22 __Joe_Bates_Saga__________________________________________________________



22.  Chapter :      The Cage



It was still dark when Joe woke up.  He glanced over at the glowing red
display of the clock radio.  Five o'clock, it said.  He had another
hour and a half until he had to get up, but he wasn't tired.  It had
been only about nine when he went to bed and he wasn't used to going to
bed that early, even if he didn't actually sleep for quite some time
after he got there.  Joe looked down at the floor next to the bed, and
in the dim light he could see Linda's undies laying on the floor next
to the bed.  He grinned.  It was just like old times, only now, if his
had been lying there too, it would have been hard to tell them apart.

Joe turned slightly so he could see Linda, who was in bed right next to
him.  In the dim light, he could see the outline of her bosom under the
sheet.  It rhythmically rose and fell as she softly breathed.  She was
still asleep, and her face had a contented look.  What was she
dreaming?  If she was, what could it be about.  Him?  Them?  The way
they had been?  Or as they were now?

Pulling the sheet down slightly, he unintentionally bared his chest.
He smiled when presented with this evidence of his own new femaleness.
It should probably seem very different with his body changed like
this...  to look so feminine, and yet...  he was already starting to
accept it as normal.  In only a week he could hardly remember being any
other way.  Nevertheless, it was still difficult to accept the
possibility of having to live the rest of his life this way.  To look
down and see his body as it was, so completely feminized, with these
new bumps and bulges, was still new.  Joe found it difficult to keep
from exploring his new shape as he lay there in the dim light.  With
one finger he slowly and gently began circling the dark outline of his
right nipple, and watched as the sensitive tissue changed from a soft
full cone to a hard little point.  He could even feel it happen.  He
enjoyed the strangely pleasing sensation.  Mostly, he realized, he was
beginning to like the things that had happened to his body...  the way
it changed, and was still changing.  It seemed so much more sensitive
and flexible now, completely different from when it was masculine.

Even with the many problems the changes might possibly cause him, and
the many things he still had to get accustomed to, Joe was finding that
it was often quite enjoyable being female.  The very slowly subsiding
level of testosterone in his bloodstream was accompanied by an
increasing feeling of personal well being that he really liked.  Until
recently, he hadn't even been aware of the underlying sexual tension
that was part of being male.  The new and pleasant sensations he was
experiencing also helped hide the fact that as his male hormone levels
decreased, so did his upper body strength.  But since it was so subtle,
he couldn't really feel that it was happening.  As Dr.  Krell had
suspected, Joe was also beginning to experience a change in his libido,
a lessening, as it slowly adapted to the feminine pattern.  Like it or
not, he was still changing, still becoming more and more female, inside
and out.  But even lying here in bed, with his fiance next to him, he
knew that he missed being male less every day.

Joe looked over at Linda again.  He wondered what she really thought of
him now.  He was certain that she had enjoyed the intimacy with him
when he was a guy.  They had made love many times, and she had
obviously been satisfied.  But last night, it wasn't he who had
initiated their little romp.  Sure, he had enjoyed it.  Linda
instinctively knew how to make him feel good, but it just wasn't the
same anymore.  There was no way it could be.  When Linda touched him,
his old, as well as his many new, sensitive areas, he wasn't sure how
to react, and would just lie back and let it happen.  He enjoyed the
spectacular feel of her fingers and tongue.

But when it was his turn to reciprocate, to return the pleasure she had
given him, it was then the differences became most obvious.  As Linda
began to move around to his now more knowledgeable touch, Joe found
himself still wanting to satisfy her in the old familiar way, as he had
so many times before.  Though he no longer actually had his penis, he
found he that he still longed to get between her soft legs to enter
her, and he could sense that she wanted that too.  But of course that
was not possible now.  No matter what they did, no matter what he might
try, he could no longer function as a man.  Sure, they could still give
each other pleasure, no doubt about that, but there was something
missing.  Joe could feel it, and he suspected Linda did too.  He wished
he could just close his eyes, and once more just be a guy again when he
opened them, even if it was only for a few hours.  Perhaps, especially
if only for a few hours.

Joe moved his touch lower, to the soft hair on his now quite prominent
pubic mound.  With the palm of his hand, which had also become
noticeably smaller since the change, he cupped his entire crotch, what
the drawings at the clinic called his "vulva." Although usually it felt
little different from before the change, whenever he touched this now
very different part of himself, the new sleekness in the area where his
male parts should be still felt very strange.

His fingertips went between his legs, all the way to the crease of his
buttocks.  The feeling was still foreign to him.  There was now nothing
to get in the way, as if his penis had somehow been retracted; sort of
pulled up inside him.  He could still feel his scrotum, all the nerves
were the same, but it was now split down the middle to within an inch
of his anus.  His testicles were apparently gone.  They had
metamorphosed into ovaries and were relocated much farther up, deeper
inside his body.  He couldn't see or feel them at all.

As he felt the softness between his legs, Joe wondered if his legs were
now farther apart than before.  It sure seemed like it.  Perhaps it was
just that his hand was smaller now, or the new shape of his crotch that
made it seem that way.  He thought back to that first morning, his
first steps with his body changed.  Then, it had seemed quite
different.  He could kind of feel his hips moving when he walked.  But
he didn't really notice it anymore.  Maybe his butt was a little
rounder and softer now, but he was sure his hips were not really any
wider.  He thought about when he had attempted to wear some of his old
pants, they were actually baggy on him, and he knew his waist was much
smaller.  Maybe, along with the other noticeable changes to his pelvis,
his hip joints could be a little further apart.  He had recently read
that was to allow room for the birth canal.  He felt a flush come to
his cheeks as he considered that possibility, and worked to get those
thoughts out of his mind.  He didn't want to consider that aspect of
being female right now.

Joe tightened the muscles of his crotch.  Whenever he did that, he
could tell that there was now something very different down there.  The
muscles which had become his vaginal sphincter were probably located a
bit differently from when they had to support his penis, and they
certainly felt different when he flexed them, but even that change felt
exotically pleasant.

He slowly ran a finger along the moist tissues of his new sex, feeling
the touch with nerves that were strangely familiar.  The anatomy he
touched to cause these feelings was still new, and as always, he
explored his changed genitalia with as much caution as curiosity.
Gentle probing quickly caused his labia to swell and part slightly, and
he carefully used two fingers to spread the sensitive opening even
more.  He placed the tip of his finger into the rapidly moistening
orifice and slowly drew it along the entire length.  As he reached the
top his finger brushed against his clitoris.  He pinched it gently with
his finger tips, still in awe at how this tiny nub of tissue could feel
so much like his penis.  To his touch it was smaller than a pea, but it
seemed as big as his penis when there was nothing touching it.  Oh, if
only it really was, he would love to bury it between Linda's thighs,
maybe just once more.  But it appeared that was not to be.  The only
vaginal lips his little penis could get between now would have to be
his own.  Joe fell asleep enjoying his own gentle touch...  dreaming
unusual dreams...  dreams that included Linda, and...  Jay.


                        *************************

The radio blasted away in song, and Joe reached over and turned it off
quickly.  The night had passed too quickly, it seemed, and he just
wanted to sleep, maybe till noon.

Linda had heard the radio too, and she quickly stirred, rolled over and
opened her eyes.  When she saw Joe, who had tried to pull the sheet
over his head, she smiled and reached under the sheet and started to
tickle him.  Although his body was now very sensitive to such things,
Joe tried his best to ignore her.  Finally she moved her hand up and
pinched his breast.  That jolted Joe alert, and he grabbed Linda,
taking both her breasts in his hands, but then just fondled them
lovingly.  Linda smiled, and planted a kiss lightly on his forehead as
she sat up in bed.  She pulled the sheet off and got out of bed,
quietly going directly to her own room.

Joe lay there a bit longer, trying to get awake.  Then he slowly got
out of bed, and went into the bathroom.  While he sat there relieving
himself, he habitually rubbed his face, feeling for stubble.  The
smooth softness of his skin reminded him that his beard was no longer a
concern, so he felt his underarms instead.  Since he had shaved his
underarms and legs last night, he found smooth skin there too.

Joe brushed his teeth and examined his face.  He had washed it in the
shower and his skin was completely free of makeup.  He carefully felt
the softness of his complexion.  He still found it fascinating to see
himself in the mirror, and as usual, he found it difficult to avoid
staring at his new appearance.  He examined the much softer facial
skin, looking for signs of wrinkles, he was thirty years old, remember,
but found none.  Joe knew that before the change his male features were
already beginning to develop creases around the corners of his eyes,
those distinguished "crows' feet" lines that he figured were caused by
squinting into the sun.  He looked at his face now.  The new softness
of his skin, the new suppleness, had caused all evidence of wrinkles to
vanish.  He thought he looked much younger than his thirty years, even
for a woman.  He wondered why it was, and decided that maybe it was
because his feminine characteristics were still developing.  He looked
lower, at his now slightly smaller, softer, and completely hairless
body.

Looking at his breasts...  his chest, he decided his boobs really
weren't all that large but they were well formed, and more like that of
a reasonably developed girl of sixteen or eighteen, and not a thirty
year old woman.  He examined his pink nipples.  Could it be that maybe
they were a tiny bit bigger and fuller this morning?  Was he still
changing?  He shook his breasts and watched as they bobbed back and
forth like a young girl's.  His nipples responded to the stimulation by
stiffening to little points.  He felt quite pleased.  Maybe he couldn't
be the man he was anymore, but it was obvious, even to him, that he
could be a quite attractive woman.  Maybe it wasn't so bad.  Of course,
this new femininity of his was only about a week old.  Time and gravity
had not yet had time to act on those new curves.

Without the wig, Joe carefully washed his face again, and then applied
some makeup, being careful to put very little on.  Today, he would be
going back to work, to be seen by people who only knew him as a man.
If they had to see him this way, he wanted their first impression of
him as he was now to be a good one.  His shaking hands gave away the
nervousness he was feeling as he thought about going to work.

Joe went back into the bedroom and saw the pile of underwear on the
dresser.  He realized he still had some time, so he took it into the
bathroom sink and, using the soap Linda had given him for the purpose,
he carefully washed out the dainty things by hand.  When he finished
washing, and gently wrung them out, he carefully hung them on the glass
doors of the shower.  He stepped back, eyeing the colorful assortment
of panties and bras.  Would he ever get used to the fact that this
stuff was his...  the kind of clothes he would now be wearing every
day, maybe for the rest of his life?

Again going back to the bedroom, he opened his underwear drawer.  He
selected some light blue nylon briefs, and a white, seamless cup
underwire.  He quickly slipped his underwear on, enjoying the satiny
feel, and then went to the walk-in closet and examined his selection of
clothes, trying to decide what to wear for his first day back, his
first as a woman.  He held up each one of the small assortment of
blouses and skirts, dissatisfied with all of them.  He was eyeing the
light gray suit again, he liked the way he looked in that, when Linda
came up behind him.  She was wearing a satin robe, and she put her arms
around Joe's waist, hugging him gently.

"What are you going to wear today?"

"I don't know," Joe said.  "I just can't decide."

"Let's see..." Linda said, quickly taking charge.

Linda selected a light cotton blouse and a blue A-line skirt.  She held
them together, looking at the match, and at Joe's reaction.  "What do
you think about this?  It's simple and conservative, just what you
like, and I think you'd look good wearing it."

Joe wasn't sure.  The light cotton blouse was so sheer and feminine, he
was concerned at how he would look in it.  But then, he had decided
that he would be accepting his new femininity.  Maybe he should wear
it.  He took the hangers from Linda, and went back to the bedroom.
Linda went to his drawer, and selected the slip they had purchased a
few days ago.  Joe was already starting to put on the blouse, he would
not have thought about a slip.

"Put this on first," Linda said.  "It'll help cover the sheerness of
the blouse."

Joe pulled his arm out of the blouse and pulled the slip over his head.
He then put the blouse back on and buttoned it, smoothing it over his
curves.  Then he removed the skirt from the hanger and started to step
into it.

"Aren't you going to wear hose?" Linda asked with a slight grin.  It
was quite apparent that Joe was nervous, and was forgetting the basics
of dressing as a woman.

"Oh, yeah." Joe lay the skirt on the bed, and took the pantyhose that
Linda had selected and held out for him.  He sat on the edge of the
bed, and struggled into them.

"Most of this isn't too bad, I guess, but I don't know who thought
these things up," Joe said.  "I didn't like them before, and I hate
them now that I've worn them."

"Probably invented by a man," Linda said matter-of-factly.

"I don't think so." Joe said.  "I don't think guys like them as much as
women do.  At least I don't....  didn't."

Joe finally got the pantyhose on and adjusted to be as comfortable as
he could get them.  He pulled the skirt over his hips, and Linda helped
zip and button the closure located at his back.  Joe wondered why
women's clothes always seemed to have the closure in the back, where it
could hardly be reached.  Linda showed him a little trick to help him
get the zipper closed by himself.

"Draw in your tummy a little," she said.

When he complied, Linda tugged the waistband of the skirt, causing it
to spin around to the side.  From there, the zipper and button could
easily be seen and worked with.  When Joe saw it, she spun the skirt
back, careful to get it centered on Joe's backbone.  Joe then reached
down for the mid-heeled pumps, and again sat on the bed as he slipped
into them.  He stood, and walked over to the mirror.  He smiled when he
saw what he looked like.  Linda had selected well, and the person he
saw staring back was a sophisticated, professional woman...  one with
very short hair.  He reached over to the table, grabbed the wig, and
put it on.  He adjusted it on his head, and started to brush it into
position.  He would be glad when his own hair would grow long enough
that he could dispense with the sweaty hairpiece.  But for now, he knew
he looked much better with it on.  Looking in the mirror, he was
pleased with his appearance.  The skirt and blouse fit well, and
together they accented his figure exactly as he liked.  He cupped his
breasts in his hands and squeezed them, as if he still didn't believe
they were really a part of him.

Linda watched what he was doing with interest.  "Still kind of
different, huh?" she asked, a big grin on her face.

"Can you believe that I really look like this?"

"I think you are quite attractive," Linda said simply.

"Yeah...for a girl, maybe I am, but it's a little hard when you've been
a guy all your life...  to suddenly be going around looking like this."

"Well, I think you're doing great."

"But...  do you really like me this way?  I think you need a man...
not a girl friend."

"Don't you worry about me," Linda said.  "I'll be ok no matter what you
look like."

"But how...  don't you miss it the old way...  I mean...  wouldn't it
be better for you if I looked like a guy?"

"Yeah, of course I do...  so go ahead, then...  be a guy...  just for
me." Linda seemed to be irritated by what Joe was saying.

"Sorry." Joe said.  "I don't mean to feel sorry for myself.  There are
just so many things.  I can't figure out what I want.  I don't just
know what to do." He stuttered.

"Don't worry about it," Linda said calmly.  "I'll help you.  If we find
we can't make it together, let's worry about that if it becomes a
problem.  I don't have any problems now, do you?"

"No.  No, of course not." Joe said.

"Ok, then." Linda said finally.  "Now, brush that hair again.  You'll
want to look your best today."

As he made the final checks to his appearance, and adjusted his
pantyhose for the third time, Joe realized it was time to get to work.
He found his little handbag, and checked that it contained his wallet,
and the few cosmetics that he might need.  He added a few sheets of
Kleenex.  Linda made him apply a little dab of perfume.  At first he
objected, but then decided that she knew best...  that there was no
reason not to make the best impression he could.

Joe went into the kitchen and fixed some breakfast cereal.  He wasn't
in a hurry to get to work this morning.  As he slowly ate, and sipped
some orange juice, he thumbed through the magazines which had arrived
over the last few days.  All were Linda's...  his mail was still going
to his apartment.  He hoped he could remember to stop there after work
to check his mail, since he hadn't been there in a few days.

He finished breakfast, and put the bowl and glass into the dishwasher.
Joe gathered up his things, and went outside.  As he walked across the
drive to his car, he noticed all the dust on it.  He would need to wash
it soon.  He liked a clean car.

Getting in the car, Joe quickly noticed the restricted movement that
the somewhat tight knee-length skirt imposed.  He hiked the skirt up
above his knees, and when he saw his exposed, nylon covered upper legs,
he smiled as he thought of his first ride with Karen...  and how she
had done the same thing.  Maybe it wasn't very ladylike, but the
freedom of movement and the wonderful coolness caused him to keep it
that way.

Joe slowly drove to work, his heart pounding harder the closer he got
to the place where he was sure Dave and he would be the main topic of
conversation.

He pulled into the parking lot, pulling his skirt to a more modest
position before he drove past the guard shack.  Parking the car, he
screwed up his courage, and, not without some difficulty, got out.  It
had almost been a week since he had waked to find himself like this,
but he had never been more nervous or self conscious about his changed
appearance than right now.  He awkwardly retrieved his badge from his
bag, and clipped it to his blouse.  When he did that, he saw his male
picture staring back at him from the white badge.  He wondered if the
guard would notice.  Of course, the guard would know about him, he
decided.  Everybody would know about him.

He walked up to the gate guard, and started to walk past as usual.  The
guard, not recognizing him, looked carefully at his name tag.

"Good morning...  Joe?  Joe Bates?  Er...  Mr.  Ms.  Bates...er yeah
sure...please go ahead." The guard stuttered awkwardly.  He obviously
had heard about what had happened, but didn't recognize Joe until he
saw his badge.  Joe smiled pleasantly at the guard, and walked past.
He was just as nervous and embarrassed as the guard.

The Honeybone facility was large enough that a stranger could walk down
most of the corridors without anyone taking notice.  Joe even passed
people he knew on a first name basis and they didn't give him a glance.
Of course, many of the men he passed would turn around and check him
out, not because they recognized who he was, but because they did that
to any attractive woman they passed.  But Joe never noticed that.  He
was not yet used to being considered a sex object by his former peers.

He finally arrived at the Certification Section offices.  Even the
short walk was causing his feet to ache.  By now he could walk quite
well in the two inch heels, but his feet were not used to walking for
any distance in such uncomfortable shoes.  He passed Jim Matheney's
office and went directly to his own desk.  It was still early, and no
one else was in the other offices yet.  Jim was probably around
somewhere.  He usually seemed to get to work as early as six a.m.

Joe sat and thumbed through the pile of mail on his desk.  It had been
a week since he had been there, and he always received a number of
trade magazines and sales brochures every day.  Nothing in the pile was
very interesting.  It would have been difficult to concentrate anyway,
with his heart pounding like a jackhammer.  He just sat there waiting
nervously; wondering who would be the first to arrive, the first to see
him as he was now.

Then he began to experience another familiar sensation, he had to pee.
Oh God.  Now what?  Should he use the ladies' restroom?  He certainly
couldn't use the more familiar men's room anymore.  But the ladies
room?  What if somebody he knew was in there?  What if they recognized
him?  His heart pounded harder as he considered the possibilities.
Then again, he decided, he couldn't avoid such things forever.  For
now, it seemed he needed to go every couple of hours at least.
Besides, he was dressed like a woman.  Hell, he was better looking than
almost all the secretaries at Honeybone.  He picked up his handbag from
the desk top.  If they doubted him, he could always show them his
drivers license, or maybe the letter from Dr.  Krell.  He grinned.
What is there to be afraid of, a bunch of women?  Yeah, he was, but
then he really did have to pee.

He slowly got up and walked out and down the hall to the ladies room.
When he got to the door, he took a deep breath, and walked in.  Of
course, he had never been inside the ladies' room at work before, and
his first instinct was to check if anyone else was in there with him.
No feet were visible under the stall doors, the coast was clear.  He
looked around the attractive room.  He found that, as usual, the
ladies' room was much better appointed than the austere men's room on
the other side of the wall.  Nothing over there like this.  There were
flowers, attractive wall coverings, and a very comfortable looking
couch.  He wondered who would want to sit in the ladies room.  Was it
for when it was crowded, and you had to wait for a stall?  It was so
different from the men's room, which was made so functional by the
usual row of urinals along the wall.  None of those here, even if he
had been able to use one.

Joe picked a stall and went inside, feeling a slight relief as he
closed the door and latched it.  He then went through the still awkward
(for him) ritual of unzipping the tight skirt so he could get his
pantyhose down.  Oh, if he only had a fly, not to mention a cock, right
now.  With the skirt, pantyhose, and panties around his knees, he sat
and found the relief he needed.  Just as he pulled some tissue from the
roll, he heard someone enter, and that made a lump form in his throat.
Remaining absolutely still, he waited until the invader entered a stall
before he made a sound.  He finished up, dressed, and quickly left the
stall, pausing only a moment to quickly rinse his hands and wipe them
on the hand towel.  Then he left the restroom.

Back out in the hallway, Joe was glad to find no one else around, and
quickly walked back to Certification, heels clicking on the polished
tile as he walked.  When he went in, Jim was now in his office, sitting
at his desk.  Jim looked up, and couldn't hide his obvious surprise
when he saw Joe.

"Hi, Joe.  Welcome back." Jim said.  "My, you're looking pretty good."
He said the last as if he wasn't really sure he should, but trying to
hide his nervousness.

"Good morning, Jim.  And thanks for the compliment.  Linda picked this
stuff out for me.  I'm still having a little trouble getting used to
this," Joe said honestly.

"You're doing great, if you ask me.  I know I'd have a lot more
trouble," Jim said, smiling, still trying to make small talk to break
the tension they both felt.

"It's a little difficult, but it does seem to be getting easier as time
goes by."

"Sit down, let's talk about what we plan to do," Jim said, pointing to
one of the two chairs in front of his desk.

Joe sat, and was quickly aware that his skirt went above his knees as
he did so, and that if he happened to part his legs even slightly, Jim
would have a direct view up his short skirt.  He tried to keep his
knees together, but to remember doing that was still foreign to him and
he often forgot, only to be reminded of his oversight when he noticed
Jim trying not to look and finding it impossible.  He smiled a knowing
smile at his boss, and tried to demurely fold his legs over to one
side.

"I don't know about this damn skirt," Joe said with embarrassment.
"Sometimes it's really a pain wearing stuff like this."

"I must say, you do look rather good in it.  Sorry if I'm staring, but
you know how it is."

"Don't worry about it.  I understand." Joe knew he would have done the
same thing.

"Well, anyway, let's see..." Jim said, trying to get back to the
subject at hand.  "Dr.  Krell should be here within an hour or two, and
I think he will want to see the `cage.'  I believe he's getting some
animals, some monkeys or cats or dogs or something, and wants to try
them in there.  We've got the transmitters set up, and there are three
spectrum analyzer probes in there too.  If we can make it happen again,
we'll at least know what it took to cause it."

"Yeah.  Dr.  Krell said he had no idea what it would take to cause cell
reversion like this, much less reverse the effect.  If you ask me, it
looks like we're stuck like this," Joe said, looking directly at Jim as
he spoke.

"What do you plan to do then?"

"What can I do?" Joe grinned somewhat sarcastically.  "I've got a big
expense report for these new clothes partially filled out.  You should
see some of the stuff I bought." His grin changed to sexy.  He realized
that he was having to fight a tendency to flirt with his friendly boss,
and was embarrassed by the thought.

"No problem...  anything you need...  anything you want...  I've been
told to do whatever's necessary," Jim said, almost apologetically.

"I'll tell you what..." Joe considered what he was asking.  "How about
getting that line boy, Tim, on the payroll.  He's a student, and he's
sure going to need the money.  I think he's taking aeronautical
engineering.  How about an engineering intern position, or something
like that?"

Jim rubbed his chin with his hand as he considered it.  "Yeah, I think
I could get that approved.  Does Tim really want a job here?"

"I think he was hoping to get on here after graduation.  He's very
sharp, and he was absolutely nuts about aviation.  He still is." Joe
wanted to make sure that Jim and everybody else realized that even
though they had changed a lot, they were still as capable of doing
their jobs as always.

Just then Dave came to the doorway to Jim's office.  The somewhat plump
guy had, as usual, hidden his new curves under a loose fitting
jumpsuit.  Joe wondered how many of them Dave had bought.  Besides the
light gray one he wore today, he had seen Dave in a yellow, light blue,
dark blue, and a green one.  The shoes Dave wore, while surely women's,
were probably the most androgynous he could find.  It seemed that Dave
refused to enjoy any of the more interesting aspects of his new
femininity the way the others had.  I wonder how things are going
around Dave's house these days, Joe thought.  Of the four of them, only
Dave was married, and his wife Cindy had been very dependent on her
husband.  That, and their young kids, were obviously making this all
very difficult for Dave.

"Morning Dave." Jim said.  "How's it going?"

"Hi, Dave.  Have a seat," Joe said, pointing to the chair next to him.

"Good morning," Dave said.  "What have you got going for today?"

"As I was just telling Joe, we have the transmitters set up in an RF
cage, and we have some probes in there to record what we do, just in
case we can duplicate what happened the other day," Jim repeated.

"Who's going to volunteer to be in the cage?" Dave asked.

"Good question," Jim said, smiling, "but, at least at first, Dr.  Krell
says he has some animal specimens to try.  I don't know if he has any
human volunteers for later."

"If we can get it to work in reverse, I want to be the first to try
it," Dave insisted.

"Don't worry, when that happens, you'll probably be the first to know,"
Jim answered.  "Are you having any problems?"

Dave looked at Jim.  "Well, my family life is in the dumper, and my sex
life...  Damn it, I'm not a lesbian, and Cindy isn't one either.
Problems?  What do you think?" The irritation showed through as Dave
spoke the words.

"If it's physically possible to change you back, we'll do it.  Don't
worry," Jim assured him.

"Damn right you will," Dave said, trying to make his feminine voice
sound as menacing as he could.

Suddenly the doorway to the small office filled with the still large
figure of Mike.  Mike, who now preferred to be called Michelle, had
obviously been on another shopping spree last night.  Michelle, whose
body had become hardly noticeably smaller when it feminized, was now
wearing a form fitting pants suit that emphasized her developing
figure.  As Joe looked at Michelle, he decided that indeed, as she had
mentioned, her body probably was still changing, and her bustline was
surely more developed than even the day before.  When Joe first saw
Mike right after the change, he had hardly any breast development.  But
now, he was almost as well endowed as Joe.  Mike/Michelle was a large
woman, but was now becoming quite attractive.  The muscle building
steroids he had been taking at the time of the change appeared to have
slowed Mike's transition to femininity, but they sure didn't stop it.

"Hi, Mike," Jim said.  "Come on in."

Mike greeted them and entered the room and leaned against the wall.

There were only two seats besides the one behind the desk.

"Looks like you're getting accustomed," Jim said, looking at
Mike/Michelle.

"Yeah," Michelle said.  "If this is the way it's going to be, I guess I
better try to adapt."

Mike must be going through the same feelings as I am, Joe thought.

"Don't give up yet," Jim said.  "We've only begun to try to get you
guys changed back."

But if it doesn't happen soon, you may find that nobody will want to go
back.  Joe thought to himself.

"I was just telling Joe about the setup we have in the RF cage," Jim
went on.  "We have both transmitters set up, and we have recorders and
signal analyzers.  Whatever we try, if something works, we'll know what
kind of signal caused it."

"Who is going to try it first?" Mike/Michelle asked.

"No humans, I think.  Dr.  Krell is arranging for some lab animals to
use," Jim said.  "If he can get results that way, then he'll try it
with people."

"Will it work on animals just like people?" Mike/Michelle wondered
aloud.

"I don't know," Jim answered.  "We'll have to leave that up to them to
find out.  We can only supply the hardware and data acquisition
expertise."

"Even if this thing can't be made to change us back, I think Honeybone
might find that there could be a demand for what it can do," Joe said.

"What do you mean?" Jim asked.

"Damn it Jim, look at us.  Look at Mike there, his genetic makeup has
been altered, maybe permanently, and look at the results.  I doubt if
you could tell him, or me for that matter, from someone who was born
female.  It's that complete.  And it's not only that.  I certainly had
no desire to have my gender changed.  I liked being a guy just fine.
But now that I'm like this, as time goes on, and I get used to the
idea, it doesn't seem so bad at all.  I don't know if I feel like that
because of something that has happened to my brain, or what, but that's
the way it is," Joe said.

"What are you getting at?" Jim questioned.

"While we were at the clinic in San Diego, I met a few of the people
who go there for treatment, gender related problems mostly, I'd guess.
I think they all want to be the opposite sex, even if it means painful
surgery.  And they even know going in that the results are only so-so,
nothing like what happened to us.  If there was a machine, a booth or
something to go into, have your chromosomes modified, and then just
wake up in the morning, I think you could name your price.  I tell you,
if this thing does turn out to be 'reversible' it will absolutely
revolutionize the way we think about sex."

"You really think so?" Jim asked.  "I wouldn't think anybody would want
to mess with their genes like that."

"I don't know, but I bet if you tried this side of the fence for a
while, you'd change some of your feelings about women.  That I'd be
willing to bet," Joe said confidently.  "I know it's certainly had a
big effect on my point of view." He grinned as he said the last.

"Hey, I like women, and I think I treat them fairly, too," Jim
objected.

"Yeah, but you don't really know what it's like to BE one," Joe
retorted.

"Well, maybe not," Jim replied, "but I don't really have any desire to
find out either."

Just then the phone rang.  Jim picked it up.  "Certification.  Jim
Matheney.  Yea.  Please send hi...er, her here, 428.  Ok.  I'll send
somebody out to escort her." He hung up.

"Your friend Tim Werner is at the gate," Jim said.  "Would one of you
go out and sign him in?"

"I'll get him," Dave said, getting up and walking out.

In a moment, Jim spoke.  "Dave seems kind of depressed, doesn't he?"

"Yeah," Joe answered.  "I think having a family is a real problem when
something like this happens.  It's tough enough when you don't."

"I sure hope we can get you guys changed back," Jim said.  "I don't
care if this thing is commercially useful.  It's supposed to be a
navigation system, for heaven's sake."

"But if it can do what it appears it can do, that will be
insignificant," Joe said.  "I really think you might have a very useful
medical tool here."

"We'll see," Jim said.  "As soon as Dave gets back, I want to take you
all down to the lab.  I don't expect Dr.  Krell for another hour.  He's
flying in this morning."

Soon, Dave walked back into the office followed by an attractive young
woman whom Joe recognized as the line boy Tim Werner.

"Hi, Tim," Joe said.  "You know Jim here, and Mike, I believe."

"Hi," Tim said shyly.

Tim was wearing one of the t-shirts and a pair of jeans he bought
yesterday.  The clothes were much more casual than what the others were
wearing, but they looked good on Tim's attractive form.

"Would you...  er, folks want to go over to the lab, and see the RF
cage?" Jim asked.

"Sure.  Let's go," Dave said quickly.

They all followed Jim down one hall, and then another, until they came
to some double doors.  Jim opened them and they all went inside.
There, they found a large room filled with benches loaded with power
supplies and test equipment.  On one end of the room was a large
cage-like room made of a tight mesh screen.  It was not all screen,
some areas were aluminum sheets where connectors were mounted so that
cables could pass through the screen.  There was a wide door so that
hardware could be brought into the cage.  Through the screen could be
seen the bright yellow cases which held the transmitters.  There were a
couple of stools and a work bench in there, too.  Otherwise, the room
was empty.  Outside, at another workbench, were located three closed
circuit TV monitors, two spectrum analyzers, and a large strip chart
recorder.

"Well, whatever we do in there, we should have a record of it," Joe
said.

"That's the idea," Jim said.  "If we can cause something to happen, we
will want to know exactly what it took to do it.  This should let us
know.  And it should be safe enough, at least on this side of the
cage."

"As soon as it's ready to try, I volunteer to be the first to try it,"
Dave said loudly.  "As I see it, I've got nothing to lose."

"If this thing can cause the type of chromosome change which it has
apparently already done, then who knows what else it can do.  It could
easily cause really strange, even fatal, defects," Jim said.  "We'll
have to take it slow.  I don't want to belittle what has happened to
any of you, but at least you are all alive, and as far as we can tell,
completely healthy.  We want to keep it that way."

"I'd rather try anything than have to live like this," Dave said
obstinately.

"If we can prove that it won't cause more harm than good, you'll get
your chance to try it.  You have my word," Jim said.

"What will we try first?" Joe asked.  "To repeat what happened to us,
or something else?"

"Well, I'm leaving it up to Dr.  Krell's people, but I would like to
verify that it absolutely was this hardware which caused the problem,
and not something else, God knows what," Jim answered.

"Try it with a human?  You want to make another guy look like a
female?" Tim asked.

"I don't know." Jim answered.  "I'd hope something can be done with
animals, monkeys or something like that.  I don't know, though.  That's
up to the medics."

"I'll bet he could get all the volunteers he wants," Joe said.  He
thought about some of the patients he met at the clinic, and how they
reacted when they found out what had happened to him and the others.

"We'll find out what he wants to do real soon." Jim replied.  "Let's go
back to the desk and wait for Dr.  Krell's people.  I have some
paperwork for you folks, too."

They obediently followed Jim back up the hallway, anxious to find out
what Dr.  Krell was planning to do.