Hermes Ch. 09

~~~

Well, this took way longer than I planned for. I don't want to bore you with my personal life, so you can skip this pretext.

The last couple of months were... interesting. I was stuck in some mixture of writer's block, mild depression, and executive dysfunction.

But I also got some stuff done, got a new car, got my aching wisdom tooth pulled, and had some vacation with my family.

Sadly, the bad parts took way longer than I wanted, as they often do, and I only got the energy to return to writing in mid-February...

But now I can present HERMES Chapter 9. We pick up some speed here and explore some important things.

~~~

"Chris! Chris!" Nea called over the speakers.

I jerked upright in my bed. "What? What is happening?" My heart was pounding. Did something break? Has EPT found Hermes earlier than expected? Will I be dead in a minute? Adrenaline pumped through my veins, and I was prepared to defend myself, as someone wearing only boxers and a shirt could be.

"It's done!" She exclaimed ecstatically.

My brain was definitely not ready to comprehend this information. It was still in fight or flight mode. I spluttered and finally got another "What?" out of my mouth. What was done? I couldn't remember. We spent the last days mostly playing games, chatting, and relaxing. So it was no wonder my sleep-drunk and adrenaline-pumped mind couldn't remember what we were waiting on.

"Your chamber, it is done," Nea repeated, with anticipation in her voice.

It finally clicked for me, and reality came rushing back. All this time, we had waited for two things, Pyra's return and the construction of the chamber, my chamber. The chamber that will hopefully give me a new identity, a new body, and partly new DNA. The whole point was to allow me to get back onto other stations, but I somehow was looking more forward to my new body.

"What?" Seriously, I should stop that, "Already? I thought it would take till around noon or something."

Nea giggled, "I told you it would be done today, never said when. And to be fair, I wasn't sure; the final tests could have shown problems, and it would have taken longer to fix them. But as it is now, everything is done and working. We are ready."

"Holy... damn, I..." I nearly fell out of my bed, "I need to get ready!" I exclaimed after I got to my feet. "Wait... do I need to get ready?" My original panic had subsided, and I started to form coherent thoughts, but I still was somewhat lost.

"No, silly," Nea mused, "Just get down to the chamber. I have already prepared everything."

I nodded and left my room, still only in my shirt and boxers. I was excited; soon, I would be someone new. Not only would my DNA be changed, and I could take on my new identity, but I would also be more in line with my ideal self. I was... happy? It was a big step, for sure, but also something I was extremely looking forward to.

---

The room with the chamber was like most other rooms on Hermes, white, plain, and somewhat sterile, save for the chamber itself, an examination table, and medical equipment.

The chamber looked similar to Nea's previous rendering, with the shiny metallic surface reflecting the ceiling light. It had some similarities with a crude, industrial-looking bathtub.

One of Nea's bots stood next to the table, and to my surprise, she had replaced her normal attire with a way too-sexy nurse outfit. Her cleavage was not as big as on her uniform, but every piece of fabric was skin-tight and irresistibly showed off her curves. I tried to prevent my dick from springing to action this instant but failed miserably. Soon, my boxer displayed a prominent tent, and I could not hide it.

"Err, Nea, could you maybe change your outfit a bit? This is a bit too much right now." I finally managed to speak.

"Oh!" Her eyes twitched toward my lower half before she blushed," Yes, sorry, I just thought it looked good."

"It does look good, really good, but maybe it's inappropriate right now."

In an instant, her tight clothes were replaced by more normal scrubs. She still looked good as always, but at least I no longer felt like looking at a porn version of a nurse. With some mental exercises, I got my boner under control, and we could continue.

"How do you feel?" She asked, a reassuring smile on her lips.

"Anxious," I confessed, "and excited."

"Do you want something for the anxiety before we start?"

I thought for a second and then shook my head. "I can handle it, I think."

"Alright, take off your clothes and lie down on the table. I will do some preliminary checks and prepare you for the general anesthesia." Nea gestured towards the table.

I hesitated, I knew that she had seen me naked before, but it was something different being asked to strip and lie down naked. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and removed my clothes. The table was a bit cool, and a shiver ran over my body as I settled on it.

Nea's avatar averted her gaze, but I knew this was only for show. She could still see me through the cameras. Once I was done, she moved closer and started to place sticky pads on my body; I recognized these as ECG electrodes, just without the attached cables.

She moved toward my left side, and her robotic arms picked up an infusion needle, "I need to put that in; you might want to look away." She said. A short prick later, the needle was in the back of my hand. "Alright, prep is done. Please move over to the chamber and get in. Once you are situated, I will connect the ECG and the infusion."

I stood up again, the electrodes feeling strange on my skin. I moved over and stepped into the cold metal chamber. At least the floor of it was made from some rubbery material, not metal.

"Before you send me off, how long will the whole process take? Last time, you said something about at least two weeks. Does that still hold?" I asked.

Nea shrugged, "Yes, more like 12 days if nothing goes wrong. I have simulated the process multiple times, and given you are physically healthy, I don't expect complications."

I nodded, "Pyra should return in that time. Please don't tell her what my new body looks like. I want to see her surprise myself." I smiled while Nea connected the electrodes to the cables from a corner of the chamber.

"Sure, I will figure something out to keep her occupied while she waits." She nodded.

It was strange, seeing her makeshift bots from this angle; the screens barely reached over the walls of the chamber, and I could only see her face while the robotic arms connected the infusion.

"Alright, that's it," Nea said after she had clipped an oximeter to my finger, "I will start the anesthesia now; after that, I will intubate you and fill the chamber. See you in a bit." She gave me another bright smile.

"I can't believe we are actually doing that... "I pondered, "Thanks for everything so far, Nea," I added.

"You are welcome." I could hear before I felt the tug of the anesthesia pulling my consciousness away.

---

I don't exactly remember waking up from the anesthesia. My memories just set in at one point. I lie on the examination table, a towel draped over me. The ECG electrodes and the infusion were gone, and my throat felt sore. I still felt a bit groggy, but something was different. Not wrong, but different. I mentally checked my body and, to my surprise and delight, noticed two mounds on my chest.

I groaned as I tried to move my arms; everything felt heavy, and I fought a bit with my motor control, but finally, I managed to move my hands to my new pair of breasts. They felt incredible. Warm, soft, natural, and what was more important, they felt right.

"You ok there?" I heard Nea's voice over the speakers. "Take it slow; if you need anything, just tell me."

"Yeah," I responded; my voice was hoarse, but more surprisingly, it was higher than it had been before. I cleared my throat, "How was the process? Were there any problems?" I asked.

The more I talked, the better I liked my new voice; of course, we simulated it beforehand, and I knew what it would sound like to others, but hearing it in my head was something totally different.

"Only some small problems with the nanobots. They were breaking faster than anticipated. It's alright, I just used more."

I nodded and slowly pushed myself up, grabbing the towel before it would expose my breasts. I looked around the room; it was mostly how I remembered it, but Nea had placed a standing mirror beside the table. I pulled it closer and looked at my new body for the first time.

It is really hard to describe what I felt at that moment; 'right' would be the word that most captured my emotions. Compared to the rendered mirror image from the planning with Nea before, this image did not lag behind or was only an illusion. It was the real deal, and I could feel my new factual feature with my hand while I inspected myself. The distinct lack of a beard was directly noticeable; where I had a slight stubble and beard shadow before, my skin was now smooth and adorned with not one dark or thick hair. But the rest was also pleasing: a smaller nose, less pronounced chin, and more feminine contour. It felt too good to be true, but it was.

I took a deep breath and stood up, gripping the table tight to not fall on my weak legs. It took a couple of seconds for me to steady my footing, but I finally removed the towel and took in my whole new body.

Any bracing I could have done would have never helped seeing myself like this. I stumbled back against the table and needed to sit back down. It was just so overwhelming.

I disliked many things about my old body, especially my body hair and belly. They were gone now, replaced by smooth skin and a flat tummy. Topping it all off were my two breasts. It was the first time that I actually liked how I looked. As expected, I still had my penis between my legs, but that was not such a big deal, at least for now. But everything else was exactly like I wanted to look and it felt oh so good.

My now more pronounced hips, visible collarbone, smooth legs, and slender figure were not only pleasing to my own eyes but outright unbelievable. I never felt so euphoric before. If it wasn't for my still weak limbs and my sore throat, I would think I was dreaming or watching another recording, but no, this was reality.

Of course, I would only maintain my figure with regular exercise and a healthy diet, but at least I would not need to worry about body hair anymore, as Nea outright disabled the growth of said hair.

I slowly moved one hand up and cupped my own breast. I was in no way an expert on cup sizes, but I guessed the size to be around a C-cup. What was more disturbing was that it felt strangely good. I had never experienced something like this before, not even in one of the LiveDream recordings.

They felt even more surreal now that gravity pulled them into a nice protruding form. I couldn't get enough of them, not on a sexual level, but on an emotional one. It just felt like they belonged to me.

Just as I was about to further explore my new body, a commotion in front of the door shook me out of my thoughts.

"I don't fucking care! Let me in this instant!" Pyra screamed in the corridor. She was so loud I could hear her even through the closed door.

I hastily grabbed the towel and wrapped it around me again. Preparing for Pyras to enter. The thought of her seeing me like this made me anxious. I knew she would be chill about it, but what if she didn't?

"Let me in, you rusty tin can! I want to see him!" Pyra continued outside.

"She has been on edge ever since I told her you have woken up. Sorry," Nea's warm voice came over the speakers.

"It's alright, I expected that," I said, "Are there any clothes here?"

"No, sorry, I wanted to bring them to you, but I can't with Pyra camping in front of the door."

I nodded and exhaled sharply, "Alright, there is only one way to get her to stop worrying. Let her in..." I said, bracing myself for her reaction.

The door opened, and Pyra stormed in, worry on her face. But stopped dead in her tracks as soon as her eyes found me.

"What the actual fuck?!" The worry was replaced by utter confusion as she repeatedly opened and closed her mouth but did not speak. Her eyes were wider than I had ever seen them before.

"Hey, Pyra..." I said, my voice weak and still way higher than I was used to.

Pyra just stared at me. The knot in my throat was tightening, and the anxiety nearly overwhelmed me. As she did not respond, I slowly looked down.

"For fuck's sake, Chris..." Pyra said weakly. I looked back at her as she collapsed on the floor. "I- I don't know what to say. This is... a lot to take in..." She sat down cross-legged and looked back at me. "Don't get me wrong, you look great, gorgeous even, but this is a way bigger surprise than I expected to handle today."

I giggled, relieved that I had not misjudged Pyra. "Thanks, I guess? I hadn't planned to surprise you like this, but since you would not let Nea in..."

"Yeah, I guess I did this to myself," Pyra shrugged, "So, just to be clear, you wanted this, right? This was not a mistake from Nea?"

"Hey!" Nea protested.

I smiled at her reaction, "Yes, I wanted this. It was all planned with my DNA change."

"Good, good. Then let me ask you this... WHY THE FUCK did you not tell me!" She wasn't really angry; I knew that much from the twinkle in her eyes, but I still jerked back as she raised her voice.

"I... uhh, it never occurred to me to tell you," I said, defeated. I could see Nea's bot in the door angrily glaring at Pyra's back, "Calm down, Nea, she didn't mean it like that," I quickly added.

Pyra turned around, following my gaze, and shook her head at Nea. "Yeah, sorry if I startled you, Nea, it's just how we are. Also, sorry for calling you a tin can earlier..."

Nea nodded, her features relaxing, and moved into the room.

Pyra turned back to me, "But you are still a stupid dump... bitch?" she furrowed her brows, a quizzing expression on her face, "How do you want to be referred to now anyway?"

I looked at myself in the mirror again; from the outside, nobody would know what I was before; all they would now see was a beautiful woman. Well, unless I would undress.

"I think she/her would be appropriate, I guess. We also need to set my gender as female in the new identity." I said finally.

Pyra nodded while Nea's bot placed a stack of new clothes beside me. I looked at it. I recognized none of them.

"I fabricated some new clothes for you." Nea explained, "I also added several different options, so you can choose the comfiest one for yourself." she added a slight blush on her cheeks.

Pyra stood up, "I guess that's my queue to leave. We talk later, yes?"

"Wait!" I exclaimed, feeling myself blush, "I'm new to this whole bra thing. Would you mind helping..." I let the question hang, but Pyra knew what I was on about. She looked at me and the stack of clothes.

"Alright, can't say I'm not curious how they look." She laughed, "I'll wait outside until you have pants on, alright?"

"Sounds good," I replied and stood up from the table.

Nea and Pyra left the room, and I took off the towel. I knew Nea could see me, and knowing her, she would have already created a perfect 3D scan of me, if only to create the new clothes.

I spread the clothes on the table. It was a basic selection of casual female garments. Starting with the lower underwear, I could choose between a very female slip, more classical briefs, female boxer briefs, and one of my own boxers. I tried all of them on and immediately discarded the slip. It was way too tight and small for my current equipment. I finally settled on the boxer briefs. They felt secure and still somewhat familiar.

Next were the pants, two pairs of jeans, one much tighter than the other, a pair of leggings, sweatpants, and shorts. The tight jeans, which felt nice on my skin and emphasized my newly formed butt, also showed my bulge too much. The same problem with the leggings. So I choose the sweatpants.

Now the part I had no real experience with, sure I knew how bras worked on a superficial level and how they were supposed to sit, but I had no fucking clue how to put them on, especially how to close them. I could either try until I got it right or ask Pyra.

"Pyra, you can come in now," I said. A second later, Pyra entered the room, curiously looking around.

I wasn't sure if I should try to hide my bare chest from her. Given that I had seen her breasts, if only by accident, before, it felt only fair to just leave them free.

Pyra did not look in my direction; instead, she looked at the assortment of bras. I had four different ones to choose from, but except for the sports bra, I had no idea what they were called.

"This feels weird," She finally said.

"Yeah, I guess. I thought about asking Nea, but since she only has her avatar, she does not really have these problems, and I'm not sure how much help she would be... No offense, Nea."

"None taken, but you would be surprised." Nea giggled over the speakers.

"Alright, care to explain to me what they all are? I know this is a sports bra, and this one looks similar to one, but aside from that, I have no idea what the others are." I asked Pyra while pointing at them.

"You are right about them, so let's start with a small bra 101," Pyra chuckled. "Firstly, it looks like all of them are the same size. I guess Nea picked the correct one for you, which is good. First things first, while sports bras are comfy and provide good support, you should not wear them every day. Especially if they are made from synthetic materials. They can cause skin irritations and other problems. If you like the feeling of a sports bra, you might want to wear this bralette. It does not provide the same support but doesn't have the downsides of the sports bra. You put them on like a shirt; just pull them over your head."

I stepped closer and picked the sports bra up. Pyra was visibly trying to not look in my direction now. It felt really weird. I stopped trying to get my arms through the bra and turned to her.

"Hey... It's alright. I can see how much you try not to look toward me, and while I'm grateful for your discretion, it might be easier if we get that done now instead of dancing around it." I said to her.

I have never seen Pyra blush, and given her darker complexion, I probably never will, but her body language told me that she was deeply embarrassed.

"Yes, you are right, it's just... It feels so strange..." She responded, still not looking in my direction.

"Just do it, take your time, I won't bite," I said reassuringly.

She exhaled loudly and slowly looked toward me. I could practically feel her eyes on me. It felt strange but not unpleasant. Her eyes lingered on my flat belly before slowly creeping upwards and finally finding my bare breasts. I could hear her inhale sharply. She swallowed, still looking at them. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she lifted her eyes to mine, and I gave her a warm smile.

"You alright there?" I asked.

She nodded, her eyes flicking down to my tits again. "Yeah, it's just..." She swallowed again, "Listen, you are my best friend, and I would fucking die for you, but... this is something that needs getting used to." She gestures towards me, "Don't get me wrong, I support you; I want you to feel yourself, and to be frank, I already knew something was up since we talked about the LiveDream. But right now, if we weren't friends, I would totally date you; you look fucking gorgeous."

Now it was my turn to blush, I rarely got compliments before, and now I got two in the last 10 minutes. It was something new and felt very empowering. But I also understood her struggle. I felt similar about her a few years ago. But I, too, value our friendship more than to possibly ruin it by screwing around with her.