textfiles/sex/EROTICA/B/bluebox8.txt

Archive-name: Changes/bluebox8.txt
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Archive-title: Bluebox, The - 8


                                Chapter 43
     Cheryl and  Deirdre both  felt a  little  queasy  about  sleeping
together.   Before the original Cheryl had met Jeffrey, she had shared
several interesting  activities with  Deirdre, but  this was the first
time they had ever done it by themselves.  The fact that Cheryl wasn't
really Cheryl  anymore didn't  help too much.  She looked kind of male
now, but  not completely so.  Cheryl didn't really have an urgent need
to  lose  her  newly-gained  virginity,  and  so,  since  Deirdre  was
uncomfortable, she  didn't press the matter, and they each slept alone
that night.
     That  night,   Cheryl  discovered  some  disturbing  facts  about
herself.   She could  once again  be lonely,  kind of.    Jeffrey  was
inside; but since they were now one, there was nobody to talk to.  She
also found  that she  tended to  return to  a semi-female state if she
wasn't thinking  about it--  both physically  and mentally.   Cheryl's
contributions to  their new  sexuality had  somehow been stronger than
Jeffrey's.   She could  become a  man, enough  to pass for one in most
respects, but  it required  more concentration.   Being a woman seemed
somehow easier.   Jeffrey  was right.   The choice to use Cheryl's old
identity as  their new  combined identity  meant that they were not in
balance.   She could  forget, that  Cheryl and Jeffrey were together--
both inside,  and even  though  she  had  the  memories  of  Jeffrey's
boyhood, it  would be  all to  easy to  live the rest of her life as a
woman.   Those memories  of being male would fade, in time, if she did
so, as might any memory of Jeffrey himself.  She'd be Cheryl again and
life would return to normal, except for the physical differences.  She
might even forget that she DID have all the male parts inside...
     No.   Never.   She'd never forget.  She could be as much of a man
as she  wanted.   Maybe someday  she'd decide  to  remain  in  a  male
configuration, and then Cheryl would be forgotten...
     That was  reassuring.   The balance wasn't so bad after all.  She
would have  to work  out the rest of her life with this body, but that
could wait  until tommorrow.   She  was complete now-- two individuals
perfect for  each other,  now together  for eternity.  The empty space
inside had  been filled.  She was greater than all those other lonely,
separate souls  out there.  She could now tell the world...  There was
so much to say...
     Cheryl finally  fell off to sleep, dreaming of the events earlier
that evening...  of hatching  from an  egg after  having  been  joined
within the egg by her best friend.
     It was close to noon when she woke up.  She pulled the covers off
and looked  at herself.   No breasts, no penis.  Wet between the legs.
She must have had an erotic dream before waking.  Too bad she couldn't
remember  it.    She  looked  young  to  herself--  with  no  breasts,
especially.
     She got  up and  went to  the bathroom.   It  was quiet and sunny
outside-- it  was almost noontime on Thursday.  Walking to the closet,
she didn't know which of the two sliding doors to open-- with Cheryl's
clothes on one side and Jeffrey's on the other.  Undoubtedly they knew
that something  was wrong  at work now.  Deirdre was in the apartment,
having taken the day off.
     She slid open Cheryl's side of the closet.  A box on a shelf held
a few  clothes that  were too  small for Cheryl before, and should fit
her well now.  She put them on.  She had panties that fit, but no bra.
Then she  realized that she didn't need a bra.  She got one of her old
sweaters and  put it on.  Then, watching herself in a mirror, she took
a deep breath.  Her breasts swelled slowly, and when they looked about
right, she  stopped making  them grow.  She bounced up and down a bit.
Yup, nobody  would be  able to  tell she wasn't wearing a bra.  What a
pleasant difference!
     Deirdre didn't say much to Cheryl after Cheryl opened her bedroom
door and went out towards the kitchen area.  In fact, Deirdre was much
quieter than Cheryl expected.
     "Good morning, Deirdre", Cheryl said.
     "Morning."
     "Is this  for me?"  Cheryl asked, pointing to a packet of oatmeal
sitting next to the thermal transfer unit.
     "Yup, left it for you."
     "Thanks."
     Cheryl threw  the plastic  packet into the thermal-transfer unit,
which looked  kind of  like the  old microwave  ovens,  but  was  much
larger, inside  and out.  TTU's, as they were called, were commonplace
now.   They worked  on an  interesting loophole  in the  Third Law  of
Thermodynamics, a  loophole which let you transfer thermal energy from
one  place  to  another  using  hardly  any  energy  in  the  process.
Basically,  you  could  take  two  objects  of  equal  mass  and  swap
temperatures.  A home-type TTU had two such masses inside the cabinet;
one cold  and one hot, with only a small electric circuit keeping them
that way.   Controls  on the front allowed you to instantly change the
temperature of  whatever was  inside-- heating OR cooling whatever you
wish to whatever temperature you wish.
     Cheryl closed  the door on the TTU and set the temperature of the
oatmeal at  95 degrees  Celsius, the  opened the door and took the hot
oatmeal out.  She ate it from the plastic bag.
     Finally, Deirdre was a little more talkative.
     "Sleep okay?"
     "Yes, fine," said Cheryl.  "How about you?"
     "Fine."
     "Oh."
     "Um... Are  you going to tell everyone what you've done?  I don't
think you should wait very long."
     "Yes, Deirdre.   Today.   I'll  drive to IDT and tell them there.
The media will want to talk to you also, so you should brush your hair
before you come along."
     "I DID  brush my  hair, Cheryl.   Oh, you're right.  Sorry.  I'll
go fix it again."

                                Chapter 44
     Deirdre had an unending supply of questions for Cheryl during the
trip to  work, which would be only a subset of what she would be asked
later.   Mostly, she wanted to know what it felt like.  Then she asked
Cheryl how she was planning to break the news to everyone else.
     "I don't  know, Deirdre.   I'll  play it by ear, I guess.  I know
the people at IDT twice as well as I did before, right?"
     "Guess you do," said Deirdre.
     Cheryl opened  the fingerprint-access  lock with  no problem (she
had copied  the original  Cheryl's fingerprints  for that reason).  It
was about  ten minutes before Cheryl and Jeffrey usually went to work.
They'd talk  to the  Boss himself, for that was the accepted procedure
for any  situation where  an employee  wasn't sure  who  to  talk  to.
Deirdre and  Cheryl walked  into his  office.   He had  a waiting room
outside, which was always impeccably clean.  A large monitor screen on
the far  wall had  the usual,  familiar words:   "The  Boss  is  busy.
Please state your name and business."
     Cheryl stood squarely in front of the display.  As she spoke, her
words appeared on the display.   "Cheryl Stillman.  Personal."
     The words  "Is this  OK?" appeared  below her name and message on
the display.  "Yes", Cheryl replied.  The display blinked "Please have
a seat"  for a  few seconds,  and then  switched to a local television
station which  was now  showing the morning version of the $25,000,000
Pyramid.
     They sat  quietly, watching  the game  show for  at least  twenty
minutes before  the screen  went blank,  and then read "Please Enter."
Cheryl got up, coaxed Deirdre to her feet, and walked to the door just
as it slid open.
     "Come in,  Cheryl," the Boss told them.  "You're not Cheryl!  You
kind of LOOK like her, but she's older!  Who are you?"
     "I am Cheryl.  That's why I came here."
     Cheryl introduced  Deirdre to  the Boss.   They  both had a seat.
The Boss,  while in  his office,  seemed most  formidable.  The office
wasn't that  large, but  the Boss'  towering  presence  made  the  two
females (well,  one-and-a-half, at least) a bit uncomfortable.  Still,
the Boss  had a  great reputation  for  understanding  the  employees'
personal problems.
     "So, what's going on?  How did you get in here?" the Boss asked.
     "Mr. Dann-- it's about Jeffrey..."
     The Boss turned his eyes towards a display on his desk.  "Hmmm...
I noticed  that Landers  isn't here this morning.  What's wrong?  He's
not... sick, is he?"
     "No.  But he won't be here.  Or, in a sense, he already is.  It's
a long story."
     The Boss  got up  and sat on his desk in front of them.  "I think
you better  tell me."  He looked at Deirdre.  "That's not... he didn't
get a..."
     "No, Mr. Dann.  That's my roommate."
     "If I understood, Jeffrey was your roommate."
     "True, but  Deirdre was  my OTHER  roommate.  I brought her along
because she's the only other one who knows."
     "Relax.  You can tell me."
     Cheryl looked  at her feet, keeping her eyes off the Boss for the
duration of  her next  two sentences.   "I  know... I'm trying to tell
you.  I'm very different."
     "Intentionally?   Please go on..."
     "I better  start from  the beginning.  Quite a while ago, Jeffrey
introduced the  person YOU  know as  Cheryl me  to the  TA-12  Thought
Amplifier he  was working on.  We had great fun with it and... fell in
love.  Jeffrey built his own version of the Device, on his own time of
course, and we used it quite a bit."
     The Boss didn't seem upset, yet.  "And..."
     "Well, we  tried an  experiment with  it.  As a result, we became
tangled up inside each other, so much so that we couldn't exist in two
separate bodies.   I  have both  Cheryl  and  Jeffrey  inside.    It's
terrific."
     The Boss  sat for  a second, then said:  "Let me understand.  You
and Jeffrey  somehow had  an accident  with the TA-12 and now he can't
come to work."
     Cheryl was short with him.  "No.  I look like Cheryl to you, kind
of.   But I'm  not.   I have all the components of the original Cheryl
and Jeffrey.  We are both sitting here in one body, together."
     "That's impossible,  Stillman.  The TA-12 can't manipulate matter
in the real world."
     "No, but the Genetic Modification Lab can."
     The Boss  stood up,  walked behind  his desk,  and fell  into his
chair.  "You mean that you-- and Jeffrey-- used the tank at once-- and
are..."
     "Together", replied Cheryl.
     "Incredible.   Of course it could work.   But you don't seem like
two people, Cheryl."
     "I'm not,  Mr. Dann.   Jeffrey and Cheryl are one.  I'm that one.
It's not like we're two people anymore."
     "And... What  inspired you to do this on your own, and made it so
urgent that you couldn't have told us?  What would have happened if it
didn't work?"
     "It WAS  urgent.   It was so painful to be separated after Cheryl
and Jeffrey  saw inside  each other.  And I didn't want anyone to know
just in the event that it didn't work.  IDT was not liable."
     "Hmmm..." said the Boss.  "Why don't you give me all the details.
Then we can decide what to do."
     Cheryl explained  everything, from  Jeffrey's programming  of the
Device, to the design and execution of the genetic changes themselves.
She couldn't help but sound excited, but the Boss failed to share that
enthusiasm.
     When she  finished, the  Boss called  several of  the  department
heads and  asked them to meet at 10:00 am in one of the meeting rooms.
Cheryl and Deirdre sat in the waiting room while the Boss handled some
other business,  then they  followed him  to the  meeting.   The  Boss
handed Deirdre  an  identification  badge  as  they  walked  down  the
hallway.
     Cheryl explained  it all again in front of the supervisors at the
meeting.  These people were responsible, as a group, for many of IDT's
decisions, especially  those involving  problem-solving.    This  time
there were  many technical  questions for  Cheryl to answer, which she
did.   She hadn't  brought the cartridge with the design for her body,
and she felt a bit embarrassed when asked questions about her anatomy.
She explained  her design with a lot of euphemisms, and decided not to
mention the  cartridge-- the  cartridge that contained all the details
of her body.  That would be a REAL invasion of privacy!
     Finally, there  were a  few questions about how she felt now, and
what it was like to be "together".  She was very happy to answer those
questions.  It made some of the people present look envious, even.
     An agreement was reached to issue a press release immediately and
worry about how to make use of Cheryl and Jeffrey's "invention" later.
The Boss  asked that  Cheryl be  allowed to make final approval of the
press release, and that Cheryl and Deirdre would remain at IDT to talk
to reporters.   Cheryl  took Deirdre to the communications room, where
they could examine the press releases before they were transmitted.
     Reporters showed  up in  the late  afternoon.   They stayed until
well after  "quitting time",  along with  most of  IDT's employees who
were all  very excited  about what  had happened.  Deirdre, who hadn't
said a  word most  of the  day, was  most happy  to be  asked a lot of
questions about her soon-to-be-famous roommate.  At 9:00 that evening,
most of  IDT's staff  were still  around, waiting  to see  Cheryl  and
Deirdre on  the news.   It was the second story on the report, and the
longest one.   At  about 9:04  pm, the  world learned  about what  had
happened.   Just as  when Cheryl  had first  joined Jeffrey inside the
Device's world, things would never be the same again.

                                Chapter 45
     Cheryl and Deirdre went home right after seeing themselves on the
news.   The Boss  told Cheryl to take the next day off; and to show up
the next  day so  they  could  do  some  tests  on  her  and  document
everything for  the scientific  journals.   Cheryl figured  that there
would be more interviews and questions from the press, and that it was
her chance  to tell  everyone of  the benefits  of the invention.  Her
mind was racing with ideas...  Ideas that she could have, now, because
quite suddenly,  she had twice the knowledge she had before.  Problems
which somehow seemed insurmountable before, suddenly had answers.
     "Deirdre, I  got it!"  she shouted,  in the  car on the way home.
"Why didn't I think of it before??"
     "Got WHAT,  Cheryl?   Whatever it  is, I  know of  ONE reason you
didn't think of it before."
     "Oh, what's that?"
     "Come on, airhead!  You KNOW more things now than you did before.
Cheryl knew  half of  the stuff  needed for your idea, WHATEVER IT IS,
and Jeffrey knew the other..."
     "Yes, of  course.   Somehow it's  hard to remember that.  It just
seems like I never thought of it before and I can't tell why."
     "What IS it??"
     "A way  of solving the problem with the Device.  To eliminate the
air gap between the transmitter and the receiver with no feedback.  So
it will work better.  Technical stuff."
     Cheryl nodded.  Somehow it looked like this would be hard to live
with.
     The next  morning, Cheryl stared at the frozen eggs that she made
for breakfast, while Deirdre ate hers.
     "Deirdre?"
     "Yes, Cheryl?"
     "How old do I look?"
     "I don't know.  Sixteen, seventeen, maybe.   Why?"
     "I'm not hungry."
     "What's that have to do with it?"
     "Deirdre, when was the last time I wasn't hungry?"
     "Last night.   You  didn't eat  much, you were excited over those
ideas you've been having."
     "No, I WAS hungry last night.  Before then?"
     "Come on,  Cheryl, you've  been pigging  out continously.  You've
said you were hungry ever since you came out of the tank."
     Cheryl continued staring at her plate.  "Exactly."
     "So what's wrong?  You've always liked eggs."
     "Yes, but I'm not hungry!"
     "So what??  Will you TELL me what's going on?"
     "Bad news,  I'm afraid.  I've been growing real fast the last few
days, right?"
     "Yup.  You looked older yesterday than the day before."
     "I think  I blew  it last  night.  I didn't eat right.  I stopped
growing."
     "Stopped growing??  Cheryl, that means..."
     "No, not  STOPPED...   The plan  was that I'd age more quickly as
long as the nutrients were available.  So when I got to the right age,
I could just skip a few meals, and then I'd be normal."
     "You mean--  if you're  sixteen now,  it will be TEN YEARS before
you're twenty-six again?"
     "I'm afraid so."
     "Don't sit there then!  Eat!"
     Cheryl tried to force down most of breakfast, but it didn't help.
     "Of course  you know,  Cheryl, people  would PAY you if you could
make them seventeen again."
     "Yes, Deirdre... but my body's not the proper age for ME!  I look
like I should be in high school."
     "Take a deep breath."
     Cheryl did.  Her breasts grew a bit.
     "That makes you look older."
     "Thanks."
     Cheryl picked  up her  dishes and  threw them  into the recycler.
She slumped against the counter, still upset.
     Deirdre got  up walked  over to  her.   Deirdre was  now slightly
taller than her, and gave her a hug.  "You're alright, kid."
     "Who are you calling a kid?"
     "Cheryl!  Stop it."
     Cheryl smiled  a bit.   Deirdre  made her  feel good...  She felt
like she could look up to her friend now, a real friend who had helped
her through many difficult times, and obviously cared for her.
     Later  in  the  day,  while  Deirdre  was  wandering  around  the
apartment with  little to  do after  having taken yet another day off,
Cheryl walked up to her and gave her another hug.
     "Deirdre, you've  been a  real friend.   I'm sorry for all you've
had to put up with."
     "Forget it,  Cheryl.   You've done  at  least  as  much  for  me.
Besides, I've got a famous roommate now."
     Then there  was silence  for a  moment.   Cheryl didn't let go of
Deirdre, and  it didn't  seem like  Deirdre was letting go either.  It
suddenly seemed like the situation was more than friendly.  Cheryl had
been waiting  for this  moment; Deirdre  figured it  would happen, but
wasn't expecting it this instant.
     Cheryl was  doing the right things to Deirdre, who squeezed her a
bit more tightly.  Cheryl felt funny; Jeffrey had felt a little guilty
when he  had made  love with  Deirdre  before,  and  Cheryl  a  little
jealous; and with those memories not only present but COMBINED, it was
hard to convince herself that it was alright now.
     Deirdre's resistance  weakened.   Of course,  THIS Cheryl had all
the knowledge of her weaknesses that Jeffrey did; and Jeffrey knew how
to treat  her.  And, unlike before, those energies were now focused on
Deirdre.

                                Chapter 46
     Cheryl had  unleashed most  of the  seductive power  she had, and
suddenly felt  more masculine,  even though  her now-moist pussy would
have reminded  her otherwise.   She  felt Deirdre melt, and was unsure
whether she should proceed, Deirdre no longer making up her own mind.
     When Deirdre  realized what  was happening,  she had already been
half-undressed.   She was  wet between the legs, and suddenly realized
why.   Cheryl seemed  to have  her mind  set on  this, and  was  half-
undressed too, and had one hand on Deirdre's chest, the other about to
remove her bra.
     Deirdre's awareness  was only  momentary.  Her bra fell away, and
Cheryl's touch  on her  nipples sent  her back  into a  quiet,  dreamy
state.   Cheryl removed  Deirdre's panties,  and the  rest of  her own
clothes.  She wasn't going to give Deirdre another chance to stop her.
She would  have Deirdre now, and prove once and for all that she could
get what she wanted.
     But Deirdre  did get one more chance, and now found herself lying
on the  floor with Cheryl next to her, with one hand between Deirdre's
legs, trying  to keep her aroused and unable to stop Cheryl's actions.
Deirdre tried  to sit  up, and  fell back  again.   This  time  Cheryl
wrapped one  arm around  her.   She kissed Deirdre, her tongue quickly
exploring Deirdre's familiar (of course, Jeffrey did it before) mouth.
Deirdre  kept  her  tongue  in  her  own  mouth,  which  Cheryl  found
disappointing.
     Cheryl's breasts  were now  barely visible.   She  had done  that
intentionally, to  ease Deirdre's fears and make it seem a little more
like she  was with Jeffrey, and not a female roommate, because at this
moment, she wasn't.
     Deirdre rolled  over  onto  her  back,  legs  squeezed  together.
Cheryl climbed  on top  of her,  running her fingers through Deirdre's
hair, and  kissing her  lightly.   Deirdre was  nearly motionless, and
totally silent.   Cheryl  kept it  up, lying  flat on  top of Deirdre,
trying to  keep her  excited and relax her a bit.  Jeffrey appreciated
the weight on top of him; Deirdre probably did too.  Having an active,
naked body  lying on  top of you was exciting and made you feel secure
somehow...  But Deirdre wasn't participating like she did with Jeffrey
before.  She wasn't resisting, but wasn't making life easier.
     Cheryl's voice  was low  again.   It wasn't very low, not even as
low as Jeffrey's was before, but it didn't sound quite as feminine.
     "Relax yourself,  Deirdre.  I know you want this as much as I do.
It'll be easier after we've done it once."  Of course, Deirdre usually
felt more  comfortable in  a sexual  situation than  Cheryl did; which
made this  circumstance more  unnerving.   Cheryl herself was slipping
out of her aroused state; and considered giving up on it.
     Deirdre finally  spoke.   "The voice  won't help  you, Cheryl.  I
don't care  whether you  sound male OR female.  You don't have to play
that game with me."
     Cheryl understood.   She  was taking  advantage of abilities that
Deirdre didn't have, in order to seduce her roommate; Deirdre resented
it.
     "Don't listen  to my  voice, Deirdre.   Listen  to  my  feelings.
Listen to  yours."   The voice  still had  a low  pitch; Cheryl didn't
bother changing it.
     Deirdre didn't respond.
     Okay, then, one last chance.  Cheryl propped herself up, with her
weight on  her hands  and on  Deirdre's pelvis.    Suddenly,  she  was
playful, licking  the tip  of Deirdre's  nose.    Cheryl's  weight  on
Deirdre's pelvis made Deirdre warm inside.
     It worked.   Deirdre  was playful  too.  "You can't have me," she
said, giggling.
     "And why not?" Cheryl asked with some insolence.
     "I hardly know you!" Deirdre answered, eyes closed, giggling.
     "You always lie on the floor naked with people you don't know?"
     "That was your fault.  I didn't do that."
     "Will you do THIS?"  Cheryl kissed Deirdre's nose.
     "Uh huh", answered Deirdre.
     "Or this?" Cheryl said before kissing her on the lips.
     "I don't mind that..."
     "Or... this?"  Cheryl played with Deirdre's breasts.
     "No..."
     Cheryl lay  down again, clasping Deirdre, who in turn wrapped her
arms around Cheryl.
     "Then you won't mind... this..."
     Cheryl pushed  a bit.   Deirdre  felt something  wet between  her
thighs, poking  up towards  her pelvis,  sliding between her legs.  It
pressed  against  the  lips  of  her  pussy,  Cheryl  shifting  around
slightly.   It was  warm.   It slid  down a  bit, suddenly finding the
opening into  Deirdre's body,  and  the  tip  of  it  slipped  inside.
Deirdre suddenly  opened her  eyes to discover that Cheryl's eyes were
closed.  She had gotten what she wanted.
     Cheryl, now holding on to Deirdre and remaining motionless to the
outside world,  pushed quite  a bit.   The penis slid out of her body,
and pushed  its way  into Deirdre.   Cheryl kept pushing until she had
reached the other end of Deirdre's vagina, and was fully inside.  Then
her penis  grew in  diameter, stretching  Deirdre as  her blood flowed
into it.   Deirdre  felt the  emptiness being filled.  She held Cheryl
tightly, and squeezed her muscles.  Cheryl felt it.
     "Do that again..." Cheryl said, whispering.
     Deirdre squeezed again.  "Like this?"
     Cheryl had  to share  her past  experience.   "We used to do that
with each  other all  the time.   I  remember when you were sitting on
Jeffrey's face... and when you came in while we were making love..."
     "You mean YOU two before you..."
     "Right.  We sent these little messages back and forth to let each
other know  everything was  okay.   Like this."  Cheryl's penis grew a
bit as she contracted muscles inside her body.
     Deirdre felt it.  "Neat..."
     "Nobody except us, now, can tell it's happening."
     Deirdre squeezed again.  Everything WAS okay.
     Cheryl started  sliding back  and  forth  now.    This  was  much
different than  it ever was before; she could not only feel the depths
of Deirdre's body, but felt Deirdre's crotch and her own penis sliding
against her  own parts.  She pressed her pussy's lips to Deirdre's for
a moment, then carried on as any other male might.
     Deirdre moaned.  Cheryl was panting, but otherwise silent.
     Cheryl knew  instantly when Deirdre starting her orgasm.  Deirdre
stopped  moving   and  squeezed   Cheryl  tightly,  pressing  Cheryl's
featureless chest  against her own breasts, and tightening the muscles
between her  legs involuntarily.   Cheryl  pushed deep  inside at that
same instant.   Then  she came  also, squirting  a clear liquid (which
really had  no function  now) into Deirdre.  Muscles inside her pumped
the liquid  for ten  or fifteen  seconds...  Then she collapsed, penis
still inside.

                                Chapter 47
     Five minutes  later,   getting a  little restless, Cheryl got up.
She loved  the sudden  release from  the sexual  frustration; as if an
immense fog  of passion had lifted, and she could think clearly, freed
for the  moment from  the cajoling  of her  own hormones.   Her  long,
somewhat deflated  penis felt cooler to Deirdre as it slithered out of
her tired, wet body, and across her legs.  As Cheryl started standing,
the penis  started to disappear within her.  It was wet inside Cheryl;
partially an  oversight in the design, partially to allow the penis an
easy trip  back into  its hidden resting place behind her vagina.  The
wetness was  kind of  annoying, since before now it was one thing that
didn't later bother an ordinary male.
     Deirdre lay  there for  another minute  or two,  and then got up.
"Now look  who comes  more!", she  announced, pointing  to  the  clear
liquid that  was now  dripping from  her, down  her legs, while Cheryl
wiped just a small bit of moisture from herself.
     "No fair, roomie.  That's mine too," Cheryl replied.
     "You mean you actually CAME inside me?  I don't know if..."
     "Relax.  No sperm, hopefully.  I didn't turn it on."
     "What do  you mean  'HOPEFULLY', lover?   I  said  I  liked  your
design, but that didn't mean I want to help reproduce it now."
     "Don't you have a general contraceptive working?"
     "Expires today.  But that's not the point.  Who knows if it works
against your gene structure?"
     "Good question.  Let me look..."
     Cheryl looked  between Deirdre's legs, saw that the fluid was, in
fact, clear,  and told this fact to Deirdre, who was satisfied at that
point.
     "Tell me,"  she said as started to clean herself up, "just HOW DO
you turn it on and off?"
     "It's all  voluntary.  I pump one muscle long enough, supposedly,
and sperm production starts, at which point I'm dangerous for a couple
days.   I squeeze something inside--" she pointed just above her belly
button-- " ... and hold it for a minute or two, and I'll ovulate.
     "What happens after you ovulate?"
     "Well, after a couple of days I can be fertilized."
     "If that doesn't happen?"
     "Then it's  just like you.  I menstruate.  But just once unless I
decide to ovulate again."
     "Can you feel it--- when you ovulate?"
     "Supposedly... I put nerve endings so I'd feel it when the egg is
released.  But I haven't tried it."
     Deirdre was sitting on the couch, and Cheryl went over and sat in
her lap.
     "You're good, kid.  Real good.", Deirdre said, smiling.
     "Stop calling me a kid!"
     "Alright...   After all,  you didn't make love like a kid... Even
if you do look like one."
     "I do not!"
     "You do now!"
     "Look, Deirdre..."   Cheryl  took a  deep breath,  held  it,  and
pushed.
     "Yes, squirt?"
     Cheryl bared  her teeth,  then swiveled  around suddenly.   There
were breasts  there now.  They were larger than Deirdre's already, and
still growing.
     "I'm not a kid!" squealed Cheryl.
     "Alright! Alright!   I  won't tease you anymore.  Stop before you
embarrass me, or blow up or something."
     Cheryl smiled a tiny smile.
     There was  a knock at the door.  Several knocks, followed by some
voices.  "Is Cheryl Stillman here?  It's the Video News..." "...Herald
Time Newsmonth..." all garbled together.
     Deirdre jumped  up, and  Cheryl  fell  backwards  to  the  floor.
Deirdre grabbed  her clothes  and started dressing.  Cheryl ran to the
window, and  upon opening  the curtain,  saw several  news-crew trucks
parked in  the lot  across the  street,  along  with  a  small  crowd.
Someone pointed  at the window, and Cheryl threw the curtains shut and
stumbled to  her room  to get  her clothes.   "Just a minute!" Deirdre
yelled towards the door.
     Cheryl, whose  body was  still wet  with  perspiration  from  her
previous activity,  grabbed a towel to dry some of it off, and dressed
quickly.   There was  a wet  spot on the floor that she'd have trouble
explaining.  No, they wouldn't ask that.  She turned the air exchanger
up so that the sexual scents they had left would disappear.
     Deirdre was  dressed and at the door.  Cheryl hadn't even put her
panties on yet, so (with the central area free of underwear now), went
into her  room and closed the door.  She locked it, which would be the
first time ever that she ever had locked that door.
     She dressed  in a minute so as to look somewhat presentable.  Her
breasts were  too large,  still, which she noticed as she tried to put
on the  shirt she  wore earlier; it would take a minute or two for her
form to  shrink to  the size  she had before.  She'd have to look just
right; normal  enough not  to shock anyone, but not quite so female as
to make  the story  unbelievable; of  course, she  wouldn't be able to
prove anything to the press.
     She brushed  her hair, and opened the door.  The room was full of
people; actually  it looked  like  only  two  news  crews  and  a  few
reporters.   The rest  were people  from the building; mostly friends,
but a  few people  who lived  there that Cheryl and Deirdre had hardly
ever seen.
     They had  all sorts  of questions  for her;  questions  that  she
hadn't been  prepared to  answer, but even under the pressure was able
to.   Most of  them  weren't  about  HER,  but  instead  how  the  two
inventions she  had used would affect everyone else.  Would two lovers
ANYWHERE who wished to combine their bodies be able to do so?   Cheryl
couldn't answer  that, saying that the use of the tank would of course
be up  to IDT,  and a  number of safety tests would have to be done to
approve it  for the  general public.  What about the Device?  How does
it work?  What can we use it for?  What about illicit uses of it?
     Those last questions were the ones that Cheryl could best answer.
She described what the machine did, and offered to take some reporters
on a  "tour" of  its capabilites  after she  was finished with the IDT
testing.   She had  to tell them of one of the best uses of the device
so far...
     "I'd like  to see  it used  in hospitals, for critically injured,
disabled, or  paralyzed individuals.  Because it communicates directly
with your  mind, a subject can forget about physical problems and pass
the time in a MUCH more enjoyable way than by lying in a hospital bed.
And while  the patient is on this voyage, the body is being taken care
of by  the medical  crews who  don't have  to worry  about the patient
doing something  that might hurt himself.  The patient would return to
find himself  all fixed  up...  Or, if he can't be fixed up, he'd be a
lot better off than in the REAL world."
     That brought  about momentary silence, followed by more noise and
a few people asking where the phone was.
     Cheryl had  a few  more things  she had  to say.  "Someone can do
things that  are impossible  in real life.  We can use it for testing,
training, therapy, or just plain entertainment."
     "As for the genetic modification lab...  Sure, it might be a cure
for cancer, or other diseases, or whatever.  But the fact that you get
to JOIN  someone PERMANENTLY  is worth  much more,  or at least it has
been to me, than those other changes."

                                Chapter 48
     Cheryl was  discovering, rather quickly, that with all of Jeffrey
and the original Cheryl inside, that having only one body between them
was a  bit of  a problem.   With  only two  hands and  one mouth,  she
couldn't get her ideas to work as quickly as she thought of them.  She
had completed  the tests  that IDT  administered to  her, though  they
wouldn't tell her what they were looking for or what they found.  They
took lots of pictures, one skin sample, gave her a battery of physical
and mental  tests, and  even had  her talk  to a  psychologist for  an
afternoon.   She cooperated  with everyone,  figuring there  had to be
some useful purpose to it all.
     IDT let  her work on her own projects.  IDT wanted the license to
the Device; in return, they'd provide the facilities for whatever else
she decided  to spend  time on.   Her first project was to build a new
Device, the  one she  thought up  on the way to IDT with Deirdre a few
days ago.   This  one didn't  get its  signals through  the  air;  but
instead, the  participants wore  a plastic "collar" which plugged into
the device  itself.  The collar could intercept signals from the brain
with far  less trouble  than  the  indirect  receiver  did.    It  had
connectors for  external devices  (like a  recording device).    While
various government agencies worked to approve that device for use, she
worked on the accessories for it.  Within a month she had finished two
inventions:   First was an audio/video interface, which let you record
music and/or images that you simply imagined in your head.  The second
was a  communicator-- a  device which  clipped to one's belt and could
transmit  thoughts   to  another   person  also   so  equipped.    The
communicator didn't  recieve agency approval right away; but the other
devices were put into production.  The first of them would be used for
therapy, and  it wasn't  for another  year or so that people could use
them for  recreational purposes.   Meanwhile,  Cheryl went  on to work
with the Genetic Modification people to see how that could be used.  A
number of willing volunteers went through the same process that Cheryl
and Jeffrey  had; Cheryl  was no  longer unique  in that respect.  The
government clamped  down on  Genetic  Modifications  without  specific
approval, fearing that with the tank, one man and one woman could turn
themselves into  a race  which could exterminate the rest of humanity.
They would approve specific biological designs on an individual basis;
a lengthy  process full  of  red  tape.    Only  a  tiny  fraction  of
applicants would live long enough to have that dream come true.
     Deirdre had  become famous  too-- though  she was  still known by
most as  "Cheryl's Roommate",  she had a growing business all her own.
Cheryl had given the idea for the elastic-crotch pants to Deirdre, who
patented it,  and the  pants couldn't  be manufactured  fast enough to
keep up  with the demand.  What made Deirdre really happy, though, was
that she  had found  a real boyfriend for herself, and in fact planned
to get married.
     Cheryl  seemed  too  busy  to  think  about  Deirdre's  impending
marriage.   Cheryl herself  had no  boyfriend (nor girlfriend, really,
now).   Success hadn't  treated her  very well  in that  respect.  She
didn't feel  upset at  all, until  about a  month before  Deirdre  was
leaving.   Cheryl had  gone on a few dates.  It seemed that the people
she went  out with  didn't like the fact that Cheryl could date people
of both  sexes; though,  in fact,  she had developed far too much of a
female physique to really look like a man.  She could appear as an 18-
year-old female,  or look  ambiguous, but was never a convincing male.
For that  reason all  but one  date she had was male.  She didn't like
it; she felt that only half of her talents were being used.  There was
one male  who Cheryl felt comfortable with, enough to sleep with.  But
Cheryl felt  constrained; he wanted a FEMALE, and one night, as Cheryl
was telling him how he really made her feel feminine, he told her that
he wished  she'd never be anything else.  Cheryl resented that so much
that she broke up with him right then, never seeing him again.
     A week  before the  apartment  lease  expired,  Deirdre,  in  the
apartment to  pick up  some of  her things,  heard some  panting  from
Cheryl's room.   Figuring that Cheryl had aroused herself, and wanting
to join her, Deirdre slipped into her room with a grin on her face, as
she unbuttoned her top.
     Cheryl was  lying on her bed, undressed and on top of the covers,
with her legs squeezed together.  Her eyes were closed, and she didn't
hear Deirdre  enter.   Deirdre planned  to surprise her one last time,
pouncing on her and letting Cheryl share herself... but as Deirdre was
about to  climb on  the bed, Cheryl suddenly went tense, then relaxed.
Her orgasm  was over; Deirdre missed it.  She heard a sucking sound as
Cheryl's penis disappeared from inside herself.
     Cheryl opened  her eyes, and saw Deirdre, half-undressed, sitting
next to her.
     "Darn, I  thought I'd  surprise you.   Is  it too  late?" Deirdre
asked.
     "Deirdre!  Thanks for thinking of me.  No, I can't."
     Deirdre ran  her hands through Cheryl's pubic hair, as if to coax
Cheryl's penis out.  "Why not?"
     "I'm dangerous.  You don't want to get pregnant."
     "Pregnant?   No thanks,  I'll leave  that to Robert.  Why are you
dangerous?  Turn on the sperm just so I can't have you?"
     "No.  I didn't expect you."
     "Obviously not.  You know, we still don't know if SBC's and stuff
work on you."
     Cheryl looked dead serious.  "I ovulated a couple of days ago."
     "What??   Cheryl, why?   You  know...   Wait a minute!  You could
make yourself..."
     "Pregnant," Cheryl concluded.  "That's what I wanted to do.  I'll
probably be  pregnant in  just a  few minutes,  once the sperm find my
egg..."
     "You're going to have a baby?"
     "That's the general idea for pregnancy, isn't it?"
     "Cheryl... I don't believe it...  You, a mother..."
     "Father too.  Staying over tonight?"
     "I guess I might as well.  Geez, Cheryl, I never figured..."
     Cheryl and Deirdre talked with each other until they finally fell
asleep.
     The next morning, they had breakfast together.  As Cheryl ate her
potatoes, Deirdre  noticed that  Cheryl's breasts, formerly invisible,
were growing.  That never happened when Cheryl wasn't paying attention
to them.
     "Cheryl, your tits..."
     Cheryl looked  down at  them.   She HADN'T done it intentionally...

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