Shards Ch. 04B

Author's Note: Several commenters expressed dissatisfaction with the ze/zir/zim pronouns in Chapter 4, so I've produced this alternate version using they/their/them instead. Is it better/worse/same?

~~~~~

Over the next weeks, as 2015 gave way to 2016, the rate of Nova detections kept rising. Several other nations reported isolating the Nova retrovirus and indicated that it had infected 100% of their populations or was expected to do so. Yet, the U.S. government was remaining tight-lipped, even in the face of several nations claiming that the virus originated in the U.S. and spread from there. A number of Congresspeople and Senators were grumbling about a cover up, but the Presidential primaries were soon to start, so not much happened in Congress to investigate.

Debate began among a number of groups about how to prepare for a generation made up entirely of Nova children. One debate arose among linguists, who knew gender in language would need to be addressed. In English, a big aspect of this was pronouns, where neither "it" or "they" seemed acceptable replacements for he and she.

There had been many alternative pronouns suggested over the years, none of which had become predominant. The debate about pronouns spilled over into social media and arguments flowed back and forth for the first half of January. In the end, the option of using they/them/their etc, as a singular usage, won out over any of the alternative pronouns.

Cathy, Nancy and I decided to adopt this as well. I the shift here in my narrative, except where conversations still used gender-specific pronouns.

Debate continued on replacement words for male/female, boy/girl and man/woman and various compound words based upon them, such as salesman, without as much concensus.

~~~~~

January 19, 2016

We went to Dr. deLong's office for Cathy's 20-week sonogram appointment. We decided against a full revelation to the doctor, instead planning to describe our transformations as beginning a week after Cathy's first ultrasound, rather than immediately after the meteorite impact. We decided to also reveal my transformation and pregnancy. We needed Dr. deLong to respect our medical privacy until we revealed my pregnancy publicly when I entered my 2nd trimester in March.

After the usual vitals check by a nurse's aide, we were escorted into an exam room, where the ultrasound equipment was, then Cathy was instructed to disrobe and put on a gown.

Dr. deLong came into the room fifteen minutes later, saying, "Hi, Dan, Nancy. How are you feeling? I imagine you're nervous, with all of this Nova news lately. It's time to see what we'll see."

Cathy said, "I am certain the baby is Nova, doctor."

"How do you know? Did you already have a sonogram?" she asked.

"It will be simpler to show you how we know," Cathy said, as they began pulling the edge of their gown up and exposed their groin. They lifted their flaccid penis, to show that there were still labia and vagina below it.

"Oh, my lord!" Astrid exclaimed, her eyes locked on Cathy's cock. "The Nova virus did this to you?"

Cathy answered, "Not on its own, we don't think. Otherwise, the virus would be having the same effect on adults world wide. We do have a theory, though. If you check our medical records, you will see that we were both hit by a meteorite during a hike back in September, that somehow left us uninjured, although unconscious. We assumed that something inside the meteor healed the same injuries it had caused. A week after you performed my first ultrasound, we started this transformation and figured it was also because of the meteor. This was before we knew about the altered embryos or the virus. We don't know if the meteor was also the source of the virus or if what healed us manifested the DNA changes that produce Nova embryos in our bodies, but it seems likely they are connected and that we may have been the very first to be infected by the virus. Even if we were not infected, I assume that our baby would have been transformed by the same process that changed us. Whether our theory is right or not, though, we do consider ourselves Nova now and have even started referring to each other as they instead of he or she."

"Hold on, you're both Nova? This affected Dan, too?"

Nancy answered, "Yeah, my genitals now match theirs, although my changes took longer to complete, not counting breast development, which only started recently, since I've become pregnant, too. My second period after changing was six weeks ago and three pregnancy tests have all came back positive. I'm hoping you can verify that I'm pregnant by sonogram today. You should be able to find a heartbeat by now, right?"

We decided to hold back the knowledge that I was carrying twins, since we gained that knowledge from the nanites.

'The CDC —"

"Is not to be told a word, Astrid," Cathy insisted. "Unless you can determine that the adult transformation is actually contagious, we aren't posing a health risk. If becoming Nova could even be termed a health risk. You're legally bound to preserve our medical privacy. At least until we can't avoid revealing Dan's pregnancy any longer, which we figure will be his second trimester. Give us until March before they try to turn us into lab rats."

Astrid rolled her eyes at what she perceived to be paranoia, but nodded. "Okay, let's make a deal, then. I can help you in making some favorable press contacts when you do go public, if you'll let me publish your case in a medical journal. The more data I can collect now while I'm primarily your OB, the fewer tests the CDC would need to perform."

'Sounds fair,' I thought to Cathy.

"Okay, doctor," Cathy said. "So, let's get these sonograms started, before someone on your staff walks in, sees my penis and has to be sworn to secrecy, too."

As expected, Cathy's baby showed all of the hallmarks of a healthy Nova embryo and my sonogram detected two heartbeats and two gestational sacs. Dr. deLong indicated the two sacs did not disprove the possibility of identical twins, although we already knew they weren't. Dr. deLong spent extra time scanning all of our genitals and internal organs to record the effects of our transformations.

"Amazing," she said, when she finished scanning me and let us get dressed. "Except for enlarging the clitoris into a penis divided at the base and testicular tissue moving behind that, you both appear to have all of the sexual organs of both genders, just rearranged slightly so everything fits. Even Dan's pelvis seems to have been changed, to make it closer to the female shape for child birth. Nothing about this seems random. There's no hermaphrodite I've heard of which looks just like this. Plus, Dan's ovaries and Nancy's sperm are clearly fertile, neither of which existed before you transformed, so those zygotes had to be produced, too. So, why do you think you didn't start transforming right after the meteor hit?"

Cathy answered, "Looking back, the change started the same week that all the Nova news says is so important, seven weeks after conception, nine on the gestational calendar. I don't think that's a coincidence. If something in the hormones that start getting expressed that week triggered the transformation in me and somehow spread to Dan sexually, it could explain both of us beginning the transformation at that time. Whether that means the transformation itself can sexually transmitted or just the trigger to affect what the meteor did to both of us, I don't much feel like being a test subject to find out."

'Is she buying our story?' I asked Cathy.

'So far, yes.'

"Have either of you been sexually active with anyone else?" Astrid asked. "Either since the meteor crash or transforming?"

"Nobody," Nancy answered. "It's not like we could hide this anatomy from any potential partners."

"If you do wind up involved with anyone else, be sure to alert them to the possibility that it might be sexually transmitted," Dr. deLong said. "Otherwise, you would be making them the test subject."

~~~~~

The Nova virus was a major topic in the Presidential primary debates, leading up to the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. As the detection rate rose, those who ranted about Nova's sinful nature or supported conspiracy theories that some government had intentionally released the virus, whether the U.S. or an enemy, saw their polling numbers fall and several candidates withdrew from the race. Senator Chaston continued rising to the 2nd position among the Republican candidates, promising that the country would adapt to the challenges the Novas presented, but not suggesting much in the way of new civil rights legislation to protect the Novas, which several of the Democratic candidates were proposing, including Governor Burke from Ohio, the front-runner.

~~~~~

January 27, 2016

Nancy and I had just returned from work when my cell phone rang. It was Zack.

"Nancy, Dan? Is Cathy there? She's not answering her phone."

Nancy replied, "She should be on her way home. You sound stressed. What's wrong?"

Zack answered, "Paige and I were in a car accident this morning. She was hurt pretty badly and the doctors... Well, they just informed me that they think she has permanent brain damage, despite the surgery she's already undergone. The 'may never wake up' kind. I was hoping Cathy's little friends might be able to change that?"

"Is she at John Muir?" Nancy asked.

"Yes, she's in the Neuroscience ICU now that she's out of surgical recovery, room 2508."

"We'll be there as soon as we can, Zack."

Cathy got home five minutes later and we told them Paige's situation. "Of course, I will see what I can do, but the brain can be the hardest organ to repair."

We got to John Muir and headed up to the ICU floor. Zack met us at the waiting area, saying, "The doctors are doing another neural exam on her right now. After they update their prognosis, which hasn't been good so far, I can get you in as visitors. Thankfully, Paige and I filled out the paperwork authorizing each other to make medical decisions when she became pregnant, since we're not married. Or I would still be waiting for her parents to arrive. They couldn't get a flight until tomorrow."

After about ten minutes, two doctors, one male, one female, came to the waiting area. Their name badges identified them as Dr. Patrick Hanna and Dr. Cynthia Nourse.

"Mister Thomas?" asked Doctor Nourse.

"Any change?" Zack asked. "You can talk in front of my friends."

"The swelling of your wife's frontal lobe has continued to recede since surgery, but we believe the brain tissues themselves are damaged beyond our ability to repair. Barring a miracle, she will not regain consciousness. It is her brain stem keeping her breathing and her heart beating at this point. I'm so sorry."

"And the baby?" Zack asked.

"Your baby does not appear to be injured. The pregnancy is in its 28th week. If we delivered the baby now, the survival rate would be higher than 90%. So, the question is whether to extend Paige's life for several more weeks to improve those odds further. We would have to order a feeding tube, if that is your intention."

"Of course it is, doctor. I - I can't lose them both."

"I will put in the order," Doctor Hanna said, before both walked away.

Cathy reached their hand to Zack and said, "I read both of their minds. Human medicine can not do anything more to help Paige wake up. If not for your baby, the doctors would already be encouraging you to cease life support, because they consider Paige a hopeless case which could bankrupt you. Let us find out if I can change that, okay? Take me to her."

Zack walked us to Paige's room. Paige's head was surrounded by bandages, even over her eyes. She had a breathing tube entering her mouth, an IV and a fingertip monitor.

Cathy pulled up a stool and took Paige's left hand in theirs.

Zack asked, "Aren't you going to scan her brain?"

Cathy whispered, "I am already doing so, Zack. Telepathy doesn't require any contact. I only need to hold her hand to transfer some nanites, then communicate with them as they scan her from inside. If I tried touching her head, the nurse who is watching us from the duty station right now would certainly stop me. Give me a few more minutes to start getting some answers."

I thought, 'Ask Zack how the accident happened. Keep him distracted.'

Nancy asked, "What happened, Zack? Your car was hit?"

Zack said, "Ummm, a delivery truck ran a red light, slammed into the passenger side of the car just as Paige turned her head to see it. The impact forced her forehead through the side window before it was hit by the truck's front end. The front of her skull was fractured, smashed in, really. The doctors in the ER were amazed she was still breathing and got her up to surgery. After the swelling of her brain was brought under control, the surgeons pieced the skull fragments back together. On top of her brain injuries, they said both eyes were damaged by the glass and impact. They performed preliminary repairs, but aren't going any further than that, if she's... if she's never waking up."

"We're so sorry, Zack. How do things look, Cathy?" Nancy asked.

Focused on communicating with the nanites, their eyes closed, Cathy answered, "The eye repairs are fairly minor, as the optic nerves are not damaged. The brain damage is the real issue. Her higher brain functions are non-existent and I can read very few of her memories, mainly ones located in the hippocampus. Paige is not in a coma right now, she is not present in any meaningful way."

Zack asked, "Can her brain be fixed by your nanites or not?"

Cathy sighed. "Yes and no. The nanites can repair the brain tissues, eliminate the remaining swelling, restore her skull. However, they cannot reconstruct the memories those tissues held. Those are lost forever. While her body would wake up, the loss of most of her memories means she would have to relearn almost everything, even language. She would revert to infancy. While those repairs would also help your baby's survival odds, the Paige you knew is gone, Zack. I am so sorry."

"Oh, god." His last hope lost, Zack broke down, crying into our shoulder.

While Nancy held him, I thought to Cathy, 'What if you transferred into Paige's body after making those repairs? Would that work?'

Cathy thought back, 'Yes, it would, if Zack agrees to allow it. I could transfer my self and return Nancy to this body at the same time, no different than what I planned to do with the baby. Instead, they would be born and develop their own personality normally.'

Nancy heard the exchange and stiffened. Zack pulled back, wiped his eyes and, when he saw Nancy looking towards Cathy, asked, "Okay, what's up? You have that telepathy thing going on again, don't you?"

Nancy answered him, "Dan just had an idea. We're not sure how you're going to react to it, but here goes. If Cathy's nanites repair Paige's brain to the point that it is functional again, but is this blank slate equal to infancy, Cathy could transfer her mind into Paige's body and restore me to my body in the process, giving Dan control back over his. It wouldn't give you Paige back, but at least Cathy would be able to walk out of here and complete Paige's pregnancy, instead of keeping her on life support to improve the baby's chances."

Zack looked towards Cathy and asked, "It would be your personality and memories, behind Paige's face?"

Cathy said, "It will be a combination of my memories, some of Nancy's that have mixed with mine that I cannot separate now, plus those of Paige's memories that survived, which I will not erase. I will treasure them, instead. I know you are thinking right now that I am trying to take advantage of this horrible situation. Please know that I am not. This was Dan's thought, not mine, but I agree with it. While the nanites and I cannot reverse your loss, we can lessen it, giving your baby an even better chance of survival. If you find over time that you and I do not mesh as a couple, I promise I will not challenge your custody of your child, after the delivery. I will move in with Dan and Nancy and hope we can remain friends."

"Huh?" Zack asked. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I love them both and they have come to love me, despite all I have put them through. I planned to become their first child so I could restore Nancy and Dan to their bodies, knowing that means the end to our romantic relationship. But, if I occupy Paige's body instead, I would be able to continue it. Why would I not want that?"

"And if I asked to make us a foursome, instead?"

I thought to Nancy, 'I'm okay with that, if you are. Ask him if he's still as much of a slob as he was in college.'

They chuckled, before repeating my words.

Zack answered, "No, Paige has me pretty well trained. Had me. Dammit, I don't want to think of her in the past tense!" Fresh tears welled in his eyes.

Cathy let go of Paige's hand and stood, facing Zack, before putting their hands on his face to brush the tears away and looking deep into his eyes. They said, "Her life energy and her love are inside you, Zack. I can feel more of her in you than in her own body, now. Your memories will keep her alive, just as Teclewt is kept alive inside of me through my memories. I will hope to earn your love on my own merits, not by pretending to be her."

They kissed him, softly. A flash of jealousy passed quickly. This wasn't Nancy kissing Zack, it was Cathy. But, I realized that I would also be okay if it were Nancy. I had accepted the idea of a foursome instinctively, because it felt right.

After their kiss ended, Zack thought about it for 45 seconds, before he said, "On one condition. I get telepathy, too, since I assume you'll be giving that to yourself and I know you promised it to Dan and Nancy."

Cathy said, "Easily done, right now." They stepped up to him again and put their hands on his face, paused for 20 seconds and let go. "I have injected some of the nanites into you and instructed them to phase in the ability over the next 24 hours, so you are not immediately overwhelmed."

Turning to us, they said, "The same will be true for both of you, once I have you separated. Let me start on healing the brain, then we will begin the transference. I want to complete it before the doctors come back to insert the feeding tube."

Cathy sat beside Paige's bed and took her hand again. Zack, Nancy and I watched from the other side of the bed, making it look to anyone observing like we were praying over Paige. After ten minutes, Cathy opened their eyes and said, "Nancy, take Paige's hand and reach your other hand to mine. Do not let go of either one until I tell you, telepathically. That includes you, too, Dan. Just because you feel in control of your body again, the process is not complete until I say it is finished."

Nancy and I waited, not talking to each other. Sitting still, I don't know exactly when I regained control of my body, until I heard Nancy say aloud, from their own body, "Squeeze my hand, Dan."

I did, then grinned at them. A moment later, Cathy telepathically said, 'I am almost done. Do not let go, yet.' Her mental voice sounded different, deeper than the one she had used in Nancy's body, but not like Paige, either.

A minute later, Cathy moved Paige's hands, but couldn't talk, due to the breathing tube. Telepathically, she said, 'It is done. Now we have to blow the doctor's minds. Zack, page a nurse, please.'

Zack pressed the nurse call button. A nurse came in and asked, "Can I help you, Mister Thomas?" She nearly passed out when Paige lifted her unencumbered hand and pointed to the breathing tube, miming pulling it out.

The flurry of activity that followed, of doctors and nurses performing tests on Paige, trying in vain to explain her recovery as anything but a miracle, was almost comical. Nancy and I were pushed back out to the waiting room. Even Zack struggled to be allowed to remain.