Synopsis:

While looking for souvenirs from the fallen NASA space platform Skylab, which had crashed into the hot desert of Western Australia, Gary found something else that had fallen from space. Something non-terrestrial which would change his life forever. A legacy from an ancient race would see his life transformed beyond any expectations.

Story:

The Teg Legacy
By Prudence Walker

Gary was two hours away from his mother ship, as he liked to call it when disaster struck. As he surveyed the damage the Mallee root had inflicted on his scouting vessel, he cursed volubly into the unrelenting heat that pervaded this desolate arid region. No, Gary wasn’t some intrepid spacefarer lost among the stars. He only wished he was. No, Gary was stuck out in the sparsely populated region of Western Australia’s desert, north-east of Laverton, looking at his small Enduro mini bike with its punctured front tire.

A moment’s explanation here, a Mallee root is the remnants of a small local eucalyptus tree that grows widely in Australia. The tree rots away or is eaten by termites while the root section remains intact and hidden under the red ochre sand. Any unwary tire passing in the near vicinity of a root usually invites unprovoked attacks, as the shape of the root and the soft terrain cause it to flip out sharp points that will stab into the side wall of a tire and cause a puncture.

Gary’s mother ship was none other than a weathered, but reliable Holden station wagon that served as kitchen, bedroom and a garage for the mini bike.

An avid science fiction fan, Gary was on a search for parts of the US Skylab space station that ended its life in the desert of Western Australia. So armed with the latest model metal detector, he’d set up a base and was bush bashing, using the mini bike to extend his rather random search pattern. So far, he’d found several old horseshoes and one gold nugget, that while fully acceptable, wasn’t what he was truly after. The scattered remains of the Skylab were proving to be surprisingly elusive. He knew some of the larger sections that had made it to Earth had been recovered already, but all he wanted was a memento that wouldn’t attract US government interest in what he had recovered. If he was lucky to find several pieces, he knew several people who would pay a lot of money for them, more even than for any gold he might find.

As the days of searching passed with little result, his path had wandered away from where he had planned to search. Luckily, he knew exactly where he was, or rather, his handheld Garmen GPS did and he knew which direction he had to go to get back to base camp. The only problem, he was about 30 km away from camp, with a whole lot of hot burning ground to cover, dragging or carrying his mini bike and the detector. He made a choice, given the differences in price of replacing one or the other, and stashed the mini bike in a clump of salt bush. While he was relatively fresh, he decided to use the detector until the batteries died or he did.

That brought forth a sobering thought. If he died, then there would be no one left to look after his paralyzed sister, who was currently at a home for the disabled. One of his goals was to find souvenirs that could be used to support both himself and his sister so they could stay together. Dragging his thoughts away from his personal family tragedy, he once again thought about getting out of his current situation.

Checking the GPS and then taking a bearing from the sun, he set off. Taking a direct route, instead of the wandering along the one taken with the bike, would save time, plus he wouldn’t fall into the trap of following old tire marks in the desert, not that there were a lot of those in the first place.

After an hour swinging the detector, he’d had enough, and instead slung it over his shoulder after taking a drink from his canteen. The trouble with taking the direct route was that you couldn’t take the changing terrain into consideration. The saltbush in the area stood around fifteen feet high and was dense enough to prevent Gary seeing the breakaways until it was too late. (A breakaway is where the land changes level, and usually means a series of cliffs that could go for kilometers.)

It was then, while he was scouting along the base of the breakaways seeking a viable route to the top, that he spotted something half buried in the scree. It was silvery in appearance and rounded like a nacelle. Gary’s heart beat faster. Was this what he had been searching for? He scrambled closer, unmindful of the scrapes and bruises his ankles sustained from the sharp boulders he was going over.

He reached the object and gazed at it reverently, trying to ascertain its origin. It was about the size of one of those inflatable beach balls. Gary reached out and touched it, marveling at its silky cool surface that showed no blemish at all. He grasped it in both hands and pulled at it, expecting a heavier weight from the buried portion. Unexpectedly, it lifted with ease, and the muscle he’d applied made him tumble backwards as the object slipped free and fell from his hands.

Gary cursed as he heard it tumble with a metallic clang as he bashed his head on the rocks. He rolled over and got to his knees, wiping some blood from a gash on his cheek. The object lay a few meters down the slope, and its nature became clearer. It was some kind of helmet, but a hugely oversized one. Gary could see the inner liner of it, but it appeared pristine, something it shouldn’t be, considering where it had lain in the dirt.

Gary approached it more cautiously this time, considering what kind of person it might fit, noticing that there was some kind of visor attached. As he lifted it up for a closer look, a light began to blink. Curiosity drove him to carefully place it on his head as he tried to see what else was visible.

Although he was holding the helmet, it seemed to jump out of his grasp and he felt it shrink to fit his head. Then something weird happened that sent shivers down his spine. The helmet disappeared into thin air. He felt his head with his hands, as if searching, but it was gone completely and all he could feel was his sweaty head.

'What just happened?’ He thought. ‘It couldn’t be a hallucination brought on by the heat, I’ve still got water.’ He shook his canteen in reassurance and then decided to take a small drink.

“Damn it, where did the bloody helmet go?” Gary shouted out in frustration.

A distorted series of weird noises, coming from a sort of disembodied voice close to Gary’s ears began with, “Zzttrrfh … gyjuhjj … tyiokl,” ending with an understandable “testing?”

“Who’s that?” asked Gary, spinning around on the spot.

“Do you understand me?” the voice spoke again, seeming to come from inside Gary’s head.

“Yes, yes, I understand, but where are you?” Gary voiced his frustrated at seeing nobody in sight.

“I am adaptation unit 4000 property of the Przotegzzyx…” the rest of the word sounded like a buzz to Gary. “I am the helmet you put on. Using your biometric field, I topped up my charge up and went from standby mode to active mode,” the voice continued, answering the questions Gary had asked.

You’re a sentient helmet belonging to …” Here Gary struggled to remember the name. “The Teg?” he managed.

“Przotegzzyx …” the voice corrected. Then, sensing Gary’s problem with the name, relented, “Teg will suffice,” it agreed. “And yes, from your point of view, I am sentient, although the Przo ... er … Teg, would disagree.”

Here, Gary was sure he could hear some emotion in the mostly monotone voice. “How come I can’t see you or feel you, if you’re still on my head?”

“Well, I’m now point 356 degrees to the left of your plane of existence,” the voice answered as if that was sufficient explanation.

“Point 356 degrees?” Gary asked to himself in wonder. “What kind of weird measurement is that? Why not a whole degree?” He laughed, thinking what a surreal conversation he was having.

“Well the Teg were paranoid about having their technology move too far away from their own plane, so they decided point 356 was just far enough away to remain invisible, while still being able to access the unit’s abilities.”

“What was that weird garble I first heard? And why does it sound like you’re in my head?”

“My translation centers had to be recalibrated for your language, and at first, I used sonic vibration to convey my words. I am now stimulating your auditory nerve directly so no one else can hear me speak to you.”

“Not that there’s anyone to hear you out here,” Gary pointed out.

“True, but until my power levels rose, I had no means of determining that, so I took precautions.”

”Can I call you anything other than adaptation unit 4000?” Gary queried.

“Call me Ada,” the helmet replied after a delay.

Gary chuckled to himself, thinking the voice sounded nothing like an Ada. This prompted Ada to ask what that noise was.

“It’s just a laugh …humour?” Gary added to further explain. He told Ada that her name was female, and the discrepancy in the voice and the name was what had made him chuckle.

“Ah! Accessing now … hmmm. How is this?” Ada’s voice changed, rising to a dulcet contralto.

“Nice,” Gary commented, thinking it seemed familiar. “What were you accessing?”

“What you call the Internet. A fascinating system, but very open in terms of privacy,” Ada answered.

“You can get into the Internet out here? Sheesh, I can hardly get a radio station unless it’s after sunset,” Gary complained, feeling hard done by.

“Oh, I can get all the radio, and television bands as well,” Ada said smugly, further disgusting Gary.

He shook his head, trying to think of his next question rather than discussing what seemed like trivialities.

“Okay, what I want to know, is how you got here, and where is the Teg that was wearing you, plus, what is it that you do?” He finally got out.

“The Teg was killed when his craft disintegrated against these bluffs, after being attacked by a dinosaur some meaningless time ago.”

“Hahaha,” roared Gary, nearly falling over on the uneven ground. “The Teg was disin-Teg-rated,” he mirthfully gasped out.

“You are a funny species,” Ada commented. “I think I’m going to like being with you,” she added with a touch of humour in her voice. “What I did was help the Teg fit into whatever environment they may find themselves, adapting their form to suit the local indigenous species.”

A sudden thought quickly sobered Gary. “Are there any Teg still on Earth or likely to come to Earth?”

“No, that’s unlikely. The reason a few of the Teg were exploring the universe for possible habitable planets was that their sun was about to go nova. The Teg were never a space faring race, preferring to stay within their own system of planets.”

There Ada paused to access the Internet, looking for information from observatories and the current star information. From what I can determine, and the period of time that has passed, the home system is no more. Seeing that the Teg I was with was the only one visiting this system, and it died here, it’s unlikely any surviving Teg would venture this far.”

Gary nodded, feeling much relieved. Wiping his brow free from sweat gathered there, he noted the blood on his hand from the gash he’d sustained from his tumble. Reality intruded, reminding him of his current situation. He muttered under his breath about, ‘Teg artifact or not, I still need to get back, and it is going to be harder than ever, now I’ve hurt myself.’

“I can help,” Ada broke in.

“Huh? Oh, you can?” Gary asked, forgetting that Ada could overhear him.

Gary looked at his blood stained hand and noticed one nail was torn.

“Can you fix this nail?”

“Watch,” Ada prompted.

Gary held his hand out palm down, so he could watch whatever Ada was going to do. In a second not one, but all of his nails grew out, about 10 mm in length, repairing the broken one as well. Then the ends reshaped themselves into curved points and the nails changed colour, becoming a soft red.

“Hey!” Why did you give me girl’s nails?” Gary complained as he wriggled his fingers experimentally as if to check that the nails were really attached to his hand.

“I took a template from the person I borrowed this voice from,” explained Ada. “Are they not attractive?”

“Sure, on a woman, but hardly practical on a man,” Gary sighed. Obviously Ada needed to learn more about the difference between men and woman, and what was socially acceptable.

“Okay, I can fix that,” Ada promised.

Gary thought Ada meant she would remove the nails, but what happened next proved him wrong. Instantly his body changed to match the nails, becoming female, along with a suitable change in clothing.

“Ada!!” Gary shrieked, his new voice sounding ever so shrill in “his/her” ears. “What did you do? I’m a girl! Turn me back,” Gary cried, feeling very odd indeed.

“No.”

“Huh? What do you mean … no?” Gary’s first impulse to feel this strange body and check out his missing mate seemed oddly restricted to plucking at her blouse and making sure her skirt was straight and that she still had her handbag. The sight of her feet encased in stockings and heels didn’t even send the alarm bells ringing like it should have done. The fleeting thought that they matched the rest of her apparel crossed her mind, which suddenly sent her further into panic mode, as did the change in the personal pronouns she seemed to be using.

“What have you done to my mind? It’s full of girly stuff,” she gasped.

“I’ve given you the best chance of survival I can,” Ada replied, sounding rather put out.

“How?” retorted Gary instinctively cringing at the feminine voice coming from her lips.

“The body you have is physically perfect and uninjured, plus, I’ve tweaked it a bit. Now, you need to be a kilometer south of here when the helicopter arrives.”

What helicopter? You’re not making sense.” Gary said exasperatedly.

“The body you wear is that of missing actress/model, Bethany Chambers. She was on location doing a suntan campaign for Coppertone when she did a runner. There is a search party out now looking for her. I contacted the film crew via the cell phone network, and gave them your location as being a kilometer south of here. They should be here in about 15 minutes.”

“So how does that help me? I end up back in Laverton with no car, no motorbike and no money. Oh, and how do they know where to pick me up. In fact, why not pick me up here? Also, why does the name Bethany Chambers strike a familiar chord with me? Am I going potty?” Gary tried laughing at her weak joke, but the girlish giggle that came out of her mouth made her clamp her lips tight. Frustrated, she stamped her feet petulantly, as she started on her list of questions, not realizing how feminine she was acting.

“If you move now, I’ll explain on the way,” Ada prompted.

“How will I manage in these heels? They are not exactly appropriate footwear for the bush you know.”

“Walk, don’t talk,” Ada said cryptically.

Gary, or rather, Bethany, started to move down the slope, her slender body nimbly moving between the rocks with a grace that Gary could never have achieved. Spotting the metal detector, she went to pick it up.

“Leave that,” ordered Ada.

“Not on your Nelly I will. I paid 2000 dollars for this and I’m not leaving it here.”

“Okay, but I could out perform it by some magnitude,” Ada offered.

As soon as Gary/Bethany grasped the detector, it vanished. “What happened?” was Gary’s familiar cry.

“I placed it into p space where I am. I can retrieve it anytime and anywhere, as all points in p space are co-existent. The reason we need to be far away from this spot, is because the Teg that crashed here was after the 30 metric tones of metal ore you know as gold. From historical documents, I surmise it is what was called Lassiter’s reef.”

“Lassiter’s reef is here?”

“Yes, do I assume rightly that you wouldn’t want undue attention brought here?” Ada continued.

“TOO BLOODY RIGHT, MATE!” Bethany exulted, scrambling down in a rush, still managing to hold her bag on her shoulder as if it was glued there. In her rush, she didn’t question the curious fact that she had begun to identify herself as Bethany. If Ada was correct, then his financial troubles would be over, and he could get his sister every thing she needed.

“To answer your other questions, I located our position using your Garmen device.”

“But my GPS is turned off,” queried Bethany, as she started to run towards the spot Ada was directing her to.

“Yes, but I just accessed the non volatile memory for the way points you’d taken.”

“I suppose you can do a better job than my GPS as well?” Bethany asked sarcastically.

“Of course,” Ada replied, missing the point of the sarcasm entirely. “As to the benefits of masquerading as Bethany, I reported that you had been kidnapped by yourself. That is, by Gary Carstairs. And then you managed to escape while pretending a need to go to the bathroom.”

“What!” Bethany screeched, pausing in her run. “How is making me a criminal going to help reunite me with my belongings?”

“If you continue, I’ll explain. I reasoned that they could find your car from the GPS you stole from Gary before you escaped, and that would lead the authorities to the bike. They would then return them to Laverton for examination. Meanwhile, you can rest in ease, courtesy of the company doing the ad campaign. Then you can report that it was all a stunt to get more publicity. Later, Gary can call in and retrieve his belongings,” Ada finished with a satisfied tone.

“That could go wrong in so many ways,” grumbled Bethany. “What happens when the real Bethany turns up?”

“She accessed her Visa card some hours ago in Kalgoorlie, and I intercepted a cell phone call she made ten minutes ago. Apparently she’s headed back to Perth because she couldn’t stand the bush flies out here. But I made some slight changes in the records so nobody else will become suspicious.”

“Okay fine, but tell me why the flies aren’t bothering me then,” Bethany pointed out.

“Well, and this is coupled with the reason you can run in heels and feel familiar referring to yourself as Bethany and comfortable as a female, I enhanced your body. Flies are attracted to salt, sweat and sugars excreted by the body. Yours doesn’t excrete any of those, and to a fly or other biting insect, you’re just as enticing as that piece of granite you’re standing on. I’ve also downloaded some wetware to your brain that was extrapolated from the traits of the original Bethany.”

“What? You make it sound like you can just download files to my brain like a computer. Tell me that’s not possible?” Bethany pleaded, feeling like a talking, walking Barbie doll with someone pulling her strings.

“Your brain is an organic computer, and I have specialized processes that enable me to borrow traits from a subject and use them to enhance the Teg so they can act exactly the same.”

“Well I don’t want you doing that again without my permission,” Bethany insisted, trying to get some control over her life back.

The whaap, whaap, whaap of chopper blades as a bright red helicopter hove into view, cut off Ada’s response.

“Don’t worry. I’ll cue you with the right names and information if they ask awkward questions,” Ada promised as the chopper blew up dust everywhere while it came down for a landing.

Bethany clutched her handbag and held her skirt down as the rotor blast threatened to blow her skirt up around her waist. For the first time since her change, she was grateful for Ada’s foresight in giving her the ability to cope with a skirt and handbag, so she didn’t end up embarrassing herself by having her panties exposed to all the world. When the choppers motor shut down, near silence returned, bar the whooshing of the rotor as it slowly windmilled to a stop.

Bethany waited, allowing those inside to make the first move. A dark haired guy in jeans and denim shirt scrambled out and ran over to Bethany. He grabbed her in a hug. “Bethany, I’m so glad to find you’re alright,” he rejoiced, lifting her off her feet and swinging her around.

Bethany subvocalised, “Who is this guy?”

“This is Robert Farnshaw, your agent. Don’t worry, he doesn’t swing that way. There’s a rumor that he already has a boyfriend,” Ada communicated directly to Bethany’s inner ear ensuring that nothing audible could be heard by anyone else.

“Come on, girl, let’s get out of this heat and dust before you lose that beauty and dry to a crisp,” Robert admonished, dragging her towards the chopper. Robert’s comment about her beauty made her realise that she hadn’t had time to check out herself out in a mirror yet. Being beautiful wasn’t something she had ever expected to have to deal with, although knowing that the original was a model come actress, it shouldn’t have been surprising.

Bethany, who was still somewhat distracted about how she would deal with male attentions, allowed Robert to buckle her into a seat in the back and tried not to panic as the chopper lifted off. The flight back was both scary and exciting, as she, as Gary, had never flown before. She was still uncertain what would happen when they got back to Laverton.

Landing at the small country airport north-east of town, Bethany wondered where the film crew was staying. The town wasn’t exactly booming, having just one general store, a petrol station/garage, a pub and a few other small businesses. An air-conditioned Mercedes awaited them and the change in temperature made her shiver as she was assisted inside.

The drive back to town took all of 5 minutes, while she was fussed over and generally treated like a china doll. The car drove directly to the towns only camping ground, which at this time of the year was almost deserted. At least it had been when Gary had passed though a few weeks earlier. Now, it had three large mobile home units parked there, with another tractor/trailer unit emblazoned with the Coppertone logo on its side.

Robert escorted her back to “Her” mobile home and left her to clean up and take a nap, saying there’d be a meeting later with the director.

Bethany stepped up into the air-conditioned interior of the home, marveling at the luxury contained within it. Feeling like an intruder, she scoped out all the cupboards and closets, trying to familiarize herself as to where everything was. Seeing a shower cubicle, she decided to take advantage of it. Even though her new body was only hours old, and clean as regards actual dirt, in reality, Gary hadn’t had a shower or a bath in weeks. Having to get your water out of tanks supplied by windmills, which pump water from the wells dug to supply the sheep and cattle, you learn to conserve water. Although they are dotted randomly around the countryside, the quality is dependent on the terrain and how deep the well is. How much you used, depended on how much salt you can stomach in your drinking water. Some can be just palatable, while others taste like seawater. Needless to say, it makes soap almost impossible to lather, therefore you tend to use it only for cooking or hot drinks like tea or coffee. Actual drinking water that’s palatable is usually best stored in 20 litre containers just for that purpose. Gary had 60 litres left in his car, courtesy of a recent run into Kalgoorlie, which has pure city water pumped uphill over 500 kilometers all the way from Perth, in two giant pipelines.

Bethany went into the bedroom which took up all of the rear section of the mobile home, and there she saw herself in a floor length mirror for the first time. She was shocked to see a reflection that moved as she moved, yet was so different from her normal reflection as Gary. She’d known she was blonde from the stray wisps of hair that she seemed to be constantly brushing out of her eyes, but that told only half the story.

Unlike the fashion for models that are usually seen modeling clothes, she wasn’t boyishly thin. No; she filled out her clothes with a very sexy feminine shape. Judging by eye alone, Bethany was about 5foot 8 inches tall, with a figure Gary would have drooled over. Cupping her breasts and lifting them, she judged she was about a C cup or maybe even a D. A tiny waist which showed her exposed tanned tummy made her hips seem to jut out all the more in comparison.

“38C, 26, 38.” Ada accurately informed her, obviously guessing the direction of her thoughts.

“I’m a babe,” Bethany breathed softly in wonderment as she ran her hands down her form.

“Are you going to have a shower, or are you going to stand in front of the mirror for the rest of the day?” Ada prompted with an amused tone in her voice.

“Huh? Oh yes,” Bethany said belatedly, dragging herself out of her reverie.

Bethany undressed slowly, trying to watch herself in the mirror as she did so. It was like a fantasy come true, watching a gorgeous strawberry blonde haired goddess strip to her every command.

As much as she hated the thought of being female, she was in love with this body reflected before her. Her skin was flawless, tanned all over without any bikini lines, obviously why she had been selected to do the suntan ad. Looking at her crotch with its neat vertically trimmed section of hair, she was suddenly struck by the oddity that she didn’t feel a sense of loss at her missing manhood. Maybe it was the different feelings coming from her new sex replacing the ones she was used to that prevented her from feeling that there was something missing. It was really mind numbing to get her head around the fact that although everything felt different, it also felt normal. She wondered how much of it was due to the memory download Ada had given her.

Pulling herself together, she went into the shower cubicle and turned on the water. A quick check with some soap told her that it wasn’t local bore water. So she hurried the shower, not wanting to waste the real water, which was limited by the tanks in the mobile home.

Even though her shower was brief, it was long enough to find out that woman’s erogenous zones were widespread and immersed her in a whole new level of sensation. She didn’t orgasm, but she came close, and if what she experienced was any gauge, she determined to go that little bit further when she had more time.

She washed her hair with the shampoo the original had used, and although it made her smell feminine, she realised she had no choice if she wished to pull off the deception. .

Later, after drying herself and wandering into the bedroom with a towel arranged around her chest, she faced her next challenge, choosing something to wear. Ada didn’t have to tell her not to wear the same clothes she’d been wearing. Even though she was a novice at this girl stuff, Bethany knew better than that, even without the guide in her head.

Ada suggested some choices based on images she’d discovered online of the real Bethany. But Bethany wanted to see if she could manage on her own using the wetware in her brain. By not concentrating on specifics and allowing for the weather conditions, she managed to select a sundress that was cool, yet elegant. The part of her that was still very much Gary, cringed at the extremely feminine garment, but in keeping with her deception, she knew it was the thing to wear. Selecting appropriate underwear was less of a chore, as most of her bras were the same style, differing only in colour and material. She decided to go with an underwired one made of satin, with a tiny bow in the center. Panties were chosen for comfort, seeing they wouldn’t be seen under the dress and she choose a pair of high heeled, open toed sandals that would look elegant, but allow air to circulate.

Bethany thought that it hadn’t been too hard until Ada reminded her that she was only half done. “You can’t go out without makeup on, plus you need perfume and jewelry,” she pointed out.

“Can’t you do it for me? Give me a break! Look at all those bottles and tubes of gunk. I’d need to go into a trance all afternoon to let your programming do its stuff. After all, if you can alter my body, surely a little makeup won’t task your abilities,” she wheedled, hoping to get Ada to show off. In truth, she didn’t want to tackle makeup just yet. It was just too girly to be putting it on herself, better it be done for her, so she could make excuses to fool herself that it was all Ada’s fault.

“Okay, but you’ll have to spritz yourself with her perfume and I’ll help select your jewelry,” Ada agreed.

“There, it’s all done, and I’ve made it smudge proof, so you won’t need to redo it any time soon.”

“Wow! Already?” said a surprised Bethany, as her face didn’t feel any different. She checked in the mirror and confirmed it was true.

“Well, I cheated a little,” admitted Ada. “I coloured your skin with the correct pigments to emulate actual makeup, not that you need a lot anyway.”

“It’s a great job,” Bethany agreed, seeing her rosy lips and a hint of eye shadow as the more prominent features.

She picked up a bottle of perfume called Shalimar, which she applied to neck, ears and wrists, on Ada’s instructions. Jewelry provided more of a challenge, which Ada helped with.

“Bethany, are you awake?” a voice outside, called warily.

“Coming,” she called back cheerily, picking up her handbag without a thought. She opened the door, feeling the heat hit her like a wave. Robert was standing at the foot of the steps leading into the mobile home. His surprise at her cheery demeanor was quite evident.

Bethany stepped down, losing her balance slightly. She felt the earrings swing against her neck, something that would always remind her of her new sex. Robert reached out and steadied her until she got her balance back, then released her immediately. Obviously the original Bethany either was less polite at being “supposedly” waked up, or maybe she really was a bitch with a temper.

She followed Robert to the main trailer unit, where he opened a door for her and indicated she should enter. Inside, she found several people sitting in comfortable chairs around a table. One of them was obviously from the Australian police force; the other two were connected to the Coppertone agency, from the logos on their shirts.

‘Here we go,’ she thought worriedly, thinking they knew who she really was.

“Hello, Bethany. Glad to have you back unharmed. We have filled Sergeant Caruthers here in about your abduction by this Gary Carstairs character, but he’d like to go over the details and get those way points you mentioned from your GPS,” one of the Coppertone men explained.

‘That’s Toby Arrnot, the company director of this campaign,’ Ada silently informed her via the aural nerve.

‘To by arr not to by,’ Bethany replied sotto voce, trying not to break into a giggle.

“Miss Chambers, I’m Tom Caruthers from the Kalgoorlie police. Can I call you Bethany? I just want to get my facts straight before we start a search for your abductor.”

Bethany nodded her assent for him to call her by her first name, feeling somewhat better at his friendly tone. Feeling somewhat trapped by the story already circulating about her former identity, she just reiterated the story again while being silently prompted by Ada who kept the “facts” straight.

After the officer left, promising to do his best to find her abductor, the other two men asked her if she could continue with the ad shoot, as it was almost complete. Ada prompted her to agree, even though she was unsure what was entailed and not even sure she could do it. With her agreement, the director asked her if she wanted to dine out with him in Kalgoorlie, seeing the company helicopter was on hand. Bethany agreed, much to the surprise of Ada, who thought she should lay low for a while.

‘Hey, it’s been weeks since I had a decent meal. You don’t think I’m going to turn down the offer of a free steak dinner, do you?’ Bethany retorted in a low voice that neither man could hear. ‘Besides, the original probably flew out from there hours ago,’ she added questioningly.

‘She caught flight 34 from Kalgoorlie to Perth, departing at 2.15pm and arriving at 3.30pm, and yes, I’ve changed those records, too,’ Ada quoted from her endless supply of information. ‘So she is out of your hair, but we should still be careful,’ Ada added.

“Hey, I’m not going on a date or anything. It’s just a welcome back treat, plus, a few tinnies (cans of beer) would hit the spot,” Bethany replied quickly, just in case Ada got the wrong idea.

“Come along, Beth. If we go now, we’ll get the best selection,” the director prompted in a fatherly manner, interrupting her silent dialogue.

“Am I dressed for it, or should I change?” asked Bethany, not realizing she’d said it out loud.

“You look ravishing, my dear, Doesn’t she, Dennis?” he asked his assistant.

“She sure does, Mr. Arrnot,” Dennis confirmed with an American twang in his voice.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll help,” Ada reassured her, reminding her that she needed more dramatic eye makeup for an evening event.

“I’ll just get a wrap for the flight back,” Bethany said as Toby escorted her outside.

“Of course, I’ll wait outside and call the driver to come to your door,” agreed the director, walking with her.

Bethany grabbed a wrap and tied it around her waist as suggested by Ada, who also changed her eye shadow to a more dramatic look suitable for an evening on the town.

Ada told her wait for a minute or two to explain the time taken to redo her makeup before allowing her to exit the mobile home. Toby was standing by the open door of the Mercedes waiting for her. She got in, managing to do it elegantly with full skirts, prompted by the all knowing Ada, who told her to get her ass on the seat first and swing her legs in. (Just not in those exact words.)

Once in the air again, she felt butterflies in her stomach, but whether it was from the flight itself, or the company she was in, she tried not to speculate. She did love seeing the ground flash past, and often saw places she’d searched over as Gary. The time flew, literally, and once they’d landed, another car was waiting, having been arranged while en route.

Kalgoorlie was like a city, compared with Laverton, even though it only boasted one set of traffic lights. The hustle and bustle seemed overwhelming to one who’d been living alone for weeks on end.

Toby had the driver take them to the Exchange Hotel, which seemed rather appropriate, given the circumstances.

Bethany did get her steak, but not the one she wanted. While Toby ordered a 450 gram T bone steak with fries and salad, Bethany ended up with a petite fillet steak, and salad with no fries, under Ada’s firm insistence that the real Bethany wouldn’t order something that huge or that fattening. She also dipped out on the beer she wanted for the same reason. Settling for a Shandy was the best she could do, and when Toby looked askance at her order, she said she needed something other than wine to wash the dust down. This seemed to satisfy Toby as he could certainly attest to the benefits of dust settling beer. Bethany did steal a few fries from Toby’s plate, knowing this was acceptable under the rules. Toby didn’t seem to mind and even gave her a piece of his steak after she mentioned it looked tasty.

It was after 8pm by the time they finished. Toby looked at his watch and sighed. “We may have to stay here overnight, as it is too late to fly back now. The pilot has a curfew for flying past 8.30pm in the helicopter as it’s not fitted out for night flying. Do you want to browse in the mall? I’ll book two rooms here, and we can go buy you something nice to wear in bed, my treat.”

Bethany was silent for a moment, considering whether this had been planned from the start, but the look on Toby’s face seemed to indicate there was no ulterior motive, so she agreed.

She excused herself, heading for the restroom, while Toby arranged for the rooms. Going to the toilet for the first time was not without sage advice from Ada, who advised her on the correct action for wiping her bottom. Bethany redid her lipstick by herself, and once again, she was good to go. She was surprised by the way other ladies at the mirror chatted to each other without the reserve shown by guys in toilets, who have an unspoken rule about talking to anyone who they don’t know.

Bethany managed to buy a nightie with a matching wrap in one of the shops in the mall. True it wasn’t silk, but what can you expect when you shop at K-Mart? Toby had hovered near, but gave her space to browse the racks, which suited her just fine, as she felt like an intruder there as well. Ada assisted, which meant she was saved the embarrassment of getting someone to help her pick the right size.

Toby seemed embarrassed at the necessity of shopping there, but Bethany reassured him that it was fine, which seemed to puzzle him, as he kept apologizing for not foreseeing the need to stay overnight. From this, Bethany figured out that the real Bethany wasn’t so forgiving.

Back at the hotel, Toby thanked her for a lovely evening as they parted to enter their separate rooms. What had made her respond by giving Toby a chaste kiss on the cheek before turning and unlocking her door, kept her thoughts occupied till she got into bed. Maybe it was part of the profile in the files that Ada had downloaded in her brain, but then, if the real Bethany was such a bitch, surely that wouldn’t be like her at all. She puzzled over it for a while until tiredness caught up with her and she fell asleep.

Ada watched over Bethany’s sleeping body, while still monitoring the net and the whereabouts of the real Bethany. So far, she had used her credit card to get a taxi from the airport, so it was assumed from the amount paid and the rates from the taxi company that she had traveled about 10 kms, which would have allowed her to reach her home in the hills of Kalamunda.

What wasn’t so good, was the fact that she had tried to reach Robert, her agent. Luckily, his cell phone was turned off and she’d had to leave a message for him to call her. Ada set in place a call diversion, which would automatically route any calls made to Robert’s phone direct to Ada’s software. Similarly, if Robert tried to call Bethany’s phone it would be rerouted to the phone Ada had created for the faux Bethany. With this precaution in place, Ada resumed her scanning of the world’s communication network.

Bethany woke early, and got up to watch the sun rise. This body felt really different from her old one, more energy and zing. Now she’d had time to relax and get some sleep after all that had happened, her mind felt clear and full of ideas.

One thought that prompted a question to Ada, made her hold her breath in anticipation. “Can you fix seriously injured bodies? Not just superficial stuff?” she asked, thinking of her sister Amanda back in Perth.

“How serious?”

“Spinal cord injuries. I have a sister who is paralyzed,” Bethany answered, holding her breath.

“I can, but I’d have to be worn by that person,” Ada informed her.

“Yes!” Bethany exulted, dancing a little jig then and there. However, thinking about her old identity, and the trouble he was in soon sobered. At least Amanda should be spared any problems with the police, having been in the home for two years. She turned her attentions to getting a shower, determined to experiment while she could.

Bethany met Toby for breakfast later that morning, as arranged the evening before. Her time in the shower with unlimited hot water meant she had explored her femininity to the ultimate degree. Experiencing female orgasms had floored her, literally. She’d collapsed in the shower, ending up sitting on the tiled floor of the cubicle as her body became awash with more than the water streaming down over her body. She wondered if the feelings were that intense every time, or had it just been because it was a new experience that she wasn’t used to. Maybe it was because she hadn’t had sex for a while. In any case, she promised herself another game of stink finger just to see if it was as intense the second time around.

She was rather quiet during breakfast, thinking about her sexuality and the way she’d enjoyed being female so far. Toby must have noticed a difference in her from the way the original Bethany behaved. “Is something wrong? You seem self absorbed this morning. I doubt you listened to more than half our conversation.”

“Sorry, I was a million miles away,” she apologized guiltily. “I was just thinking about when all this is finished,” she added half truthfully.

“I’m sure Robert has you booked solid for months yet,” Toby laughed at her seeming worries.

Bethany nodded silently as her thoughts went back to the subject foremost in her mind. ‘Am I still Gary?’ The answer should have been clear-cut, with a resounding YES! But with what she’d experienced so far, Gary’s life style was looking a little shaky. Once the need to be Bethany was past and Gary sorted out how to recover the gold Ada had mentioned, there was clearly a question of which lifestyle to follow. A fabulously rich girl with everything going for her, and guys willing to fawn all over her? Or that of plain old Gary, with money to burn trying to find some happiness? There was also the problem of her sister Amanda. It wasn’t an easy question with a quick solution.

It wasn’t until they got back to Laverton that Ada told Bethany of the call her original had tried to make. At first, Bethany panicked and wanted to get out of this increasingly precarious situation. Ada reassured her, telling her of the redirects she’d put in place. She seemed confident of fooling the original Bethany by simulating Robert’s voice and mannerisms when she tried calling Robert again.

Robert met them in the car as they got out of the helicopter, saying that he’d got her message, but her phone went straight into the recorded message.

“I’m sorry, the batteries went dead just after I called you,” Bethany explained. “I just wanted to know if I could take a break after this shoot?”

“Well we do have that swimsuit campaign to do before next month, but I guess there’s room for some time out. I’ll explain the kidnapping to them, and say you want time to yourself,” Robert suggested.

“Thanks, that will be great.” Bethany sighed in relief. “So what’s on for today?” she asked, trying to get some idea of the days plans.

Robert looked at Toby, who answered for him. “Actually there’s not a lot left to do. We just need some closing shots to wrap it up,” he told her with a smile.

What Bethany had dreaded turned out to be a piece of cake. She had worried that if and when she had to take over the real Bethany’s job, she would soon be discovered as a fraud. As it was, all she had to do was rub lotion onto her skin while wearing a bikini and smiling at the camera. For this she was grateful, assuming the hard work had already been done.

That afternoon when the shooting was finished and everyone dove indoors to escape the heat, she went into Laverton to visit the local office that served as the police station. There, she was told that Tom Caruthers was due back in about 10 minutes. When asked if she wanted to wait, she said she’d come back later

Bethany decided to cool off another way and went to the local watering hole. She got more than a few looks from the locals, half of whom were aboriginals who must have got their social welfare checks that day. The women that lived in these remote towns were generally earthy types and didn’t bother looking glamorous for their men folk, while Bethany was a model, whose beauty stood out like a beacon.

She ordered a Schooner of beer and sat at the bar to enjoy her drink. Gary was used to being in these places and wouldn’t have worried about the clientele. As she took her first sip of beer, savouring the crisp coolness, she became aware of the gazes directed her way. They were almost like a physical touch, and the attention wasn’t particularly welcomed by Bethany. Several of the bolder members of the crowd came up to her, as if checking that she was real. Make that ‘drunker’ than the rest, for their gazes soon turned to lustful leers as they figured she must be some high class hooker who’d just happened to breeze into town.

Bethany realised that the original must not have left the camping ground where her mobile home was parked, preferring to stay there, than mingling with the local population. Given the type of attention she was getting now, Bethany didn’t blame her.

“Do you want me to provide you with a self defense package?” Ada enquired cautiously.

Despite her negative opinion about being treated like a plain old computer that need an upgrade, Bethany decided to be prudent and accept whatever help Ada could provide. She felt knowledge of martial arts slipping into her memory like a cool breeze passing over her skin. Her confidence, that had taken a sudden drop once she’d realised her new-found vulnerability, came back with a vengeance, as her awareness of what she could now do to protect herself, grew clear.

As her personal space was invaded by one of the bolder men, she finished her drink and stood up, preparing to leave. The man put his hand on hers as she placed her empty glass back on the bar, stopping her from withdrawing.

“Let me go,” she hissed, trying not to lose her temper.

“Come on, Babe. I know what a Sheila like you wants,” he leered, suggestively.

Her afternoon having a few quiet drinks now spoiled by this unwanted attention, caused Bethany’s anger to simmer for a moment before coming to a boil. “If you want to keep that hand, you’d better remove it,” she threatened.

The man laughed at her threat, turning to his mates, who just egged him on in support. In a flash, while his attention was diverted, Bethany twisted away out of his grasp and reversed the grip so that she had his hand in a hold that defied his delayed efforts to escape. With a move that turned her into his body, she put her back against his chest, and forced him to the floor, with a compelling grip that threatened to snap his wrist should he resist.

Seeing their hero fall to the ground, the rest of the gang moved forward to encircle Bethany as she crouched over the guy. Releasing the man on the ground, she stood up and assumed a martial art pose that was unmistakable. Her expression showed her confidence at protecting herself. She couldn’t resist doing what she’d seen in several action movies. Her outstretched hand, which was held in a vertical blade form, twisted palm up and she used her cupped fingers to wave them on while she grinned.

The mob stopped, unprepared for this slip of a girl, who oozed the confidence of a latter day Bruce Lee.

The man by her feet scuttled outside and ran smack dab into Tom Caruthers. “Well what do we have here?” he asked, picking up the man and straightening the guys clothes.

“There’s a crazy woman inside. She nearly broke my wrist for no reason,” the man whined, trying to weasel out of any blame.

Just then, Bethany backed out of the place, coming to a halt when she turned and saw Tom. As her eyes flicked to the man standing by him, Tom saw the man flinch away, even though Bethany made no aggressive move at all.

Although Tom showed no expression, inside he was laughing at the sight of the heavyset man being scared by this slip of a woman, whom he outweighed two to one.

“I think you’ve had too many drinks. I suggest you walk home before I bring you in for drunk and disorderly,” Tom ordered brusquely.

The man started to protest, but then thought better of it as the steel in Tom’s eyes turned to chilled gun metal.

“Yes, Officer.” The man obeyed, before turning and stumbling down the street.

“You wanted to see me?” Tom asked, looking at Bethany appraisingly.

“Yes, I was wondering what you had found out so far?’ she answered, looking back towards the door where the bar crowd were hovering around.

“You have a little trouble with them?” he asked.

“A little.”

“Wait here, I’ll be right back.” Tom strode into the bar and started reading the riot act to those inside. In the nearly deserted streets, his voice was clearly heard from inside as he tore into them, for their behaviour.

“You know, you shouldn’t have gone in there alone,’ Tom said to her, once he returned outside. “Some of those men have been out in the bush for weeks. Seeing a beauty like yourself is like painting yourself red before a bull.”

Bethany shrugged. “I only went for a drink, and I can take care of myself… (Now),” she added under her breath.

“So I heard. I didn’t know you were into martial arts?” he questioned as they made their way by to his office.

“Well, a girl’s got to learn to protect herself you know?” she threw back as they entered the building.

“Hmmm. Strange it didn’t come up on your profile when I first checked you out when I got the message you were missing.”

“Well, a girl has to have some secrets. I wouldn’t want to scare potential boyfriends away if they knew I could break their arms,” Bethany retorted.

“Hey, I wasn’t implying anything,” Tom assured her, backing away from the subject.

Inside Bethany’s head, Gary was gagging. ‘What boyfriends? What am I saying?’ Showing none of the internal conflict, Bethany squashed Gary’s voice down. What Gary liked or disliked had to be put aside while she played this role. Tom wasn’t just a country cop who could be brushed aside. He was savvy, and would be quick to find any discrepancies, should she mess up. For now, she had to be Bethany and let the personality overlay Ada had provided control her actions and words. The Gary part of her grumbled, but accepted this with only minor reservations.

“Well, I found the car and the bike, but there’s no sign of this Gary character,” Tom informed her, tactfully changing the subject.

“Will you be bringing them here?” she asked, trying to sound disinterested.

“No, I’m sending them to Kalgoorlie for fingerprinting and forensic examination.”

This sent alarm bells ringing though Bethany. If they didn’t find any evidence of her being in the car, then questions would surely be raised. At the least, there would be a delay before she could get her hands on it, and at the worst, they might start looking at his flat in Perth. His whole life as Gary would be under scrutiny. Bethany silently cursed Ada for putting her in this situation. Okay, so far it had been pretty interesting and an experience she’d treasure for life, but she could see that coming clean about her so called abduction would lead to more complications.

Ada might be powerful and all knowing, but she wasn’t infallible. She needed a plan B. Returning as Gary seemed impossible at the moment. If she told them that the kidnapping was a hoax, she could end up in serious trouble, seeing how much time and resources were being used to find her supposed abductor.

Gary was the one with the prospector’s license that allowed him to fossick over both crown lands and farmers holdings. Tom’s voice broke into her musings. Was that all you wanted to know?” he asked.

“Um, yes thanks. I’ll head back to my place,” she answered distractedly, not seeing the disappointment in Tom’s eyes.

She left the office and wandered down the street looking at the town with fresh insight. When she saw the survey office, an idea came to mind. Walking in, she asked about the correct procedure to stake a claim.

Although she knew some of it, from her, (Gary’s) license, she needed to make sure that everything she intended to do couldn’t be taken away from her once she decided to stake out the reef. She’d heard stories of claims being overstaked by aboriginals who’d got wind of a claim. The original discoverer of the claim had flown to Perth to make his claim, but the aboriginals had found the pegs and overstaked it and then gone to the local survey office. Although a big stink was made of it, the aboriginals kept the claim and found a huge gold bearing area that was worth millions.

Although she gave no details of a discovery or any location, the man in the office got the distinct impression that she had discovered a worthy prospect from the questions she asked. Bethany never saw the aboriginal who was hanging around the open doorway listening intently to the conversation. When she did eventually leave, there was nobody in sight.

Stopping off at the hardware shop, she checked out the type of stakes that were available from the information garnered from the guy from the survey office. She made her way back to the unit in the camping ground, never realizing someone had followed her movements since she’d left the survey office, nor was she aware of someone keeping her in view as she entered her unit.

The next day was spent around the camp, as the others packed up the equipment prior to heading out. Bethany refused an offer to fly her home, as she wanted to stay around so she could go stake out the gold find. Obviously she couldn’t tell the director that, so she said she wanted to drive back. When an offer of going back in the Mercedes was rejected due to her interest in doing the touristy route, she decided to see if there was a hire car service in town.

“But you already hired our one and only car,” said a puzzled agent attached to the local garage. “We are still waiting on the car to be delivered back from Perth,” the man said.

The original Bethany must have hired the only car available, which put a crimp in her plans.

“Sorry, I had to fly back urgently, as a roll of film was bad and I had to shoot it again,” Bethany lied calmly. “Is there any other vehicle available? A four wheel drive was what I was really after.”

“There is one Landrover available in Leonora,” the man told her after consulting his computer. “I can have it delivered to you here by this afternoon, if you like?”

“Yes, that will be fine,” Bethany told him, knowing Leonora was a slightly larger place and roughly an hours drive away. She didn’t notice that there seemed to be rather more aboriginals hanging around as she left the car rental office, one of whom visited the rental place after she was out of sight.

Later that afternoon she went back and picked up the 4 wheel drive and drove it back to the unit. She packed a few of her more practical clothes and left the rest. She figured most wouldn’t be needed as she planned to return to being Gary, or at least some other male if Gary was still being actively sought. Originally, she wasn’t going to bother taking any of Bethany’s clothes other than what she was wearing, but as Ada pointed out, it would seem strange if all her stuff was left behind.

The rest of Bethany’s belongings were going to be flown back to her home in Perth, with her agent taking care of all of that. Once she said goodbye to everyone, she drove back into town and went shopping. Along with food supplies and water, she bought some survey pegs at the hardware store.

She set off, wanting to get to the place where she, as Gary, had originally left his car. There was fresh water there in what is commonly known as a Gnamma hole, which is usually just a hole in the rock that can go down to anywhere from a meter to up to thirty meters in depth. The one Gary had found was just under a half a meter wide and went down twenty meters. It had been covered by a slab of rock of a different colour to prevent contamination by animals falling in and drowning. That had most likely been done by the aboriginals that roamed this country.

She set up camp once she reached her destination, not that it entailed much. She hadn’t bothered replacing the tent Gary had used to sleep in. Things like that might have aroused suspicions. Not that she knew that it had been in vain at that point. Ada pointed out that if she remained Bethany, with her smaller body, she could sleep across the back seat of the Landrover. Never one for roughing in the ground on just a ground roll and sleeping bag, even as Gary, that seemed a good idea.

Only the fire pit remained of Gary’s gear. It had two metal rods spread across a narrow trench in which a fire could be built to keep it from spreading. She made a small fire and heated an opened tin of baked beans over it, using the rods to support the can. A still cold pint carton of milk followed the beans before she got ready to doss down for the night. Wanting to get out of her restrictive clothes, she opted for a short nightie that would make her rest comfortable.

The first inklings of trouble came when a hand went over her mouth and she woke to the sickly smell of chloroform, before lapsing back to oblivion.

Ada was aware that Gary, aka Bethany, had been subdued by a substance that rendered her unconscious by persons unknown at this time. She could have changed Bethany back to Gary and having done so, rid the body of the effects of the chloroform, but since this might be observed by others, it would surely make things worse. Anyway, Ada’s logic was alien, and not being alive in the same sense as humanity, she didn’t have a sense of self preservation. She did, however, have a certain fondness for her activator, unlike what she had felt for her previous Teg owner.

Deciding to do nothing until circumstances changed and things became clearer, she remained dormant, watching the dark skinned men remove Bethany from the four wheel drive.

Bethany came to feeling groggy, and with the start of a headache coming on. Trying to rub her head, she found that her hands were tied together. She opened her eyes, realizing that she was in trouble as she saw the group of aboriginals gathered around her. It was near dawn, and judging by the different terrain around her, knew she was some distance from where she had camped. She couldn’t talk, as a gag had been placed over her mouth. Nevertheless, she mumbled into it.

“You are approximately 15.34 kilometers due south of the campsite,” Ada answered, having deciphered her garbled, “Where am I?”

In other circumstances, Bethany would have asked, “If 15.34 k’s is approximately, what would an exact distance be?” Another mumbled question evoked a new response from Ada.

“Five indigenous natives used an aromatic sedative and then took you by a roundabout route to this place. No further activity occurred except one used a cell phone to call one Sam Bagalow and told him you had been captured.”

Bethany dearly wanted to know why Ada hadn’t done anything to help her escape or even to prevent her capture, but that would have to wait, as one of the group came over and pulled her upright.

When her gag was removed, she spat on the ground, clearing her mouth. She was about to yell at him, when an oily voice behind her spoke out, “Hello Miss Chambers, so nice to meet you in the flesh as it were.”

She turned, seeing a pudgy Italian with a moustache standing there. A white van parked nearby was obviously his ride. He was short, and his once white shirt was stained with sweat under the arms. He looked out of place and uncomfortable in the already climbing heat of the day.

“What is all this, and why have you had me brought here?” she cried, starting to walk towards him.

Two men stepped forward to restrain her, but the visitor waved them off.

“We know that you are fronting for Gary Carstairs and his find. Very clever of you to stage a false kidnapping so you two could meet. Obviously, he hit pay dirt from what my friends tell me,” he offered, pointing towards the group of aboriginals. “Like the police, we haven’t yet located Mr. Carstairs, which is troubling my trackers. Seems he vanished into thin air. I’m prepared to give you a considerable sum for your claim. Then you won’t need to soil those pretty hands of yours,” he suggested with a veiled threat.

Bethany was in a quandary. Obviously, she hadn’t been careful enough to hide her interest in making a claim. That is, if it was even possible in such a small town like Laverton. That they knew the kidnapping was a lie was bad enough, but they now had her isolated from help. At least they hadn’t found out about Amanda.

“No price you could pay would be enough,” retorted Bethany with false bravado.

“Ah! So it’s that big, is it? Well, Miss Sun Tan girl, if money won’t sway you, then maybe this will.” With that, he waved his hand in a beckoning gesture and two men pulled a struggling woman from the van, a hood covering her head.

She was wearing a short skirt and she still had her heels on her feet. She struggled to maintain a balance on the uneven ground, as her hands were tied just like Bethany’s. The men brought her nearer and Bethany began to see something familiar which filled her with dread. He fears were confirmed as the hood was lifted from the woman’s face.

“When we heard that you were involved, we stopped off at your home in case we needed something other than money to convince you to sell,” the Italian sneered. “We were in luck when we found your twin, so we drugged her and brought her here.”

Facing Bethany was her original and the expression on her face at seeing a twin belied belief. The transformed Bethany knew she had to do something quick. Yelling internally for Ada to do something, she ran at the other Bethany’s captors. The real Bethany may have been in shock, but she thought quick on her feet, as she stamped on one her guard’s feet with her heel.

“Bethany? It can’t be. You’re dead,” the girl shouted, to the faux Bethany.

“Run!” the faux Bethany shouted at her twin, trying to sort out what the real Bethany was going on about as she managed to give the other guard a shove that put him off balance.

The real Bethany didn’t need her advice, having already turned and started towards the Mulga trees to her left. Ada warned the faux Bethany that the other was headed into dangerous territory as there were several abandoned mineshafts in the trees.

Bethany shouted to her twin. “This way,” as she made off towards the left of where her twin was heading.

“Stay away from me you bitch, you can’t be my real sister,” was all she heard from her twin as she disappeared into the trees.

Bethany was too concerned about escaping herself, to worry about her twin and her strange words. A quick glance over her shoulder showed that pursuit was slow to start. The Italian seemed content to let them run, as tied up as they were, he knew they couldn’t get far away, especially as his trackers were there to help.

A high pitched scream that was suddenly cut off filled Bethany with dread. She didn’t stop running, though, even knowing the real Bethany could be dead.

Once out of sight of her pursuers, Ada told her to stop. “I can hide both of us where I placed the metal detector, but only for about 30 minutes. Then the power drain will force me to return to normal space.”

“Is that safe?” Bethany asked cautiously, while still moving onward.

“It will be hard on your senses. I would advise you to keep your eyes closed while there.”

“Is there any other option?”

“I could put you in the form of a wallaby, and then you could outpace your pursuers,” Ada offered.

“Um, no thanks, I’ll take option one.” Bethany shuddered, thinking about the problems that might incur.

“Commencing transition,” warned Ada, prompting Bethany to close her eyes.

What followed seemed to take an eternity. Being curious, and despite the warnings, Bethany peeked with one eye to experience the space she and Ada now occupied. After experiencing some mind numbing images that seemed to suck at her mind, she clamped her eyes close, determined not to risk seeing those twisting patterns of chaos again.

‘Think of something to occupy your mind,’ cautioned Ada, sensing from her flinch, what Bethany had done.

She tried to puzzle out what the real Bethany was on about. It was almost as if she’d had a twin sister who was now dead, but why called her Bethany, when she herself was the real Bethany? It made her head hurt thinking about it, so instead, she tried thinking about something pleasant.

Bethany tried remembering being at the beach, but somehow, the images she conjured up were decidedly wrong. Instead of them being of Gary ogling all the scantily clad babes, she saw herself as Bethany in a pale yellow bikini. Not only that, but she was the one being ogled as she lay on her towel.

The now irate Italian demanded, “Where did she go?” as he surveyed the ground Bethany had last occupied. “First you let a slip of a girl get away from you and fall to her death in that mine shaft, and now the trackers you hired can’t find the other,” he berated his men.

“What are they doing now?” the Italian asked as the group of aboriginals gathered in a huddle.

“I’ll find out, Boss.”

The Italian fumed as the aboriginals jabbered away, then started to walk away. The man sent to find out what was happening returned fearful of his boss’s response to his news. “It seemed the woman is a spirit, and they don’t want to anger her.”

“WHAT? Get them back here! The woman is no more a spirit than I am,” the man thundered angrily.

“They say they followed her to this spot and then she vanished into thin air. Her tracks end here.” The guard pointed to a spot in the dust.

It was plain to even a non-tracker that the woman’s tracks just stopped. There were no trees around for her to have climbed into. The Italian’s wrath grew with every second as his frustration built. He stamped off to the van to call for more men.

Bethany was glad to reappear back into the heat of the Australian outback, as Ada brought them back from the limbo they had experienced. Even the threat of falling into the hands of the Italian was starting to look good.

There was no sign of the men near them, and Ada scanned the area and announced it clear. Bethany backtracked a bit, then cut across to head in the direction the original Bethany had headed. On the way, they heard voices and realised that the men hadn’t left, but had withdrawn back to the van and its air conditioned comfort.

Bethany eventually found the open shaft that her twin had fallen into, almost stepping into it herself. Looking at it with dread, she could see why one could fall in so easily. The shaft was about 2 meters across and lay flush with the surface. Peering down over the edge, Bethany could see the sheer walls going down vertically for about 30 meters before darkness obscured the view.

“I detect life signs,” Ada announced her bombshell news.

“She’s still alive down there?” Bethany gasped incredulously.

“Apparently,” Ada confirmed.

“We need to rescue her, but with those people nearby, we can’t hang around,” Bethany stated, feeling helpless.

“You want to rescue her, despite the fact she could expose you?” Ada asked curiously.

“Of course! What kind of person do you think I am?” Bethany asked, dumbfounded by the question.

“Obviously, one that has a higher moral character than most in your situation,” Ada mused, adding this to her databank of information.”

Bethany looked around for some sort of idea. The area immediately around the shaft was clear of debris, which probably was one reason for the fall, as no warning of a shaft was evident until you were on top of it. Further away, Bethany could see old steel mine ropes rusting away on the surface.

This gave her an idea. “Can you call the police and have them scare off the men and help me get her out?”

“Already done, I put a call in as soon as you told me you wanted to affect her recovery,” Ada answered. “Now we need to lie low for 17 minutes, until they get the chopper here.”

“I didn’t know they had a helicopter available,” Bethany mused, as she sort out a hiding place among the debris left by the miners.

“They don’t, but the helicopter that Toby hired was delayed in leaving, due to a technical problem, so they commandeered that to fly out,” Ada explained.

Once she heard the beat of the chopper blades, there was the sound of someone driving away. Obviously the Italian had heard it too, and wasn’t about to risk being found in the area where a girl’s body lay.

The chopper circled the area and landed nearby. Bethany ran to meet it, waving her hands in agitation.

“We flew over a 4 wheel drive vehicle several klicks back. Is that yours?” one of the officers yelled to her over the noise of the whirling blades.

Bethany ducked her head and ran to the chopper, noting that the engines hadn’t been shut off.

“Yes, that’s mine, but we need to get it here, pronto. My sister is hurt, and we need my vehicle to rescue her.

“What about that other van we saw? The dust cloud shows it heading away from here towards Leonora.

Bethany explained, “They are the ones that abducted my sister,” not bothering to make up any fancy lies.

“Wait here! I’ll drop off one of my men at your vehicle, then we’ll follow the van. I’ll get an ambulance here as soon as possible.”

“Okay, but I’ll be over there by the mineshaft my sister fell into,” Bethany shouted, pointing in the direction of the shaft.

“The man nodded and signaled the pilot to lift off. Bethany just managed to catch his look as he turned away. He obviously thought her sister was dead, knowing how deep and treacherous these abandoned mines were. She crouched, then ran back, getting a blasting from the dirt stirred up by the blades as they increased thrust.

While Bethany waited for one of the officers to return with her 4x4, she looked around the mine area for things to make her plan work. Locating an oblong framework made from steel angle iron, she managed to drag it nearer to the entrance of the mine itself. There was a lifting bolt mounted on one end and it looked like it might have been part of a cage that the miners used to enter the mineshaft. It took all of her enhanced strength to move it, but finally it was in position. By the time she had checked out the lengths of discarded cable and selected which one she wanted, she could hear her Landrover coming.

Jim Collins, the officer that had been given to chore to assist her, was young and inexperienced, and Bethany had no difficulty persuading him to do her bidding. It wasn’t until long after, that she realised he was in awe of her, and already half in love.

“Tie this steel cable to this frame and then tie the cable to the Landrover,” she ordered, having outlined her plan.

“But, this cable has been rusting out here for over fifty years,” protested Jim.

“True, but it still has most of its strength. With the low rainfall and dry air, it only has surface rust. Heck, even the old tinned cans the miners used are still intact,” she pointed out.

“I should be the one to go down there. If you get hurt, they’ll tear me a new one for letting you do it,” Jim argued.

“Look, I know you mean well, but she’s my twin sister. I’m a lot lighter than you are, and I know she’s alive and where she is,” Bethany half lied, knowing only the first.

Bethany donned more practical clothes for the descent, then loaded a pack from the truck with her torch, some rope, and a first aid kit, along with Jim’s police radio. Jim found a frequency on the scanner that Bethany had bought that would let him monitor her progress and know when to lower or lift the frame. Once she wedged herself into the frame hanging over the edge, Jim drove forward, allowing her and the frame to descend into the shaft. At about twenty meters, she saw some blood on parts of the old timber framing that jutted out into the shaft. There was a terrible stench that told her something dead was also in the shaft. Ada turned her sense of smell down with a small change, after she complained.

Going deeper, the shaft narrowed and the light grew dimmer. Bethany hoped there was enough rope to allow her to find her twin. She spotted something reddish just below her, and she called on Jim to slow the descent. What she had spotted was a dead kangaroo, a big red, one of the largest in Australia. It had stuck on a piece of iron jutting out of hole cut into the side of the shaft. It was obviously the source of the stink, but there was no sign of Bethany, and the roo blocked the shaft completely.

“She’s in the side shaft,” prompted Ada.

She had Jim stop the descent as she neared the dead kangaroo. She shone her torch into the side shaft, seeing it sloped downwards on a slight angle.

Telling Jim to hold it there, she managed to get off the frame and into the side shaft. She crawled in, seeing some blood trailing forward on the bottom of the horizontal shaft. She spotted her target about 3 meters in, huddled in a ball against a curve of the shaft.

She tried telling Jim she’d found her sister, but the ground completely killed her signal. She checked Bethany’s pulse, finding it steady and strong. There was a gash on her head that looked like it had happened on the way down, as there was no blood on the rocks where she lay, other than what had bled directly under her head.

She figured out that the dead roo had fallen and had stuck further up the shaft where she had seen the dried blood. When the real Bethany had fallen, she must have landed on the roo and dislodged it, falling further down until it had struck the iron bar. Her impact must have been softened by the animal’s body and she had bounced off and rolled down the side shaft.

Bethany crawled back to the vertical shaft and let Jim know what was happening, and to wait till she could ascertain her sister’s injuries.

After Jim’s reluctant assent, she went back to the injured Bethany.

Carefully checking arms and legs for breaks, she applied a bandage to the head wound, staunching the blood loss. She could see bruising on her face which made her unrecognizable as her exact twin. She waited, hoping Bethany would recover consciousness soon.

Ada warned, “She may have some memory problems with that blow on the head.”

“She will be okay?”

Ada reassured her, “I don’t detect any major injuries.”

While she waited for the injured Bethany to rouse, she couldn’t help think of her own sister, Amanda, and the tragic circumstances of her injury. Their parents had both been killed in the accident that left Amanda crippled. Gary had found her, still crumpled in the wreck in much the same position as Bethany was in now. No one had seen the accident that took their parents lives. Only luck had saved Amanda from dying of her injuries, as Gary had followed their route up that sparsely trafficked road after them when they didn’t return from their blackberry picking venture. He’d called for help and tried to make Amanda comfortable, as much as was possible without moving her body.

Tears fell from her eyes as she watched Bethany, hoping she hadn’t suffered the same fate as Amanda.

There was a moan, and Bethany stirred, straightening out her body. With a weak voice “Bethany?” came from the injured girl.

“Hi, you had a fall, but I think you’ll be okay,” whispered the faux Bethany. “Can you recall your name?” she asked, trying to see if there was any memory loss

“Um Beth … no, it’s Liz …yes my name is Elizabeth,” she answered, slightly more forcefully, shocking Bethany at her side.

Bethany leaned back, trying to take in this new information. The person she thought was the real Bethany, was saying she was Elizabeth? Something was really screwy here.

“Is that you Bethany? Elizabeth asked, opening her eyes. “I didn’t mean to take your place, but I thought you were dead …”

“Hush, Liz. It can wait till later after we get you out of here,” Bethany insisted, trying to cope with this revelation. “Can you move? We need to crawl out of this hole.”

Elizabeth stretched slowly, testing for any injuries. It seemed to Bethany that all she had were some bruises and the wound on her head. Bethany guided Elizabeth to the exit of the tunnel, where she got herself astraddle of the iron frame. She took the rope from her pack and then guided Elizabeth onto the frame so she was sitting in front of her, so she could tie the rope around the frame, and around their bodies, making a crude barrier against falling out.

Bethany radioed Jim to back the Landrover, and slowly they rose up the shaft. Bethany used her feet to keep them off the sides where they might get hung up. Nearing the top, she called a halt. The frame was just below the lip of the shaft and any more pulling might cause it to tilt and threaten them with a spill.

In what seemed seconds, Jim was there, leaning over the edge of the shaft with a relieved look on his face.

“Okay, reach up and I’ll pull you up the rest of the way,” he told them quickly.

With Bethany supporting her, Elizabeth was soon on the surface and Bethany followed soon after. Jim fussed over Elizabeth, doing what his training recommended, using what bandages were available in Bethany’s small first aid kit.

The ambulance came 15 minutes later, and both Bethany and her sister were bundled inside. Jim stayed with the Landrover, promising to bring it back to Laverton after he did his best to cover the shaft with whatever he could salvage nearby.

The ride back in the ambulance was smoother than driving in the Landrover, for which Bethany was grateful. Being a passenger is often harder than being the driver, where you automatically anticipate the bumps. The attendant took Elizabeth’s vitals and radioed them to an unseen voice. Seeing the ride was headed towards Leonora Bethany lay down on the other cot, waving off the attendant who seemed to be a mite too familiar with his hands.

Although she was burning to ask Elizabeth questions, now wasn’t the time and it seemed Elizabeth was equally reluctant to start talking with the ambulance attendant in earshot. She just lay back and tried to rest, and Bethany followed suit, managing to get some sleep as the ambulance emerged from the bush tracks and hit the slightly smoother gravel roads.

In Leonora, Elizabeth was checked out and pronounced fit enough to leave after two stitches were used to close the head wound. Her nose was fractured but not broken and the sticky plaster over it contrasted with the darkening bruising around her eyes. All this coupled with the bandage around her forehead made it hard to notice that she and Bethany were identical twins. It was while Bethany was in the room as Elizabeth got dressed again, that she noticed something odd. Elizabeth had a birthmark on her left breast. Sure, it was small and normally hidden by her bra, judging by her suntan lines, but that wasn’t the interesting part. If she was a copy of Elizabeth, why didn’t she have a similar birthmark?

“I generated the body you’re in from the pictures I gleaned from the net,” Ada informed her silently, after a sub vocal query from Bethany. “Bethany didn’t have a visible birthmark,” she added, leaving out the obvious.

Bethany whispered a bit louder, “You mean I’m really her twin, and not a clone?”

“It would seem so, which means your double is still out there,” Ada speculated.

Bethany thought back to Elizabeth’s comments when they first met. Obviously she was of the opinion that her sister was dead. She queried this with Ada.

“I can’t find any record of her death, or even that she is, or was, missing. Looks like Elizabeth took care of that by impersonating her.” Ada cautioned. “Be careful asking questions. Don’t let on that you aren’t, in fact, her sister.”

Getting released from the small surgery that doubled as the local doctors office was hampered by the local law, who seemed excited at having something special on their books, something other than the usual drunk drivers and domestic disputes among some of the locals. Having a bona fide abduction involving a powerful crime lord, was an excuse to pull out all the stops, especially as it might mean a promotion and a transfer out of the backwater town.

The girls finally got away about 2 hours later, after giving only the minimum information they could get away with. Bethany did have to tell them she had found gold, (the reason the mob were after her for,) but she didn’t elaborate on it, which only fueled speculation by the officers taking their statements.

They did find out that those in the helicopter had caught the fleeing criminals. The driver in the van had been distracted by the chopper overhead and didn’t see the small wash in front of them. Filled with soft gravel, they beached the van hub deep. They were all now in Kalgoorlie, waiting transfer to Perth.

Bethany was in a quandary. Part of her wanted to resume looking for her gold, but with everything that had happened, she knew it wasn’t a good idea, as her movements would be closely watched. The other part wanted to go back to Perth with Elizabeth and find out more of what was going on.

Ada made the decision for her, telling her that going to Perth would put to rest most of the speculation, as she would be unlikely to leave if the claim was really of any major value. She could then find out about her true twin and organize a proper trip to locate and claim the gold.

After a chartered flight to Kalgoorlie in a Cessna Skyhawk, they caught a flight to Perth. Arriving late that afternoon, they were soon at the home where Bethany and Elizabeth lived.

Coming from the harsh dry landscape of the Western Australian goldfields, where the land was dotted with Saltbush, Spinifex and the occasional gum tree, the house was a pleasant change. The bright flowers of the Wattles and Bottlebrush lining the driveway contrasted and complimented each other, especially with the red flowers and verdant green of the Kangaroo Paws growing at their feet.

Bethany thought the place looked nice, but it was not as fancy as she’d expected, given the money models were supposed to earn. The house itself was tucked away on the back portion of the property, which gave it privacy, yet still allowed it to overlook Perth, with some spectacular views. Inside, the decor was very obviously feminine based, with no masculine input. Not that she wanted to go headlong into a romance with a strange guy, but Bethany was relieved, as well as curious. Where were the boyfriends these girls should have had? she asked Ada, as Elizabeth went and got two drinks from the mini bar.

“Okay, now that we’re alone, I think it’s time to talk,” Bethany started, after accepting the drink from Elizabeth. “Why did you say that I was dead?”

“Do you remember telling me that you’d decided to leave that bastard, Samuel effing Masters, and that you were going to stop shooting up with the heroin that he and his gang were always pushing?”

“No, not really ... Things were kind of fuzzy then,” Bethany ventured, playing along.

Bethany was shocked to hear her original was an addict. No wonder now where some of her earnings had gone.

She waited, hoping Elizabeth would elaborate, watching her sip her drink. Eventually she went on, “You said you needed to get your life straight, and apologized for making me sub for you when you were too spaced out to do your job. You said you were going over to Samuel’s place to tell him you were finished with him and his drugs. He drove round later, accusing me for trying to turn you against him. You were in his car when I saw you last looking like you were unconscious from an overdose. Robert just gloated, saying you’d begged for it when you’d gone over. But I knew he’d given it to you, I never saw you again. Samuel told me you had killed yourself, but I figured you had died and he’d got rid of your body. That was a year ago.” Here, Elizabeth broke into sobs, as she recalled those memories.

Bethany couldn’t help, but reach out and hug Elizabeth. All she could think of was to say, “Hush, Sis. I’m here now.”

Inside, her mind despaired. How was she going to break it to Elizabeth that her sister was in all probability dead? When she returned to being Gary, Elizabeth would lose her sister all over again.

Ada broke into her thoughts, “You may have a problem.”

“What?” Bethany said aloud, unthinkingly. Luckily Elizabeth didn’t react, being too caught up in her emotions.

“It seems that Gary Carstairs is being sought in connection with Elizabeth’s abduction, according to the alert I got on the police channels.”

“Whaaat?” Bethany hissed under her breath, remembering other ears were around.

“Checking the police computer systems, it seems that the Italian mobster has tried to shift the blame on your former identity, saying that Gary and Bethany had a falling out. The story he reported, said that Gary had approached you for some cash outlay so the claim could be worked properly, with a percentage going to you. You apparently wanted more and refused to fund it unless he gave you more. Gary then had Elizabeth kidnapped to force you change your mind. The mobster says he was just the middleman,” Ada reported.

“What a load of …” Bethany didn’t bother completing the rest, as Elizabeth stirred herself and looked curiously at her.

“What happened to you? Why didn’t come home, or contact us? I had to be you, as well as myself for mom. It was hard juggling between the two of us for a year. Samuel threatened to implicate me with your death if I went to the police, not that I could. If I had, then it would have become common knowledge and your … my ... only source of income would be lost. I wasn’t sure if you were really dead or not and if you were alive, and I’d reported it, then the drug scandal would still have killed your career. But by the time I’d given you up for dead, it had been months, and by my impersonating you in your job, I would have been jailed, as well as becoming a suspect in your death.”

“I found a file on Samuel Master’s computer,” Ada interrupted. “There's a jpg of a body belonging to the original Bethany. He or someone must have taken it just before they buried it in a sandy grave that’s shown in the picture. No telling where the location is, and there’s nothing else relating to your death. I’ve managed to delete the file and added a search and destroy virus that will wipe any attempt to reload it.”

“I’m sorry. I nearly did die. They left me in a shallow grave and covered me up. Luckily, I was face down, and had an air space.” Bethany explained smoothly, giving no sign of the information Ada was feeding her.

“When I came to, I managed to struggle out and lay on the surface till the next day,” Bethany lied, feeling awful while doing it. With the change in circumstances regarding her identity as Gary, she didn’t want to burn her bridges to her borrowed identity just yet. If and when the police tried to confirm what the mobster had lied about, it was going to look suspicious if she denied everything and then staked a claim to gold that supposedly never existed. It looked as if staying Bethany for the foreseeable future was going to be her best option.

“I was found by some real aboriginals and taken to their camp. I was delirious, and I think they knew I was on drugs. They never went to the police, probably because it didn’t occur to them, but whatever, they nursed me back to health. I must have eaten all sorts of disgusting food, Bethany explained.

“Seeing that Samuel thought he’d killed me, I decided to remain dead, figuring you’d just take my place in my modeling job. I went walkabout with the tribe until the lure of drugs was burnt out of my system.” Bethany was making up the story as she went along, drawing on her experiences as Gary.

Getting another drink for herself, Bethany walked over to the window and looked out over Perth before continuing her fabrication. “Once I was able, I walked into the desert to find myself.” Here, Bethany laughed, knowing that Elizabeth could never guess just how true that was.

“I ... I found something else Liz … I found gold, lots of it. But I need to give some of it to a sister of a friend who helped me out there.” Bethany stopped, turned away from the window and looked at her new sister. From the tears flowing from Elizabeth’s eyes it seemed like she was totally taken in by her lies. Bethany felt awful knowing it was all a lie, yet the truth wouldn’t serve any good purpose and would only end up hurting everyone.

When Elizabeth ran and hugged her, something in Bethany snapped and tears flowed for her, for Elizabeth, and for Gary and Amanda.

“Robert, your agent, rang me asking for you to contact him for some promotions. With you gone, I pretended to be you and he never guessed. At least I don’t think so. I was a bit standoffish and pretended to get angry easily to stop anyone wanting to get really cozy to me. I think I overdid it a bit and got a rep as a bitch, but as long as it didn’t stop the work coming, I think it helped me pull it off.”

“Ah!” Bethany exclaimed softly. “I wondered about that. Did you know I finished your … my Coppertone Campaign when you ran off?”

“No, I did try to ring Robert to apologize, but couldn’t get through. I thought I’d blown it, but those flies were just too much. I nearly drowned in repellent and they still came and tested every bit of skin in case I’d missed a spot. I was supposed to remain still, but the camera couldn’t see them on my back enjoying the shade, and I couldn’t move to brush them off … argh! The last stroke was when I swallowed one and threw up trying to get rid of it.”

“Been there, done that,” Bethany sympathized, knowing all too well the horrors of the bush flies.

Bethany strolled around the house with Elizabeth in tow, using the get reacquainted with everything again excuse. “I kept your room exactly as it was,” offered Elizabeth, opening a bedroom door to show her.

Bethany stepped in, checking out her room. It wasn’t overpoweringly feminine, for which she was rather glad, but it wasn’t anything like Gary had ever slept in either. She sat down on the soft bed and picked up a photo of Bethany and Elizabeth with an older woman, she assumed was their mother, going by the family resemblance.

“Mother will be glad to see us, both of us. She is always complaining that she never gets to see both of us at once. I’m just glad in a sad way that her eyes are bad enough that she never spotted the difference when I substituted for you.”

“When can we see her?” Bethany asked, thinking this would be a Bethany thing to do.

“Anytime, you know she never stops us visiting.”

“You have visitors,” Ada warned privately, just a moment before an authoritative knocking resounding through the house.

“Sounds like the police are here,” winced Bethany, moving to the door before someone outside decided to knock it down.

“Miss Chambers? Bethany Chambers?” The officer outside asked, when she opened the door.

“Yes? That is correct,” she replied calmly.

“I have reason to understand that you have had dealings with one Gary Carstairs, regarding a gold claim east of Laverton, which resulted in your sister’s abduction by Carlos Salvatore on his behalf.”

“I had dealings with Gary, yes, but the rest is a pack of lies. Gary wasn’t involved in my sister’s abduction. That was all the Italian …Carlos Salvatore I take it? doings.”

“That isn’t what I was led to believe,” the office refuted, sounding very sure of himself.

“So, you would take the word of a criminal over both mine and my sister’s?” Bethany asked archly.

The officer deflated somewhat and tried to bluster. Bethany cut him off and started telling him in no uncertain terms what he could do with his accusations.

“As a matter of fact, Gary approached me and offered the claim to me, saying he didn’t have the resources to develop it. If it turned out to be a significant find, then I was to give a portion to his sister and get her out of the institution where she is, and get her back into a normal life situation. He had found enough gold to live on and was going to look for alternative ways to help his sister.”

“He just gave up the rights to his find for nothing more than a promise?” the officer scoffed unbelievingly.

“No, not just a promise, if the find is as big as he suspected, I’m to set up a fund to help others with special needs. If you’re wondering why me, I grubstaked him for several years when he had a theory as to the whereabouts of Lassiter’s Reef.”

“You’re trying to tell me he found …that you know where …?” the officer gasped in shock.

Bethany silently cursed her slip of the tongue. If the media got wind of this, it would be a media circus and her every move would be under a microscope.

To cover her lapse, she laughed out loud, to throw the officer off. “I wish! Gary was always a dreamer. I doubt there are more than few nuggets left, but I did promise to search, so that’s what I’ll do. If you thought you had found that mythical pot of gold, would you leave it unclaimed and return here?” She threw the question back in his face, telling from the expression on his face as he considered her words, that she had scored a good point.

His disappointment was clearly obvious. “No I suppose not, but it would be something if it was true,” he offered wistfully.

“Yes it would, so you see, your information is incorrect. If you wish to question my sister about the abduction itself, then do so. Of course she doesn’t know about my dealings with Gary, as I’ve been out of touch with her for some time.”

The officer accepted and was led inside, where Bethany told Elizabeth what the officer wanted. Bethany got another drink, but stayed within earshot as the officer asked his questions. Elizabeth was annoyed at having to repeat herself all over again, and it showed in the shortness of her answers. Finally, the questions were over and the officer left. He didn’t bother to resume any questioning with Bethany as Elizabeth saw him out, so she assumed he was satisfied with the information supplied.

Bethany excused herself, saying she was going to get a shower to refresh herself. While there, she sought solace for her decision to remain Bethany with a few self generated orgasms. When she emerged, much refreshed as well as sated, she passed Elizabeth heading for her own shower.

The grin on her sister’s face told her that she hadn’t been as quiet about it as she’d hoped. “Looks like you need to get a new boyfriend,” Elizabeth giggled, undoing her clothes as she went.

“No, I need longer lasting batteries,” Bethany threw back, hiding her repugnance at the thought of having sex with a guy.

Elizabeth’s reply was another giggle as she slipped into the bathroom half naked.

Bethany hoped that the sight of a half naked woman evincing no sexual interest was the familiarity of seeing the almost identical image in a mirror, rather than that her sexual arousal might lead in a different direction.

“I called Mom while you were playing stink finger,” shouted Elizabeth, from the shower. “She invited us for dinner, so you’d better look your best. The luggage from the shoot came yesterday. It’s still in my bedroom. Wear the cream outfit, it was one I loved.”

“Yes, Motheer,” Bethany shouted back, altering course to her sister’s room.

Looking at the outfit Elizabeth had suggested, she could see why her sister loved it, but something told her to look in her sister’s wardrobe anyway. There, she saw a watered silk dress in lilac that would hug her curves, yet still allow her freedom of movement. Once she took it off the hanger and held it against her body, she knew what she was going to wear. Let Elizabeth wear the cream outfit, if she loved it so much.

“What am I doing?” she asked Ada quietly. “Why do I feel this is what the original Bethany would do, borrow her sister’s clothes I mean?” She fingered the fabric gently wondering what it felt like to wear. “I feel …I don’t know ... but it definitely isn’t me, that is ... Gary,” she stumbled to explain the weird way she was acting.

“It’s the program I used to help you. I took all the information I could find about Bethany, from her early school days to interviews just a few months back, and condensed them into a persona generating program.”

“A few months ago? But the person giving those interviews wasn’t Bethany, it was Elizabeth. How was that going to help build that persona thing?” Bethany pointed out, looking in the closet for a suitable set of shoes for the dress.

“Who better? If you were a famous model …?”

“Which I am,” laughed Bethany, interrupting Ada.

“Which you are,” continued Ada, without a pause. “Would you tell the media all the personal details of your life that matter to you? Now I’m not talking about details that are already public knowledge. I’m talking about the stuff that maybe only your sister would know.”

Seeing a glimmering of what Ada was leading to, Bethany replied, “I guess not. I’d probably gloss over that, and make up a few juicy lies to feed them.”

“Exactly, but Elizabeth being interviewed, and wanting to keep up the masquerade, and trying to fit into her sisters shoes as it were …”

“Like I am,” grinned Bethany, interrupting again as she looked down at the pair of borrowed shoes on her feet.

Ada chuckled at Bethany’s quip. “She would be more honest, giving out details only she knew, that would convince everyone, including friends and family, that she was in fact, Bethany.”

“Ah! So she might have said she borrows her sister’s clothes or had a favourite dress she always borrowed?”

“Yes, so if you relax and let the persona help you, it will help you make fewer mistakes.”

Bethany thought about that as she took her borrowed outfit and went to her bedroom. An army recruiting slogan echoed in her mind, only the words had changed to suit her situation. “Be all the sister you can be.” Having already decided to continue her role as Bethany, she would try not to get bent out shape if she acted more like Bethany as time went on.

“I see time away hasn’t changed your habits.” Elizabeth grinned, as she walked into Bethany’s room still clad in a towel and rubbing her hair with another. “I might have known you’d borrow something I’d just bought,” she sighed.

“I’m sorry, but your wardrobe was open, and this just called to me.”

“Me too, that’s why I bought it. I just never thought my sister would be wearing it before I did,” Elizabeth sighed wistfully.

“I can take it off if you want, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Bethany offered.

“NO! You can keep it on. I just realised how much I missed you borrowing my stuff.” With that, Elizabeth came and hugged her long lost sister, shedding a few tears along the way.

“You can borrow my cream suit if you want,” Bethany consoled, returning the hug with enthusiasm.

“Now you’re talking, Sis.”

The meeting with “her” mother went off without a hitch, at least she never saw through her deception. ‘Mind you, that might have been because her vision wasn’t what it used to be,’ thought Bethany. Heather Chambers had cataracts, yet she could still see a little, and her manner was so cheerful, you would think it never bothered her at all. She welcomed both into her arms and only got them mixed up at the start because she knew that the dress that Bethany had borrowed was Elizabeth’s.

Once the meal was finished, Ada dropped a private bombshell to Bethany. “I can cure her vision problem,” she announced silently.

“How?” murmured Bethany behind her screen of a napkin. “We don’t want to tell her about you, it would only raise more questions, and I don’t want to hurt this family.”

“I can send the actual occlusion into p space, leaving her lens clear, and we don’t need to reveal the true nature of her cure. If I send only a portion of it each time over a period of several sessions, the body should regenerate the missing lens, and the cure will seem to be working. If you take both of her hands, I can work though you. All you need to do is say you learned some aboriginal magic while you were away on your ad campaign.”

“Magic?” Bethany questioned, unsure of how that would go over.

“Look around you. Her walls are filled with mystic talismans from all over the world. Surely she must have some element of belief, if she collects all that,” Ada prompted.

“Mother? I have something I want to try.” Bethany started, trotting out her plan to affect a cure. Even though it sounded unbelievable to her, Heather ate it up. So it was with some props like lit candles and other esoteric items that the first treatment began.

All it took was for them both to hold their hands together, while Elizabeth looked on with an expression of disbelief and anger at the farce.

That all changed, when pleading exhaustion 15 minutes later, Bethany broke away and Heather opened her eyes and exclaimed, “It’s working! I can see much more than I did. It’s not completely fixed, but much of the blurriness has gone,” she rejoiced, giving Bethany a hug of thanks.

“We will try again in an hour, as it might take several more treatments,” Bethany cautioned.

Elizabeth couldn’t believe anything so simple looking could have done any good. Her anger at her sister for giving what she thought was false hope to her mother was replaced instantly with curiosity, and not a few questions.

Bethany fielded them adroitly, saying it was a type of psychic healing with no real explanation, other than the recipient must believe. When Elizabeth persisted with her probing, Bethany stood up and told her flat out that either the ancient lore she had learned had helped, or she must have been imbued with magical power from an alien device found in the outback. This stopped all the questions, as there was no doubt which choice Elizabeth chose to believe, but being Elizabeth, she threw a parting shot.

“So, can you use this magical device for other things?” she joked.

“You’ll never know, will you?” Bethany grinned evilly.

Elizabeth stuck her tongue out at her sister before turning to her mother to re-confirm this miracle.

While her sister talked to her mum, Bethany stretched her body and wandered round the room, taking note of everything.

“You took a chance then, you know,” Ada’s voice sounded in Bethany’s head. “I can see the way you manipulated your words so the truth was ignored for a more logical, if unlikely explanation.”

‘People believe what they want, but given a choice, will nine times out of ten, choose the simplest answer,’ Bethany whispered.

Having recovered her energy an hour later, Bethany began another treatment. This time, when Ada took a bit more of the occluding tissue and sent it away, there was nothing but a look of hope and excitement showing in Elizabeth’s eyes. Ada advised Bethany to wait a week before trying another treatment, so the eye could recover the missing tissue through normal regeneration.

To say Heather was grateful would be an understatement. Even though she knew it wasn’t the final treatment, she could see much better.

Bethany advised her to keep it quiet, as the cure wouldn’t work for everyone and she didn’t want to be the center of attention for a miracle cure that she couldn’t duplicate every time.

Elizabeth was quiet on the ride home and Bethany saw her sister glancing sideways at her as she drove.

“What?” she finally asked, wondering if her makeup was smudged?

“Oh nothing,” her sister blushed, seeing she’d been caught.

“Nothing, phooey! Has my mascara run?” Bethany prompted, turning to face her sister.

“I guess you have changed while you’ve been away. It’s just I don’t see it,” Elizabeth finally admitted.

“Should I have grown some horns or be surrounded by some sort of mystical aura?”

“No, nothing like that. It’s hard to explain, but even though we got on well together before all this, you just seem nicer now, somehow,”

“Thanks, Sis. Maybe I’ve grown up a little.”

Elizabeth reached out one hand and took her sister’s hand, and held it all the way home despite some shaky gear changes using the other hand.

The next few days were spent at home, mainly to familiarize herself and clean up the place from damage caused by Elizabeth’s abductors. Heather had visited again, and had another treatment that rid her of the remaining cataracts. Her vision wasn’t yet perfect, but Ada assured Bethany that Heather’s vision would return to normal as the lens reformed its proper shape after having some of the volume inside removed. This gradual return to full sightedness would help, if and when Heather was questioned by her doctor.

Bethany used the time to make some discrete inquiries into setting up a team that would help stake her claim and then protect it as work began to recover it from the ground. She also had Ada check to see if there was any police presence surrounding her true sister Amanda, at the institution.

“There does seem to be someone assigned to that duty,” Ada informed her, after checking computer logs in the police headquarters.

Bethany decided to go out on her own and scout around. Elizabeth had just gone out to get her hair done, so it was an ideal opportunity.

Bethany had found out that she now owned a muscle car, a two door Holden Monaco GT, in red. Apparently it was an image thing. Elizabeth had her own car, a blue Holden Estate, the one they had gone to her mothers in. It was a slightly more sedate car, as it hadn’t been modified like the GT.

Gary had never been one for messing with engines. If it ran, then you left it alone. Getting into the drivers seat of the GT and starting it nearly sent her into orgasm, as the deep throbbing beat of the V8 vibrated her whole body. She revved it, hearing the low throaty burble turn into a roar that nearly deafened her. She took it gingerly at first, never having experienced anything with so much power before. She could see why people loved these beasts as she gradually gained more confidence. Just a quick stamp on the pedal would send the car surging forward, pressing her back into the seat from the acceleration. Soon, she was speeding along above the speed limit in her new toy.

“Slow down, there’s a police unit ahead operating a radar device,” warned Ada.

Bethany giggled. “I have my very own radar detector,” she enthused, slowing the beast down just in time.

Avoiding the police was easy, but someone else soon had their eye on her, and made a quick call on their cell phone. “Boss, I thought you might want to know. Someone’s driving the Chambers GT. It’s not Elizabeth, I saw her at the hairdressers not 5 minutes ago.”

“I know, Boss, but the chick driving it is her clone.”

“I know that, but there seems to be another.”

“Okay, Boss, I’ll follow her till you catch up.”

Bethany drove on, unaware of the danger until the ever alert Ada filed through the millions of cell phone calls. “I think we may have caught some unwelcome attention,” she warned, before replaying both sides of the conversation.

Being a cell phone call and knowing that scanners could be listening in, the conversation Ada had monitored mentioned no actual names, nor was any incriminating information given out, but the tone itself seemed threatening, and the general conversation fit the present circumstances to a tee. The clincher came when Ada, through some means known only to her, accessed the number the observer had called. It matched that of the former Bethany’s boyfriend.

Nervously, Bethany drove along, keeping an eye out for her pursuers. A brown nondescript Ford that had been following her for some time without suspicion, now became a prime suspect, until another newer BMW took its place Ada advised that she head out into the country away from most of the public traffic.

“Isn’t that the opposite of what I should be doing?” she asked.

“Normally, but I thought that you’d like to eliminate the threat once and for, not have it linger.”

“Sure, but?”

“If we avoid a confrontation now by going into somewhere public, they get the advantage,” Ada calmly offered.

“Huh?” Bethany asked

“They will have time to plan another attack when you least suspect it. By letting them follow now, they will be caught off guard without the chance to plan something devious if you prove to be Bethany. At this point, there’s some doubt to your actual identity, and it will be least likely to end in violence till they prove it conclusively. Stop at that park up ahead and walk to the pond.”

Bethany did as asked, even though she was nervous about the whole thing. Ada, sensing her state of mind, assured her that she was safe from any attack, although she neglected to say why that was so.

She walked to the pond, noticing that the BMW had parked behind her, and three men got out. Two remained alert at the car, while the third moved in her direction. Ada, using her 360 degree vision, told Bethany that it was Samuel Masters, began keeping her apprised of his position.

Bethany turned as he got within a couple of meters of her. He gasped as recognition awoke fear in his eyes, and he turned several shades paler.

He looked her over from head to toe, trying to discover anything that would deny her identity. His eyes strayed to her hands and in particular, a diamond ring that Ada had supplied her with, when she generated her form.

“You are dead. I buried your body, and I took back my ring … that ring.” he choked out, pointing to the ring on her finger.

Bethany realised that when Ada created her, it must have been from data that had her still wearing Samuel’s ring. Prompted by Ada, she spoke, following her lines. “Do I look as if I am dead?”

“You can’t be her ... I checked my farm only last month. I even threw a rose on your grave,” he shouted angrily, reaching out for her.

She twisted away and quickly ran to a small copse of trees that would screen her and the pursuing Samuel from his bodyguards for a few precious seconds, until they caught up. Once she reached the trees, she slowed, allowing Samuel to catch up.

As he reached out to grasp her throat in a choke hold, Ada sent him into p space, leaving Bethany standing there alone, with just the memory of his hands touching her. The two bodyguards followed their boss into p space after grabbing her to force her to tell them what she had done with him.

“What will happen to them?” she asked, thinking of the time she experienced p space, as she made her way back to her car.

“I don’t suppose you want them to remain there permanently?” Ada asked, already knowing the answer.

“No, I don’t want them dead, although they deserve it,” muttered Bethany.

“With no warning to close their eyes, what they experience will overload their senses. I don’t think they will be sane when I allow them to return.”

“Will they be able to see each other in p space?” Bethany wondered, voicing her question to Ada.

“No, it doesn’t work like that. Think of it as having no lateral dimensions. Instead, objects are stacked one upon each other separated by time, rather than space. Your detector is in the same volume of space as the others but separated by a time coordinate. I can retrieve any item in any order I wish.”

“You mean it’s like a filing cabinet, except there’s only one extra deep drawer, with each item stored in a separate folder so there’s no contact between them?” Bethany asked.

“That’s an excellent analogy. I must remember that, but now, we need to go farming,” Ada replied, giving her direction’s to Samuel’s farm.

Bethany drove east along narrow roads that eventually turned to rutted dusty, bone shaking torture tracks. Ada had located the farm through her net access, telling Bethany that it was imperative to find the real Bethany’s body before she released any of the others from p space.

“They might reveal her location inadvertently if they ramble madly, and we need to get to her before any police get wind of it. Besides, I suppose you prefer to have her buried properly, even if it’s not official.”

It wasn’t too hard to find where the body lay buried. A four wheel drive jeep was located in a farm shed and the keys were found in the homestead that Bethany entered via a carefully thrown rock. Using the information Samuel had blurted out, they followed the most recent tracks made by the jeep. Ada helped by using her HUD to show the ground in an enhanced mode that highlighted the tire tracks made by the jeep. Once the area they were traveling over matched the picture that Ada had retrieved from Samuel’s computer, they slowed down. Bethany stopped and got out, scanning closely for any sign of a rose left on the burial site.

“Over there,” Ada prompted, having spotted it with her superior senses.

Bethany stood next to the rose, and a few tears fell at the thought of the wasted life lying just under the sand at her feet.

“I’m not touching her,” she protested, when Ada suggested placing her into p space.

“Just place you hand on the sand,” Ada reassured her, after checking that a body lay there. “I’ll send the sand and the body, so you won’t have to see anything unpleasant.”

After it was done, Bethany used the spade on the back of the jeep to fill in the hole created by the body’s removal. She was quiet on the ride back to the city, and after putting the car through a car wash to rid it of the reddish dust that clung to the sides and rear of the car, she drove home to do the same to her body.

Elsewhere, three men appeared out of thin air, falling to the ground as normality rushed in at them. One of the goons remained unconscious and was eventually found and placed in hospital, and from there, into a homecare unit where he did little more than vegetate. The other goon became a religious nut, claiming he’d seen God. He confessed to all manner of crimes and was eventually put away in psychiatric care. Samuel? No one knew what he thought. He’d managed to get in his car and drive off. The police later recovered his body from the wrecked car that had careered off the steep and treacherous zigzag road that wound down from the escarpment near Kelmscott to the valley floor below. Whether it was deliberate, or just another statistic of that particular road, no one would ever know.

Elizabeth was still out. She’d left a message, saying she was going shopping, and for Bethany to ring her on her mobile if she wanted anything special. Ringing her sister, Bethany found out when Elizabeth was due home and what she’d planned for dinner. She had avoided telling Elizabeth an outright lie by saying she’d been driving around seeing the sights, when asked what she’d been doing most of the day.

Bethany was in the kitchen helping towards dinner, when her sister arrived with arms full of groceries. “There’s more in the car,” puffed Elizabeth, glad to dump the bags of tinned goods on the bench.

Bethany went out to bring in the rest, jokingly asking if the stores were now empty.

“No, I ran out of money,” she flipped back, having already surrendered Bethany’s credit cards back to her sister.

Bethany was going to retort, but saw that her sister was being serious. “I’ll settle up later,” she promised, knowing how awkward it is to admit being broke.

“I forgot to transfer some of my …your earnings to my account,” Elizabeth blushingly explained.

“If you work out what you earned as me, I’ll transfer that into your account,” promised Bethany.

Elizabeth shrugged, not seeming too concerned about it. With her sister back in charge, things could go back to normal with Bethany becoming the breadwinner for both her and their mom.

Bethany could see she needed to get the gold find sorted out, but first she needed to see her real sister. After dinner, Bethany asked her sister if it was okay if they had an extra guest stay with them, as she planned to bring Amanda back the next day, keeping the promise she’d made to her friend Gary. Bethany found it strange referring to her former self as a separate person, but looking down at her body made the separation easier, as there was nothing left to show the association with her former identity.

“She can use the spare room,” Elizabeth agreed easily, showing no reluctance to having a stranger coming to stay. Bethany had not mentioned who it was that was coming, just in case Amanda needed a secret identity.

The next day, Bethany drove to the institution where Amanda was being looked after. Before entering, Ada changed Bethany’s looks with a little of her morphing magic, so the police presence wouldn’t recognize her and start opening a new can of worms. They had debated having her go in as a nurse, substituting Bethany for a nurse coming off duty, but Bethany pointed it out that questions could be asked if she suddenly returned, and there was the possibility of her being ordered somewhere else in the institution. Bethany, or rather, Gary, remembered the name of one of Amanda’s old girlfriends. Ada soon had her profile located and minutes later, an exact copy of Julie Rembrandt walked into the main entry of Harroway House for the disabled.

As a friend of Amanda’s, she was allowed entry and told where to go without much fuss when she mentioned wanting to visit Amanda. Bethany saw the receptionist look over to a man in a dark suit. Although not in uniform, it was plain he was watching everyone entering and he gave Bethany a cursory look before dismissing her and nodding back to the receptionist, who then gave the block and room number to her.

“There are cameras in reception and in the hallways,” Ada warned.

“Any in the rooms? What about intercoms?” Bethany asked, as she walked down towards her sister’s room.

“There are intercoms. I can’t be sure if they are being monitored all the time. I would suggest caution.”

Amanda was sitting in a wheel chair when Bethany entered the room, knitting what looked like a scarf from where Bethany stood. Amanda turned and gave a smile to what she thought was her old friend.

Even though Ada had checked and found no camera surveillance in the room itself, the intercom on the wall was enough reason to be cautious in what was said. So rather than explain anything right there, Bethany wanted her sister in a place where she could explain freely.

“Buttercup? I have a message from someone close to you,” Bethany/Julie began, knowing that ‘Buttercup’ was Gary’s pet name for his sister.

Bethany then asked Amanda to trust her, whispering that Gary’s life depended on it. Of course Amanda knew of the police’s interest, having been heavily questioned several times about Gary’s whereabouts.

“I want to take you to see him, but without the police knowing or following,” Bethany/Julie assured her. “I have a plan, but you need to be blindfolded to do it. It’s sort of like a magic trick, so things will get quiet all of a sudden. Promise me, no matter what you feel or sense, you’ll not touch the blindfold till you hear me tell you to.”

“I promise,” Amanda agreed, as her friend took out a blindfold and fastened it over her eyes. With Julie using Gary’s pet name for her, she knew Gary must be somewhere close.

Ada sent Amanda into p space as soon as the blindfold was secure. Bethany then walked calmly out of the place without any problem. After Bethany returned to her car, Ada removed the Julia disguise.

Then Bethany drove to a seldom frequented fishing spot on the banks of the Swan River. She figured correctly, that it would be empty since it was a workday. Checking to make sure that the area was clear of any visitors and she was completely alone, she had Ada bring her sister back from p space.

Ada brought Amanda and her wheel chair back from the silent world of p space and then removed her blindfold.

“Who are you, and where is my friend Julie? How come you are using Gary’s pet name for me?” demanded an angry and confused Amanda.

“What I’m about to tell you will seem bizarre, and totally unbelievable,” Bethany began, pacing back and forth before her sister as she struggled to get her story in order. Having decided it was necessary to reveal all to her sister if she was to help cure her, Bethany started telling her all that had befallen Gary, using third person, believing that telling Amanda she was actually Gary would be too much for Amanda to take.

At first, Amanda thought she’d been kidnapped by a weirdo, but as Bethany got into her story, her demeanor changed and Amanda started to see little mannerisms and way of speech that reminded her of Gary. It was hard to believe the tale that the gorgeous girl in front of her was explaining. In spite of the evidence of her own eyes and ears, Amanda felt that somehow Bethany was Gary.

Bethany was only three quarters of the way though her tale when Amanda stopped her and demanded an answer to a question. “Are you Gary?”

“Yes, Buttercup. I am Gary,” Bethany answered.

Amanda was almost sure she believed it was Gary, despite the appearance that said otherwise. Amanda wanted concrete proof to chase away the last doubts.

“Okay, if you’re Gary, then you’d know this. What did we go as, on our second ever Halloween night?”

“Sheesh, Sis. That was a long time ago,” grumbled Bethany, racking her brains for the answer.

“True, but I don’t think Gary would ever tell anyone the answer, either,” Amanda admitted, thereby giving Bethany the clue.

Thinking back, Bethany recalled the time Amanda had convinced Gary to trade costumes as a joke, forcing him to go out as a cute angel, while Amanda went in his Batman costume. It had been fun at first, fooling people. They were pretty much the same size and being young weren’t expected to have shapely bodies. What caused Gary the most embarrassment was being made up by their neighbour after she thought Gary needed to look prettier for her boyfriend, aka Amanda. Needless to say, Amanda held that over him when she had unpleasant chores to do, resulting in him doing them for her. Luckily she stopped teasing him and they became closer as a result.

“You went as Batman, and I went as a fairy princess, and the neighbour added makeup to my face,” Bethany whispered, blushing at the memory.

“You are Gary! Give me a hug, please?” Amanda cried, holding her hands out from her wheelchair.

“Well, at the moment, I’m Bethany Chambers, Sis,” she laughed, giving her sister a hug and a chaste kiss.

“And with makeup on as well,” Amanda giggled.

“And a whole lot more,” Bethany added, laughing at the irony.

Bethany then continued with all the details up to using Ada’s p space to spirit Amanda away from her home.

“You were Julie too? Amazing, but why didn’t you just return to being Gary to explain all this?”

“I can’t, Sis, at least not yet, and maybe not ever. Even though we might seem to be alone, I can’t take the chance someone might be in a position to see me if I’m under any kind of surveillance.”

“Not ever?” gasped a shocked Amanda.

“I have made a promise of sorts to my twin Elizabeth, and I need Bethany’s influence to get the gold claim started. I need money, lots of it, to do what I want, and nobody’s going to loan Gary any, even if he didn’t have the police after him.”

“You’re going to use a famous model and her feminine wiles to get a loan?” giggled Amanda, savouring the irony.

“Of course,” Bethany shamelessly admitted, striking a pose and batting her luscious lashes.

Amanda laughed, and Bethany joined in before sobering with another thought. “Sis, we can cure you and have you walking again, but unless we change your appearance, the “cure” will raise questions we can’t possibly answer.”

“I will walk again?” Amanda asked happily, seemingly not catching the changed appearance bit.

“Yes! Ada says she will have to be worn to affect the cure.”

“Koolies, just don’t turn me into a guy, okay?” Amanda enthused, showing she hadn’t missed anything Bethany had told her.

Bethany grinned, “No way! That would be just too confusing.” “We need to go somewhere better than this. I feel too exposed here, but I didn’t want to leave you in p space too long in case you thought I’d abandoned you.”

“What about going to your new home?”

No, we can’t Sis. Elizabeth doesn’t know I’m not her real sister. I don’t want to let her in on what I’ve told you. It would crush her.”

Amanda replied with an, “ah!” conveying understanding, far beyond the simple sigh. “Understood, Sis…I can call you Sis? or Beth?”

“Sure, I don’t mind either way, seeing Gary sure as hell doesn’t fit anymore.”

“I know, why don’t we go to that cave we found as kids?” Amanda suggested.

“Great idea, Sis,” Bethany agreed, already planning ahead.

Bethany bundled Amanda into the car minus the wheelchair which was hidden in the bushes nearby. Amanda was a bit reluctant to dump her only means of transport for so many years, till Bethany pointed out that the cave could only be accessed along the beach. “I’m not pushing a wheelchair in soft sand,” she pointed out.

With Amanda safely buckled up, they drove to the beach where as kids they had run freely in the sand and surf. Once again, Amanda was tucked away in p space, while Bethany temporarily regained her manhood, becoming just another Speedo (Australian male swimsuit) clad swimmer running along the shore.

Gary/Bethany felt strange being male again. Maybe because the body Ada had generated was bulkier and more muscled than Gary’s original body. Going from a slender supple female to a bigger heavier male body felt uncomfortable, and Bethany nearly had Ada change her back to a female, any female. Knowing it was just for a few minutes made it bearable, but Gary/Bethany realised that the time spent in a female body had irrevocably changed the way she saw her body image.

She still saw herself as female, even though her body was temporarily male. Shaking her head at the conflicting sensations, she tried to concentrate on the task ahead. The cave, set back into cliffs was empty, as was the beach around it. Bethany once inside, had Ada return her to her now familiar female body. She looked down at her body, realizing that she now looked at it as her own.

Once Amanda was released from p space, Bethany sat her down on an outcropping in the cave and the work began. Bethany had Ada return to the same dimension, becoming visible for the first time since Gary donned it.

Amanda giggled at the sight of the helmet, which still looked oversized for the head wearing it. “It reminds me of the helmet in that movie Spaceballs.”

Bethany grinned, slowly removing the helmet from her head. Bethany realised how much she relied on Ada’s help and advice and felt a reluctance to relinquish it. Steeling herself, for after all, she was only giving it to the sister she loved more than anything; she placed it on Amanda’s head.

Ada must have sensed Bethany’s reluctance and decided to remain visible for the duration of Amanda’s rebuild. Amanda had stipulated that she wanted to be similar in build to Bethany, as her body had gained weight due to the inability to exercise properly.

Bethany was spellbound as she watched her sister transform under Ada’s manipulative powers. Not only was her body changed, but her clothes as well. Ada even provided a purse, from which a hand mirror was produced so Amanda could see the results. For the first time in over two years, Amanda stood up, reveling in the simple task standing up.

Admiring her new form, Amanda realised that Ada had adjusted her new body slightly, until it became more like Bethany’s without becoming a clone. Now they looked like sisters or maybe cousins, a fact not lost on Bethany.

“My long lost cousin?” Bethany asked, when Amanda announced she was happy with her form.

“Ada says you do have a cousin in America, but her name’s Mandy,” Amanda grinned. “Do you think I’d make a great Mandy?” Here Amanda twirled, gleefully relishing being able to do it again.

“I guess Mandy’s close to Amanda, in case I make a slip of the tongue, but won’t being a relative be a bit awkward if Elizabeth or our mom start questioning you?”

“No, Ada says … well let her tell you herself,” the newly christened Mandy said, holding the helmet back out to Bethany.

“Mandy has never traveled out of the states and her face is similar enough to pass for the one Amanda’s now wearing. I have reproduced her identification papers and a passport, along with everything else needed to keep her disguise intact.” Ada informed Bethany, once the helmet was placed back on her head.

“Have you decided to go with being my cousin Mandy?” Bethany asked, double checking her sister’s decision.

“I think so, at least this way I can keep a close eye on you,” giggled Mandy. “I can’t wait to take you clothes shopping.”

“Oh no, the dreaded shopping gene,” wailed Bethany theatrically. “I’m doomed … doomed, I tell you,” placing the back of one hand against her brow, like some of the actresses used to do in the old movies.

Mandy just laughed. “Don’t worry, Cuz. I’ll teach you everything you ever needed to know about shopping.”

“Cuz?” Bethany asked, before slapping her head. “Oh yeah, I forgot about our change in family relations,” she added, ignoring Mandy’s comment about shopping.

“At least I’m still related,” Mandy pointed out. “It would be harder trying to be a total stranger.”

“True …” Bethany agreed, her voice trailing off as she wondered whether they could pull this all off.

Both girls walked barefoot from the cave and strolled back along the beach to the car. Brushing the sand from her feet, Bethany put on her shoes and started driving back home. Mandy remained barefoot, even after they had arrived, enjoying the sensation coming from her feet as she walked inside, holding her shoes.

Elizabeth was out when they came back, but arrived later around noon, bringing several French sticks that were still warm and a hot precooked chicken in a foil bag.

Elizabeth was pleasantly surprised to see Mandy, especially when she learned she was her cousin from the states. She scolded Bethany for keeping her a secret, and over a lunch of chicken on sliced French stick, tried her best to extract every scrap of information, from her newly minted cousin.

After lunch, Elizabeth wanted to take Mandy to meet her mother if she was agreeable. When Mandy expressed her desire to meet her aunt, Bethany quietly asked Ada whether that was a good idea.

“I gave your sister a pocket history of Mandy and her closest relatives, in case this might be needed. Before you ask, yes it was a memory dump, so she can recall it at will. I know you didn’t want me doing that sort of thing to you without your permission, so I asked Amanda, and she agreed to it,” Ada explained hastily.

Bethany stayed home, letting her ‘sister and cousin’ visit Heather on their own, explaining that she wanted to get things started on the gold find. Gary had come to know a few reputable people in the business and Bethany was soon sounding them out, while hinting she had a substantial find to develop. Agreeing to a meeting with one of them, Bethany felt relieved to be finally doing something.

It was soon cut short as Ada interrupted her thoughts. “It looks like we have stirred a nest of hornets getting Amanda out of that place.” The police channels are full of talk about it and the police have issued more warrants for Gary’s arrest.”

“What!”

“They seem to think you were behind her apparent disappearance, even though your whereabouts are still unknown,” Ada relayed, keeping track of all police communications. “They think you took her out of there from under their noses.”

Bethany laughed wryly, knowing how true that was, but annoyed they were blaming Gary without any evidence.

“I suppose they are looking for Julie as well now?”

“Well they have located her, but because we knew she was in New Zealand visiting a sick cousin, and she is provably there now, just hours after Amanda’s disappearance, she has the perfect alibi, so the police think the last person to visit Amanda was disguised. One officer even laughingly suggested that it was probably Gary in disguise.”

“Smart man, we should send him a prize.”

“It probably wasn’t a smart idea to tell that officer who visited your intentions to get Amanda out of that institution, as suspicion will fall on you,” Ada pointed out.

“True, but then I’m only human. I make mistakes,” offered Bethany. “Well I do have one thing in my favour should they come calling. I can say my plans to save Gary’s sister could only be undertaken once the claim produced some results. Besides, they can search all they want, since Amanda is now Mandy.”

Bethany made a call to Elizabeth on her cell phone and asked to speak with Mandy, as she had yet to get one of her own. Once Mandy was on, Bethany warned her that the police might come visiting and to be on her guard. Mandy thought it was all a bit of fun, like being a spy, knowing with her looks and the ability to walk again, she would never be discovered. Bethany hoped her sister/cum cousin continued to have fun being a sort of Mata Hari.

When the inevitable happened, it was the same officer who’d visited before who knocked on the door. Of course Bethany acted surprised at this extra visit, grumbling about having thought everything had been sorted out last time, as she invited him inside. Both Elizabeth and Mandy were still at Heather’s, so that added complication was avoided for the moment.

Bethany pretended to be shocked when Officer Benson introduced himself, and revealed that Gary’s sister Amanda was currently missing. ”Since when?” Bethany questioned. “Why do you think she is missing, as it hasn’t even been a day?”

“Surely she might just have gone out with a friend?” Bethany pointed out. “How come are you involved so soon?” she asked suspiciously.

“We had her under police surveillance in case her brother contacted her. He is now the prime suspect in her disappearance.”

“Sounds more like she was under house arrest the way you are acting. And if Gary is the prime suspect, why are you coming bothering me? I just wanted to help his sister if and when this gold claim proves worth while.” Bethany argued.

“Well, you did mention wanting to take Amanda out of there. We are just following up any leads we can at this stage,” Benson admitted.

“Well don’t bother me then. I haven’t even met her yet. So find her, I have a promise to keep,” Bethany demanded, ending the discussion.

The officer got up, seeing this was just another dead end. After all, the camera never showed Bethany visiting, and the hope that she was involved somehow seemed remote, given her attitude.

Things settled down after the police lost interest. At least they never bothered Bethany and Elizabeth again about Amanda. Bethany wasn’t fooled into thinking that the police had forgotten them, but suspected they were probably waiting for something new to crop up.

“What happened to the rest of the ship the Teg was piloting?” Bethany asked Ada as she planned for getting the gold out. She was going to hire bulldozers and was suddenly worried what else might be uncovered in the search for the lost gold of Lassiter’s reef.

“It is long gone,” supplied Ada reassuringly. All Teg ships have a self-destruct. Should they be critically damaged, the metals which form it all readily decompose in the presence of oxygen, once the field produced by the engines collapse. The fields shield the skin from damage and atmospheric effects. With the field gone, the hull degrades to dust in about ten days.”

“It’s that reactive? I would have thought it would have been the complete opposite. To think that a primitive dinosaur took out a futuristic space craft is incredible,” laughed Bethany.

“Well, the pilot was an idiot, and the dinosaur luckily broke an essential part of the craft. The reason the hull is so volatile, is because of the paranoia of the Teg. They feared having their ships falling into the wrong hands. It’s hard to examine a crashed ship if the metal is dissolving rapidly.”

“And you survived, how?” Bethany asked, intrigued.

“Remember, I was 0.356 degrees to the left of this plane of existence, so I didn’t suffer any damage in the crash. I survived, due to my maintenance programs, and solar power provided enough power to provide protection fields against oxygen degradation.”

“So you do have a weakness?”

“If you mean, can I be destroyed, then yes,.” Ada admitted without any hesitation.

“I can’t imagine what you went through all that time. I’m surprised you didn’t go insane with boredom,” Bethany muttered.

“I probably would have, had I been awake,” Ada laughed. “Once power drops below a certain level, my higher functions cease. It’s just like you going to sleep; I didn’t sense the passage of time after the Teg crashed.”

Having satisfied herself that her worries about uncovering a crashed spaceship were unfounded, Bethany set about organizing a BBQ for dinner. She soon had a few chicken drums immersed in a bowl with a soy sauce and honey marinade, while others were liberally coated in powdered paprika for a slightly different flavour.

She was preparing a desert when Elizabeth with Mandy in tow arrived home. Elizabeth checked what her sister was doing with a look of surprise, but didn’t say anything, until she saw the pie Bethany set into the oven.

“Wow, did aliens clone my sister?”

Bethany hoped her sister hadn’t seen the expression on her face on hearing the question.

“What?” she asked, wondering what she’d done to have her sister say that?

“You usually let me do the cooking, and I’ve never seen you make a pie before,” Elizabeth pointed out.

“Well, I learnt a lot while I’ve been away. I just thought I’d help out,” Bethany replied.

Mandy wasn’t surprised; after all, she knew Gary was a good cook even before he became Bethany.

Elizabeth grinned, saying she didn’t mind her sister taking over the cooking duties. Bethany threw a wadded up hand towel at her in response, saying, “The duty will be shared.”

While Bethany went out to start the BBQ, the others showered before dinner. Mandy was finished first and joined Bethany out on the patio. Bethany told her what had happened that day, adding her thoughts that they hadn’t seen the last of the police just yet.

Then Mandy said something that shocked Bethany’s world and made her examine just who she had become.

“It’s a pity you didn’t make me into Bethany. Then you could have returned to being male again.”

Bethany froze as her sister’s words reverberated in her mind. ‘Damn, why didn’t I think of that solution? Ada could have given my sister a download of Bethany’s mannerisms and filled her in on her life to date, while I could have returned to being male, even if it isn’t as my former identity.’

Mandy saw the stricken look on Bethany’s face, as she realised her missed opportunity.

“Sis, take over for me please, I need some time to think,” Bethany urged, handing Mandy the tongs.

Mandy nodded, wondering why Bethany seemed upset. She watched Bethany walk out to the edge of the property and disappear down one of the many tracks that led into the bush surrounding the house.

Bethany walked away from her sister, going down a track that soon swallowed her from sight. Trying not to think about the thing on her mind, she found herself approaching a rocky outcrop that overlooked the surrounding bush. The track went past it and down a steep slope that led somewhere into the valley below, but Bethany didn’t have suitable footwear for climbing up or down such a track, so she just walked out to the edge of the outcrop. Even though there was a sheer drop of several hundred meters, she felt no vertigo as she looked over the edge. The view out towards Perth city center was magnificent, with the airport lying between her and the city, but she looked out sightlessly as her thoughts were directed inward.

Finally she spoke out loud to Ada, trying to clarify her thoughts into actual words.

“What’s happening to me? Did you program me to accept being female and to choose that over returning to a male form?” she blurted out.

“No, I did not. I did help you to use that body in a way that would appear feminine, to give you the same mannerisms Bethany would use, but I didn’t change anything about your mind,” Ada assured her.

Bethany trusted Ada to tell the truth, so the implications of Ada’s denial weighed on her mind. If Ada hadn’t influenced her to remain female, then it was obviously something she herself had chosen, at least unconsciously. ‘Does this mean I prefer being female?’ Oddly this thought didn’t seem as repugnant as she thought it might be, had she been asked when she was still Gary. She sat down with her legs hanging over the edge of the rock and thought back to the very beginning of all this.

While the thought of ever being female hadn’t entered Gary’s mind, he had wondered what it was like to be one. Now that she had gained that knowledge, life as Gary was looking decidedly second rate. It wasn’t that being Gary was bad, but that Gary had never stood out. He was average in height and looks and was never the brightest in school … school?

“Ada? Did you make me more intelligent than I was?” Bethany asked, realizing that there was a discrepancy in the way she thought from how she used to, knowing Gary had an IQ of 100.

“Well, Bethany was known to have an IQ of 115, so I tweaked it up a bit to 125, admitted Ada calmly.

“Ah hah!” exclaimed Bethany, confirming her sudden realization as to why her thinking seemed clearer. So that was another plus in her change of gender. Becoming Bethany, had made her the center of attention, something Gary never experienced. Being a famous model, and having people fuss over her and do everything they could to stay in her good books, was novel, and not without a certain feeling of power.

As far as the sexual side of things, she had been lifted to greater heights of pleasure in her short time as Bethany, than had Gary in his whole life, and this was solely via self masturbation. So far, the pluses to stay female outweighed any that being Gary might have. Also there were practical considerations as well. Gary was on the run from the law and unlikely to be seen without risk. To have to become some strange male instead, was hardly any different to becoming Bethany in terms of getting used to a new body. Being Bethany at least, gave her a history that could be verified and so far she’d pulled it off without a problem … ‘Well, only a few problems,’ she giggled to herself.

She wondered what her sister’s response would be when she told her that Gary might not be coming back. A 747 announcing its desire to take to the air brought Bethany back to the here and now. She watched it rise in the foreground, heading over the suburb of Belmont and starting to turn towards her, heading on its journey east.

“Bethany! Where are you?” came faintly from behind her. Mandy’s voice called again, sounding a little nearer. Bethany sighed, knowing she had to tell her sister her decision to remain as Bethany. She stood, looking down at the sheer drop and drinking in the solitude that would soon be broken.

“Bethany where are you …Bethany!” the last was squealed in shock as Mandy finally saw her sister and where she was standing.

“Come look,” Bethany urged, not turning from the view.

“Careful, that looks dangerous,” Mandy warned, as she approached her sister cautiously.

Bethany laughed, turning to take hold of Mandy’s hand and pulled her close. “Isn’t the view great?”

Mandy didn’t answer for a second, as her attention was on her sister’s face, searching for the reason Bethany had suddenly run off. “Are you okay, Sis? Why did you run off,” she asked before looking at the view mentioned.

“I’m fine now, but I have something to tell you, something that … oh, crap!” she broke off, before turning and starting to walk back.

“Sis!” wailed Mandy, running after Bethany and pulling her to a stop. “Whatever it is that is troubling you, remember this, I love you, whether as a brother or a sister,” she got out, intuitively sensing what was on Bethany’s mind.

Bethany turned and hugged Mandy, tears flowing as she struggled to find the words and the strength to admit she loved being Bethany. “Sis… Gary is dead,” she finally ground out.

Mandy nodded, her own tears stopping her from saying anything coherent. Instead she hugged her sister, silently mourning the loss of her brother, yet rejoicing in the fact her sister was alive and well. “I think I knew already, Sis,” Mandy finally managed to say.

Bethany let go of Mandy, holding her at arms length while she looked at her sister’s face in surprise. “How?”

Mandy gave a short laugh. “Feminine intuition.”

“Phooey,” grumbled Bethany at her sister’s glib answer.

“No, really! I noticed how comfortable you are. Not many people would have the guts to change gender and then excel at being a totally different person,” Mandy explained further.

“Well, it wasn’t exactly my idea in the first place,” Bethany looked up and nodded her head indicating Ada’s invisible presence. “And I had help,” she added.

“True, but you made the decision to remain female, and that counts just the same. I’m going to miss Gary, but no one else is likely to miss him.” Mandy reflected. “On the other hand, if Bethany disappeared again, she would be missed far more, and by a lot more people.”

“Elizabeth and Heather would be heartbroken, and I would miss the opportunity of teaching you the art of shopping,” Mandy pointed out.

This gave Bethany a chance to pout when shopping was mentioned. “I’ve changed my mind, save me from shopping,” wailed Bethany theatrically, pretending to shy away in horror.

“Oh you! You’re no fun,” Mandy grumped stamping her foot before the two dissolved into laughter at the other’s antics.

“Hey, who’s looking after the BBQ? I’m so hungry, I could eat ewe,” punned Bethany with a giggle.

“Elizabeth, and if it gets burnt, she’ll lambaste ewe you,” Mandy threw back as she turned to run back home.

“Sounds kinky,” Bethany laughed back, following her sister’s footsteps.

“Where were you?” asked Elizabeth, when they both got back.

Watching Elizabeth basting the chicken drums and turning the lamb kebabs over made the two in question, exchange a look and their stifled giggles delayed answering. “Oh I was at the lookout,” answered Bethany finally. “I needed to think about something without any distraction.”

“You aren’t thinking of leaving again?” asked a suddenly worried Elizabeth.

“No, Sis, just the opposite. I’m here to stay,” Bethany answered to a relieved Elizabeth. “Here, let me take over, while you get the salad out. “Nice kebabs sis,” she added using the tongs to turn them again.

“Thanks, I made them this morning, but obviously you didn’t see them in the refrigerator.”

“Well if there’s too much left over, we can always reheat them,” Bethany commented sagely.

The three girls busied themselves, working like a team. For Mandy, it was like old times when she used to help Gary at family BBQ’s. The thought brought forth a few tears, as she mourned the loss of their parents.

Whether it was because she was now female and therefore closer to her sister, or the often touted feminine intuition kicking in, Bethany sensed what the odd tear in Mandy’s eyes meant. She reached and gave her sister a hug of support when Mandy passed by bringing the wine. “I miss them too,” Bethany whispered out of earshot of Elizabeth.

Having put on some music, Elizabeth joined them outside to await the end of the cooking and the start of the eating.

Mandy had drunk several glasses of wine and was reveling in her newfound mobility, slowly dancing to the music in a world of her own after eating. Elizabeth got up and joined her, dancing next to her, but without contact. Bethany smiled watching them as she turned off the gas, and started piling a dish with the cooked meat.

“Thaank you both. Thaat was great,” slurred a slightly tipsy Mandy, giving the others a hug.

Bethany helped Mandy to her room, and seeing her just collapse on the bed, made the decision to undress her and pull a nightie over the woozy Mandy. Seeing her sister’s new body naked, drove home another point in her transformation. Mandy had a great body, one Gary would have drooled over, but while Bethany could appreciate that same beauty, it failed to arouse her sexually. “Poot,” Bethany muttered, knowing what the implications of her observation meant for her future.

The next few days were spent doing the touristy thing with Mandy, their supposed visitor from the states. Mandy gushed at everything, everywhere they went. It wasn’t hard to pretend to be surprised at anything, as her prior invalid status had precluded going everywhere she had wanted. Mandy made the most of it, keeping her promise, or threat, (depending on the individual point of view) of taking Bethany into as many clothing stores as they could fit into a day.

Bethany, of course, protested, albeit not very convincingly. She could see the fire in her sister’s eyes. The more she resisted, the more Mandy urged Bethany to try just another skirt or dress on. In fact, Bethany enjoyed all the fuss and hoo-ha, but didn’t let on, lest Mandy lose some of her enjoyment trying to make her sister uncomfortable with some of her selections. It wasn’t that Mandy was being nasty; she was just teasing the former male mind that was now housed in a totally different body.

Bethany gradually allowed herself to become enthused, so that she could fully know how the genuine pleasure she felt from trying on the sexy clothes. Finally, Mandy slowed in her headlong rush to have Bethany try on every single garment Western Australia had to offer, or so it seemed. While supposedly, what clothes they did buy were for Bethany, knowing her sister, and given that she was the same size physically, Bethany knew Mandy would be “borrowing” her new purchases very soon. As the days went on, Bethany and Mandy grew together, forming a much closer bond than they’d had as brother and sister.

One evening, because the day had been spent shopping, Elizabeth suggested they eat out for dinner, a suggestion that was agreed on with alacrity. Sizzler’s was crowded, but being a family restaurant, they hadn’t needed to dress up, or book a table. They just turned up in the clothes they’d been wearing shopping and waited in line. Being the place it was, Bethany and her sisters went up as many times as their stomachs would allow, refilling their plates from the excellent smorgasbord selection.

The day was topped off by a soak in the Jacuzzi at home, as no one felt up to a fashion show with the new purchases bought that day. While relaxing and letting their meal digest, Bethany mentioned that soon she would be heading out to Laverton again. “I’d like both of you to come, but I need to warn you about the conditions,” Bethany cautioned, anticipating the desire of both to participate. “It will be hot, dusty and probably noisy as well once the machines start excavating, not to mention the flies during the day. I will be renting a mobile home with aircon and full facilities, but one can’t stay inside all day,” she warned

“We still want to come,” chorused the two sisters, looking at each other in agreement.

“When will you be starting?” Elizabeth asked, thinking ahead.

“I was hoping,Tuesday. The RV will arrive tomorrow, and the others will meet us at Laverton on Thursday.”

“The others?” Mandy enquired curiously.

“I’ve hired a firm to do the actual work, provide the security and handle the filing of the claim once we discover the lode’s exact location. They will bring in the machinery. Once the paperwork’s even been started, we’ll need to stay on site and protect it from claim jumpers.”

“Wow! We will need to go shopping for clothes then,” Mandy enthused, rubbing her hands together.

Bethany and Elizabeth groaned and attacked Mandy in the tub and dunked her several times in protest. Laughing, Mandy attacked back and soon all were completely soaked with their hair wet and bedraggled looking.

“Don’t you every get tired of shopping?”

“Nope, anyway, we need clothes suitable for the bush, unless you want to go round in that sequin number you bought today.” Mandy pointed out.

Several days later.

“Here you go, I must say, I’m glad you’re driving this monster, Sis,” said Mandy, handing Bethany a cold can of Coke.

Bethany took her eyes off the road for a second, as she accepted the already opened can and gave Mandy a smile.

“Oh it’s not too bad once you get used to the size. Power steering helps too,” she added with a grin, as she negotiated past a wheat harvester moving along the highway in the same direction.

“Well I’m glad I don’t have to park it. In town, it would take up three parking spaces,” Mandy pointed out. She sat down in the swivel seat next to the driver and locked it in the forward facing position as per the regulations while the RV was in motion.

“How’s Elizabeth?” Bethany inquired, knowing she’d experienced a bit of motion sickness earlier in the day.

“Oh, she’s sleeping now. I think those pills she took finally kicked in.”

“Good, the last thing we need, is the smell of vomit on board,” laughed Bethany, wrinkling her nose at the thought.

“So where are we headed for tonight, Sis?”

“Well, I planned to drive till dark. We should be past Coolgardie then, and on our way north to Kalgoorlie. It doesn’t really matter where we stop, seeing we are self sufficient.”

“This is so exciting! I haven’t been on a trip like this since I was 10 years old and we all went up to Carnarvon.”

“Well, once we become rich, you will be able to travel the world if you want,” suggested Bethany.

“Not if I have to drive one of these brutes,” Mandy giggled.

“Wait till tomorrow, when we lose the sealed roads. I’ll be glad of the extra padding I gained when we hit the corrugations,” laughed Bethany.

Mandy eyed the extra padding mentioned, realizing what a change her new sister was experiencing. “Maybe it will be enjoyable, like a vibrator,” she blurted out before blushing furiously.

Bethany laughed, seeing her sister’s discomfiture. Yes, tomorrow was going to be very interesting indeed. Refueling at Bodallin, some 60km past Merredin, they made a real sight as they stretched their legs. Elizabeth had woken and decided to use the restroom rather than use the toilet onboard. Bethany grinned as Mandy flirted with the young pump attendant, as he tried to keep his eyes on all three of near identical looking girls.

“You know, when I asked you to get us some pants, I didn’t mean hot pants.” Bethany whispered in Mandy’s ear, as the attendant’s eyes tried boring holes in them. The pants in question left nothing to the imagination and were hardly longer than bikini briefs. Gary had pajama pants that covered more than these. It was just as well the RV had sheepskin covers on all the seats to stop people getting their bums boiled from the intense heat the Australian sun generated. It also stopped the itchy sticky feeling you get on long journeys when wearing such skimpy pants.

“Well, you did say you wanted something easy to move around in,” giggled Mandy, not at all repentant, as she bent over to tie up an already secure lace on her boots.

“You’re such a tramp! Are you sure you’re my cousin?” Bethany returned with a grin.

“Well I’m not the one that chose to wear the pink pair,” giggled Mandy.

“Harrumph! Well I figured if wore those, men wouldn’t be checking out my tits so much,” argued Bethany, trying to excuse her choice.

“Oh! Suure, Sis, I might believe that, if your stretchy top wasn’t pink too, and didn’t have ‘Girl Power’ emblazoned on the chest.

“Um, well ... they matched, and anyway, you bought them,” challenged Bethany, trying desperately to weasel out.

Mandy just giggled, not bothering to reply.

The pump attendant chose then to ask to check their oil, to which Mandy replied that he could check under her hood anytime.

Bethany pulled her sister aside, allowing the young red faced man access to the engine compartment inside the front of the RV. “Stop that, you hussy! Can’t you see he’s having a hard time dealing with you.”

“Hmmmm, hard …” Mandy moaned in a Homer Simpson takeoff, checking out the man’s pants.

“Sheesh, I can’t take you anywhere,” admonished Bethany, dragging her reluctant sister into the service station, where she told her to pick up some chocolate covered ice cream blocks out of the freezer compartment.

Of course Elizabeth had missed most of this, so when she finally got back into the RV and handed her ice cream, she was regaled of Mandy’s antics by Bethany. She laughed, siding with Mandy, saying a girl has to do what a girl has to do. She then made suggestive movements with her tongue as she licked her ice cream, which made them all laugh.

They were still some distance from their destination of Coolgardie when 5.30 rolled around. Bethany’s assumption they would reach there, had been based on driving a car, but the RV was slower and took more care to drive. They had reached Southern Cross and checked out the town for a place to set up for the night, but Bethany wasn’t impressed with the choices available. As the day was still hot, they decided to drive on towards Coolgardie and find a spot on the side of the road.

An hour later, they found a rest area somewhere between Yellowdine and Karalee that took them out of sight off the main road. The road to the rest area was little more than a track, and ended in a clearing among gum trees and brush. Elizabeth and Mandy piled out, thankful to stretch their legs. First, Bethany changed out of her pink hot pants into more practicable jeans like the others were now wearing before joining the others outside. Mandy had found a wooden picnic table made of halved coppered logs, and was sitting in the half shade waiting for the others to join her. Bethany stretched her legs walking around the perimeter of the clearing, then went back to the RV and brought out three cans of beer, which she took to the table where Elizabeth had joined Mandy.

After wetting their whistles, Bethany headed back inside to start dinner. She had made a stew prior to leaving, something she used to do as Gary when he was heading out into the outback. With no refrigeration, Gary would freeze a stew and would have it the second night. All meat had to be processed like bacon or sausages or (cringe) in tins, if one wanted to have meat at least once a day.

That problem was taken care of as the RV had both a fridge and a freezer, which ran on either LPG or electrical power. Still, the stew was handy, requiring no lengthy preparation, just heating. Bethany was making thickly sliced toast on which to serve the beef stew when she heard a vehicle draw up next to them. She just served Elizabeth her meal when she heard knocking on the door, and a voice call out that it was the police. Telling Mandy to take over cooking her own toast, Bethany went to the door and opened it.

“Hello, Miss. I’m officer Stevens, from the Coolgardie road patrol. I check all rest stops between Kalgoorlie and Southern Cross as part of my patrol. Are you stopping the night here?”

“Yes, we plan to head to Laverton tomorrow. We just drove from Perth this morning,” Bethany affirmed. “Is there a problem Officer?”

“Not with stopping here. I’m glad to see people using their heads when traveling long distances. It makes my work easier … hmm something smells great,” the man added, sniffing the aroma of stew drifting out of the RV.

“Plenty for another plate.” Mandy’s voice called out, from inside.

The officer looked hesitant, desire warring with his responsibility.

“Surely, sharing a meal would be okay,” encouraged Bethany, thinking it was the polite thing to do, then moving back and gesturing for the officer to enter the RV.

“I really shouldn’t, but that smells great,” the man said, following her inside.

“If you get into trouble, tell them you had to strip search three dangerous women,” teased Elizabeth, moving to make room for the officer to sit beside her.

The officer blushed, making him look even cuter. Even Bethany thought so, before catching herself and trying to deny it.

“I hope I don’t need backup,” quipped the officer, reintroducing himself as Tim Stevens.

Elizabeth made all the introductions while Bethany made more toast and got out an extra plate. Instead of a beer, like the girls were drinking, she offered a can of chilled Coke, which the officer gratefully accepted.

“There is one thing you need to be aware of,” Tim told them, accepting his plate of stew from Bethany with a smile. “There are two escaped prisoners on the loose somewhere in the area.”

“Prisoners?” questioned Mandy.

“We had caught one of two men involved in a rape case in Coolgardie and were transporting him to Kalgoorlie to be flown to Perth. The van transporting him was rammed off the road, presumably by the other one that had eluded capture. He must have lain low and followed the van before making his move. The driver was knocked unconscious and when he came to, the prisoner was gone.”

“Oh dear. So do you think we are in any danger?” asked Elizabeth, holding her hand to her mouth.

“It’s unlikely. They are probably headed into the bush, at least that’s what the tracks showed. If you like, I can check back here on my return run, although it might be around 3am. Just make sure you lock the doors.”

“Thank you, we would appreciate that, just in case,” offered Bethany.

Once the officer had left, Bethany was teased by Mandy about whether she thought he was cute. Put on the spot, and having Elizabeth interested to hear her answer, Bethany couldn’t just ignore the question, and to deny it might raise questions with Elizabeth.

“He was cute in his uniform, but then I guess most men in the police force look better than the average Joe Blow. I expect Mandy likes all men in uniform,” giggled Bethany, trying to move the target to her sister.

“I bet you just wanted to rip his shirt off and ravage him,” retorted Mandy, not falling for her sister’s ploy.

Bethany couldn’t help, but blush. The truth be told, she did find the man to be attractive, something that she hadn’t counted on happening so soon. ‘Maybe it was pheromones or something,’ she thought, trying to justify her reactions. “I’ll take those plates and wash them,” she said, not deigning to answer her sister’s question with anything verbal.

Mandy and Elizabeth looked at each other, knowing by the blush and the abrupt change in subject what Bethany’s answer was.

Mandy loved her sister/cousin Bethany, and her teasing was done to get her sister to admit to her awakening feelings of attraction to the opposite sex. She knew that it would be an uphill battle, with Bethany having been male for so long. So she just hugged her sister, then helped out by grabbing a pot towel and drying the few dishes.

That night, after everyone was bedded down, and conversation had died away, Bethany thought back to Mandy’s question, trying to come up with an answer. She drifted off to sleep, with the issue still unresolved.

“BANG, BANG, BANG.”

Bethany woke suddenly as the knocking on the door continued. She glanced at the luminous dial of the clock next to her, seeing it was 2.45 AM. She stumbled out of bed, straightening her nightgown, before walking to the door.

“Tim you’re early,” she mumbled as she unlocked the door, trying to get the wool out of her sleepy brain.

“Well, lookie here ... Ain’t we a sight for sore eyes,” growled a threatening voice.

Instead of seeing the expected, if somewhat early, Tim, Bethany saw two men she’d never seen before. She tried closing the door, but a foot prevented it from closing and a hand pulled her from the RV. Suddenly, it was like a switch being thrown. Bethany’s mind became crystal clear as she realised these were the two men wanted by the police. She had to prevent these two entering the RV at all costs, as her sisters somehow were still asleep and helpless.

“Don’t go in there, you might wake my husband,” she hastily improvised. “Whatever you want, you can ask me,” she added, trying to smile seductively.

The two men stopped and looked at each other and nodded, pulling her further away from the RV.

“Well we will deal with your husband later,” one of the men said menacingly. “For now, we’ll just see what you have to offer,” he added with a nasty grin on his face. With that, he tore her gown from her body and threw it on the ground. Both men whistled softly, eyeing her naked form with lust. Bethany didn’t show the terror she felt and just managed not to scream. She knew if she did, both Elizabeth and Mandy would wake and become extra fodder for these two creeps.

Ada made a few suggestions, which Bethany intended to follow as the men pulled her further away. The moonlit night helped her avoid the worst of the rough ground underfoot as she was hustled out of sight of the RV. Once she thought they were far enough away, she stopped still. The unexpected resistance brought the two men to a halt; despite the increased force they exerted trying to move her.

“You want it here, then, Missy?” the taller one asked, dismissing the improbable situation that she was actually stronger than the two of them.

“You might say that,” she said in a calm voice, belying the fear inside. “Well, hurry up and get your pants off! I’m getting cold here,” she added as sexily as she could. Bethany then knelt down between the two men and licked her lips suggestively.

The two men stared, surprised, but not wanting to question the gift horse, soon had their pants around their ankles. They shuffled closer to her as she reached out to grasp their erections, one in each hand. She ran her hand up the cocks to grasp them around the base and cupped their sacks as well.

“Well, boys, I see you have been naughty. Just how many women have you forced these into?” she invited, licking her lips and making kissy noises, showing none of the revulsion she felt.

“Oh, lots,” both agreed, seeing she seemed turned on at the thought.

“Well then, I’m going to make sure no others will suffer that fate,” she said, allowing Ada to do her thing.

Ada sent the organs cupped in Bethany’s hands into the same void, where Bethany’s metal detector had been stored. Somewhere in p space, two pieces of flesh appeared, destined never to be reunited with their owners.

The two men didn’t scream as their organs uncoupled from their bodies. In fact, they didn’t even realise they were missing, as Ada made sure the nerve endings continued to send the same signals they had been sending. Bethany had time to cup the crotch of both men giving Ada time to work on sealing the major blood vessels preventing any blood loss, other than some seepage from the capillaries. Ada smoothed the ends of the urethras, leaving just holes for urination. She then altered something in the two men’s Hypothalamus and Pituitary glands, which would have some strange repercussions for them both in the near future. She hadn’t had time to discus this action with Bethany, but had thought it made a suitable punishment.

The men still unaware of their penectomies, grinned at each other.

“Hurry up girl, get sucking on it, before I do something drastic,” one of them threatened, looking down at her face.

“Suck what?” she asked, lifting her blood stained hands away, with their Ada enhanced nails that now looked like talons.

The two men both looked down at where their manhood used to hang as Bethany stood up and gave them both an evil looking smile while licking her lips.

Both men cried out fell to their knees reaching for their missing manhood’s. At first, they thought the woman had cast some kind of illusion on them, as they could swear that they could still feel their missing organs, despite what their hands and eyes were telling them. Once they saw their hands being covered with the slowly oozing blood, they knew their greatest fear was realised.

“You’d better go before I do something else you might regret.” Bethany stated coldly, as she looked down at the men before her.

Ada made Bethany’s skin glow with a super luminescence, that gave her slender body an eeriness that belied description. The two men felt their blood run cold at the sight. They shied away, scrambling to their feet before stumbling away in shock. They ran, struggling to get their pants up before the she demon standing in the moonlight acted on her threats.

She knew both men would soon seek help and thus be captured, as the area of the men’s groins, while not bleeding a lot, was still a raw wound that would seep blood till extra surgery closed the skin together.

She felt some regret at having to take the matter that far, but it was only what they deserved, and she knew all the women they had raped would agree with her. She walked back to the RV, hearing the faint cries of the men fade away. She then started to tremble in reaction, as she gathered up her torn nightgown. Ada sent the gown and the blood on Bethany’s hands into p space and then clad Bethany’s body with an exact replica.

Bethany climbed back into the RV and locked the door, marveling that the others were still asleep. ‘The fresh air and the long journey has made them sleep soundly,’ Ada offered, noting Bethany's look and guessing her thoughts.

Bethany nodded and poured herself a glass of brandy from the mini bar before she went to her own bed. She tossed and turned, trying to get back to sleep, her mind running over possible alternatives to what had just happened.

The next she knew, it was morning, as she had finally fallen asleep. “Wakey, wakey,” chimed a cheerful Mandy, a hot cup of coffee in her hands. Mandy sat on the bed and grinned at Bethany. “Guess who I saw last night?” she asked smugly.

“Two rapists?” Bethany retorted, hoping she was wrong.

“No silly! Tim called around about 4 am. I was going to wake you, but you looked so peaceful. He didn’t stay long, just letting us know that the men they were after had been seen by a trucker and were subsequently captured by a search patrol.”

“Great,” Bethany responded, trying to sound enthused.

‘Why didn’t I wake up?’ she asked Ada sotto voice.

‘You needed sleep, so I turned your audio receptors down. Don’t worry, I was fully aware of the officer’s return and would have woken you had there been a need,” Ada answered.

“Great …” grumbled Bethany under her breath. ‘I wish you had done the same with the two rapists.’

‘Officer Tim was driving a vehicle whose engine sound I recognized. I also monitored his radio call a few minutes earlier to say he was going to check some women overnighters. The other two men approached on foot with no prior warning,” Ada stated defensively in a tone of voice Bethany recognized.

‘I’m sorry Ada, I didn’t mean to accuse you of anything, I’m just upset.”

“Apology accepted,” Ada responded in a lighter tone of voice.

“Talking to Ada?” asked Mandy, seeing her sister’s eye grow distant.

“Sorry, Sis, just getting some updates, nothing to worry about.”

Mandy nodded, but sensed there was more to it than her sister was telling. Maybe later she could coax the details from her.

“Did Tim mention anything else about the two men?” Bethany asked as Mandy got up and started to head to the kitchenette.

“Yeah, he did. Apparently someone had attacked them. Probably in revenge, so Tim reckoned. He was a bit evasive as to what had happened, saying nice ladies needn’t know those kinds of details. You weren’t involved in anyway?” she asked, catching Bethany by surprise at her intuitiveness.

“Who me?” offered Bethany, trying her innocent look.

“Yes, you,” Mandy prompted, sensing Bethany was indeed involved. She didn’t press, as Bethany remained silent, but made a mental note to ask her later.

Bethany got up and had a quick wash. Even though Ada kept her skin clean and fresh smelling, she still liked to wash and bathe herself as a matter of routine. Elizabeth woke then, getting her own morning cup of coffee from Mandy.

“I didn’t know we had maid service,” she giggled, poking fun at Mandy.

“Oh yes, she rotates her duty with two others, Ma’am,” Mandy replied, making her meaning clear.

“More shopping? Asked Bethany, looking at Mandy, who returned a puzzled look.

“For a maid’s uniform,” explained Bethany, straight faced.

Elizabeth chuckled, to which Mandy poked her tongue out before joining in.

Breakfast smells started permeating through the RV as Mandy started cooking bacon and eggs. Bethany went to help while Elizabeth got dressed.

Bethany, getting a few minutes warning from Ada, promptly stopped what she was doing and went and put on some makeup. Mandy looked at her in surprise, before guessing what was happening. She looked chagrined, having to stay at the cooker, while her sister got beautiful.

Of course Elizabeth had no clue when a knock on the door heralded the arrival of Tim, once again checking in on his morning route. While Bethany answered the door, Mandy moved to her bag and quickly wiped some lipstick on and checked on her hair.

“Still on duty? asked Bethany as she opened the door to Tim’s smiling face.

“Actually my shift is over, but before I went home I thought I’d check you out … um, I mean, check that you were okay,” he blushed at his badly put words.

“I think I liked the first version,” Bethany laughed, feeling strange sensations fill her body. “Come in, we are just having breakfast, and you’re welcome to share.”

“Hmmm, that smells great,” offered Tim as he entered on her heels.

“You certainly know when to visit,” Mandy chuckled, adding more bacon to the pan.

“Well, we in the police force are trained for it,” returned Tim with a laugh.

Elizabeth scrambled to get her own makeup on while Tim was distracted up front.

“I hope you ladies had a safe night,” Tim opened, as the food was dished out and everyone was seated.

“Slept like a log,” opined Elizabeth, tucking into her breakfast with gusto.

“Anything happen in the night? Questioned Bethany curiously.

“Curious you should ask that,” Tim replied. “We caught the two men we were after. “Boy, they must have been stoned out of their minds, in light of their stories,” Tim answered between bites.

“What stories?” asked a curious Elizabeth.

“Well, they were seen running along the road about 5 kilometers east of here, heading back to Coolgardie by a trucker who put a call in to the police. Luckily, a patrol car heading west caught up with them minutes later.. Strangely, they just gave up when the car having first passed them had to reverse direction. Once in custody, they began ranting about seeing a vampire that ate their dicks off.” Here, Tim laughed.

“Wow! Some story, if they were on drugs, does that mean they were addicked?” Mandy quipped.

“More like dedicked,” Tim answered, with a grin.

“So it was true? Someone cut their cocks off?” gasped Elizabeth.

“Apparently. There’s a rumor that one of their victims got hold of them and castrated them both. I didn’t see them personally, but I heard whoever it was, made an excellent job of it.”

“Did the men describe their vampire?” asked Bethany, holding her breath for the answer.

“Well, I heard it was some kind of a glowing creature with teeth and talons, but then the men just clammed up after being questioned. I think the scorn heaped on them by the officers made them realise how re-dick-ulous it sounded,” Tim explained, grinning as he emphasized the word ridiculous.

Bethany sighed; she was in the clear so far. With the attraction she felt for Tim, she didn’t want to have anything jeopardize their burgeoning friendship. Suddenly realizing where her thoughts were headed, she excused herself abruptly and went outside to think.

She walked out in the morning’s clear crisp air, trying to get her head around the fact she found Tim attractive. Rationally, she could argue that it was just a normal female/male reaction, but the thought that she was actively thinking of some kind of future with him had caught her unawares.

She was so deep in thought that she missed Tim’s approach from behind. “You okay? You seemed upset. I hope I wasn’t the cause,” Tim asked concernedly, as he came up to her side.

“No, it’s not about you,” she answered not so truthfully, turning to face him. “It’s about me.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

“Yeah, become my security man in a project I’m starting. I’ll make it pay ten times your current salary,” she laughed, more than half seriously.

“Sounds tempting,” replied Tim, wondering why this woman stood out from the rest he had known. Even Elizabeth, her twin in looks, didn’t have the same indefinable quality that made her stand out. “What exactly is this project?” he asked in more than just idle curiosity.

Bethany laughed, as she turned and started walking back to the RV.

“You’ll soon find out, along with the rest of them,” she threw over her shoulder cryptically. “It will be the biggest thing to happen in Australia in decades,” she added, catching his interest further.

Tim was intrigued. Bethany’s offer was certainly attractive. He could leave the department if he chose to forgo the police pension the force supplied its members. Being young, that day seemed far away and didn’t really figure into his plans for the immediate future. Having Bethany for a boss would certainly be an attractive option. He followed her back, deciding to wait and see what developed.

After finding out that the girls would be in the Laverton area, Tim said his goodbyes, knowing that it shouldn’t be too hard to find them in a small town like that. Bethany was the last to say goodbye, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Remember my offer,” she called as he started to walk away back to his vehicle-.

“I will,” she heard as he got into his 4 wheel drive.

The rest of the journey took longer than Bethany would normally expect. The RV wasn’t exactly suited for the rough dusty roads and the corrugations set their teeth rattling, and made talking almost impossible as every loose item vibrated and shook. Anything that wasn’t securely fastened down inside threatened to either fall off or shake to pieces and kept Mandy and Elizabeth on their feet rescuing their belongings.

Finally, Bethany had to slow down, which didn’t make the occasional traffic coming up behind very happy. Strangely, none of the drivers that eventually made it past their plume of red dust seemed to make a fuss when they caught sight of Bethany at the wheel. Whether it was because of their “Ah, it’s a women driver,” or the fact she was wearing a tight skimpy top that made them mellow out, she wasn’t going to speculate. Either way she was grateful.

Reaching Laverton in the afternoon meant nothing much was moving due to the heat of the day. Needing nothing in the way of fuel or groceries, having refueled at Kalgoorlie and topped up the tanks with the last place that had good Perth water, they decided to get a drink.

They pulled up at the pub, and went in. If Bethany’s prior experience in the place had made an impact, twins and a near look alike made a much deeper impact. The people inside went quiet as the trio entered and found a table.

Mandy and Elizabeth looked around in interest while Bethany went back to the bar and ordered Vodka, lime and lemonades for all of them. The noise in the bar slowly regained its former volume as the locals speculated on reason three citified women were here in their town. Luckily, (for the men), no one bothered the girls or made any attempt to interrupt their conversation.

Finishing their drinks, they went back to the RV and drove to the same camp where Bethany had stayed for the photo shoot. The plan was to stay there tonight and wait the arrival of the crew coming tomorrow to manage the gold mining. After making dinner and showering, they settled in for the night. With nothing other than the pub for entertainment in the town, the girls watched TV, using the small satellite dish Bethany had requested be fitted to the rear of the RV.

The arrival of the convoy of large vehicles the following morning was soon the buzz of the town, especially with the earthmoving equipment on some of the truck and trailer units. While most of the local attention was focused on the large trucks, two four wheel vehicles slipped away to meet up with the girls at the camp.

Bethany climbed aboard one of them, leaving Mandy and Elizabeth with the RV. Bethany told the driver where to head, while the other vehicle followed in their wake. Eventually, Bethany stood upon the spot where all her adventure had started. Ada then aided her, suggesting locations for the pegs to be placed to give them adequate clearance from possible interlopers.

The team of men in both vehicles had their orders, and didn’t raise any objections to her decisions on the placement of the claim pegs. Once the claim was pegged, GPS positions were taken and entered down. A Sat phone call was then made, transferring the information back to people ready at Perth and the claim was lodged, notarized and settled. Bethany was then taken back to town, leaving all but the driver to guard the claim pegs.

After a restless night filled with strange dreams of gold poachers, with Tim defending the claim single handedly, Bethany woke to the insistent knock on the RV’s door. “You might want to cover up a bit,” warned Ada, sensing that Bethany hadn’t considered her scanty attire.

“I’ll be there in a moment,” she called out to the person outside as she grabbed her robe and fastened it around her. The others were just stirring as she went and opened the door.

“Hello, Miss. Is Bethany Chambers available? We need her signature to sign the authorization allowing us to begin the fencing on the claim she’s lodged.

“I’m Bethany Chambers,” she replied to a surprised man in overalls and work boots. She took the paperwork from him as he gawped at her body for a moment before schooling his expression back into a professional manner.

“I’m sorry for the look, I wasn’t expecting someone as young and se … um, attractive as you,” he apologized, blushing over his runaway tongue, as he accepted the signed forms back.

“When are you heading out there?” she asked curiously.

“Right away, Miss Chambers.”

“Okay, let them know, we’ll be there in … an hour and a half,” she paused, making a rough calculation.

“Right, will do,” the man said, moving to head back to his truck parked just outside the grounds.

By the time the girls had all awakened and had breakfast, it was approaching 9 o’clock. Bethany was itching to get on the road and head out to their claim, so she bitched a bit about the other’s apparent slowness.

“Sis, the gold will still be there, no matter what time we arrive,” Mandy pointed out.

“Yeah, as the owners of the gold, we should make a good first impression,” Elizabeth added while putting on her makeup.

“Sorry, girls. I’m just rather nervous,” explained Bethany by way of apology.

Bethany did concede that Elizabeth was right in a way and put on some lippy herself. Not all that fussed about bothering with makeup, she had let Ada do her thing when it was needed while at the shoot. When they got underway, with Bethany driving again, Ada unknowingly tweaked Bethany’s makeup attempt, adding a little blush and straightening the bleedover of lipstick on Bethany’s lips. She also enhanced the eyes with a little colour. Because this wasn’t actually makeup, but the skin being tinted from within, Bethany never noticed the changes. Even the lipstick changed, becoming no more than a protective layer that just looked wet. The lips became the colour of the lipstick, which would never need touching up, not that Bethany would instinctively remember to do that yet. The waxy coating that gave the lips their gloss would be exuded from the skin all day, protecting them from drying out in the heat.

While the RV would normally be too wide to negotiate the windy bush trails leading to the claim, the arrival of the heavy equipment before them had cleared the route of overhanging trees and bush. The broken and sawn branches lay everywhere along the sides of the track as they slowly edged the RV over the worst of the ruts. It looked like a bulldozer had been used in places to allow access for the heavy equipment. They had smoothed out the banks of wash outs, caused by flash floods that had cut across the track. This made driving the RV across much easier.

Their eventual arrival caused a stir. The track ended in a hastily erected gate that had a guard on it. Fencing had already been erected on both sides of the gate, on its way to totally encircle the claim.

At first, the guard refused them entry, saying it was now private property. He was eventually convinced that they were indeed the owners, apologizing profusely when Bethany showed him the proof of just who she was.

Bethany drove the RV to a spot where there were some trees high enough to give some shade. There were already some portable living units for the men placed nearby. A generator was being set up to supply power and cables were already being strung to power up the living quarters. Two men walked over, as Bethany shut off the engine and got out of the RV.

“Hi, I’m Stewart Granger, the manager of this site and this is my second in command, Isaac Smith. I take it that you are the lovely owner, Miss Chambers?”

“Call me Bethany, please,” she replied, shaking the proffered hand.

“I take it that you will want power hooked up to your vehicle?” Isaac asked, signaling to the men working on the generator supply.

“Yes, but only after the rest have been hooked up. We are self sufficient at the moment,” offered Bethany with a smile.

The men gave each other a quick glance. They seemed impressed that the young owner and her companions, who had just joined her, were so accommodating. After further introductions had been made, the two men left to continue setting up the camp.

“Wow! This is some setup. The fencing alone is going to cost a bundle, do we really have enough to cover all this?’ asked an impressed Mandy.

“I called in some favours and used all our funds for this. The house and everything we own is up on the block till we see some returns.”

“We could lose everything?” cried Elizabeth, only now realising the scale of things.

“Sis, trust me, we won’t lose anything,” promised Bethany, hoping Ada was correct in her assessment of the size of the lode.

More trucks bringing assembled units came trundling into the camp area. One was a kitchen unit set up to provide all the crew with meals. A refrigerator unit was setup next to it, containing fresh meat and everything else one would need. Later, two more units providing seating for dining and entertainment would be set up alongside.

Feeling somewhat useless, as the manager seemed to have everything under control; Bethany decided to walk to where the gold Ada promised, was located. Elizabeth and Mandy decided to bring out collapsible chairs, placing them in the shade by the RV so they could watch the proceedings while enjoying a cold drink.

Bethany scrambled to where she had found Ada. Ada then retrieved the metal detector from p space, so Bethany could feel like she was doing something useful at last. Giving Bethany only a general direction, Ada guided Bethany towards the gold.

Hearing a detector locate something positive had always given Gary, a thrill in the past. To find something under the red dirt and rock, and then to catch sight of that yellow metal when you scratch away the surface, will always make the heart race. This time was no different. As soon as the detector bleeped its message, Bethany crouched and started to examine the dirt. Ada provided a trowel from another of her resources, making it appear in Bethany’s hand.

“Thanks,” Bethany muttered, digging at the soil with urgency.

Bethany gasped, as her trowel hit something with a metallic clink. She uncovered the object with a reverence, as if it was the Holy Grail itself. A nugget as big as her fist lay there, seeing the sunlight for the first time in ages. It was combined with quartz, but she estimated there was at least three and a half a pounds of gold in it, as she hefted it in her hand.

She held it reverently, not because of its worth, but because of what it meant in terms of their future. She didn’t even question just how different that future would be from what Gary could ever have imagined.

She looked around seeing the bluff before her with different eyes. Something about it looked odd. She was used to seeing the white and ochre colouration of the breakaways in the region, but the ochre looked more… she moved closer, coming within feet of the massive wall in front of her.

The detector sounded its alarm and it wasn’t anywhere near the ground. ‘Could it be?” She thought, bringing the coil up from waist height and moving it over the cliff face. The detector howled continuously and she dropped it in shock. Placing her hand over the ochre rock, she realised it was no rock. As the dust of centuries was brushed away, the dull gleam of gold shone through. The white in the cliff face was quartz and it was embedded with large areas of gold. She prised a few pieces away with only her hands.

This was unexpected, and posed new problems. She sat and thought, wondering what to do next. Gold in the ground was one thing, but this was another. She had been expecting to have the machinery turn over the dirt and process the dirt in the usual fashion, not have it showing on the surface where just anyone could pick a piece off and keep it for themselves. She posed the question to Ada.

“Well checking everyone leaving with a metal detector could solve it, but it wouldn’t stop someone from throwing bits over the fence to friends or for later retrieval.” Ada advised.

“True, we need to make sure everyone is trustworthy, but that is one hell of a task, and not exactly 100 percent accurate,” Bethany accepted.

“If you spoke to each and every person here while holding their arm, I could detect skin resistance changes that would indicate lying,” Ada proposed.

“That would work. I could introduce myself to each of them and ask a few questions,” mused Bethany, feeling a lot happier.

She gathered the pieces of gold and placed them out of sight in her pocket, hoping the sag wouldn’t be noticed. She picked up the detector and carried it back to the RV.

Showing the girls the nuggets caused them to gasp in wonder, relieving any doubts that the find was real.

Talking to the men proved relatively easy. She commandeered the office unit set up to manage the job. Stewart was inside at the time and invited her to sit. She shook hands with him again, letting her hand linger on his wrist as she asked if she could trust him. Getting prompts from Ada as to his truthfulness, she showed him the nuggets and explained her problem.

“I’m prepared to give each and everyone a generous bonus above what you will normally be paid, if everyone does their job and doesn’t try to steal from us.” She named a ballpark figure that made Stewart's eyes boggle.

“Miss, I would do my job anyway, even without the bonus, and I’m pretty sure all the men working here are trustworthy, but I can understand your concern and need to talk to each of them privately.”

“Bethany was relieved that Ada found him to be truthful. She then asked to meet with all the men, starting with Isaac. As it turned out, only two showed signs of deceit when shown the nuggets. When Bethany informed Stewart of her concern with the honesty of the two in question, he didn’t demur.

“Those two are recent hires and are only here to help my guys fence off the property. Once the fencing is done, I’ll send them packing. In the meantime, I’ll keep a close eye on them and make sure they stay away from the actual lode area. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes, as long as they remain ignorant of the source of the gold and its availability,” Bethany agreed.

“What made you suspect them in the first place?” Stewart asked curiously.

“I got a vibe from them when I showed the nuggets,” hedged Bethany, knowing that Stewart was very astute. Anyway, it was the truth if you consider that Ada vibrated her auditory nerve when informing her of the results from the skin reactions the two men gave to her questions.

“Fair enough,” sighed Stewart, not doubting her hunch, considering she’d picked the only two of his crew that hadn’t been with him for years, something he was sure she couldn’t have known beforehand.

The next few days were critical, and the fence was the first priority. Interest in the site was already being shown by the locals in Laverton. There was just no way to conceal the fact that truckloads of equipment were being ferried to the site.

The first sign of trouble came when Bethany had commandeered and 4x4 and was driving alone outside the completed section of fence line. She was checking the pegs that marked the boundary of her claim when she saw another peg planted slightly further out. She walked over to it to inspect it and saw it was part of some attempt to claim jump. She started to pull it out in anger, when a shout from a patch of saltbush alerted her to the fact, that she wasn’t alone.

“Hey, girlie, I’d leave that alone if I where you,” the scruffy looking man in dusty clothing menaced, coming within smell range.

“If you were me, you’d be a lot cleaner, and smell nicer,” Bethany threw back, not at all worried about the rifle the man carried over his shoulder.

“Lookie here, lady. That is my claim peg, and you’re trespassing on my property, so I’ll thank ya to git offen it.”

“And your name is?” Bethany asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Clyde Smithers, to you,” he retorted.

“And to others, you’re?” she asked straight-faced.

“Enough of the cheek, Missy, before I put you over my knee and teach you some manners,” Clyde huffed.

Ada needed no instruction to do a search on the man. She found what she needed and informed Bethany silently.

“Well Mr. Smithers, I suggest you remove your claim jumping ass away from here before I have you arrested,” Bethany replied coldly. “Your tactics won’t work here like they did for a time in Leonora. I figured you would have learned your lesson when you tried over-pegging a claim in Kalgoorlie and found yourself in hot water. That’s when your once successful attempt was overruled in court,” she finished, throwing the accusation back into his face.

Clyde looked like he wanted to argue, despite the fact that this slip of a girl had the goods on him. He even shifted his rifle off his shoulder, bringing the barrel to line up in her general direction.

Just then another vehicle roared up to them, raising a boiling cloud of dust as it skidded to a halt. Stewart emerged like a lion protecting its pride. He was wearing a holstered pistol on his hip and one hand was resting on it, as he strode forward purposely. He didn’t stop as expected, but walked right into Clyde, giving the man no time to react. Stewart wrenched the rifle from Clyde’s grasp and threw it away into the dust.

“Get the hell out of here, before I decide that you might enjoy a fast trip down an abandoned mineshaft,” Stewart spat in Clyde’s face, the venom clearly evident.

Clyde went white and scrambled backwards, as if pushed by Stewart’s sheer ferocity. Such was his terror; he didn’t stop to get his rifle, as he ran back to where he had camped.

Stewart turned his attention to Bethany, frowning a little as he thought she’d been careless. “You okay? When one of my men radioed in that someone was out here, I came immediately,” he explained curtly.

“I’m fine. I was handling it okay, but thanks for the help,” she answered, wondering what was upsetting him. “You know him? He seemed to know you, or of you,” she probed.

“He and I butted heads a while ago. He tried this same stunt at a claim I was managing, down in Kalgoorlie. He came off second best and the courts decided to take back a decision on a prior ruling that had been in his favour.”

“Ah! I see.”

“Were you looking for anything particular, or was this just a joy ride?” Stewart asked.

“Actually, I was checking for this very thing,” Bethany replied, pulling up the abandoned claim peg and throwing it after the discarded rifle.

“I can see we will need to sweep this area each day,” nodded Stewart, his previous annoyance replaced with respect at her astuteness. The fence will be finished today, but I think the media have finally woken up to us,” he said sourly, looking up at a helicopter approaching from the south.

“Hmmm, I guess I should go back to meet them,” grumbled Bethany, feeling annoyed that her peaceful morning ride was fast going down the gurgler.

“Rather you than me,” grinned Stewart. “I think I’ll check the rest of the perimeter fence.” He chuckled, seeing Bethany’s grimace.

Bethany made her way back to the camp, to find that the helicopter had landed inside the fence. Isaac, with no clear instructions on dealing with any media, had refused to let anyone out of the helicopter and had posted several guards nearby. He was on the radio when Bethany pulled up, and looked relieved to let her handle it.

Gary had never been a super-confident person, and would have run a mile before wishing to deal with pushy reporters, especially given the situation of both his and his sister’s new identities. Bethany, on the other hand, felt supremely confident. Whether this was partly due to the change in sex and her short experience before a camera, or something Ada had given this body as a matter of due, she wasn’t sure. One thing that was certain, was her fierce protectiveness for her sister and ‘cousin.’ Knowing the effect her body had on others, she strode forward assuredly, waving the guards aside.

Of course, Mandy and Elizabeth were soon at her side, having been curious over the arrival of the helicopter. Once they spotted the TV station logo on the side of the chopper, they stayed back, allowing Bethany to confront the crew, as they clambered outside.

“Brian Stevenson, from Channel Nine news. Is it true that this is the site of the legendary Lassiter’s reef? And that you …” here, the man paused to look at his notes, “Bethany Chambers, now own the rights to it all?” he asked, thrusting a microphone in her face.

Bethany paused, her confidence taking a hit, as the unexpected question struck her. Seeing the cameraman was already filming, she knew she had to remain calm and not react. “Yes, I do. Or rather, the Chambers family has the exclusive rights to this claim, but whether it is the reef you refer to is best left up to the experts,” she replied calmly, not showing her dismay at the leaked information.

“Is it true that you paid for this claim with sexual favours to a known rapist called Gary Carstairs, who is even now, still at large?” the question thrown at her both angered and amused her.

“Gary isn’t a rapist and the police still have no proof he ever was, so I’d watch what you say. Yes, I got the claim from him, but, (here Bethany almost quoted a famous line from a former US president), there were no favours granted, sexual or otherwise.”

The man backpedaled, seeing she was not the pushover he first thought she’d be. He looked around the camp curiously before asking her another question. “This seems to be a well organized camp and the fencing I saw from the air suggests that the claim is a significant one. This seems to be a strange change in careers. Model to miner, how do you account for this?”

“Well everyone has a right to change careers, and if this pans out, I might not have to work again. Now I don’t want to sound rude, but I have work to do, so I suggest you fly back home and don’t bother us again,” Bethany curtly tried to end the impromptu interview.

“What about this Gary person? Isn’t it a little suspicious that you acquire a mine of substantial wealth, and then he disappears? Some might think that you may have put him out of the picture so you could get all of this,” the man persisted, waving his hand around at the camp.

“Look, I suggest you leave now, before I have you removed physically,” an angry Bethany retorted, signaling to the two men waiting nearby. “As to your insinuation …be very careful or might find yourself on the wrong side of the law,” she warned.

Bethany then turned and walked away, ignoring the next shouted question. The two guards didn’t have to use force, as they crowded the reporter and his cameraman back onto the helicopter. Bethany didn’t even look up as the craft lifted off in a swirl of noise and dust and started moving away.

As the sound of the rotors faded away, Bethany rejoined her sisters and told them that they had a leak in the camp.

“Someone must have told the media for them to have come out and mention Lassiter’s reef.”

“What about this Gary guy you got the claim off?” asked Elizabeth, who was still ignorant that Bethany, now standing in front of her, was once the Gary in question. “What if the police come asking where he is?” she asked worriedly.

“I’m sure he’ll turn up,” Mandy reassured her, giving Bethany a quick grin.

“Don’t worry, Sis, I’m more concerned about who let the cat out of the bag,” Bethany reiterated.

Just then, a waft of something baking drifted past them. Following their noses, they found one man in the kitchen unit, baking bread and scones for the men in the camp. When the trio of girls arrived, he was powerless to stop them tasting a sample, not that he protested at all. He seemed to enjoy their company while they ate his baking with a timely cup of tea.

Elizabeth and Mandy even volunteered to deliver some to the men working outside the camp on the fencing. While they were doing that, Bethany went and questioned her two suspects that had proved to be unreliable in her earlier check. Finding out that they had indeed released information to the media by careful questioning, Bethany talked to Stewart. “I’ll have them replaced immediately,” he said angrily, feeling his reputation was being undermined by the two men’s acts.

“Won’t that just fuel more suspicion?” Bethany queried.

“Maybe, and maybe not. I have another crew doing work near Coolgardie. I’ll say they are being transferred there to help out, now that the majority of the fencing is completed. I’ll warn the work boss there of their dishonesty and have him fire them for some misdemeanor.”

“I suppose this place will be overrun with media if the press let loose with the Lassiter claim,” grumbled Bethany, getting a nod of agreement from Stewart.

That evening, the news on TV showed the brief interview with Bethany. The reporters played on the speculation that Lassiter’s reef had been discovered, and that Bethany had been involved in some nefarious scheme to do away with the original discoverer, Gary Carstairs. Bethany was furious; she stamped out the door of the RV, nearly ripping it off its hinges. The girls still in the RV looked at each other.

“I guess this means we do the dishes,” shrugged Mandy with a sigh.

“I’ve never seen her so mad before,” Elizabeth admitted, chewing her bottom lip with concern. “Shouldn’t we do something, like go after her?”

Mandy, who knew her “brother” better than anyone, knew it was best to let Bethany cool down on her own. “Nah ... She can’t come to much harm out here. I’d let her cool down on her own.”

She wasn’t so sure when they heard a vehicle leave the camp a few minutes later, especially when Stewart came knocking on the door enquiring why Bethany had demanded a 4x4 in such a rush. They could only mention about the new clip on the TV, and how angry she had got seeing it.

“We haven’t got a TV set up yet, too busy, so I didn’t get to see it,” Stewart told them.

They girls gave him a brief rundown on what had been mentioned, and Stewart grew more concerned. “You don’t think she’ll do anything silly now, do you?” he asked, pacing back and forth.

Elizabeth shrugged, knowing that Bethany had changed since she had come back, and she couldn’t be sure of anything her sister did anymore.

Mandy was more positive. “She’ll be okay. I just think she needs time alone,” was her response.

“How is it that our cousin thinks she knows more about my sister than I do?” grumbled Elizabeth, without any heat, shaking Mandy’s shoulder with her hand in a playful manner.

Mandy just grinned back, not taking any offense at Elizabeth’s mild accusation. “Well, maybe because I’m taking her only from what I’ve seen of her so far, while you are still judging her from the time before she came back,” she answered.

Stewart was listening interestedly, having little knowledge of the girls background. ‘Cousins and twins, no wonder they look alike,’ he thought as the girls continued to talk.

“Well, ladies, I’ll say goodnight, and hope she comes back before long. Driving in the bush at night is a recipe for disaster in my book. Last thing I want to do is put out a search party for a missing person.”

It was nearly midnight, before the phone in the RV rang, putting the worried girls out of their misery. “Hi, it’s me. sorry I forgot to take my phone.” “Where are you?” demanded Elizabeth, who had beaten Mandy to the phone.

“I’m in Kalgoorlie, ringing on the hotel’s phone. I have something to do before I come back. Tell Stewart I’m sorry I swiped his jeep, but I need a day before I return. Give Mandy a hug for me,” Bethany asked, before hanging up.

“She’s in Kalgoorlie, for God’s sake,” Elizabeth told Mandy exasperatedly. “Don’t ask me why she’s there,” she added, returning the Sat phone to its cradle.

Mandy nodded, having a good idea what Bethany was up to. She would keep a close eye on the TV news.

The next day saw the arrival of interested sightseers. They camped outside the fence line and were seen watching the activity with binoculars. Some were a group of Aboriginals and it didn’t take long before protest signs were being waved at them, proclaiming that they had no right to bar them from tribal lands.

The girls were worried without the support of their absent sister, and didn’t venture far from the center of the camp. Even Stewart seemed nervous with the protest showing signs of increasing tension. Late in the afternoon, a lone 4x4 drove up into the group stationed outside the gates. It honked its horn as it tried to pass through. Abuse was hurled at the driver and stones started being thrown.

Stewart was promptly on the scene and soon some of his biggest lads opened the gate and advanced in a group to escort the vehicle inside. The girls saw with relief that the driver was Bethany, having returned safely. They rushed over to greet her and give her a telling off for scaring them.

Bethany broke away for a moment to apologize to Stewart for taking his vehicle, and to get a quick update on the protesters outside. He could only tell her when they had arrived and their activities to date, and that her arrival was the first bit of violence seen.

Bethany then went to the relative privacy of the RV and filled them in on what she had been doing.

“You had video footage from a tape made by Gary?” asked Elizabeth incredulously.

“Yeah, I took it to the local news office and had them sent it to Perth,” Bethany answered.

“Why didn’t you say so? I would have thought you might have shown people it before this,” grumbled Elizabeth.

“First, I was hoping none of this would come up,” explained Bethany. “It’s nobodies else’s business, but ours, until some snotty reporter started throwing dirt around. And second, I couldn’t release it till Gary had secured his sister’s release from under police surveillance and took her to a private home.”

Mandy remained quiet, knowing there was more to this sudden video footage than met the eye. She couldn’t very well ask while Elizabeth was there.

The rest of the day was spent watching TV and keeping a watchful eye on the protesters. Bethany had to show her face, when another TV news crew arrived on the scene.

Bethany wanted to go and talk to the reporters, but fearing they might twist the story about, she asked Mandy to accompany her with the handy cam that Bethany had brought with her from her visit to Kalgoorlie.

“What do you have to say about the fact that you are working on an aboriginal reservation?” asked an over-eager reporter as he thrust his microphone in her face.

Mandy filmed the interview from nearby, making it look like she was covering the protest, rather that the interview.

“If you had checked your facts, you would have realized that the western border of the reservation in question, is two kilometers to the east of my claim,” she rebutted sternly. “I’m well aware of attempts by the local tribes to claim suddenly valuable land, claiming it was a sacred site. Especially, when strangely, they were never bothered about the land before the discovery of its valuable mineral resources. I’ve done my homework, so I suggest you do yours,” she finished before returning to the RV.

The news that night wasn’t very flattering. They had cut the first part of her interview out, which made the second bit seem like she was pouring on fuel to douse the flames. To say Bethany was irate, was like saying liquid oxygen is mildly cold. She grabbed the phone and made some calls. One was to the television station, demanding that if they refused to show the complete footage, she would sue them. She warned them that she had her own video footage of the interview and would give it to their competition.

Another call was made to the director of her latest ad campaign, explaining what was happening. She mentioned a video cam memory card that she had sent to the local news office in Kalgoorlie and that a copy had been sent to him, just for insurance.

From her responses on the phone, it seemed to the two girls listening in, that something was going to be done once he received the footage.

Bethany, quietly seething couldn’t settle after her calls, as she waited for some response to her actions. About an hour later, Bethany received a call from the director, saying he had got the memory card and was going to take it directly to the other network TV station. He said he would make sure it was aired, as she was a valued model, and friend, and any false accusations made and slurs on her character could affect his ad campaign as well.

The girls were nervous as the ten o’clock news time approached. They kept their distance from Bethany without trying to make it obvious, as she paced back and forth inside the RV. Bethany was aware of the situation, but she couldn’t relax as it seemed her body felt like a coiled spring.

When the news did come on, Bethany relaxed as the item she’d been waiting for, finally aired. The video clip showed Gary Carstairs making a statement that for an undisclosed sum, he’d relinquished all rights to his find to Bethany Chambers for personal reasons. He also stated that he’d taken his sister from the institution in Perth and was headed overseas with her to try some experimental procedures. The camera view showed him moving out of frame, and a moment later, his sister Amanda wheeled herself into the frame on a battered looking wheelchair.

Mandy gasped at seeing her old self doing something she’d done, but realised at once that this was Bethany portraying both her brother and herself, to settle any doubts of their existence.

The Amanda in the footage explained she had gone willingly with her brother, and for the police to stop their search for the two of them, as by the time this was viewed, they’d be out of the country. A date in the top corner of the footage confirmed that it had been taken about a week after her supposed abduction.

The network then showed the heavily edited footage shown by the other TV network and then they played the footage shot by Mandy, which clearly showed the first one to have been cut to inflame the situation.

Someone had done their homework and had checked the claim’s boundary and that of the aboriginal reservation to the east and clearly showed the claim wasn’t encroaching on the tribal lands.

Mandy opened a bottle of bubbly and poured them all glasses as they turned off the TV and sat back to celebrate. A knock on the door heralded the arrival of Stewart, who had managed to see the news broadcast on the camp’s newly setup satellite TV. He was invited in and given a glass as well, as talk turned from the news item to more personal matters.

He and Mandy seemed to hit it off and Elizabeth and Bethany winked to each other, as the pair got engrossed in conversation. Finally the two separated and Stewart headed off to bed. The girls followed suit, and some gentle ribbing at Mandy about her new “boyfriend,” had them smiling as they settled down to sleep.

Morning came on time the next day, but the girls didn’t see much of it, as they slept in late as a result of their celebrations.

About 10 O’clock, an insistent knocking roused Bethany from her slumber. She looked in the mirror as she grabbed a robe, and grimaced at her appearance, not even conscious that her thought that her hair needed brushing, was in anyway strange, given her background.

She opened the door expecting Stewart to be there, but instead … “Wow! I love the look,” laughed a voice she knew. Facing her was Tim Stevens.

She squealed and ducked back inside, while calling out to him that she looked a proper sight. His gentle laugh followed her inside. “You are a sight … for sore eyes,” he breathed through the closed door.

“What’s got you in a tizzy?” grumbled Mandy, having been awakened by the commotion.

“Tim’s outside, and I’m a mess,” hissed Bethany, rushing to get dressed, brush her hair and put makeup on, all at the same time.

“You’re such a girl,” giggled Mandy, watching her former brother acting just like any giddy schoolgirl in love. ‘In love? Oh my,’ Mandy thought, recognizing the telltale signs. In that instant, she knew Gary was no more. He wasn’t ever going to come back. Her momentary sense of loss was replaced with joy at the thought that her new sister had found love, something Gary never had.

She got up and helped her sister brush her hair now Bethany was dressed, and putting on a bit of makeup. Knowing that Ada could have done it for her in an instant, told Mandy just how far Bethany had settled into her new form.

Once ready, Bethany raced for the door, only slowing her headlong rush for a moment, before opening it. She cast a look of thanks to Mandy, before vanishing outside.

Mandy started getting dressed herself, hearing the voices outside fade as they moved away to the seats under the tree.

“I wasn’t expecting you. I just woke up,” Bethany confessed, feeling as if his eyes were boring into her soul, and blushing at the thought.

“I’m not complaining, you looked beautiful, still do in fact,” Tim admitted with passion, taking her hand in his.

His comment made her blush deepen and she looked down at the table, brushing some dust off it with her free hand. Tim captured her other hand and gently turned her to face him. “I saw you on television last night and thought I might be of service.”

“You quit the police force?” She gasped.

“Not quite. I took some leave I’m owed. They moaned a bit at the short notice, but when I mentioned why, they told me to take as much time as I needed. I think you wowed them,” he laughed.

“I’m glad you’re here. Things have been rather hectic the last few days,” Bethany grimaced.

“I saw some of it coming in,” Tim told her. It looks like all but the most determined have left the area. Mind you, they may not have seen the TV coverage on the news.”

“Probably the ones that went home last night, saw the news and didn’t return,” Bethany guessed, looking over to the gate area.

“Is this really Lassiter’s reef like the reporter speculated?” Tim asked her curiously.

Bethany looked into Tim’s eyes and saw no guile or greed, as her instincts had already assured her of his trustworthiness. “Yes it is,” she answered plainly.

“Wow!” was his only response, as he sat back in thought.

“You’ll need me to guard the ore if the legend of its richness is true. No offense to the people here, but they are miners first and foremost. I’ve had some experience in guarding gold shipments from the mines in Kalgoorlie.”

“Why don’t I show you the gold,” Bethany urged, feeling better now Tim was at her side.

Bethany stood up and led Tim to Stewart’s office, where after a brief introduction she got the use of his jeep. Stewart insisted on coming along and Bethany agreed. Stewart drove, while Bethany directed, and soon they were at the place where she’d picked up the ore off the ground. The others were gobsmacked when she showed them the vein in the quartz. Stewart had been more concerned with getting the fence up as directed and hadn’t explored the actual site of the gold’s source. To see free gold that could be worked out of the ground with bare hands told of the importance of the fence surrounding the claim.

“I can bring a tent up here and some supplies for you, so you can guard this round the clock.” Stewart offered Tim, who nodded his agreement.

“We need to get an armoured van to store the ore brought out each day,” suggested Tim.

“I’ll get right on it,” Stewart agreed, getting a confirming nod from Bethany.

They drove back to the camp, where Mandy invited both men in for breakfast that she was starting. Stewart regretfully declined, saying he’d had it earlier. Tim also begged off, having eaten on the way up, but both men accepted the offer of a cup of coffee. Elizabeth was still in bed, but awake, so the men went outside to wait under the tree, allowing them to finalize details on the guard duty.

By the time breakfast was ready, Elizabeth was dressed, so they took out the food to the table outside where the men helped chase away the persistent flies that threatened to fly inundate the table, one of the penalties of eating food after the flies woke up. During the conversation, Stewart admitted that he wanted to get out of the mining business. He already had a substantial bank account, as all one had to spend money on in the outback was beer, and he wasn’t a big drinker, preferring to drink beer as a means of washing the dust down after a days work. He’d figured that with the bonuses from this job, he could afford to retire if he wanted. This obviously interested Mandy, who seemed to have her own plans for what Stewart might be doing in the near future.

“What are your plans?” Bethany asked Tim, seeing they were on the subject.

“Well …” Tim paused, looking at Bethany. “I might be leaving the police force if things fall into place, and a certain someone finds me acceptable,” he hinted, none too subtly.

Bethany’s face blushed and Elizabeth giggled. She didn’t seem upset that both Mandy and Bethany had potential boyfriends and she had none.

“Bethany’s got a boyfriend, Bethany’s got a boyfriend,” she chanted gleefully, making Bethany blush more as she was put on the spot.

“What about you? Seems you’re the only one without a boyfriend,” Bethany retorted in irritation, not realizing the effects her statement had on both Stewart and Tim.

Elizabeth just giggled. She was facing the others and saw the mixed expressions of hope and dismay on the faces of Tim and Stewart respectively. “I have someone back in Perth,” Elizabeth replied, tartly. “Now I’m not being you, I can make further plans,” she added, rubbing her hands together.

The men looked confused, and Tim looked askance at Bethany. “I’ll tell you later, it’s a long story,” she shrugged.

“You have a boyfriend?” Stewart asked Mandy, obviously taking Elizabeth’s earlier statement to mean someone else.

“I do now,” Mandy said hopefully, taking Stewart’s hand in hers.

“So who is this mystery boyfriend you have?” Bethany asked Elizabeth, trying to divert attention away from herself.

“Oh, just someone I met while I was doing your job. He wanted to take things further, but I didn’t want to complicate matters when I couldn’t be myself. If you must know, he’s a struggling actor, trying to get into films,” Elizabeth added, before going into a thoughtful reverie.

“Does he know you as you? Or me?” Bethany asked curiously.

“As Elizabeth. I said I was in an awkward situation at the time we met and was covering for my sister. I dated him on and off between campaigns and we got on together.” Then as a sudden thought struck her, Elizabeth wailed. “Oh crap! What’s the bet he’s seen us on TV? I hope it’s not going to affect our relationship. I was getting rather serious about him,” she finished with concern written over her face.

The two men wisely stayed out of the girls conversation, even though what they had heard seemed to beg for an explanation.

Bethany saw the interest in the guys faces as they listened, and sighed. She decided to give them a pocket edition of her story, while Mandy and Elizabeth cleared away the remains of the breakfast.

They seemed impressed and not at all skeptical. She was worried that with his police background, Tim might want to pursue the issue further. Obviously, she had left certain details out, concerning Ada and her abilities to change forms.

“Did your time with the aboriginal tribe have any bearing on the discovery of the reef?” Stewart asked astutely.

“Yes,” Bethany fibbed, seeing it made sense. “One of the elders related a story hinting about the whereabouts of the lost gold reef. So when I grubstaked Gary Carstairs, I suggested looking in this general area. Luckily, he found it,” she finished, smoothing out the lie she had begun.

“Strange the others of the tribe hadn’t searched for it themselves,” mused Stewart.

“He was in his cups at the time and rambling quite a bit. I think they dismissed it as drunken wish fulfillment, more than any kind of truth.”

“Ah!” Stewart said, understanding first hand the effects of booze on the aboriginal population.

There were still a few hangers-on camped the outside of the now completed fence line, but they were mostly just the curious and hopeful. Some made attempts to prospect along the fence line with metal detectors, hoping the fence may have missed enclosing some of the gold bearing layers.

One curious thing was noticed. The remaining aboriginal protestors had disappeared after a visit from a group of others, some of whom Bethany thought she recognized. Stewart thought it may have been tribal elders, but Bethany had a sneaking suspicion it had more to do with her abduction by the mobster. She thought some of the aboriginals looked like the ones who had been instrumental in her capture. The way she had eluded them, must have been enough to send a message that she wasn’t to be messed with. Obviously, they had recognized her from the TV coverage. At last something positive had come from all of that ordeal.

Along with an armoured van, lights were set up around the actual gold vein to keep the place lit all though the night. Tim suggested having several PTZ pan/tilt/zoom cameras mounted around, as well. A few guards that Tim knew were hired to monitor and operate the PTZ cameras which also recorded their footage during the night. This meant Tim could get some sleep during the night time.

All the readily accessible gold was mined by hand, and rigorous inspections made sure no gold left the area unaccounted for. Bethany went around handing the workers selected nuggets that would fetch prices above their actual gold worth. This was an incentive to keep them honest, although Stewart protested that it wasn’t necessary. Tim thought she just loved to see the reaction on the guys faces as she handed out the two or three ounce souvenirs.

On a suggestion from Stewart, a crusher and a furnace were set up to smelt the ore into ingots on the site, so that it could be stored in a bank vault until needed. With the gold being free and not locked up in the bearing rock, all the processing the gold needed was to be crushed to free it from the quartz and then melted. His suggestion that flooding the market with all of the gold at once might upset the value of gold was a valid point, so Bethany planned only to use what they needed, when they needed it.

Ada informed Bethany that the gold ore was 90% gold and 10% silver. Once the ingots were forged, Ada suggested that she could remove the silver content without further processing.

“All you need to do is inspect each load before transport,” Ada offered silently.

After few days, when the crusher and furnace arrived, the refining finally got into full swing using the ore that had been mined in the interim. The ore was being removed from a quartz vein that lay at the base of the breakaway. The vein ran horizontally for about 100 meters, becoming thicker as it went deeper into the ground. At the rate of its extraction by back hoe and pneumatic jackhammers, it might only take a month before the lode was cleaned out.

With a further monetary incentive on Bethany’s part, sworn statements were received from those working the vein to remain silent about its actual size. Stewart suggested keeping the machines working the site long after the main lode of gold was gone. The idea was to make it look like her gold wasn’t in one huge lump, something that might alarm the gold market.

Bethany agreed, but she wasn’t interested in staying out there once she had her quota. Instead, she suggested allowing those working the site to keep what they found while she paid for the upkeep of the camp.

Ada told her that of the 30 tons of gold in the mine, there was bout a ton of gold scattered away from the main lode. The men left to work the mine would become rich in their own right with a little perseverance. Ada helped Bethany mark a map showing where the scattered gold could be found. Bethany saw then why the fence boundary was so wide when the main lode was so concentrated.

Once Elizabeth heard the estimated time for the recovery of the gold, she decided to go back to Perth reawaken her relationship with Andrew, her actor boyfriend. Mandy decided to stay with Bethany, as she had Stewart as a reason to stay. Plus, now she could stretch her legs literally, she was going on walks through the bush, reveling in her mobility.

Tim offered to drive Elizabeth to Kalgoorlie, so she could catch a flight back, which they did the next day. There were a few tears when she left, and Bethany told her to ring her regularly.

“You certainly seemed to have got into the tearful goodbyes,” sighed Mandy, wiping her own tears away.

“Yeah, it’s strange. Must be all the hormones flooding this body,” offered Bethany, defending her reactions.

“It still seems strange how easily you took to being a female, I mean look, you now have a boyfriend and everything,” Mandy pointed out.

“It wasn’t that easy, Sis,” refuted Bethany. “At first, I was terrified, thinking everyone could tell that I was a man in this body. Ada helped a lot there, thankfully.”

“I don’t get it. You changed from a guy to a gal with hardly a protest, and when you can change back, you don’t,” pressed Mandy.

Bethany sighed, thinking back. Mandy was right, in a way. She had accepted being a female too easily, but was unable to come up with a logical reason why. Knowing Mandy was waiting on an explanation, she tried to come up with something. “Sis, when I first changed I didn’t get a chance to refuse it, as my rescuers were almost on us. Later, being accepted as a beautiful woman did something to me. You know I wasn’t a macho guy by any means, but I hadn’t wanted to be a woman either … at least consciously,” she added the last bit as an out.

“When I had time to explore this body, it just seemed to fit. I didn’t feel like I had been stuffed into a body that was too small or was a wrong shape. It was me, it felt comfortable, like a glove.” Here, Bethany gave a frustrated groan as she tried to come up with the right words to explain.

“It’s okay, Sis, I think I know what you mean,” Mandy grinned and gave her a hug.

Bethany hugged her back, marveling at the ease females guess what another person is feeling.

“Females are more empathic,” Mandy added, answering Bethany’s unspoken thought.

“Mind readers, too,” Bethany agreed.

“Sometimes, Sis.”

Bethany went over to the dresser where her makeup was kept and started her daily routine, giving her face the ‘No, I’m not wearing makeup’ look, finishing it off with a dab of lipstick.

“I don’t see why you bother when Ada can do that for you,” Mandy said somewhat enviously.

“Well, I can’t let her do it all the time. What if I’m in the ladies, somewhere? I might attract attention if my makeup refreshes itself all by itself now, won’t I? Plus, if I ever do get married, I wouldn’t want to have to explain why I can’t let him see me put my face on in the morning.”

“True, I guess. But I wouldn’t mind having the same help Ada gives you,” Mandy grumbled.

Bethany paused, listening to what Ada just told her. “Um … Ada said she could make it happen if you want. You’ll have to wear her while she does some tinkering to your body.”

“Oh, yes, I want to,” gushed Mandy in excitement.

Ada became visible and Bethany handed her sister the helmet. Mandy grinned as she donned it, and stood still while Ada explained what she was going to do. Mandy repeated what Ada told her out loud, so Bethany knew what was happening too.

“Ada is changing my skin so that the outer layer is made up of a type of Chromatospore, like what some lizards and cuttlefish have. I’ve told her to do to my whole body, not just my face, so I can change my all over skin colour. She is going to let me have conscious control over how I want to look, but it won’t actually be makeup. I’ll still need moisturizers and lip balm to prevent my skin and lips from drying out.”

Bethany watched, as under the tutelage of Ada, Mandy’s face underwent several changes in colour. Mandy’s cheeks grew rosier and eye shadow appeared to show around her eyes, first green then turning to a blue colour. She crowed in delight as she figured out the control of her new skin. Ada was once again handed back to Bethany, and with a sigh of relief, she placed it back on her head. Even in the short time that her sister had worn Ada, she had missed the reassurance that Ada was right there with her.

Mandy started practicing changing the colour of her skin, going from a near ebony to an almost albino white. Bethany giggled at the incongruous sight of seeing her sister with dark skin and blonde hair. Mandy finally settled on a shade that was slightly more tanned than her original look.

“Who needs the sun to get a tan?” she boasted, checking herself out in the mirror.

“Just don’t go overboard, Sis., Remember Stewart might notice a sudden tan,” Bethany pointed out.

“Right,” Mandy agreed, changing back to her original shade, but keeping the eye shadow and blush colouration. “At least I won’t have bikini lines now,” she giggled, pulling her top and bra strap to one side to show an even tan over her shoulder.

Bethany laughed, while gathering her metal detecting gear together. Now that the lode was being worked, she had little to do with the extraction process and it was dangerous near the machines extracting the gold. Instead, she would walk out to where the gold was scattered in low concentrations and try and define the area more accurately with her detector. Of course Ada didn’t understand why Bethany refused her help. All Bethany wanted was to try pitting her own skills against the terrain, and exulting when she located a nugget or two for her efforts. At each find, she would mark the spot by building a small cairn using three or four small rocks of descending size one atop the others. Although Ada had shown her the places on a map which had been duly marked, it was a different thing to walk over the terrain to find the exact location, something that allowed Bethany to have her fun.

“I’m off to find another nugget or two,” Bethany announced to her preoccupied sister.

“Okay, see you at lunch.”

Bethany wanted to find three suitable nuggets to have mounted for a necklace for her sisters and herself. So far, she had one of a suitable size and shape. As the nuggets usually came with some quartz intertwined with them, it was hard to visualize the bare nuggets form without the quartz. Ada did help here, as she could scan each nugget and announce its suitability for mounting. The one she had already had been stripped of its quartz with the use of hydrofluoric acid, an extremely dangerous chemical that needed lots of care to be taken with it.

Walking out to her next spot, she noted that there were several people working detectors along the outside of the fence line, obviously hoping some of the gold extended further than expected. Bethany didn’t mind them being there, as long as they didn’t try getting through the fence. She carried a small UHF CB so she could call the camp in case of trouble, so she wasn’t worried about her safety.

Further along she noted a vehicle and several men working by a small rocky outcrop. As she started working her grid search with the detector, she forgot about them as she concentrated on her search. She was on her return path, moving towards the fence, when a loud explosion directly in front of her blew her off her feet and she felt a hot burning sensation as something hit her in the side. She could feel hot bits of rock falling on her as her senses threatened to leave her.

Bethany rolled over onto her side, wincing at the pain as the mixture of rock and sand ground into her injury. The blackness faded as Ada catalogued her injuries verbally and started countering her injuries. Bethany looked towards the area of the explosion and noted almost as an aside, that the fence was damaged with huge sagging dents, where large boulders had struck it. Without the fence catching most of the debris and preventing it from going though, she doubted she’d be alive.

As she struggled to her feet and looked down at her quickly closing wound, she wondered if this was some sort of attempt at breeching the fence. A moment later, she realised it wasn’t, as she heard cries of pain coming from where she’d seen the people over by the rock outcropping. She clambered awkwardly over the smashed down fence and made her way to the now overturned vehicle she’d seen before.

“Bounty Base, this is Bounty One, come in Bounty Base,” Bethany called on her UHF CB, using the prearranged call signs. She hoped it was still working as she called again.

“Bounty Base receiving, come in Bounty One,” she heard crackling back.

“Bounty Base, I need medical assistance over on the north west sector near grid reference 64. Three injured men requiring urgent attention,” she answered, checking on the men in question.

“Received, Bounty One, assistance on the way and flying doctor notified,” she heard a minute later.

Bethany waited, doing what she could for the injured men. Her own wound and bloodstained shirt were already back to normal, even the hole torn by the shrapnel had been fixed, courtesy of Ada. She still had minor abrasions and her clothing was still dusty from being on the ground, but Ada reminded her that people would expect that, her being so close to the explosion.

She heard the whine from the jeep as it made its way over to her position. Stewart was there, along with the first aid man for the camp. Mandy had come along as well, to no surprise.

“What happened?” asked Stewart, as he surveyed the extent of the damage.

As the other man went straight to work, bandaging the worst of the wounds suffered by the men, Bethany gave a brief description, leaving out her initial injuries, while Mandy fussed over her, dabbing her minor abrasions with a wetted cloth.

“This man has a broken leg, and I think the other had broken ribs,” Jeremy the first aid man called out.

“Okay, Jeremy, the flying doctors are on their way. I guess I should call the police as well.” Stewart sighed, bringing out his phone.

Only one man was able to talk, as one was semi-conscious and the other was too busy moaning and cursing. It seemed they had been trying to breakup the outcropping with explosives, but it had gone drastically wrong.

Bethany went to sit on a box nearby, but Ada warned it was full of unstable dynamite. She called Stewart’s attention to it and he opened it cautiously. Immediately he closed the lid and warned everyone to get clear.

“What’s wrong?” Mandy asked, as she helped lift the injured to a safer position.

“The idiots were using out of date dynamite. The sticks are oozing pure Nitroglycerine. No wonder things blew up,” grumbled Stewart, shaking his head in disgust.

Mandy had climbed over the ruined fence going over to where Bethany’s detector still lay on the ground where she had fallen. Bethany noted that she seemed to take her time coming back and when she did, she was ashen faced. She pulled Bethany aside where the others couldn’t overhear them.

“What really happened sis?” She probed.

Not wanting to scare her, Bethany shrugged and said she’d just been thrown to the ground with the blast.

“Don’t give me that, there was a pool of fresh blood covered with flies on the ground near the detector,” Mandy refuted angrily. “Don’t worry, I scuffed dirt over it in case someone sees it,” she added in a slightly quieter tone.

Bethany sighed, and filled her in, seeing it was useless to deny it anymore. Mandy wasn’t all that happy with the near disaster, but knew she couldn’t stop her sister from exposing herself to possible danger from the public that wandered outside the camp.

“Can’t Ada make you bulletproof? I don’t want to lose you, and I’ll know I will worry all the time now,” Mandy despaired.

“Bulletproof huh?” Bethany grinned, thinking about it.

“It could be possible.” Ada told her. “If I extended the effect I use to make me invisible, I could cover you with a thin micro layer of p space that could shunt away anything impacting it over a certain velocity,” Ada deliberated.

“Okay,” chirped an enthused Bethany. “So all I have to watch out for is slow bullets?” she laughed jokingly.

“She can do it?” Asked Mandy, getting the gist of the one sided conversation.

“Looks like it Sis, you’ll have to call me Wonder Woman,” laughed Bethany, hugging her sister.

“Oh, I wonder all the time,” Mandy quipped back punching Bethany lightly on the arm.

“Hey! That hurts,” came a mock protest.

The morning was busted, by the time the men were taken away. The police had arrived as well, and had questioned the one man still able to give information. They also had the dynamite removed to a safer spot. Stewart loaned them an explosive charge, helping them to detonate it where it could do no further damage.

Once most of the people had gone, Bethany went over to the hole left by the first explosion and used her detector to scan for any signs of gold. She did find a chunk of rock with signs of gold in it and she had Stewart take it to give it to the men for their trouble.

Stewart took them both back to camp in the jeep, where they had a late lunch. Mandy had wanted Stewart to stay for lunch, but he’d reluctantly begged off, saying he needed to go watch the perimeter while the fence was being replaced.

While he left to organize that detail, Mandy hurriedly made him some sandwiches and put them in a cooler, along with a few cans of beer. She caught him before he drove out of the camp and handed him his lunch. Bethany watching from the RV saw Mandy getting a quick kiss of thanks from Stewart, and she smiled knowing that her sister had found her love.

Bethany eventually found the nuggets she wanted. Tim was ever attentive around Bethany, and the attraction between them grew into love.

Once the value of the recovered gold reached several billion dollars, Bethany decided to leave and head back to Perth. The remaining gold would keep its silver content, and be valued appropriately. Stewart and Tim would remain at the camp for another month, until the majority of the gold would have been extracted, and they could hand over the mine to the rest of the team. As there was more than enough gold left to pay for the upkeep of the camp, Bethany decided to let the men take over that duty, keeping only the claim in her name.

The day prior to leaving, Bethany decided to climb to the top of the breakaway directly over the gold reef. The view was spectacular, as she watched all the activity below. She sat on the edge, once Ada assured her it was safe and dangled her feet over the face of the cliff. Sometimes an errant breeze would lift the dust being raised below and sent it swirling up to her, before sweeping back down.

She took her drink bottle from her pack and took a swig, placing it down beside her. The suns rays were beating down on her back, making things a little uncomfortable. As she stood, she stumbled a little, knocking her bottle over. The bottle bounced backwards and the top sprung off releasing its precious cargo onto the thirsty ground.

Bethany, racing to grab it before it was all gone, saw a glint in the sand where the water had washed the sand away from something shiny. Curious, she brushed aside the dirt and found what looked like a piece of blue glass. It was about a foot square and the edges didn’t seem ragged like one would expect from a broken shard.

“Strange,” Bethany muttered, feeling the low weight of the fragment.

‘That’s from the ship,’ Ada informed her.

“The Teg ship? I thought you said nothing could survive the atmospheric conditions after this long?” Bethany questioned.

That part isn’t of Teg manufacture, it’s really Covian. The planet Cove was subsumed by the Teg and parts of their technology were utilized to enhance the Teg ships, Cove has an oxygen helium atmosphere and the materials don’t react like Teg hull structures do.’

“It looks like a blue window. What does it do?” Bethany asked in wonder, knowing she had part of an alien craft in her hand.

“It’s part of a cooling panel. Face one side to the sun, and then feel the opposite side,’ instructed Ada.

“Wow! It went cold,” yelped Bethany, nearly dropping the thing in surprise.

‘Now face the cold side to the sun, but be careful touching the opposite side this time.’

Bethany did so and found that the side in the shade was now scorching hot.

“This stuff is amazing,” Bethany said excitedly.

‘What’s more, the effect can be cascaded,” added Ada. “If you stack them, the effect multiplies. Two together could form ice on the second shaded side or reversed, could boil water, if you were only using the sun,’ Ada elaborated.

“Does it only work with the sun?”

‘No, any heat source, whether it is hot or cold, can be utilized. The greater the heat, the colder the other side gets.

“What’s it made of, and could we make more of it?” Bethany asked, thinking of the global applications.

‘It’s made of a silicon based material encapsulating a polarized liquid Freon which is compressed and conductive though an ionic bond with the silicon,’ Ada rattled off.

“Phew! Sounds complicated. Could it be manufactured here?” she asked hopefully.

‘Yes, with a little help.”

This could solve a lot of our energy needs. Houses could have panels working both effects, one panel to heat water or heat the house, and the other to provide cooling or refrigeration.”

“Yes, it could even provide a source of heat for power generation,” suggested Ada.

“Do you think there’s any more around here?”

“It’s possible. Most of the ship impacted the cliff and destroyed the majority of the panels, but some on the top which may have landed on the cliff top may have survived.”

Can you scan for it?” Bethany asked hopefully.

Ada confirmed that she could do that, so Bethany set off on a grid search, using Ada’s directions. Only two more panels were discovered intact, with a myriad of useless fragments scattered around. Bethany had Ada store the panels in p space for the moment and decided not to mention it to anyone just yet. She set off back to camp, elated, yet forcing herself to appear normal to the others.

The next day they said goodbye to Tim and Stewart before starting the journey home in the RV. Both Mandy and Bethany said little on the way home, both engrossed in their own thoughts of those they were leaving behind and what the future was going to hold for them both.

Back in Perth, Bethany had to deal with the gold. Once the ingots were officially assayed for value, half went into the National bank, where they were stored; the remainder went into p space where they could be retrieved on demand as needed.

Bethany was now officially a billionaire. A portion of the bullion was used to buy gold coins, which unlike gold, whose value depended on the market at the time, would only appreciate in value. Both Mandy and Elizabeth had individual accounts of around 20 million dollars. Their mom Heather also had an account with 10 million dollars in it, “just for play money,” Bethany had joked.

One thing Mandy had played with on the journey back to Perth, was her chameleon abilities. She now had a nice tanned face from being outdoors, but her body was still as pale as ever, as sunbathing naked hadn’t been an option in the camp. She had remedied that soon enough, and figured she’d have a valid excuse before Stewart saw her again.

It wasn’t even an issue with Elizabeth, having not seen her in over a few months and anyway, she was more interested in her boyfriend than how Mandy looked naked.

Elizabeth was being cagey about her boyfriend, until they got a chance to meet at a celebration dinner that included their mom, Heather.

He wasn’t exactly tall dark and handsome, when he came into the restaurant with Elizabeth on his arm. Trevor Mallard was 5’11” sandy haired and had a rugged outdoorsy face.

“Gidaay folks, nice to meetcha, wow! This is a swank place,” were his first words, which earned a few giggles.

Somehow, this plain speaking guy with no apparent pretensions gave Bethany comfort that he wasn’t after her sister for money. He had a certain charm, Bethany admitted. She could see why Elizabeth was taken with him. This was reinforced as the dinner went on. Nobody went overboard on their orders, and the girls had probably spent more on their outfits, than what the dinner totaled.

When Trevor excused himself to go to the men’s room, Elizabeth was ribbed mercilessly in good humour.

“I wonder where he keeps his snake?” prompted Mandy with a giggle.

“You little bweauty, you’ll be right” Bethany quipped, imitating Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter.

“I think he took his snake to the bathroom,” chirped Heather to everyone’s surprise.

The sudden shock of Heather’s words stunned everyone for a second before everyone chorused, “MOM!” Then everyone dissolved into laughter. Luckily, the laughter had subsided into just a few giggles, by the time Trevor returned. Later, when Elizabeth was alone with the rest of girls she quizzed them on their thoughts about her boyfriend. She was relieved when they all gave their blessings and told her to go for it.

Bethany was busy for the next few weeks, sounding out people who might be interested in developing the new technology she had uncovered at the mine. She had to find someone who had no vested interests in the existing conventional systems that involved power or heating.

The firm she eventually chose was extremely interested in the panels and organized joint patents in their names, not that Bethany needed any more money, but it could be put to good use in developing other medical advances.

One question asked by the director of the company was about the origins of the panels. She knew from her research, with a little help from Ada, that he was a keen sci-fi addict. So her answer reflected that, “I found it in the desert, I think it is part of a UFO, unless you can come up with another idea,” she stated calmly.

The director just looked at her to see if she was serious. Knowing the properties of the panel, he knew something like this was world shaking technology and could never have been keep secret for long. He did want to ask her how she knew of its construction and material, but was afraid of the answer.

“Don’t ask how I know about the construction. Your job is to replicate it,” winked Bethany, guessing the unspoken question on his mind. “I have three panels, so after you’ve thoroughly tested it, you can pull it apart to analyze it more precisely. I trust I won’t need to sacrifice a second panel?”

“Oh no, in fact we might not have to destroy this one, if our techniques work out.”

“Even better,” finished Bethany, standing up to leave.

“I’ll keep you updated on our progress as agreed.”

“Excellent, I’ll have the research funds available as you require it.” Bethany added, shaking the director’s hand.

Bethany left then, heading back home feeling pleased that things were starting to get underway. She had some other ideas, but she needed to discuss them with Ada before saying anything to Mandy or Elizabeth for that matter.

The house was empty when she got there. Mandy said she’d wanted to look at a bigger place for them to live, maybe on the coast.

Bethany went out to the backyard and sat on the lounger there with a glass of wine. “Ada, is it possible to make another helmet like yourself?”

‘It’s possible that the physical part could be constructed from materials here on Earth, but I am unique, and I do have some limits. What is your purpose for making these helmets, when you have me?’

“Perhaps I should have explained.” Bethany apologised. “I can see how your transforming power could benefit certain people who can’t be treated by modern medicine. Like the paralyzed, or the transgendered, for two examples.”

‘That is a different matter then. Units could be made to operate remotely using myself as the interface,” Ada informed her.

“That’s even better,” Bethany crowed happily. “That would prevent them being stolen or copied by others, as only you can make them work.”

‘Yes, and no one could trace me back from one, even if they got hold of a remote unit.’

“Can this be done on our own? I don’t want to have this become common knowledge?’’ Bethany asked anxiously.

‘We can assemble the units, but I suggest we find different people to make the individual components, so no clue as to their eventual use could be discerned.’

“Let’s get started then,” Bethany said, reaching for the phone.

Things were well under way regarding the helmet construction by the time Tim and Stewart arrived back in Perth. Mandy had just tested the first one, giving herself a minor tweak that wasn’t obvious to anyone not in the know. Elizabeth had finally been brought into the loop with the explanation that her sister had discovered an alien artifact that had given her the information. Only Bethany’s true identity and the presence of Ada were kept a secret, for obvious reasons.

At first, Elizabeth was unconvinced, until they demonstrated the power of the remote helmet, transforming her into a male at her suggestion, as this would prove beyond a doubt that the experience wasn’t just hypnosis, or some other sort of quackery. She stayed like that for several hours to try a few things out. When she returned to her own body, she insisted on a few modifications of her own, after Mandy showed her that makeup enhancement the supposed trial test had given her.

Once the men folk arrived, there was much celebration. Elizabeth had invited her boyfriend Trevor, and all the men were finally introduced. The three couples paired off while a barbecue was started. Drinks started flowing, and while the women were in the kitchen, the men got together and talked quietly about something.

No one got over amorous that evening although there was some tongue to tongue communications that needed no translation. All the men were invited to stay the night, but strangely, they all begged off, saying that they had some business to do the next day. Disappointed, but resigned, the girls had a late supper alone, before retiring to their beds.

It wasn’t until lunch the next day that the men rejoined the girls. Even though they were now rich enough to afford caviar or have a banquet setting with exotic foods, the girls preferred to make a simple lunch of cold chicken and salad with some freshly baked bread from the local bakery. Their only indulgence was some imported champagne that the men gladly opened for them.

The men seemed fidgety during lunch. The reason why became clear after lunch when they were finishing off the champagne.

All three men got up and stood before their chosen partner. Then in unison, all knelt and took out a ring which they presented to Bethany, Mandy and Elizabeth.

“Will you marry me and be my wife?” they chorused together.

Mandy and Elizabeth squealed and gave their man a kiss as acceptance. Only Bethany’s response was delayed, as she looked at the ring and realized its significance. If she accepted the ring and its responsibilities, then she was accepting the fact that she would always forever be Bethany.

Then she made her decision. “Yes, I accept,” she answered, sealing her words with a kiss.

The delay, though miniscule, had Tim wondering if he’d pushed things too far, too soon, but that worry was washed away as Bethany granted him his heartfelt desire.

Needless to say, several more bottles of champagne were opened and the phone ran hot as Heather was given the news.

One more secret needed to be revealed, but Bethany held off until Heather arrived in a taxi about half an hour later. Bethany started off telling them about finding the alien panels and the alien artifact, that once it had given her information, had then disappeared, which was partially the truth. Again, the truth about Ada was kept secret to protect everyone should the remote helmets fall into the wrong hands. The men were very interested in the panels and were soon given a demo of their power. They were also impressed that Bethany had already organized things for their mass production.

The helmet was greeted with more skepticism and Elizabeth dared Trevor to undergo a similar test that she had gone though to prove its validity.

Trevor agreed, although Bethany and Mandy had to hide their grins when Elizabeth omitted what the test had involved. Elizabeth was going to go have the other guys watch, but Bethany had a better idea and whispered in Elizabeth’s ear.

“Come on, Trevor. Let’s do this somewhere private,” suggested Elizabeth, which made Trevor grin as he glanced at the other guys.

Once the pair had gone into the study room where the helmet was set up, the other men speculated about what Trevor was in for. Some of the suggestions made the Bethany and Mandy grin.

Bethany was informed via Ada that Trevor had gone through the transformation. After hearing the door opening to the Elizabeth’s bedroom, she motioned to Mandy that it was her turn.

“Stewart? Time for you to put up or shut up,” giggled Mandy, crooking her finger at him.

Casting a last questioning look at Tim, Stewart was lead away to experience his own trial. Once the transformation was done and the altered Stewart led off to the bedroom to change, Bethany took Tim’s hand and led him into the study.

“Where are the others?” he queried, looking around hopefully.

“Safe. You’ll see them soon,” she replied, placing the helmet on his head.

Bethany started the process, smiling as a familiar figure began to emerge from where Tim was sitting. Soon she had another twin, although the clothes were inappropriate. Tim looked astonished as he realized the extent of his/her change. He reached down and gingerly felt her new breasts and one hand shyly sneaked lower to confirm it was a complete change.

“Come, you need to change clothes before you meet the others,” Bethany grinned giving her twin a hug.

“The others are twins now, too?” asked Tim with her new voice.

“You’ll see them later. Now let’s get dressed,” Bethany, answered not confirming his suspicions.

Bethany started undressing and placed her outer clothes on the bed. She selected new underwear for her twin and told Tim to put them on. Tim looked dubiously at them, but complied, shedding her male clothes and donning the panties and bra with no problem, something that showed on her face as surprise.

“The helmet gives you the ability to act as a normal woman would and helps in both dressing and applying makeup,” Bethany explained.

Bethany pulled some new clothes out and started putting them on while instructing Tim to wear her old clothes. Tim felt strange putting on the still warm clothes Bethany had just removed, but was amazed that “she” wasn’t freaking out about it all. Bethany allowed her newly minted girlfriend time to caress her new body without comment as Tim satisfied “her” curiosity.

“Okay, you can explore it all a bit later, Honey,” Bethany urged finally, having dressed herself again.

Tim put on the clothes Bethany had been wearing and was instructed to go meet Mandy and Elizabeth and see if “she” could fool them into thinking “she” was Bethany, and not Tim.

Tim headed out of the bedroom, trying not to show the surprise on her face that she was walking without a problem in the heels Bethany had given her. Tim reached the lounge just as Mandy and Elizabeth arrived there too.

“What did you do to your boyfriends?” Tim ventured, trying to act normal.

“Made him see what’s on the other side of the fence,” Mandy replied, glancing both at Elizabeth and Tim. “What about you, and where are the boys?” she added.

“I turned him into a girl,” answered Elizabeth, with a strange gleam in her eye.

“Same,” Tim answered, with a giggle.

“I guess they are shy and don’t want to show themselves,” speculated Mandy.

“Come on out, girls,” Elizabeth called, raising her voice.

Three women emerged promptly, showing that they must have been close by and listening. They were twins to the ones sitting in the lounge, but being dressed in fresh clothes, assumptions were made that they were the men. Tim looked at the duplicate Mandy and Elizabeth coming into the lounge, thinking that there wasn’t any difference from those already in the lounge. Then the grins on the faces of the new arrivals made Tim look at the Mandy and Elizabeth that were already sitting down.

“Ah, good trick,” “she” laughed, realizing the truth.

It only took seconds for the other two former men to realize they’d been had. They stood up and offered the seats to their twins, as the real women in their fresh clothes started giggling. Heather was the one that seemed the most stunned, as she looked at the twins, so Bethany let her try something with the helmet too. A few minutes later a new younger Heather appeared, having lost 25 years. She readily joined the others, marveling in her change.

Soon, there was a babble of alto voices as everyone wanted to talk at once. Finally, things settled down as they paired off and found a quiet corner each where they could talk together. Heather went off to change clothes and experiment with makeup, trying for an even younger look.

Of course the ex-boyfriends couldn’t get over how complete the transformation was, nor how being female felt so different, yet similar, even ... dare they admit it, acceptable. One question sitting in their minds was what the aliens had used this technology for. The answer, being obvious wasn’t voiced for fear of upsetting the girls. Of course they couldn’t know that Bethany and Mandy already knew the answer. Bethany had guessed what was going through their minds, having asked that very same question, but she couldn’t reassure the “men” because of where that would lead next.

Everyone started mingling again, the “men” getting together and comparing their experiences. It was a tribute to the thoroughness of the change, which they were not screaming to be changed back immediately. It also spoke of their trust in their girlfriends not to cause any harm in their relationship.

Mandy came over to Bethany and pulled her aside.

“The men won’t want to stay like this?” she asked worriedly, seeing how femininely the “men” were acting.

“No, Sis. I made sure Ada wouldn’t make them too comfortable, even if they decided to experience … you know what,” she winked, making Mandy’s eyes widen. “Anyway, you can always tell them about periods and stuff. I’m sure that would put them off,” Bethany shuddered involuntarily.

Mandy looked twice at Bethany, as a thought struck her.

“Sis, is there something you’re not telling me?” She asked, curiously.

“No, why?” Bethany answered, avoiding looking at Mandy by looking over at the others talking.

“SIS …” Mandy hissed insistently, immediately detecting an evasion. At Bethany’s blush, she knew she’d hit pay dirt and something clicked in her mind. “Is there something wrong with you? We were together for months out in the bush, yet I never saw any signs that you’d had a period, except for a couple of days early on.”

Bethany sighed, knowing her secret was out. When she’d experienced her first period, she had been determined to see it through without Ada’s help. But as the cramps and mood swings progressed along with all the other things that where new to her, she’d finally called on Ada to help. Since then, she hadn’t experienced a period, but being ashamed to admit she couldn’t deal with a normal function of this body, she’d kept quiet about it.

“There’s nothing wrong with me, except for being a coward,” Bethany admitted, hanging her head.

“What?” Mandy hissed disbelievingly, and taking her arm to lead her into her bedroom.

“You’re no coward, so spill,” Mandy demanded firmly,

“I couldn’t handle having a period, Sis. I had Ada modify my body so I don’t have to deal with it anymore.”

“Modify?” Mandy queried, dismissing the first bit.

“When my egg isn’t fertilized and the lining of my womb is about to be shed, Ada made my body, or rather, my womb reabsorb it instead of having to go though everything a normal period entails. Ada counteracts all the other symptoms, like bloating, cramps, and to a large degree the mood swings. I still know when it’s happening, but it’s like a piece of cake to the first one I had. So you can see why I’m a coward for avoiding it.

Mandy shook her head dismissively. She was glad in one way of Bethany’s admission. It meant she was still human, and she still retained a bit of male in her. She’d often wondered if Bethany was really her brother, as she’d adapted so well to being female. Now, knowing she had a weakness, made her so much more human and fallible, just like the rest of us. “You’re no coward. If I had the same choice, I’d have jumped at it too,” admitted Mandy, grabbing her sister in a hug.

“Um, now that the helmet is an open secret, we can modify you the same way,” Bethany offered cautiously, feeling relief that her sister didn’t hate her. With that off her chest, Bethany felt a lot happier. Mandy decided to wait until she’d talked to Elizabeth before deciding whether she would go ahead with the latest body modification option.

Elizabeth came over to Bethany with a strange proposal. She and Trevor had decided to swap roles and allow Trevor to experience sex as a girl. What surprised Bethany the most was that Elizabeth had decided to take on Trevor’s form in order for it to happen as close to naturally as possible.

Mandy and Stewart overheard this, and after a little encouragement decided to do likewise, as long as Bethany could ensure that someone wouldn’t end up pregnant. Bethany ensured them that neither of them would get pregnant by modifying the sperm that the two newly converted guys would produce.

Tim seemed interested too, but Bethany didn’t want to return to a male form, even if it was Tim’s. She didn’t feel comfortable with the reminder of who she once was, so she proposed a different option.

Heather decided to leave the couples and head back home. Reluctantly, she traded her youthful body back to a slightly older one so her neighbours could still recognize her. However, she still looked about ten years younger and hoped she could come up with an excuse for her younger appearance.

Later in bed, Bethany asked Tim what she thought of sex as a female.

Tim fondled Bethany’s breasts, with a sated look in “her” eyes, before rolling together so their breasts mashed together.

“It was beautiful, and something I’ll treasure forever,” “she” answered, with a kiss.

“Yes, it was,” agreed Bethany, looking at her twin. It wasn’t exactly normal sex. Nor was it strictly lesbian sex, seeing they both had female bodies. Bethany could feel the penis, she’d had Ada add between her legs begin to harden again, as Tim moved against her. It was kind of strange, having a penis again, especially as she didn’t have any balls to go with it. She had asked Ada not to give her those, as that was too much of a reminder of her former identity. Tim also appreciated the absence, as it seemed more like sex with a warm dildo than sex with a man.

“Want to change back?” Bethany asked idly, tickling Tim’s breasts with her finger.

“Hmmm … later?” Tim murmured, capturing the wandering finger with her hand, and replying in same.

It was morning before Tim asked to be returned to his male body.

“I don’t know how you sleep with these,” Tim complained, hefting the breasts on her chest and jiggling them around. “I’m used to sleeping on my stomach, but it is too uncomfortable doing that with these in the way.”

“Maybe next time, I’ll put them on your back so I can play with them when you hug me,” laughed Bethany, poking Tim’s breasts gently.

“Um, I think not,” Tim answered, eyeing Bethany speculatively, seeing if she was being serious or not. “Maybe you could do that, then I would have four to play with.”

Bethany pouted for a second, before giggling at the thought.

Once Tim got his own body back, the others were also waiting for their turn.

All agreed that it was an experience to learn how the other half lived, but everyone seemed happy to remain in their original forms, although the guys didn’t entirely rule out the possibility of a revisit to femininity. Bethany had Ada return her sex to normal, not that it had been obvious under her full skirts.

After a lazy breakfast, the guys wanted to head out to finalize some business matters, so they could begin their new joint business with a clean slate.

Bethany wanted to work out how to do the most good with the helmets without alerting the authorities as to what they were doing. The problem was advertising for customers in a way that would give them a free hand, and not have the government trying to seize their equipment for their own uses or limit its use to the privileged and wealthy.

Ada came up with the best solution. Seeing she was tapped into nearly every database on Earth, she could access those who needed help the most. For those in poverty stricken countries where no databases existed, another solution was needed. What Ada came up with sounded bizarre, but just wacky enough to work.

First, all had to agree to hold off on any personal plans while Ada’s idea was implemented. Luckily, no one was in a hurry to get married, so all agreed. Mandy wanted a birth certificate for her new identity anyway, and Ada soon had that underway. Everyone got caught up in the excitement of doing something very special for the needy, and all seemed happy.

“What’s up Bethany? You seem to be under a cloud lately,” Mandy observed, one fine afternoon.

“Um nothing, I just came out here to think?” hedged Bethany, knowing it was futile to hide anything from her sister.

Mandy sat beside Bethany at the lookout that seemed to be getting a lot of use recently by her sister. “You seemed to be doing a lot of thinking lately, is it about Tim?”

Bethany sighed, confirming Mandy’s question. “I just hate not telling him who I really am or was.”

“That’s easy. You are Bethany, now and forever,” Mandy declared.

“Tim deserves the truth, even if it means I lose him forever,” Bethany sighed.

Mandy remained silent, knowing that the painful decision was not hers to make. She hugged her sister in response, letting her know she would stand by any decision Bethany made.

Several months later… “Tim, I have something I need to discuss with you.”

“Sure, Honey. I’ll be right there,” Tim answered, packing the last of the new helmets in their “wok” labeled boxes.

Bethany took his hand and led him outside to the two seat outdoor lounge chair. She sat him down, but remained standing as she gathered her courage for her confession. They were alone at the house as the others were out sorting travel arrangements.

She began by telling Tim about Gary in third person, from the time when Gary went looking for space craft fragments in the outback. Bethany slowed and choked out how, after finding Ada, Gary became Bethany. She watched Tim’s face intently as the tale unfolded; looking for the dreaded repugnance she feared would show.

Tim would be the envy of every poker player as he schooled his face from showing any emotion. “You’re telling me you are …were once a man?” he asked, his voice flat and expressionless.

Bethany’s heart sank, and it showed on her face as she faced her accuser. “I was once, but that life has ended, never to return,” she breathed, with anguish clear in her voice.

“And you’re telling me now, just when we are about to embark on this special mission?”

“I wanted to tell you ages ago, but I was afraid of your rejection. I love you, and I feared I’d lose you.” Bethany confessed. “I wanted to tell you the truth as the idea of holding a secret from you was gnawing at my soul. If you now decide not to have anything to do with me and decide to leave, I figured going to another country would help me get over the pain of my loss.”

“What about my loss?” Tim asked.

“Your loss?” Bethany asked in confusion, and then coming up with the answer she thought Tim meant “I can give you enough gold for keep you from needing to work again,” she added, with a sigh.

Tim stood up and turned away before speaking. “I don’t want your gold…I want you.”

Bethany, who had also turned away to hide her tears at her expected loss, now spun around as her heart flipped over in her chest.

“You want me?” she asked tremulously, hardly believing her ears.

“I am rather insulted though, by your offer to buy me off,” Tim answered turning to face her with a smile, taking the sting from his words.

The two people coalesced together into one form as they embraced. Their lips joined in an unbreakable seal and they attempted to join their flesh to each other.

“So only Mandy and I know that you’re not really Elizabeth’s sister?” Tim asked, once they were able to separate again.

“Yes. Her real sister is dead, but after how things worked out, I couldn’t just walk away. This way, she gets her sister back and I gain a family.” Bethany sighed with remembrance.

Tim nodded, and cuddled closer to Bethany. “You get me too,” he added with a grin.

“Well, I guess there’s always a down side,” teased Bethany, laughing at Tim’s hang dog look.

“I guess there’s one downside you like,” brightened Tim, as he rolled over on Bethany, pinning her body under his, as he assaulted her lips gently.

“Hmmmm,” she moaned, unable to respond with words.

“We could easily change that,” hinted Bethany as they separated to take a breath.

“True,” admitted Tim, thinking back to the day he’d become Bethany’s twin.

Bethany filled Tim on everything that had gone on since her transformation into Bethany. Tim was amazed at her adventures and considered himself lucky to have her at his side right now. Then the ringing of the phone inside reminded them that they had other responsibilities at the moment, so they got up and went inside to take the call.

~~~~A week later, in another country~~~~

“I’ve found the perfect place,” crackled Amanda’s voice over the radio.

“Where?” replied Bethany, as Tim slowed the 4x4 they were driving to a stop in the heat of the African sun.

Amanda gave Bethany the GPS coordinates and Bethany entered them into hers and then directed Tim to turn to the west. They were looking for a cave system, preferably near a village where they could set up the first of many sites where a helmet could be hidden. It would be even better if the place Amanda had found had some significance to the natives in that area.

They had flown out to central Africa to where the natives were in dire straits in terms of health and well being. They had split into three teams and hired well equipped 4X4 Landcruisers to help search the area.

Elizabeth and Trevor arrived soon after Bethany and Tim arrived at the spot Amanda had found. Amanda came out of a cluster of rocks and waved to them to come over. Nobody was surprised to see Amanda still in her dark African form. Talking to natives as Europeans didn’t get them very far, so they had adopted forms of the local tribes to make questioning them more likely to yield results. It was also helpful in warding off sunburn in the harsh African deserts.

“What do you think?” She asked, once they’d gathered in the cave formed by ancient erosion.

Ada did a sensor sweep of the cave, determining its state and the quality of the rock that formed it. She also had to find just the right place where a person might sit and have their head rest against the roof.

Everyone waited while Ada either agreed or rejected the cave. Finally Bethany gave the others the answer and everyone cheered. Elizabeth, Trevor and Stewart had been the last to find out about Ada, and only certain details about who Bethany and Amanda really were, had been kept from them. They were still in awe of Ada’s powers and couldn’t wait to see what would happen next, now the cave was found to be suitable.

Tim went back to his 4x4 and got one of the “woks,” they had brought over. In actual fact, it wasn’t a wok at all; just the basis of a remote helmet Ada had designed. Bethany took the helmet and placed it on her head then went to the position Ada had selected. Under Ada’s instructions, Bethany pressed the remote helmet against the roof while Ada did her phasing trick, allowing the helmet and the top of Bethany’s head to penetrate right into the rock. After a few adjustments, Ada had Bethany lower her head out and away from where the helmet had been placed.

Her head was now bare, with the helmet remaining entombed behind the surface of the rock. Only a small depression marked the spot, and no sign of the helmet was evident.

“Will it work like that, with a layer of rock between the actual helmet and a person’s head?” Bethany asked.

“Yes, I’ve altered the conductivity of the granite to allow the sensors to transmit the functions of the helmet,” Ada assured her.

The others crowded around and checked out what had been done.

“All we need is to show one of the locals its power,” Amanda pointed out.

“That’s next.”

In the village, a young girl of about 17 years old hobbled to the well to fetch her family the water they needed to make the first meal of the day. Aissa had contracted polio and was severely crippled, but that didn’t stop her from doing her chores.

She looked up from the well to see an old woman dressed in ceremonial robes standing in front of her. Aissa was sure she hadn’t been there a second ago, and she’d not heard her approaching. The woman beckoned, and turned to walk out towards the edge of the village. Aissa was torn between getting the water and following the elder. She knew she should obey the elderly shaman, even though she was a stranger. She made her decision and followed the woman.

Aissa paused, when the woman entered the rocks leading to the cave. Although it was reputed to hold the spirits of warriors, she had always thought that was a ploy to scare the children and stop them from entering. Feeling that there was something strange about to happen, Aissa closed the distance between them, even though it meant her leg hurt even more.

Once inside, the woman led her to one end, and bade her sit in a certain part of the cave so her head was pressed against a circular depression in the roof. All this was done without speaking, but instead of feeling afraid, Aissa felt excited. The kindness in the smile and in the woman’s eyes promised something momentous.

Ada interfaced with the helmet and opened her sensors to the child’s body. Using the good half of the body as a reverse template, Ada began to rebuild the child’s crippled body. Aissa felt a tingling rush through her body, and the constant pain she’d borne all her life began to fade away. She watched amazed as her leg reformed, straightening and becoming as perfect as her other leg. Other internal changes she couldn’t see, took place in an instant, assuring her of a disease free body. She looked to the woman, seeking an explanation, but the woman just smiled and opened her hands in a welcoming gesture, before fading completely from view, right before her eyes.

Aissa ran back to her village, calling out as she neared her home. She never saw Bethany invisibly ghosting along behind, her role as a shaman now ended. Ada had phased Bethany’s body ever so slightly left into p space so that while being invisible to those in the village, she could still observe them. She carried a small web cam and was sending a live feed of what she saw back to her group, who were hidden out of sight with the 4x4’s.

Aissa’s mother came out of her hut and stood amazed at the sight of her daughter running toward her. Her shout alerted others and soon Aissa was surrounded by most of her village members. After her rushed explanation, of the mysterious shaman and what had happened in the cave, many decided to check out her claim. A steady procession of villages took their turn sitting under the dome in the cave.

Ada checked each person out, and only those requiring healing were helped. Those that were healthy and weren’t helped in any way took comfort that the spirit that controlled the healing process considered them fit and not requiring any aid. Of those that were helped, most knew it immediately, while a few were healed of things not obvious to the eye.

There was much rejoicing in the village that night, and runners to nearby villages were sent out the next day. Before Bethany and the others left the area, one more thing needed to be carried out.

Aissa was playing tag with her sisters, rejoicing in her new found agility, when a hush dropped over the normal village activity. Aissa stopped and looked towards the cause. There, standing alone, was the shaman she’d followed to the cave. No one moved, half fearful of this powerful spirit who had given them so much. Aissa sensed that the woman was looking at her, so she edged forward a bit. The woman crouched and beckoned Aissa forward. Feeling awe that she’d been singled out, Aissa walked to the shaman and stopped.

The woman spoke, outlining her rules for the cave and its continued service. Aissa ticked off the rules with her fingers, hoping to repeat them to the villager leader exactly.

The cave was to open for all who needed help.

No fee was to be charged.

Don’t let anyone try to disturb the cave or its surroundings.

The woman stood, and shooed Aissa back to the village. She waited while the girl ran back before turning and disappearing from sight in front of those gathered watching.

Aissa was proud to be picked to be the messenger, for everyone made a fuss over her as she repeated what she’d been told.

The group left then and headed into several other countries to set up more helmets to help the people. Ada kept everyone informed via Bethany as to how the helmets were working.

By the time, they’d arrived in North America; several government officials or criminals had tried to suborn the guardians of the helmets, as the news their effects gradually leaked out.

The helmets themselves were unharmed, but the locations where they were hidden had been cordoned off and only paying customers or government officials were allowed in. Of course this didn’t last long, as Ada refused to allow any changes to be effected during this time.

Where people were being forced to pay before entering, it didn’t take long before dissent took effect as no cures were affected and the people trying to profit from the mystical healing properties of the caves were soon ousted by force.

Where officialdom controlled the caves Ada acted differently. If one of the guinea pigs ordered to submit to be tested under the healing area, had a genuine complaint, then Ada healed the affliction. If one of the officials then tried to benefit after seeing the results, Ada had several ways to take care of the situation.

In one case, a particular individual was particularly nasty and scathing of women in general, something Ada had picked up through the auditory pickup in each helmet. He’d dragged the woman Ada had cured of a nasty skin affliction out from under the dome and sent her stumbling on the uneven cave floor. His muttered comment about her was picked up by Ada, even before he sat under the dome.

Ada scanned him routinely, as she did everyone placed under the domes. This time she decided to act, even though he had no real health problems. The person that eventually reformed under the dome bore no resemblance to the male official that she had once been. Her screams, as she realized what she’d become soon brought other officials running to her aide. Her story was first ridiculed as impossible, and a search was set up to look for the man she had once been.

Eventually she was believed and the cave was sealed up to prevent others from falling into a similar fate. Unknown to the government, the person who had been the first cured by the cave knew of another way into the cave system, and soon a renewed, but covert resumption of the use of the caves powers were once again in full swing.

The use of caves in the US wasn’t a feasible option in the minds of modern Americans, as belief in sacred healing places was only held by certain elders in some of the native Indian tribes. They did take advantage of a story about a statue of Mary that was reputed to have cured several people. It was in a church of a small town and it always had a steady trickle of visitors seeking a blessing. Bethany noted that it had a large block of white marble at its base and worshipers knelt at its base placed their heads against the marble. Time for a miracle.

Bethany, in the disguise of a crippled old lady requiring crutches, took her place in the small queue of people. Once it was her turn, she placed her head against the marble and let Ada do her thing. To onlookers it looked as if her head sank into the stone as Ada placed the helmet beneath the surface and vanished the unwanted excess stone into p space, forming a hollow depression in the stone. A few gasps told her that this change in the base had been observed. The pastor of the church moved towards her, thinking she’d somehow damaged the statue’s base, but what happened next, made him pause in surprise.

Bethany had laid the crutches to each side of her and it had been obvious that her twisted limbs had hardly the strength to allow her to kneel. Ada made the most of the “miracle” and a glow of light covered Bethany’s spindly legs. Her legs took on flesh, straightening and becoming firm. Then, as the glow faded, she stood up, her face taking on a look of wonder, as she took a step without the crutches, which lay forgotten on the ground.

The pastor could see a dent in the stone left by the woman now standing firm before him as she smiled and walked out, to the gasps of those waiting next. A rush to be the next was thwarted as the pastor knelt down and felt the concave surface of the stone. He knew he’d just witnessed something wonderful, and got up to find the woman blessed by the statue.

Of course, she had vanished, but that only lent credence to the miracle, as some speculated that she was a messenger from god.

Knowing that the USA would need more than just one helmet, the group wanted to try something else. Going online and searching had proved enlightening. Not needing the same health benefits as some of the poorer countries, the helmet could be turned to another use.

“The New U Transformation Salon, how can I help you?” Came the sound of a caring voice over the phone.

Bethany knew from her own experience, how profound becoming the other sex was. From her searches online, she knew there were thousands of frustrated transgendered people who would never realize their dream because of circumstances beyond their control. Bethany had found a service catering to the transgendered and other similarly sexually confused people that gave makeovers to those wanting to appear as the opposite sex.

When Bethany first found the salon, she was amused at the name, but NUTS was anything but crazy, judging by the before and after pictures posted on their website. A visit was therefore a must.

When Bethany arrived at the salon, she was alone. She thought it best if the others remained anonymous. Bethany took on another visage just in case, and appeared as an older Negro woman.

Seeing the hair drying equipment, she knew the perfect place to hide the helmet. Looking around, she saw several “ladies” who were getting their hair done and knew her aid would be greatly appreciated. Feigning a penchant for intimate contact, Bethany held the owners hands as she asked a few discrete questions. Ada relayed the truthfulness of the woman’s answers, confirming Bethany’s suspicion that she would keep a secret.

After going though the usual routine of getting her done, Bethany was put under the dryer. Ada promptly incorporated the updated helmet invisibly into it. Because the helmet would be discovered if left unmodified, Ada had made a few changes.

The new helmet would remain in p space, separated by only a fraction of a degree from normal space. A built in sensor would detect the presence of a head in close proximity and the probes required to interface with the person under the dryer would then deploy, remaining unseen within the dryer body itself.

Bethany called Jessica the owner over and started to talk in a quiet voice. Bethany asked if she really wanted to help her special clients, using her eyes to indicate the somewhat masculine client to her left.

“I do what I can. Sometimes it’s barely enough,” Jessica sorrowed.

“What if I can give you the means to give them their dreams for real?” Bethany asked in all seriousness.

“How can you do that? Voodoo?” Jessica retorted, thinking she was being conned.

“Stand on the other side so the others don’t see what I’m about to do,” Bethany instructed.

Jessica did so, wondering what this crazy woman was about to try. Bethany then changed back to a white girl around the age of 16. The look in Jessica’s eyes was a sight to behold. She even looked under the chair thinking she’d done a swap of some kind. “I’m dreaming or I’ve gone crazy,” she finally gasped out.

“No, you are neither of those,” Bethany told her in the voice of the older Negro woman she had once been. This made Jessica goggle all over again.

“How did you do that?” she finally got out, looking around in case she was being filmed for some practical joke.

“It’s this particular dryer. It is now modified to make changes you only dreamed of.” Bethany informed her. “Let’s get the “lady” to my left under it,” she insisted.

“Okay, let’s do that,” agreed Jessica, needing a little more proof.

Bethany stood up and walked over to the woman in question and started talking to her quietly.

Jenny looked alarmed at first, having a real woman offer to give her dream. Jenny looked over to Jessica with alarm showing in her eyes, but getting a reassuring nod, she tried to remain calm as Bethany continued to spin her tale.

“You mean that if I move over to that other hair dryer, it can transform my body?” Jenny asked incredulously.

“Yes, it’s completely safe.”

Jenny thought she was in an episode of the Twilight Zone. But true to her wistful dreams of somehow finding The Medallion, or a rustic little shop tucked away in a mall, or indeed any of the miraculous means she’d read of to magically change her gender, she couldn’t turn down the offer. “Okay, let’s do it,” she agreed, feeling somewhat ridiculous, despite that tiny spark of hope she’d harboured of just such an opportunity.

A minute later, Jenny was telling Jessica and Bethany the details of her dream body. Ada, of course, was listing in. Once Jenny’s head was in position, the changes started. Jessica had known Jenny for ages and as the changes hit and her body shrank and expanded in all the right places, she knew what Bethany had told her was true.

As for Jenny, well her expression was filled with shock, as her blouse was distorted out of shape by the now redundant breast forms. Jenny didn’t realize what was happening as her own breasts pushed out from her chest. She thought something had gone wrong as she saw the ugly lumps the forms were causing under her bra. Her chest felt resisted as two objects tried to take the space meant for one.

Jessica realized what was causing Jenny’s distress and deftly slipped her hand in and removed the forms before Jenny could even voice a protest at the plundering hand. After that, all protests died stillborn, as Jenny felt a sensation she had only dreamed of, that of filling her bra cups with her own living flesh. Jessica handed Jenny a mirror, so she could see the changes in her face. Gone were the sharp angular planes that proclaimed her masculinity, and gone also was the dreaded apple Adam had gifted man.

Knowing, how she felt, Bethany pulled Jessica aside to allow Jenny the courtesy of a little private self examination, as much as could be had in the salon.

“What surname does Jenny use?’ she asked, knowing Ada would need to set a new identity for Jenny.

“She is a real girl now?” asked Jessica, after giving Bethany the information.

“Yes. Next time please have the person give their preferred name, as well as the way they want to look, so the chair can process new identity papers for them,” urged Bethany.

Bethany slipped her a card saying if there were any problems, she could email the address on the card.

Jessica’s attention was drawn away to Jenny, who had given a glad cry, discovering that she now had an inny instead of an outy.

When Jessica turned back to Bethany, she discovered her mysterious visitor had vanished. She looked at the card and wondered where else would she turn up to help those dealing with gender dysphoria.

Where else, turned out to be several states away, where again, Bethany used the Internet to find a suitable venue for one of the helmets. In all, five were spread across the states, making none to far away for those in need.

In Britain, the obvious place for a helmet was in the stone circle of Stonehenge. Advertising its new powers was a breeze, as there is always a trickle of sightseers visiting. Bethany had waited till a few with their cameras were close by, before she knelt before the largest standing stone. She was in the form of a large man, which didn’t feel comfortable at all now. In fact it felt almost alien and she was glad to be changing soon.

Placing her/his head against the stone, Ada embedded the invisible helmet into the stone leaving only a concave depression in its wake. Seeing someone had taken a photo of her in the act, she cued her change back to a young Asian female. Immediately there were gasps and the clicking of camera shutters increased dramatically. The white tee and grey shorts she had been wearing as a male grew baggy in her new diminutive form. The tee formed a makeshift dress and she slipped out of the shorts, while people gathered closer. She remained silent, as questions began being asked, giving only a smile as she hurriedly slipped away from the crowd. Luckily, no one stopped her, as they seemed more interested in taking pictures of her.

It hit the news that night, bringing a storm of controversy. Some said it was faked, others protested that their most sacred site was being made a mockery of, while others flocked to the place to either to try it for themselves, or to witness others that attempt to do so. There were plans to close the site to the public, but that just caused more problems. In the end, the stone had its own roped off walkway, so the ones interested in trying their luck, didn’t traipse all over the site, maybe damaging it in the process.

One thing that did come out of it all, after an enterprising individual tried blackmailing the early transformees, by filming them after the change and threatening to expose them, was government protection. They banned filming anyone around the stone and put up a temporary screen. Individuals signed in before entering the queue and the translucent plastic tunnel that led away from the stone was just sufficient to obscure their identities from the public eye. The tunnel lead to a large tent erected outside the stones and there anyone with a radical change was issued new identities for a small fee.

Of course not all supplicants got what they wanted. Bethany, posing as the first case reported, had tipped off the press as how she had achieved her new body. So all the people now knew that unless they stated their real name and what they wanted to change, there would be no effect. This information helped Ada to determine if the name given at the stone was the same as the one input at the computer which the government setup at the entrance. Checks could be made to see if any of the people were in actual fact, criminals, and all changes requested that didn’t involve a change in gender were refused unless the person was suffering from a debilitating disease or major deformity, such as lost limbs or paralysis.

There was a concerted attempt to do a scientific analysis of the stones powers in between the times Stonehenge was open to the public, but Ada’s precautions meant that not only couldn’t the helmet be detected without someone’s head being in the right position, the energies used couldn’t be detected by current technology either. No one volunteered to put their heads in the cavity when a huge powerful x-ray machine aimed at the stone tried to see anything out of the ordinary, so again, the helmet remained invisible.

It seemed the world was becoming aware of the existence of these special places and people all over, began searching for more depressions in stones that might yield similar powers. This made it easier for Bethany and the others to set up additional helmets.

Of course the type of changes permitted by the helmets became the main topic of speculation by varied groups. Why were sex changes with age reduction allowed, when just a pure age reduction was not? It was the same with the healing powers. People who could otherwise be treated by conventional means were not healed, unless they were in some of the poorer nations without the means or the facilities for such healing. That there was intelligence somewhere behind it was soon obvious, as people tried to fool the healing places by pretending to be destitute.

Of course, this led to talk that it was alien in nature, and that led to a drop off in attendance by the merely curious. Only those who were desperate for help continued to visit.

~~~~some time later~~~~

“Well, I’m glad to be back home,” sighed Bethany, looking longingly towards the bathroom where Amanda had made a beeline for after dropping her bags inside.

“Yeah, visiting other countries is fine, but there’s no place like home,” Elizabeth added, echoing everyone’s sentiment.

The next few days were filled sorting out the mundane things like paying bills and getting gardens back under control. Ada, via Bethany kept everyone informed of the situation with the remotely operated helmets.

Bethany checked with the company producing the solar panels.

“So far, we have produced panels with about 80 percent of the efficiency of the original sample. We think we can do better in the future as we develop better methods,” the company director told her over the phone. “This time next year, we should be producing 100 percent efficient panels for everything the industry needs.”

It was a few days later when Tim coming round to take Bethany out to lunch, found the house empty. “Bethany?” he called, wandering throughout the house. Getting no reply, he became a bit anxious, despite knowing Ada would always be there to protect Bethany. He went outside and called again, still with no answer.

Finally as a last resort, he wandered down the track to the lookout. “Bethany, I’ve been looking for you,” Tim called, seeing Bethany sitting on the overhang.

Bethany looked up, but didn’t move as Tim came up and sat down beside her.

“What’s up?” Tim asked, seeing her pensive look.

Bethany didn’t answer immediately, gathering her thoughts together. “I can’t believe just how things have changed for me,” Bethany finally got out.

Tim prudently said nothing, just nodding, as he relived the time since he’d met this remarkable woman. Not having seen Bethany as a male, he couldn’t imagine her as a man. Nothing he’d seen had hinted that she hadn’t been born a woman.

“I wonder what’s going to happen next,” Bethany added uncertainly.

Here, Tim had several ideas. He voiced them. “Well, first we get married, and have lots of kids. Then we live like the idle rich,’ he chuckled.

Bethany punched him on the arm. “Hey I’m being serious.”

“So am I,” Tim countered earnestly.

“I meant about the effects the helmets will have and the new solar panels. Certain people are going to doing their hardest to thwart the introduction of virtually free energy sources.”

“Whatever happens, I’ll be there at your side honey. We will face those problems together as man and wife.” Tim promised, putting his arm around her and drawing her close. “I’m sure with all the changes we have started, the future will only get better and the world will be a nicer place,” he assured her.

Bethany looked out over Perth, knowing she had someone to stand beside her no matter what. Now all she had to do was step into the future and meet everything head on. ‘It’s going to be a far richer life than Gary Carstairs could ever have imagined,’ she thought, as she accepted a lingering kiss from her boyfriend.

The end.

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 © 2006 by Prudence Walker. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, and compilation design) may be printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without the express written consent of the copyright holder.

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