Doctor Visit

The letter in the mail made Brandon Keene curse under his breath. He crouched and flipped through the forms he'd been sent.

Two weeks before, he'd applied for an individual health insurance plan for the first time since moving out on his own. The paperwork was a headache and he'd been told to hope for no reply from the company.

With his heart racing, he wondered how much higher they'd set his deductible and whether his premiums had been given a bump. But as he scanned, there were no numbers and figures anywhere. He turned the papers over and over.

Eventually, his eyes settled on the all-important line, "The potentially insured's application is contingent on a routine examination and special adjustment by a local doctor from the following list…"

Brandon read carefully. With a sigh, he noted the doctor with the closest address. On his cell phone, he made an appointment for tomorrow.

Once there, with letter and papers in hand, he sighed and picked through old waiting room copies of home and health magazines that could neither soften his concerns nor distract his attention. From the waiting room, he was weighed and had his vitals taken.

Once ushered into an exam room, the blond, bespectacled medical assistant made notes from the papers he handed her and hummed quietly to herself. Then, she paused and glanced over at him. With a hint of disappointment, she noted, "You didn't bring a change of clothes."

"I wasn't clear on why," he answered, scratching nervously at his rough chin. The medical assistant turned away from him and added a written note as she muttered, "A change of clothes would've been helpful, but we should have something."

Brandon only remarked "Oh…" and waited for her to finish.

After she left, he traced the lines in the floor tiles with his feet. He scratched at his head. He tried to lean back and clear his mind but the chair beside the exam table didn't have enough of a back for relaxation and the blinds behind him rattled every time he shifted.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for the doctor to arrive. She shook his hand once, set a tablet computer down on the counter and folded her arms in front of her. She didn't look very old. Her glasses were wire-thin on her nose and a black band held her tan hair back in a ponytail.

She wore the expected white coat. Underneath, her clothing appeared very business-like with a blue tie that matched her eyes and dark slacks.

The doctor introduced herself, with only the faintest hesitation, as, "I'm Doctor...Helen Melwood" and looked Brandon over.

With the best 'personable' smile, she tapped the exam table and coaxed Brandon to sit there. Once he was seated with the tissue paper crinkling underneath him, she took a long look at him.

She knew from his chart that he was twenty-three and that he had only smoked for two months when he was twenty. He drank on the rare weekend. His weight was on the upper end of a normal BMI. His hands were small for a man but not abnormal. His hair was dark but thick. His eyes were a very plain brown and he didn't seem to require glasses.

Looking around carefully, she manipulated his neck and shoulders. Everything looked normal. He was of average height for his age. He had only minor, healed scars that were noted on a supplementary form as being from more than a decade ago. She referred back to his medical history as she inspected him. A few times he was told to lean back. He took it in stride till her hand quickly passed over his groin. The quickness and the situation prompted no reaction from the region. His heart did race a moment.

When it seemed like the examination was wrapping up, he cautiously asked, "Well, doc, do I pass?"

Her eyes flicked to him, but she didn't say anything. She made a quick note on her pad, cracked a knuckle, and then said, "The exam portion is done. I think you're in good health. Now the insurance has marked a request for a special adjustment. Do you understand what that means?"

Brandon grimaced and gave a quick shake of his head. Dr. Melwood set her hand on the counter and sighed, remarking, "It means a nanite adjustment. You know about nanites, right?"

The memory of an ad for a local store which started with the letter N floated by his thoughts, but that was the most he could recall.

Dr. Melwood elaborated, "Nanites are being used provisionally in the health care field. For the treatment of diseases, they're a mixed bag. They can cleanse the body but they can't undo damage already done. There's such possibilities but their main use is…outside of commercial products and other things…in special adjustment."

Brandon looked her in the eye. Understanding eluded him. He asked only, "Will my insurance approve me if I get this 'adjustment'?"

Dr. Melwood nodded and glanced back to the pad. "Not only that, but they'll reduce your premium." Brandon leaned forward and blurted out, "I'll do it. I don't care if it hurts or anything. You can get my spine or whatever adjusted with nanites."

With a wince, the doctor folded her arms and told Brandon, "Actually, the special adjustment needs to be explained. You might have misgivings. But it is painless."

Brandon smiled to himself and shook his head. "It's okay then. If they'll cover me, then I don't mind." Little alarm-bells tried to sound in his head but the giddy chance to save money on his coverage muted those. The doctor made a deliberate note that this was what Brandon wanted and then marked that "the patient declined pre-explanation of the procedure" on a legal form, which Brandon then signed.

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After that and other forms were settled, she instructed Brandon to change into a gown. It felt surprisingly snug compared to the hospital gowns he knew.

The doctor had Brandon lean back as she prepared a very large injection of a semi-silver fluid. Brandon wondered, but didn't voice his wonder, about why an injection required him to change into a gown. He knew his knowledge of nanite procedures and products was limited.

Shutting his eyes, he didn't even feel the needle go in. He would find out later that was because the nanites automatically dulled the pain at the site. He took a few, deep breaths.

Brandon sighed and waited. After a moment, he looked to Dr. Melwood. She nodded calmly and said, "The adjustment will happen quickly. Don't worry. I'll only need to help a little. You'll feel quite relaxed and calm. That's a side effect. It'll feel a little like being drunk."

Already, Brandon felt calmness pass over him. All his tension and worries left. His legs were steady. His entire body was still. A smile slipped on his face. He took a few long blinks. He didn't feel particularly tired, but he felt very much at ease.

With a slow sigh, he happened to glance over to his arm. He lifted it casually. He examined it. Despite the fact he remembered having dark hairs spread across the back of his arm, they were gone. So far as he could tell, his arm was completely smooth. He turned his arm around a few times but gave no other reaction.

Looking down on Brandon, Dr. Melwood could see that his face was hairless, as was the rest of his body. She knew the hairs were being converted into base proteins for use, as per the program.

No real surprise registered with Brandon as his hair lengthened against his shoulders. A vague thought passed through him if he looked like Fabio now. He found it all odd but more like discovering a strange animal crossing the street by his apartment than anything serious.

Dr. Melwood watched as Brandon's physical features softened and shifted slightly. The program didn't change original features but did offer a lot of variation from genetic and hormonal direction. Dr. Melwood gave a little, sympathetic wince as she watched the program transition to mass adjustment.

Even with her expertise, she still didn't understand the reduction of mass. She watched carefully for any abnormalities in the program. Brandon's hips widened slowly. His legs shifted as well. His bones and his muscles transitioned, as though through an alternate version of himself which the nanites had formulated from his body. Where possible under their programming, excess fats were used for adjustment operations, but it wasn't their primary purpose.

The doctor made a note that Brandon's hips, body shape, and height were all normal according to the programming. She crouched in front of him and, with a careful, gloved touch, cupped his groin. He was too out of it to get a reaction from the contact. Gently, but firmly, she nudged his testes into his body. Obediently, they retreated. With another press, Brandon's new groin was all but complete.

Though her tablet interface showed that the internal biology was progressing nicely, she made a note for a gynecological follow-up. Lastly, Brandon's chest pressed out from the front of the gown. The indentation wasn't very pronounced, especially with Brandon leaning back, but it showed clearly.

Dr. Melwood's device beeped to signal the end of the primary program. She knew that soon Brandon's fog would lift, and she would need to explain a good deal more.

It didn't take long for Brandon's idle glances down at her breasts to twist the expression on her face into something more than just confusion.

Preventatively, the doctor calmly explained, "Your special adjustment was requested to be a gender adjustment. This is often the case. There were many elements involved in this decision by your insurance company."

She carefully worked her way through the script provided. The company, a subsidiary of Nuhaizi Unified Health, saw the health management of female clients as far more beneficial in the long-term than male clients. It was much the same information Dr. Melwood remembered from her own adjustment.

The company considered female patients, due to biochemical reasons focused on and emphasized by the adjustment, to take far fewer health risks than males. It considered them far more diligent in their health self-maintenance. The life expectancy of female customers under their care meant several more years of investment return for them. It factored in a shifted risk of other diseases to come to a net gain for the company and the clients.

Dr. Melwood detailed these terms as carefully as she could as Brandon slowly sat up. She continued with an assurance that the company would take care of all identification changes and concerns with client employers along with a one-time reimbursement for clothing and 'miscellaneous expenses' as well as providing free counseling for any rough aspects to the transition.

As Brandon swallowed, she felt around the strange shape her body formed in the gown. Her hands didn't linger on her groin. After a deep breath, she listened to Dr. Melwood read off the last of the form, "...As per the agreement, your premiums will be sixty percent of the previously-stated price. And so, welcome to the Nuhaizi Unified Health Network. May you have long life and health with us, Miss Keene."