My stubborn mirror wouldn’t budge: the refle staring back was unmistakably a girl. No pointy elf ears and with dirty blonde hair, but otherwise the same as Charlie—my game character. But that’s it, right? Just a game character. How is this even possible?

  I crashed onto my poor sofa, my mind rag for answers. Somehow, my body had ged—and I was missing something pretty essential down there! Wait... the world seemed slightly off, a little rger than before.

  Springing to my feet, I stomped over to the wardrobe, nearly colliding with it in my rush. After a quick sear the drawer, throwing all other useless things all around, I found the measuring tape and measured my height. Only 5 feet, 5 inches. Frustrated, I kicked the i et, a sharp sting shooting through my leg, and flopped bato the sofa.

  It caught me off guard when a robotic voice chimed, “If I may, Miss Charlie?” I hadn’t heard such a distorted voice sihe early days of natural TTS.

  “Who the hell are you?!” I shouted, emotions swirling inside me: anger, fear, excitement, fusion, and just a hint of sadness.

  “I don’t have a name; my designated identification number is MK3-85. I am the puter core in your capsule.”

  Damn. That was the st thing I expected to hear. Almost-fotten headlines resurfaced in my mind—Mark-3, Nathan’s experiment. Since people were practically living in capsules, the pany had tried to address exercise hrough “body synization.” It had ended... badly. At least no one died—well, not that I’d heard of.

  Then again, what about that girl who wound up with a third arm? Or the puy who ended up with two of… something I didn’t even have anymore. Damn it! I threunch at the capsule. “What the hell happened?”

  “When you ehe system, discrepancies between your body s and actual body exceeded my factory limits. By programming, I should’ve tacted the authorities. However, based on my calcutions and observations, there was a 98.74% likelihood you’d prefer synization instead. Your medical file also shorevious preference for a female body.”

  I shook my head and threunch at the wall. “I was sixteen! Sure, I wa back then, but I came to terms with it. Got used to my gender, and after forty—” I hit the wall again, this time hard enough to draw a few drops of blood. Not that it made a dent in the damn thing. Whatever. “Like that was even realistic…”

  “Miss Charlie, synization was successful. However, your telomeres have been shortened, resulting in aimated lifespaion of six to twelve years. Embryonic stem cell capacity was insuffit to fully modify your DNA, so I requisitioned four additional tainers. Your pany’s AI kindly agreed to a generous loan on your behalf.”

  What? I froze, staring at the capsule, mouth hanging open. How? Have the robots gotten me again? After a moment of stunned silence, I muttered, “Great, eveer. Why not just kill me ht? How much?”

  “One ister has a market value of one millios, but the pany offered a dist—800,000 credits per ister. The total cost came to three and a half millios. Given your weekly sary of two thousand credits, the pany has arrao dedue and a half thousand credits each week over the forty-five years.”

  Fantastic. Lucas wasn’t the only debtor now. As the reality sank in, my shaky knees gave out, and I sank to the floor, pulling my ko my chest aing my head on them. So that’s it? This stupid tin … tin … has actually altered my body?

  Yeah, I’d heard of creating athlete-level bodies—if people were riough. Growing artificial ans, repg hearts, even parts of the brain. But this? “How am I even alive?”

  “The process was challenging, but your vital signs are within the norm. Previously, the success rate was under 1%, but I am state-of-the-art.”

  “Great. So, tall building jump or ten liters of whiskey—what’s faster?”

  “Miss Charlie?”

  “Shut up, Tin-!”

  “Miss Charlie, please hat your emotions may be unstable for a while. This procedure was unpreted; I reco—”

  I hurled my old shirt at him. “Shut up!” I screamed, finally letting the tears spill over. A lot of them. People say men don’t cry—maybe that’s sexist. But now, being a girl for real, g is fair game, right?

  Even through my tears, I gnced up at the mirror. No, I thought.You aren’t me.

  ***

  Steam from his shged up the clock, but Lucas wiped it clear to check the time. He still had a little while to dive into the game a up with his friend. Lost in thought, he absentmindedly fiddled with his phone, but when he dialed John’s number, he was stuo hear him—her—pick up.

  “What do you want?!” snapped a trembling, melodic voice. Charlie’s voice, sharp with anger. He blinked, mind reeling, but the s didn’t lie. A girl—one he reized instantly—sat on the ground in a vulnerable position, wearing almost nothing.

  The sight sent him stumbling, and he had to steady himself against the wall. “What... what’s going on? How did you ge in real life?”

  “What do you think, master hacker? The AIs finally got me. It’s over. Sorry, but I o die.”

  “Charlie, please don’t make any hasty decisions. I’ll be there soon.” Even though it wasn’t the John he knew, it was. His mind raced, searg for answers, but nothing came. To hell with that! “I’ll bring you some clothes, okay? Do you know your new size?”

  “Five-five, small as a dwarf. The rest... dunno, don’t care.”

  ***

  While I was ptily how much whiskey it would take to end me, my nesule spoke up, “Miss Charlie?”

  “What the hell do you want, you stupid piece of junk?”

  “I would like to offer you an apology.”

  “An apology? Right now, I need answers! How do I get my body back?” I demanded, st over to the mirror. Staring at my refle, I struggled to find words for the mess of emotions crashing over me.

  It hurt too much to bear, and I couldn’t take it. I threw another punch—this time at the mirror—shattering it, sending shards of gss flying. I colpsed, letting gravity take over as I sat among the broken pieces.

  “That may be nearly impossible. Your inal body s is archived in a secure gover facility. We might require a hacker to circumvent the system. Even if you retrieved your old s, transf back would require at least thirteen isters, as your former body mass is rger. Your telomeres would further shorten by approximately ten to twenty years.”

  “So... there is a way,” I murmured, staring bnkly at my ceiling and fog on this one glimmer of hope. There had to be a way.

  When the doorbell rang, I had no energy to answer, so I allowed Tin- to access my smart home. What else could he mess up? Besides, if there was any ce of reversing this, he might be the key. No matter how much I loathed him, I’d need his trust. If that hunk of junk is even capable of trust.

  Lucas burst through the door, practically skimming the floor. What a sight. I managed a weak smile as he dropped to one knee beside me. “John? No, Charlie—what the hell happened?”

  “Oh, this?” I let out a shaky ugh, sounding more like a whimper, aured at the shattered mirror pieces. “I disagreed with my refle. The mirror lost.” I held up my fist, only then notig the blood trig down my knuckles. The pain was so faint—nothing pared to the brutal hits in virtual reality—that I hadn’t eve it until now. What a ugh. I ughed wildly, almost uo stop.

  Lucas just stared, disbelief stamped on his face, befently bandaging my hand. Then he offered me a hand, which I took, rising to my feet. So what if I was a girl now? So what if I felt like I’d just survived a boss battle after a full-party ambush? I would get my body back, even if it meant going through hell to do it.

  “I o break into a gover offline facility,” I said in a surprisingly steady, feminine voice. Guess that was the new normal.

  “If you’d said Fort Knox, that might’ve been easier,” he joked, and I weakly punched his chest in response. His surprised look made me gnce away, but he reached out and pulled me into a hug, and I leaned into him. A warmth spread through me as my tears fell again, unstoppable—and this time, I didn’t want to stop them.

  “We’ll get through this,” he murmured.

  I wiped my tears with my sleeve and looked up at him. “No, we won’t. I know things, things I shouldn’t. Who’s important enough to save? What’s important? I ig, but the pressure’s crushing me. If I could choose, I’d just get drunk and fet all of it.”

  Without a word, he guided me te bag he’d left by the doht, he’d mentioned something about clothes. He pulled out a long, sleeveless white dress with a floral pattern, a white bra, matg panties, a delicate pendant with a red gemsto, and a pair of silver heels.

  Not knowing aer, I started dressing right there. Underwear first, then the dress, which fit perfectly. How did he know the exact size? Good job anyway, Lucas.

  Seeing the high heels, I tehat damn fool. Sure, they were beautiful, but how was I supposed to walk in them? Had he fotten about the game fiasco already? Furious, I marched toward him, barefoot.

  His face flushed, and he backpedaled, holding up his hands. “I swear, I didn’t—!”

  “What?!” I snapped, but then forced myself to take a deep breath. Calm down, John. He came here to help; don’t alienate your only ally. I shot anre at the heels, still seething. “You idiot! I ’t walk in high heels!”

  Right then, Tin-’s voiterjected, “I offer you an instrual video.” Lucas’s eyes widened, and he whipped around, sing the room. He moved protectively in front of me.

  “Who the hell is that?” he demanded.

  I couldn’t help but giggle. Silly Lucas. Ign his fusion, I slipped into the heels—of course; they fit perfectly. Not bad, Lucas. But he kept looking around, so I expined, “You mean Tin-? He’s the genius who turned me into this.”

  “Special ark-3, Edition Seven. o meet you,” Tin- chimed.

  Lucas’s expression shifted to something darker, and his voice shivered. “The core they tried to upload human brains into? The ohat failed?”

  “Correct. I was once human, but my memories couldn’t trao the quantum core, so I lost them.”

  “Charlie, take his chip and put it in the microwave. Now, before it’s too te. He ’t copy himself, so that’ll destroy him.” Lucas was dead serious.

  I stared at him, searg his eyes for firmation. He really wants me to destroy Tin-? Tin- was the only one who could help turn me back, and Lucas wanted him gone?

  Frustration bubbled up, and I spped him. Lucas touched his cheek, surprise fshing in his eyes. “What was that for? I’m trying to help you!”

  “Don’t be dramatic—I just grazed you.” I shrugged and, feeling a smile tug at my lips.

  The doorbell rang, and Tin- ope. To my shock, my brother walked in. “Adam?” I blinked, stunned. What the hell was going on? The st time I’d seen Adam was ten years ago, in future, on his daughter’s prom night, when I tried to apologize but messed it up pletely. We hadn’t spoken since.

  He looked from me to Lucas. “Lucas.” A slight relief hit me—he remembered my friend. “Where’s John?” Lucas was so flustered he started stammering nonsense.

  “Tin-, what did you do?” I demaurning to the only one capable of such a reunion.

  “Sir John,” Tin- said, probably for Adam’s sake, “the medical procedure was experimental with a less than 1% success rate. Naturally, my presence elevated it to over 99% success, though I had to notify—”

  “I still have Adam listed as my emergency tact,” I interrupted. “Sorry, Adam. It’s me, John. Now… Charlie.”

  Adam stopped interrogating Lucas and turo me, his eyes narrowing. “So, you finally decided to ge?”

  I stepped closer. “ly. I decided not to ge, but my pany gave me this test AI, and it, uh… altered me. Without asking.” I extended a hand, wisting in my stomach. “I’m sorry, Adam. For everything. For how I acted at Lena’s birthday, how drunk, how I… well, how I was.”

  Adam let out a long sigh. “Jo—Charlie. Yeah, things aren’t great between us, but… you’re still family.” His expression softened slightly as he g me. “I let it go a while ago, but the girls…”

  I couldn’t hold baymore and pulled him into a hug. “It was because of yirlfriend. I said she looked like a marshmallow. That was… well, me.”

  Adam gently pushed me bad sighed again. “There’s a lot I don’t uand, and I need answers, but for now, I’m just gd you’re okay. We’ll talk soon, all right? Not too soon. I ime to process this.”

  “Yes, sir,” I said with a small salute, just like we used to when we were kids. That finally drew a smile from him. He urned, and headed out the door.

  “On that note, Lucas, e on now. A drink solves everything.” I grabbed his hand and stormed out.

  The familiar sight of the bar washed over me like a wave of calm, especially as the sixty-something bartender grinned in wele. I made my way to my usual spot, taking in the warm, bustling atmosphere. As I gnced around, a soothing warmth settled over me, almost like when my stepmother would tuck a b around me and hand me warm milk. A small, ued smile tugged at my lips.

  Then, an unfamiliar disfort crept in. People at the bar were looking at me differently—longer, with eyes that felt less casual and more… curious, or something worse. What was going on? Was it the akeup? Or my slightly tangled hair?

  Shaking off the thought, I turo the bartender and ordered my favorite drink. “Hey, old man, you make an Old Thyme Sour?”

  “Sure thing, young dy,” Patrick replied, nodding toward a retina ser. Right, I wasn’t John anymore. I sighed, plied, and the ser approved me for drinking age.

  “That one’s gonna take a bit, so how about a whiskey on the rocks while you wait?” Patrick asked.

  “Perfect.” I settled back, taking a sip as the familiar burn of Irish whiskey warmed me up inside. Lucas finally arrived, looking as if he’d waded through a crowd of angry punks on his way over, which he probably had. His grandpa's pace was too mue and I ran ahead.

  “Go easy tonight, Charlie. You don’t know your limits yet,” he cautioaking a seat beside me. I just nodded, sav my drink. Nothi Irish whiskey in an Irish bar.

  “Want to talk about it?” he asked, leaning against the bar—only to have his arm slip, nearly causing him to topple over. He steadied himself, and I managed a grin, ign his question as I let the whiskey work its magio serious talk now, please.

  Lucas shifted unfortably, mouth opening and closing as if struggling with what to say. When I was halfway through my drink—ten seds, tops—he finally spoke. “Have you heard about the hero thing? I read heroes are ‘pyers destio py a major role in the upis!’”

  “Yup,” I said, finishing my drink. “I’m the hero, all right. The skills are insane; I carry us now.” As if on cue, Patrick handed me another drink, right as I raised my hand. A smile crept ay fao robot could ever repce a good bartender, especially not Patrick.

  Lucas chuckled. “You’re kidding, right?” I didn’t answer, just took hat he was barely halfway through his first beer. Lucas, you o drink, I thought, but only grinned and gnced over at Patrick.

  Patrick was w his magic, pg tws of thyme and Chartreuse into an old gss before stirring with his usual finesse. He added egg whites, liquors, and syrup to a shaker in perfect rhythm—no mae could match that touch.

  “Charlie? Answer me! Are you joking? If you—” Lucas’s voice faded into the background as I watched Patrick light the gss on fire for a few seds.

  He caught my awe-struck gaze and grinned. “How else am I supposed to add the ‘smoky’ fvor?” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. I nodded solemnly, as though he’d just revealed a great mystery of the universe. Ign Lucas’s rambling, I took a nervous sip of the finished drink. Perfect. In those priceless moments, I savored the sour taste that melted on my tongue.

  Lucas ractically fuming from being ignored, but he deserved it. Failed hacker. Naturally, I had to take another sip. Oh, how much I missed this! “This is the best drink I’ve ever had!” I decred.

  As if on cue, Iaered the bar, dodging the crowd by the door. My usual panic surged, my heart rag as he made his way over and stopped right beside me.

  “Charlie,” I mao say, at least a greeting. Why does this happeime? Ian and I had been friends fes. He ordered his usual dark beer, settled o me, and started chatting with Lucas. Meanwhile, I lost the thread of their versation, too focused on my poundi and the dizzying thoughts swirling in my head.

  This wasn’t something I could deal with without another drink. F a smile, I downed my whiskey and ordered another.

  Despite Ian’s averageness, a strange nervousness bubbled up. Holy, if I had to pick the most average person in the universe, Ian would be right up there. Still, that’s irely fair—he was exceptionally good at smoking weed, which I rated as a fw, since I couldn’t stand it.

  Maybe because of his job at the pany, he always wore a gray shirt and blue jeans. Unremarkable face, average voice, and the only “distinctive” thing about him was his dreaded hair, which he styled after some rapper, just like a million other fans.

  By the time I finished my third whiskey, warmth spread through me, quieting my nerves. Feeling bolder, I tuned in to their versation.

  “… ridiculous! I mean, the runes! Who desighat? I’d reset, but no, you won’t let me,” Lucas rambled, clearly still venting about his spells. I grinned, got up, and pyfully smacked his shoulder before hugging him from behind.

  Ian raised an eyebrow as I settled my on Lucas’s shoulder, grinning. “I bet Ian ’t talk specifics, right?”

  “That’s right,” Ian heated. “Though I only know bits outside my area. I’m a debugger, so I handle bugs the AI misses.” He gnced around like someone might overhear. Poor Ian—why was he so paranoid about getting fired? I released Lucas and, on impulse, hugged Ian, practically leaning on him. Why? Why not!

  “Did you like my bug report?” I whispered—or rather, nearly shouted—in his ear. “Oops, sorry!” I ughed, then lowered my voice. “About the Goolems? Lucas told me your number!”

  Ian’s eyes widened. “That was you? You’re the Princess, the hero?!” He spped a hand over his mouth, but the secret was already out. “Cha—Charlie, I didn’t mean—only internal people should know that…”

  Giggling, I waved it off. “Don’t worry, my new buddy! Let’s drink to that!” Clutg his shoulder, I raised my gss. “Here’s to new beginnings and heroic adveomorrow! You’ll join us, right?”

  Both of them raised their gsses, though a bit hesitantly, while I gestured wildly, almost spilling my drink. Ian nodded, finally relenting. “Sure,” he said, then added with a pause, “My name’s Wian.”

  Wian. Struggling to keep a straight face, I buried my fa his shoulder. Big mistake. Now I smelled like weed. “Ugh, Wian, that’s even more uninal than ‘Princess’!” I teased.

  Lucas finally finished his first beer—such a lightweight. He shifted in his seat and asked, hesitantly, “How are you allowed to py? John couldn’t, because he was a tester.”

  “Our boss persuaded the higher-ups. Said the best debugging happens on a live server, or something. We think it’s because she’s sleeping with her boss, and it’d be awkward if she was the only one allowed in the game.” Ian lowered his voice, chug. “Each departmes a pass to let people py, but they have to sign NDAs.”

  “Insane!” I ughed and drained my whiskey. The world spun pleasantly as I grabbed Ian’s shoulder with one hand aured grandly with the other. “Sleeping with someone? My boss would love it if Lucy flipped that around!” I signaled for another round, ughing.

  “Charlie, don’t you think you’ve had enough?” Lucas asked, ever the responsible orying to rain on my fun. I was a girl now, but alade me the same. Behave the same, grabbing people and celebrating! Made me free. I talk!

  “What? Nonsense.” I winked and grinned, hugging his arm aing my cheek on his shoulder. “Silly Lucas, I never have enough.”

  Author's note: Does that make sense? Did you uand how and why Tin- ged Charlie? And what about the famous Tin-? Should Charlie just straight up kill the stupid puter? This chapter was inally split into two, but the info-dump about altering DNA and then drinking in the bar without progressing plot was too much, so I merged them them together. :)