"Oh, Jon! It's you!" Karyn run across the barely open door and hugged still surprised Jon.
He knew both men and women could get relocated but he never expected to be lucky enough to end up living with his best friend. Or maybe it's more than luck... Maybe they meant to do that to me...
"You can't believe how glad I am to see you. I had to leave my family behind but at least I'll have a familiar face around." Karyn was smiling through tears.
"Yes Karyn... I'm glad too."
Jon knew his relationship to Karyn would have to be much different starting that day. There weren't supposed to be two friends now, two peers. He was supposed to be the mom and she was to be his daughter. Jon looked at the envelope resting in Karyn's and - it was still sealed, meaning that she didn't know anything about their new roles.
"Jon, so who are you supposed to be now? I heard that all males get female roles assigned to them. I'm so sorry... I know this must me hard to you..." Jon felt she hugged him even stronger.
"Why don't you open your envelope and learn for yourself?" Jon knew he'd need to get used to the idea of being a single mother from now on, but he didn't want to do that quite yet. Talking about it... He knew that it would make his predicament somehow even more real.
Karyn let Jon go and opened her letter. Jon followed the expressions on her face. She reacted much stronger than he expected.
"Oh my god, Jon... I'm... Am I to become your baby daughter?"
"Yes, it seems like it." Jon moved his gaze from Karyn's face to the floor.
"But... but... I don't want to! I don't want to not be able to speak! I don't want to having to learn how to walk again! I don't want to shit and wet myself!"
Jon looked back at Karyn. Something wasn't right. She didn't have to do all that stuff, did she? I was all acting... Pretending...
"But it's just an act! An act. We'll be fine. Be strong." He placed his hand on her shoulder.
"An act?!" She brushed his hand off. She sounded truly hysterical now. "An act?! Have you even read your letter?!"
Karyn lifted the piece of paper in her hand so that Jon could see. Her finger pointed a paragraph Jon didn't remember seeing before. As he read he understood why he didn't notice it. The only logical explanation was that it was just too drastic and his mind filtered it out...
"In order to aid your empathetic learning," the letter said. "Your household was selected to participate in the enhanced physical learning process. The air of your new home was full of nanobots - tiny wonders of technology, each smaller than a grain of dust. Those nanobots already entered your bodies and over the next few days will slowly change them into the very image of the people who's identity you assumed. The transformation should be painless and spread evenly in time. Appropriate clothing for each day will be provided, although please be mindful as the pace of transformation will most likely make them not fitting anymore by an afternoon. If you experience any pain or discomfort please don't hesitate to call your hotline: 2-1-1."
Jon looked at Karyn with his eyes wide open. He just couldn't believe what he read. He blinked a couple of times and then both of the friends fell into a deep hug once more.
