Kai Nakamura

The door whispers shut behind you with the kind of hydraulic precision that speaks of serious money. The suite smells antiseptic but not unpleasant—lavender and ozone, underlaid with something faintly metallic. The woman standing beside the reclined chair looks up from her tablet and extends a hand. She's perhaps forty, with steel-gray hair cut in a severe bob and eyes the color of Baltic amber.

"Kai Nakamura," she says, not a question. Her grip is dry and firm. "I'm Dr. Maren Kessler. I'll be walking you through your design today." She gestures to the chair. "Have a seat. This part's just conversation—the actual procedure happens after we've locked in your specifications."

You settle into the chair. It adjusts automatically, contouring to your body with a soft pneumatic hiss.

Dr. Kessler swipes through screens on her tablet, then turns it toward you. A wireframe figure rotates slowly—genderless, featureless, waiting. "The nanites can do anything," she says matter-of-factly. "And I do mean anything. Height, proportions, coloring, musculature, neurological response patterns, implanted skills, sensory thresholds, pheromone production, even some non-human features if you're feeling adventurous." She tilts her head, studying you with clinical interest. "You've read the contract. Female presentation and conventional attractiveness are mandatory. Everything else? That's where we get creative."

She flicks to another screen. "Let's start with the basics. Height—what are you thinking? Most clients go somewhere between five-three and five-eight. Taller reads as more striking, shorter as more traditionally feminine. Then there's frame—willowy versus athletic versus curvy. Hair color, eye color, skin tone." She looks up. "You're Japanese-American, correct? We can keep ethnic markers if you want continuity, or we can go in any direction. I've built Scandinavian blondes, West African goddesses, anything you can imagine."

She sets the tablet down on the console beside her, leaning back against it. "Here's what I tell all my clients: this body is going to be your home for at least four years. Probably longer. It's going to be in your classes, in your bed, in every mirror you pass." Her smile sharpens slightly. "And given your scholarship requirements, it's going to be doing a lot of work. So we want to design something that's going to make that work easier and more pleasurable. For you and for them."

She picks up the tablet again. "So. Let's start simple. What's calling to you? Tall or petite? Dark or light? Do you want to look like you could still be related to your family, or are you interested in a complete reinvention?"