Chapter 13: “Hi, I’m Juan.”

I awoke normally when the crèche’s interior brightened. I seemed fully mentally aware and was able to easily lift my head to inspect my body. Young? Check. Muscular chest? Check. Penis? Check. No pain or stiffness? Check. It looked like the transfer had been a success. For a moment I tried to remember if my memories had been altered. As always, the realization of how silly that thought was made me chuckle.

—All done, John. Everything went well. I estimate you retained at least twenty-one percent of your memories. See if you can remember what you forgot.—

I laughed out loud. Ohmu was aware of the same fear I had every time I was revived or re-shelled.

“Thanks, Ohmu, you smart ass! Get me out of here please.”

—One moment, I’m touching up my makeup to help imprint the new implanted robot fetish.—

Still an android comedian. Soon the crèche lid began opening. As it did I saw that Angelina was waiting in the room next to Ohmu. I quickly climbed out of the unit. She ogled my nude muscular young form as I did.

“Wow! Me like! Ohmu said there would be a surprise. Hi, I’m Angie. What’s your name sailor?” she asked as she stepped forward and stood very close.

Ohmu made gagging motions behind her back.

“Hi, Angie. You can call me Juan.”

Now the android was rolling its illuminated eyes behind Angie. I pulled the cute touch therapist into a tight hug while flipping Ohmu the bird. Angie hugged me back and ended up dropping her hands to clutch my ass and pull my groin into her abdomen. I started to respond as she began nibbling on my now bulging pectorals.

“Ack! Pfft. Yech! Preservation gel. You need a shower, Juan! Let’s get you up to my quarters before that old, shriveled stick ‘John’ wakes up,” she said as she grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the lift.

I laughed as she had not given me a chance to put on even a pair of shorts.

“Will you be needing the pharmaceutical patch, John?” Ohmu asked as we entered the lift.

“I don’t think that will be a problem little buddy,” I jabbed back to the android.

Angie looked at us curiously.

“Ignore the android. It’s still working on its humor programs,” I said.

Angelina and I were running late and arrived at the supper table five minutes after Beatrice had been seated. I learned that Sahún and Liang were having a private supper in the lower beach cottage so tonight, it was just us three ... and Ohmu.

Before I was allowed to take my seat, the older woman made me spin in a circle. “Very nice, John. I love the muscles and the tan,” she said, clearly impressed.

“Yeah. I love working outside so I like a bit of mass on my shells. Also, the darker skin comes in handy here near the equator. My old shell was originally this dark before I spent a decade wandering around in cold central Asia.

I pulled out Angie’s chair for her with a smile. She beamed back at me. I think I had impressed her earlier with my young shell’s stamina. When we had made it to her quarters two hours ago, she had joined me in the shower to help scrub off all traces of the preservation gel. Minutes later, my hormone-fueled young body had her petite older one pinned up against the shower stall as our mutual washing evolved into pleasure.

Later, we had made love a second time on her bed. I noted that she was much louder now than she had been before with my old shell. Youth was amazing and every time I experienced having it restored was like a wonderful honeymoon. After I had exhausted my new shell’s stamina (for the moment), we had lain together on her bed just holding each other. She had been casually stroking my chest from my neck down to my penis.

“Is it bigger?” she had asked as she teased my manhood.

“No, it’s the same sixteen centimeters I’ve always had. It might be a bit girthier now that I am in a fully nourished shell. My erections are definitely quicker to form though, a benefit of being young,” I had replied.

“I wonder how it will feel when I someday get a new sleeve,” she had asked.

I had answered that she would probably ache less afterwards but not much different. I had been with women in older shells, and they were still wonderful. You just had to be gentler with them. Besides, I downplayed my answer on purpose. When it did happen for her, it would blow her mind. Why spoil the surprise?

Beatrice brought my attention back to the present supper table when she asked, “John, I hope it would not be imprudent to ask, but I was wondering if we might spend some time together while I am visiting here. I think you are a fascinating person, and this young shell of yours is gorgeous. I’d love to try it out before I have to return to Luna.”

I glanced at Angelina and caught her smirk and slight nonchalant shrug. I had doubted that she would care, especially as she was a professional touch therapist, but I had wanted to check just to be sure.

“That would be lovely, Beatrice. Would you care to join me in the owner’s suite tonight?”

Beatrice beamed back at me and nodded. I never inquired if she expected Angie to join us. I decided it was best if I left that up to them. Now that I was a young boy-toy again, I could just act dumb and handsome to fit the role.

Supper was braised red snapper in a lemon chili sauce. There was steamed asparagus with crusted peanuts as a side. Ohmu knew I was still craving seafood and was planning on giving me my fill until I grew tired of it. Our food server tonight was a generic mobile unit as I had asked Ohmu to join us as our table guest. The android was not able to eat as we were, but she was still a surprisingly good conversationalist.

Beatrice spent a great deal of time talking with her and some of that talk was about how the android and I were coming together. I just nodded and smiled and let Ohmu handle the awkward questions. Dessert was a double frosted carrot cake. It was delicious and afterwards, we all had a cup of coffee. I wanted to be awake for later with Beatrice, and she and Angie were still trying to fully reset their bodies to Seychelles time.

By 20:00 we were on the roof terrace enjoying the evening and the rising moon. Down below I saw a flickering campfire next to the beach cottage. I called out an ‘ahoy the cottage’ and got a response. We would see those two in the morning. We all lay together reclined on a large cozy soft couch with our feet up on a footstool.

Beatrice was on one side and Angie was on the other. I had taken my shirt off because of the warm night and now had a girl’s head on each of my shoulders. What a wonderful feeling. We softly talked and watched the stars. After an hour of that my hopes for the night brightened considerably when Beatrice stretched across my bare chest and began kissing Angie.

What can I say about that night except that it was the perfect way to spend my first night in a new virile shell? It had been after midnight when the three of us finally left the rooftop terrace fully nude and descended the stairs to the bedroom level below. Angie was considerate enough to stop off at her bedroom and let Beatrice have me solely to herself for the rest of the night and tomorrow morning.

I think I was able to give the more mature woman exactly what she sought. I know that I did not have any regrets and in the morning, neither of us was in a hurry to get up and go mingle with the others. Ohmu had brought us a bowl of fruit and a coffee carafe to tide us over until brunch and we had lingered the morning away in my bedroom.

That afternoon, after an hour spent swimming and snorkeling, I decided to finally explore my garage. It had been well over a decade since I had last been at Heels in the Sand and I was curious about what was left on the island. I had noticed enough changes in both the furnishings and accessories in the main lodge that I knew some of my extended family had spent considerable time here.

In the garage, I found about what I expected. There were a few electric quad buggies for moving quickly around the island’s trails. There were also a pair of basic short-range VTOL hoppers. These had the range to get you over to the nearby larger island where you could then grab a longer-range hopper if you wanted to go to Africa or Madagascar, or even an electro-jet if you wanted to go anywhere else in the world.

In the back corner of the garage, I came upon a nice surprise. Under a soft covering was a classic. It was my shiny red hotrod VTOL aircraft Hoss. My daughter Larissa Daring had been in possession of the aircraft the last I had heard. She was my fifth child and had been the one I had raised while living full-time on this island. I imagine she still spent time here often because Heels in the Sand probably felt like her true home much like the South Dakota acreage felt like mine.

I fully removed the tarpaulin and sent the instructions to open the portside hatch. Soon, I was in the left seat and behind the virtual controls. Hanging from the dash was a carved shell medallion. My daughter used to make them for me and others when she had been a kid. I smiled as I thought of her and my other kids.

As I fingered the medallion I realized that it had been left here on purpose. I activated the aircraft’s operating system and waited for it to boot up. On the communications menu, I found Larissa’s ident and queried her. She was currently in Rome and better, she was able to take my call immediately.

So, for the next hour, I sat in my old hotrod and chatted with my daughter via video link. I was surprised to find that Larissa was young-looking. Her appearance reminded me of how she looked in the years just after she had moved out and began her independent life.

We caught up with each other and explained how we had both spent the past decade. She had swapped her old body and into her first cloned shell just a few years ago. She was in Rome as she was now busy supervising historical excavations all across old Italy.

I received updates on my grandkids and great-grandkids from her line. She learned about my recent insanity and some of what had caused it. At least she looked reassured when I explained how I thought I was improving.

I also learned why she had sent Hoss here to the garage on Heels. She had wanted it to be here waiting for me if I ever came back in from the cold. It was a good video call with plenty of laughter and a few tears. When the video was concluded, I found I felt better emotionally. I had invited her to fly down but she was too busy for the next three weeks. As I expected to be in space soon, our physical reunion would have to wait.

I just had to take Hoss for a quick spin around the island. The hotrod aircraft was DET powered so I knew I would not have to worry about a fresh energy charge or storage cell conditions. After I maneuvered her out of the garage I took off low along the short grassy area between the beaches. There was a large pod of giant tortoises near the trees sunning themselves and I imagined them being startled and scurrying for cover as I shrieked overhead. In truth, I doubted they even raised their heads as Hoss flew over them.

I followed the rising terrain up and over the northern hill before dropping back down over the ocean to the north of the island. This aircraft was a blast to fly, and my young shell was in the perfect condition to fully enjoy its power and maneuverability. I pulled up into a twisting high-G spin before looping back down and ending up inverted just above the waves as I headed back in towards the lagoon.

That kind of maneuver pushed the limits of the aircraft, and I needed the autopilot to handle the reversing of the thrusters to keep me from splashing into the drink. Approaching the lagoon, I flipped Hoss right-side-up and did a close circling pass around Angie and Sahún who I had spotted on paddleboards.

I next spotted Beatrice and Liang lying on the beach. The pair were sharing an intimate embrace on a large blanket. I looked to be interrupting something, so I waggled my stubby wings and flew off, taking my noisy aircraft away from their tranquil relaxation.

Back out over the ocean I circled the island twice and then took Hoss up to almost two thousand meters. Just below the level where I would have had to coordinate with Aeolus AI, I reduced power and entered a slow, spiraling dive which ended with the aircraft hovering just above the garage. It had been a fun flight.

That night all five women joined me in the main lodge for supper. Five including Ohmu and Liang, given both were gray areas as far as gender designation. We ate on the terrace and enjoyed a classic seafood boil which the house autochef prepared. It was delicious and afterwards, I was not the only one who had to take a quick shower to wash the butter off.

Afterwards, we sat under the stars and played poker. I was proud of myself because even without an installed augment, I was able to use my new shell’s enhanced functions to access my personal Scut account and transfer in my ante. Liang gave Beatrice a run for her money and was the chip leader by the fifth hand. I suspect being quiet and passive for the past few days had given him time to study all our mannerisms.

After our game wrapped up Sahún, Liang, Angelina, and I went for a soak in the spa. Beatrice was tired and went down to bed. Angie and Sahún were drinking sparkling wine while Liang and I were sticking with water. I had been in the water for only a minute when my implant buzzed in my head.

—Incoming virtuality communication request. Sender designation is Charity Hope Abrams.—

Charity! My youngest daughter was calling. The implant message voice was generic. It must be the cranial web’s basic interface. I scrambled for a moment but couldn’t get the damn com channel to open.

“Ohmu! Charity is calling me and I can’t figure out this new interface. What do I do?” I subvocalized.

—Charity is requesting to meet you in full Virtuality. Since you do not have a contemporary augment to manage your shell while you are in virtual the connection will not be allowed. Would you like me to act as a temporary augment so you can join your daughter?— Ohmu sent back.

I had never done a full virtual session before with the new cranial net hardware. To do so, humans needed full augments and that was something that I had always resisted up until now. This would be my first time and I was nervous.

“Um, I guess that would be OK. I’m a little nervous, Ohmu. What do I have to do?” I sent subvocally. I looked at my spa partners and they had not noticed my unease.

—You will be fine, John. I’ll watch your shell while you have a chat with Charity, — Ohmu sent.

Everything faded for a moment and then I found myself standing in a white and crystal-colored lobby. Sunlight was streaming through tall windows on each side and through them I saw a fantastic landscape that reminded me of something out of an African safari.

Off in the distance through the left set of windows were thousands of migrating wildebeest. The windows on the right side of the lobby showed a large watering hole filled with hippos and flamingos. Ahead of me was a large pair of white doors. The white coloring was swirling around the door surfaces like living opalescent organisms.

Across the doors was lettering in gold script that said Charity Hope Abrams. Her personal lobby was fancy! I glanced behind me and there was a single plain white door that said simply ‘exit’. I was impressed. The load time from when I had left the spa until I found myself standing in this room had only been a second or two!

This new shell had made the loading process so much faster than I had ever experienced in the past. And the realism! I looked down and inspected my shell. I appeared to be wearing a modernized version of the classic white tuxedo. I felt my arms, and everything felt just like I was in the real world. The sensations of touch might have been even higher than the real world.

I pinched myself to test the settings. The pain was numbed. Good, realism was limited in those areas that could cause me mental trauma. I felt my face and noticed a beard. I probed around higher and felt wrinkles. My hair was my long old braid. I pulled it around and saw that it was mostly gray. For some reason, my virtual image was much closer to that of the shell I had just left than the new one I now had.