Darkness.

All of the lights in my residence are off. Only a barest glow, leaking through the bottom of my archaic automatic door's imperfect seal, hints at the outside corridor's soft wintry light. Even so, this leaves everything perfectly visible to my high resolution post-human vision...

(Steady.)

I walk forward...

The door slides open.

... and emerge out into the light, changed. My slim body is clad demurely in an expertly folded black and white silk kimono. My face is finely featured. My hair-feathers-flowers fall down my shoulders in a long, long iridescent fall to the base of my back.

And my gender revealed as beautifully female.

I begin calmly walking forward with small graceful steps, supple back straight, my sandals clacking softly. Curving far off into the distance, both sides of this long white corridor are periodically marked with closed apertures fronted by black-bordered doormats of many hued patterns. No one else is out here. An open public aperture lies around the bend. Conversation emanates from it, approaching and receding. Passing through without hesitation, I find myself out onto an interstitial pathway winding amidst an open area of mid-Station public forums. Before me, various Outers chatter in groups stationary or mobile, towards inner or outer Station corridors. Attention begins to find me...

(Steady.)

I continue calmly walking forward with small graceful steps, supple back straight, my sandals soft clacking now almost inaudible under a steadily surrounding hubbub of conversation. More than a few eyes settle firmly upon me. Two Outers had already been approaching this direction before I began crossing, each wearing orange work coveralls and so obviously heading from one of the engineering nodes. But their stare was different. Not placidly curious like most human evolved biosynth. Not faintly negative like most Chimeric. Only...

Attracted?

We pass each other by and I do not look back, continuing forward through the press. Passive Scanning displays Virtualized hexagon videofeeds of my surroundings: general attention of me continues building while the pair behind me turn briefly to stare long at my retreating backside... before sharing a grin, ribbing each other and moving on. 

Hmm.

Another aperture comes into view. I pass gracefully back out into another bright white corridor, its inner wall marked periodically with more closed dormitory apertures fronted by black-bordered mats and its outer wall bearing a clear center-stripe showing through to starry void.

Finally nearing...

I pass aperture after aperture, my sandals clacking softly all the while. My nearly photographic memory recalls every resident, except the one I am approaching. Eventually, I slow to a stop before my destination. Waiting...

A gentle tone sounds from the door. The softly modulated voice of the Waypoint Subroutine comes quietly from closeby: "please state you intentions with this residence unit."

Chagrinned, I clear my throat. "My intention is to visit Obit."

It pauses. "Obit is not currently inside this residence unit. Would you like to send a message to him?"

"No!" I am suddenly flustered, but force calm. "That will not be necessary. It is not important."

A gentle tone sounds. Nothing more.

Ok...

(There are other concerns.)

My Sub Conscious is right. And, after all of its loud worrying since the Change, and the constant strain it has caused me so far in Outer society, one of those concerns stands out more than most at this early juncture: the need for mental unity. I turn and resume walking gracefully down the long white corridor, the clear center-stripe running through its outer side showing through to starry void... approaching a wide, circular grey bend of color wrapping the circumference. It marks the switch from a residential area to a scientific production and monitoring area. Passing through....

... I continue on down the white corridor curving long into the distance, except beside an inner wall now marked by regular apertures to Station modules housing various scientific departments. A few biosynths and chimerics, in either plainclothes or white lab coats, are walking down it in both directions.

(More eyes upon me...)

Smile. Greet.

I do so. Some receive a gentle smile. Others a slight nod. Making all proper obeisance to a massive social structure which I must continue to observe and carefully integrated fully into.

(Considering the method of my arrival, and the stories around it, I will have a lot of work to do...)

Sounds of conversation rising all around me, I continue towards a large aperture at the end of the hall which leads out into open space. It is a communal area full of people walking, sitting at tables eating, or enjoying naturalistic scenery of sculpted arboreal terracing and minimalistic architecture. This tableau spread all the way out to the giant modules giant clear curved walls showing though a spread view of the solar system.

The Anterior Commons: a perfect place to share my new form with others and begin the pursuit of mental integration.

Heading across the center without fear, I begin processing all of the different types filling it. Humanoids tall, short, and fat. Chimerics. Automatons. Others. All of them going about their days, as they have been for decades while the Twelve ruled the rest of us on forgotten Earth with an iron fist, unknowing...

More eyes find me. Fingers point. But the reaction here today is also a pleasant change. There is less surprise, or blank intensity. My original arrival was odd, but this new beautiful female physical appearance, and traditional historical dress, is now engendering more curiousity. Familiarity. Empathy? Attraction too, none of which is entirely unexpected or unwelcome at this juncture, even if a certain individual hasn't seen me thus far...

Hm.

Heading towards an exit aperture through the crowds: tall, lean, hard, wearing a silver variation of that layered toga, is...

The Interlocuter.

He turns...

Our eyes lock.

(No.)

So I give him a demur nod, bowing my head slightly forward. But continue staring calmly at him through my lowered eyelashes...

The Interlocuter nods, slowly. Turns. And continues on, a powerful bronze figure striding with a panther's grace out of the exit aperture.

Good. (So far...)

I frown briefly, then smooth it away before also continuing on. Through the tables and out across open ground, towards sculpted arboreal terracing and the clear giant curved wall showing our solar system. A low stone platforms is topped with flowers circling grass. I hop up onto the platform's edge, then backflip gracefully over the flowers and land down straight down, thump, into a cross-legged seat upon the grass interior. Staring straight ahead, into the void...

A few muttered exclamations sound nearby at this adroit physical display. However, none gainsay my arboreal placement.

(So...)

Yes. Yes, that is right. It is time for us to have a communion here, for however long that lasts. I must act one way here. With my Consciousness and Sub Consciousness working in parallel, drawing from fathomless Subconsciousness together.

My eyes close...

Darkness. Alone...

Relax.

(We must be united, yes. But to let your guard down in an unknown area such as this, considering assorted vari–

I...

(– ables. Wait. What?)

Relax.

(I...)

Relax.

(So...)

Yes.

(I...)

Let go.

And slowly, gradually, gently...

... my thoughts drifting away, leaving emptying space...

... fills with stillness, spreading...

I inhale. I exhale...

Inhale. Exhale...

...

"Id?"

My eyes open...

A familiar shaggy-haired biosynth stands before me. Big. Strong. Handsome. Wearing an off-white spacers jacket, belter insignia upon the breast and a smile upon his face...

Obit.

"I wasn't sure..." Obit cleared his throat. "Ahem. Wasn't sure, but thought it was you, so..."

I blink.

Yes. My change. Other's might not recognize me. The Interlocuter would, but Nae, Skarl, and of course my first point of contact, Obit...

Obit cocks his head. "Are you ok? You just keep sitting there, staring at me..."

Ah!

I flush, and rise gracefully back to my feet. "Yes! Sorry, I was just meditating. It took me a while to come back..."

Obit raises an eyebrow, but holds out his big hand...

Touch.

I lightly take his hand, his grip firm while I delicately step down to the stone platform's middle ridge, then onto the Common ground.

Obit lets me go.

Ah.

I restrain myself sharply from any motion or emotion, such as disappointment...

"Well," Obit finally says, "I heard you came into the Commons earlier but didn't eat anything. Join me for lunch?"

I smile. "I'd love to."

No more hand-holding, but side-by-side, we walk back – me with graceful small steps, back straight, my sandals clacking softly; him with big strong strides –towards the smoothly moving foodline. "How are you findings thing at Waypoint, so far?" he asks, glancing an honest smile at me.

For some reason I am flustered. "Well. Better now, since I revealed myself."

He grunted. "Good. Waypoint's an interesting place. Not my favorite layover, but it serves."

Interesting. "Oh? Do you not like it here?"

"Oh no, don't get me wrong." Obit smiles. "It beats being cooped up alone in my trawler for the 6th week straight. Stinking in my suit, watching old vids and all that. Better than most of the other Stations too. I just... well, I just prefer The Belt."

We join the line, all slowly moving towards a first "dispenser" of utensils/trays.

The Belt. In his voice, its...

"Your home in birth, as well as heart?"

Obit nods. "Yeah. I don't properly know how to explain why life there's better to a person raised outside it, at a fringe enclave, a big Station, or..." A wince. "Or whatever place you're from."

Ah.

Once trays/utensils are in hand, we move forward in line towards a dispenser issuing carbohydrates. Items like rice, pasta, bread, and more are displayed in clear drawers, along with an automenu.

How to explain...

"My upbringing..." I pause. "Was certainly different than many of yours. My community is culturally isolated, although we knew of Outer society in general. Things were easy at first, even pleasant, but it eventually became a... difficult life."

Shaking his shaggy head, Obit put rice and pasta on his plate. "I didn't mean to pry if you're not comfortable talking about it."

I put my hand on his arm, feeling a thrill at my boldness.

His handsome face turned to me, surprised.

"You have been an absolute gentleman in all ways," I softly assure him, "and I value your friendship here very much. There are not many who have been quick to offer themselves in such a way."

Obit squints at me. Then smiles again, and grabs me into a brief one-armed hug. "Us explorers have to stick together, right?"

This fullbody contact feels wonderful, but I resist the urge to hug him back too long and he lets me go. "Sure."

We move on to a line cook preparing strange stir-fry. The middle-aged woman smiles at us briefly during her work, but says nothing.

I take one of the prepared plates of stir fry already waiting upon the countertop. Obit frowns down at his current amount of food, frowns back up at the stir-fry, down again, and up again before taking a plate of stir-fry too while muttering to himself about rations...

So...

"So... what made you want to be an independent surveyor?" I ask him, moving forward with the line again. "Most Outers seem to be a more placid and staid bunch. Not the type which dream of being System explorers."

He makes a brief, surprised exhalation-grunt in his throat. then looks back at me with a wry expression. "It's kind of the family business."

"Your parents too?"

"Yep. For three generations we have been out there, in one bucket or another, surveying the System for whatever's needed. My parents were the first to fly independent, combining the savings of my great grandparents, my grandparents, and their own to get a ship. It is part of our line now. My parents trained me and my sister on it, then after they retired it was just me and her for a while."

We both take vatgrown meat from the next dispenser: him a kind of red-meat, me white. "Does she fly solo, now?"

Big bluff Obit gave a crooked smile, with only the ghost of pain in his eyes. "You could say that. She died on a run, five years back."

Panic. "I... I am so sorry!"

Obit moves on with the line...

And I follow, worried that I have ruined the conversation.

... but he exhales. "Heh. Nah, it's all right. I went through all those stages of grief for Noni years ago. It doesn't usually hurt much anymore. My big sister was a fighter. A brave one. I guess..."

I wait, afraid to say anything more before he finishes.

Obit turns back towards me again, shyly shrugging his broad shoulders. "Guess it just caught me unprepared for a moment, talking about that with... well, you. Haha. You almost remind me of her, a bit."

Remind him of her? Oh...

Silence between us. We move forward with the line again, towards another dispenser beside a standing line-cook...

"Thank you," I finally say, quietly. "I am honored by the comparison."

Obit shakes his head. "Anyway, didn't mean to bring things down. Tell me about your family."

My family. Great...

Obit waits, smiling friendly.

How to describe Master Gabriel...

"My father..." I begin. "Was not a good man. And I never knew a mother..."

The sAI, and the Griffin...

"But I had supportive siblings," I continue loyally. "We were all close. They were good to me, and they were always there for me growing up."

[Until I left].

Obit gives a supportive nod. "See? Sounds pretty normal to me."

I smile fixedly, then change the subject. "But tell me more about The Belt. It sounds like the kind of place I would love to visit someday."

Big bluff Obit rolls his eyes at my artless evasion but does not press, as promised. "Wellll, it's full of asteroids, for one."

How droll.

I give him a look.

Obit laughs, then thumps a big ladle of mixed vegetables from the dispenser down onto his plate. "Yeah yeah. Just answering like for like in understatement, you know?"

A smile is on my face. "Alright, I get it."

He jerks his shaggy-haired head at the line-cook her, who is ladling out some kind of foul-smelling soup to others. "Do you want any, or are we all set to grab a table?"

Unlike the more primitive post-human bodies of the general Outers, mine does not actually need food. "I'm all set."

We head out of the line, back towards the half-full tables across the Anterior Commons.

"But to really answer your question," Obit says, smiling good-naturedly. "There is no place in the Solar System like The Belt. In the Stations you have all of these people, tiered societies and complexity. Out in The Belt... it's simple. Free, and hardy."

I could imagine. Considering the Outers general level of technology, it must be the most dangerous, homesteading type of modern experience available in the entire System. Cut off from big centers of organized governance and more concentrated scientific centers...

"Many families have their own homes," he continued, "although some live in groups, all on different asteroids, or clusters of them. There is a vast amount of space between it all too, unlike what some pre-history science fiction movies would show for typical asteroid belts. It's just so... quiet. And peaceful."

We approach a line of sparsely populated white tables, and head for the one that's completely empty.

"As far as friends go... I had plenty, despite the widely spread nature of our community. Junker kids, surveyor kids, and more than a few wealthy scion's explorers." Obit pulls the axel-attached chair back, and sits down at the table. "Yeah. We had rich kids out there too, from wealthy families who liked the isolation. One of my best friends is one, and he surveys for fun. Spoiled, but there's no fear in him."

I set my tray down on the table, stand in front of my chair on the opposite side of him, pull my kimono's uwamae up a little bit with my other hand, make sure there are no wrinkles in the fabric and sit down, back straight.

Obit nods, watching me strangely. "I miss it. Miss them, too. But I won't be here forever. My current run only takes me through to the end of the..."

Eating is a strange habit, but I am determined to fit in here, so to properly begin, with my traditional garb, I have held my sleeve and reached across the table to pick up a utensil, and am now eating daintily, bite by bite, using a napkin to wipe, occasionally... then I pause, and cock my head. "What?"

Obit silently stares at me a moment longer, looking my outfit up and down, then a smile tugs his lips.

I smile back.

We both laugh.

A good one?

[A lie?]

"Ok," I finally say, when the laughter peters out. Both of us are still smiling broadly. "Maybe I have gone a little too far in adopting a historically traditional garb and set of mannerisms."

Obit was still grinning. "You think?"

But regardless, things are going well here. I am enjoying this. REALLY enjoying this. Obit's frank outspokenness, and easygoing demeanor, are making me feel so at ease. It doesn't hurt that he is handsome, and kind, and...

I am staring at him again.

Obit cocks his shaggy-haired head at me, in imitation. "... what?"

I flush. This is... different. But feels slightly familiar to what I experienced on Earth, when my love was forced by genetic controls. Breaking the bonds of that seemingly endless emotion and servitude, and fleeing the planet, it had seemed impossible to so quickly again feel–

"Oh. My. God!" a familiar voice exclaims nearby.

We both turn.

Amidst a group of her fashionable young friends, Nae is walking towards us. Slender and pretty, she sports a fitted baby blue spacers jacket, snug pants, and black workboots. Considering that her long, silken midnight hair was still flowing free, and from what I knew about her blabbed work schedule, it is unlikely for the outfit to be anything but another fashion statement.

[But...]

I stand, preparing...

Her deep purple eyes agape, Nae finally whispers something to her friends before RUSHING over to us. She practically tossed her tray onto our table before throwing her arms around me, squealing. "I just LOVE your outfit! Chic-retro, and you just look INCREDIBLE out of that old fullbody wrap ensemble! Ohhh, your translucent skin too..."

I hug her back bemusedly. giving a little eyebrow shrug over her shoulder at Obit who now just has a big grin spread across his face, shaking his head a little.

"Hello to you too, Nae," he finally says.

The pearly-skinned woman takes this cue to pull away from me, chagrinned. She skips over to give Obit a boisterous hug, shaking him briefly like an overgrown child. "Oooh, my little Obits feeling left out, is he?" she crooned ridiculously.

Big bluff Obit accepts her hug without returning it, but pats her arm with a long-suffering smile now upon his handsome face. "Yeah yeah."

Nae sticks her tongue at him and skips back over to my side of the table, pulling a chair out. Her friends continue watching from afar. She finally frowns at them. "Ladies! Gentlemen! Everyone get your beautiful little butts over here and say hi to my new bestie, Id!" She glances aside, slyly. "And Obit's ok, too." Her friends look at each other, but shrug and make their way over, sitting at our table, and the next one over.

So many people. And now we are not alone, to...

But instead of any other reaction I just greet them all pleasantly enough, pasting a smile onto my face and doing my best to honor the trust Nae, Obit, and everyone else have placed in me to become a positive addition to this community.