Her voice was the best part\u2014in the new body, Lois sounded just as she did in her own head. Strange how much it mattered, but the first time she switched in, the first time she tried saying \u201cHi, my name is Lois,\u201d the sound of it moved her to tears.<\/p>\n
The rest was wonderful, too: having a shape<\/em>, having curves and softness, having hair that felt right, and actual eyes<\/em> to make contact with. She stared at herself in the mirror for a solid minute, just crying, and then she laughed out loud at herself, and then she cried again.<\/p>\n It came with a basic coverall, but she\u2019d ordered decent clothes. She stripped the coverall off as soon as she switched in, then took a shower. Feeling the warmth of the water, tasting<\/em> it, felt so good that she almost stayed home.<\/p>\n She pulled on the dress\u2014royal blue, a good match against the pale skin. My<\/em><\/strong> skin,<\/em> she thought. She brushed soft brown hair, delicately applied a bright lipstick, and put on silver stud ear- and eyebrow rings. Then she slid on sandals and went out.<\/p>\n Everyone from her building liked The Actuator. Not the best or worst club in town, but one within staggering range of the corporate dorms if you were shit-faced. She\u2019d gone once in her usual body (my work<\/strong> body, <\/em>she corrected herself) but standing there voiceless, a heavy loader in the midst of smiling, laughing people with actual mouths to talk and ears to hear, eyes instead of camera ports\u2026? In her new body, she felt her vocal cords tighten, her chest squeeze in sorrow at the memory.<\/p>\n She cried again in an alley, the kinesthetic presence of her emotions flooding her consciousness. No more steel spine, no more empty casing full of echoes, no more nerveless, distant mechanism. When she finally calmed down, she touched up her lipstick and walked as smoothly and gracefully as she could manage.<\/p>\n The thump-thump of the club resonated in her chest a hundred feet away. She tweaked her ears\u2014this body had a club mode\u2014and went inside. Maanika was by the bar, chatting with Suresh and Jake and the rest of the crew. Maanika wore a brilliant rainbow sari, the one she\u2019d been bragging about at work that morning, and her hair glowed under the club\u2019s black-lights from something she\u2019d put on it. Her hair looked like a galaxy: waves of light rode the masses of bouncing curls before fading into the rich, shiny black of its natural color.<\/p>\n Lois felt herself stop breathing. Her stomach fluttered, and her face warmed. This is what it is to feel truly real.<\/em> For the first time since childhood, to have a body that was more than an awkward vehicle for her mind, to have her feelings resound so deeply\u2026<\/p>\n A whirlwind surged inside her: tears, amazement, anger, relief. Exultation won out. She set her jaw, walked to the bar, and took a stool.<\/p>\n Heads turned: Jake and Minoru first, then Suresh and his cronies. Then Maanika. In a room full of gaudy parrots, Lois\u2019 simple blue dress shone like a sapphire. She raised her hand and gestured to the bartender. At the edge of her vision, the gang from work watched her, chattering to one another. She smiled.<\/p>\n The bartender helped her pick a sweet drink with just a little fizz that warmed her as it went down. She lost herself a little in the bloom of sensation as the liquor spread into her belly. Then Suresh was at her elbow.<\/p>\n \u201cWelcome, new face,\u201d he called over the noise of the bar. \u201cWhere\u2019ve you been hiding?\u201d<\/p>\n She glanced at him, but said nothing and turned back to her drink. Silence came easy after years as a heavy loader. And she knew Suresh.<\/p>\n \u201cI can show you this club, yeah? Introduce you to the best people here!\u201d<\/p>\n Lois laughed. It came out naturally, easily, like a flood of water.<\/p>\n \u201cShe has you dialed<\/em>, dude,\u201d Jake called.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, come sit over here,\u201d Maanika said. \u201cWe\u2019ll protect you from that asshole!\u201d<\/p>\n Lois smiled, but didn\u2019t get up from her stool.<\/p>\n Over the next ten minutes, her co-workers moved from their circle of seats to her end of the bar. Suresh sulked, and then he wandered off to chat with his club friends.<\/p>\n Jake joked. Minoru told stories. And Maanika asked questions. They all did.<\/p>\n \u201cYou work at the Plant? You do, don\u2019t you! What building? What department?\u201d Lois discovered a power, a confidence in silence, in listening. Jake, Minoru, and Maanika wove their own story about her, taking each shake of the head, each smile or giggle as a sign. She was clearly not on their crew, but somewhere close, probably in management. A new hire, or a transfer from overseas.<\/p>\n Lois responded quietly and politely. She told them that this was a new body for her, that it was her first night out in it.<\/p>\n \u201cMight as well have been made for you, darling,\u201d Maanika said. \u201cYou wear it perfectly.\u201d Lois smiled a wide, honest grin at that, and Maanika blushed, cheeks already rosy from alcohol glowing brightly. Her hair shimmered as she ducked her head to hide behind her hand.<\/p>\n Lois felt electrically alive, every nerve humming like guitar strings. The noise of the club\u2014of Jake\u2019s bids for attention, of Minoru\u2019s fumbling flirtations\u2014faded. The world, all of it that mattered, shrank down to fit within Maanika\u2019s shining green eyes.<\/p>\n They talked, Maanika about fashion, with an energy that Lois found infectious, and Lois about her passion for music, especially soundtracks. Maanika smiled, touched Lois\u2019 shoulder, moved closer. They talked on, about the Company, about the Plant, about the pitiful state of the equipment.<\/p>\n Then they were walking outside to get some air. Then they were walking home, talking on the street, holding hands, leaning close for warmth. Lois felt only now,<\/em> the beauty of the moment pushing aside fear and shame and memory and the coming day and even the next minute. She talked easily, with no need for a keyboard or speaker, no effort of thought, and Maanika listened. And when Maanika talked, Lois drank in her voice as if hearing her for the first time: the soft silkiness of her accent, and the tiny note of uncertainty usually inaudible under layers of smug, posed confidence.<\/p>\n It felt like love at first sight. It felt like seeing the world with new eyes. Lois burst out laughing.<\/p>\n Maanika smiled. \u201cWhat brought that<\/em> on?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, I just\u2026I never go to the club,\u201d Lois answered. \u201cI had a really<\/em> bad time there one night when I first started, and\u2014\u201d She shook her head. \u201cI feel so sad. I almost didn\u2019t go tonight. I might never have met you\u2014really met you\u2014if I hadn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n Maanika blushed again, and hid her eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s true,<\/em>\u201d Lois said. \u201cI-I know I\u2019ve seen you at work, but I really feel I\u2019m seeing you for the first time. Without tonight\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Maanika squirmed. \u201cStop! Seriously, you\u2019re like something out of a movie. This whole night is.\u201d She looked into Lois\u2019 eyes, her face still as water. Then they both snickered.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re right about the club,\u201d Maanika said. \u201cAnd about Suresh.\u201d She mimed taking off imaginary sunglasses, stared smokily at Lois, and said, \u201cI can introduce you to the best people here, eh?\u201d She waggled her eyebrows, and they both dissolved into a fit of giggling that left them leaning against the dormitory wall. The Company logo flashed above them on the bright LED wall panels, and shining products made at the Plant rotated behind it.<\/p>\n Maanika gently took Lois\u2019 shoulders\u2014in the new body, Lois no longer towered over her\u2014and they looked at each other, eye to eye. Then Maanika slowly, carefully, leaned in and kissed her. Lois could smell her, the musk-and-coconut scent of her hair and skin, her sweat. She could feel warmth flowing from the kiss outward, down to her toes, her fingers clenching Maanika\u2019s waist, drawing her near, taste the tang of her lips, hear her pulse roaring in her ears.<\/p>\n She gasped as they parted, panting like someone coming up from black depths of water.<\/p>\n Maanika searched Lois\u2019 face as she leaned against the wall like a drunk. \u201cWow\u2014you kiss like it\u2019s your first time in years!\u201d Lois shivered and looked away.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, precious one, don\u2019t,\u201d Maanika whispered. \u201cI\u2019ve just\u2026I\u2019m not used to it, that\u2019s all. It\u2019s like you fell out of the sky or something!\u201d<\/p>\n Lois looked up from under her bangs. Maanika\u2019s finely shaped, perfect lips parted in a wondering smile. Her blood buzzed. She nuzzled Maanika, lips sweeping lips.<\/p>\n Maanika sighed, leaned into the kiss, and pressed her to the wall. The curves of their \ufb02esh struck lightning from one another where they touched. Maanika\u2019s hand caressed her arm, slid down, lit a path of fire across her belly and then up her chest, her throat, her chin, cupping the kissing face, the gentle touch of fingertips chiming Lois like crystal.<\/p>\n \u201cWould you like to come to my room?\u201d Maanika asked.<\/p>\n …<\/p>\n