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Universe Vignette
by Saless
May, 2023
The silence seemed to stretch on for hours. Dr. Corman sat there, staring patiently at me the whole time. I fidgeted; trying to get the nerve up to say something. It wasn't happening.
Dr. Corman sighed, "Karl, I can't help you if you don't tell me what the problem is."
I looked down, and breaking eye contact seemed to do the trick, "You won't tell anyone, right?"
"So long as you aren't a danger to yourself or anyone else I can't tell a soul." Dr. Corman replied reassuringly.
Sighing, I managed to look him in the eye as I said, "I'm a girl."
He didn't look surprised. In fact, he seemed a little relieved. Like this was something he knew how to deal with and not the difficult case he thought it was going to be. He took a moment to gather his thoughts and said, "I know that going Wyld can be traumatic, but it's best that you accept it. If you try to fight it you'll only make yourself miserable."
That answer had the ring of something he'd said many times before, but confused the hell out of me, "What?!"
He blinked in confusion, "Weren't you saying you were a girl before you went Wyld? It does happen from time to time."
I shook my head, "No, I haven't gone Wyld yet."
"Oh. Are you saying you're intersex, then?" he asked.
"No. At least, not physically that I know of." I replied weakly, no longer able to meet his gaze.
"Oh." he replied weakly. Another silence stretched between us, but only for a few moments. "Okay, I think I understand where you are coming from now. But I have to ask; what were you hoping to get from this meeting?"
"Hormones?" I said hopefully.
He shook his head sadly, "I can't do that. Gender reassignment isn't as tolerated as it once was. It's a lot more difficult to get hormones. Furthermore, we are forbidden from giving any hormones or other medical assistance to pre-Wyld individuals."
"What? Why?!" I demanded angrily.
He made placating gestures, "Please, calm down. It's a little known fact that transgender people above the age of twenty are virtually extinct now."
That word sent chills down my spine, "What do you mean?"
He must have seen my reaction, "It's not like it sounds. It's just that transgender people have a tendency to change into their desired gender when they go Wyld. The biggest transgender issue these days is getting kids to wait until they go Wyld, and the people who become transgender when they go Wyld."
"How do you become transgender?" I asked. That didn't make any sense to me.
He shrugged, "Sometimes people change genders, either partially or fully, when they go Wyld. Most were transgender before they went Wyld, but some weren't. It's the ones that weren't that have a bad time. They were happy with their gender and suddenly change. Most want to change back very badly. Fortunately they usually manage to adjust fairly well, though some do require medical intervention of the sort you're seeking."
I nodded, absorbing that. It had to suck pretty badly to get turned into something you're not. I wondered if it was even worse than being born that way? Might be; at least at first.
"So, there's nothing you can do for me?" I asked.
He shook his head sadly, "No, I'm afraid not. Now, if you don't change when you go Wyld there might be something I can do. But sometimes Wyld powers include rapid healing. That tends to neutralize anything medical science can do. In that case your best bet would be to find a Wyld with the power to transform other people. I'm not aware of anyone with that power, but considering the breadth of powers displayed by Wyld I wouldn't be surprised if there was somebody out there with that ability."
"But I might change into a girl when I go Wyld, right?" I asked hopefully.
He shrugged, "There have been no studies on the issue that I know of but my experience says it is very likely. I can't promise anything, though."
I sighed, "It's more hope than I had coming in here. Thanks Dr. Corman."
"I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help." he said as he shook my hand. He held the door open and I numbly stepped out.
In a daze I walked out of the doctor's office and back to my dorm room. The walk was a blur and the next thing I knew I was standing in front of the mirror on my closet door. I wanted to smash the glass to deny what I was seeing but the last time I did that I cut myself pretty badly. I would have bled to death if Dad hadn't found me. Despite everything I didn't want to die. Not yet. Not so long as there was hope.
The End?
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Comments
Interesting Extrapolation...
...from your premise. I wonder whether the part about most t-people getting their wish during the transformation process is true -- the doctor says there's no research backing it up -- or whether it's just something that the medics believe (or disseminate) because it makes them feel better about not making changes themselves.
As Corman pointed out, before someone goes Wyld, intervention seems unlikely to make a long-term difference; after one goes Wyld, it's likely to be physically impossible to alter their new state. So they see no need for action on their part.
(And this presumably is taking place in a relatively civilized area of the world. I'd guess that in a lot of places, anyone discovered actually trying to facilitate a body change would be lynched.)
In response to your "the end?", I can easily see this either way: as the interlude your subtitle describes, or as the start to any number of stories.
Does Karl visit a quack surgeon? Self-administer black-market hormones? Feel sufficiently reassured by Corman's advice to wait and see what going Wyld brings? If he does make changes before transforming, might they affect him post-Wyld? (For example, the Hulk or Hercules, but with no genitals?) In going Wyld, might he develop the transformation power that Corman was suggesting would be his best hope? And if so, would it work only on himself, on others or both?
Eric
Wannabe Wyld
Wonder if a Wannabe Wyld could influence their gender or Wyld Power before being transformed? And will their children be Wyld, or muggles? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muggle or Squib.
Squib is the term applied to a child who is born of magical parents, but who develops no magical abilities. They are considered to be the opposite of Muggle-born wizards/witches.
May Your Light Forever Shine
"I didnt want to die Not so long as there was hope."
I felt like that.
Nice little piece, will we see more?
Definitely
Karl was always intended to be my main character (or one of them, at least). But I wanted to work my way up from early 2000 to show more of the world first. I'll still do those stories, too, but I'm working on his Mum's story now (hint on location there ;). Not sure now whether he'll be the main character, or his mother... Still working that part out.
I have another story that is all but finished to post first, though, where Erin makes another appearance. :)
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America