A Navy SEAL, crippled by wounds, is given a chance to be whole again … but at what price? |
CHAPTER 3 Brandon stepped naked into the crystal chamber under the watchful eyes of Susan and a dozen other scientists and technicians. Even after two years of having his emasculated genitals viewed by numerous medical professionals, both male and female, he still felt self conscious about it. The fact that there was no technical reason for his nudity - the machine would perform its function even if he were clothed - only added to his discomfort. The onlookers simply wanted to be able to observe and record the process, which of course meant there were a number of video cameras trained on him including one which would be focused tightly on his groin. He was helped onto the table by two female nurses. Though it appeared to be made of shiny chrome, he found the table was warm against his skin and as he laid back the surface conformed to the shape of his body. His skin began to tingle as though a slight electric current was running through him. He had been fully briefed on what to expect, but was surprised as he felt a stirring in his groin, as though his partially reconstructed penis was becoming erect, or at least trying to. “How do you feel Brandon?” He heard Susan’s voice ask over a loudspeaker. “Good,” Brandon replied, his voice sounding a bit dreamy “Very good in fact.” “The machine is sending a harmonic wave through your nervous system at the moment,” Susan explained. “The wave is stimulating the production of endorphins in your brain to promote relaxation.” Susan saw Brandon nod slightly in response to her words. Already though he was nearly asleep, though she knew the machine would not knock him out but rather lower him into a state of complete relaxation and keep him there for the duration of the process, much like placing a patient under hypnosis. “Start the scan, Ryan,” Susan said, her voice almost a whisper. As Ryan touched a series of glowing squares on the control console she realized she was holding her breath. She was excited, not just because of the tremendous potential of the machine if this test worked, but because of this test. She owed Brandon Anderson her life, and she knew that even if the machine only worked this one time she would be content. The great machine began to hum with power as the crystal chamber filled with the glowing purple plasma. A bright white beam of light flashed down from the crystal atop the chamber and bathed Brandon’s nude form. Seconds later a three dimensional image of him appeared in a small screen on the console. Next to this a graphic representation of Brandon’s genetic structure appeared, resembling a laser barcode with multi colored bars instead of simple black lines. One by one each of these bars flashed in quick succession as each gene was scanned. Susan knew that the roughly thirty thousand genes would be scanned in about fifteen minutes. Inside the chamber Brandon felt as though he was immersed in warm water as the glowing purple gas surrounded him. The sense of euphoria he felt increased and his skin began to tingle pleasantly. He noted the sensations with a sense of calm detachment. There was no sensation of time passing; for all he knew he could have been in the chamber for minutes or hours. A new text display appeared on the console, displaying the progress of the procedure. Initial scan complete….physical debilities identified…. On the graphic image of Brandon’s body, areas were highlighted; his legs and groin, his abdominal region, even the fully healed bullet wound in his left side. Initiating repair sequence….foreign objects in body….matter conversion underway… It was working! The machine was converting the steel hardware that had been used to piece Brandon’s shattered legs together into living, healthy bone. As Susan and the assembled scientists watched, the muscles could be seen reforming, the scar tissue disappearing. In the groin area, the penis was being rebuilt, tissue forming as if by magic. The testicles were replaced and pubic hair even began growing spontaneously. After twenty minutes, Brandon’s body was completely restored. A cheer went up in the control room and around the chamber as the display announced success. Physical debilities repaired…Human male subject restored to 100% capacity…. Her fellow scientists were congratulating Susan on the success of the procedure. Debilitating injuries had just become a thing of the past! The enormity of what had just happened struck Susan and she did not know whether to laugh hysterically or shed tears of joy, so she did both. “Susan there’s something odd here,” Ryan said, gesturing to a display on the console. Targeted genetic sequences identified….Genomorph Protocol override initiated…. “What’s going on?” Susan wondered aloud as she read the words. Several of the bars in the genetic display were now flashing. “What the hell is the Genomorph Protocol?” Ryan asked. “Shut it down!” Susan ordered. Ryan pressed a touchpad but nothing happened. He stabbed the control several more times but there was no effect. “The system is not responding,” He stated, and then began frantically trying to override the system. Subject chromosomal structure reassignment underway…..XY Chromosome conversion to XX Chromosome in progress…. “That’s not possible!” Susan gasped. As she watched the gene map she saw a pair representing Brandon’s XY chromosome changing, the Y chromosome altering until it matched the X. “I don’t get it?” Ryan remarked. “XX…isn’t that….” “Female,” Susan confirmed. “It’s altering his male chromosome to female.” Gender reassignment initiated….scanning data banks for profile…. “We can pull the plug,” Ryan suggested. “Sever the power feeds to the chamber…” “That could kill him for all we know,” Susan countered. “We have no choice but to let it run its course.” Error…Error….data banks out of date….scanning network connections…updating Genomorph Profile to reflect contemporary esthetics …. “The computer is accessing the network and the web,” Ryan informed Susan. He glanced down and saw a new display window on the console. It appeared that the computer was compiling data about the female appearance and sexuality. Susan was extremely uneasy as she saw what kind of sites it was scanning more and more frequently. “Oh shit!” Ryan exclaimed as he put the pieces together. He pushed away from the console, rolling his chair across the floor of the control room to another, more conventional computer terminal. He began frantically tapping commands into the keyboard. “What are you doing Ryan?” Susan asked. “It’s accessing internet sites, trying to build a profile on what a woman should be, how she should behave,” Ryan said, continuing to pound commands into the keyboard. “It’s accessing porn sites – there is some pretty freaky shit out there. I’m trying to limit access to block the more extreme sites.” Susan looked out the control room window and stared with horror at Brandon. His body was already changing. His masculine appearance was becoming softer, feminine. His muscular frame was thinning, his waist, chest and shoulders narrowing and his hips widening. His face was softening and taking on a definite female appearance. All the while he stared serenely upward. Despite his seeming oblivion, Brandon was aware that his body was changing. He could see his reflection in the crystal of the chamber and had felt a rush of exhilaration as his legs had become strong and muscular once more. He had seen his genitals reform. But now he was changing still. There was no discomfort but he did feel the transformation as fat was redistributed and his musculature was altered. There was a decidedly odd sensation that bordered on painful as his skeletal structure was altered, but the endorphins flooding his brain kept the sensation at bay. All the while he watched his reflection in the chamber’s crystal walls as it changed. Something was definitely not right. His hair was vanishing, being absorbed into his body, every part of his body. Even the hair on his head was vanishing. And his body seemed to be changing in other ways. He could feel his hips widening, even as he watched them expand and soften. His waist narrowed, and the hard edges of musculature became soft. His shape was becoming less and less masculine and far more … feminine. “Su..Susan…” He struggled to speak, to call out and let them know something was wrong, but it was so hard to concentrate against the lethargy that seized his body and mind.The strangest sensation came from his groin and abdomen. Over the course of the initial transformation, which took nearly thirty minutes, his just restored male genitals were transformed into a perfect female vagina. “I think I did it,” Ryan announced. “I was able to restrict access from our network to anything really extreme or fetish oriented.” Brandon’s body was now completely female, but it appeared bland, unfinished. The woman who now lay on the table was neither pretty nor ugly; she was not even average but more a blank slate waiting for details. Reconstruction of Genomorph Profile complete….randomizing variables to construct unique subject profile…. Next to the graphic image of Brandon’s now female body a new display window opened. At first the image there was identical, but gradually it began to change. The figure became even more obviously feminine, almost exaggerated with a narrow waist and wide, round hips. The breasts swelled to form extremely large, round mounds, jutting firmly from the chest. The face went from plain to beautiful and sensuous with full lips and large, expressive eyes. Pale, curly blonde hair that hung down to the waist was added, and the overall frame of the figure shrunk in height. The final form displayed was of a beautiful young woman in her late teens or early twenties; it was hard to tell her precise age. The youthful, innocent face could easily pass for fifteen but the figure was that of a mature, sexual young woman. Initiating final cosmetic transformation…. Brandon’s form once more began to alter, now conforming to match the image on the display. For another half hour the process continued until finally the young woman who lay on the table looked exactly like the computer generated image; and bore no resemblance at all to the man she had once been. Gender transformation sequence complete…. XX Chromosome structure in place….body chemistry and hormone levels stabilizing at optimum levels… Subject is now a Genomorph female….biological age seventeen years… Height five feet, eight inches….weight one hundred thirty-five pounds…. Initiating motivational and behavioral matrix modifications….downloading core skill upgrades Brandon’s body was once more bathed in white light, while a beam of intense blue light focused on her face. For the first time, she made a sound. It started out as a low moan which gradually built in intensity. It was not a moan of pain or discomfort but rather one of building pleasure. Subject’s body optimized for physical and sexual performance…. Sex drive of subject increased….sexual orientation modified to dual gender acceptance… Genetic structure modified to Genomorph Profile … “Susan look at this,” Ryan said, pointing to the display of Brandon’s new form. A graphic representation of the double helix that had been his genetic structure had been replaced by something Susan had never seen before, a quadruple helix. “My God…” Genomorph sequence complete….do you wish to enter a new code name? Beneath the question on the screen Brandon’s name was flashing. Susan looked at the young woman who now appeared to be sleeping peacefully on the table. The name hardly seemed appropriate any longer. She quickly typed out a new file name and hit enter on the virtual keyboard. Subject profile saved….code name...Brandi…. |