Kaylie starts experiencing a wider range of relationships and earns more about how the Feminists used technology to defeat the patriarchy.. At the summer science intensive Kaylie meets another Special Boy who experienced a different transition path.

Kaylie was on high alert as the car came to a stop at the curb beside her. This had been her first long walk outside and alone as a girl without the support of Hillary, Ms. Lee, or Mother. She knew, from both sides, that the Feminist Republic had strict laws and social rules to protect females from harassment by aggressive men and boys, but incidents still happened. She looked straight ahead and started walking more quickly. Remembering that running only encouraged predators she slowed down a bit and tried to appear calm and in control while reaching into her shoulder bag for the self-defense spray that Mother said all teen girls should carry.

"Kaylie, Kaylie, I want to talk with you," a distinctly feminine voice called out from behind her. "Kaylie, it's me, Pamela. Pamela Leland, from school."

Kaylie stopped, took a deep breath, and turned toward the voice. "Hello, ... Pam," she replied slowly. "I was not sure who it was in that car."

"I didn't mean to frighten you. I saw you walking as my mother drove past and I asked her to turn around so I could get out and talk to you. What's up? Where are you going?"

"I just took a walk on the nature trail and was heading back home. Hillary was busy today so I had to go out alone, and ... and the experience was new and I was a bit nervous. When the car turned around and came back I was afraid it might be some boys who recognized me, and ..."

"I understand. It never hurts for a girl to be cautious about strangers. But, the car was a civilian vehicle driving on a parkway. You know that males without a female escort are only allowed to drive clearly marked construction and delivery trucks and only on designated commercial routes. And they can only drive at times that are directly related to their work. Males cannot casually cruise around in neighborhoods like they did during the Era of Oppression. All vehicles licensed in the Feminist Republic have driver ID software and GPS-based guidance systems to prevent any inappropriate use. If they tried something illegal the car would automatically stop and lock the doors on them. Besides, all the Middle School boys who knew you at school are still to young to drive, and most of the older boys from this neighborhood are already off living in work camps."

"You're right. I should have thought about that. Ms. Lee keeps reminding me that the Feminist Republic has made the world safe for girls and women.

"Sorry that I thought you were a threat. My mistake. So, why did you stop?"

"I have a lot I want to talk to you about. How about if I tell my Mother I am going to walk with you to your house? It's a nice day to be outside."

"OK, I guess. It would be nice to get to know you better. Right now all I know is that you are smart, were the popular leader of a clique at school, and you defended me in front of your friends that day in the lunchroom."

"Actually, I recall that I defended a cute boy named Kyle. And that day I said that I thought Kyle would make a wonderful girl. Didn't I? And I think I was totally right, Kaylie. What you have done in the last few months was awesome."

"I try not to think about my dead name anymore. Those were tough years when I had to live as a boy. I wish I had been reassigned as a girl much younger and ..." Kaylie started to choke up.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I want to help you make friends and enjoy this summer as a girl. I saw how Hillary and Stacy supported you when you were getting ready for your big assessment. I apologize for not supporting you before school got out. I guess your situation being a boy at school and a girl-in-training the rest of the time was awkward for both of us.

"Let me tell my mother to go. Then we can talk more."

Kaylie waited while Pamela talked to her Mother. That gave her time to think about the unexpected opportunity to make a new friend. "Let's go the long way to my house. If you have enough time, that is. We can go back to the nature trail, cross the foot bridge at 10th street and then take 10th to Riverside Drive. The woods will not feel so intimidating with you along."

"Sure. That sounds like fun."

The two girls waved goodbye as Pamela's mother drove off and then headed back toward the nature trail. At first the conversation was limited to remarks about the day and the scenery separated by long silences. Eventually both became more talkative and inquisitive.

"So, what made you interested in talking to me today?"

"I have been really curious about your story ever since that day in the lunch room. You stood your ground when you were being harassed. You openly declared that you were trying to become a girl and that Hillary was helping you prepare for a big assessment. I knew right then that you were someone special, and decided that I wanted to get to know you better."

Kaylie pondered for a while. "What do you mean by 'special'?"

"I guess I meant special meaning someone interesting and fun to be with. But I also know how the teachers and counselors use the term 'Special Boy' to describe the very intelligent boys who are selected to be reassigned as girls so that society can benefit from their science and math talents. The last week of school Ms. Lee arranged for the girls in our class to attend an optional talk about your situation. I went and dragged a few of my friends along. I think 'special boy' really fits you."

"Yeah." Kaylie said with a bit of hesitation.

"But I also think you are special as a girl who is fun to be around. Hillary and Stacy seem to be your only friends, but I would like to become your friend too."

Kaylie thought about her jealousy because Hillary and Stacy were off together without her today. What did Pamela mean by her remark? "Being friends would be nice," she answered softly.

"I heard from Stacy that your mother had prevented you from being assessed back in elementary school. You really missed out on a lot of middle school girl experiences because of that. I am happy that you were finally assessed and approved for.. "

Kaylie looked off into the distance. "I really don't want to talk about my assessment and reassignment right now. Maybe once we get to know each other better. OK?"

"Sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm not upset. I just want to focus on my future. There is so much for me to learn before school starts again in the fall.

"Let's talk about something else. Pam, what are you doing this summer?"

"Starting next week I am going to the Math and Computers Intensive that the Marie Curie High School is sponsoring for incoming students. And after that I am going to Girl Scout Camp. Hillary and Stacy are active in Girl Scouts and I as sure that they are going. Are you signed up too?"

Kaylie smiled. "Of course am I going to Girl Scout camp. Hillary and her mother got me signed up almost as soon as I got my new official ID card.

"But, I am also signed up for the Math and Computers Intensive. Ms. Lee, I still keep calling Hillary's mother that, told me that the intensive was the best way to prepare for my academic classes in the fall. So, I guess we will be doing the same things for the next few weeks."

"I will be nice being with you at the intensive and at camp. I am really looking forward to it. Will Hillary be at the intensive too?"

"No, her mother wants her to go to a dance and fine arts intensive before Girl Scout camp. Stacy is still deciding what to do with the summer."

"Well, I don't mind if you and I are at the intensive together without Hillary and Stacy," she said as she gently touched Kaylie's hand.

Kaylie did not know how to respond. This conversation was starting to sound like one of the love triangles that were the plot of many stories in the teen romance magazines and novels that she had been encouraged to read as part of her feminine socialization.

"It will be nice having someone I know at the intensive. I have been told that girls come from all the Middle Schools in the city. The intensive really emphasizes collaborative learning and I was concerned about finding someone from this neighborhood to study with. I never got a chance to really get to know any of the academic stars in our Middle School since I was excluded from all of the more advanced classes."

"Kaylie, I will be your friend and will help you the best I can. We will have a fun summer together."

Their eyes met, then Kaylie look down. "We can be just friends, not girlfriends if you know what I mean.

"We are almost to the 10th Street bridge. I guess we took more time on the nature trail than I expected. But I have enjoyed it."

The two girls picked up their pace as they headed back toward their home neighborhood. The conversation drifted from topic to topic: clothes, makeup, upcoming summer events, the start of high school in the fall, and more.

"Well, this is the corner where the way to my house goes one direction and your house is the other. Shall we plan to get together again soon?

Kaylie turned to face Pamela then reached out and lightly took both of her hands at arms length. "Thanks for spending so much time talking with me this afternoon. I am still learning how to be a girl and you have given me a lot of good advice today.

"I know you are curious about my gender reassignment. I promise I will tell you all the gory details sometime. I just was not ready for that right now. Bye."

A few hours later Kaylie put down her 'A First Introduction to Computer Algorithms' book and stared out the window. Normally she stayed up late working through the massive summer reading plan that Madeline Lee had emphasized was important for High School preparation. But tonight neither hard science nor social studies nor even romance fiction appealed. Computer algorithms seemed the least appealing. It all seemed so abstract and loaded with unfamiliar jargon. Besides, all through Middle School Kaylie had been under the constraints applied to males and this meant absolutely, absolutely no access to anything but the high-level interface on devices that had multiple levels of access controls. She had never had any exposure to even the most basic computer programming.

Kaylie though about what was ahead. The summer science intensive. was starting on Monday and Kaylie would be there while her absolutely best friends, Hillary and Stacy, would be at the Fine Arts Summer Intensive. Her new friend, Pamela Lee, would be the only girl she already knew before the intensive started. She would be on her own and would need to find her way onto the work teams and into study groups. Kaylie had been struggling for months to catch up but she knew she was still far behind the honors section girls her age. All her middle school years had been a time of low-level classes considered suitable for boys and she had been denied access to the library, unrestricted internet browsers, honors-level courses, and enrichment clubs.

She started thinking about the adults in her life. Maybe Ms. Lee had planned this summer arrangement for a purpose. Hillary was on a science track and could have benefited from the intensive, but she loved dance and the arts too. Forcing Kaylie to be in an academic program without her Middle School friends might have been a part of the female socialization that Ms. Lee emphasized was so essential.

Kaylie and Ann Clark were becoming more and more a mother and daughter team, but there still was tension. Kaylie had to struggle to suppress her resentment over the fact that Mother had prevented her from being assessed way back in third grade. Her life would have been so much different now if she had been identified as a 'Special Boy' back then and had been started on the path to gender assignment when she was younger. She knew that she had missed out on a lot by not growing up as one of the girls. But Kaylie had been told many times that her mother had repressed emotions resulting from her own upbringing by a domineering, patriarchal father. Ann's attitude to the whole idea of gender reassignment for boys and been confused and inconsistent all along. Eventually Kaylie acknowledged that she and Mother both now have childhood hang-ups to work through. With a sigh she tried to get back to her studying.

Her mind wandered and she started wondering if there was anything to the fact that Hillary and Stacy were both going to the Fine Arts Intensive. Probably not, but for some reason that still bothered her. Maybe I have been reading too much about love triangles in teen romances, she thought. Feeling exhausted she decided it was time for bed.

Science Intensive

"Are you looking forward to your first day at the the summer intensive?" Ann asked over breakfast.

"I guess so. It will be tough at first not knowing any of the other girls, except for Pamela."

"Meeting people and making friends your age is important. It will be good for you both socially and academically. Hurry up, and get dressed. You know it will take you a while to walk to the school and it would be good to be there early."

Kaylie went back to her room, dropped her robe, and very deliberately got dressed in a just-below-the -knee length dark skirt and a solid color blouse that she had selected the night before. She brushed her still somewhat short hair, applied an almost invisible touch of makeup, and decided she was ready. The understated very proper school-girl look was exactly what she wanted for the occasion.

The summer science intensive was being held at the Marie Curie High School of Science, which was about a half hour walk for Kaylie. Mother insisted that she plan to walk each day saying the exercise would be good for her. The day was sunny and she arrived a bit overheated. She saw a bench in the shade of a tree and plopped down and closed her eyes to meditate for a few moments.

"Hi, mind if I join you?"

Kaylie looked up and saw an unfamiliar girl standing in front of her. She had an attractive, but angular face, a bit tall, and had a stocky build. She was very attractively dressed in a summery but somewhat formal skirt and blouse.

"Please sit down. My name is Kaylie Clark, and yours?"

"Patricia Ruhr," she replied with a smile. "I wanted to meet you and I am glad I got a chance before our first session today."

"You wanted to meet me? Why? I don't think we know each other."

"We haven't met before, but I heard about you. Aren't you the person who managed to pass the assessment for gender reassignment at the very end of Middle School?"

"Maybe, is that any of your business?," Kaylie snapped then immediately regretted her remark.

Patricia sat down and turned toward Kaylie with a serious look. "We have something in common, Kaylie. I was also a boy once. I know what you are going through, and I want to support you."

Kaylie gasped.

Kaylie had been in high anxiety for weeks about attending the summer science intensive and she suspected that Ms. Madeline had arranged for Hillary to be elsewhere because it would force Kaylie to start meeting new people and making friends as a girl. She had not expected that the first girl she would meet at the intensive would be another 'Special Boy.'

"I .. I don't know what to say. I have never met someone else who openly identified as a reassigned boy and ... I mean who was reassigned as girl and ... I mean a girl like me. "

"That's OK. Just remember people like us are 'girls' first and foremost. Anything about our social and biological gender in the past is only relevant if we want to talk about it."

"Thanks. Looking at you I would have never guessed what you just told me about yourself."

"Well, I will give you one hint. Those like us who have been reassigned as girls are always especially conscious about our appearance and presentation while avoiding any extreme looks. Whenever you see a girl who always looks like a future professional, even when other girls are not, there is a good chance she was once a 'Special Boy' who is somewhere along in her transition." Kaylie looked around and realized that she and Patricia were the only ones dressed in 'school girl proper.' It was obvious that most girls had taken advantage of the lack of a dress code and had come to the intensive wearing casual summer sportswear and were showing lots of skin.

Just then the bell rang. Kaylie and Patricia got up from the bench and walked together up the steps into the building. As the neared the door a dark-haired girl wearing high-top boots, really stretchy tights and a crop-top cut in front of them almost bumping into Patricia and definitely blocking Kaylie's way.

"Don't mind her. Her name is Nancy Black, and 'black' really fits the way she dresses. Always some version of self-centered gothic punk rebel. She has an opinion about everything and is convinced that she is the only one who is ever right." Pat looked at Kaylie. "I shouldn't say things like that, but you will see for yourself in the next few days. Her latest thing is to declare that her last name is racist and we should call her Nancy B. Let's get to our classroom."

When they arrived the room was already nearly full but they found two empty desks near the back. Looking around Kaylie saw Pam Leland up near the front, reading in a book. Kaylie noticed that Nancy B was also in the class. Unlike most of the other girls Nancy was not reading; she was scanning the room like she was looking for someone.

The instructor was an older girl who was bubbling with excitement about being able to lead a math class as part of her college-preparation program. Her attitude immediately brought all the girls to full attention and set the mood for the morning.

"Today we are going to start a week-long session on the absolutely classic text 'Euclid's Elements' which was the most important mathematical textbook used by students for centuries. The language is archaic and the illustrations are crude compared to modern computer-drawn graphics, but learning to find your through primary material is a vital part of your education. You all will have seen much of this in simplified form intended for average Middle School students. But you girls are here because you are going to be attending a science-focused High School in the fall and are being trained for high-level professions in STEM fields. We will be emphasizing rigorous, step-by-step proofs building the entire field of plane geometry from five basic postulates. This is serious training in abstract mathematical reasoning and logic, and is essential for your intellectual development. Let's get started."

Kaylie opened the book that had been handed out and quickly scanned the first few pages. Her innate speed reading ability had been her salvation while cramming for the assessment leading to her gender reassignment but this writing style was different and one needed to keep going between the concise text and the diagrams. Some of the material on lengths and angles, and laying out geometric shapes with a compass and straight edge looked familiar from the construction trade classes she had taken as a boy, but the logical approach was new.

The instructor was trying to motivate the class. "This classic book was central to the curriculum studied in patriarchal Western Europe by BOYS for centuries, from the Middle Ages through the Industrial Revolution. Back then girls were not given an education that would prepare them for the universities. Much later, girls were allowed to attend school but were still expected to become wives and homemakers, not scholars. When aptitude tests were invented boys always scored better than girls on things like logical reasoning and the graphical shape, length, and angle problems. Men claimed that this showed that males were innately better at technical subjects. This was NONSENSE! The difference was that boys had studied geometry and girls had not. Now we make sure that only GIRLS learn this material and boys are strictly prevented from learning advanced math. Well, actually our society allows a few Special Boys to learn math and science as long as they agree to made into girls."

It seemed that the instructor's remark had been directed right at Kaylie and Patricia. A slight giggle went around the room. Kaylie looked up and noticed Nancy B staring at Patricia with an icy look.

There was no time to worry about gender-related remarks as the instructor immediately started filling the blackboard with problems and proofs, and all of Kaylie's attention needed to be on the work at hand. Every few minutes there would be a shift from mini-lectures to individual problem solving.

Kaylie quickly got the idea. Identify the known information, make deductions from the basic postulates and from the theorems that had already been proven, conclude that what was to be shown followed logically step by step, and then end the proof with the abbreviation 'QED.' Keeping up became easier as the morning went on, but it was still an exhausting experience. Finally the geometry class was over for the first day. She put away her notes and text and followed Pat toward the door. It was lunch time and Kaylie and Pat were greeted by Pamela in the hallway.

"Hi, Pam. This is Patricia Ruhr, we just met this morning. Pat, this is Pamela Leland, someone I sort of knew in Middle School."

There was a quick exchange of 'Nice to meet you,' followed by a moment of awkwardness. Pam and Pat were both looking at Kaylie then at each other and back to Kaylie again. No one wanted to be the next to speak.

Kaylie realized what the problem was. "Pamela knew me when I was still a boy in Middle School. Patricia heard a little about what I went through in the past year so she knows my background too."

Kaylie looked at Pat. It's your turn, she thought.

"OK. This morning I told Kaylie that I was identified as a 'Special Boy' back in elementary school. I have been living as a girl ever since.

"Now our secrets are out between us girls, but let's not make big deal about it to the others who are here. Legally and academically Kaylie and I are girls, 100% girls. How we became eligible to attend this summer intensive is none of their business." Patricia ended emphatically.

Pam was standing in a relaxed pose with her hand on her hip. "I wasn't very nice to Kaylie back in Middle School and I am sorry about that. But that's all past. After school got out I told Kaylie that I was going to support her, and I mean it. She had only two close girl friends during her transition, and neither one is attending this science intensive. She told me that she is a bit uneasy about that."

"It was hard for me to transition even though I started much younger. I can hardly imagine what it must have been like to go through school under all the male restrictions and then get approved for reassignment the summer before High School."

"Yes. One hurdle after another. Being allowed to take the aptitude test that I would never have survived without Hillary getting in 'good trouble' by loaning me unapproved books. Then months of intense socialization as a girl at home while still being legally a boy at school. I still feel so far behind everyone else socially and academically."

"Well, I am going to be on your support team for the next three weeks."

"Me too."

"Thanks. Thanks to both of you."

"We better get through the lunch line and find a table. We all need a break and some food. I heard the afternoon is going to be even harder than this morning was."

As they went through the line Kaylie picked up a fruit and salad plate and a drink, skipping the temptation of potato chips or dessert. She noticed a completely empty table by the window and headed there followed by her friends. She noticed that Pam was also watching calories, but Pat seemed to have a big appetite.

"Well Kaylie, how do you feel about your first morning in a math classroom with honors-student level girls?" Pat asked with a sly smile.

"I have never had to concentrate as much as I did this morning. But I think I am enjoying it. The math that I was allowed to take in Middle School was so lame."

Pat leaned forward so that other tables would not hear. "Well, welcome to the world of Special Boys. The reason we are being feminized is because the teachers and counselors decided we have the potential to reach the top levels of science and math. We are continually being assessed and need to surpass even the very smartest biological girls. I have been dealing with this for years. You will catch up and get used to it."

"Remember the payoff of being a woman when you grow up," Patricia added.

"And don't forget what happens to boys who start being feminized but then don't measure up academically. If they are lucky they get a position as a caregiver or household domestic, if not then ..."

"I know, the work camps are totally macho and are extremely dangerous. Especially for someone who has any effeminate traits."

Pamela decided to change the topic. "So, Kaylie, now you see what you were missing while I was in the girls-only enrichment programs and honors classes, and you were taking the easy classes with the boys and remedial-track girls."

"I hated being with the boys and was always jealous of girls like you and Hillary and Stacy. I would hear the boys talk about how happy they were that they did not have to take any hard classes like the girls. Boys thought it was great that they got to spend most of their short school day goofing off then playing video games and sports while the girls had to study then do extracurricular activities in the afternoon and evening."

"Did you ever hear any boys complain that they couldn't study things like math?", Patricia cut in.

"No."

"Did you ever hear other boys complain about not being able to train for science, technology, engineering, math, medicine, and computer science careers?"

"No. If they talked about things like that at all they would say that those fields were too hard and took too many years of school. Nearly all boys were happy to get out of school as soon as they could. The only reason I was allowed to complete eighth grade was that I was on a construction foreman training track."
Feminist History

"You have a much better future available to you now. Like I said though, you need to keep proving yourself worthy. Total loyalty to feminism. Outstanding ability to use technology to advance the feminist cause. What do you think about all that?"

"I have a big question that has been bothering me. I know that the Feminists triumphed during the Times of Trouble by using technology. But why were the males so vulnerable? I really have never understood what happened that allowed the women to gain control over the men after thousands of years of patriarchy."

"I remember hearing in Political History class that boys had been falling behind the girls academically for decades," Pamela remarked. "We read that back during the Era of Oppression men avoided the hard majors in college. They believed that as men they were entitled to success and did not need strive. Men either went into 'high prestige' white-collar careers in business management, marketing, financial trading, and other types of wheeling and dealing, or else made a blue-collar living mindlessly tending highly automated production equipment,"

"Pam, I would say that male reluctance to work hard in academics was the biggest reason that the women were able to take control during the Times of Trouble. Kaylie, political history was another topic you were not allowed to study as a boy. That knowledge is too dangerous for males to learn."

Pat leaned forward. "As a girl you will be able to study all this in your High School history classes, and but let me give you a quick version right now if Pam doesn't mind. Like all Special Boys going through the normal transition program I had to attend evening and weekend training sessions to build our feminine identity and ensure we would grow up politically reliable. There was a group of us from different schools who would show up and act like 'good girls' while we read, took tests, watched videos, and did role-playing exercises until the history and ideals of the Feminist Republic were firmly planted in our minds."

"It sounds like brainwashing," Pam remarked.

"It was, but let me tell the highlights of the story.

"Before the beginning of agriculture most human societies were matriarchal. The women knew the foods to gather, the medicinal herbs, the skills to maintain camp and get through the winter, and most importantly produced the babies. Religion was centered on the idea of a Mother Goddess. Men hunted, fought other tribes, and considered themselves important, but only survived because of their mothers, sisters, and wives.

" The brute physical strength and aggressiveness of the males became more important with the beginning of agriculture and the founding of city-states and empires. It was more productive for the men to raid a nearby community, steal their food, and enslave their children than for the women to gather the fruits of the forest as they had done for generations. This pattern of male-dominated society became more and more prevalent. As so-called civilization evolved the male-dominated social structure focused on materialism and exploitation of weaker groups. The warlords and chieftans used both large-scale war and small-scale domestic violence to insure their position as an elite patriarchy.

"The industrial revolution diminished the importance of physical strength, but males used their long-time privilege to give themselves preferred access to the education needed to deal with the new technologies. Eventually, though, men became less and less interested in doing intellectually demanding work. As the economy and society shifted in the late twentieth century men lost out. Male unemployment increased as jobs in ranching, logging, mining, and manufacturing disappeared. Meanwhile jobs increased in traditional 'women's work' like nursing and teaching. The men retreated to what they saw as appropriate male activities: watching sports, engaging in fights and other physical contests, playing violent video games, and getting drunk while socially bonding with their buddies. Striving academically ceased being a male activity.

Kaylie, remember what you said about your male classmates being glad they did not have to tale the hard classes like the girls?"

"Yeah, Pat, that was pretty much the attitude."

"Well, that trend continued for decades. The men who went to college took easy courses like descriptive 'rocks for jocks' geology as their 'science' and majored in easy but high-prestige majors like recreation and leisure, finance, marketing strategy, and business management. The looked forward to careers sitting in conference rooms doing wheeling and dealing while telling each other how important they were.

"Meanwhile the females, called 'girls' by men even when they were adult women, took the hard courses all through high school and then majored in STEM fields like physics, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, and computer science. After graduation they moved into both important applied positions like medicine and design engineering and the fundamental research and development positions that provided the foundation for a knowledge economy.

"It became rare to find a male who could troubleshoot an electronic circuit or debug a piece of software code. With each decade men became more and more fat, dumb, and lazy."

"And disgusting," Pam quipped.

"Meanwhile, the women took over more and more of the essential jobs that were needed to sustain a modern technological society. They were underpaid compared to men because males were uncomfortable having their wives earn more than them. They endured social restrictions and male violence because men dominated the legislatures, the courts, and the police.

"The patriarchal leaders and their enforcers, both civilian police and the military, thought of future conflicts in traditional terms of guns and planes and armored tanks with waving flags and massed troops. Training emphasized hand-to-hand combat and 'joy-stick control' of weapons platforms. However, with modern technology this type of hardware became more and more obsolete.

"When conflict started during the Time of Troubles the Feminists unleashed devastating cyber counterattacks. This is how the women seized control of the patch of territory that is now the Feminist Republic of Pacifica and a few other enclaves around the world."

"This sounds too easy. Didn't the men have any way to fight back?"

"I gave you a really condensed version, Kaylie. I covered nearly a century of social, technological, and political change while you were eating your salad. I left out the years of growing Feminist consciousness, the waves of Feminist political activity, the secret Feminist organizations, the extensive preparations the Feminist leaders made for the conflict that they knew was coming, the weapons they embedded in software applications and in circuit chips, and lots more."

Pat glanced at the wall clock. "We can talk about this more some other time. Besides you will get all this information again in the historical and political orientation sessions that are a required for all of us Special Boys attending science intensives. If you haven't figured out yet, Special Boys always get an extra level of scrutiny no matter how long ago they were reassigned.

"We better get going back to class."

As she headed to the afternoon session Kaylie thought about what Pat Ruhr had just told her. Now the strict Feminist Republic restrictions on boys learning technology started making a little more sense. All through Middle School she had been frustrated by the prohibitions on reading advanced books, using the library, internet and computer access, and so much more. She always wondered what the girls were doing in the honors section classes and extracurricular enrichment activities, and was very, very jealous. The social studies reading the Ms. Lee had given her when she was cramming for the big psychological, political, and identity assessment emphasized historical facts and events, but had not gone deeply into why social trends happened.

Brainpower and control of technology had been the key to the Feminist victory that lead to the creation of the Feminist Republic of Pacifica. Now the strict restriction on the education of males was being used as a way to insure continued female dominance.

She had been close friends with Hillary and a few other girls in Elementary School but they had been forced apart as they grew older because the teachers and parents started enforcing rules preventing boys from socializing with girls. School had been lonely, very lonely. The things other boys did not interest the boy dead named Kyle, and contact with the girls had been cut off. Passing the assessment and being approved to be reassigned as a girl had been the most wonderful day of her life. She was way behind the normal treatment schedule because she had not started on her gender reassignment at the normal time. She remembered that her mother had kept Kyle at home the day of the scheduled assessment in elementary school.

Gender reassignment of selected boys was now an institutionalized practice and widely accepted within the Feminist Republic. Of course feminization of males was totally rejected by the surrounding misogynistic countries. Even within the Feminist Republic there were traditionalist groups and religious cults that expressed objections to gender change.

Then there was the matter of personal choice. Pat Ruhr was the first Special Boy her age that she had met, and Pat seemed like a much less girly-girl than Kaylie considered herself. She had embraced feminization for both social and intellectual reasons. As she approached the classroom she wondered if every Special Boy was as enthusiastic about castration as she had been.

The afternoon session was focused on algebra, formal logic, and pre-calculus. Fortunately Kaylie had studied some of this while cramming for the assessment and had done more self-study following Ms. Lee's suggestions. Well, it had been more than suggestions. Ms. Lee had emphasized how important it was for Kaylie to catch up with the other girls and be clearly eligible for honors-level work each year in High School. As a 'Special Boy' her social status and career prospects were totally dependent on intellectual merit. Her surgery meant that she would never go back to being male, but there were no guarantees for her professional future. Each step was competitive and Kaylie knew success would take hard work.

Kaylie enjoyed being with Patricia and Pamela at the science intensive but also missed being with Hillary and Stacy. Hillary must have sensed this because she wandered over to the Clark house Monday afternoon almost as soon as Kaylie got home. Kaylie rushed to the kitchen to get some refreshments then the two girls went out into the back yard and sat down on the lawn.

"So, how was your first day of summer science intensive?"

"Mentally challenging, but fun too. And I know it is important for me. The whole place is full of absolutely brilliant girls and I can see how much catching up I have to do. You mother told me I need to expand my circle of friends and supporters and that seems to be happening.

"I think it is great that Pamela Leland is there with you. She has really been supportive of you since you reassignment. Is there anyone else from our Middle School there?"

"No, but let me tell you the exciting news. This morning I met Patricia Ruhr who introduced herself as being another Special Boy. She was identified back in Elementary School. You know, I have never actually met another Special Boy my age. Patricia said she knows what I am going through and would help me get ready for High School. Besides, she is really smart and great to be with in classroom breakout groups."

"That sounds promising. I guess both Pamela and Patricia will be at Marie Curie High School in the fall? It sounds like I need to meet Pat sometime."

"How about you? Are you happy that you are taking the fine arts intensive instead of the science intensive this summer?"

"You know my mother pushed me toward the arts intensive, and I am OK with that. It is mentally and physically exhausting though. We had three hours of really hard dance movement class in the morning. I barely recovered during lunch and then we had an acting class followed by an hour lecture discussion about integrating technology with traditional art presentation. We are going to have to do an integrated project in the last week and we were warned that all this information would be important."

"Thanks for coming over. We both need to unwind and relax, and be friends together. Let's go sit on the bench in the shade over there."

Hillary held onto Kaylie's hand after helping her up from sitting on the ground. and continued to hold hands as they strolled across the lawn. The sat close to each other on the bench and chatted until it was time for everyone to go home.

The same pattern of geometry in the morning and algebra and something called introduction to algorithms in the afternoon continued for the next few days of the science intensive. The effort was mitigated by the promise that the next two weeks of the would include more fun activities. Of course this 'fun' would still involve highly focused learning experiences.

Friday came and the algebra class ended early so that a guest instructor could introduce the second week's activities. Nearly all the girls sighed with relief after a week of full days spent on geometry and algebra. Even the most mathematically inclined had burned out. After a short break a tall, thin woman in a well-tailored summer outfit managed to get everyone's attention.

"You girls did a great job this week. I know it was hard and extremely academic, but there was a purpose. Next week we are going to start doing computer programming using the development of a simple video game as the unifying exercise. The next two weeks will be a lot more fun and will give you learning experiences that will help motivate you in your High School classes. What you worked on so hard for this past week will give you essential background that you will need for the projects coming up.

"You are all familiar with using devices that contain computer chips. Nearly every piece of modern technology phones, cars, reading tablets, even household appliances have imbedded software that controls the device. But, you have only been interacting with the software through elaborate graphical user interfaces that someone wrote to control the underlying logical processes. Have you ever thought about what really happens when you scroll down to a menu item and press 'enter'? Or do you know what exchange of data really takes place when you enter a phrase into an internet browser and press the search icon?"

Kaylie thought back to the time before her gender reassignment. The devices she had access to as a boy were deliberately crippled and lacked nearly all the functions of the 'smart phones' all the girls were given. All a boy's phone could do is call or message a limited set of approved contacts: mother, the school office, emergency services. It was a big deal to be granted permission to call a friend's parent so that a message could be relayed. Any attempt on the school and library computers to explore beyond the strictly limited curriculum-related material brought up a big red 'access denied' flag and also alerted the adult supervising the computers room.

"An important part of this intensive is to give you your first exposure to computer science. This means learning the technical fundamentals of logic and memory circuits and the logical processes behind every piece of software. It may feel tedious compared to following your friend's video links on social media, but understanding computer science is the most powerful thing in our modern world. Those who control the computers control the world! You all heard about this in your girls-only political history sessions at school. But starting next week you will start gaining the skills to join the elite sorority that protects our Feminist Republic. To get you excited repeat after me ..."

A shout of high-pitched voices soon filled the room.

"She who controls the computers controls the world!"

Then another chant, "Sisters unite. The computers win our fight!"

Finally the chanting and cheers died down and the instructor resumed the presentation. "Yes, as the world learned during the Great Cultural Revolution the control of the software behind the internet of things means control over every aspect of modern technological hardware. The lazy, uneducated, misogynists were helpless in the face of feminist cyberattacks during the Times of Trouble.

"Never forget that electronic circuits and computer logic are the most powerful thing our the modern world. More powerful than the mines, factories, and armies that men once thought were the source of political and economic power. Even the marvels of genetic engineering and biotechnology would be unmanageable without computer databases and DNA sequence comparison software. Let's have another cheer."

"Women rule; controlling men is not cruel!"

Kaylie felt a shiver go up her spine. She had never been in a room where the level of feminist intensity was so high. No wonder that the boys she had been with in elementary and middle school were so terrified of women. For them it probably seemed like relief to be sent off to live in a man camp where their days were filled with modest work requirements followed by leisure time spend with drugs, alcohol, pornography, sex toys, and male bonding. That would have been her fate too if Madeline Lee had not discovered her intellectual potential and shepherded a frightened boy down the path to gender reassignment.

As the girls rushed out the room to start enjoying their weekend the instructor called out Patricia Ruhr and Kaylie by name.

"Close the door and then sit down, I have something important to go over with you."

Nancy B noticed that they had been singled out and gave them a knowing sneer as she marched out the door.

Patricia looked tense as she nearly slammed the door behind Nancy.

"What the heck is it going to be about this time?," Pat whispered to Kaylie in a low voice so the instructor would not hear.