The Beginning of Part 2 of Allison Zero. New readers should be able to jump in at this point.

However, her new role on the station, and her new job with One is changing up more in her life than her gender. Just over a week on from discovering exactly who she is it’s now time to venture to the part of the station — that few know of — to begin her training as a young tobacconist. Except nothing is straightforward for Allison, a woman who never takes the traditional route. She wants more than is allowed for the young tobacconists and to get her way she has to be both a student and spend time working for and serving her peers.

Allison spent the day making new friends, and experiencing things in a new way, the first time really as herself, traversing the station on her own. This happened while Angie prepared for her new job with the medical professors. When Angie came back to the apartment it was obvious she enjoyed herself as she was a little worse for wear. And worse again once the two demolished most of a bottle of gin she’d been given as a gift.

Now Allison is waiting around, letting Angie sleep off her hangover before they go for breakfast with Adam. But the time spent doing nothing but waiting for Angie has brought her to a realisation, and she needs to tell One something about her intentions.

Allison found some way of slowing things down at the start of her week; on Monday, the day women mostly had to themselves. Up until then her mind had been racing but a message from Des — delivered to Jenny’s — helped her put things in the correct place. It was right around the same time Dr. Grace said what Allison was going through was normal; the standard effects of the disruption Allison had been through.

Dr. Grace booked an appointment for Allison for the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, saying Allison could see her on any of those days, whenever she needed to, simply walk in. Just to talk, if she wanted. But no later than the Thursday. Whatever she ended up doing it would mean yet another round of fun with doctors on her journey to womanhood.

After waking Allison received news she didn’t believe at first but instantly realised she loved, Dr. Grace confirmed Allison is changing. Allison is becoming who she wants to be. Now she just needs to let time work its magic and keep doing what she’s doing.

What Allison would really like, however, is for things to slow down. Not the changes, rather she’d like to get time to enjoy who she is, but she doesn’t even know if that’s possible. She knows she’s unique in the history of the deep-space station, and maybe that means things will never be slow and normal. But what’s more normal, in all this newness, than a lunch with Angie?

With Dr. Grace assuaging Allison’s fear about the pain she found herself in, after the feminising medication, Allison is mostly content with the pain pills managing the soreness. Everything with her new tobacco job for One is on hold, for the moment, while she recovers. And she’s had lunch, needing to eat well to fuel the changes her body is going through. But she doesn’t know what else to do; what she can do.

What exactly do women, with no employment, and no ability—at least usually—to drink and dine out on fancy meals, actually occupy their days with? At least Allison has Angie to keep her company. The question is will Angie ever stop eating the mountain of food she bought with the effects of the tasting smoke still lingering? Will they ever get to the library she mentioned? Why even read fiction? And will men continue to bother the woman who’s been told she needs to walk the station, for the sake of her health?

Allison has dealt with her first client, a man named Des, where they smoked some smokes that were relaxing. However Allison is less relaxed leaving Des’s voter’s apartment. This despite Des’s insistence it was a good talk. What he’d explained to her didn’t sit well with Allison. Especially him saying, to sum all he said up, “Voting doesn’t change things. Laws don’t enforce things. People change things. People enforce things.” As if some dismissal of the reality of the station was as easy as a wave of his hand.

He did suggest she meet her friends, and even suggested where they go. The only reason Allison is going to where Des recommended is because Des admitted the woman there, the woman who owns the place, Jenny, might be able to help more than he could. Allison figures she might as well try; she’s tired. No-one’s been outwardly hostile, but with the twists and turns she just wants to relax, and have someone actually help her. She really, really hopes she can just relax. Even if there’s no help... Just relax...

Allison is a woman now, definitely legally, the court has ruled on that. And she’s been to see a woman’s doctor. An actually qualified, voter doctor, with all the education and training, who injected Allison with medication she could never have thought even existed; it’ll turn her into a woman. Or at least give her the physical appearance of a woman, within a few months. A second puberty. Then the doctor ‘prescribed’ Allison and her friend Angie a nice meal in a really lovely restaurant on the hospital level. This, according to Angie, is why everyone loves Doctor Grace.

The only other thing left on Allison’s agenda, which was written by Angie, is to get shoes. She can’t keep walking around barefoot and she can’t stand wearing boots in the lace-less female style; every time she stumbles from loose boots a man runs to her rescue. So shoes it is. And shoes are easy, right? There’s no surprises with shoes? Surely..?

On the deep space welcoming station Patryk is now Allison, or so it seems. He’s never in his life heard of a man becoming a woman. No-one has. No-one even talked about the possibility of it happening. But it’s what’s happened to Patryk, after he met One, a mysterious man who gave him something to smoke that helped Patryk remember his dreams. One offered Patryk a job then brought Patryk to Patryk’s new apartment. The first time since Patryk’s first few months as an adult he has his own apartment.

But now Patryk is all alone in his new home. He has to begin living his, or her, new life. But is Patryk really Allison? Nothing can be this easy. Simply put on clothes, style your hair and walk into the midsts of the station? Can Patryk even walk into the station as Allison? Does he even have a choice?

The following morning, I was roused from my slumber by Mir'tan's movements. As she flashed me a sweet smile, she leaned in for a tender kiss. "Good morning, Lor'hi. I'll be back in just a moment." Winking at me, she disappeared into the bathroom. My heart swelled with contentment as I lay there, grinning and taking a deep breath.

Curiously, I asked my AI, "Kitty, what does Lor'hi mean?"

To Return Home

Thanks to Malady for his help editing and for ideas.

Cover image from Unsplash

Chapter 3.6

We weren’t quite certain what the effect of Marc being present would have, so both he and Paula were asked to remain out of sight.

We started our trip down the wall of the pit. On our way down, my husband, ever the engineer, examined the walls. “These were molten once. It's like they were super-heated, then cooled into an alloy.”

“Do you think Kari did it?” Daddy asked.

To Return Home

Thanks to Malady for his help editing and for ideas.

Cover image from Unsplash

2.7

It was a couple of days later that I entered Marc’s lab.

“Whatcha want, Rose?” he asked, keeping lots of distance between us. I assumed he didn’t want my sister to know he’d been talking to me.

“She’s still mad at us?” I asked.

“I’m on probation. I’m not supposed to help you with anything right now.”

Ward of the State
(pilot episode)
Copyright 2021 by Heather Rose Brown

In a near-future world not too different from our own, homelessness has become a hot topic. Citizens are demanding *something* has to be done about it. This is the start of a story about what happens when drastic plans created by poorly informed but enthusiastic committees are put into action.

=-=-=

The Crew of the Argo-1D1S gets stranded when a spacial anomaly transports them into deep uncharted space. They're mission to return home begins now.

Tales from the Argo follows the story of Cassie Martinez, an ensign class recruit new to the Argo. What she expected to be a month long diplomatic mission has become a long fight for survival. And that's not even the first of it, Ensign Martinez boarded the Argo as a human male named Casey Martinez!

(Migrated from my Wattpad entry)

The truth always hurts (ancient saying).

Caution: contains scene of a murder, smoking scenes

The news about Julia and Sandra spread like the flash of a lightning. Televisions came, reporters asked them for interviews, many organizations wanted them to be their honorific members. In only a few weeks, everyone was talking about. Julia's transformation from a girl and Sandra's transformation from a guy, both into hermaphrodites, reached the front pages of many news corporations. Reporters were everywhere for a while. It was known as the surgery of the century.