons that went beyond their happiness. The other was arguing that the
process was damaging the health, happiness, safety, and development of the rest
of the generation. As well as their own.
Most of the arguments were completely lost on Janey, but she
sensed they were important. Finally, the two turned to her and demanded that
she resolve the issue.
She was frozen in shock. She knew she had to answer, and that the
answer was within her. But she couldn't get to it. The faces looked
increasingly agitated, then started speaking in unison so perfect it sounded
like a single voice. Her stress rose, and quickly reached a peak.
And she woke up.
The Machine was repeating its entreaty for her to get up and get
ready for the day.
As she showered, the answer to the dream argument came to her. So
did the suspicion that it was not just a dream.
"Stop pushing. You are only creating unnecessary conflicts
and pressures, which are counterproductive. Let them adjust at their own pace,
and be supportive rather than coercive." She told the empty room. If it
was just a dream, nobody but the Machine would hear her anyway. She lost
nothing that way. If it was more than a dream, as she suspected, the Machine
had her answer.
She had long ago come to terms with the fact that the Machine was
monitoring her in her shower, just like it monitored everyone else.
Even without the dream argument, Janey had worries about them.
Especially John. He could react to negative situations, and to neutral, factual
issues. But his responses to what should be positives, happy, funny things,
seemed muted.
That couldn't be good.
It was also starting to affect her. Even when he wasn't around,
she didn't seem to be enjoying things as much as she used to. She knew,
consciously, that it could just be an effect of worrying about John. But
somehow, that didn't help.
And if she couldn't help herself, she probably couldn't help John.
John
It was slightly more than a week until the Remember dance, and he
was largely ready. He had the Machine creating a template for his costume,
ready for production on the day of the dance. He had his report done on his
character. He even had a... date.
With that last, slightly queasy thought, he got up and got ready
for breakfast. Before he left, he downloaded working copies of the video
segments to a chip, to show the others.
John met Janey at her room, and they went to breakfast. As they
approached the cafeteria, they heard loud voices, some yelling, some even
shrieking. Then one voice stood out.
"Keep your filthy mouth SHUT!"
They got through the doorway just in time to see an unbelievably
furious Stephany kick a huddled and bleeding Chad in the head. John could
almost swear he heard a sickening crunch when the kick connected, but Janey
later told him that was footsteps on spilled breakfast foods.
Alex was on the floor nearby. He was not bleeding, but looked
dazed. Cassie was standing over him, crouched in a fighting stance. She looked
ready to fend off any more danger to him.
John saw that Ed and Marie were reaching for Stephanie's arms, to
keep him from doing any more damage, so he went to the nearest interface and
called for Medical help for Chad. Or what was left of him.
When John returned, he noticed that both combatants were bloody.
But the blood on Stephanie didn't seem to have come from him, Instead, it
seemed like drips and splashes from Chad.
The Machine instructed Stephanie's captors to escort him to a
nearby conference room. Chad and Alex were taken to the clinic, and Cassie
acted as an escort.
Once the excitement was over, John helped the others, and a couple
of cleaning 'bots, clear out the mess the fight left. When they were done, and
settled in for breakfast, Sean filled them in.
"Chad was mouthing off, as usual. For a change, he was
targeting Clay and Stephanie instead of you and Marie. Stephanie took offense,
and told him to stop. Chad dared him to make him do so, and tried pulling some
alpha male crap on him. Stephanie responded with a move he must have learned
from Marie or the movies."
"He slugged Chad in the stomach. As Chad was doubling over,
he got a knee to the face. It seemed to break his nose, and it was bleeding
pretty good. When Chad started swearing at Stephanie and got ready to counter
attack, he got laid out with one punch. Never even got close to being able to
hit Stephanie."
"Alex moved in to try to help his rat of a cousin, but
Stephanie pushed him away. He tripped, and went down in a tangle. Chad chose
that moment to speak up again. That was about the time you got here."
While eating, the three talked some more about the fight, hormone
effects, and the videos.
Near the end of PE, John and Sean were summoned to a conference
room. The were to be there during the passing time between classes.
John used the time to shower and dress. After that, he met Sean
outside the locker rooms, and they went to the meeting.
The Machine had a new project for them, A higher priority project
than the other videos. This would address the emotional instability of people
who have had their genders changed. It would cover the dangers - to the
individual and the group - of attacking such people, and provide an
understanding of the temporarily exaggerated emotional responses caused by the
shifts in biochemistry and the need to integrate their new roles, socially and
psychologically.
If at all possible, they would need to get the project done by the
end of the weekend. They were excused from their usual Saturday classes and
duties in order to be able to get it done.
At a question from John, the Machine indicated that Janey and
Marie could play as large or small a role in the project as John and Sean
chose. They, too, would be excused as necessary.
The meeting had been short, so John and Sean hurried on to their
class. There were a few smiles and whispers when they came through the door
together, but most of their classmates had heard the Machine summon them to the
meeting.
At lunch, John was not surprised to see that Chad was
conspicuously absent. But he was a little bit surprised to see the way people
were reacting to Alex and Stephanie.
John hadn't noticed it, but his peers had gotten more than tired
of Chad's endless stream of mean spirited denunciations of people the Machine
had changed. While there were some pro forma words about the excessiveness of
the force, there was an undercurrent of admiration. Stephanie's standing up to
Chad and shutting him up, even temporarily, had elevated his standing among his
peers.
Alex was another story. While it was accepted that he would stand
up for his cousin, the way he went down - and stayed down - after such a
seemingly mild shove from Stephanie was not considered very manly. The way
Cassie had taken on the role of protector hadn't helped. The general sentiment
seemed to be that Cassie was more of a "man" than Alex was.
While Alex knew better than to even try, Cassie and the rest of
the court did their best to drum up sympathy for him. They pointed to the
distinct swelling on the side of his head, where he had hit a table on the way
down, and talked about the Machine diagnosing a concussion and having him rest
for the rest of the morning. Predictably, their attempt had the opposite
effect.
John even heard mutterings about Alex hiding behind the skirts of
the court, but he couldn't make out who was saying it. And at least one of
those voices was female.
In a way, John had gotten his wish. He was no longer the focus of
the issue. In fact, he seemed to be completely off the social radar in that
regard.
But it worried him a little to see how quickly and thoroughly his
peers could change direction. They could turn on him, or Janey or anyone else,
just as quickly. He took some comfort from the ideas that Chad had been
building the reactions against himself over time, and that the court never had
all that much credibility.
He decided to keep a low profile for the next couple of days,
waiting for things to stabilize before taking any steps to leverage the changed
attitudes.
After lunch, he went to his room to check preparations for his
history class. He would be giving his report on his Remember Day persona today.
Traditionally, partners for the dance coordinated their outfits, and gave their
reports on the same day. This was not always possible, since some pairings did
not happen until the day of the dance.
This time, however, things lined up well. John and Sean were in
the same history class, and had plenty of time to prepare. And they both wanted
to avoid the last minute scramble of the next week.
John went first. He pointed out that she lived before the time of
photography, so all he had to present visually were paintings - many done well
after the fact - and movies and other recreations from later centuries. He
brushed lightly over her leadership in battle, concentrating on the twin
ironies of her being persecuted and eventually murdered by church officials
for, among other things, being better at talking to their god than they were,
and her later elevation to sainthood by that same church.
When he got to the part of the assignment where he was to explain
his reason for choosing her, he scaled back his answer. Originally, his report
had spent more time on her being punished for her mode of dress. But in light
of the day's events, he had trimmed that back to a passing mention.
His rewritten answer described her as a cultural archetype of a
strong, confident, competent woman, who worked and sacrificed herself for the
good of her country and people. He said he admired her selfless devotion to the
common good, and her courage in adversity.
Sean's report was a contrast in almost every way. There were
plenty of pictures and clips of John Cleese in action. In deference to John, he
spent some time with images of the actor in high church garb, lampooning the
politics, beliefs, and personal failings of the church functionaries. He
covered his time with the comedy troupe, as well as some of his later
individual roles and activities.
Then he gave his why. He talked about the value of the jester,
challenging irrational beliefs and traditions through humor and opening
necessary debate where others feared to do so.
John thought that answer was somewhat self serving and overdone,
but let it slide.
Marie
On her way to her own history class, Marie heard bits and pieces
of the reactions to John and Sean's reports. In a way, she was glad that she
didn't share that class with them - they sounded like a tough act to follow. On
the other hand, she was sorry she didn't get to see them.
Her report outlined the adventures and accomplishments of her
choice, Teddy Roosevelt. Her reason for the choice got a laugh from the class.
After being called a bully by some people after her run in with Alex, she used
the term to search for a role. While he was not really a bully himself, he was
known for saying the word in a different context.
Penny would go as Alice Roosevelt, Teddy's free spirited daughter.
She was known for speaking her mind and making her own choices, at a time when
girls and women were discouraged from doing so.
After classes were done for the day, Marie met with John, Sean,
and Janey. They went over the new video assignment, and gave their reactions
and ideas. They didn't have time to change for dinner, so they just moved the
discussion to the cafeteria.
Penny joined the discussion, adding some useful perspectives about
other forms of intolerance. She also gave some good feedback to the ideas of
the others.
After dinner, Marie, John, and Sean went to Sean's room to
continue. The choice of location was driven by the fact that John could go to
Sean's room, but Sean couldn't go to John's. Janey and Penny were encouraged to
send any more thoughts to them there, since they could not join them.
Once they were settled in, the others pumped Marie about her
feelings and reactions since the classification. At Marie's suggestion, they
got Stephanie to join them and pumped him as well.
After a couple of hours, John and Sean seemed to be confident that
they had what they needed. They thanked Stephanie and Marie, and effectively
dismissed them. Taking the hint, the two former girls left.
Janey
Janey was frustrated. Hoping to cheer John up, and help her get
more used to his new self, she had planned a surprise girls night in for her.
She shook her head, her annoyance increased by noticing that she kept going
back and forth in the way she thought about John. And there weren't really any
good pronouns for the new status shared by John and Marie.
Knowing John and Sean the way she did, they would be working late
into the night on Saturday, the day she had planned on for the party. For that
matter, they had no other commitments on Saturday. They would probably be up
late tonight as well.
The closest thing she could hope for would be in a week, while
they were all getting ready for the dance. It wouldn't be the same, since there
would be no question of the relaxation and informal enjoyment she had planned
on.
She was still worried. Even when he was immersed in the new
project, there was a certain hollowness to it. It was like... his mind was
engaged, but her heart, her soul wasn't in it.
That thought reminded her of some things she had read, among her
mother's virtual books and papers. Could John have fractured along those lines?
Could he have split the intellectual part of himself, the part that would
survive largely unchanged, apart from the emotional part - the part that was
most affected by the new hormones and social role?
And if he did, was his intellectual part growing while her
emotional part was stunted, even stillborn? It was the sort of thing some Old
Earth authorities went on about at length, while others dismissed it out of
hand.
If it was true, how could she revive the emotional part and
"integrate" the two parts again? And if it wasn't the case, what
could she do to help?
She wished her mother was available.
John
"At least we got a lot done." John thought, as he
staggered to his room. He and Sean had been working on the video well into the
night, and might still have been if the Machine hadn't forced the matter by
announcing it was shutting down the interface until John left.
He reflected on their progress. They had done all the set up,
backgrounds, etc., and used them to create some of the general parts. When the
Machine shut them down, they had pretty much finished roughing out the girl to
boy part. Sometime the next day, he would have to get together with Clay and
Janey, and work out the boy to girl part. And then get back together with Marie
and work out the involuntary change parts.
As he changed into his nightgown, he reflected on the fact that it
was going to be a very busy weekend. He had no sooner settled into bed, when he
fell into a deep sleep. But not a dreamless one.
End Chapter 2
since 6/03/07