He stood in the elevator looking out at the Silver City across the sea of clouds. What a beautiful place it had been, with its winding streets and spiraling towers. He was sad to leave it behind, but he understood why. A girl stepped into the elevator next to him. She had bright blue eyes. He felt like he recognized her somehow. Maybe he’d met her on one of his travels.

“Excuse me, do I know you?” he asked her.

“I don’t know, my name’s Patty.”

“Patty, I’m Morty.” Patty? Wasn’t there something about a Patty? What was it? Something about a hole. Something about hope.

——-

I hope you’ve enjoyed this short story written by Zachary Turner.  I’d love to hear your thoughts about it, feel free to comment on this post your thoughts and critiques.  Thank you, Zach.

“Wha-?”

“The operation was a success. We were able to safely remove the tumor. You’ll be fine.”

“Tumor?”

“Yes, you had a sub-cerebral swelling in your brain as a result of the transition, but it’s been removed and is healing nicely.”

“Oh… thanks.”

The man smiled. “No problem.”

Morty went back to sleep.

He awoke with bandages around his head, but he felt surprisingly alert. He sat up in bed but got a little dizzy and laid back down. The door opened and a man in a white coat walked in. “Good morning, Morty.”

“Dr. Spicer?”

“Yes, it’s me. How are you feeling.?”

“My head’s a little fuzzy, but I think I’m okay; better then the last time you put me under.”

Spicer laughed. “Well that’s to be expected. You’ll be good to go by tomorrow morning.”

“Really? Do I have to be?”

“Hehe, yes you do. Come on now, you had your fun, time to give back.”

He could feel his world changing. He didn’t want it to, but he didn’t seem overly perturbed by it either. His life was being rewritten before his subconscious eyes. It wasn’t him. No, it’s not true! I won’t believe it! But it is true. I remember it. It must be true. It’s all there. It’s complete. But what’s this emptiness? There’s a hole somewhere. It started with a P. It had blue eyes.

“Morty? Hey, it’s Bob. You look great!”

“You too Bob, how are you doing?”

“I’m doing fantastic, I can’t wait to get over there.”

“I know the feeling.”

“I’m Patty, who might you be? Joe?” she asked the other boy.

“Jesus, no, do I look that nerdy?”

Patty laughed, “Then who?”

“It’s Felicia.”

“Felicia?” Patty and Morty looked at each other confused.

“Yeah, you know how all men say women have penis envy? Well I really did. I gotta say, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be a guy. So I had ‘em replace an X with a Y and here I am. Only I go by Felix now.”

“Oh, uh, okay,” Patty said trying to mask her astonishment. She was still trying to decide whether this fit alright in her version of the universe.

“So how do you like it so far?” asked Morty.

“I gotta say, the penis, hours of fun. And you can enjoy it alone, or with others. I’m lovin’ it.”

“Well there ya go,” said Morty now also feeling slightly uncomfortable.

“Please hold on to rails while the White City express undocks,” came the usual voice over the intercom. The four grabbed the nearest pole and stood waiting.

The vessel disembarked and everyone got excited. The energy in the room-sized car felt very similar to when they had first arrived over a month ago on the elevator. It had been a hard transition, but so worth it. The wonders that awaited them on the other side would be immense.

Morty stared out the window at the clouds below them. He looked back to the Central Processing station they were leaving. It was bright silver and so beautiful in the morning sun. If he didn’t know better, he’d think it was Haven, but no, it was the transition between the work force below and Haven above; between Ones and Twos. The great divide which all mankind had a right and a duty to cross at some point in their lives. He was glad he’d been a One first. His next life would seem that much more deserved he thought. He looked ahead at the White City which was also sparkling and breath taking. He could see dozens of tiny commuters much like this one circling around it. He couldn’t wait to be a part of it.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Patty said.

“I know of something even more beautiful.” He looked at Patty and took her hand. Despite the spectacular view before them, they couldn’t take their eyes off each other.

“Hey, what’s this? Do I sense a little romance here?” asked Felix.

“Maybe,” Patty said with a wink.

“Naw, this is just youthful infatuation,” said Morty.

“Aw, what a thing to say,” said Patty and hit his shoulder.

“I’m kidding. Remember, I know what you’ll look like old and grey, and I love you even more for it.”

She beamed at him.

“Wow, that was a line if I ever heard one,” said Felix.

“Start writing ‘em down, toots, you’ll need ‘em now that you’re a man,” said Bob.

They all laughed. The vessel was almost upon the White City. They could see it now in all its splendor: spiraling white towers, twisting and winding conveyor streets, buildings hundreds of stories tall. It was massive.

“Please hold on to the rails as the commuter docks,” came the voice again. Their hearts were pounding, fluttering like the youthful children they now were.

The door opened and a man was standing there in a uniform and a smile, “Welcome to the White City,” he said extending his arm. They all bustled out into the foyer with its marble floor and chandeliered ceiling. Various “oohs” and “aahs” involuntarily came out of them. “If you’ll please step this way, I’m afraid we have one more injection to give you, then we’ll supply you with your PDAs.”

“An injection?” Bob said.

“Yes, someone coming back from Africa brought with them a nasty virus just yesterday. It’s just an antiviral precaution. You won’t feel any side effects from it.” They stepped into a room with chairs lining the wall. Please have a seat and the doctor will be right with you. Morty and Patty sat next to each other holding hands. Morty kissed her to reassure her it would be alright. She didn’t need it, but appreciated the gesture.

A man in a white coat came in with a cart. “Good morning, everyone. I’m Dr. Kline, welcome to the White City. I’ve got the pleasure of sticking needles into you this morning.” They laughed. “Okay, who’s first? How about you?” He picked up a tiny silver gun-looking mechanism with a needle where the funnel would be. On the back end, he placed a small bottle filled with a light gray liquid. Bob rolled up his shirt sleeve. “Nope, sorry, sir, this one’s gotta go right in the jugular.”

“The jugular?”

“Your neck, it’s the quickest perfusion through the body and we don’t want to take any chances, especially since you just got here.”

Bob tilted his head to the side and Kline put the gun to his skin and fired. There was a quick sound like pressure being released and Bob cringed for a second. “There, that wasn’t so bad was it?”

“No, it was great, here let me try it on you,” Bob replied.

The doctor laughed and moved on to Felix with whom he did the same thing; then to Patty. Morty wasn’t too nervous until he noticed Bob starting to droop his head a little bit. Then suddenly, he fell out of his chair onto the floor. Morty stood up to help, “Bob?”

Kline grabbed his shoulder. “Don’t worry Mr. Walker, he’ll be fine. That happens sometimes.” He pushed Morty back down into his chair and picked up the gun. Morty could see Felix now drooping in his chair. He batted the gun from the doctor’s hand. “What are you doing to them? Who are you? How did you know my name?” He was on his feet now.

“Morty?” said Patty weakly. Her eyes were starting to close.

“Patty! No!”

Just then a group of large men stormed through the door and grabbed Morty, pinning him to the floor. Dr. Kline picked up another gun from his cart and bent over Morty to get to his neck. “Don’t worry, Mr. Walker…” He pressed it against Morty’s skin and pulled the trigger. “You’ve just been to paradise.” With a smile he injected Morty with the serum. The swirling of men above him faded into blackness as Morty passed out.

Morty looked to the door to find a beautiful, young girl with a blonde pony tail held back by a pink bow shuffling up to him on crutches. Her face lit up the room and her white-toothed smile beamed at him. “Hey there!” she said jovially. He looked her over. The crutches were pushing her pink shirt up slightly revealing her firm mid-drift.

“Hey.”

“Well aren’t you handsome?” she said sitting down next to him.

“Yeah right.”

“How do you feel?”

“Like I got hit with a truck.” He smiled at her. She beamed back. “You are so beautiful he said. I can’t even believe it.”

“Hehe, thanks. I have so much energy now. I feel like I could run a marathon or two. Well as soon as I get walking again.”

“What’s with the crutches?”

“Still building up the muscles in this body. It takes a while, but the mental conditioning from the last few weeks really helps.”

“I can’t wait until I have enough strength to hold you.”

“Me neither, but in the mean time…” She leaned over and kissed him deeply on the lips. The love was so intimate, it hurt; stabbing him into the realms of privacy that he had not allowed anyone else to enter. The warmth of their lips together burned through his entire body. He lifted his arm and held her head. It was as though her kiss alone filled his body with power. He noticed on his wrist behind her head, there were the numbers One and Two inside a box. A new life.

Their lips separated, but their eyes stayed fixed on each other, as though they had both just realized the profound nature of their feelings for each other. “I love you,” whispered Morty.

Patty’s eyes filled with tears, “I love you too.”

“Such delightful words to dream to,” he said.

“Yes, sleep my darling. Gather your strength. I’ll stay here with you a while.”

He fell asleep as she sat back admiring him. His body was rigid and strong. His face was so young and handsome. There was already a bit of stubble on his face which gave him a rugged look. She loved him and there was nothing she could do about it.

The next week was dedicated to muscle rehabilitation. Electro-acupuncture therapy was used to get the muscles started again and each day brought with it new pains of learning how to walk, move, breathe, and even speak properly. Within a few days however, he was up on crutches and standing up straight without any assistance. Patty helped him a bit until he was strong enough to work out on his own. Even then, they would work out together. Within two weeks, they were walking and talking and moving almost normally.

Finally, one night, laying in bed. Morty turned to Patty. “I love you so much,” enraptured in the joy of youth.

“I love you too,” she said in her girlishly gleeful way.

“I can’t imagine anyone I’d want to spend time in Haven with then you.”

“Me neither.”

“Why don’t we live together?”

She giggled.

“What?”

“I already put in the request. I told Sophie you wouldn’t mind.”

“You what? Why you little minx.” He hit her with a pillow and she laughed mischievously.

“You keep me on my toes, don’t you?” he said grabbing her and holding her close.

“Mmhmm.” She looked him in the eyes, smiling, and bit her lip.

He leaned in close and bit her earlobe. She gasped slowly. “I think I’m ready,” he said.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I tested it out in the shower the other day.”

“Oh really?”

“Mmhmm.” He kissed her on the neck.

She was whispering now, “Well we’ll just have to see about that.”

He pulled her shirt off over her head and felt her warm breasts against his bare chest. She rubbed his chest and then slid her hand down to his thigh underneath his pants. He wrapped his arms around her young body and slid his hands under her PJs, grabbing her firm bottom. Her breathing was getting faster and heavier, as was his. She moved her hand further down. “Oh,” she said. “It definitely works.” She smiled and he kissed her nipples, making them hard.

Within minutes, they had each others clothes off remembering long forgotten secrets about their own bodies and discovering hidden pleasures in the other’s. The heavy breathing turned to moans. The moaning turned to yells. The yelling turned to screams of unbridled pleasure; passion incarnate leaping through their bodies like electricity. He pulsated atop her, unknowing of such treasures but not wanting to let go. And then, he could hold no longer. He swelled and released and she screamed in agonizing joy as he did so. They laid together sweating and dripping on one another. Their bodies still inside each other, they kissed as though they had never kissed before. Finally they lay still like the ocean after a storm.

“Forget cardio, that’s a much better work out,” said Morty still panting.

“Yeah, why don’t we just skip classes and do that all day instead,” affirmed Patty between breaths.

Morty turned to her and looked at her sweating body heaving as she breathed. He watched her breasts with their firm nipples move up and down over her body. He felt himself growing again. “Or we can do it again right now.”

She looked at him, “Really?”

“Apparently.”

She jumped on top of him and rode his body like a wild bull. They kept at it the rest of the night until neither one had the strength to move. The next morning, they were both quite sore and found it difficult to get out of bed. They decided next time to pace themselves.

Dr. Shu had given her some birth control pills to start taking. Patty had always wanted to have a child, but like all Ones, she was born sterile. And even though she was warned she would now have periodic cramps, she decided to allow her body to give birth to a child naturally, rather then the alternative in-vetro fertilization. Although, she did want a family, she didn’t want one quite so soon, so she took another pill just to be sure.

Opening them once more, he knew time had gone by, but had no idea how much. He saw Dr. Spicer off to his right. “Morty? Hey Morty? You’re in post-op. The procedure went fine. You’re now in your new body. I know you want to see it and test it out, but I’d recommend not trying to move for a while. It’s still getting used to physical activity. Remember, it’s been growing in a tube for the last sixteen years.”

“Doc?”

“Yeah?”

“If I move, I’ll throw up.”

Spicer laughed. “Okay, well don’t try to move then. Now, I’m going to show you something, but you have to promise that you won’t get too excited or move.”

“K,” was easier to say then nodding.

Spicer moved a mirror over him and he saw his face, but it wasn’t him. Well it was, but it was him 44 years ago. His skin was so soft and smooth. His features, not yet chiseled by age, were unfurnished and still kept with them a gleam of hope in this world. The picture began to blur as tears filled his eyes. He had no idea it would overcome him like this. He had been preparing for this moment his whole life and now that it was upon him, he had no idea what to do, or say, or think. He was just so happy, gleeful even. He would’ve jumped all over the room and kissed Spicer on the lips if he could. He focused on breathing. He had to get a hold of himself. He started to think all those meditation classes were less to prepare him for the procedure and more to prepare him for the result.

“Thank-“ was all he could manage.

“You deserve it,” said Spicer. Now try to get some sleep. There’s still a lot to do before you get back on your feet.

Morty closed his eyes as the tears rolled back onto his pillow.

A shallow grunt came from somewhere.

“Morty, the procedure went fine. We’re gonna take you to recovery now.”

“Wha? How did it go?”

“It went fine. You’re perfectly fine. We’re moving you now.”

“Bu-“ Black.

It’s funny, he thought. I’ve worked so hard to get this body back into shape only to throw it away for another one. Replacing old tools I suppose. That’s all this body is: a tool to represent myself in this world. But what of these incorporeal senses of love and intimacy? How am I supposed to express those with this outdated equipment? Life is so much more then survival; so much more then the keeping up of this tool. That’s what I’ve learned in this first life. That’s what I’ll keep in mind in the second.

He walked into the all white room with his surgical gown on. Dr. Spicer was waiting there for him. “Are you ready?”

“Been waiting my whole life for this.”

“Alright then, let’s get started.”

“Where’s the clone?”

“It’s in the other room. We recommend that you don’t see it before the transfer simply because it’s important that you view your new body as yours and not as some product which you overtook.”

Morty looked at the door across from him and imagined the lifeless body laying on the stretcher. He nodded and sat down in the covered chair. His heart was fluttering and the operating room was cold. They covered him with a tarp that had a hole in the middle for his head. Then they swung up a head stand which kept his head in place while sitting up right. It wasn’t too comfortable.

“Now just relax, Morty. I’m going to put this mask over you.”

Morty could hear the gas rushing through the mask and into his lungs. The chemicals in it would enter his bloodstream and cause his brain to lose consciousness.

“I want you to count backwards from 10, okay?”

Morty nodded. “Ten” Slight pause. “Nine” Another pause. “Eight” Longer pause. “Sev…Si” And then nothing.

“No.”

“Today’s my day.”

“What?”

“I’m going in for surgery right now.”

His eyes were instantly open. “You mean the transfer?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I almost didn’t believe it myself. I didn’t want to be a nervous wreck our last day together.”

“Our last day?”

“Well, I mean, like this… in these bodies.”

“Do you have to leave right now?”

“I’m afraid so.”

He looked her over, she was already dressed. “When will I see you again?”

“I’m not sure. If everything goes alright, you should be able to visit me tomorrow.”

He didn’t know what to say, “Well good luck. I’m sure everything will be fine.”

“I know it will.” She kissed him on the cheek.

He looked into her eyes and lifted his head to kiss her lips, but she stopped him.

“No, I want your first taste of my lips to be young and smooth. I want to start my new life with this new body and this new feeling I have for you.”

“Okay.”

“See you soon.” She kissed his cheek again and then left.

Morty laid back down in bed, but couldn’t get back to sleep. He hadn’t realized how much he’d come to rely on her, and the smallest possibility of the procedure going wrong frightened him to death.

The next day was hard for Morty. He couldn’t concentrate. Every time he tried to meditate and breathe, he’d think of Patty. I hope she’s doing okay, he’d think to himself. He approached Sophie and asked her how Patty was doing. She could see the worry in his eyes.

“She’s doing fine, Morty. She just got out of surgery and it was a complete success. No problems at all. She still needs time to rest, so you can’t see her until tomorrow morning, but I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as she can have visitors.”

“Thanks, Sophie.”

“No problem.”

That night, Morty’s sleep was restless. He awoke suddenly to his door opening. It was bright outside with a dark silhouette standing in the doorway. He squinted to bring the black body in view. It walked forward and Morty saw that it was Patty. He was so happy to see her until he noticed the scowl on her face and realized that she was still old.

She began screaming at him, “How could you do this to me? How could you?”

“What- what do you mean?”

“Look at me! I’m a freak!” Suddenly her head lifted off of her body and the veins in her neck became tentacles which she used to move her head off of her body and onto the bed. “HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?” she kept screaming. She crawled up his body and wrapped her tentacles around his neck. “WHY?”

Morty woke up in a sweat. What a horrible nightmare. It was still early; too early to check on Patty. He got up and splashed water on his face, then sat down on his couch. He turned on the entertainment center and tried to take his mind off of things, but he knew he wouldn’t be better until he saw Patty in the morning.

BEEP BEEP. The com woke Morty, who found himself asleep on the couch. He walked over and answered it. “Sophie?”

“Yes, Morty, it’s me. Patty’s awake. You can come see her now.” She gave him directions and he rushed as quickly as he could to her room in the post-op area.

He stopped outside the door and looked in the room through the glass. There was a girl laying there on the bed. A young, sixteen year old girl he didn’t recognize. She turned to him and the light in her blue eyes told him it was truly her. She smiled widely. She was beautiful. Her head was completely covered in bandages except for her face, which was without make up and looked as though she’d been crying a lot. There were several IVs going into her, replenishing the fluids lost during the procedure. Morty walked in. “Hi.”

“Hey,” she said with a young, innocent voice.

“How do you feel?”

“Like my head just got smashed by a truck,” she said letting out a chuckle.

He laughed, “Well you don’t look it. You look beautiful.”

“I know. I’m pretty again. I can’t believe it.”

“You’ve always been pretty, Patty, just now your outside shows it too.”

“Thank you, Morty. Thank you so much. I couldn’t have made it through this without you. You’ve been such a mind-easer these few weeks.”

“Same to you, Patty.”

“Come here.”

He moved next to her, face to face. “Yes?”

“I wanted to wait until I was better, but I just can’t.” She wrapped her arms around his head and pulled him to her, kissing him with her red, plump lips. Morty wanted to pick her up and swing her around the room, but contained himself. “That was worth the wait,” she said.

“Hey, wait until I get my lips back. You won’t know what hitcha.”

She laughed, but then furrowed her brow.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m just a little out of sorts right now. This headache is getting worse. I think I should get some sleep.”

“Okay, you sleep now, darling.”

“Can you stay here for a while?”

“I could watch you sleep forever.”

She smiled as her eyes closed and she fell asleep.

He looked her over, this newborn sixteen year old child. Chronologically, her body was 44 years younger then he was, but mentally, they were the same age. She looked like an angel. He tried to think back on what he looked like when he was 16. He’d probably be drooling all over the place when he slept. He stayed with her for over an hour, then realized he had his own schedule to keep. His surgery was in two days and he had to be in tip top shape to make sure everything went perfectly.

“Oh hello Morty, please come in.”

He entered her quarters to find them exactly like his own except that the bed was made and all the bathroom supplies were arranged at right angles. He chuckled to himself at this observation.

“How did your tests go?” she asked.

“Oh you know: ‘open, close, finger, tube’, the usual pleasantries.”

“I know what you mean. I felt quite uncomfortable with some of the places that Dr. Shu was going.”

“I’m sure. On that note, you hungry?”

“Ravenous. Let’s go to the hall.”

They walked back to the multipurpose room and sat down at an empty table. There were others around them already dining, but both preferred the company of each other alone. After ordering from the servo, they began to talk about their lives that had past and what they planned to do in their next one.

“I want to travel to as many different cities as I can and see how they’re different from ours,” she said. “Different kinds of people intrigue me. To think, there are other ways of doing things, other traditions then those we’ve got.”

“How do you know?”

“Sometimes I’d see them walking through the Productivity center when the big wigs would get together to compare how each Productivity Center was doing.”

“What did they look like?”

“Well there’s all kinds. Some are brown, some are black-“

“Oh you mean different races, well they’re all over the city.”

“Yes, but these were different, they just sounded different, some even spoke another language. It was deeper then that though. The way they walked, the way they interacted, the way they stood just felt… different.”

“Interesting. I’d love to travel as well; see all the world and go to a place called the Philippines.”

“Where’s that?”

“I have no idea, but a Two-One friend from back home told me about it and it sounds beautiful.”

“We should travel together.”

“Why not? As soon as we get to the White City and get settled, we’ll pick a destination and just go.”

“I love it,” she giggled. Even though her body had lost its ‘oomph,’ her bright blue eyes gave off her boundless spirit.

He picked up his glass, “To experiencing things we’ve never dreamt of.”

“And to experiencing them together.” She raised her glass and they toasted.

That night, Patty stayed with Morty. He loved having her there with him. Even though this new place was a path to heaven, it felt sterile and unfamiliar. Her body next to his was the one thing that made sense to him. And his body for her, made her feel safe in this strange place. In the morning, Patty woke Morty up, asking him if he’d take a shower with her. His groggy eyes said no, but somehow his mouth replied, “Of course.” Afterwards, Patty wrapped a towel around her old and wrinkled body and retreated down the hall to her room to get dressed. Morty put on some clothes and looked at his schedule for the day:

“0800: Cardio

1000: strength training

1200: lunch

1400: meditation

1600: free time

1900: dinner”

“Well they’ve got it all laid out don’t they?” Morty said to himself.

Morty was pleased to find Patty’s schedule was similar to his and enjoyed spending the day with her. The cardio work out and strength training were killers. He felt like he was ready to die afterwards. They monitored his heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation while he worked out. Every once and a while, they’d say something like, “Slight ST elevation there,” or “See that PVC, that’s not good,” or “Blood pressure’s a little high, we might have to regulate his diet.” He felt like a bloody lab rat. But he understood that they were just being thorough. It was worth it to be sure the procedure went through without a hitch.

His lunch tasted better then any lunch he’d had there. He devoured it with unyielding voracity. Meditation consisted of sitting Indian style, or as Indian style as everyone’s old bodies could get, and breathing in and out slowly. Thirty minutes into the class, one man broke out into loud snoring. A few others followed after or woke themselves up when they fell over. Everyone laughed. Patty and Morty took a nap together before dinner and then tried out some of the video games on their entertainment center before they went to bed. Apparently, it was harder then one might think to get a car sized frog across a street.

The days followed after each other in a similar fashion. Morty received his scan results which showed a slight blockage in the coronary arteries for which Dr. Spicer put him on medication to reduce the blockage. There were some other minor problems, but nothing unexpected. The procedure date could go ahead as planned. He also received his initial lifestyle profile which put him in a middle class accommodation in the White City. He would own a three-sailed schooner capable of crossing any ocean. He had access to a trainer who would teach him how to sail and had been given a membership to the local regatta club. He couldn’t wait to get over there.