"I think I'll try the cow program," Riley responded. "I know I'll be female, but it sounds a lot easier than any of the other ones. I guess before I commit though.. how does that work? Like, if I'm straight now, will I be straight as a girl?"
"No, you'd be.. I guess you'd be a lesbian. You'd get the opportunity to pick a new name and everything, and I can even arrange to have your identity reassigned. New name, fresh background, it'd be like you've been female since birth. You'd be the only one who has any clue you were ever male."
Riley didn't know why he responded the way he did, but something about the program seemed appealing. Maybe it was the fact that he'd be surrounded by other cow-girls.. not to mention the horse and pig-girls. "Sign me up."
The doctor clicked through some menus on her laptop and had him sign the screen with a finger three times: once to confirm that he'd be a cowgirl for the next two years, once to confirm reassignment of his identity, and a third to opt out of the breeding program with the option to join later if his preferences shifted.
"Do you have a preference for a new name? You're kind of lucky in that yours is sort of gender-neutral. We can always wait on that until later and just refer to you by a number for a while if you'd like. Some of the cow-girls do that."
Riley sat for a moment, silent. "I think I'll go with.. maybe.. Rebecca?"
The doctor smiled at him. "Great! I'll just put you down as Rebecca. The good news is, we have the cow injection right here. The other programs sometimes take a bit to have their serums come in. Just hold out your arm..."
Riley... Rebecca.. held out his arm while the doctor took three syringes out of the fridge. The doctor prepped his arm with an alcohol wipe. "The first one's going to turn you female, the second one's going to make you a cow, and the third is to induce lactation."
Rebecca looked away as the first syringe, full of a pink fluid, entered his arm. The next two were nothing compared to the anticipation of the first shot. He barely felt them.
"How long does it take?" he asked.
"You'll start noticing changes by tomorrow morning. It'll be a little bit more gradual for you than for the girls entering the program, but you'll probably be on the morning milking line within two weeks. I'm also going to write you a prescription for some hormone pills, to make your changes more of a soft landing and less of a crash. They'll be in your room at the farm when you get there. Just take three a day, or more if you start feeling weird."
"What about clothes and stuff? Is that all at the farm?"
"It is. They have people who will get you what you need, including a therapist and probably a coach to help you transition. Do you have any other questions?"
"Not really."
"I'll take you to the loading area, then. The next bus should be coming..." she looked up at the clock. "In a few minutes. You have your bag with you and everything, right?"
Rebecca pointed to the corner, where he had two bags full of essentials.
"I'll take one, just in case."
The doctor took one bag and Rebecca took the other, down to a small loading area. A handful of people, all bound for the farm, were waiting on benches with their bags tucked underneath. Now there was nothing to do but wait.