I smile as I y back on the bed in the room Astie and I have rented at the Full Moon Tavern. She snuggles up to me, grinning. “I’m really gd we made it through that, sweetie. And now we have a whole new city to explore!”

  I smile. “Yeah, but I’m gonna log out for a few days. I’ve got college, and I should probably check in with Yaya. I just hope that the streams I’ve done over the st while will help tide people over until I get back into the game!”

  Dana kisses my cheek, her lips soft and warm, and purrs, “We should also go on a date or something! We do a lot of in-game stuff, but not much I.R.L! We can set up a picnic or something, bring Feffer, Jeffrey and his boyfriend… sound good?”

  I nod. “Yeah, but I may call off depending on how I feel. I’ve… started getting chest pains, especially around my… nips.”

  Dana giggles. “Congratutions, Kylie! The first signs of breast-growth! Enjoy it, as well as the whole ‘running downstairs without a bra’ thing, and all that!”

  I pout, sticking my tongue out at her. “I KNOW the side-effects of transitioning, Dana! I’m still overjoyed by it even if it’s uncomfortable!”

  Snuggling together, I reach out, open my menu, and hit the log-out button as I close my eyes…

  My eyes flutter open inside my Pod, and I thumb the ejection switch, as the hatch slides open, allowing cooler air and the sounds of my parents chatting downstairs to filter in. I step out and run a quick bath, wanting to wash off all the sweat from my gaming session. That ‘quick’ bath turned out to take about two hours, and I towel myself dry, my hair wrapped up in another towel as I re-paint my nails a soothing pastel pink, smiling as I feel a trickle of euphoria running through my system. Then, I can’t help but start crying. My mum comes as if something’s triggered her Parent-Sense, and she scoops me into a hug, rubbing my back.

  “Hey, what’s wrong, sweetie? Why are you crying?”

  I sniffle, “I don’t know! I don’t understand emotions! I’ve been repressing them for so long!”

  Mum holds me close, and I can hear dad’s heavier footsteps as he comes to see what’s going on. I can’t hear anything mum says, but I do hear dad’s response.

  “Right. I’ll go make some cocoa.”

  He disappears, and mum helps me calm down enough to get dressed in my pyjamas and settled in bed. I snuggle up against my mum as she murmurs soothing nothings in my ear, her arms around me and the scent of the perfume she always wears tickling my nose. Before dad gets back with the cocoa, I’ve fallen asleep, nestled in my mum’s loving embrace….

  Next morning, I dress in my college girl’s uniform, and head down for breakfast, half-remembering I’d cried st night, and mum’s already on the phone with Yaya.

  “Oh, just a small side-effect of the hormones? That’s a relief. She’s never been much of a crier, or even that openly emotional. It’s… just a little strange to see her so expressive, but it’s really good to see.”

  I pause in the doorway, and she smiles up at me.

  “Oh, she’s just come down before college. Yes, she’ll be there for the next session. You can discuss it with her then, yes?”

  I head for the fridge and get myself some cereal, sitting at the table and eating while mum wraps up her conversation. She hangs up and smiles at me. “You want a lift today? I’m working from home for a couple of weeks.”

  I nod, finishing my cereal. “I’d like that, mum. Thanks!”

  I pull out my phone and quickly scroll to my banking app, opening it and checking my bance. What I see almost makes my heart stop.

  “Uh… mum…? I’m… I’m very, VERY rich right now…”

  She turns her head slightly, and I turn my phone to show her. I’d renamed my account to use my chosen name, and had a new card sent out. And what we see is…

  Kylie Porter

  Bance: 652,405.43

  Mum stares, and then raises her voice. “Thomas? Can you… can you come here for a minute? This is… important!”

  I swallow. Even with the auto-pay set up so my moderators are getting their wages, I’m still rather wealthy, and I have no idea what I’m even supposed to DO with this kind of money…

  Dad comes out of the downstairs basement he’d converted the ft below into, his hair tousled and his gsses a little askew. “What is it, Sylvia? You almost never call me out of my Fortress of Geekitude!”

  She turns my phone to show him, and he blinks, takes his gsses off and cleans them, puts them back on and reads again. Then he goes to the fridge, gets out a bottle of soda, pours himself a gss, drinks it, then puts the bottle back in the fridge. Turning to me, he asks, “So… what’s your pn with all that? I mean, that is a not-inconsiderable amount of mooh.”

  Before I can answer, Houseworth hurries in, holding a hand up. “Mr Thomas, Mrs Sylvia, Miss Kylie, you’re going to want to see this.”

  He uncurls his fingers, the hardlight projection flickering faintly, and a news-site opens in mid-air. “There’ve just been reports of over a dozen Church of One-reted terror attacks against many clinics and institutions supporting gender-affirming care and therapy….”

  I shake a little. “Is Re-Spec okay?!”

  Houseworth nods. “There was an attempt, but the building’s autonomous defences subdued the attackers, non-lethally. They were arrested by Enforcer Captain Zaire Walce and his squad.”

  I sigh in relief. I’ll have to ask Jared to thank his dad for me. Then I ask mum, “You were on the phone with Yaya when I came down. Do you… think we could skip college today? I’d like to see her if I can. She did say I could book emergency appointments, and I… I have something I want to ask her. And, with the situation with the Cult of One getting worse, I don’t want to put it off until ter…!”

  Mum and dad share a look. “I think that’s a good idea, sweetie,” my dad nods, handing my phone back to me. I exit the banking app and scroll through my contacts until I find Yaya Kirichenko. I thumb the dial icon, and hold my phone to my ear, waiting anxiously as it rings.

  “Hello, this is Re-Spec specialist, Yaya Kirichenko! Kylie, what can I do for you? I wasn’t expecting you AND your mum to call me in such short succession! This sounds big!”

  I breathe out softly. “Yaya, have you seen the news? The Church of One is getting way worse. They even attacked your workpce! They’re out of control… and I’m scared. I…”

  I pause, looking up at my parents. They nod as one, and I continue.

  “I… I want to speed the process of my transition up. I did some research, and I know that Re-Spec has the option to send clients to a secure facility to undergo high-frequency surgical alteration. I… I want to apply for that.”

  Yaya’s voice comes through clearly. “Kylie… you’re in luck, as it happens. I spoke to your mum about this earlier. We had a client back out due to the current state of affairs with those religious zealots, and I asked her if you’d be interested in taking their pce. We gave them a full refund, so you’d need to pay, but we do have financial programs set up if you need any help with that.”

  I shrug. “As long as it’s less than 500,000, I’ll be more than ready.”

  “… well, that solves the stickier topic. Look, I know our next therapy session was going to be in two days, but, since you’ve called, we can get you admitted tomorrow. Judging by your requirements and the rather… intensive procedures you’ll be going under, you’ll be spending the next six months or so in a medically-induced coma.

  You’ll be spending most of that time in whatever VR spaces you like, but you’ll be kept sedated the entire time. The on-site team will be working around the clock to re-write your entire genetic morphology, and that’s going to take time, as well as editing and adapting all your documentation so you can pick up your new life right from where you left off. I have to be honest, if you turn this opportunity down, it could be years before you get another shot to fast-track the process, and, if things with the Church of One keep getting worse, well… I don’t want to scare you, but…”

  I steel myself. “Yaya… I’m still ready. Put me under the knife. Let’s do it.”

  Mum hugs her husband, and I can feel his hand on my shoulder. He murmurs, “You’ve got this, princess. We’ll be in-game a lot. We need to keep you posted on the real world while you’re off in game-nd, after all. And we’ll find a way to include you in as much stuff as possible, even if that means getting your homework to you!”

  Yaya coughs a little. “Okay, I’ve sent a few documents to your dad so he can make copies of them. You’ll have to inform your college that you’ll be taking some required time off for medical reasons, and those will help. They’ll be specially-constructed so they can only be read by those with parental approval, which means that your parents will have to give verbal confirmation three times in a row or else the files will erase themselves permanently. You won’t need to pack anything except any personal belongings you consider necessities, and we’ll send a vehicle to get you tonight. By tomorrow morning, you’ll be checked-in and ready to undergo your treatment. Stay safe out there, Kylie. I want to get to meet you after you get back, okay?”

  “Yeah. You too, Yaya. Thanks…. I’ve gotta go, though. See you ter.”

  I hang up, and find myself enveloped in a dual-parent hug. Mum’s tearing up a little, and dad’s gsses look mysteriously fogged-up as well. I hug them both. “I’m going to be fine, mum, dad. I have both of you on my side, after all.”

  Mum sighs. “Well, if you still want me to take you to college, I can. But, I suspect you’re going to want to go on your own so you can talk to Jeffrey in person about this…”

  I nod. “You read my mind, mum. Don’t worry; I know for a FACT that Jared spent the night watching movies there yesterday, so we’ll go as a group.”

  Dad nods. “Houseworth, you keep monitoring the WDTN, I’m going to get to work on something more important than some boring old hotfix for the Incant Group’s backup sever. They can shove it, I’ll deal with them when my family’s not in danger!” He hares off downstairs, the hardlight house-helper following hot on his heels.

  I call Jeffrey, and, in a few minutes, the two boys are at my door. When mum double checks, the sight of my best friend and his boyfriend standing in full view of the cameras rexes her, and she lets them in. Jeffrey hugs me as I fill him in on the whole thing, and Jared paces like a wild-cat, one hand on his hip. Mum asks, “Are you… armed, young man?”

  Jared nods. “I am. My father gave me this for my 18th birthday after I won a regional marksmanship competition.”

  He draws a sleek, well-cared-for firearm.

  “It’s set to fire non-lethals, like stun rounds and sticky shots, but I can switch it to lethals if needed. It’s DNA-locked to me, with a lifesign detector built in. if anyone else tries to use it, it’ll blow up in their hand. And if I’m incapacitated, it’ll zap them with a powerful Taser.”

  Mum swallows, but looks more relieved than anything. “Good. If anyone tries to hurt my baby girl… you aim for the balls, you hear me? Make them regret EVERYTHING.”

  Jared stares levelly at her. “You have my word, Mrs. Porter; no-one’s getting at Kylie with us around.”

  She nods fiercely, and I can tell she’s struggling not to cry again. She wraps her arms around me tightly, and then pushes me towards the door. “Go, Kylie. But be safe, you hear me? We’ll be waiting for you to get home. No stops or detours, come STRAIGHT home after college, okay?” I love you.”

  I step outside, turning to watch as the door slides shut. My mum is standing in the doorway, watching me with a look in her eyes that I can’t quite decipher. Love, pride, fear, and… something else.