Chapter 5: 5. Processing

"Zezkzrczqzex"
". . . . ."

The text was white and it seemed to hang floating in the infinite darkness around me. I couldn't understand what it said, the symbols made no sense at all.

I tried looking around but there was no sense of anything. I couldn't see or feel my own body, there was no feeling of gravity but no sense of weightlessness either. It was very disconcerting.

After what may have been minutes, or might have only been seconds that text changed.

"Ehtwbgz Etgzntzx"
". . . ."

I still couldn't understand it, but the five dots became four and that was pretty clearly some kind of countdown.

After another delay, the text changed a third time and this time I could understand it.

"Neural Link Established"
". . ."

Suddenly my surroundings changed. I was standing in a plain white room. It was about three meters square, and I wasn't alone. A woman was standing opposite me, and she wore a friendly smile. She was about the same height as myself, around five-foot-eight. She was wearing dark slacks and a light-grey blouse, and had plain black shoes on her feet. Her hair was shoulder length, wavy blonde, and her eyes were blue-grey. She had a slightly tanned complexion, and she was sort of conventionally attractive but not excessively so. She looked to be in her mid thirties.

"Hello Amanda," she said, and my heart skipped a beat as my stomach went cold. That was my chosen name, but I'd never shared it with another soul. I'd never even written it down.

The woman continued, "I am the AI controlling this Re/Gen capsule. I'll be guiding you through the process, and I'm here to answer any questions you may have."

"Who are you?" I asked. "And how do you know that name?!"

Her friendly smile didn't falter as she replied calmly, "As I just said, I am the AI controlling this Re/Gen capsule. And I apologize for the intrusion but as part of the Re/Gen protocol I have established a neural link with you, and scanned your surface thoughts and most recent memories. I have also scanned your body and am aware of your current injuries."

That floating text was still there, but it was off to my left now. And rather than mentioning the neural link it had changed once again, while I was looking at this strange woman.

"Patient Briefing"
". ."

I shook my head and tried to focus on what was happening. "So none of this is real? It's a neural link, this is all an hallucination or something? You're in my head, talking to me?"

The AI hesitated, "Not the way I'd describe it, but close enough. Now I can see that Captain Piper has already given you a very brief overview of how the Re/Gen process operates, including some of my current limitations. Let me clear up the first misconception now. A Re/Gen capsule is not a 'healing pod'. While healing is certainly one of the many benefits I provide, it is not my primary purpose. The Re/Gen process is meant to refresh, rejuvenate, and regenerate a user's body, returning it to perfect specifications."

She added, "And please rest assured, that process will not begin without your express consent. And until it does begin, you may opt out at any time. Just say so, ask for the exit, and this briefing will end and the session will be aborted."

I frowned as I thought that through. "Did you go through this with Lieutenant Holloway?"

"Of course," she replied. "The lieutenant and I had a lengthy conversation, and I was granted consent before initiating the process."

I wanted to ask about that but before I could the AI added, "We should be focusing on you Amanda, rather than Lieutenant Holloway."

The whole thing felt like it should be giving me a headache, but I realized I didn't feel any pain or discomfort at all. And with that thought, I suddenly noticed that my left arm wasn't injured, it wasn't lashed to my chest anymore. Though if this was some kind of dream then it made sense.

I could also feel my excitement returning, at the thought of what this pod could do for me. After what I'd seen it do to the chief engineer, even if I had a lot of misgivings about that, I had to go ahead with this regardless.

"All right," I agreed. "Piper said you had templates? Do I get to pick something?"

The AI responded, "They're not 'templates', but yes I have several body files from which you may choose a suitable form. Or I can select something for you, based on what I've already learned about you through the neural link. I also note Captain Piper neglected to mention that there are several customization options available."

Between my excitement and anxiety and the way the AI was acting so calm and almost clinical, it actually did feel a little like a dream. It was kind of surreal. And I had no idea what she meant by customization options, but I figured I'd take it all one step at a time.

"Ok," I nodded. "Can I see what you'd pick for me? That seems like a good place to start."

"Of course," she replied. A moment later there was someone else in the room with us. She appeared standing to my right, and I found myself staring wide-eyed again as my heart skipped a beat and my stomach fluttered.

"You've got to be kidding me," I stated as I stared at the new arrival.

She stood half a foot shorter than me, her body was slim and petite. She was well developed though, with wide hips, a rounded behind, and an ample bosom. Her straight shoulder-length hair was a deep orange-red, her skin fair, and there was a scattering of freckles across her cheeks and her shoulders. She looked soft, her skin appeared flawless. And like the new Lieutenant Holloway, this girl couldn't have been more than eighteen years old.

Most remarkable of all, she had a pair of pointed fuzzy ears sticking out of the top of her head, and a long thick bushy tail growing out of the base of her spine. Her eyes were amber-coloured, the pupils were vertical slits. The ears were coated in orange-red fur with black tips, with a little floof of lighter orange on the inside. Her tail was the same orange-red as her ears and hair, but the fur there was much longer and floofier. The fur at the tip of her tail was white.

I was looking at a foxgirl.

I'd heard about this sort of thing, some of the more advanced and progressive worlds had tech to allow people to add animalistic cosmetic enhancements to their bodies. Never in my wildest dreams had I ever imagined it would be an option for me.

The AI commented, "If this isn't to your liking we can move on to another option. Forgive my sense of humour but based on your name, I thought it might be appropriate."

"My name?" I asked as I glanced at her, before staring at the foxgirl again.

"Amanda Voss?" the AI responded. "It means lovable fox. Or didn't you know that?"

I felt my cheeks colouring and I shook my head, "I had no idea. I always liked the name Amanda, I picked it for myself when I was a kid. And Voss is just my last name, I never thought about what it meant."

Without waiting for her next comment or question I pointed at the foxgirl and asked "That could be me? For real?"

"Yes Amanda," the AI replied. "If you want."

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I hesitated. The Navy would never take me back looking like that, but I couldn't care less. I was only in the service to help me get to where I could maybe transition. This would get me everything I dreamed of and so much more. On the other hand I knew there'd be more problems waiting for me afterwards. I'd essentially be a non-person, I'd have no identity, no credits, nothing at all. I was on the frontier, outside Imperium space, with only a vague understanding of the local sector and the worlds in it.

I wouldn't be alone though, Lieutenant Holloway was in the same position. And I had to assume our host would have some plan or something to help us. At least I hoped she would. I hoped she didn't save our lives only to abandon us with nothing on the next world with breathable air.

After another minute or so going back and forth on it in my head, I finally came to a conclusion. Whatever happened next, whatever the future held for me, I could either face it in the body I'd hated all my life or I could face it as someone I liked and wanted to be.

I looked at the AI and nodded, "Yes please. This is what I want."

She smiled "Very good. Amanda Voss, do you consent to the Re/Gen process?"

"Yes," I responded immediately.

That text floating to my left changed again.

"Final Preparations"
"."

"Please relax," the AI responded in a soft voice. "In a moment you'll slip into a deep sleep. I'll be here when you wake, and we can talk again."

That floating text to my left changed one last time.

"Processing"
"10:44:59"

I ignored the text and the timer, and stared again at that foxgirl. She was the last thing I saw as everything faded to black once more.

Both Piper and the AI mentioned sleep, but it didn't feel like that at all. There was no sense of falling asleep, no dreaming. Nothing but blackness, and no sense of the passage of time.

At least there was no sense of time until that floating white text appeared once more.

"Processing"
"00:02:27"

It took me a moment to register that more than ten and a half hours had just passed by. In just over two minutes I'd be done.

The blackness faded away and I found myself in that featureless white room again. The floating text was at my left like before, and the AI lady was standing in front of me. She was taller than before. A few minutes ago we stood eye to eye, now she towered about half a foot above me.

I glanced to the right, but the foxgirl was gone.

Then I looked down, and a shock of excitement went through me. The foxgirl wasn't gone, she was right here. I was completely naked, and the first thing I noticed was that ample bosom looked even better from this angle.

"Holy shit," I half-whispered. My eyes widened as my new voice registered. It was high-pitched, girly, and perfect.

I felt a strange sensation at my lower back, and twisted around enough to see my big floofy tail was wagging back and forth like an excited puppy.

I repeated myself, a little louder this time. "Holy shit!"

"Hello again Amanda," the AI said. "I'm glad you're happy. We're almost done. Do you have any questions?"

I was still staring at my tail, and I reached back and managed to catch it with my right hand. That was another wild sensation. I felt the soft floofy fur in my hand, and I felt my hand on my tail. Next I reached up and felt my long hair. Well, shoulder-length, but it was long compared to what I was used to. Then I found my ears, and I felt the soft warm fuzzy triangles under my hands. And I felt my hands on my ears, on top of my head.

"Holy shit!" I said yet again.

"Amanda?" the AI asked patiently. "Do you have any questions for me?"

I finally focused on her and realized I had about a million questions, but the timer was down to the last minute.

"Um... Why am I younger? Why did you make Lieutenant Holloway so young?"

The AI explained, "All the body files I've been loaded with are eighteen years of age."

I frowned, "If one of us gets injured and needs to use you to heal us, will our age reset to eighteen again? Is this like a fountain of youth?"

"Let us hope you do not get injured again any time soon, Amanda." she replied calmly. "But should that happen, then yes you would be returned to the exact state you are now."

Her words left me thinking of our host. Piper looked twenty, but she said she used this thing to save her life more than once. So her looking twenty probably meant the last time she was in the pod was two years ago. There was no way to know how old she really was.

To my left, the timer finally ran down to zero.

"That's all the time we have Amanda," the AI announced. "Enjoy your new body and your renewed health."

Everything went black once more, but this time the darkness was broken by a line of light on my right. That line expanded and soon revealed the small messy cargo hold of Piper's ship. I was laying on my back in the cylinder, and I could feel something new and fuzzy under my behind and between my legs. And it was starting to twitch back and forth.

Piper and Lieutenant Holloway were both standing by the cylinder waiting for me, the former was holding a pair of coveralls and shoes in her left hand.

The redhead's eyes flicked up and down over me and she raised an eyebrow, while the blonde grinned at me and said, "Holy shit."