The Gender Clinic

The Gender Clinic

Switching off the engine, Lea looks over and Fred. “Whatcha thinking?”

Fred looks up from the pamphlet in his hands and scrunches his face. “Seems a little too good to be true.”

Leaning away with a silly look, Lea laughs his worries off. “Nah, you’re just overthinking it.”

“How can I be overthinking it!?” Fred responds in an instant, looking at her intensely. “I find it hard to believe I can just turn up at this clinic and they will offer me a new female body!”

“I’m telling you it’s true!” Lea replies with a smug grin. “My friend Charlie’s now a boy. She filled in a few forms and they ask a few questions and a week later they had a match for her. I’m not joking Fred—she walked out a new man—literally…. a new man!”

“Pfffft,” Fred reacts in disbelief. “I find it hard to believe that this place is helping those with gender issues for free! It’s too good to be true Lea and you know it!”

Shifting in the passenger seat and folding his arms, he gives her a suss look

“I bet if I go in there, they are going to steal my kidneys or something,” Fred jokes, pretending to act scared.

Lea rolls her eyes. “I had you crying in my arms the other night about how you dreamed of being a girl and now I’ve offered you a solution, you’re not even going to at least try it?”

Lea leans forward with one finger. “What have ya got to lose!” she grins, poking him playfully in the center of his forehead.

“Lea….!” Fred whines, batting her hand away from his head. “I told you I don’t like it when you do that!”

“Fine….!” Lea chuckles. “Are you going to at least check it out? Could make that dream of yours come true!”

Shrugging his shoulders, Fred looks over at the entrance to the clinic. Deep in thought, he doesn’t say a word.

Getting impatient, Lea pokes him again hard in the side. “Get out of that head of yours Fred!” she says with a long sigh.

“I can’t help it!” Fred replies, only reacting to her jab with a grunt “You don’t understand. All I’ve ever wanted is to be a girl and now that dream is right in front of me. I’m terrified that this is a hoax and I’m going to leave devastated that it didn’t come true.”

Lea stops smiling and her face becomes somber. “Oh,” she says gently. “I guess I’d never thought about it that way.”

“Y-yeah….,” Fred responds, still staring the clinic down. “I want this so much! Wouldn’t it just be my luck that it’s a complete scam!”

“Nah it’s not a scam,” Lea says, trying to reassure him. “I promise.”

The two sit in silence for a moment longer before Fred slowly reaches for the door handle to get out of Lea’s car. Excited that he’s finally getting out, Lea throws open her side and slams her door closed.

Skipping around the front of the car, Lea holds back her long frizzy hair and stops just in front of Fred. Pushing back her black-rimmed glasses, she grins.

“We doing this!”? she asks in jubilation.

Fred smirks. “What do you mean we?” he asks. “You wanna become a boy?”

Lea blushes and looks away. “No…that’s not what I meant.”

“I know!” Fred laughs, pleased he’s made her all embarrassed. “Shame though, I’d swap bodies with you in a heartbeat!

“You would!?” Lea gasps, covering his wide open mouth. “I’m ugly! Why on earth would you wanna be me!?”

“Cute button nose, big blue eyes, cut little freckles, and a tight perky body,” Fred says candidly. “You’re not ugly Lea. You are everything I’ve ever wanted to be.”

“Stop!” Lea squeaks timidly. “You’re embarrassing me!”

“I’m just being honest,” Fred replies, shrugging his shoulder. “Did you ever wonder why I always asked to swap uniforms after school?”

Lea rubs her arm and looks up at the sky in thought. “Erm….I guess I thought we were just having fun. You did look cute in my skirts.”

“It was fun,” Fred replies, reminiscing. “But no, it’s not cos I looked cute in your skirts. It’s because I wanted to be you.”

“Awwwww,” Lea says, looking deep into Fred’s eyes. “You’re so cute Fred! I can’t wait for your dream to come true!”

“Thanks,” he nods. “Now do you understand why I’m so worried this is all a scam? I bet any moment now I’m going to wake up from this dream.”

Ninja quick, Lea pinches Fred on the arm. It causes him to fail backward in pain.

“OUCH!” he squeals, giving Lea a filthy look.

“Not a dream,” Lea smiles innocently, holding her arms behind her back as she sways from side to side. “It’s very much a reality. This time next week I could be calling you Freddy or Francis or Franny.”

“F-Franny…?” Fred smirks. “No way am I letting anyone call me that!”

“Ok then Franny,” Lea teases, pointing at the entrance to the clinic. “Shall we go inside and find out what this is all about?”

Freddy gives Lea a stern look before lighting up with a smile. “Sure. I’m glad you’re here with me.”

Taking hold of Fred’s hand, Lea starts pulling him in the direction of the door. “Thank you for letting me into your world.”

As they approach, the building looks very unassuming and bland. If it wasn’t for the gender symbols plastered above the door, you’d never know this was a gender clinic.

Pushing open the large glass doors, both Lea and Fred enter the small reception room and approach the small counter in the far corner. Sitting behind the desk is a young male with a big smile on his face.

They pass an empty seating area as they both walk slowly closer toward the counter. Fred starts to get nervous and almost stops still.

Being encouraged to approach the employee behind the counter with Lea’s hand on his back, Fred gets even more nervous and very tongue-tied.

“H-hey…,” he greets the man with a nervous crack in his voice.

“Hello,” the man behind the counter replies, giving them both a friendly smile. “My name is Elliot. How can I assist you today.”

Swallowing down hard, Fred struggles to get any words out. He looks around nervously at all the information and pamphlets on display. The same ones Lea gave him to read over the weekend.

Elliot tilts his head to the side and gives Fred a puzzled look. “Is there something I can help you with?”

Feeling the tension growing, Lea places a comforting hand around Fred’s side. She gently nudges him “Go on Fred. I’m here with you.”

Fred gulps before giving Lea a nervous smile.

“I…I…I….,” Fred stutters. “I WANNA be a girl! Help me.”

Behind the counter, Elliot gives a broad toothy grin and turns his body to face the reception PC. “Ok then,” Elliot replies with the soft grace of a librarian. “Shall we register you in the system?”

“P-Please,” Fred answers, looking down at the floor bashfully.

“Okay then,” Elliot, says gleefully, clicking the computer mouse in front of him several times. “Firstly, I’ll take your name and then we will establish what you are looking for.”

“Well done,” Lea whispers in Fred’s ear. “I’m going to go sit down while you register. Come find me when you are done.”

Fred nods as he watches Elliot work his PC.

As Lea sits in the waiting area, Fred scratches nervously at his arm. He’s desperate for this to be true and not a scam. He can’t help himself—he has to know!

“Is this a scam!?” he blurts out uncomfortably.

Elliot instantly stops typing and looks up from his screen. Leaning back in his chair, he slowly grins.

“A scam…?” Elliot asks. “Now…why would you think this is a scam?”

Bright red, Fred feels like a silly goose. “I….dunno,” he answers timidly. “I just don’t believe this is possible…is all.”

“Oh, my dear boy,” Elliot remarks with a giggle. “It’s one hundred possible. Have you read our pamphlet?”

Fred looks at the pamphlets stacked neatly on the counter in front of him. He picks one up and opens it. Pretending to read it, Fred nods. “Yeah, I skimmed over it briefly on the way over here.”

“Briefly?” Elliot asks sarcastically. “How about I explain the process from start to finish. Would that be useful before I register you as a donor?”

Looking back at Lea, hoping she can’t hear them, he’s relieved to see her swiping at her phone. Turning back to Elliot, happy Lea can’t hear them, Fred nods in agreement.

“Please,” he says politely. “I’m a little bit worried about this. So explaining it all would be great. Thank you.”

“No problem,” Elliot says, reaching out for one of the pamphlets. Opening it out fully on the counter, Elliot points at the top left and corner.

“Did you know,” Elliot says, tapping the corner several times. “Gender dysphoria affects over twenty percent of the general public. What was clear to our founder and chief at the time was that people needed his help. So in twenty-forty-nine, our founder pioneered nanomachine technology which allowed consciousness to be placed into a digitized state.”

“Digitized?” Fred questions, looking at the pamphlet.

“Yes,” Elliot smiles. “It allows for the seamless transfer of one's consciousness and personality to be moved from one body to another. In short, our founder invented an actual body-swapping machine.”

“Body swapping?” Fred asks, looking at the picture of a very high-tech machine in the pamphlet. “So, if I become a girl, I won’t be in my body anymore? Like, my brain gets transferred into another body?”

“To a degree—that is correct,” Elliot replies. “To be more factual with you. You’re entire personality, memories, and everything that makes you—you, gets copied. It’s then moved into your new donor body, which matches your desired needs, and then your information overwrites the previous consciousness inside that body.”

“O-overwrite?” Fred asks uneasily. “So….they get deleted or something. Is that what you’re saying?”

“No…!” Elliot laughs politely like he’s heard that question a million times. “The person you swap bodies with will have their consciousness transferred into your old body. You want to become a female, yes?”

“Y-yeah,” Fred says quietly, still too shy to say that confidently.

“So the assigned female at birth you eventually agree to swap bodies with will be wanting to swap with you to become a male,” Elliot explains. “She wants to be you and you want to be her. Does that make sense?”

“I think so,” Fred replies. “So does that mean I have to wait for a match first? I have to wait until a match is found and we both agree we want to trade bodies?”

“Bingo!” Elliot replies with a wide smile. “We usually have matches found pretty quickly. We also offer a rehabilitation service too. This helps you adjust to your new gender norms.”

“How do you find me a match?” Elliot asks, curious to see what female bodies are on offer to him.

Nodding in response to his questions, Elliot folds the pamphlet up and places it back onto the pile.

“How old are you?” Elliot questions, turning back to his PC screen.

“Twenty-one,” Fred answers, leaning over the counter, trying to sneak a look at the PC screen.

Elliot types on his keyboard. “And how tall?” Elliot asks.

“Erm….,” Fred looks down at himself trying to remember his height. “I’m five-nine.”

Elliot types again. “You’re weight?”

“One hundred and thirty-five pounds,” Fred answers, wobbling his slightly plump stomach.

“Hmmm….,” Elliot mummers, typing and clicking away franticly at his computer.

Fred waits patiently, not sure if Elliot's mumbles are good or bad. He does his best to look at the PC screen without making it obvious.

“Good news,” Elliot says, eventually turning back to face Fred. “We’ve got three donors currently in that age, weight, and height bracket.”

“Three?” Fred asks with a hint of excitement. “Can I see them?”

“I take that you’re interested in our service then?” Elliot grins, turning his PC screen away so Fred can’t see. “Shall we get you registered then?”

Blushing at being caught trying to spy, Fred anxiously smiles.”Please.”

“Okay then,” Elliot says, focusing on his screen. “Let’s start with your name.”