Stepping outside, I found that I had woken up in a hotel room. Taped to the door was a note with the words BANQUET ROOM written on it. Taking that as a hint, I made my way to the elevator.
Entering the banquet room, I found five women hanging out, in addition to several camera operators. Three of the ladies were white, one African-American, and one Asian-American. Since I knew of one Asian-American who had been invited to participate, I went to her. "Riley?" I asked.
She turned to me, confused. "Do I know you?"
"Dr. Jocelyn Kingsbury, formerly Michael, at your service."
She smiled. "Of course. And I am Sandra. These folks do good work; I don't think any of us give away our original gender."
A woman in her late twenties to early thirties walked into the room. "Hello, ladies," she said. "Allow me to introduce myself: I am Savannah Whitney. Some of you may remember me as Laken from the prime time soap opera Crossroads; others will remember me from my difficulties at that time."
I best remembered her from Jimmy Fallon's quip that she might end up celebrating her 21st DUI before her 21st birthday; but I said nothing.
"It's true: I had my share of personal demons. But I want you to know that that's all behind me now: I've been clean and sober for the past ten years, and I've been happily married to a wonderful woman for five of those years."
We all applauded how well her life was going.
"Good for you," the African-American woman said. "Is there any chance of you hearing the pitter-patter of little feet?"
"Why, yes," Savannah replied. "In fact, we have three cats." She turned to address us all. "With ten years of recovery under my belt, I've decided to try to make a comeback; to that end, I will be hosting Romance Roulette."
This got more cheers and applause.
"And now," she said, "it's time for you to meet the rest of your competition for our grand prize."
In came six more women.
"This is the first time these two groups have met," she said. Turning to the newcomers, she added, "Here is what makes this show different from the others: The six women you see before you... were, until recently, six men. Now, thanks to nanotechnology, they are just as female as you are. And they will be competing for the hand of Max Collins, just as you will.
"Now, let me advise you about the rules: Mr. Collins has no idea that some of the women he will meet used to be men; and, until the finale, it's going to stay that way. If any of you even hint that some of your competitors are not what they seem, you will be taken off the show immediately. Do I make myself clear?"
We all nodded.
"And now, ladies, if you will all follow me, we'll be taking you to your new home."
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