2027
The world is fine. The world is perfect, thanks to perfected biotechnology, genetic engineering and the like. Pollution is a thing of the past genetically engineered microbes dissolve waste and convert it into usable fuel products. The oceans are pure of toxic waste once more. Even the greenhouse gasses are being reduced.

Humanity no longer suffers from diseases, cancers or the like. The world is perfect — except when it is not.

I am about to become one of the unlucky not.

Chapter One
I woke up that morning with a mild stomach-ache and thought nothing of it. It wasn't until midday when I was talking to someone and he suddenly pointed at me that I realised that my hair was falling out.

I was in hospital within 20 minutes; by that time I had lost all my hair. A quick trip to the gent's confirmed that in was not only facial and head hair I was losing. Thus it was not too much of a shock when a doctor came into my room and said "Mr King, You have the 'Changer' virus." It was well publicised.

I was devastated.

The 'changer' virus, I lay on my bed after the doctor had left to muse on what I knew of it. It had first appeared two years ago when random people suddenly started changing, thus the term changer virus. The virus was a genetically engineered virus that once activated took over and rewrote the persons entire DNA, who had created it no one, knew.

That it was artificial and a complex piece of work no one doubted, for once active it literally rewrote the person's entire body. There was no escaping it, once the culprit virus was discovered it was found to be present in every human on the planet. Fortunately it only affected approximately 0.001% of the world population, the virus could trigger randomly at any given time.

Unfortunately it seemed that I was now numbered amongst that 0.001%. I now remembered more about it; I had seen television pictures and articles about it. The virus reworked the human body it changed people.

A phrase floated through my mind, yes — 'the Ken & Barbie virus'.

For that is what the virus did it rewrote the humans who contracted it into perfect 'Ken's', tall dark haired with the bodies of a Hercules and tackle to match. Or it rewrote the victims into 'Barbie's' tall, blonde, statuesque females with an extremely well developed bust and a massive sex drive. Thus 'Ken' and 'Barbie' after the toys of the 1980's.

The true horror of the virus I knew though was that the virus didn't care what sex the victim was when the virus activated its determination was random.

That was what gave the virus its true horror; it could (and had) turn females — male, and turned men into women.

The doctor returned, he had with him another doctor — a woman, I blinked. She was a 'Barbie', she spoke with a low throaty contralto, "Mr King, I am Dr Thompson. Yes, I am a 'Barbie' I am to be your guidance counsellor. You will need one." She paused.

"The changer virus has a definite progression, the loss of hair usually occurs at about 45 hours into its progress. Sexual determination can be made earlier if the virus is caught but usually the first visible sign is hair loss. The first external visible signs of sexual orientation can be seen within hours of hair loss." She stopped and looked sympathetic. Then wordlessly handed me a small hand mirror.

I saw my face, which looked the same as ever though hairless, and then I saw my naked scalp except as I looked closer I saw something else. Light, golden fuzz!

I must have screamed or yelled or something because the next thing I knew the male doctor was stabbing my arm.

Blackness!

I awoke slowly vaguely feeling something wrong some horror!

Then it surged up from the depths of my mind.

The Changer Virus!

I had caught it — I was going to be a BARBIE!

I jerked upright with a scream!

Only I couldn't I was restrained.

Obviously that was what she had been waiting for because there came a voice from my right. "Welcome back to reality Mr King or perhaps from now on we should call you Miss King."

I slowly turned my head it was obvious I was in some sort of hospital bed; the medical equipment and restraining straps kind of gave it away. Turning my head gave me a larger view of the room, I was in a private room and sitting next to the bed in a chair was the Doctor — the Barbie Doctor. Doctor Thompson!

I looked at her groaned and turned my head away, I didn't want to know.

She obviously expected some such response because she carried on, "You are very lucky you know. You are young healthy (Not that that matters) and single." She paused. Then went on, "You have no living relatives, no spouse, no children your change should be simple and relatively easy."

I screamed at her; "Simple! Easy! I'm changing into a BARBIE!"

She nodded.

"Yes, I'm glad you're acknowledging that fact. It will make it a lot easier for you."
I yelled again; "Listen, I am changing into a female! A WOMAN!"

Again with the nod.

"I can't be a WOMAN I'm a MAN!"

Now sympathy; "Sorry, not anymore!"

With that she touched her control pad and the ceiling above me mirrored, I barely had time to see myself in the mirror before with one giant pull she dragged the cover off of me.

I was revealed in all my naked glory.

I took one look and groaned then turned my head. She said nothing until with a sick kind of fascination I turned and looked.

There had been changes — big ones!

My gaze went first to my pubic region, but there was nothing even remotely phallic to be seen. Her voice came as a kind of background.

"The penis shrinks until it is no more than a urea tube, at the same time the testes are drawn up into the body where they change and become the equivalent of ovaries. The genetic material of the ovaries is the only place where the original DNA of the host remains."

I took this in as a kind of sub-text my gaze remained riveted to the pubic area.
Nothing was showing except a mound of blonde pubic hair.

I saw with a portion of my mind that already I was, well — slimming. My muscle mass was being reduced, my limbs growing slender.

I looked at myself and wanted to bellow with rage, shout with horror, and weep. The last brought me to a mentally to a screeching halt.

Weep! I didn't weep.

The voice to my left continued.

"Your bone structure is changing; your pelvis is being reshaped. This progress will cause pain for a few days but it will soon cease. Of course without the pelvic change you would not be able to give birth."

I gave a hoarse cry, "BIRTH...!!!"

"Certainly, you are becoming female. With all that, that entails."

"We do not supply analgesics during this process as we prefer that the changed experience the entire process in full it makes it realer for them. Experience has shown us that those who we keep sedated until the process has run its course have a harder time adjusting than others."
"At the same time your brain chemistry is being flooded with massive amounts of chemicals and different hormones we expect that your emotional condition will flash between many states from rage to despair until the process is finished."

I barely heard my voice; "Finished. How long?"

She looked up approvingly.

"Well, so you are with us. At the rate you're progressing I would say that your change will be finished within the week."

My head sank back to the pillow.

She smiled. "Don't worry we will give you courses on feminine hygiene and menstruation."
"Menstruation..." another hoarse cry.

"Yes, that is how we know that the change is complete. At the end of the change you will menstruate."

I closed my eyes and groaned.

Four more days and I would be a BARBIE, not that I hadn't been one since the virus started. But I would be one in truth!

She stood up.

"Mr — No sorry, Miss King. It is not all bad!" Then she did something strange, she went to the door of the room and locked it.

She came over to the bed again, "I will show you, I told you I was your counselor because I had gone through this process myself. I will show you what you are becoming."

With that she started to undress folding her clothes neatly on the chair.

I turned my head away, I didn't want to look.

Unfortunately turning my head meant that I saw myself in the ceiling again. I looked. I couldn't see myself. There was no sign in the image of myself.

All I could see in the mirror was a large chest-less woman, with short blond hair.

I groaned and turned my head from the image.

Then almost against my will I turned to look at Dr. Thompson. She, no he, for he said he had been a man stood there naked.

I looked at her. Was this what I would become, was becoming.

I looked at her and part of my change came thundering down on me.

She was beautiful, way beyond beautiful. Slim waist wide hips, large firm upright breasts that obviously needed no support. Long blonde hair, an oval face with generous lips and brilliant green eyes.

In short she was the sort of woman who would have called an immediate response from me in the past. Even if it was only penis muscle twitch.

Now I felt nothing. There was nothing to move.

Involuntarily I glanced at my penis — no pubis, I had no penis anymore.

It was a shock, both bodily and psychologically.

All this time he — no She stood patiently under my examination. When my eyes went back to her she looked sympathetic.

"It's a shock the first time you look at a female and realize you no longer have the equipment." She sighed "I've done this five times, it doesn't get any easier."

She sat on her folded clothes still naked letting me look.

"It was harder for me because I was the first Male ever affected by the changer virus. I was a researcher studying the raw virus, we activated my own virus and I started to change. We wanted to get full work-up on how it performed."

She sighed.

"In fact we got more than we expected as until then we had not realized that the change was random. I had fully expected to change into a Ken, in fact I wouldn't have minded. You see I was in my 70's my wife was dead and we were childless."

She shrugged.

"We got more than we expected though, at least we got a good record of progression. As the first though I had some major shocks and problems. Fortunately there were some female staff members who were prepared to help. Even so I had some major psychological readjustments to make."

"You will be more fortunate than I, because I have the experience to bring you through this."

I coughed, I seemed to have a sore throat. "How did you become so female? So comfortable with yourself?"

She frowned, then reached over to the bedside cabinet and got out a bottle of juice with a straw and gave it to me. I sipped it was tart and refreshing, I drained it all.

"Sore throat, the virus is reshaping your throat and face. Soon your voice will break in reverse. Your face will hurt you will lose your teeth as your jawbone is reshaped then you will grow new ones."

"Hmm, comfortable with myself."

"Well I wasn't at first. I treated my body as if it didn't exist tried to ignore it. Unfortunately by the time of your second period the body's hormones start to kick in. And the so-called sex drive is no myth."

She gave me a strong look. "You will find yourself masturbating even if you don't want to. You will masturbate almost constantly; unfortunately orgasm cannot be achieved by masturbation. It takes sex with a partner to bring orgasm."

"I didn't realize what was happening to me at first but I was lucky enough to be in contact with other 'changer' victims who even if they were still the same sex had previous experience. A female Barbie came and stayed with me for a week, she stayed and taught me how to use my new body and sex drive."

"My sexual preference was, and still is for the female but you will slowly come to realize that sexual gratification can only be found with a partner. Any partner. I discovered that sex with a partner even if it is another female — a Barbie is enough to quiet the sex drive, for a time. You will find that using sex toys prepares one for the eventual time when one has sex with a man"

"I wasn't comfortable at first who would be."

"But the hormonal changes in our new bodies mean that we do have an excessive sex drive. Therefore it is inevitable that those of us who become female will eventually have sex with a man. If I have sex with a man or woman once a day I am freed of those urges."

"One point about the virus though, if you have sex with a normal human it takes the edge off the cravings for approximately 24 hours if you have sex with another changer victim the urge disappears completely for anything up to a week."

"Our new bodies can flat out exhaust a normal human being though, however other changed are similarly enhanced therefore sex with other changed is..."

She shrugged and blushed.

"...exquisite...!"

A discussion held over the next few days.
"...we think whoever created the virus only meant it to work on themselves. That is the reason that it is so random in its selection of sex. It was only supposed to target two specific DNA strands a woman and a man..."

"...of course the changed body affect our body image, it causes a lot of problems. The best thing we have found to get you in tune with your new body is dance training. It forces you to become aware of your new body, how the muscles move, the flexibility.

After dance training comes self-defence training, martial arts. Because we are seen as ultra sexed Barbie's we have had problems. Unfortunately mostly for our attackers. So self-defence training is mandatory.

"...I told you I was seventy years old when I changed. The reason I wanted to change to a Ken was because I knew the changer virus would rework my body back to youth. You had a good look at me this morning how old would you say I was?"

I guessed early twenties.

"Yes, and I will stay that way. This is something we are only now discovering, but the changer virus has created bodies which are in a state of constant regenerative flux i.e. they are effectively repairing the day to day ravages of age. I changed 10 years ago and haven't aged a day since."

"...menstruation. In our physical examinations we found that the ovaries do not contain eggs but rather structures that grow eggs. So menopause which is a result of a lack of eggs is no longer a factor. Theoretically a woman could ovulate her entire life and we have potentially very long lives."

"...pregnancy. We are almost sterile with normal humans, but not with our own kind. That came as a surprise to me I can tell you..." She stopped and smiled softly before continuing. "There is apparently some sort of biological mechanism that detects when a Barbie has regular sex with the same individual for more than 90 days it makes us fertile..."

"That is when we discovered that our DNA is conserved in our testes/ovaries. My daughter has my DNA and surprise she also has the same enhancements as the changed but without the Ken & Barbie look. Pregnancy is only five months, recovery from pregnancy is very fast within a week I looked as if I had never had a pregnancy except for lactation which continued for fourteen months."

"...the virus has added enhancements to our new bodies. We estimate that the changed are physically 3-5 times stronger than the unchanged and are similarly enhanced as to endurance and recoverability."

"...basically they were trying to engineer themselves into a new breed of man. They damn near succeeded, muscle tissues are much denser, nerve fibres fire faster, even the neural glial cells have a much faster response time. Our hearing is damn near supersonic, the rods and cones in our eyes have a greater range including infra-red and UV."

"...the downside of course is that we have to eat like horses. If you ate one large meal a day before your change you now have to eat one three times as large. However to offset that our metabolisms are at least five times as efficient otherwise we would be constantly eating."

"...and apparently we have another trick up our sleeves. Were not sure how it works yet but one of us was mountain back-packing and caught in a storm he was horrifically injured. He dragged himself to shelter and phoned for help. However when rescuers found him the next morning he seemed dead. However at the hospital he apparently woke up. Some sort of natural hibernation. A protective measure, a form of biological suspended animation to make sure that the body survives long enough to get to help."

"...whilst investigation into the creators of the changer virus continues. It has struck some that we would make ideal space colonists. Strong, durable, able to eat almost anything, fast birth-rate. And the ability to go into natural hibernation."

"...all this is classified of course. As a result of what we discovered about the changed all victims of the changer virus are wards of the World Government. They don't want us running round without supervision..."