They sat there for a while, neither saying anything. A gentle breeze blew through the pasture grass, gently brushing the hem of Jon's robe around her shins. It felt odd, but more because she had never worn an open-bottomed garment until after her change than because of any difference in the signals from her body. Jon caught the robe with one leg and pinned it against the rock she was sitting on, trying to keep the distractions to a minimum as she thought of what she wanted to tell the doctor.
Dr. LaRue spoke before she could say anything. "Jon," she said, "I know you're still coming to terms with things, but have you given any thought to where you want to go from here?"
Jon was a little surprised that Anne had brought up what she'd been wanting to talk about, but so much the better. "Long-term, or short-term?"
"Either one."
She shrugged. "I really hadn't thought much about long-term. Do you have any idea what the options are?"
Anne sighed. "I'm not entirely sure yet. This is, unsurprisingly, an area where there are basically no legal precedents, or even many applicable laws. The simplest approach would be to do nothing; your body is technically my property, but since I don't see it that way, you're effectively free to begin with. If you want to be legally recognized as a person, that's going to take a lot more doing. We'd have to somehow get the support of an elected official even to have a shot at getting anything written into law, and it would take a lot of time an be a media circus. Still, I can't shake the feeling that that's the right thing to do."
"Huh. I was kind of hoping for some kind of recognition that I am Jon Madison, but I guess that would require any legal recognition in the first place, right?"
Anne noddded. "It might even be harder than proving that you're intelligent in the first place, I don't know. Identity reclamation wasn't something I ever thought I'd need to take into consideration."
Jon shrugged. "Well, that one's not so important, I guess, as long as my family knows who I am. On that note, for short-term plans...I want to tell my best friend."
The doctor smiled. "Well, that part should be a bit simpler."
Karyn shuffled through the mall, towards the bookstore. Five weeks later, she was still feeling the loss, but she'd managed to pull herself together enough to function. For the first week, she'd been a total wreck; Jon was the only truly close friend she had, and probably the most important person in her life, maybe except for her parents. But she had to pull herself together; she couldn't let it ruin her life, and Jon would've hated it if she had.
She slowed down as she approached the bookstore; there was a girl by the entrance, leaning against the wall and watching her. She was fairly short, with glossy black hair that hung down to her shoulders, a slender build and modest figure, and a face and complexion that suggested some Asian ancestry. She looked at Karyn like she knew her, but Karyn had never seen this person before in her life, at least that she could recall. Who was she, and what did she want with Karyn?
Well, it couldn't be anything bad, at any rate. She didn't look sinister, and a crowded mall wasn't exactly a good place to be doing anything criminal. Karyn picked up her pace again, starting to walk towards the strange girl, until she saw something that stopped her dead in her tracks. The other girl had started to walk towards her as well, but she'd come back to a standing position by vaulting against the wall with her shoulders. It was a small thing, but...it was something she'd only ever seen Jon do.
No, no, she was letting her emotions run away with her common sense. Karyn pulled herself together and started walking again. She met the girl by one of the fake trees in the middle of the hallway. "Hi," she said. "Do I know you?"
The other girl smiled sadly. "Probably not," she said. "It's been a while. Listen, if we need to do some introductions, let's do them over coffee."
Karyn stared at her. Who was this girl? "Uh, okay," she said. "There's a coffee shop in the bookstore here that's pretty good."
The other girl nodded, and took off at a fair clip towards the bookstore entrance. Karyn rushed to catch up to her, wondering just what the hell was going on.
Jon was surprised to find that she could sweat; her tension at what she was attempting had brought out a bit of perspiration, and the cold, clammy feeling that she hadn't felt since before...before her death. It seemed odd to think of it like that, but she supposed it was pretty much accurate. The sweat made her wish she was wearing looser clothing, but this was the best Dr. LaRue had been able to do; she was a roboticist, not a tailor, and this was pretty much the only outfit she'd been able to get from the local stores that both fit Jon and was sufficiently gender-neutral for her tastes. Just a plain white T-shirt and blue jeans, with the least frilly underwear she'd been able to obtain. Jon hadn't wanted to wear that, but Anne had pressed the point until she relented.
Karyn caught up with her as she was paying for her order, clearing wanting to know what the deal was. Jon handed her over to the barista and went to grab a table; she was going to need a good, stiff jolt of caffeine if she was going to get through this. The doctor hadn't been entirely able to explain why stimulants still affected her, but had suggested that it was the android (or gynoid, as the case was) equivalent of a psychosomatic effect; she got a pick-up out of coffee because her brain knew that she should get a pick-up out of coffee. Whatever the case, she definitely needed one now.
Karyn sat down, about to speak, but Jon held up a hand. "Wait," she said. "I'll explain everything after I get my coffee." Karyn frowned, visibly put-off and a little weirded out by this behavior, but stayed put. A couple minutes later, their coffee was ready, and Jon took a good long sip.
"All right," Karyn said. "You've had your coffee. Now would you please tell me who you are?"
Jon nodded. "A friend. One who thinks that the red hair really did suit you better."
Karyn just stared at her for a moment, then gasped as the realization hit her. "Jon!?"
