Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2001 21:00:08 -0000 From: Beverly Taff Subject: Dog Day Afternoon 2 As I stepped down off the plane, the desert heat hit me like a wall and it was only seven a.m. The sun had barely been up more than an hour but the heat!!! I had felt heat in California and Arizona, but nothing like this. Even Death Valley had nothing to compare with this. The final proof, if any was needed was seeing the locals gasping in the heat. We had arrived in the middle of a heat wave and in the Sahara Desert that means HOT! As I paused in shock on the burning tarmac, the cabin staff warned me that by two p.m. it could reach one hundred and forty in the shade, - and there's no shade. Even the short step to the arrival building, (It could never be described as a terminal or hall.) sucked the sweat from my body. I was truly glad to find the transport waiting for me as arranged. It seemed I was the only volunteer to arrive on that flight so after a quick introduction we scrambled into the luxury of the air-conditioned 4x4 and set off for the research station. "Why so remote?" I asked. "Less hassle," replied the doctor. "The government is happy to take our money but doesn't want any hassle. Some of our work is deemed a bit unethical by the powers that be." I fell silent and the doctor sensed my nervousness. "Oh don't worry. You're not in any danger. It's just that some of the basic research is a bit unusual. Nearly all our transplant technology uses animal tissue." "What do you mean exactly by, unethical," I pressed anxiously. "Well. I'm sure you know that legitimate ethical research permits the growing of genetically engineered pig kidneys that are compatible with human tissue and suitable for kidney transplants." "Yee-ss," I replied suspiciously, "but they still haven't got there yet." "Well;" he hesitated a moment before continuing, "We have. After several years of research we have managed to grow hormonal glands and other sexual organs that are compatible with human beings. You know, ovaries and testes and stuff like that. I've even tested some stuff on myself. Nothing big you understand, but the stuff is still alive in my body. We know the tissue is compatible. That's how confident I am." I was getting the jist of the doctor's ideas and followed him closely. "So you want to transplant these glands into human volunteers as guinea-pigs. To offset the need for continually taking drugs for the rest of their lives" I finished for him. "Uuhm, that's right. Ovary transplants and such like. You've been reading up on this stuff I see." I nodded nervously. The idea worried me slightly but it was not entirely repugnant. 'I mean, they were doing it with pig's kidneys and human insulin from sheep's milk weren't they?' The idea of a pig's ovary inside me was not that dissimilar, especially to a tortured transsexual. "So long as I don't end up grunting or something," I joked weakly. "Grunting! What makes you say that?" "Well, you know, the island of Circe and all that. I mean, pig's ovaries and all that." A broad smile spread across the doctor's face as he wagged his head softly. "We won't be using pigs! They take far too long to grow. No, not pigs." I frowned slightly as the doctor continued shaking his head softly. "Well what then? I thought pigs were the nearest metabolism to a human's. What's it going to be then? A monkey or an ape or something." "Oh no, they take too long to grow and they are far too expensive to obtain. Anyway we could not be sure of the source and they might be animals torn from the wild by poachers. We have to use something that is cheap and with a faster growth rate. We intend using a dog's ovaries or rather, I should say a bitch's." "A dog's", I gasped "Er yes," replied the doctor studying my face anxiously, "You're not going to back out of our agreement now are you? A dog is not much different from a pig. It grows much quicker than an ape and the puppy's gestation period is shorter. We can't use pigs around here because many of the laboratory staff object to pigs. They are all Muslim. They will not touch pigs or pork. Dogs are much easier, there's less religious or animal right's hang- ups." " I don't follow you," I replied, "I thought the animal had to be a close metabolic match." "Oh not with our technology. We simply introduce some of your DNA to the puppy embryo before its immune system develops and then your DNA is assimilated into the embryonic puppy's DNA. When the puppy is born its DNA has components identical to yours and your immune systems will accept each other's tissue. You are both fooled into thinking it's your own DNA We have to use some additional drugs of course but essentially, the puppy's ovaries are accepted into your body and when they mature, they start to produce female hormones. Your body is feminised by the production of natural hormones." "Are dog hormones the same as human hormones?" I asked. "There's not a lot of difference. We've engineered the animals so that their ovaries produce a compatible hormone for both humans and dogs. It's similar work to the insulin in sheep's milk. This is one of our biggest secrets. It is where we hope to make the breakthrough. That's why we need volunteers like you." The doctor smiled supportively and I felt myself coming round to the idea. The thought of having natural ovaries producing natural hormones began to seem attractive, -and after all; a dog's DNA was no more offensive to me than a pig's. 'For God's sake,' I thought, 'we kept dogs as pets didn't we?' I nodded my head slowly and the doctor's smile widened. "Good! I knew you'd come around to the idea. Your letters and medical files indicated a desperate inner girl trying to get out of that-, that body." He grimaced as he summed up my androgynous form then he continued. "I firmly believe that you will be able to function totally as a female after the surgery and you will grow to look thoroughly feminine. You're still young so the procedure should be totally effective." "There's no risk then?" I asked again for reassurance. "Well I can't promise a hundred percent. After all, the procedure is experimental and you are the first. I won't lie to you Beverly. This is an experiment. We've studied all the angles and we will reverse the process if there are serious complications. In truth I am expecting some problems, but not serious ones. I'm not some sort of monster, and if it goes wrong, I will do what I can to correct or reverse any adverse effects. Apart from the unknown risks from the experiment, I see no obvious other dangers; except of course, the usual ones attributable to any invasive procedure. The animals are all laboratory bred and completely disease free. There will be no risk of infection. After a few weeks you'll be able to live and function completely as a female." "Will I grow proper breasts and stuff?" "Yes. Everything. You will be able to live as a complete female. The surgery will see to that." I sagged with relief. Sixteen years of tension seemed to flow from my bones like a dam bursting and I settled down to sleep after the long cramped flight. Eventually I was woken from by the doctor as we arrived at an oasis beneath a rocky ridge. I gaped in wonderment at the abundance of greenery and the doctor explained. "This is the only oasis for four hundred miles. It's an important site and recently improved with new artesian technology We have expanded a large cave system and excavated a subterranean cistern deep in the hills behind that ridge. The water doesn't evaporate away and we have a constant supply for the hospital and the nomads. They have got clean, regular safe drinking water now. The old well was a brackish unreliable source. We've been traveling down one of the new military roads and made some good speed. The government let us set up operations here provided we doubled up as a remote hospital and clinic for the Bedouin tribes or any of their soldiers if they got injured hereabouts. Those tents over there are one of the Bedouin families and one of their women had complications with childbirth. Both mother and child are OK now. We serve most of their medical needs to quite a sophisticated level. If the Bedouin tribesmen get to us in time we can give them better treatment than many of their bigger hospitals." I smiled at the doctor's evident self- satisfaction. He obviously had some philanthropic ideals and this project allowed him to indulge his research whilst simultaneously helping the underprivileged desert dwellers. I then noticed that dusk was falling and realised I had slept for nearly twelve hours. I was beginning to feel hungry. My stomach rumbled involuntarily and the doctor smiled. "I stopped to eat at noon but you were fast asleep. I let you carry on sleeping. Jet lag, probably. There's a meal waiting for us inside come on." I joined him at a table and he introduced me to the team. I soon realised that most of the team were intelligent sexual dysphorics who saw the project as an oasis of safety in what was by and large, a homophobic Muslim culture. Here, hundreds miles from anywhere, there was little chance of any persecution. The university also managed to hide any sexually dysphoric staff whilst at the same time benefiting from their academic talents and research. 'A pragmatic arrangement, if ever I saw one.' I thought. 'Still if it gave me what I had always wanted, I was not going to object.' After the meal we socialised for a while then I turned in early. The next day we discussed the risks and he reassured me that he could address the problems and complications caused by my partial childhood castration.