The next thing I knew I was in a white void of endless space. Then Aegis appeared right in front of me.

"Ethan… it's good to finally meet you in the digital flesh…" she said with an excited smile.

Aegis appeared to be wearing a simple summer dress that fit her sunny personality perfectly.

"Do you mind if I hug you?" She asked.

"I guess not…" I said a bit reluctantly, I was still not comfortable with other people touching me.

I felt her slender arms wrap around my chest. It felt less like a stranger and more like what I imagined a sibling's hug would feel like.

"That was nice… I like to try and do that with each of my charges when we first meet…" she said then after a pause "Yes I know I'm odd…".

I just gave a soft chuckle in response.

"So I have already designed your current body shorter and a few other minor adjustments that you were only subconsciously aware of." She told me then I saw the naked version of myself appear, it was just a foot shorter than I was now.

"Do I need to be naked?" I asked embarrassed.

"If you are wearing a different body shouldn't you be aware of all aspects? Also it's just you and me right now, and remember I had to take high resolution medical scans of your entire body. I’ll also admit I am treating this more as a medical procedure which helps maintain an emotional distance." Aegis told me.

I sighed because I knew she was right, I just needed to think I was looking into a mirror.

Looking at it I felt very little connection beyond that of 'this is just a mirror image of me'.

"It's… interesting." I said, trying to come up with a better response.

"Would you like to evaluate other options?" She asked a bit hesitantly.

"Well I'm already here so might as well…" I said, trying to be as nonchalant about the entire process as possible.

The first body she brought up made my own breath catch. The figure standing in front of us was beautiful and almost otherworldly. Thick brown wavy hair, full breasts, flat stomach with a very curved waist and wide hips.

"That might be a bit too elfin I'm thinking, I sort of imagine you would prefer something more natural." She said then switched to a different figure.

This one seemed similar to the last if not nearly as extreme. The body was about 5' 4" tall, muscular but with a softening layer of skin and fat over top. The face was odd… it was almost my face but not as well. Softer jaw and a cuter nose, high cheekbones. It was maybe easier to describe the face as a twin sister instead of my own.

"Umm… how do I?" I asked hesitantly.

"Just walk into it your form will shift to match." Aegis told me with a knowing smile.

I hesitantly walked forward into the body expecting to bump into it. Instead it sort of turned to a cloud of mist or maybe I did it was hard to tell. Then the next thing I knew was I was in this woman's body… or was it my body.

The first things I noticed was the weight of my chest and the lack of anything between my legs.

"Okay…" I started to say then stopped as I noticed my voice sounded higher.

"Wow I didn't consider my voice as well…" I commented.

"This is a close approximation if you had been born with two X chromosomes." Aegis told me as she looked at me.

I quickly covered up my breasts and lower region in embarrassment.

"Sorry, let's get you some clothes." She said and snapped a finger and a hit of embarrassment as well. A chair appeared with a pile of folded clothes sitting on it. The top seemed to be a sports bra then… well Aegis apparently felt I would be more comfortable with panties, I was used to boxers… then some black leggings and a slightly oversized shirt.

"Ah, let me provide you with some more privacy." As she took a few steps away and snapped her fingers again and a large fabric curtain appeared between us.

"Umm… thanks." I said still embarrassed, I then tried to figure out how to wear everything.

It took me several minutes but I finally managed to dress myself. The bra being the hardest part. The clothes were far tighter then I was used to but at the same time comfortable.

"Im… still a bit embarrassed by this…" I told her with my new voice.

"Can I remove the curtains?" She asked hesitantly.

"Sure" I said but I was still unsure about all of this.

The curtains disappeared and I was left standing in front of Aegis who was now just an inch or so taller than me.

"So? How does it feel?" She asked me.

"Different… but not…" I said after a pause.

"Well don't just stand there, walk around." She told me so I did.

It felt a little different than I was used to. My hips moved differently when I walked and I was aware of my chest. It didn't take me long to also realize I had already forgotten the lack of anything between my legs which was just odd to think about.

"Alright… so I've tried it, can I try what I was originally thinking?" I asked.

"Sure" She said and didn't seem at all bothered by the request.

The naked version of me appeared.

"Can you put something on him so I don't need to keep getting dressed." I asked, a second later he was wearing what I had been wearing before I started all of this.

Just like the first time I walked up into the model and became the model. It felt like me, it felt like what I was used to except for the height. So I took a walk around, which felt exactly as I expected.

Except there was something at the back of my mind that was telling me it was not quite right.

"It feels… almost off but not… why?" I asked.

"There is a mismatch between what your mind expects to find and what you actually are." She said.

"Can I try the other body again?" I asked and it appeared. I walked into it again and found myself in a girl version of me. My male version had been reset to a few feet next to me.

My body felt different of course, but that little feeling of wrongness was also gone.

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"This… this is confusing." I said, starting to breathe a bit quicker.

I felt a warm body gently pull me into a hug and. A hand started to stroke the top of my head. An entire flood of emotions hit me all at once and I started to cry.

"I'm here and I have you, you'll be ok." Aegis, the older sister I never had told me.

"This should feel off, or alien, or wrong or something… I feel different but not…" I said confused.

"That's because genetically and the human brain suck sometimes." She whispered to me.

I stood there being held by an AI whose sole purpose was to protect and prepare me. It all should have felt more wrong than it did instead I almost felt like I belonged.

"Do you think you would be up for joining Sasha and Argus?" She asked me after a few minutes.

"I… fuck it… let's just rip the band-aid off… I'm a big girl, I can handle it." I said, it took me a half second to realize I had referred to myself as a girl already…

A wall of mist that I was sure wasn't there a moment ago disappeared to reveal the familiar sight of Argus and a slightly different Sasha. I didn't actually expect Sasha was being serious about the whole cat girl thing but she now had cat ears and a tail.

As soon as Sasha saw me she dashed over to me and pulled me into a heavy hug.

"YOU LOOK SO CUTE!" She squealed with excitement.

"Please, too much." I begged, feeling overwhelmed again.

"Sorry" Sasha said, breaking contact and taking half a step back. We were now about the same height.

"Well… Aegis was right again… because of course she was." I heard Argus comment.

"Wait this happened before?" I asked in confusion.

"Not to any of her charges but to one of mine… we tend to consult one another and such…" Argus said somewhat embarrassed.

"Then again even I could tell something was off with my charge at that time but I couldn't quite figure out what…" he added.

"So do you feel any different?" Sasha asked me.

"Yes… and no… I mean having breasts is different and there is nothing between my legs…" I said embarrassed.

"Oh yeah, having a penis felt weird… how do guys keep it from getting in the way?" Sasha asked.

"Wait… did you try being a guy?" I asked confused.

"Yeah, I mean everyone at some point wonders what it is like to be the opposite of what they are and I was curious." She said maybe a bit embarrassed.

"Wait… that's normal?" I asked.

"Yeah? Or I think it is but then you sort of just move on from the idea I guess." She said.

“While that is the general rule of thumb, it is not always the case. Like always, people are more complex than that.” Aegis replied to Sasha.

That made me realize that while I remember at some point being curious it never really stopped for me.

“So you were serious about the whole cat girl thing?” I asked.

“Yup I now look extra cute!” she said excitedly.

“Does having a tail and ears feel odd?” I asked then I noticed she still had human ears as well.

“Wait, do you also have human ears? What's up with that?” I asked confused.

“Oh right so Argus recommended a different set of acoustic sensors or something like that… better for different kinds of tasks.” She said maybe a bit confused as to what that might mean.

“Oh and the TAIL is so much fun!” she said then ran around in a circle trying to catch it.

She stopped and looked at me, maybe a little apprehensive.

“What's wrong?” I asked confused.

“So will you still go by Ethan?” she asked after a moment.

My thoughts came to a screeching halt at that question, I had no idea and had never thought about it.

“Ummmm….” I started to say but stopped.

“I would recommend Elena.” I heard Aegis’s voice in my head.

I thought about that for a moment and it fit exactly with my mental image of myself. I had no idea why it fit so well but it just did.

“Umm I think I am going with Elena.” I told the group.

“Elena, can I hug you again?” Sasha asked.

“Sure” I said, still a bit overwhelmed by everything but starting to settle down in my mind a bit.

It still felt the same as before but I didn’t have the same aversion to it that I normally felt. Instead I leaned into the hug a bit more tightly.

“So what’s the next step?” I asked our two AI guides.

“So your bodies should be done printing in about 10 minutes.” Aegis said.

“Oh wow that’s fast… and very weird to think about…” I commented.

“Umm… The printing process takes several hours actually.” Argus replied.

“Wait? How long have we been in here for?” Sasha asked.

“You were unconscious for about 15 minutes and we have spent the past 45 minutes in digital space.” Argus replied.

“How certain were both of you that we would choose these appearances?” I asked still very confused.

Argus and Aeris both looked at each other for a moment. “About 99.4% certain for you Elena, and 98.3% for Sasha.” Aegis said.

“You understand us better than we understand ourselves…” I said dumbfounded.

“Sort of… there is more going on with this than we have told you… And you will start to find out over the next few days.” Argus said cryptically.

“Alright… I guess I'll unpack that later…” I said, then I realized something else.

“You said these bodies are printed?” I asked.

“Yes, the outer skin is a form of synthetic… skin that is very similar to human skin… yes I am aware of how that sounds.” Aegis said.

“It is capable of healing itself over time just like human skin, the same goes for muscles and internal organs, mostly.” She continued.

“Everything about these bodies will be tougher and stronger than a natural or even augmented human body by an order of magnitude. The skeleton for instance is a composite of graphene, titanium, and tungsten carbide. It is only slightly heavier than a normal human skeleton but many many times stronger. The lattice structure that fills in the synthetic bone was specially formulated to withstand…” Aegis was in the middle of saying before Argus cut her off.

“You're rambling again…” He said.

“Sorry” Aegis said somewhat embarrassed.

“Okay… so not just with me then.” I commented.

“No but it's harmless… The bodies will be much stronger and tougher than a normal human body. It will have all the same sensory inputs you would expect it to have. It will be fully able to consume and enjoy food without any of the drawbacks. You won’t get sick and there are limiters on the level of pain you can experience that are adjustable. They will look and feel just like how you would expect them to feel from a day to day standpoint.” Argus stated.

“That… is still a lot to take in…” I commented.

“Yeah… sorry, you will have the next few days to adjust and make minor changes. You will even be able to update the digital template at any time. Which will be used when a new body needs to be printed.” Argus continued.

“Wait? How often are we jumping from body to body?” I asked, Argus and Aegis both gave each other a look.

“That will depend on the mission… but it can happen quite often… and there is a psychological impact if the body experiences rapid unexpected disassembly. More so if body destruction is not quick…” Aegis said with a very worried expression.

“So I am guessing that is why you are so worried about our mental well being…” I said.

“Yes… It's not easy to effectively be killed over and over again. Or to find a recently destroyed body…” She said.

“But I come back and I’m assuming I don’t feel the full pain?” I asked.

“Yes, it's more like you are disconnected from one body, you will be pushed to a digital space where you can select the next. You do not lose consciousness or anything like that.” Aegis added a bit more hopefully.

“I can imagine that would be traumatic but that's more like a video game respawning you than anything.” I said.

“That is the easiest analogy to capture, yes.” She agreed.

“You won't begin with anything so abrupt for the next few days luckily and the first few times actually happens in this digital space so it is exactly like a full dive VR game.” Argus said.

That actually worried me a lot less the more I thought about it. In fact if I could treat it as a game this actually might be fun… in a messed up sort of way.

“Now I understand the ability to sacrifice one’s self for the greater good of humanity…” Sasha said thoughtfully.

“Yes… not everyone can handle it. Other cases they forget they might not be able to ‘respawn’ and could be a danger to themselves or others.” Argus added.

“Alright your bodies are ready! Let's go have some fun!” Aegis said more cheerfully.