Chapter 2

“So this is my new place.” I looked around as the door swung open. In a way, it wasn’t much, just a small studio apartment. The bed was in a little nook near the door, and the kitchen was open with a bar separating it from the rest of the apartment. The one saving grace was the living room. It wasn’t huge, but one whole wall was a big sliding glass door that could open out onto a small patio. From the tenth floor, I got a killer view of the city and the water. It was the perfect place to launch my new life as a woman and get to work on my investigation.

I quickly took stock of things. The whole place was prepped decently well. The agency had contracted with a corporate relocation service to help set me up. That meant the furniture was in place and all the standard utilities were set up. Unfortunately, my cupboards were bare and so was my closet. Aside from a couple of outfits that I’d gotten at the agency, I didn’t have anything to wear.

I’d barely walked in when I sensed someone behind me. I turned around and let out a sigh of relief. It was still a strange feeling being a woman, and I noticed that I was a lot more sensitive about who was around me when I was on my own. In this case I didn’t have to worry, it was just one of the agency’s telepresence androids.

“So how do you like it?” Came the slightly synthetic sounds of my handler’s voice. The android body was linked to a virtual reality setup back at the office. It was a handy standin. You could change the androids face and voice to get around most surveillance. It was hard to pick out that it wasn’t human if you couldn’t get a really close look at it. They were really close to looking completely human aside from a few ticks. For deep cover agents it was a safer way to keep in contact without risking standard communication lines. Phones could be tapped, internet communications could easily be intercepted, but in person communication was much harder to shield and the data connection they used was supposed to be virtually undetectable.

“It’s great. I love the view.” I smiled. I knew it was agent Raikins manning the droid today. Outside of emergencies, he was going to be the one taking care of all of my needs from the agency. “Too bad I can’t really have you over.”

He laughed. Over the few days of my training and adjustment period, I’d spent a good deal of time in bed with him. In part, it was just getting used to the new plumbing, but honestly, sex was awesome as a woman. The other part was the transformation process had a side effect of temporarily amping up your libido. I don’t think I’d been as horny even when I’d been a teenage guy. It didn’t hurt that the sex helped take off the edge of my nerves. I wasn’t exactly a field agent after all.

“Honestly, you got lucky. This was one of the few buildings with vacancies and standard privacy features.” He walked in and closed the door. That made sense. There were plenty of ways to spy on people, and given that I was trying to infiltrate the inner circle of one of the most powerful men on the planet, I had to expect that at least some attempts would be made once I got closer to my goal.

“I assume you’re not going to leave all of my security needs to outsiders.” I looked around the room. No doubt, there were ultrasonic disruptors around the room and special vibration modifiers on the windows to prevent audio pickup. The slight tint in the windows also indicated that they had a filter to keep people from seeing in from the outside. The next biggest vulnerabilities were the data connections.

“Of course not. We’ve got a few data randomizers in place to handle your standard internet connections and phone. When you use either, you’ll be operating in dual band. All your real data will flow through the agency with our special wifi network while your standard connections will be sending dummy data that looks appropriate. Even if they can get physical accesses to your devices your logs will show the dummy data. The dual band capability is hidden rather deep in the code and has never been detected yet.” Raikins explained. I nodded. If there was one thing I understood, it was the need to secure data. In my former role as an analyst at the agency, that was the way we usually caught criminals. Sloppy data handling was always a good weak point to bring someone down.

“Well, I’ll still try not to use it too much. If there is one thing I can say about Oswald, he knows his data systems.” I walked over to the window. I could see the local headquarters of Patrick Oswald’s technological empire. It was almost understated, aside from the Thineritech logo emblazoned on the building it was just another generic office building. That had been one of Oswald’s gifts, an ability to blend in until it was too late for his competitors to deal with him. He had a knack for that, and that was just another thing that made him dangerous.

I still wasn’t sure about how I was going to get close. Sure, I was almost the perfect image of his ideal woman. That had been a requirement when they’d transformed me from a back office analyst into an undercover agent. I was short, not quite petite, with ample breasts and attractive curves. My face was cute and round, with big doe eyes that hid behind a pair of dark rim glasses and everything was framed by long lengths of brown hair. Each detail had been matched against the profile of women that Oswald had dated over the last five years, right down to my nearsightedness.

“I just hope this job leads somewhere, I would hate to just be languishing in a standard day job while Oswald keeps doing whatever it is he’s doing.” I grumbled a bit. This was one part of field work I never did quite get. Luckily, it wasn’t up to me to figure all of this out.

“No problem. For one, there is going to be a little office party at the end of the week at Crentechnics. Since this is the main office for that part of Thineritech, Oswald almost always likes to check out the new recruits. From our records, he has always made a point of personally welcoming every new member at this office, and many of the other facilities in the country. If we’ve prepped you well enough, we expect an eighty percent chance that he’ll pursue at least one private meeting.” Raikins explained. I had already gathered much of that from my own work. I had spent the last five years researching Oswald after all. If it hadn’t been for that fact, and our suspicions that he was about to do something big soon, I wouldn’t have been sent on this assignment.

“And if not?” I turned back to the android. It was always a bit creepy looking at it. The device was almost perfect, if you didn’t know it was an android, you’d just guess that the strangeness was a personal quirk, but since I knew the truth, it always set off a feeling of unease inside me.

“Well, then we’ll have to work on another plan. Undercover work is a lot of hit and miss when it comes to getting you inside. You’ll just have to play it cool. My recommendation is that you should apply your skills to stand out in your new job. If a casual meeting doesn’t spark an interest, seeing you making big advances in your position is your next best bet. We know he’s attracted to intellect as well as beauty. The fact you have both is just a major advantage.” Raikins said. It was still weird listening to him talking through the android. I would just have to get used to that.

“I guess, I should get my place setup then. I need some food, and a wardrobe. As much as I like the skirts, a bit more variety would be good.” I did a quick swoosh to show off my current outfit. I did like the way it looked on me. It was a strange thing, but over the last few days I’d gotten used to my newfound appreciation with women’s clothes, not just as something to enjoy looking at, but the actual wearing part of it.

I’d been perfectly straight as a guy, well, aside from the random curiosity that guys ignore. The transformation had cut right through all that though. Not only did I have the body of a young and attractive woman, they’d reconditioned my brain so that I could better fit my undercover role. I’d actually developed an affection for feminine clothes and an appreciation for just how they showed off my body. As strange as it was getting used to the greater attention that men would give me, I found it oddly validating. That didn’t mean I didn’t find it all pretty strange, but I didn’t let that fact get in the way of everything else.

“All right. I’ll be monitoring you. You know how to get in touch if you need anything. I’ll check in again later.” Raikins nodded and turned to leave. I wasn’t about to let him go so easily. I bounced over towards the average looking android and gave him a big hug.

“Thanks for setting everything up for me, and for everything else. It’s been a lot of fun so far. I certainly feel better knowing I’ve got you watching over my shoulder.” I gave him another big squeeze. I knew most of that would go through the VR link, and he’d feel it. I hadn’t had the chance to give him a proper hug before leaving the office, and I wasn’t about to lose this chance as well. He’d helped me so much over the last couple of days that it was hard to convey my true appreciation, but this was a start.

“That’s just my job, but you take care.” He returned the hug. It was slightly mechanical, but it still felt good.

With that he was gone, and I was alone in my new apartment. I still had the next day before work would begin, so now it was time to go shopping. There was plenty to get, and I had the time to enjoy it. I knew I didn’t have the biggest budget to work with, but I was ready for the challenge.

I popped into the bathroom quick to check my hair. It was another strange quirk, and yet it felt oddly natural to regularly check on my appearance. It was just another way that the deep conditioning had paid off. I tried not to think too much about it or else I’d get in the way of my new instincts. The truth was I needed to let all of this girlish stuff flow so I didn’t signal anyone that I wasn’t what I appeared to be.

What I appeared to be, that was pretty crazy too. I hadn’t just turned into a cute little nymph, I’d also lost about fifteen years of aging. I felt invigorated in a way that I hadn’t been in years, and was eager to get out. I hated to admit that it had been months since I’d really been outside. The Oswald investigation had kept me exceedingly busy and I didn’t have much of life otherwise. In the strangest way the last couple weeks had been almost like a vacation.

I had to fight down the urge not to skip as I made my way down the street. It was a hard impulse to suppress on such a warm and sunny day. Louise had explained that the conditioning process could sometimes trigger a psychological over compensation at times. It didn’t just make me act more feminine, it could push me to go overboard. As young as I’d become, I was still too old to go skipping down the street.

There were ways to distract myself, though. I’d taken a keen interest in gauging the reactions of people I walked by when I was on the street. It wasn’t something that used to interest me too much, but now it was amusing to see how many men turned to watch as I strutted by in my short skirt with my hair flowing in the gentle breeze. The thing that surprised me was that it wasn’t just men, there were more than a few women who’d given me the same lustful glances. I wasn’t sure if I was reading more into their reactions than was really there, but I wasn’t about to ask.

The day of shopping was remarkably uneventful. I managed to get enough food for a couple days and picked up a few more outfits, including some actual pants. I may have come to accept wearing skirts, but that didn’t mean I always wanted to wear them. I sorted out a couple more outfits as well, mostly so I’d have something appropriate for work.

When I got home, I did a crash course on my cover. I’d been hammering in all the information since my first day after my transformation. I was now Karen Broden, just two years out of the University of Iowa with a degree in computer science and a bit of experience from a small company in Chicago. I’d grown up in a small country town and got into computers because I wasn’t into the rural jock worship thing. I had a knack for data mining and information processing, and that was what had gotten me into the company. It wasn’t that I had forgotten even a single detail, my memory skills hadn’t been diminished by my transformation after all. Reviewing everything was just a way to calm my nerves.

The funny thing was how much my cover story mimicked my real background. Even crazier was just how much little detail was crammed into my head while I’d been under. I’d often throw out some casual detail about growing up in a one bar town and it was only after I said it that I realized it wasn’t from my own life. I’d gained a lot of respect for the staff that handled both the cover story and my mental conditioning.

Finally, I took a quick shower and tucked into bed. The real test was about to begin. I had to blend in, and with any luck, in a few days time I’d be meeting Patrick Oswald and I’d have my first chance at swinging into his orbit. I still wasn’t sure just how I was going to do that, but I was ready for the challenge.

I took a deep breath and looked up. This was it. Crentechnics. The building itself was hard to distinguish from the row of otherwise generic office buildings on this side street of the main business district. This wasn’t where architects went to show off their skills, it was where efficiency met basic design. Crentechnics had been just another startup looking for cheap office space, at least that was the case when they’d started up ten years ago. Now it had taken over the entire building and was another piece of Patrick Oswald’s financial empire.

It was also one of the easiest ways into Oswald’s orbit. It had only recently been bought out, and the Agency had a couple of contacts inside that could help with getting hired into the company, and thus into Oswald’s world. Truth be told, it was also the kind of company I’d have found myself in if I hadn’t ended up working for the Agency. They did deep level data analytics, these days, it was all about integrating data processing with artificial intelligence. The kind of thing that helped the modern world make decisions, from doctors diagnosing disease to helping pick out the next new band you should listen to.

I took a moment to adjust my clothes. I still wasn’t quite used to the feeling of a bra squeezing in on me and I wanted to make sure my skirt was straight. I had struggled with the decision to wear it. One the one hand, it felt kind of natural, and it made me look sexy, on the other hand, it made me look sexy and I wasn’t sure if that was quite the appearance I wanted to project on my first day of a new job.

Still, it was done, and I couldn’t wait any longer. I was actually a bit nervous. Even though this was only a temporary job for me, I still needed to do well or else I wouldn’t be able to impress Oswald. I needed to get his attention, and the sooner I could do that, the sooner I’d have a chance to get close to him. It also improved my luck in terms of really encouraging him to spend time with me.

Despite the rather plain exterior, the lobby was something else. It had been decked out, complete with a modern fountain sculpture complete with an integrated hologram system that showed stylized fish jumping and splashing out of the flowing water. The walls were done in white marble, with a modern take on Greco-Roman design, and the floor was done with a tile mosaic of the company logo and various depictions of the work being done here. It was almost on the edge of good taste, but their designer knew when to draw the line and keep it from becoming tacky while retaining the appearance of wealth and refinement.

I was busy gawking a bit when a slightly older man walked up. He looked to be about thirty and trim, but with the brightest blue eyes. I swooned for a moment before I caught myself. It was still hard to get used to the sudden rushes of feminine reactions. I wasn’t used to thinking about guys as sexy, or appreciating the way their gaze shifted as they checked me out. I could tell just from the way his eyes flickered that he liked my boobs.

“Hello, you must be Karen.” He reached out and I took his hand, trying hard not to blush. “I’m Phillip Dremen, I’m heading up the team you’ll be joining.”

“Nice to meet you.” I did my best to give him a hearty handshake, but my once firm grip wasn’t so strong any more. It was one of the effects of becoming a girl, and oddly disconcerting. Handshakes had become a much softer affair and not the subtle assertion of masculinity I’d been used to.

I also squirmed a bit. Even this rather unassuming contact with a handsome man was enough to excite me. I wondered for a moment if real women had this problem or if it was just a lingering side effect of my recent transformation. I’d been told that the hormone adjustment had given me the sex drive of a teenager, and I could attest to that. I knew as a guy it was hard working around attractive women sometimes, though it didn’t happen often enough for it to become a problem.

“I know you were hired remotely, would you like a tour of the office first, or just dive right in?” He asked.

“Maybe just the major landmarks. I’ve been curious about just what project I’ll be working on.” I nodded. I already knew the layout of the place, but a girl new to town and the company shouldn’t be so well informed. I didn’t want to give him the wrong impression.

“Sure, right this way.” I motioned me towards the elevators. “How do you like the city?”

“Well, I haven’t gotten a chance to see much aside from looking out my window.” I smiled.

“Really, that’s too bad. Hopefully you can get out and check out the town. We’ve got a lot of great stuff around here.” He walked me through the building. He pointed out the cafeteria and bathrooms, as well as the employee lounge. That was something that still surprised me.

“Well, we’ve taken all the research seriously around here. If you need a nap, just pop into one of our dark rooms, the ones on the left are for dozing. There’s no judgment around here about that, we know you’ll be more productive if you take ten minutes to close your eyes than if you try to power through. I usually like to take mine around two thirty.” He smiled.

I surveyed the room. The dark rooms were off on the left end of the room, and in the middle was almost like an arcade. There were several game machines, both the classic style and more modern consoles hooked up to TVs. There was also a set of other gaming tables, pool, ping pong and even a war gamers table complete with swappable buildings. It was a geek paradise.

“You’re free to spend whatever time in here that you like, so long as you get your work done. This isn’t the eighteenth century anymore and this isn’t some assembly line factory either. We want you sharp and focused, but I know I’ve had some of my best ideas after burning some steam off in here.” He explained.

“You don’t have to sell me on it.” I laughed. Even after years of research, there were still people that just didn’t believe that this was actually the most productive way to work. At least so long as you had committed employees. That was the other half of course, if you treated your employees well and let them feel connected to the company’s success, all of these distractions wouldn’t keep them from getting their work done. Still, the older generations didn’t quite believe in it, and that led to a lot of defensiveness about such policies.

“Well, I guess most new recruits are surprised by how flexible we are. I will tell you that we do track your badge. If you are meeting your assignments, there’s no issue, but if you spend all your time in here and don’t get your work done, then there can be trouble.” He explained. I took another look around. It was still early in the day, so the room was almost empty aside from one animated game of foosball. Then I spotted doors on the other side of the room. Like the dark rooms on the other side, it looked like there were a row of small rooms.

“So what are those rooms?” I pointed over to the far wall.

He looked uncomfortable for a moment and then steadied himself. “Well, just like a little sleep can help restore your energy, a little sex can help take the edge off of any stress that might build up.”

I blushed and took a step back. I’d never really heard of that before. Well, okay, sex did help with stress, but to have a company so open to the idea that they set aside rooms in the office for it? That was almost crazy.

“It’s completely voluntary, of course. There are even toys if you don’t want a partner. Again, no judgment, just don’t let it get in the way of your work.” I could see that he was gauging my reaction. What would the little country girl think of this. Midwesterners were still thought of as relatively conservative, especially on things like this.

“Wow, I guess I never would have expected something like that.” I blushed a bit and looked up at him bashfully. It really seemed a bit crazy, even if it made a bit of sense. The worst part, however, was that now I had the idea of sex on my brain, and I felt an even more vigorous quiver up my spine when I looked at Phillip. “Do you ever ... well, indulge?”

That really hit him. I could see him actually blush a bit. “Yeah, I guess most of us do, except for the married ones. Though, seriously, I don’t want you to feel any pressure on this one.”

I nodded. I certainly understood and yet I didn’t want to linger here for too much longer. Nothing good could come from dwelling on the point. “I understand, but I’ll definitely have to think about it. So, shouldn’t we get on to our team?”

“Right, we’ve got work to do.” He pulled his chin up and spun us back towards our office. I knew he was just putting on a cover to handle his momentary discomfort. I could tell that he was trying to tread a fine line. No doubt, he’d like to get some one on one time with me in one of those little rooms, but that was just basic animal instinct, and as our team leader he didn’t want to get off on the wrong foot with a new coworker.

We walked the rest of the way in somewhat awkward silence. I had to admit that I was thinking a lot about those little sex rooms. The idea of popping into one of those rooms for a quick fuck was a little disturbing and a lot sexy. I knew it was just my fired up libido, but I’d already gone two days without some good hot sex and it was starting to affect my concentration. I took the time to focus myself on my mission. I couldn’t let myself get distracted so easily.

“And this is our team.” Phillip motioned around the room. It was so unlike my office that I could scarcely believe it. The room seemed to exist as two separate rings. The outer ring was like little open offices, separated by cubicle walls on both sides but open into the room. The desks were all placed against one of the walls, so you couldn’t just walk up behind someone and easily see their computer monitors.

The inner circle was a mix of open tables, free standing white boards and couches arranged so that you could have an easy circular discussion. The room was open overall, and felt quite comfortable, but I could see that a lot of work got done in here. Each of the whiteboards was filled with scribbles and the central table had a rather complicated data model on the holographic display as several people had a rather animated discussion around it.

At least they were talking right up until they noticed me. Then they all gave me a big smile and waved me over. We walked up to the table and they all lined up to look at me.

“Hi, I’m Karen.” I smiled. That name still sounded weird to me, but I was starting to get used to it. Oddly enough, it was one thing that hadn’t caught in my conditioning. It didn’t help any that I was now the focus of attention for this group of men and women. As soon as I spoke, everyone from around the room came over and we all traded handshakes and introductions. It was a bit awkward, and I made careful note of all their names. This was one of those times where having a photographic memory really paid off.

Once all the introductions were over most of my new coworkers drifted back to their work until it was just me and a few others.

“Karen has a few hours until her official orientation seminar. Why don’t you see if she can help you with your little problem.” Phillip was doing his best to wrangle me into work. I had to admit I was curious. Just what could a company like this need with someone like me anyway?

“Sure.” Susan nodded, and dragged me over to one of the tables showing a data model hologram. It was strange getting pulled around by a small Asian woman, but I wasn’t about to object. “Okay, do you understand what you’re seeing here?”

I took a moment to scan over the display. I let my jaw drop a little. These kind of displays were still rather cutting edge, and I’d not seen one outside of a trade show. The Agency didn’t have the budget for this kind of tech. As cool as it was, it took me a moment to figure out what I thought it was displaying.

“Do you mind if I touch it?” I asked. This was a bit scary for me. I’d never done more than fiddle at simple tasks with a holographic display. Now I had to look like I at least had some experience with them. Since I was supposed to be a recent graduate, I should have at least put in some lab time on this kind of display.

Susan tapped the controls a couple of times. I followed the motions of her hands and watched the displays that flashed past. She was saving the current settings, so if I messed anything up, she’d be able to restore her work. Then she slid the control over to me. I held up my hands and did a quick calibration. It was strange to work with a computer with nothing more than a visual interface, but then I noticed a strange feeling in the tip of my finger as it approached the holographic controls.

The burly looking guy across from me smiled as he noticed my surprise. Jack was casually dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, which managed to show off his equally trim figure. For techies, everyone around here either kept good care of themselves or were paying hefty sums to the rejuvenation clinics to keep in shape. “We’ve got all the latest here, state of the art force feedback interface. It’s actually a low energy electron beam that’s fired off when your hand gets close to something on the display. Just enough for you to feel it, but not do any damage.”

“Nifty.” I grinned. Then I started to play with the data model. First, I spun it around, studying it, then zoomed in, so I could see the details on each component. It was a wild way to see data connections, and whatever it was they were tying together, they weren’t going for simple. This thing easily had a couple hundred major relationships displayed, but I drew in on the ones flashing in bright red.

“Well, it looks like these correlations are consuming a lot of your resources.” I said.

“Any suggestions?” Susan asked firmly. She wasn’t quite curt, but just sharp enough that I wondered about her intent. She looked at me with a critical eye. I knew this was something of a test, a sink or swim moment, in her mind if nothing else.

I took another careful moment to look at the data relationships. I skipped over the obvious answers. Each of them had a cost that wouldn’t improve the situation much. I did sense a degree of frustration from both of them, they’d clearly been trying to work through this issue for a while. My guess was they wanted me as a tie breaker, as well as to test my general skills.

The data sprawled out in front of me and I worked through my options, going deeper into the linkages, looking for places where I could improve the processing speed without causing fallout, and most of all, looking to get as much bang out of it as I could. This wasn’t something I normally did, sure I did deep analysis of data for criminal investigations, but this was different. On the one hand the data sets were more organized, but there were also far more of them. It was the amount of cross linking that made things trouble.

I could see they were both growing impatient, I had to give them something and then I found it. There was a data nexus that had been skipped over, it was deep in the algorithm, but by redirecting the links and slightly changing some of the cross references, I could eliminate their bottleneck. I threw my hands into the work. It was actually kind of fun playing with the hologram, stretching and tossing data representations with the flick of a wrist. Finally, I was done and turned back to them.

“How about this?” I took a step back and let them examine my work. Susan and Jack tore through it, every link and every change. I knew they were looking for faults, not to be mean, but because that was what this kind of software work was all about. Even the smallest error could come back to bite you when you were making systems this large.

“Well, I’ll be.” Jack muttered as he fell back into his chair.

“Yes, it seems we’ve been shown up.” Susan crossed her arms and gave me a look that sent shivers up my back. It was a mix of respect, scorn, and bemusement. I wasn’t sure exactly how to react to it.