ACQUIRED: reWIRED edition

9: Conquest

This time was worse.

It was all bad. It all hurt.

My sight did not immediately return this time. The pain I was in was keen and sharp and when I broke out of the cocoon shell. There were other differences, too.  I noticed the shell was thicker and sharper this time.

Gradually my vision returned, but at first it seemed like there was a problem. It was so dim everywhere. Then I noticed the time.

It was dusk. I'd been in there for far longer than two hours. I hurt everywhere in part because I was so stiff. I'd been immobilized for the better part of the daylight hours. But at least, yes, that was guy parts I felt between my legs. It had worked. I was back.

There would be no cause for concern. I'd put on my normal clothes and get myself immediately to my standard and very discreet biotech dealer and get him to remove this crazy Thai implant, and then I'd take no more chances. This was the end of the adventure. And my god, it felt pretty good to have a penis again.

My elation lasted about ten more seconds.

Then I realized that while familiar, the flesh between my legs was not mine.

Josh. I was Josh.

No.

How had this happened? I'd been so careful. Panic threatened to take me.

"Enough is enough," I said out loud, in a baritone that was not mine. "No more messing around. I'm just getting this fixed."

The pain I felt then was excruciating. I don't as a rule get migraines, but I've heard them described by friends and coworkers enough to imagine that this was sort of what it felt like: a migraine in my entire body. The next thing I knew I was huddled on the floor of my apartment. I was wrapped up in the fetal position while my vision blurred and my body quivered and twitched with sharp deep pains.

My skin burned. Only when I opened my eyes and found myself staring at the discarded catsuit did the pain abate even slightly. Another torturous spasm wracked my body. I reached out on instinct and grabbed the outfit, meaning to grab it, wad it up, squeeze it, bite down on it, anything to keep from screaming out loud.

The moment I touched the garment, though, the pain went away.

<You have a thing to do. Go do it.>

I grunted loudly, let go of the catsuit, felt another tremor tear through me from my eyes down to my toes.

<This is the means to an end. Do not waste time.>

I stood up automatically, gasped for breath, found my body moving all on its own. It was terrifying, like being kidnapped and dragged around my own life in a body that didn't belong to me. Josh was going through my closet while I watched as a helpless passenger in his body. He put on a sharp pair of slacks and one of my best shirt/blazer combos. He laced up my shoes and paused just long enough to give me a devilish smile in the mirror. Then he walked me over to where Lily's holocam disk was resting on my bureau.

<You can choose this. Or the pain can continue.>

Was I really powerless? No, I don't think that I was. Did I want to think that? Yes, desperately. Did I know what "this" was? Consciously, maybe not, but I remember that the idea of what to do next didn't feel like it was coming from the implant. It was coming from a giddy desire that was buried deep in my core.

I extracted the pay chit from the holocam, rubbed my thumb on it, and heard it ping loudly and flash green. Yes. The chip was keyed to me. Ordinarily this would pose a problem. Unlike my traveler chit, this would require ID to use. But then... I had ID.