Out of this Body

This story is copyright 2003 to me, Terry Volkirch. Permission is granted to copy and post this story as long as it isn't altered in any way and as long as this disclaimer is included.

This story is adult fiction. The main two characters, Terry and Rhona, represent myself and my friend Rhona. Any resemblance of any other characters to a real person is coincidental.

Please send any feedback to terrynaut@yahoo.com. Thx.

Out of this Body

1. Prologue

Astral projection is real. I know because I've done it. You may not have heard of it. It's also referred to as having an out-of-body experience. It happens when your energy body, or soul, leaves your body. You might not believe in it, but it's the reason why the world has been turned upside down. It's why the battle between the sexes escalated into a full-scale gender war.

How do I know all this? I know because the gender war is all my fault. It wasn't my intention but I'm responsible nonetheless. I must be. My experiences and what followed are too much of a coincidence. Read on and judge for yourself.

One more thing.... I hope everyone can forgive me any pain I have caused. I'm telling this story so people will understand how their lives could be changed so drastically. Perhaps that understanding can help speed along the healing process.

1. Astral Visit

I'd started to seriously pursue astral projection a little over two years ago. My bookshelf has been full of books on the subject but I never found time to read them and try all of the exercises. What changed things was my online friend in England. Her name is Rhona. We wanted to be able to see each other more often than our infrequent trips by plane so I suggested astral projection. Once you leave your body, you can go anywhere in the world in the blink of an eye. We could see each other whenever we wanted.

Besides visiting Rhona, I had an added incentive. I'm a transgendered man. I've read that you could change the appearance of the astral body and I wanted to make my male body look like a woman. Being a man who wants to be a woman is frustrating but I don't want to go into that. I only mention my transgendered nature because it's relevant to this story.

Rhona and I soon started following the astral projection exercises. Within about six months, I had started making progress. After another few months I had done it. I was able to leave my physical body and travel the astral plane. Rhona was still having trouble but I thought I could help her. My plan was to have my astral body interact with hers and somehow pull hers out of her physical body.

I started with short trips out of my body and gradually moved farther away as I got comfortable. It took some getting used to the feeling. I don't even want to try to explain it. You have to experience it for yourself to really understand it.

Eventually, I left my apartment, my city and then my state. Soon I was able to visit England without any anxiety and I explored a few castles while I was there. A few people seemed to detect my presence too. I wonder if they thought I was a ghost.

I had been so involved in getting used to my out-of-body experiences that I didn't think to try to change my appearance for several weeks. After my first trip to England, I finally remembered to try. It took a lot of concentration but I was able to do it for brief moments. As soon as my thoughts wandered, I reverted to my male form. I decided to work on it more later. First I wanted to start my experiment to help Rhona. I got back to my body and quickly called her to make plans.

"Hiya Rhona. It's me again!"

"Hi Terry."

"Have you had any luck with the astral projection exercises? I have."

"Not so far. Have you made it over here yet?"

I told her all about my success. She wasn't envious at all. She really is a great friend. We laughed about the possibility of castle tourists mistaking me for a ghost. Maybe a lot of ghosts are really just astral bodies of living beings.

"So are you going to show me how it's done?" she asked.

"I might."

"You tease!"

I had to laugh at that. But I relented. We talked for over an hour as usual and made plans for my ambitious astral projection experiment to begin that night. There's an eight hour time difference between Rhona and me so I'd wait until Rhona went to bed and then join her after a few more hours.

It was a hot August evening here in Washington state as I laid down to start. Before long, my astral body hovered over my friend. She was lying on her back and I stared down at her peaceful face, surrounded by frizzy shoulder length brown hair. Her mouth hung slightly open and she was lightly snoring.

I couldn't help myself. I reached down and tried to pinch her cheek. There was no reaction. When my fingertips reached her skin, they met with some resistance and then passed through. I couldn't grip anything to pinch but I could still feel her. I pulled my hand back and thought about what to do next.

Time is hard to gauge on the astral plane but, after what felt like a few minutes, I reached out with my left hand to touch her right one. The same thing happened. I felt some slight resistance and then my hand passed through hers.

I was starting to get frustrated and thought about giving up - at least for tonight. But for some strange reason, I reached over with my left hand and touched her left hand. I immediately felt my hand vibrate. It was much like I felt when I prepared to leave my physical body. I'd feel a rapid vibration and then think about rising up out of my body. If the vibrations were fast enough, my astral body would separate.

The strange sensation made me a little nervous and my hand reflexively jerked back. When I did so, I saw Rhona's glowing astral left hand briefly follow mine and then fall back to her sleeping body. This looked promising.

My astral body rolled over. Now, with my back to Rhona, I lowered myself down to her and gradually slipped into her. My head and torso were superimposed over hers but my hands and feet were sticking out. She's about six inches shorter than I am so I shrunk myself and altered my astral body to look like her.

My whole body vibrated now and I willed myself to rise. As I rose, Rhona's astral body came with me. Our two astral bodies remained together. I had done it! I had gotten Rhona to have an out-of-body experience. Now all I had to do was separate us.

I moved in all different directions but we remained joined. Then I thought to change myself back to my male form. That did the trick. As I changed, we automatically peeled apart. I turned to look at her astral self and saw that she was asleep. Both of her bodies had their eyes closed and their mouths slightly open. What now?

1. Meeting Halfway

Rhona's astral form stood motionless beside me. I waved my hand in front of her face but nothing happened. Then I tried to grab her shoulders and gently shake her. Her shoulders felt solid to my hands so I was able to shake her, but she didn't respond.

Frustration mounted again. I had made too much progress to give up now so I decided to let my imagination run wild and try anything that popped into my head. The first thing that occurred to me was to merge back with Rhona's physical body. That's when things started to get really interesting.

I duplicated Rhona's form once again and slowly lowered myself down into her body. The vibrations started again but I ignored them. I let my astral body completely match Rhona's position. As soon as I settled in, I heard a clicking sound and my whole body suddenly convulsed for a brief moment. My arms shook and both of my legs kicked out at the same time. I sat up and blinked a few times.

"Terry?" I said with Rhona's voice.

That startled me. I shook my head and wondered why I would say my own name. It was almost as if I was calling to myself. I was so preoccupied with what I had said that my change of voice didn't register until later.

It was dark but a little light filtered through some dark curtains from a nearby street light. It wasn't my room but it looked strangely familiar. The image provoked a stray thought.

It should look familiar. It's my room.

Okay, now I was getting worried. I seemed to be talking to myself and answering. I was afraid I was going insane.

I should explain something before I go on. I was having thoughts that weren't my own. I later realized that they were residual thoughts from the person who's body I was now inhabiting. It soon sunk in that I was controlling Rhona's body!

Actually, the room should look familiar to me as well as her. I had spent two weeks visiting Rhona only a few months ago. It was exactly as I had remembered it.

I got up and immediately noticed that I was six inches shorter. Everything looked much bigger to me. I walked around but I couldn't see much in the dark. It was the middle of the night over here. I opened the curtains a little to let in more light. Then I checked myself out in the full-length mirror. I gasped as I saw my friend's nude body. I had forgotten that she likes to sleep in the nude. I blushed and fished around for a robe before I looked in the mirror again.

After staring at myself in the mirror and making faces, I was giddy. I plopped down on the edge of the bed and crossed my legs with no problem. Then I stood up and hopped up and down to feel my breasts bounce. It was wonderful.

This was too cool! I had found a way to swap bodies. I couldn't wait to tell Rhona about it, but that would be difficult at the moment. I had left her astral form asleep next to her bed. I closed the curtains and looked around but couldn't see anything. I had to get back out of Rhona's body.

A mischievous grin spread across my new face as I had a last walk around the bedroom. I wanted to leave some evidence that I had taken over her body. I assembled some items and crawled back into bed.

Luckily, I was able to relax and start the telltale vibrations that allowed the astral body to separate. I rose up and saw Rhona's astral form right where I left her, still completely unaware of her surroundings.

I walked over to astral Rhona and stood next to her. I noticed we were the same height and looked down at myself. I still looked like her. I tried changing back to myself but I couldn't hold my original form without concentrating. Being in Rhona changed my default astral form. That concerned me a little but I put it out of my mind. I still had one more thing I wanted to try.

Daybreak was still hours away so I had plenty of time. My hands reached out to the standing figure and she felt solid. I got a good hold on her and pulled her along with me as I tried to return to my own body. We might have made it if I hadn't decided to take the scenic route. We soared high above Earth and the view was spectacular. We made it somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean before she slipped from my grasp. I felt a slight twitch in her and suddenly she was gone. I tried to return but couldn't stop myself from continuing on to my own bedroom. I concentrated hard to change to my male astral form and crawled back into my physical body. After hearing the familiar click, I was back in control of my original body.

I normally leave my phone disconnected during the night so my sleep won't be interrupted. Sometimes I forget but this time I had purposely left my phone connected. It was ringing as soon as I returned home.

1. Examining the Evidence

"Terry!"

It was Rhona on the phone - big surprise.

"Yes?" I purred.

"What did you do?!"

My attitude quickly changed and I had to apologize. She was pretty shaken when she first woke up. Luckily she's very resilient and has a good sense of humor. We look back at that night and laugh about it now.

She woke up dressed in the robe I had put on, along with all of her stuffed animals under her covers. She knew I had something to do with it but thought I had somehow caused her to sleep walk. There was a long pause after I told her the real reason.

We worked out that we lived too far apart for me to get her into my body. That was fine to her because she had no wish to be male. I'm not sure how it could be done without the cooperation of her astral body anyway. It would probably be a lot easier to do a complete swap if she could have an out-of-body experience on her own. She could duplicate my male astral form and enter my body at the same time that I duplicated her astral form and entered her body. Too bad it wasn't easier to do, I thought. I bet a lot of people's attitudes would improve if they could swap bodies and see the world through different eyes.

Rhona went back to bed and I wrote down some notes. I wasn't sure exactly how I would complete the body swap but I was determined to try. All I had to do was find a willing partner who lived closer to home and start more experiments.

Meanwhile, for the rest of August, life was normal. There was no indication at this point that anything strange was happening in the world. All of the planned sporting, entertainment and business events took place as usual. World economic markets were just as stable or unstable as ever and petty posturing and senseless wars continued. I mention this to try to prove my assertion that I'm responsible for our brave new world. I hadn't yet made a two-way body swap and everything was still normal.

I spent the rest of the month brainstorming ideas for body swapping and looking for a suitable partner. I was hoping to swap with a female friend. I'd settle for a male friend but I talked to several women first.

It was hard to broach the subject of body swapping. My friends knew I was transgendered and they had all heard of astral projection but my experience went much further. According to everyone I talked to, my ideas were too unreal. They were the stuff of fantasy and science fiction. I began to get discouraged at the skeptical responses and my intensity and passion began to get the best of me.

It was the middle of September now. Debbie met me for dinner at my favorite Thai food restaurant. We chatted aimlessly throughout the meal while my mind wandered. I kept wondering what it would feel like to be her. I loved her long dark brown hair and blue eyes. She was about 5 foot 4 and very curvy. She was a little overweight but I could live with that. In my active imagination, I suddenly envisioned starting a new service. I swapped bodies with overweight women and got them into shape while they experienced what it was like to be a man. It was wonderful.

When dinner was over, I got serious and ambushed her with my ideas. She responded the same way everyone else did after she realized I was serious.

"Body swapping? That's crazy."

"Call it whatever you like but it's not crazy!" I practically shouted at her.

She looked around, afraid that someone would hear us. I'm sure she was embarrassed, and she must have thought I was at least a little crazy. That's why she relented. She agreed to let me try to swap with her just to humor me. There was nothing for her to fear because she didn't believe it could happen. She was so wrong.

1. If at First You Don't Succeed

I was so excited. I thought I had finally found someone besides Rhona to believe me. Even better, I could try to make a complete body swap. I raced home after my dinner and waited for Rhona to wake up so I could tell her all about it. It was well after midnight before I finished chatting online with her. She wished me good luck and signed off to start her day over in merry old England. I looked through my notes and prepared for my swapping attempt.

It was Friday night. Debbie didn't work weekends so the timing was perfect. I didn't have to worry because I was currently unemployed. It was nice to finally find a good reason to be between jobs. I dressed comfortably in a tee shirt and shorts, put my portable phone on my bed and laid back to start the vibrations. Soon afterwards, I separated from my body and almost immediately found myself staring down at Debbie. Astral travel can be so quick. All I had to do was think of moving to her and there she was. It still amazes me.

I had the time to try some additional experiments but decided to skip them. I didn't want any distractions tonight. I rolled over to face the ceiling and sank down to her bed, following the same procedure I had done with Rhona. My astral body changed form and pulled hers out as I rose up out of her physical body.

Now it was time to start exploring uncharted territory. I grabbed Debbie's astral body and brought her back to my bedroom. I tried everything I could think of but I couldn't get her to change form. I could change my own easily enough but hers was fixed. I guess only she could control it. I moved her into a horizontal position and lowered her into my body. I hoped that would be good enough but nothing happened. It was time to move to the next phase of my experiment.

I returned to Debbie's body and took it over. That part was easy to do. Then I got up out of her bed and dialed my home phone number, marveling at my slim fingers and long fingernails as I did so. My phone rang several dozen times but Debbie didn't answer. Swapping bodies was more difficult than I had hoped.

I found her keys without too much trouble. They were in her purse along with her drivers license and a lot of other interesting things. I'd need the keys and drivers license to drive so I kept the purse with me. I couldn't wait to try out Debbie's car. She drove a new model Mercedes. I didn't know much about cars but thought it would be nice to drive.

Looking down at myself, I realized I still wasn't ready to go. I was dressed in a short pale yellow nightie and matching panties. The nightie was very sheer, revealing tempting glimpses of the body wearing it. I wanted to crawl back into bed and explore further but figured I'd have time for that later.

I looked for a yellow bra but couldn't find one. Instead, I found a seamless full coverage bra and whipped off the nightie. The light blue bra didn't go with yellow panties but I didn't think I could handle a change of panties.

Putting on the bra was a sensual and spiritual experience that I'll savor forever. I had no trouble with it - I've had lots of practice as a transgendered man - but I took my time anyway. After admiring myself in the mirror, I added blue jeans and a lavender polo top and then brushed my hair. I dug around in Debbie's walk-in closet and found a cute pair of blue and white tennis shoes. I threw them on and after one more check in the mirror, I was ready to go. I hopped into the Mercedes and drove over to my apartment. Luckily I had planned ahead and left my door unlocked.

It was odd to walk into my little two bedroom apartment. No lights were on and it was very quiet. I almost felt like a burglar. I set the dead bolt, walked down the angled hallway and opened the door to my master bedroom. With the light from a nearby carport, I could just barely see my old body, sleeping in my queen size bed. I had to remind myself that it wasn't really me and the body wasn't really sleeping.

I still had unfinished work to do so I got to it. I walked over to my body and nudged it. Nothing happened. Then I shook it and even gave it a light slap on the face. Still nothing. My frustration was coming back with a vengeance. I sat down on the edge of my bed and tried to think but it was hard to concentrate. Debbie's body was tired and I had woken it up in the middle of the night. My eyes closed and my head bobbed as I fought sleep. It wasn't long before I succumbed.

1. Breakthrough

Morning light crept into my bedroom and slowly woke me out of a light sleep. I was remembering a pleasant dream about being a woman and opened my eyes grudgingly. A slight gasp escaped my lips as I gazed at my former male face, very near my current face. We were lying on our sides, still fully clothed and facing each other in the bed. Our arms were wrapped around each other and my face blazed red with embarrassment. I very slowly and carefully untangled myself from our mutual embrace before I rolled back away to get out of bed.

I ignored my own appearance for the moment and stared down at the six foot tall slender body lying in the bed. On impulse, I ran a hand through its long brown hair and a shiver ran down the spine of my current body.

Something nagged at me. Something had changed. My old body was lying on its back last night and now it was on its side. We had our arms wrapped around each other. How had that happened? Could the switch be complete? I reached down and nudged my old self. I jumped and gasped again as it mumbled something and licked its lips. I nudged harder and two familiar eyes flew open and stared at me. Soon after the screaming began.

It's very odd to watch and hear yourself scream from another body. It was almost like watching a video tape of myself. I was almost amused. But then I thought of the neighbors calling the police and quickly tried to soothe the screaming person that could only be Debbie. I didn't understand why she was so upset. I told her I was going to try to swap last night.

After what seemed like hours, the screaming stopped and the shouting and glaring began. Debbie slowly sat up, trying not to look at her hairy forearms and large, strong hands.

"What the hell did you do?!" she yelled.

"We switched bodies. I told you I was going to try last night. What's the big deal?"

"You moron! I thought you were crazy. This is impossible."

Her voice trailed off to a whisper. Shock was setting in at this point and it seemed important to keep her talking. We had to work through this together. I had no idea that she didn't believe me last night.

"Hey. It's going to be Okay. We'll swap back ... um somehow."

I didn't mean to say the last part. It just popped out of my mouth. But in the long run, I think it was good that I did. Debbie wasn't too far gone to notice what I'd said so it kept her talking.

"What do you mean, somehow?" she growled.

"I mean, I'm not sure how I did it. I've never done a complete swap before. I fell asleep last night in your body before I could finish. I woke up and here we are."

Debbie's eyes widened at first and then narrowed as she scowled. Seeing her so angry made me nervous for the first time since I started leaving my body. She was a lot stronger than me. I hoped she could control her temper.

"You mean we could be stuck like this?!" Debbie howled.

The situation was getting very uncomfortable for me now. I could handle being a woman very easily but my friend was getting angrier by the minute and I was getting very scared. I was afraid it would soon escalate into violence.

"I didn't say that. If it happened once, it can happen again. I'm sure we'll switch again, eventually."

"Eventually?! I want to switch now! I mean right now!!"

Debbie looked at me with murderous fury. I thought she'd attack me any second. My eyes went wide and my vision got blurry as tears started forming. My angry friend took a sudden step towards me and I immediately hugged my head in terror.

"Don't hit me!" I shrieked. Then, much more quietly, "Please, don't hit me."

Debbie stopped with a shocked look on her face. I don't think she realized the effect she was having on me. She didn't really want to hurt me. She was just very upset, and now so was I.

My tears flowed freely as I slowly slumped to the floor and sobbed. How could everything have turned out so badly? All I wanted to do was experience life as a woman, if only for a short while. Feeling like you're the wrong gender is hell. Almost everyday I'd get up, see myself in the mirror and have to get used to it all over again. I contemplated a sex change - sexual reassignment surgery for the more politically correct - but it wouldn't be real. I wouldn't be a real woman.

Debbie crouched down and hugged me. She still had a stern look on her face but the tone of her voice had softened.

"I'm sorry, Terry. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm having a lot of trouble accepting this," she said, pointing to herself. "I really need to change back."

"I know. I can tell," I said with a weak smile. "I was hoping you'd get an idea of what I've been going through. Then we could relate better. You're effectively a transgendered man now."

"Yes, but you've had your whole life to get used to it. Didn't you tell me that it took you years to accept it? It's been a rude shock for me, especially since I didn't think you could pull it off."

I hadn't thought about that. I was a little miffed that she didn't believe me but I let it pass. She needed my support for now. I decided to diffuse the situation with some humor. We could both use a good laugh to release some tension.

"I just want to say that I think you've handled this all very well," I said with a slightly sarcastic tone and silly grin.

Debbie responded by slapping me on the shoulder and I thought she'd be alright.

1. First Blood

The rest of the morning went fairly well. We had a bowl of cold cereal together and then went our separate ways. Debbie sat on the couch and watched TV while I rummaged through my male body's extensive feminine wardrobe. I had hoped to have a bit of a fashion show but the clothes were all too long. Since that didn't pan out, I explored the contents of Debbie's purse. There were keys, a large wallet, makeup, tissues and several feminine hygiene products. It made sense for women to carry a purse. They had a lot more things to carry around with them. Pockets couldn't hold it all.

Everything was quiet until Debbie suddenly remembered that she was supposed to meet with a few girlfriends in a couple hours. They were planning to shop at the mall and then see a movie. I'd love to take her place but it wouldn't be a good idea. I didn't know her friends and couldn't hope to carry on a meaningful conversation with them.

"I should probably call at least one of them to say you're - I mean, I'm not going," I said. "But what will I use for an excuse?"

Debbie looked a little upset at first. Then she got a wicked grin that developed into some disturbing laughter. I eventually got her to settle down and tell me what was going on in her handsome little head.

"I've got a great excuse for you. In fact, I'd almost considered not going myself because of it."

"What is it?"

"My period is due today."

"Great timing," I groaned.

I'd be doing a lot more groaning before the day was over. I had noticed that I wasn't feeling well but I thought it was nerves. My breasts were very tender and I was starting to get cramps. It was not a nice experience. Luckily, Debbie's purse was full of things I'd need to get through it.

After Debbie's feminine hygiene lecture, I called her girlfriend, Michelle. My authentic moans and groans on the phone were enough to convince Michelle that I had a good excuse not to go. I ended the conversation with an apology and hung up. Then I popped a couple of pain pills.

"That went well," I frowned. "So how long before this pain medication kicks in?"

Debbie hadn't heard me. She just kept staring at me with a bemused look on her face. It started bugging me so I broke the awkward silence.

"What?! What is it? Is my tag out?"

That got a laugh out of her.

"No, it's just nice to have missed out on menstruation for once. It's fascinating to see how much it affects my body. I have some pretty severe symptoms."

"Yeah, I know," I grumbled. "At least something good has come out of this for you."

"Maybe. But I still want to switch back tonight," she maintained.

For the next couple hours, Debbie was almost moodier than I was. I tried to get her interested in sampling the advantages of being a man, but whenever she began to relax, she would find some way to sabotage herself. She liked missing out on her period but then realized she had a penis she didn't want. She liked being stronger but hated seeing hair on her arms. She liked being taller but missed her little stepping stool. It was bad enough for me to have cramps and bleed, but I had to listen to her complain too.

"Shit!" Debbie hissed.

"What is it this time?"

"I just remembered why I wanted to go shopping so badly. I really needed to get some new pants," she replied.

"Needed or wanted?"

She glared at me and inspired a lot worse comments that I kept to myself. PMS really was a bitch. But somehow I overcame my foul mood for a brief moment and got a great idea. I was determined to enjoy my womanhood.

"Hey! I've got an idea."

Debbie just rolled her eyes.

"We can still go shopping. I can try on clothes and you'll be able to easily see how they look on you. I'd love that."

I could see the wheels turning as she thought about it. She finally agreed and within another 45 minutes, we were on our way. It took 45 minutes because she insisted on putting some makeup on my face and fixing my hair. I could've done it myself but I figured it would be good therapy for her.

We chose a different mall to make sure we didn't run into her friends. That would be awkward to say the least. I drove us in her car and soon we were in the women's clothing section of Debbie's favorite department store. I was in heaven. My pain medication was working - I barely felt the cramps - and I could freely try on women's clothes.

Talking Debbie into letting me try on dresses was impossible. No matter how much I pleaded, she just wanted to get two or three pairs of dress slacks for work and then leave. I thought she was acting too much like a man at this point but I held my tongue. Hopefully, she would relent after getting the pants.

We walked around looking at several styles. I suggested some beige and tan colored slacks. I thought they'd look nice on her but she didn't appreciate the help. After another 15 minutes or so, Debbie had picked out some navy blue and black pants for me to try. I suspected she chose dark colors because she was self-conscious about her weight. That would explain why she didn't like my choices.

Debbie handed me the clothes and went to sit down while I started walking to the dressing room. I'm sure the clerk could hear me sigh with pleasure as I went inside but I didn't care. I tried on the black slacks first. They seemed to fit very well so I hurried out to model them.

I walked out to the waiting area and immediately noticed a funny look on my old face. Ignoring the look, I walked back and forth and spun around once.

"Well? What do you think?" I said.

"Nice. I'll take it. Now try the navy pair."

That was a strange response, I thought. What was wrong now? Debbie seemed even more uptight.

The navy blue slacks were a little tighter fit than the black pair but still looked nice in the dressing room mirror. I again hurried out and saw Debbie still sporting the same look. She got worse as I walked towards her and repeated my modeling performance.

"I'll take those too. Let's go."

Then she suddenly crossed her legs and immediately got a pained look on her face. I guessed what the problem was and made sure to suppress a smile.

"Um, you have to be careful how you cross your legs," I whispered.

She waved a hand to hurry me into the dressing room and looked away. I went inside to change and reluctantly came back out. I would always cherish trying on those pants no matter how little time I spent doing it. I paid for the pants with some cash from Debbie's purse and soon we were on our way home. As I was driving, I heard some sniffing sounds and saw that Debbie was crying. I didn't think crossing her legs would make her cry but something was upsetting her.

"I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the shopping," I said softly. "Are you Okay?"

"No."

"What's wrong? You didn't hurt yourself too much crossing your legs, did you?"

"Not really," she sulked.

"Then what is it? Were you embarrassed? Please tell me."

"I... I got an erection!" she finally blurted out. Then she started crying again.

That did it. Debbie was not handling her manhood well, and she was getting worse. I drove to the nearest drug store and picked up a sleep aid, one I knew worked well on my body. It was time to switch back.

1. Calm before the Storm

We got back to my apartment. Debbie had stopped crying and stopped talking. She wasn't catatonic or anything. She'd grunt when I'd ask a question and she followed me inside, but that was it. She was numb. I unwrapped the sleeping pills and gave them to her.

"Here, take three of these," I ordered. "They'll make you sleep and we can try to switch back. I can't promise we'll be back in our own bodies in the morning but I can't stand to see you like this."

She took the pills with some water and just stood there. She didn't seem to be thinking very well. I led her back to my bed and got her to lie down. Between the stress and the pills, she was asleep in less than 30 minutes.

It was early evening by now. My pain medication was wearing off and cramps were starting to bother me. I took some more medication and decided I should wait for it to take effect before I tried another body swap.

While I waited, there were a couple more things I wanted to try. An orgasm was out of the question. It wouldn't feel right with Debbie being so upset. But I had to try something. First I sat at my dining room table, crossing and uncrossing my legs several times. It was such a wonderful feeling. Then I couldn't help myself. My hand slipped inside my bra and very gently tweaked a nipple, causing me to moan with pleasure. After only about 10 minutes of alternately rubbing and tweaking both nipples, it wasn't long before I felt a little moisture in my crotch. That reminded me of Debbie's feminine hygiene lecture and quickly dampened my spirit.

My imagination is extremely active and vivid. It produced all sorts of horrible images of what I'd find in my panties after experiencing what I learned was a heavy flow day of menstruation. I reluctantly trudged off to the bathroom to put on a fresh maxi pad, but I have to say it wasn't that bad. I don't understand why I had been so squeamish about it. It's just a bit of blood. Men get cuts all the time and don't think twice about it. How silly of me.

I spent the next hour or so trying different hairstyles. That was fun. My face was fairly round but putting my hair up loosely on my head seemed to make my face look more oval. I hoped to suggest it to Debbie after the body swap if she was still speaking to me.

Now it was time for the big swap. The pain medication was performing its magic and I felt tired, even though it was only about 9 o'clock. It had been an emotionally draining day and I'm sure battling a period didn't help. I laid down beside my old body and began my preparation.

The vibrations came easily and before long I was floating over the bed. My astral form looked like Debbie as expected. Then the silver cords caught my eye. The silver cord is some sort of umbilical cord that connects the astral body to its physical body. I noticed our two cords were crossed. They correctly connected the original bodies. That was interesting. It provided a way to tell if two people had swapped.

I dropped down into my old body and followed my previous procedure. Before long, and with a lot of difficulty, I slowly woke up in my old body. I was only awake briefly though. The sleeping pills that Debbie took were too strong. I hoped everything would work as I lost consciousness.

I didn't wake up until around noon the next day. I was extremely groggy but I did notice right away that Debbie was gone. The swap worked. Good for her. I dragged myself out of bed and looked for her car. It was gone too. There was no note or message on my answering machine. It would be awhile before I'd hear from her again. I just shook my head. What a shame. Then I sunk down on the couch and had a good cry.

The rest of September passed pretty much without incident. I had given up on astral projection for awhile. Debbie's attitude really upset me. Rhona consoled me but I decided to wait until she was able to have out-of-body experiences before I'd start again. Then we could share the experience and perhaps even swap bodies. Anyway, I needed the time to get over Debbie.

The only thing that happened over the next couple weeks was a flurry of strange dreams with a recurring theme. In my dreams, men and women all around the world kept swapping bodies and then tried to deal with it. It only happened to couples of the opposite sex who slept together. The dreams were very satisfying and good therapy for me.

By early October, I started noticing body swapping stories in tabloid headlines at the grocery store. I often scan the headlines while waiting in the checkout line. Some of them are humorous. If I had been more observant, I would've realized there was a strong correspondence between my recent dreams and those headlines. I should've bought a tabloid and read the stories. If I had, I might have averted the impending gender war. It's too bad tabloids have such a bad reputation. I'm sure I would've died from embarrassment if I had bought one. I guess those rags actually do contain some truth. But who reads them?

1. Gender War

By the time I realized my dreams were coming true, I think it would've been too late to stop the swapping. There seemed to be a lot of momentum building. Too many people had already switched. Too many lives were already disrupted.

I wonder now whether I had a direct hand in it or if I just somehow planted a seed. I didn't know how I could swap two other people but I didn't know exactly how I swapped with Debbie either. Regardless of a direct or indirect involvement, I still feel guilty. I convicted myself on the strong circumstantial evidence.

For all the guilt I felt, a sense of satisfaction was even stronger. Debbie and several other previous encounters made me think that most people needed mandatory body swapping. I'm sure that's part of the reason why it was happening. It was a form of cosmic justice, asserting itself over a world of intolerant human beings. Until attitudes improved, I secretly hoped the swapping would continue.

As the weeks scrolled by, I watched in fascination as more evidence of global body switches accumulated. It looked as though most of the switching was done by couples of the opposite sex who slept together or very near each other. There were also a substantial number of claims by teenage siblings of the opposite sex. The news was just starting to spread from tabloids to more mainstream sources. I brought up the subject of recent tabloid headlines with Rhona and that started an interesting conversation.

"I've been scanning the tabloids over here. I'm starting to see the same pattern," she said. "Something else caught my eye too. Television personalities seem to be going missing. Some claim to be chronically sick and others disappear completely. The tabloids claim a new epidemic is responsible."

Yeah, I thought. It was an epidemic of body swapping.

"I've also noticed a new trend," I mentioned. "I started skimming some free local newspapers and I'm seeing strange new personal ads. Translated from personal ad shorthand, they go something like 'tall white blonde man seeks petite white blonde woman for swapping'. At first I thought it might be wife swapping but now I'm not sure. I'm really afraid I've started something."

I told Rhona about my dreams and how they matched the pattern of swapping. Rhona agreed it was a strange coincidence but she reminded me that even if I was somehow causing the swaps, I wasn't doing it consciously. Her casual dismissal eased my mind a little. I could handle a little guilt but I wouldn't like to lose my best friend over it.

We continued our discussion and I remembered another important detail. Rhona wondered why people didn't get swapped back and forth several times if they continued to sleep together. So far, Debbie and I were the only two people who had swapped back to our original bodies. I recalled that it was easy to tell whether two people had been swapped by looking at their silver cords. The cords cross in swapped bodies. Whoever or whatever was doing the swapping must want it to be permanent, or at least want it to last for a long time. It would take a lot longer than one day for some people to adjust to being the opposite sex and apparently, adjustment is important.

In the months ahead, body switches had obviously affected all parts of the country. Vacation and sick leave was used and abused in all sectors of the economy, as swap victims stayed home to adjust to their new bodies. No business was spared. There must have been millions of swaps. It staggered even my imagination. I started doubting whether I could be directly responsible. How could I possibly switch millions of people in only a few months?

Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, heads of state started swapping. When the president and first lady switched, everyone - at least in America - finally acknowledged it. With brain wave scans and private briefings, there was too much evidence to deny that our president was now a woman.

The president, in his wife's body, gave an impassioned speech, imploring everyone to remain calm. I was impressed and surprised that the president was handling the switch so well. Of course I didn't know how long she'd actually had to get used to it. She never told us how long ago she'd switched.

It's too bad the speech didn't help. Once the swapping became public, people panicked. The dynamics between the sexes changed dramatically. Men and women had sex much less frequently and sexual tension skyrocketed. They were afraid of switching so they wouldn't go near each other. It didn't matter that, so far, only sleeping couples actually switched. Pornography sales were at an all-time high but there's no substitute for a warm body.

Violence was another problem. Rape and assault increased. It was disturbing to see how many "new" women were beating their "new" boyfriends. There were many cases of forced switches too. Men and women were being handcuffed to their beds and drugged. Someone of the opposite gender would sleep nearby and wait for the inevitable body swap.

Gender relations got worse before they got better. There were still too many anxious people who would do anything to avoid being switched. They became celibate and lashed out at the world. Men blamed women. Women blamed men. Things got ugly. I think the worst thing to happen was the anger towards those who accepted their new gender. They were called homosexuals and ridiculed beyond belief by people who had still evaded the big switch.

I cried a lot during that time. Half the problem with being transgendered is the fear of being ostracized for it, and hateful, intolerant individuals were adding to my fear. What's worse, millions of swapped individuals now felt the same thing I did.

On the surface, the heightened sexual tension, violence and fear seemed to be the makings of a gender war. That's what the news media was calling it. It sounded good and it was a natural extension of the phrase, "battle between the sexes". But actually, it was a war within each of us. It was a war against intolerance, and unless the majority of people switched, there didn't seem to be much hope in ending it.

Nine months had gone by since Debbie and I had switched but things hadn't improved. They hadn't gotten worse but they were definitely no better. It was hard to estimate how many people had switched. Many of them were still hiding. The best numbers we had to go on were the increase in number of absent workers. Absentee rates had jumped 35% from last year's numbers. But that didn't work well as an indicator for very long. As victims started accepting their new gender, they returned to work. They decided to rejoin the human race.

I have to admit that a part of me would've liked to see everyone changed overnight. I wanted the world to suffer with being transgendered the same way I had. I wanted to yell, "How do you like it?!" I guess I wanted a little vengeance for the way I had been treated. But in retrospect, I'm mostly glad that the swapping occurred so gradually. If everyone had swapped together I could see how civilization could've been brought to a grinding halt. Everyone would've had to adjust at the same time. Too many people would've hidden away, disrupting important services that we take advantage of and then scream when they're not working well. As it was, there were always people around to support the swappers in their hour - or day or week or even month - of need. Life went on.

1. Dawn of a New Era

It had been nearly two years before I saw signs of a gender recovery. Well over half of the world's adult population must have been switched by this time. New cases became much more infrequent. There were a lot fewer people to switch and many of those that did switch didn't report it now.

It was nice to see attitudes change. Switching gender became mainstream - normal even. It wasn't accepted by any means but it was tolerated. Couples couldn't stay apart. Men and women needed each other. Each side realized the power the other side had over them. Love conquers all, even body swapping.

Rhona and I didn't have a significant other. We were more interested in developing and maintaining our friendship from afar so our lives remained stable. Most teenagers also remained in their original bodies, along with gays, lesbians and some lonely adults. I was still transgendered but now I had a lot more people who could relate to me. It worked out well for my swapped friends too. I helped them deal with their new lives.

Rhona continued trying to have out-of-body experiences and I continued trying to help her. She eventually discovered the joys of astral projection and we were able to swap bodies several times. Rhona was brave but I could tell she didn't like being a man. We never switched for longer than a weekend.

We never told anyone that we could swap at will. We didn't want to be swarmed with requests and demands to try to swap others. It was better that way. I seemed to be able to swap with anyone but I still wasn't sure how to swap two other people. To this day, the global swapping is still a mystery to me.

There was only one more loose end: Debbie. I'm sure she suspected I had something to do with the gender war. We were the first to swap after all. I knew the day would come when she'd confront me about it. I'd wait patiently until then and watch the world slowly heal.

Debbie called me several months later. It took me awhile to recognize her voice. Then I had to wonder if it was someone she'd swapped with. She quickly corrected that notion. She was one of the lonely ones who didn't switch, and once again she was very upset. After things had settled down a little, she'd started thinking.

"Did you have something to do with all of these body swaps? You did, didn't you!" Debbie accused.

"I truly don't know, Debbie. I admit there's a strange coincidence. The global swapping started soon after our brief swap."

"Yeah. Maybe it's a little too much of a coincidence. How could you?!"

It was another case of guilty until proven innocent, I thought.

"Look Debbie, I haven't done anything I'm aware of. Remember that I didn't know exactly how we swapped."

"Well... yeah."

"And do you think I'd start a gender war on purpose? You know me better than that."

That satisfied her. I didn't tell her about my dreams coming true. I still thought I could be indirectly responsible but I didn't need anyone else thinking the same thing.

"I wonder if some outside force is somehow responsible," I continued.

"You mean like God?"

"I don't know. Our swap didn't go very well. Perhaps the universe decided we needed to be swapped. You have to admit that men and women understand each other better now."

That got Debbie thinking. She was still upset about our swap and very upset about the gender war but she was no longer angry at me. Perhaps she also felt responsible in some way. I know I implied it with my comment about our swap. She's the one who didn't take it very well. I loved it.

We parted company on neutral terms this time. I told her I'd like to talk to her again and she promised she'd call. All of her other friends had swapped and were a bit preoccupied so she was a little lonely.

It was another three weeks before I heard from Debbie again. The world still hadn't improved much but there were no signs of imminent collapse either. I was disappointed that it took her so long to call but change is difficult for most people.

"Hi Terry."

"Hiya Debbie. How are you?"

"I was wondering...."

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering if we could swap again sometime," she said softly. "Just for a couple days. Would that be Okay?"

The End