Chapter 9
All references to Leslie will be "She". Its the way TV's look at themselves.
When the guys returned to the hotel room, there had to be some doctoring done. Jerry cleaned the wounds the other two received before tending to himself. They decided to wait for "Alice" before doing anything else.
"What did I do wrong?" Dean asked.
"You didn't do anything wrong. The asshole who wanted to gay bash was the problem."
"I am not gay."
"I know that. He didn't."
"Oh. I guess I am not completely orientated to this male body yet. I don't know the body language fully yet. I bet it was my size too."
"No, the guy wanted to beat up on some poor soul and you just happened to be the smallest person in the bar."
"I can see that I will not like men that well. I mean associate with them socially."
"Give it time. You will get it right. That is what we are doing here, learning."
The girls had had a blast. They had been accepted as real women instead of queens that night. That in itself was a complement to the completeness of the changes caused by the drug. Leslie on the other hand was bored out of her mind. She didn't like bars. She preferred to go out and eat and watch people in a neutral environment. At the hotel in the quarter, She talked to me half the night.
We talked about Mary and how it had all started. She knew Mary. She had seen her perform. She was so good that Leslie didn't even know she was a trans.
There was a pounding on the door. "Doc, we need you." It was Jerry. "We got in a fight at one of the bars in the Quarter. Some asshole called Dean a fagot. We had to do something about it. I got a few bruises but the other guys got some cuts and scrapes. Can you come over to the room?"
"Sure, I'll be right there."
It was something to behold. There were the guys trying to be macho. It wasn't working. Dean was crying with pain and Keith was nursing a fat lip.
"It looks like you guys got hit a few times. I hope you got in some licks too."
"Oh yes, I got a few in."
"He swept the floor with the asshole who started all this shit."
"Hummm, sounds like you had some fun. Dean, let me look at that cut."
"Ok Doc, I'm sorry I'm crying, but it hurts."
"Men cry too, Dean. I think you learned a valuable lesson tonight. One that you will not soon forget."
"Yes, I have to learn some kind of self defense."
"Some kind of martial art would be good. Your physical size means you need an edge."
Leslie's world would be topsy turvy from now on. She could see all the fun she was going to have with this crew. Alice tended to the problem at hand and looked at the damage. It was minor and would heal completely. Keith's and Jerry's were the same.
"You three had better be glad that you got out of that place before the cops came."
"We are indeed."
"Well we all have something to learn now days." I mumbled.
Leslie was coming to the clinic at Little Rock. Her life would change. She had decided to take a medical leave of absence and let the company take up most of the medical costs of the new treatment. After all she was going to die without the therapy.
Leslie had been in and out of hospitals all her life. Working in them was a constant battle to not get caught up in making them her only interest. She had gotten involved in little theater and community stuff just as a defense against burn out. She had worked for this company as an engineer for over 4 years when she was diagnosed with cancer. They could not explain how she had managed to contract the stuff. After all, the X-ray stuff was an unknown. So they blamed her safety practices and closed the files. But she had obtained an attorney. She had to. Her gut would not leave me alone until She did. Now that she had an attorney, she found out just what my company had done to her. They had managed to lock her out of her benefits. If the cancer was an accident, she could have gotten to help. But by classifying it as negligence, they got out of paying the benefits. Typical corporate behavior. Protect the corporation.
Leslie's attorney was in the process of giving her old boss gray hair when she found the evidence that Leslie's cancer was accidental. She worked with nuclear medicine and radioactive elements. They found that the type of machine that I serviced radiate large amounts of energy unknowing to the operator. For it to be a problem, you had to pull the covers. She did that a lot. She got cancer.
Leslie's company manager was a total asshole. But when faced with a lawsuit, he could be down right hospitable. This day, he was. She took a full year of leave. Because the accident that caused the cancer was not her fault, workman's compensation was going to continue to pay my salary and benefits for the full year. Leslie's boss didn't understand that She would be changed into female when the treatment was finished. They would never see Al again. But they would meet Leslie. It would be someone they would have to meet. Al was going to disappear forever.
Fran and Helen were doing OK. They chose the quiet life. They moved back home. Fran didn't want to go back to work. But it would be necessary. Frank's retirement was based on a medical 100% disabled status. Someone in the company (3M) decided to revoke that status since Fran was now physically OK. Fran would have to work in a different part of the company now. She could not do the work she was used to anymore. Fran would go back as a quality assurance director. She had been at this plant for a long time and knew more about the operation of this plant than anyone else there. So the plant manager was very nice to the woman who came back in that day at the plant.
"Frank, OOPS, Fran, I am glad to see your back and in good health. Do they say that you will live a full normal life now?" the manager asked.
"Yes, and with fewer problems. The drug that created what you see here is also a protector. I will have fewer problems as a woman physically that being a man."
"Can you handle what your coworkers will say to you?"
"Look, I didn't ask for this to be done to me. I am not one of those transsexuals. I am still me. I don't want anyone treating me as an invalid or something."
"You might get that treatment anyway. You are now a woman."
"I know. Its going to be a minor problem though. I am going to be very thick skinned."
"Good. Lets go see your new office."
"Office,?"
"Yes, Quality assurance is a management position and you will have a secretary. You will need her too. This job requires paperwork and going out on the plant floor a lot. I didn't give you an easy job. You have knowledge that can't be replaced. So I plan to get the most out of you that I can. I hope you can handle it."
"I will look forward to it. I need a challenge. I am tired of sitting on this new fat female ass."
"Uhhhhh Hump"
"I'm sorry, I still have some problems with acting like a lady. Give me a little time and I will get it right. You have no idea how awkward I feel right now."
The manager smiled. "I can't possibly imagine how you feel. Good luck."
"I think I am going to need it." With that, Fran went to get used to the new office and get acquainted with her secretary and job.
Alice Harvey was a secretary in the pool working at 3M. She had been there for several years. She had no idea what to expect from the new boss. No one had ever talked to her about Frank.
The plant manager walked in with this lady. Alice, this is Frank, uh OOPS, Fran. Alice raised an eyebrow and decided to play along.
"Hello, its going to be a pleasure working for you. I haven't been given any background on you or your expertise. Can you fill me in?"
"Sure." Fran said. The plant manager spoke up. "I'll leave you girls to talk and get acquainted. Good luck Fran."
Fran told Alice Harvey the whole story. Alice wanted to laugh then cry. But then she looked at Fran and said, "What can I do to help you?"
"Just keep me straight and do the female thing and interact with the people around here. I can do the job the plant manager wants me to do. I've been working here for over 20 years. I just need help with the new role. I wasn't born a lady. I didn't want this. I just want to get along and prove I can do this."
"OK, you got it."
"Good. I think we can do this."
The two got to work right away. Helen even came by to see Fran. Helen wasn't happy about a secretary such as Alice working with Fran. Fran thought it had to be some kind of jealousy. But what could Fran do about another woman. She was now one. It had to be a mute point.
"Fran, you have to stop sitting like that."
"Like what?"
"Sitting with your legs spread open. That sends a very bad message to those who see it. It means your available for something other than business."
"Oh, I had no idea. Is this better?" She closed her knees together and sat with her ankles crossed.
Alice asked, "How long have you been away from the plant?"
"Its been a year and a half. When I was diagnosed with the cancer, I took a leave of absence to see what could be done. Then I was pronounced terminal with only 2 months to live. My doctor told me about the experimental program that did this to me. I will live the rest of my life as a female. And like I've said before, I do not like it. Its a nuisance."
"If I have this right, you would be dead now if it wasn't for this program, right?"
"Yes, that's right. But look at what it has done to me and my kids. They are afraid to come around because they think I am a freak. I am not a freak."
"Let me tell you, Fran, I had no idea that you weren't female before. I would have never have known unless you had told me."
"Thanks, but I will always consider my soul a man. This was only necessary to sustain my life. I guess I will have to live this way from now on. But that is OK, I would do it again. I will not give up."
Fran went out on the floor. The men who saw her starred and looked at her. After all, women on the floor was almost unheard of. It was dangerous and took special training. Everyone wanted to know who the Lady was.
One of the men came up. "Its me Charlie. I'm Frank." The mans mouth opened and he was speechless.
"We thought you were dead."
"They found a cure. I went to an experimental program to stop the cancer. They did this to me."
"Your a woman now. Oh yea, that guy that is changing people's sex to cure cancer."
"Yes, and it wasn't my choice. It was the only way to save my life. So I am back. And if any of you swinging dicks treat me like a lady, I'll kick you where your brains are. I am still the asshole you knew as Frank. And I am still an asshole. But now you can call me some new names. Just don't let me hear them."
Word spread like wild fire. Frank was back. Or was he? She? Time would tell.
Lorrie was going to go back to work also. Larry Powel was a great asset to the company he worked for at one time. Lorrie would be also if she could fit in with the office politics and the co workers. Lorrie would go back to designing computer hardware and electronic systems to support computer offices. Larry had been gone over a year. He had worked even though he knew he had cancer. So now she was back. The company management would have taken Larry back as a chimp if he could do his job at the same level he had before he had left. Yes, they cared that it would create some problems for the workers and office staff, but it was their problem.
Lorrie showed up for the first new day of work in a very nice dress for success business dress. The hair was long and the nails were done and everything was in order. Heels and all. They didn't know Lorrie. The change was so profound that even the security guard had to have ID. to let Lorrie in. It was a total shock to everyone who had worked with the old Larry. The new Lorrie was the same person. But not outwardly. The girls in the office would have to get used to this.
The first day of work took some reorientation. She had kept up with the technical journals and was not too far out of date on systems. 486's and 586 systems were beginning to be old hat. There were new ALPHA processors that would do all kinds of timeshare and high level functions. But the systems that Larry worked on were put together from scratch. The company now was using generic workstations and specialized software. That was no problem for Lorrie. Work was going well and Lorrie was ready for a system project. It took her only 1/2 the time to do it that the other system engineers took. The boss was smiling again. But the others in the office had problems. The old jealousy was back. So because of the rivalry, they were looking for an excuse for Lorrie not to work out.
The women were involved in the conspiracy. They would not cooperate with Lorrie when she asked for some coffee or to type up a proposal. You're one of us now, do it yourself. So Lorrie would. Yes it slowed her down. One day, the big boss came by and asked how things were going.
"I have to do everything myself. I don't mind you understand. I realize that I'm different now. But it would sure be a big help if people would cooperate."
"How can I help?"
"Get me some cooperation out of the coworkers around here. I don't want to bitch to loudly but no one will help me." Lorrie could here it now. The queer is a crybaby. Can't handle the pressure any more.
The big boss said "Don't worry about any of this. You will be here long after these folks are gone. You are more valuable."
"Thanks."
Later that day, Lorrie had had too much coffee and headed to the bathroom. There was a his and hers. She went in to the hers as normal and some of the other women were in the bathroom. The stares and hand ringing was obvious.
"We would like you to use the other bathroom."
"I am now a real woman. I can't go in the men's. It would not be proper."
"We don't care, you make us creepy."
That was it for Lorrie. She had had enough. "You bitches need to see something. I am not a freak. I didn't ask to have this done to me. I have to live as a woman now for the rest of my life. I am real. Just as real as you. Right down to the monthly period. I got one too."
"I don't believe you." one of them said.
"OK, Call everyone over here. You want to know if I am real or a freak. Just look at this." She started to take her clothes off.
"The breasts are real." She invited several to come and check them out.
"Come on and touch. You are the one's who say I am not real. Come and check them out." Several came up and touched. One even grabbed them and gave a squeeze. Then she took off the rest of the clothing. Right down to the bare ass. They all looked at her in total disbelief.
"See, I told you. I was transformed into a woman at the DNA level. Everything is real and functioning. I lost my upper body mussel tone and build. I gained lower body strength. And I got the ass and hips any other woman would have. I am real. Can't you see. No, I haven't changed in my brain. I am the same person I always will be. The body is female. I can't do anything about it. Now, will you let me use the ladies rest room? I got to pee!" They all mumbled and apologized and left. She put her clothes back on and took care of her business. She touched up the makeup and thought to herself, The things people think now days. Doc, you were right when you warned me about people.
After she had done the bathroom stunt, things only changed somewhat. She still had an acceptance problem. But the question of what restroom to use was answered. They still were shy, but tolerant. The work was going better and better every day. She was getting better and better at the new software and hardware configurations. She was working at the level of 4 people by herself. Suddenly it occurred to her, I work twice as hard as anyone here just to be equal to the slowest man in the place. It was time for a conference with the boss.
The boss came by one day just to check on her and how she was doing on the job. She was ready for him when he walked in the door.
"I need to talk to you."
"Oh Oh, what's wrong. Are the girls refusing to get you coffee again?"
"No, they are more helpful. I think things need to change around here. You guys are paying the girls only 80 % of what you pay the men. I came back at my old salary and the guys are making even more than me."
"That is not true."
"Bull shit, here is the proof. I taped into the main computer and accessed the employee records of everyone in the company. Men who have been here half the time the girls have are making more money."
"You did what? That information is confidential. It is an offense that is cause for termination."
"So, Its time we talked about this. I have suspected that there was a double standard here for a long time. You could say I have a different point of view now."
"Look, I don't care how valuable you are to the company, I may have no choice but to fire you for illegal access to the main frame. I can prosecute if I want to."
"Good, I can't wait to get into court and have the records in question admitted as evidence in a court of law. I will have your balls. So will every female employee here. Its called sexual harassment and discrimination."
"Lorrie, honey, you know that the men need the money more than the girls. You of all of them should know. You used to be one."
"You know, that is right. By the way, if you call me honey again, you will know how I feel, cause I will castrate you myself."
"Be careful of threats Lorrie."
"I am not threatening you. I have more evidence to submit to you." All of a sudden, the poor manager turned around to see all of the office staff looking through the door and cheering. They all came in the office and cheered Lorrie.
"This is a private conversation."
"Not any more." one of the girls shouted.
"We overheard everything and if you don't comply with Lorrie's wishes, we all walk. You will never get a good design department again. The industry will boycott you and we will make sure you have maximum problems from the legal system and the courts."
Lorrie had won one. But she was no fool. The wheels were turning up in management. They would figure out how to keep her out of the computer and how to shut her up. But she had a very strong advantage now. She had the total cooperation of the entire female staff on the floor of the building and a growing support of the rest of the building. The men would have nothing to do with any of the female staff for the next few days. They were aware that they were on thin ice.
Then it came. The call went out from management of a general meeting in the company lobby. It was the only room big enough to hold a company wide meeting. Then it would take two shifts to get to everyone. Lorrie had been called to a meeting before the main one. She swallowed hard and expected a curve ball.
It came. They produced the contract She had signed when she started the job she had in the beginning. As Larry, she had agreed to honor all company policies under civil penalties. Also, if by his action, the company had a loss of funds, he could be libel for the cost to the company. Also if by his actions, company information was disclosed to anyone, he could be prosecuted in federal court. She was then handed a court order to stop discussing anything to do with company records and that if they had cause to believe that she was involved in any employee action, they would prosecute. She said nothing and asked to be excused monetarily. She made a phone call. She had been expecting some kind of action. She called her attorney and he in turn made some inquires to the news media. She would use her situation against the company. The news media would eat up this story. The attorney advised Lorrie to use the news media and be ready to serve the company with a pre-planed summons into court. The attorney basically stated that public opinion would pull the odds to her favor and in a stalemate, the public would decide the case for them by forcing them to keep up P. R. It was a good strategy. It was an unusual ploy to tip her hand this early. But she really didn't want to hurt the company. She just wanted to work unharressed. If they understood just how far she was willing to take it, they would back off. Or so she hoped.
The attorney was ready with the paperwork and came right over. It took a total of 10 minutes. She walked back into the room with a summons of her own. She handed it to the boss.
"OK, we go to court. You take your best shot. I have nothing to lose here. I can only gain in this situation. I want to remind you that in a down and dirty fight, PR. is everything. I am a walking PR nightmare and I know it. You know it too. So here it is. Take your best shot. I am not backing down."
It would take a few minutes for the attorneys to look at the summons and the suit that she was bringing against the company. She knew that they might have a good shot at winning against her. But in a PR battle, she was unbeatable. The negative publicity would haunt them for years. It didn't take long.
Before they even would discuss the entire situation, they wanted to have a few assurances. They wanted no publicity first. Second, they wanted to get the staff working again and with no problems. Third, they wanted to control the salary situation so that they wouldn't have to up every female's salary and pay back pay.
"OK, I need to have a discussion with the girls." She took off and meet with the girls. It was the consensus that they only wanted to rock the boat only slightly. They wanted to keep the jobs they had and have salary equity. So as long as the company agreed in writing that all inequities would be settled to the satisfaction of all, they had a deal.
Lorrie walked back into the room where the management and staff were gathered.
"We are fully prepared to blow this company out of the water. We only want one thing, Equity. We have enough evidence to put it to you. But ultimately, we want to continue working. Just treat us fairly and you will have no problems."
"How soon do you need equity?" one of the men asked.
"Right now. Do you know how much that will cost? We will not be able to handle the cost to the business."
"The company is in better shape that you would want me to believe."
"What?"
"Yes, I also have those records too. I maintain access to records you don't want anyone to see. I have always been able to crack your systems. What do you think I am, a total idiot? I am supposed to be one of the best computer systems engineer in the country. I am always going to be able to get into your records. So it would be an act of good will to continue to allow access. If I suddenly lost access, I would become very suspicious of you. Look, all we want is to be treated fairly. That has not happened yet. You do that and all will be well. By the way, I will make sure that you don't stab us in the back. I will be watching you closely."
They all mumbled and reluctantly agreed and decided to go in front of the workers gathered in the hall.
"We have made an agreement. Female and male workers will now be treated equally. Equal work for equal pay. Lorrie here has volunteered to monitor and police our salary systems and act as a mediator for the company and the working staff. This has nothing to do with management. They will continue to bid and compete for their salaries."
Was this over? By no means was it over. One thing was obvious. Lorrie had been accepted by the women. It would be a continuing process. What the company would do later after the storm was over was unpredictable. Time would tell.
Fran was getting along with most of the workers who used to know Frank. It was uneasy at first. But when it was obvious that Fran was the person they all used to know, it went well. Fran was female in appearance enough that no one questioned what bathroom she should use. The other secretaries in the complex had heard rumors, but none of them openly challenged Fran or management.
One day while out on the floor, Fran observed a serious situation. One of the containers of HCL (a very strong acid) had started a leak. It had been caused by a fork lift and a new guy who didn't know the rules. It was immediately reported. What she didn't observe was another container of some other chemical had also sprung a leak. The two were not compatible and would cause a fire if mixed. She had noticed it too late. There were workers in the area and could not possibly know how much danger there was at the moment. Fran did and hit the panic system. The two way radio went crazy with requests for where the emergency was and who hit the button. Fran went into action. She didn't have time to get on the radio. Men would die that day and she had work to do.
The fire was contained 10 minutes after the alarm had been sounded. Fran had been able to save every man on the floor except one. He had been in the area where the drums of chemicals were stored. There was no way for him to have survived the explosion. Fran had been burned badly enough to be sent to the hospital. Mostly her hands and arms. Nothing else. Some of her clothing had been burned. It was a little embarrassing to everyone there because her blouse and upper clothing had to be removed as they had caught fire. She was not burned, but she had nothing on. She didn't even think about the fact that her breasts were exposed. Finally one of the paramedics came over with a blanket and covered her. Nothing was said, but who was going to tell her when she was single-handedly responsible for saving 10 or more lives that day. When asked about it later, she said, "I did my job. That is what I am here do do." One of the management people came over and inquired why she had not gotten on the radio to tell them where the problems were.
"I was too busy getting the men that survived out of the fire. I didn't have time to talk on that stupid radio." None of the management were going to challenge her. She had turned a major fire into a minor one with only one death. It could have been a lot worse. She was going to the hospital.
Now the side effect no one expected started to show. Her burns almost healed immediately. Anyone else would have had serious burn scars and a long painful recovery. Fran seemed to recover in a week. The doctors wanted to look at this as, from the original records, they expected a long recovery period. She was different and they wanted to know why........
I was now an international figure. The formula NOL-5 F and M was being used all over the world. Leslie was now in the clinic at Little Rock in the process of changing into a woman. The hotel was comfortable. I had expanded the facilities and could take 15 or 20 people in the clinic at once. The formula was being used by 100,000 people now and the number was increasing rapidly. People were being saved. The formula was almost fool proof. It worked when no other solution would. The research on the drug could not offer any new information on the effect. DNA level changes and mutation into the opposite sex. One to one and 1/2 years and the mutation was complete.
Caroline Rodgers and me were an item. I was a millionaire 50 times over now. The royalties on the drug were increasing monthly. I didn't have to work now. But I was not going to stop working at my practice in plastic surgery or the cancer research. After all, I had been on the cover of Time magazine and every medical journal in the world. Time was quite good to me.
Caroline was now living full time with Me. I also had bought a nice building in New Orleans. Right in the French Quarter. I had the money. I even hired Mary to run it. She had turned out to be a good manager. Free rent and a nice salary to maintain the building and rent the apartments out to who ever wanted one. The top floor was always reserved for me and friends. It was a block of 4 apartments. It was perfect too. Private and big. I moved all the female things to the apartment building and kept everything there. After all, I didn't want anyone to catch the famous cancer doctor, in drag. I could hide in the quarter.
Caroline was continuing the primate studies. Zoo's all over the country were asking about curing animals with different kinds of cancers and how the formula worked. Some animals were too big for the small facilities the clinic had. So blood work would be handled remotely and recommended dosages would be prepared for the animals at the zoo. Several elephants and horses received the drug with perfect results.
I was amazed how well Caroline accepted Alice and all the friends Alice had. But Caroline explained one day that it was easier to accept a transvestite boyfriend who stayed close to her than one who would go fishing or hunting or something else that would keep the pair apart. Work was a different matter. Both had full time professional requirements. Work was a priority and both needed a certain amount of independence.
Billie continued to stay with me. She was a valuable resource and I needed her to continue to deal with the government on several issues. All kinds of questions were put to Us that made trips to practically every state necessary. Questions on the previous research and effects of the drug on different kinds of cancers happened all the time.
Billie was a happy person. She was the most flamboyant female I had ever been around. She would wear things only other people dreamed of wearing. One day, a very tight leather skirt and very high heels and the next day a very conservative dress with a very low cut neck line. (One of the old problems that had not been fixed was that male to female patients on the drug developed very large breasts.) Billie had a beautiful set and loved to show them off. But she was loyal to Robert and they had talked about getting married. She just liked to dress, well say, sexy. This would be the wedding of the year in the quarter. They would have to book a very large building to hold this wedding.
Caroline was still trying to hook me. I was resisting but there was some weakening. Finally, I opened up to Caroline and told her why he didn't just ask.
"I am a transvestite. I can't stop being what I am. I can't help feeling that that might cause us problems. Can you live with someone like me with no limitations on the cross dressing?"
Caroline thought about it for a minute and answered, "Look, I love you. I don't have a problem with any of this. I know that you are straight (Heterosexual) and would not mess with any one else. As long as I didn't catch you hooking on the street corner, we don't have any problems."
Allen chuckled and answered, "You don't have anything to worry about. What if I look better than you?"
"I will always know who and what you are. There will be some days where I will not be in the mood for Alice. But don't worry. Those days will be few. Just do me one favor."
"What is it?"
"Be discreet and don't get caught outside the Quarter in drag."
"OK, sounds fine by me. I might dress in safe environments with Billie around to run interference. By the way, how do you feel about Billie?"
"Billie is my buddy. Don't worry, that is how I will keep up with you. If you get out of hand, Billie will tell me."
"I have a great idea, why don't we make it a double wedding?"
"With Billie and Robert."
"I think it would be fun. Only one thing, on our wedding night, No Alice."
"Agreed."
"We do the wedding straight. I can just see the press all around."
"Yea, you are right. Looks like a double wedding. Let me call Billie."
Billie was excited to no end. A double wedding. "Wow, this is going to be a blowout. Doc, who is going to wear the wedding dress?"
"She will. I got to do this straight. The news media will be crawling all over us."
"OK, let me get started with the arrangements."
Billie was right, it would be a blowout.