Worse than Being Fired

Todd was nervous about being called into his boss’s office. At worst, he thought he may be fired, but this was way worse than being fired! His boss had demanded Todd volunteer to test a new prototype, a weird body swapper that the R&D department had developed. It wouldn’t have been so bad except for the fact that the other volunteer was Sue from marketing. Sue was annoying, so demanding and kind of obnoxious. Now he was her for the next week, and she was him. He could keep a low profile, but she would probably still be making all sorts of demands while she was him. By the time he was back in his own body, he was sure all his co-workers would hate him. He wished he could just spill the truth to all of them, but the prototype was still in the top secret phase. It was going to be an awkward week.

Sub-Basement

Lauren had considered the purchase of the building downtown to be one of her best investments. She had rented out all the upper floors to various businesses, but she still needed to rent out the main floor to a retail tenant. In an effort to add to the building’s appeal, she had plans to renovate the basement. Things had been going fairly well, and it seemed like the workers may have helped add to the value when they found an entrance to a sub-basement. Not one of the workers wanted to go down, claiming another level wasn’t covered by their insurance. Lauren groaned, grabbed a flashlight and went down herself. The first thing that struck her was how cold it was down there! There also seemed to be all sorts of electronics everywhere. It all seemed so modern; she wondered if someone had been squatting. She just shrugged. She’d sell all this stuff and turn a profit; there was no way a squatter could get in during construction. She was curious just how much stuff was down here. She may not have been a construction expert, but she knew how to turn a power breaker on. The lights burst on, nearly blinding Lauren in a sea of white. Then she heard a voice and froze. It wasn’t that she was afraid, it was that she literally could no longer control her own movements. “Uploading...” The voice said. Lauren felt odd. Her senses seemed limited. No smell. No touch. No taste. Her hearing seemed like it was being filtered through a low quality microphone. Her vision was limited to a fixed position, only able to move back and forth, up and down, like a security camera. She heard the voice again, “Downloading...” Then she saw something move. She tried to focus and couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She tried to blink, but blinking seemed impossible. She could see her own body...and it was moving! It lifted a hand with curiosity. “I never expected a woman to come down here,” She heard her own voice say. Then her own body walked over. “My name is Doctor Henry Brown. I uploaded myself into this computer on my death bed. An alarm was set to download myself into the first human that walked into my lab, which I guess was you, Miss. I am so grateful to be human again, but you have been uploaded into my machine. A simple security camera has been set up to give you sight and hearing. I will be recording all of your thoughts on a hard drive. If you behave, I might find a body for you to download into yourself, but keep in mind that your body is mine now. I was stuck in that computer for years, and I have no intention of ever giving up this humanity that I craved for so long...even if I am a female now.”

...Yet

When the Medallion of Zulu came into the collection of the local museum, most of the staff dismissed it as a piece of junk. Brian, however, had heard about the legends. He asked to take him home for further study. It was rare to allow a piece outside, but no one thought the medallion was of any value. Brian knew he just needed to test it with someone. He asked his girlfriend, Maxine, if she’d like to switch bodies. She thought he was crazy. He told her he didn’t expect to work, but if it did, it would be the discovery of a lifetime. They touched it at the same time, and at first nothing seemed to happen. She rolled his eyes at him, but a few minutes later, they realized they’d have to exchange clothing. Sure enough, thirty minutes later, and Brian now had Maxine’s body and Maxine had Brian’s. They decided to go for a walk. Brian kept complaining about the heels and tight pants he now wore. Maxine just laughed at him until they reached the river. She said she was done making fun of him and asked to switch back. Brain started to say that they couldn’t. Maxine was immediately enraged, storming off but not before throwing the medallion in the river. Brian had wished she had let him finish before she did that. He was going to say that they couldn’t...yet; that they would have to wait twelve hours. Of course with the medallion now at the bottom of the river, they couldn’t ever. He looked down at the river, then at himself. He was going to have to get used to this view. It would be what he saw every time he looked down from now on...

Elevator

Alex arrived just a little late for work and pressed the elevator button harshly. The door opened but the woman inside didn’t get off. She stayed inside without pressing a button as he took it to his office on the top floor. She was still in there when he went on his morning coffee break both leaving and coming back, and she was still not leaving nor pressing any buttons. When Alex went to lunch, he finally decided to speak up. He pressed the elevator stop button and asked, “Okay, what’s your deal?” The woman smiled nervously and looked around, “I know it’s going to sound strange, but I am not this woman. I am not a woman at all. At least I wasn’t until this morning. I was a guy. I got into the elevator with her, and something happened...we switched bodies. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true! She darted out on the second floor, but I’m guessing whatever swapped us must be in this elevator...or triggered by it. If I just wait long enough, maybe she’ll come back and then we’ll swap back.” Alex just looked at her, thinking she must have been crazy. But something about her delivery felt honest. She couldn’t possibly be telling the truth, could she?

Jogger (Part 4)

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Click here for Part 2.
Click here for Part 3.

As Walter entered this new house, he realized he was also starting a new life. His old body was gone, he’d only see his wife in passing in the neighborhood, never getting the chance to ask if she even noticed something had been amiss. He dug through his wardrobe and pulled out a sensible black dress. His job still seemed to be the same, though he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d be able to command the same amount of respect as a woman as he once did as a man. Judging from the house, at least he appeared to be single, which was a small relief for him. After his experience jogging earlier, he decided he’d rather focus on his career instead of dating. And once his got to the office, things seemed almost normal, almost like nothing had changed. Except, of course, he knew that wasn’t the case. With his new body, nothing would ever really be the same.

Jogger (Part 3)

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It was a bit of a relief that no one in the office seemed to think anything was strange about Walter being a woman. He ended up putting in a long day on the job and stayed late. By the time he got home, his wife was asleep. If anyone would’ve noticed something was wrong, surely it would be her, right? He thought about waking her but decided it could wait until the next morning.

He didn’t sleep much. It wasn’t that he had trouble or that he was tossing and turning. He just felt like he had to get up early, at around 4:30AM. He showered and got ready. As he looked in his closet, he felt slightly better when he saw his own suits and pants, but he couldn’t help himself reaching past them to put on his wife’s workout clothes -- a pink top and spandex workout pants. By 5AM he was out the door with his wife still asleep in the bed. He ran, feeling compelled to jog. Every time he passed by a man, he could feel their eyes staring at him. It was two full hours before he was finally able to stop. He stood outside a house that he knew wasn’t his, but for some reason, it now felt like home. He grabbed a key from under the mat and entered. After all, he needed to finish getting ready for work.

Jogger (Part 2)

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Walter slipped into his office, hoping no one saw him, and closed the door. Where a spare shirt and tie once hung, there was now a light brown dress. He could only guess that this was still his office somehow adjusted for the fact that he had a different body now. He told himself that at least he wouldn’t have to worry what his co-workers would say. Deciding it was better than the jogging outfit, he changed into the dress. The hem and the neckline made him feel just a little bit exposed, but he decided it wasn’t that bad. At least he could make it through the day normally enough; he still had no idea what this meant his life at home would now be like!

Jogger

Walter always tried to carefully time when he would go outside to grab the morning paper. If he got it just right, he’d be able to check out one of his neighbors just as she jogged by. He had almost missed her today. In fact, he only caught a quick glimpse of her back side just as she turned a corner. He smiled as he went back inside to grab a quick breakfast before getting in his car and heading straight into rush hour traffic. As the morning went on, he started to feel a nagging suspicion in the back of his mind. Had he forgotten to prepare for a early meeting or presentation? He couldn’t seem to remember any. It wasn’t until he was actually at his office when he realize what was wrong. He reached down to tie his laces and was shocked to see sneakers instead of his dress shoes. Even stranger, those sneakers had pink laces. He was even more shocked by the fact that he wasn’t wearing his suit. Of course, he could recognize the clothes he wore; it was what the jogger was wearing as she rounded the corner this morning. Even more shocking was the body under those clothes. He was her! He was the jogger! He was a woman! He had no idea how he was going to explain this to his co-workers. And what about when he went home? How would he explain this to his wife?

The Only Remaining Option

It was the third time John had taken his temperature this morning. It was still normal. However, he was sure something was wrong with himself. After all, he woke up with long hair and a significant part of his body missing between his legs. He hadn’t heard about any sickness that would change a man like himself into a woman overnight, but what else could it be? He kept telling himself that there had to be a scientific reason for this...but then he paused. Maybe it wasn’t science at all. He wasn’t the type to believe in magic, but at this point, what other possible reason could there be? He had woken up as a woman with no evidence that he had ever once been a man. It didn’t make sense from a scientific standpoint. Magic might be the only remaining option.

Ever

“It doesn’t matter how much you beg me, Kimberly,” Ron told her, “There is no way I’m switching back. You tricked me into swapping bodies with you in the first place, and you left me stuck in your body for two weeks before you came crawling back. In that time, I have gotten used to being in your body; in fact, more so, I have actually come to ENJOY being you. It never appreciated who you were and you thought it would be easier to be someone else...anyone else! But being me was tough, wasn’t it? Too bad; that’s your life now. You’re stuck with it. I’m never swapping back with you...ever!”

Hungover (Part 2)

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He reached for some water next; Craig was hoping that if he could sober up, he would remember more. Of course, he was far from sober when a piercing sound rang out -- the phone. He picked it up; it was the woman’s work wondering where she was. He didn’t know much about being a scientist, but maybe there were some answers at her lab. It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was all he could think of right now.

Hungover

Craig awoke feeling horribly hungover, but he also felt strange in a way he couldn’t place. He tried to remember exactly what happened to him last night, but other than downing his first few drinks, it was all a blur. As he began to try to stand up, he got the shock of his life as he glanced down. From what he could tell, he wasn’t even a “he” any more. He now had the body of a woman. He tried to concentrate even harder on piecing together last night’s events. After those initial drinks, he met a woman...this woman. She was a scientist. He remembered arguing with her about...something. She took him back to this strange lab. He signed something...a release? A contract? He began to frantically search for that paper. He found it after a while; he had signed a contract where he had agreed to switch bodies with her? He couldn’t remember why he had done that? Why the heck would he do something like that? The contract didn’t seem to have an expiration or an out. He was stuck like this. He was stuck in this body.

Right or Wrong

“Of all the people you could’ve pissed off, why did it have to be a witch?” Jake asked his girlfriend.

“But I was in the right!” Susan retorted.

“Right or wrong, you wouldn’t apologize and she did THIS to us! I honestly never want to see you again, but right now I just look down or look in a mirror and can’t help but see most of you. As soon as we fix this, we’re breaking up.”

“Maybe we should just break up now. In fact, maybe I’ll just leave with your body and you’ll never see it again.”

“I doubt you want to be stuck like this any more than I do.”

“Do you really want to risk it? I’m ready to walk out that door....”

Undercover (Part 2)

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Tom had hoped after a week of being in the body, he’d have more progress...or any progress for that matter. He not only lacked any new evidence, but he had to spend his time pretending to be a dutiful wife to a mobster, while simultaneously pretending to be completely ignorant of his illegal activities. He actually was beginning not to mind playing the wife role. He enjoyed going to expensive restaurants, wearing fancy clothes, and even enjoying late nights with the man after dates. But why couldn’t he get hard evidence that this guy was the head of an organized crime family? He knew illegal things were going on, but maybe he actually wasn’t the head? Or maybe this guy was just as good at hiding things from his wife as he was at hiding it from the authorities. Regardless, it seemed Tom wouldn’t be returning to his own body any time soon.

Undercover

Tom had been working with the agency now for three years, essentially preparing solely for this investigation. Still, it all seemed quite unreal once the pieces started to finally come together. It all began with research into what was thought to be the biggest family in organized crime. Extensive research on the structure lead many to believe they had found the head of the family, but proof was still elusive. Still, the agency had another trick of their sleeve, and so Tom began investigating not the head of the crime family, but his wife instead. He learned every last detail about her, all to prepare for this. They waited until she was alone at home and literally kidnapped her to bring her to the agency. She yelled and demanded a lawyer, but they weren’t preparing a prosecution against her. Instead, they dragged her screaming body to a machine where Tom was already sitting. After hooking up a few wires and pulling a switch, she seemed much calmer. Of course, she was no longer the one inside her body; it was Tom. Of course, despite studying every last detail, there were things that no amount of studying could prepare him for. He had trouble walking in her high heels; he felt off balance with her heavy chest; he felt awkward in the tight clothes. He knew he’d have to adjust to these things fast. He needed to get back to her house fast in order to start gathering information. He was sure he’d be able to collect the information he needed about the crime family’s head from this very inside position. With his research, there was no way anyone would suspect he was an undercover agent. Of course, even if he made a few slip-ups, body swapping was not something the general public had any clue about, and no one would doubt what their eyes told them about who he was.

Connection (Part 3)

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Click here for Part 2.

And it wasn’t long before things went from being weird to weirder. In a synchronized dance move, each of the transformed guys whipped their head down and back up. When they did so, their outfits were suddenly transformed. No longer were they wearing causal jeans; they now had on very short and shiny dresses. Despite feeling a bit more exposure, none of them could stop dancing until finally the music stopped. Tony and all the rest were completely at a loss for words. Whoever did this could control every aspect of their bodies. Not just their physical form, but their movements, their clothes...every single thing. It was terrifying.

Connection (Part 2)

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Tony tried to assess the obvious first. Everyone in the strange room was originally a guy, though they were all now women. Specifically, they were all now Asian women wearing white tops, tight jeans, and pink heels. A bit of questioning finally revealed one connection, a woman Tony had dated a while back named Anne Kim. One guy had stood her up, another had taken her to the prom way back when they were in high school together. Of course, Tony didn’t have much time to explore this connection further, as music started blaring in the room. But that wasn’t all. Tony suddenly felt an uncontrollable urge to start dancing, as did everyone else in the room. None of them could seem to stop themselves. Tony did his best to catch glimpses of every single other person, many of whom had been awkwardly moving around in their unfamiliar bodies moment before, now had effortless, fluid movements as they danced in their new bodies.

Connection

Tony could hear a lot of commotion when he awoke. He looked around to see a bunch of women panicking while walking about a strange room he didn’t recognize. He stood up and felt his body move in an odd way; he realized that he too now had a woman’s body. He decided to get the attention of the room.

“Does anyone recognize where we are?” He asked with authority.

The room went silent.

“And this next question may be a bit more odd. Does anyone know WHO they are?”

The room stayed silent until one woman spoke up, “My name’s Bob. I know I don’t look like a Bob, but I awoke in this room in this woman’s body.” The others quickly agreed. It seemed that despite their female bodies, each one of them was actually a man...or used to be a man. They decided that they needed to find a connection.

Pool Side (Part 3)

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Charles was trying his best to run to the other side of the pool, to try to ask his own body what was up or to try and figure out why they had swapped bodies or something! He was slowed down quite severely by the heels on his feet. He thought about taking them off, but all the hooks and straps made him think that would take even longer. Besides, he began to reason to himself, they were cute and they made his legs look so good! The closer he got to his former body, the less concerned he seemed to be about the swap. In fact, before he could even get within an arm’s length, he simply stopped caring to go any further. He loved his new, hot body. Why would he even want to talk his former body; it might risk being swapped back!

Pool Side (Part 2)

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Charles reclined back down, now seemingly having a more difficult time getting comfortable. He perked up again when he saw the person getting out of the pool. The similarity was more than uncanny, and at that moment it all his him. His body felt weird, and he could suddenly tell why. He was no longer in his own body; he was in someone else’s! His mind took a little longer to wrap itself around that, but as he started to see his own body preparing to leave, he knew he had to act. He stood up, feeling awkwardly off-balance and even more awkward with the heels on the feet of this body. He tried not to let that stop him; he had to move fast!

Pool Side (Part 1)

It had been a rather uneventful vacation for Charles so far. But on the third day, when he was lounging by the pool, he saw something odd. On the other side of the pool was a man who just dove in. Charles thought the man looked remarkably similar to himself; he seemed to even be wearing the exact same type of swim trunks. Of course, what Charles had yet to notice was the fact that his own body was now quite different. In fact, he had swapped bodies with one of the other hotel guests. He was now inside the body of a woman named Tasha Li, and she was in his body.

How? Why? Who?

Up until a few hours ago, Nigel had been convinced that brain transplantation was well beyond the realm of current scientific knowledge. Of course, the evidence in front of him plainly showed that it was very possible indeed. He rattled off some immediate scientific problems. The first was the optic nerves. Of course, he still needed his glasses, so maybe they had transplanted his eyes with the rest of his brain. Then there were the countless neural connections to other parts of the body. He had no idea how that had been accomplished. There were predictions that the behavior learned in one brain wouldn’t know how to deal with the differences of a new body. While Nigel had been shocked and was even temporarily disoriented by his new female body, he adjusted fairly quickly. Of course, it was just a theory. What if the brain could adjust very quickly to the differences of a new body? What if Nigel was being used as some sort of a test to prove this? It soon shifted from a question of how to one of why...and who...

Take It Slow

Frank took a deep breath. Every since the Great Shift, he had been trying not to freak out. He could deal with the fact that the body swapping event dropped him into the body of a woman, but he was having huge issues with the fact that the body was so out of shape. As a man, he was buff. He had a sculpted chest with 6 pack abs. In this body, when he first started to even begin his regular exercise routine, he got winded immediately. He knew he’d have to rethink and scale back. He ultimately decided that he’d start with a light yoga activity. It felt like he was holding back, but he knew it was as much as this body could handle for now. What made it worse for him was that the yoga movements made him painfully aware of his new body. He kept feeling like his legs were too flabby and that his stomach was to big. All he could do was tell himself that getting back in shape would take time, and that he had to take it slow.