Proof

by Brian Brookwell

Gerry swam around the pool again. The seemingly endless daily grind of amusing the curiosity seekers was over once again. With any luck, the public would soon lose interest. Gerry sighed and swam over to the pool mirror and looked again at the reflection. The reflection was stunning, really very stunning. Of course, it hadn't always been this way. Things had been an entirely different only six months ago. That's when James O'Hara had called the surprise meeting in his office. At the time, Gerry had worked for Virgina Corporation as a researcher for a little less than a year. Virgina Norita, the reigning queen of the yellow journalistic network talk shows, had been fun to work for. Well, you really couldn't call the job working for Ms. Norita. Gerry had not even met the woman until that morning.

"Gerry," said James O'Hara. "You've been with us for a while now. We've both been impressed by your research skills." "Thank-you, sir," Gerry stammered. Gerry knew this kind of comment well. Such comments were followed by an 'unfortunately' and a dismissal. Researchers, Gerry knew, were a dime-a-dozen, easy to find and even easier to replace. A lump rose in Gerry's throat. "Don't worry," said Virgina Norita from the corner. "This isn't a firing. In fact, I think you might find it a promotion, of sorts." "A promotion?" Gerry's spirits rose. "You've heard of 'New You'?" asked James. "Who hasn't? It's all over the networks. Some pretty wild claims too." Gerry was beginning to wonder where all this would lead. "Too many claims," said Virgina. "Just the kind of target I'd like to sink. Be a real audience pull for ratings week in December." "That's over half a year away," began James. "Our regular people are too well known. We'd like to put someone inside 'New You'. Get at their claims. Find the dirt, you know." "I've never worked undercover that way before. I've never even done a script for the show. All I've done is dig up information from the information net, that's all." "We have faith in you," said Virgina. "First step is to get you in for a quick make-over. We want you to make contact with some of the other clients. You would use your computer skills to get at their client file." "I -- I am honored," Gerry began. "I just --" "Good!" pronounced Virgina. "Then it's settled. We'll give you the usual micro-recording equipment and you can start as soon as you are ready." She got up and started for the office door. She then turned to face Gerry. "That's all, Gerry. You'll manage. Why don't you go talk to our makeup people? They'll help you decide what changes to ask for. We don't need anything too extreme. This is just a first contact. That's all. I'll call ahead to let them know you're coming and what's expected."

Gerry knew this was a dismissal and quickly left the office. Walking down the hall all kinds of musings came to mind. Still, it had seemed a promotion. He had graduated from the backroom to the exalted ranks of the undercover investigators. Gerry headed for the elevator and decided to see Helen in makeup. Gerry had talked to Helen as part of some research of a few months previous. Virgina, of course, had made sure that everyone in the makeup department knew that Gerry was coming. Helen recommended several minor changes: nose shape changes, cheek bone enhancements, things like that. Armed with the information, Gerry took the maglev subway to the headquarters of 'New You' and presented himself at the information booth. An efficient guide took Gerry quickly up four floors and into the office of an esthetician.

After the introductions, a coffee and a doughnut and some small talk, Gerry described the changes Helen had suggested. The esthetician brought up a head and shoulders holographic projection of Gerry. Gerry was shocked. There was no holographic scanner anywhere visible. Gerry once again described the changes and the esthetician modified the projection. When the changes were complete and Gerry indicated they were acceptable, the esthetician pressed a large button on the monitor labeled 'SEND' and sat back.

After a few minutes, a doctor in a lab coat entered the room.

"Gerry Williams?" he asked. "I'm Dr. Kikino. Welcome to 'New You'." "Uh, hi," Gerry stammered. "Your request isn't as extreme as it may seem to you. In the past, you'd have to prepare for surgery. The results usually turn out tolerably well from plastic surgery once the bruising has healed. Plastic surgery has always seemed a rather extreme method to effect relatively minor changes, in my opinion." Gerry swallowed hard. Since an unfortunate childhood accident and a less than personable attending physician, Gerry had been afraid of surgeons. "Not surgery?" Gerry managed. "Of course not!" bubbled Dr. Kikino. "'New You' uses the latest in genetic techniques to effect the change over the space of a few weeks. You literally will be rebuilt so that your face will be in your genes, so to speak. No pain, whatever." "What?" was Gerry's somewhat lame reply. "Genetically effected surgery. No knives, stitches, bandages. Just a short stay in our clinic and your new face is done." "When?" Gerry found the pace dizzying. "We can start any time you wish," Dr. Kikino handed Gerry an electronic tablet that was displaying a form. Gerry signed the form. An aide appeared and led Gerry to a different part of the clinic.

True to their word, 'New You' did effect the changes painlessly and quickly. The process started with a full biometric scan from head-to-toe. A few hours later a beautiful and efficient nurse came in and gave Gerry a quick injection with a gas gun. Gerry made numerous contacts with other clients and discovered their treatments were going equally painlessly. Three days later, he was once again in Dr. Kikino's office for a final meeting. Since all had gone well, Gerry was soon back on the street. Gerry decided to report is experiences to James immediately.

James quickly rescheduled a meeting to see Gerry. He invited Gerry to sit. "Look's good," he said. "They seem to be legit," Gerry announced. "They did exactly what they claimed, exactly as they claimed." "Hmmm. Not good," James mused. Gerry looked puzzled. "Virgina will be furious. She had such high hopes that this place was a fraud. What's worse, she's already got the exposé scheduled." "Now what?" asked Gerry. "Don't know yet. Let's see what Virgina says."

What Virgina said was unprintable in any media. Once she'd calmed a bit, she called a general meeting.

"Ideas?" she said sweetly. Her team knew that particular tone masked a mean streak. There was a brief pause before her chief assistant, Lenora, cleared her throat. "Do you suppose the changes to Gerry were just too minor?" Virgina raised one eyebrow, inviting Lenora to continue. She paused, cleared her throat again and tried a different tack. "After all, those kinds of cosmetic changes are done every day using conventional techniques." "And?" was Virgina's caustic response. "What about something more drastic?" asked Fred, the production controller, taking Lenora's cue. "Like?" asked Virgina in the same tone. She was now looking directly at Fred who began to squirm a little under her gaze. "I don't really know. Something extreme. Something that conventional surgery couldn't do." "Keep going," was Virgina's response. Her body language said she was interested. Her eyes told a different story. She'd hang them all if they didn't deliver what she wanted. She'd replaced several members of the team as little as three months previously. The repercussions of that meeting still hadn't quite settled. Everyone who had survived the purge was still more than a little nervous. "After all, they claim to be able to make any change. Not just simple cosmetic changes," Fred finished his thought quickly. In the silence that followed, Virgina's gaze panned the rest of the conference room. "How about a sex change?" asked Vanessa, the chief researcher. "What's so great about a sex change?" snapped Virgina. "Sexual reassignment surgery is commonplace. After all, it was first done in the 1950s." "True," said Vanessa. "But current techniques are just cosmetic. 'New You' says they can make you into anything your heart desires. Even a man into a woman or vice versa." "Yes," bubbled Fred. He'd figured out where Vanessa was going. "Proof is what's needed ... and when they're done, he'd -- or rather she'd -- better be able to have a child." "Um," Virgina said. "That's a start. Problems?" It was clear that the idea had caught her interest but equally clear that it wasn't enough. "Not good enough," said Bobby-Jo, the video tech. "All of the modern electronic aids to the photographic world would make it hard prove that they didn't do what they claimed?" "I don't quite understand?" Fred cocked his head. He plainly couldn't see anything wrong with the sex change idea and was wondering why Bobby-Jo was causing difficulties. "We send in a man. They send out a woman. Is it the same individual? Or just a well briefed plant. How would we prove that they'd done a switch? If they'd done their homework well enough, we might not find out until it was too late. Really a bad scene as far as ratings go. Especially if they release how they duped us to another network." "Well, we could id our man somehow. How about fingerprints or DNA? Those things have been used for decades to catch criminals." "Won't work," responded George from across the table. "If they really do modify the DNA as Gerry says they claim, everything changes. Fingerprints and DNA aren't quite as solid as they once were. They could claim that any changes were a result of the process. We're not scientists enough to prove otherwise." "An implant?" asked Fred. "A definite possibility unless they're suspicious. In which case, they'd be scanning on all the bands for transmissions and simply move implant to their 'product'," James responded. "No, simple sexual reassignment isn't enough, anyway," Virgina pronounced. "Too easily faked if they have enough time. I'm sure they'll want as much time as they can get if they're not able to do anything more than minor alterations. How long does a normal reassignment take?" "Over a year if you consider psychotherapy and hormone treatments," responded Vanessa checking her terminal. "So they'd ask for as much time as we'd allow. They might try to push it back past ratings week. Even if we managed to push them and get a shorter time, they'd take most of the five months that remain." Virgina panned the room again. "This isn't enough..." Her voice trailed off. "What then?" asked Lenora puzzled. As far as she could see, Virgina was expecting something beyond the ordinary. "Are you proposing that they create something completely impossible?" "That's it exactly," Virgina beamed. "Something truly and completely impossible." "Like what?" asked Fred. Where was Virgina going on this one? He usually had a pretty good idea but this one was baffling him entirely. "Perhaps some kind of mythological creature," Vanessa said calmly. "Something that surgery and costumes can't create." "Like what?" asked James cynically. "A mermaid?" "Mermaids have been around since the early 1900s in costume," responded Vanessa. "There was even a short clip of a magician changing a woman into a mermaid. Kludgy but pretty good for 1905, I think it was. 'New You' would just have to buy some time and send out a woman in costume." "But we'd be able to detect a costume," said James. "Rubber and other synthetics won't let them create something that scans as skin. Remember we'd have their product, so to speak. Even if they could create a costume that fools the scanners, no volunteer would be able to wear a costume for days on end without some problems. We could make sure by having the product, as it were, stay in costume for several weeks prior to taping. But I don't think it would work. How would we get the audience to believe that the mermaid was a fake? With all the movie mermaids available on the net, no one would believe we weren't just trying to pull a switch ourselves. I think we need something else. Something that can't be faked at all." "No," said Virgina slowly. "A mermaid is exactly what we need. But not a mermaid that's just a woman in some ridiculous rubber costume. Our mermaid would have to have a complete tail that bends in places where no woman could. It would need a shape that would be too narrow to allow her no place to hide her legs as well." "But what of the electronic aids? I could do that with the 3D animator in a few hours. We would find it difficult to prove that they didn't just animate someone," responded Bobby-Jo. "We'd have their mermaid, of course. The tail on the international networks," said Virgina. "It'd be a live broadcast. Of course, 'New You' can't make the mermaid so we'll just have our volunteer discussing the bogus claim Maybe even start the volunteer in costume and change halfway through. . A smash!" "Our contract would specify something that couldn't be done with a costume at all," responded Lenora. "If they can't do it, they'd simply refuse." "That's just as damning in this game," said Fred. "You claim you can do anything and then not deliver ... well, it's just game over." "A mermaid? -- I think I have an idea," said Vanessa. She keyed a request into her console and a holographic image of a mermaid from one of the fantasy art archives appeared over the center of the meeting table. "This mermaid has a fish tail. It bends in curves from side-to-side. People don't work that way, people have thigh bones, knees and things like that." "And all the little side fins," beamed Virgina. "They'd have to work, too. I suppose gills are too much to ask for?" Vanessa keyed a request into the computer. "It's odd," she said. "Very few of the fantasy pictures have gills. Still, it really doesn't much matter whether we specify gills or not as they can't make a mermaid anyway." "Indeed not! It's perfect!" Virgina was obviously pleased, "Who?" asked James. "Someone who has already been through their processing once. Only this time, we go in with a camera crew and put them on the spot." "Who?" asked James again with some trepidation. Gerry was a good friend and he could guess where Virgina was leading. "Your researcher Gerry. I'll set up the meeting for an hour."

"Gerry," said Virgina calmly. "Your preliminary recon of 'New You' was excellent. Now we go for the throat. You and a camera team are going to pay another visit to 'New You' and put them on the spot. When they back down on what we have in mind, we've got them." Gerry looked at Virgina and James across the table. "Refuse to do what?" was the anxious reply. "Make you into a mermaid," came Virgina's triumphant response. "Whoa!" was all Gerry could think of to say. "You mean like fins and a tail. That kind of mermaid?" "Of course," was Virgina's rejoinder. "What other kind is there?" "But I don't want to be a mermaid!" "They can't make a mermaid. Don't be ridiculous. All they can do is minor cosmetic surgery. They may have some new techniques that reduce the bruising but that's all. No one has even heard of this Dr. Kikino before he opened 'New You'." "But -- but" "I realize that you'll need a little time to think this over," Virgina said sweetly. "We'll adjourn for twenty minutes. Here's my access card. Go down to the station canteen and order yourself a meal or something." Virgina let herself out and Gerry plodded from the room. Gerry had heard of Virgina's sweet voice from others on the staff. Others had been replaced when a Virgina request had been refused. But a mermaid?! Of course they couldn't make such a thing but what if they did? A mermaid for the rest of one's life wasn't exactly conducive to making a living. There had to be some way out of this. Perhaps, if the stakes were raised, Virgina might back down. At the worst, Gerry would be fired. That outcome was guaranteed should Gerry's answer be a 'no'. Virgina, after all, could easily find someone else. Now how high should he raise the stakes without pushing Virgina into a firing?

Twenty minutes later, on the dot, the three of them were once more in James' office. "Well?" asked Virgina, still using the sweet voice she used when she was attempting to be reasonable. "I know you can fire me any time you want," began Gerry. "But look at it from my viewpoint? What if they do make me into a mermaid?" "They can't! That's impossible!" was Virgina's confident reply. "Well," began Gerry again. "I'd like some insurance. If I'm stuck as a mermaid for the rest of my life, I'd like to not have to worry about making a living. I'd like a house which I could live in -- even with a tail. That kind of thing. It's hard to get a position anywhere with a fish tail." "Okay, okay" said an exasperated Virgina. "We'll fix you up with a mansion with a large pool. I'll have a trust account set up which is big enough to pay a staff and keep the place running. But only if you end up with a tail." "I agree," said Gerry knowing that Virgina had just called his bluff. "If I end up with a tail." Gerry hoped that 'New You' couldn't deliver. Later that afternoon, a busy lawyer entered Gerry's cubicle with an electronic form. Gerry quickly signed the form hoping that everything would turn out well. The next morning, Virgina, Gerry and a camera team barged into 'New You'. "Dr. Kikino," snapped Virgina. The secretary behind the desk, stunned at seeing Virgina and the camera crew, dropped the receiver. He stuttered then recovered. He apologized to the person on the phone, put them on hold and then dialed Dr. Kikino's office. Only a few minutes later, Dr. Kikino himself entered the foyer.

"To what do I owe this visit?" asked Dr. Kikino somewhat taken aback. "Your company claims that you can make a person into anything they desire. I doubt that claim." "It is quite true," Dr. Kikino began. "We have a 100% success rate." "We have a commission for you then. Shall we retire to your office or do you want us to present our commission here, in public, in the foyer?" Virgina was at her nasty best and the camera holodisks were recording it all. "My office, of course," said Dr. Kikino leading the way to the elevators.

Instead of his office, however, Dr. Kikino lead them to a meeting room.

"I thought your camera people would be a little crowded in my office. Now, what commission do you have in mind?" "I want your statement for the record first. You are able to make any change a person desires in their body." "Yes," said Dr. Kikino. "Any change they desire. With --" "Excellent," she glanced over her shoulder at her camera crew who signaled it had been recorded. "You will make Gerry, here, into a mermaid. This mermaid." She keyed the projection of the mermaid Vanessa had pulled from the archive. Dr. Kikino stunned look was exactly the response Virgina had been aiming for. "A mer-mermaid?" he asked. Then taking a deep breath, he calmly asked. "Surely you mean a merman? Your assistant is male, after all." "I said mermaid, I meant mermaid!" Virgina was smiling. She was sure she had him and for the national networks, too. Gerry, too, looked at Virgina in disbelief. He'd assumed merman as well. "May I have a word with your assistant? Alone?" asked Dr. Kikino. "No," Virgina smiled thinly. "You've been in here before?" "Uh yes, I was in a few weeks back." "Are you sure about this? This mermaid thing?" "They say you can't do it. My job is on the line." Dr. Kikino paused thinking. "I want a small concession from you, Ms. Norita, as well. Otherwise, I will not proceed. You may make all the allegations you like but they are merely so much vapor against the increasing number of satisfied clients. I, too, can use the networks." "What concession?" asked Virgina, her eyes narrowed. "Some member of your staff must stay with Gerry during the entire transformation. I want no allegations that my staff have made off with him. Second, you will broadcast the transformation and the results of the transformation regardless of how it turns out." "Of course," Virgina smiled. Her expression announced her belief that Dr. Kikino couldn't make a man into a mermaid any more than she could grow another head. "Fine, I'll send for my lawyers and you can do the same. While the legal beasties are hashing out the contract, I'll get to work designing the transformation for your mermaid. Fortunately, I already have a complete bioscan of Gerry."

Six hours later, Dr. Kikino and Virgina signed their electronic contracts. Dr. Kikino, Virgina, a now terrified Gerry and a two man camera crew entered the elevator for one of the clinics' wards.

"You understand," began Dr. Kikino. "I can't have a change of this magnitude taking place in the regular wards. We have a small fitness pool for the staff and there's a small ward on the same floor." "Pool?" stammered Gerry. "You will require water to survive after a while. Mermaids are aquatic, after all." "You're serious? Aren't you?" asked Gerry. "Very serious. I'm going to give you one chance to back out, Gerry. You remember our talk during your first treatment?" "Y-Yes," Gerry managed. "I think so." "We will be make rather major adjustments to your DNA. You will be undergoing a genetic sex change as well as a species change. When we are finished you won't be human any more." "Enough!" snapped Virgina. "You can't weasel out of the contract by scaring off Gerry. I'll just find someone else." "Ms. Norita!" Dr. Kikino drew himself to his full height and stared her full in the face. "Once Gerry becomes a mermaid, he -- or rather she -- will be stuck that way for the rest of her life. Do you understand? There is no turning back. Once a change of this magnitude has been performed, his oriVirginal DNA will be lost. Completely and totally lost. Even 'New You' won't be able to return him to his oriVirginal form. All we might be able to do is return him to some kind of humanity. I have no doubt he'd be sterile after the second transformation as well what with all of the tampering we'd have done to his genetic structure. If you still want me to perform this -- this --," Dr. Kikino paused at a loss for words and just shook his head. "If you can do it," Virgina smiled again. "Which I doubt." Dr. Kikino merely shrugged his shoulders and shook his head slowly.

They were soon in the small ward. There were beds for Gerry and, in a separate room, for the camera crew. Gerry noticed the doors leading to the swimming pool and swallowed hard. Gerry was beginning to doubt Virgina's assurance that becoming a mermaid was impossible. Of course, it was too late to back out now. Too much legal water had passed under the bridge for anyone to consider backing out now.

"Well," said Dr. Kikino pulling up a chair to face Gerry. Virgina and the camera crew were behind his back. Virgina was steaming at being left out of the conversation. "We have two choices for this change. You are sure, really sure, you want to be a mermaid?" "Neither you nor he has any choice," was Virgina's response. Gerry just nodded. "Very well, then. We can do this in two ways. We could make you a woman first. Have you get used to being a woman and then change the you that is a woman into a mermaid. Psychologically, that would be kinder in my opinion. Or, we could do it all at once." "How long?" Virgina snapped the question. "The two stage process would take a little over ten months. The single stage process about half that." "The broadcast is in December. One step," ordered Virgina. "All at once," said Gerry slowly. "I don't think I could stand two complete changes like that." Dr. Kikino merely nodded and pulled a pair of gas injection guns from his bag. He looked at the labeling and returned one to the bag. He cocked his head, wordlessly asking again if Gerry really wanted to become a mermaid. Gerry just looked sick and nodded. Dr. Kikino pressed the injector against Gerry's thigh and pressed the trigger. The sound of the injector seemed unbelievably loud to Gerry. He just sat on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands.

Gerry didn't remember all of the next five months very clearly. He was on muscle-relaxants, pain-killers and sedatives for much of the time. Gerry remembered quite clearly only a few events. The first month of his transformation was etched deeply in his memory. His waist thinned dramatically and his hips broadened. Within the first week, his voice had shifted from its usual baritone to a rich contralto. His skin became softer and smoother as a fat layer developed beneath it. The biggest changes were to his breasts. By the second week, his had grown larger than those owned by most women. They were large enough that he was becoming uncomfortable during normal activities. Dr. Kikino tried to reassure Gerry that, once he was aquatic, the water would support his body and he'd be far more comfortable. This reassurance was not exactly what Gerry wanted to hear and he ran from Dr. Kikino's office. Later one of the nurses, Millie, brought in a tape measure and measured Gerry. She returned an hour later with a brassiere and showed Gerry how to get into it. The added support was welcome and Gerry thanked her.

His outward appearance was more female than male by the middle of the third week. He remembered Virgina dropping by to visit and remembered also that he wished she'd never come back. All she did was gloat over the fact that all that seemed to be changing was his sex -- as if that weren't enough. The nurses, who knew of his situation, felt sorry for him. Although they couldn't do anything more than keep him company and talk to him, they helped him learn those things that every woman learns in her teen years. He learned about makeup and under-garments. On one very memorable day, the nurses brought in various dresses and gowns for him. Gerry, who was at first was very self-conscious at the idea of cross-dressing, realized that the transformation was making him a woman and decided to make the best of it. His body had the right shape even if his face and mind hadn't quite caught up with all of the changes. He wondered where the nurses had managed to obtain such obvious expensive clothing. He suspected Dr. Kikino had borrowed or purchased them.

By the middle of the second month, Gerry found he was developing a tail. At first it wasn't very long and it didn't even have scales. Virgina, of course, wanted the tail on video as proof of Dr. Kikino's failure. "The mermaid we ordered has scales," was her pronouncement. Of course, as the tail grew, the tail did develop scales -- fine silvery scales.

Another very memorable event occurred during the second month. Gerry found himself a woman instead of a man. His penis, which had remained normal in size and function up to that time, had been rapidly and unexpectedly absorbed into his body over the span of only a few days. For the better part of two days, Gerry was neither male nor female but very soon a slit appeared which developed into a vaVirgina in a more or less normal location. The development of the tail was distorting things, though. It was nearly a meter long now and had pushed Gerry's anus and vaVirgina to the front of her body. She was starting to develop a ridge of rays from just below her vaVirgina for the full length of the tail. She was also noticing the growth of a large ridge of rays at her back and small fins near her hips. A quick gynecological examination by one of the 'New You' physicians told Gerry she had a womb as well.

It was during the third month that Gerry had her most terrifying experience. Gerry awoke with blood all over her legs and tail. She frantically signaled for medical help. Dr. Kikino himself answered the call. A few minutes after Dr. Kikino arrived, so did Virgina Norita.

"It's perfectly normal, Gerry," he said calmly. "Once a month, women have a menstrual flow. It's part of the process that allows them to have babies." He smiled and held Gerry's hand. "Babies? Men can't have -- " began Gerry. "I'm not a man any more, am I?" Dr. Kikino merely smiled and shook his head. He ordered additional sessions with the psychological staff to help Gerry through this part of the transformation. Dr. Kikino knew that Gerry was going through a very difficult transition. Virgina had rushed over when she heard that Gerry was bleeding all over the place. She had ordered the camera crews to record the whole event. Upon hearing that the bleeding was expected, she just snorted, turned on her heel and left. A pair of nurses lifted Gerry from the bed and onto a gurney. The nurses, with the camera crew in tow, helped Gerry to a bathtub to clean up. Dr. Kikino found his dislike for Virgina Norita was deepening into a real disgust.

The rest of that month and the one that followed were little more than blurs of pain for Gerry. Gerry found that his legs were weakening and walking was becoming increasingly difficult. Dr. Kikino, when informed, did a quick examination confirming the more complete one his nurses had performed earlier. He then nodded and ordered physiotherapy. Gerry was expecting physiotherapy for her weakened legs. She was startled to discover that the treatment was for her fish tail and fins. Over time, Gerry lost the use of her legs and slowly acquired some mobility of her tail and fins. It was slow going and extremely painful for the most part. Gerry despaired of ever being able to move the thing and told Dr. Kikino as much. His reassurance, as much as anything else, gave her the strength to carry on.

By the end of November, Gerry's legs had virtually disappeared. Her tail was nearly three times the length of her upper body and she was able to swim reasonably well with it. She had one more period in October but it hadn't been as much of a shock the second time. By then, the nurses had shown her how to use a tampon. Her final shock came with only two weeks left before the taping. She was still on physiotherapy and on pain-killers for much of the time. She hadn't paid very much attention to her tail. She became very worried shortly after waking one morning. Gerry discovered that she had a tiny slit surrounded by scales instead of her vaVirgina and a second slit farther down her tail instead of an anus. Dr. Kikino reassured her that she wouldn't close up entirely and that her slits were normal for a mermaid. Gerry remembered thinking something about whatever normal for a mermaid really was.

By the day of the taping, Gerry was the complete mermaid. Her looks were almost identical to that of the fantasy mermaid selected by Vanessa as the model for Gerry's transformation. She remembered that the taping had gone very well despite the fact that Virgina had stormed from the taping room and ordered one of her alternates to take the interview. The program had extremely high ratings -- far higher than Virgina would have been able to achieve had Dr. Kikino failed. Gerry was given the keys to her home the next day. A busy lawyer assured her that a trust account had been set up to cover expenses. Gerry had always wanted to be independently wealthy. When he'd been a he, he hadn't counted on this kind of change to get it.

Gerry looked gain at her reflection in the mirror. She was beautiful. There was no doubt about it. From the bridge of her classic nose to her sensuous lips, her face was perfect. Her skin was soft and smooth. The ideal envied by women and possessed by super-models everywhere. Her green eyes set off her long blonde hair perfectly. She took out her brush and began, once again, to brush the tangles swimming seemed to create regardless of the hair style she chose to wear. As she floated in the pool and brushed her hair, she saw again the reflection of the top of her breasts in the water. The bikini top was uncomfortable. For today, at least, there would be no further incursions by the public. Gerry reached around her back and undid the bikini top. The top slid into the water. Gerry paused a moment. It would be easier to prevent the bikini top from sinking to the bottom than having to wet her hair again to retrieve it. She quickly snagged it as it slowly sank and tossed it casually onto the pool deck. Her breasts now floated on the surface of the water. They were large, voluptuous and perfectly formed. The kind of breasts that were supposed to drive men wild. Her body narrowed into a tiny waist. Of course, when she thought about it, it had better. That was what the Virgina Corporation had paid for. Gerry pulled herself from the water. Sitting on the water's edge she looked over her body again. From head to hips, she was every man's dream -- a regular super-model. Once more, she ran her hands down her breasts for the pleasure the feeling evoked. She let her hand continue to where her skin was replaced by the smooth scales of her tail. 'Being a mermaid wasn't all bad,' she mused. 'Not really bad at all.' Only two questions nagged her: Why had Virgina Norita wanted Dr. Kikino's failure so intensely and where would she find a mate?

Proof copyright 1996 by Brian Brookwell.