Sipping at my morning coffee I lounge on my modest sofa, enjoying the crisp cool air of my apartment as I recline on the well-worn green fabric. Blowing slightly at the steaming dark liquid in my cup I can't keep a grin from spreading across my lips, reveling in the sharp bitter flavor and the soothing warmth as I'm slowly pulled out of my dreary stupor.
"Can't have them starting off in a bad way" I drone, my voice croaking a little in part thanks to the rough and unrestful sleep I had the night before. As the coffee slowly wakes me up I find my mind lingering on what had brought me to this point, the events that had lead to such a terrible night and such an interesting morning.
Over the past year I had been enjoying a rather wonderful windfall, though it hadn't started under the best circumstances. Due to a desperate need to downsize the college at which I taught had been forced to let me go. While being left without income had been distressing the redundancy package was more than enough to tide me over for a few months.
To compound with that terrible situation a death in the family, that of my Great Aunt, soon followed. While we had never been that close the effect her passing had on the family at large was profoundly felt. Being a rather well-to-do self-made woman she had left a tidy inheritence, with portions being divided up amongst all of us.
With these two rather large boons combined with being unemployed at traped at home I turned my mind to something that could keep me distracted, the stock market. Over the rest of the year I slowly worked to build upon these disaster-born gains, finding I had a knack for it as I gorged myself on book after book on the subject, slowly but surely making the 'large numbers' into 'larger numbers' as I described it to people.
As the figures in my bank account rose ever higher and high I began looking for ways to finally spend it. Searching for high ticket items, things like property or a new car, I was contacted by a mysterious group. They called themselves the Swap Agency and they offered a rather unique opportunity. With the sort of money I had earned I could afford their services, with some small set-up fees along the way.
For a rather substantial sum I could pay my way into a new body and life, with the sum total going to pay off some issue the person I would become had been facing. The Swap Agency would of course take a cut, and any remainder from the cost would roll over into my new bank account.
At first I had informed them that they must have had the wrong person, that I'd have no interest in such a thing, only to be quickly rebuked with a deluge of information about my internet history. I had gone silent after that, mulling over the proposal and finding I couldn't get it out of my head.
Slowly but surely I began to entertain the idea, beginning a cautious search for the mysterious group out of worry it could be a scam. After weeks and weeks of searching I couldn't find much, only a few scant posts on forums discussing the group and their use of an out of production VR headset. Apparently, prior to the implementation of certain safeguards, the VR headset known as Neuronet could potentially remove and replace a person's mind. The process, which involved carving out the individual's mind as data before shifting it into a new host, was incredibly intensive on the outdated hardware and would leave the now rare headset unable to repeat the process.
The more I researched and read of the Swap Agency and the old Neuronet's 'issues' the more I began to believe their offer. Eventually I broke down, organizing for an interview to be conducted via VR. The 'interview' had been rather simple, mostly consisting of a series of questions on a digital form relating to what I was after. I had cast the net rather wide, practically only asking to be a woman in this new life.
After several weeks of waiting, slowly wondering if this had all been for nothing, I finally received a message from this mysterious group.
Mr. Hughes
Thank you for your patience.
After going through your questionnaire we are finally ready to have your first and
hopefully final interview with us as your current self.
Please login to the same 'room' as you had used for the induction interview at;
07:00 next Tuesday
One of our courteous staff members will guide you through the procedure.
Please delete this message after reading.
Best regards,
Swap Agency
I had waited with bated breath the whole week, growing more nervous and impatient as time had gone on. However, now, on Tuesday morning, I felt largely drained. The previous night had been filled with stress and worry as I contemplated what I was about to do and what I was about to give up. Even as that fear had abated by the morning the effects of my tense evening stuck with me, though hopefully not for much longer.
Looking down at my watch I stare at the hands, squinting as I try to work out exactly where they were pointing.
"Six...fifty-eight?...Fifty-seven?" I mumble, sipping at my coffee as my eyes glance over to my coffee table as the VR Headset sitting on top of it. It had taken no small amount of effort to track one down, eventually getting a second-hand model which showed quite a bit of age through the scratches on the external plastic.
Sighing to myself I guzzle down the remainder of my coffee, placing the mug on the table before snatching up the headset.
"Would have rather got a new one" I say with a huff, pulling the heavy helmet over my head. While this was far more readily available on the open market, and rather cheap by comparison to those models still in their box, there was no guarantee that they hadn't been used this way before.
Slowly getting the headset in place I begin to boot it up, pins and needles slowly prickling at my scalp with ever greater intensity as the device begins to interface with my brain. Sensation rapidly begins to leave my extremities, soon to be replaced with a sensation not unlike that of falling as you lay in bed. By the time I react, jolting up from my reclined position, I find myself instead seated in a rather comfortably padded chair.
Blinking rapidly, finding my eyes needed no time to adjust to the light, I begin to glance around the room I had suddenly found myself in. It was identical to the small cramped office I had performed my little questionnaire in, the plain white walls largely obscured by the stacks of paperwork and filing cabinets flanking the room.
A light coughing sound breaks me from my stupor as someone else clears their throat.
"Hello there...Mr. Hughes" coo a soft and slightly squeaky voice, the pause obviously occurring as the individual reads my name.
"I..." I mutter stupidly in return, staring ahead of me and freezing up as my eyes fall over the blonde seated opposite me. She is in her early to mid-thirties, dressed in tights, a short black pencil skirt, and a white button-up shirt. All of her clothing clings to curvaceous form, a slight amount of soft fat giving her thighs a noticeable and distracting squishy appearance beneath the open desk. Her long platinum blonde hair is tied into a tight and professional bun, her long fake nails tapping distractedly against the keyboard in front of her with a loud clicking noise.
The desk itself is covered in a number of knick-knacks ranging from make-up and beauty products to pictures of the blonde in a variety of locations and cute little 'office toys'. A large CRT monitor sits to the right hand side of the desk, the gray plastic appearing brand new along with the similarly out-of-date keyboard. The desk appears to be designed in an open manner, allowing for the person seated at it to be fully visible to the person seated across from them.
"I mean, hello...um..." I mutter, my eyes darting between her own beautiful blues and her large chest which strains the top button of her shirt.
"Anne" she coos excitedly, her voice dripping with sweet and ditzy tone. "I'm Anne, your Swap Agency representative today"
"Nice to meet you Anne" I reply, composing myself to sound a little less nervous.
"Samesies" she giggles back, looking at the screen for a moment before returning to me. "So it looks like you're here as a buyer, congrats!" she says excitedly, clapping her hands together. "I'll walk you through the process, and then we'll make some of the... you know... big decisions" she continues, ending with a little wink.
"Okay, so we're doing to have a certain number of applicants today. These are people that match your requested profile and who are looking for...like...someone like you" she begins to explain, waving her hands around as she talks. "Once I've told you about the applicants you'll get a final say on whether you want to make an offer to them, and if they accept...well...you'll get to be them" she explains more excitedly, bouncing a little in her seat and causing my eyes to lock back onto her chest.
Noticing she is working herself up, Anne takes a rather deep breath. The top button of her shirt holds firm against all odds, the soft cavernous flesh hidden beyond becoming visible for one brief tantalizing moment before snapping back beyond view.
"Once you make the purchase you'll have a chance to go through the...assets" she says in a far more metered and professional manner, forcing herself to place her hands against the desk to avoid more gesticulating. "This will include both their body and mental...aspects?...It's hard to explain" Anne pouts, her eyes darting about in search of the words. "Like, you'll be able to exchange things like language, or you could take a specific skill from them, oooooor you could even leave them with some deep dark phobia. It'll...It'll make more sense once you're in there"
As Anne rambles on a little, struggling to explain the process to me, I find myself following along surprisingly well. Any and all tiredness was completely gone, the lack of sleep and exhaustion wracking my body having been left behind with my body.
"Okay okay, so I'll be able to get things to make it easier to live their life?" I ask, attempting to focus Anne and clarify what she was saying.
"Totally, and whatever else you want to mess around with" she chirps.
"So how many are there to choose from" I ask, shuffling in my seat with a mixture of nerves and delighted anticipation.
"Well let's see..." mutters the leggy blonde from behind her desk, slowly leaning in to inspect the large boxy screen on her desk. She pauses for a moment, her eyes darting back and forth over the text as her lips tremble adorably with each word she reads in her head. Each syllable apparently begs escape as she works to keep from speaking out loud, making me wonder if this was all some sort of action to fit in this exaggerated character.
"It looks like like..."
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