“Beyond Binary“

Rachel leaned over the edge of her balcony, looking to the streets barely visible below her. She stood outside her high-rise apartment as the sun set, an orange glow covering the nearly empty coffee mug in her left hand, and the cigarette in her right. The neon signs along the adjacent buildings flickered to life while a sky train rocketed by, not too far below.

She had almost forgotten her brother stood beside her, as he was merely a hologram. His desaturated projection stared towards the sun as it lowered behind the other buildings, a frying pan and spatula in hand. He shook his head and turned to Rachel, smiling, noticing she was already looking towards him.

“You should do it,” he said, looking straight into Rachel’s eyes.

“I want to, but Stephanie hates technology so much,” Rachel said as she flicked the ash from the end of her smoke. “We even stopped going to Beulah’s when that android got a job there.”

“Oh I know her! She’s hot!” 

“Don’t let Stephanie hear you say that…” Rachel muttered.

Her brother flipped a pancake with his pan. “What? I can’t help it. Not with the androids looking less robotic than humans do nowadays.”

Rachel looked to the coffee grounds in her mug. “That’s something holding me back from getting any alteration done, let alone this one. That, and Stephanie.”

“You’re making it seem like she’ll stop loving you for this.”

“She won’t even get a hearing aid for Christ’s sake, and she’s deaf!”

Rachel’s brother moved his pan and put down the spatula. “Rachel, Stephanie’s love for you will always outweigh her hate for technology. Look where she is right now!”

“On a spaceship,” Rachel whispered.

“On a spaceship! Come on, she’s living in a massive piece of technology right now! And why is that?”

Rachel placed her cigarette in the coffee mug after taking a drag, blowing the smoke over her brother’s hologram as the sun fell below the horizon. His projection looked grey as it contrasted against the lights from the city around them.

“Because she loves you,” the man answered himself. “You needed the money, so she took the job. Even though she hates technology. This will be no different.”

“It feels different.”

“Of course it does! It’s life changing!”

“You just said-”

Her brother scoffed. “You know what I mean. You’ve wanted to do this for a long time; you just keep making excuses because you’re scared. If it’s not because of Steph, it’ll be the money, or the timing, or whatever else you can think of.”

Rachel turned towards her apartment, leaning backwards against the balcony railing. “It does have to do with money, though.”

“That’s why you’re going robotic instead of organic. It’ll save you a lot.”

“I just wish I could talk to Steph about it first. It’s a big change.”

“It’s who you are.”

“I just want her opinion.”

“Don’t let that be another excuse,” her brother said as he walked out of the projection for a moment. “She will still be gone for some time. Don’t procrastinate doing it just to hope she’ll say no. Charlie! Breakfast!”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” Rachel huffed as her brother walked back into view.

“Rachel, just do it. I love you and I know you want to. I promise you that you have Stephanie’s blessing.”

“Yeah… Tell Charlie I love her.”

“I will. Talk to you soon.”

“Bye.”

The hologram of her brother flicked off, leaving Rachel alone on her balcony. She sighed and stood there, taking in the conversation. She knew she wanted to make the change, but her brother was right, she was scared. 

Rachel opened the door to her apartment after a moment and stepped inside, her bare feet cold against the floor. The place was pretty messy, even without much clutter. Her brown and ratty couch was covered in throw blankets, the cubical storage units uneven, and the one plant in the place wasn’t looking particularly healthy. Her TV flipped on by itself as she closed the balcony door behind her, the purple hue illuminating the dark room.

She walked over to her couch—passing the kitchen island where she placed her mug—and slumped down into it. Rachel grabbed the remote and clicked until she found her favourite channel, propping her feet up on the table in front of her and cozying in to the fabric at her back. She smiled and placed her hand in her waistband—the tight pants having left marks in her skin—and relieving the pressure from it. Rachel sunk into the centre of the couch, hand-in-pants, and quickly fell asleep.

#

Rachel bolted upright as the piercing sound of her phone ringing almost restarted her heart. She hadn’t realized she had fallen asleep, or left her phone on such a high volume. She wiped the gunk out of her eyes and looked around the room for the device, her TV still on and displaying the news. 

She looked outside, the sun not even rising yet, and yawned. Her phone continued to ring, the sound loud enough to wake her neighbours, so she scrambled for it, finally finding it under a chair with no idea how it had found its way there. Rachel looked at the caller ID and quickly answered, bringing it to her ear instead of taking the holo-call.

“Hello?” Rachel answered.

“Hey Rach, how’s it going?”

“What’s wrong? Why are you calling me so early?”

“I found a place that’ll do it today, fifty thousand,” her brother answered.

Rachel grabbed the television remote and muted it as breaking news of a missing ship blared across the room. “Fifty thousand?”

“It’s on the steeper end, I personally wouldn’t pay over sixty, but it’s for today. You can’t make any excuses for that. You’re in between jobs so I know you’re not busy, plus I called you before you could make plans. You have the money, and it’s not too far from your place so you can take the train.”

Rachel paced around the room as her brother spoke. “Why is it available today?”

“It’s the business. Sometimes they have parts on hand, sometimes you have to custom order them.”

“Why would they-” Rachel began to ask.

“Don’t worry about it. What matters is you’re going down there today and you’re going to get it done, okay? No more questions, no more excuses.”

Rachel paused for a few seconds. “Okay, fine.”

“Yes! Call me as soon as you’re done. They open in a couple hours so leave ASAP and get there first, I think it’s the only one they have.”

Rachel sighed and hung up the phone, throwing it to her couch. She looked down to herself, having removed her pants in her sleep. She ran into her bedroom and found a change of clothes, less tight than what she had been wearing yesterday, and threw it on. Rachel moved back into the living room and gathered what she needed: her wallet, phone, apartment keys, and a piece of fruit out of the fridge. 

Mere minutes after the phone call with her brother, she was out the door of her apartment and on the elevator. Her stomach sunk as it barrelled to the first floor, a lengthy journey with how high up her apartment was. Her mind raced with how quickly her whole life was changing, heading to a shop that would quite literally change her forever. 

By the time she reached the lobby and was out the front doors, the sun had started to rise. Either it was a longer elevator ride than she remembered, or she had woken up only moments before the sun. Her feet seemed to move on their own as she continued to think of different ways Stephanie would react when she returned home, and she quickly found herself at the sky train station.

Rachel rested her head on the window of the train as it barrelled through town, above the regular traffic on the streets. It took over an hour to get near the address her brother had sent her, and then another thirty minutes to walk there on top of that. She double-checked when she arrived, the shop looking quite unorthodox for what she was going in for.

The yellow metal of the walls were covered in graffiti and signs, indicating it was irrefutably the alteration shop she was looking for. A large man leaned near the entrance of the place, his arms completely replaced by robotic limbs and covered in markings that resembled tattoos. He stared at Rachel as she neared, his eyes glowing blue, as they too were not organic.

He spoke in a foreign language as Rachel grabbed the door.

“Oh, sorry, I don’t…”

The man grunted and pointed to the door with his thumb.

“Thanks.”

A bell chimed as Rachel entered the shop and a man behind the counter looked up to her. The place looked like a regular store, shelves full of robotic parts that created a maze through the small shop, with glass display cases being used as counters. The man inside said something in the same language as the one outside.

“I don’t speak that language, I’m sorry.”

The man rolled his eyes and walked through a door behind the counter. Rachel looked to some of the nearby boxes that sat on the shelves, picking up the closest one. It held cheap skin grafts to cover burns and scars with “EASY INSTALLATION” written several times across the sides. 

Rachel turned the box over and placed it back on the shelf as the man returned with an older woman behind him. The woman looked more robot than human, most of her body replaced by electronics of some sorts. She had fibre optic cables weaved into her hair, a fourth of her head replaced by metal—including an eye, bits and pieces of flesh exchanged for metal along her neck, arms, and that visible of her chest and legs, and a thick metal foot. She looked to Rachel and spat out a sentence, half the foreign language and half in Rachel’s.

“Sorry?” Rachel said.

“What want?” the woman replied.

“I was told that you were able to do alterations?”

“Yes. Alter. What want?” the woman replied angrily.

Rachel placed her hands together and started playing with her fingers. “I was hoping I would be able to get…”

“WHAT WANT?”

“A penis,” Rachel blurted out, her face getting warm.

“Sex shop across street,” the woman said, waving her hand in the air. “Ask for Arnya. Get dildo discount.”

“No, not like that,” Rachel said quickly as the woman turned to leave. “I want to have one… attached.” 

Rachel found herself outlining her crotch with both hands, trying to relay the message clearly. The woman behind the counter had her only eyebrow raised higher than anyone Rachel had seen able to do before.

“You want strap-on?” the woman asked.

“No, permanently. So I can be a man.”

“You be man?”

“I would like to be, yes.”

“But you have huge,” the woman grasped her chest and extended her arms far away. “Are you sure?”

Rachel looked around the place nervously, second-guessing her answer. “Yes.”

“I can make you man. Sixty thousand.”

“I was told fifty,” Rachel replied.

“Fifty-six.”

“Fifty-two.”

“Fine. Make you man for fifty-three thousand. No less.”

“Okay, deal.”

“Come with me.”

#

Rachel followed the woman behind the counter and into the back room. It was much larger than the front of the store, littered with different pieces of technology, chairs, tables, and tools. The woman led her to a table on the side and pointed to it while she sat in front of an old computer and started to type away.

“Only one, no choices,” the woman said as she rolled across the floor on her office chair.

“That’s fine.”

“Six inches, base grip,” the woman stated as she grabbed a large, black box. “Extension cost double.”

“Six is fine,” Rachel replied awkwardly. 

The woman opened the box and looked inside. “Most man want extension.”

“It’ll be alright.”

The woman pulled out the plastic tray inside of the box and placed it on the table beside her computer. She pulled the alteration out of the packaging and held it in the air. The penis itself looked to be made of the same material as a robotic finger, knuckle-like hinges along the sides and to the base of it, which resembled the front of a thong. The bottom of the base was covered in what looked like hundreds of tiny threads, with two thick ones in the centre.

“This is your penis,” the woman said as she pointed to it. 

“Okay.”

“To attach, this part goes inside,” the woman said, now pointing to the threads.

“What?”

“I sedate, or numb.”

Rachel looked around the room. “Numb is fine. But what do you mean that goes inside?”

“Get naked, lie down on table.”

Rachel looked to the device and paused for a moment, before quickly taking off her pants and underwear. 

“Top too,” the woman said, pointing to her shirt.

“Why?”

“Remove breasts.”

“No, no, I’ll keep those attached today.”

The woman titled her head to the side. “How be man with breasts?”

“I’ll manage.”

“Take top off.”

“Whatever,” Rachel said, not wanting to be bottomless longer than she had to be anyways.

“Lie down,” the woman said after Rachel had removed all of her clothes. “First alteration I see.”

“Yes.”

The woman propped Rachel’s feet into straps and pushed her legs backwards. “Crazy first choice.”

“What’s your name, before this starts?” Rachel asked.

“You call me Lori,” she replied as she started to tilt the table backwards, having Rachel’s head near the floor and her legs in the air.

“Okay Lori. What are you about to do?”

“Numb,” Lori replied as she pulled a bottle out from one of her cabinets.

Lori placed the bottle between Rachel’s spread legs and held it upside-down. She let the thick, clear liquid pour over Rachel’s skin between her legs and seep up her pelvic area. Lori waited for a moment and grabbed a nozzle, then returned the bottle to Rachel’s crotch. 

“Glad shaved first,” Lori said as she inserted the nozzle into Rachel, the feeling of the cold tip quickly fading as the numbing on the outside kicked in.

“What do all those tentacle things do?” Rachel asked as the numbing liquid continued to be poured in to her.

“Thick one’s pleasure, let me show,” Lori replied, letting go of the bottle and allowing it to drain on its own. “See thick?” Lori pointed to the two that looked like fingers, interlaced with each other.

“Yeah.”

“They react to penis sensation, give to you.”

“Ah,” Rachel replied, the blood now rushing to her face since she was still upside-down.

“These,” Lori pointed to the thinner threads. “They cover wall, no pregnancy.”

“Well that’s nice.”

“These, no more period.”

“What? Are you serious?” Rachel asked happily, her face now completely red.

“Cover wall, no use. These two small, go up the tubes, no eggs.”

“That’s great!”

“Nutrients go through tube, to ball sack,” Lori explained, showing the area to Rachel after taking the nozzle out of her.

“Pardon?”

“Left ball absorb nutrients, right convert to sperm. Work only activated, get very hot. Can have baby.”

“That’s amazing!” Rachel said, now convinced that her girlfriend would be supportive of the choice.

“Somewhat painful, like period,” Lori added.

Rachel frowned a little.

“Okay, can you feel?” Lori asked.

Rachel looked up to her legs as Lori shoved a gloved finger inside of her.

“Oh!” Rachel yelled in shock. “Uh, no, I didn’t feel that.”

“Good.”

Lori grabbed the alteration and covered the threads in a new liquid with her other gloved hand, forming them into a cylindrical shape with the liquid holding it all together. Now that the tubes were stiffened, they looked much longer than they had before, and Lori could see the fear on Rachel’s face.

“Numb, remember?”

“Yeah,” Rachel said, closing her eyes.

Lori slowly inserted the shaped threads into Rachel, the liquid acting as a type of lubricant as well. Rachel opened her eyes, as she couldn't feel anything happening, and was too curious of the process to keep them closed. The finger-looking tubes entered her as she craned her neck to look, the front of the device sitting on top of her skin.

“Graft to the rest,” Lori said as she pointed to the clear, silicone material that attached the penis and threads together. “Will burn tomorrow, but no pubes.”

“Wait, how will I pee?” Rachel asked as Lori brought her back to a horizontal position.

“Pull penis down graft, will drain with gravity. I give cleaner. Pee after sex.”

“I know that one…”

“No sex one month,” Lori said as she pushed the silicone close to Rachel’s skin.

“Won’t be a problem,” Rachel replied, thinking of how long it would be before Stephanie would get home.

“This pinch little,” Lori said, firmly pressing the penis base against Rachel.

The alteration hissed as the silicone grafted with Rachel’s skin, the numbing cream only partially working. The silicone covered everywhere a thong normally would, and the entire area started to itch. She could feel the weight of the robotic penis on part of her pelvic area that never had weight before, and the numbing started to wear away the more she thought about it.

“I activate inside, you turn rest on at home. Will hurt.”

“How?”

Lori pulled the penis up and pulled a wire out from the base. “Plug in phone or computer. Activate there. Also how you turn on balls.”

“Is the start up in more than one language?”

“Yes.”

“Great.”

Lori shoved the cord back into the penis. “Green lights on side when on. Grip for self or her pleasure. Not yank one month. Not pee five hours.”

“Okay.”

Lori handed Rachel her clothes and walked to the door. “Pay at counter.”

Rachel quickly put her bra and shirt back on while Lori walked out, and looked down to her new penis. It was weird to see one attached there, and to think that she was now a man. He was now a man. It would take some getting used to.

Rachel put his pants and underwear back on and walked out to greet Lori and the guy at the front counter. He paid the ludicrous amount of money for the alteration and walked out the door, a large smile covering his face. He felt so confident with the change, no longer feeling worried about what Stephanie was going to say. His brother was right; her love for him would always come first, and he should have always known that.

THE END