Make her a contortionist

You pull up the final modification menu, accessing the musculoskeletal flexibility parameters. The adjustments take only moments—enhanced tendon elasticity, increased joint range of motion, optimized ligament structure. The hologram demonstrates the changes, bending into positions that would tear an ordinary human body.

"Gymnast-level flexibility," Helena confirms, reviewing the specifications. "Full splits, **** backbends, all without strain or injury. Combined with her muscle tone, she'll have quite extraordinary physical capabilities." She saves the final parameters. "Design complete. All specifications locked and ready for nanite programming."

You step back from the hologram, examining your completed creation one last time. Every curve, every sensitive nerve ending, every enhancement—all of it will be real flesh in a few hours.

"Let's meet her," you say.

Helena nods, touching her interface. "I'll have her brought to the consultation room." She pauses, glancing at you. "Her name is Mei Chen, by the way. Twenty-six, from Hong Kong. The psychological profile indicated she's been quite anxious about the waiting."

You follow Helena down the corridor, your pulse quickening slightly. This is the moment when theory becomes reality, when the volunteer transforms from an abstract concept into a person whose body you're about to redesign completely.

The consultation room is austere—white walls, a simple table, medical monitoring equipment humming quietly in the corner. A woman sits in one of the chairs, her hands clasped tightly in her lap.

She's tall—perhaps five foot nine—with an angular frame that carries an awkward grace. Her black hair is cut in a practical bob. She's wearing a simple medical gown, and when she looks up at your entrance, her eyes are dark and uncertain.

"Mr. Nakamura," she says, her voice soft with a slight Hong Kong accent. She doesn't stand, perhaps too nervous to trust her legs. "Dr. Voss."

"Mei," Helena says warmly, moving to sit across from her. "How are you feeling?"

"Scared," Mei admits, then laughs nervously. "I took the sedatives you offered earlier. They've worn off now." Her eyes find yours, searching your face. "I keep wondering what you've designed. What I'll become."

She's trembling slightly, you notice. Her current body is nothing like what you've created—she's all sharp angles and height, the opposite of the petite, curvaceous form waiting in the holographic template.

"The contract specified you wouldn't know the details beforehand," Helena reminds her gently.

"I know." Mei's hands twist together. "I signed everything. I understand the terms. It's just..." She looks down at herself. "I've never liked this body. Never felt right in it. So I keep telling myself that whatever you've made, it has to be better than this." Her eyes lift to yours again, **** and ****. "Will it be better? Will you... will you want me, after?"

The question hangs in the air between you, raw and honest.