Shoshone Station: The Galactic Consortium season 2

Episode One: Not a Good Day to Die #13

Staying the night at Animika's place made a lot of practical sense for Sophia. It saved her money. The couch/mat was plenty thick and comfortable.

The problem was the morning. Animika had both her lights and her viewscreen set to come on around seven in the morning. They came on dim and low, both the light and volume rose until it finally woke her.

Animika stumbled sleepily past, rubbing her head as she went. She paused in front of the cubicle shower and dropped her robe. Naked, she disappeared inside.

Sophia sat up, wondering whether she should just change quickly while Animika was in the shower. But she needed a shower herself and she needed to shave. No one in the two days that she'd been on the station had questioned her gender, even once. Yet it had to be apparent she hadn't been born female. Did they not realize? And if so, should she change in front of Animika?

Animika was done before Sophia had any answers. She came out, oblivious to the struggle going on inside Sophia or, apparently, any thought of modesty. She toweled off and then strode naked across the room to inspect herself in the mirror. "You should get showered, too," she commented. "We can grab some food before work." She crossed the room again, this time going to the closet to inspect her outfits and pick one for the day.

Sophia undressed hurriedly and climbed in the shower. She decided that if Animika freaked about Sophia having male anatomy, she'd just play dumb.

She didn't. Sophia wrapped a towel around her midriff when she went to find a razor and clean her face. Animika talked about which stall was best for breakfast fare and what work would bring, but never mentioned anything about Sophia while she shaved and then dressed.

"Are you going to stay galatura your whole life? Or make more change?" she asked casually as they walked towards the nearest mall.

"I'm sorry," Sophia replied. "One of those words didn't translate for some reason."

"I thought they had most of your words down now," Animika said.

"Galatura," Sophia prompted. She tugged on her collar. "It didn't translate that. Maybe it's something we don't have."

She stopped and gave her a quizzical look. "But you do have galatura. You are one, right?"

"Umm..."

"You are a girl, right?" Sophia nodded hesitantly. "You have boy parts, though. Galatura. Are you wanting to stay galatura or be uncertain translation: transgender."

Sophia just stared at her. "Isn't that the same thing? I mean I was born a boy but I want to become a girl."

"Born a boy? Weren't you born a baby?"

Sophia laughed. "Yeah, I guess I was. What does that have to do with anything?"

"You were born a baby," Animika said. "You grow up to be a boy or a girl. Were you a boy? Or were you always galatura? What's your push?"

"I am getting lost," Sophia admitted. "I was raised to be a boy. I never wanted it, but they wouldn't listen. That's why I ran away. I just couldn't live that way."

"I would run away, too," Animika assured her. "My older brother was like that, he's uncertain translation: transgender."

"Wait a second," Sophia said, she tugged on the collar. "Is there a way to not translate that word?"

"Preference noted," the collar said in a melodious voice.

"Okay, your brother is..."

"Minyati Prakriti," Animika said. "He was born with girl parts. Mom said he'd grow up to be a girl someday. Dad said no, he was always masculine even as a little thing. Dad was right. He insisted he was a boy all second dek. The first day of his tridek he went straight to the healers. They weren't surprised. Said he had a big push."

Sophia had encountered the word dek yesterday when they discussed age. The consortium divided childhood into three phases, called deks. Each ran seven years. The first dek was infancy and early childhood. Second dek was seven to fourteen years and comprised most of the earth concept of childhood. At fourteen years you entered your tridek, a long transition from child to adult.

Trideks had a lot of the same legal rights as adults and they seem to make the transition to adulthood at their own pace. Basic education went at your own pace and some people finished early. Tapanga was seventeen and had finished his basic education. His father wanted him to remain at home as a kid and take more schooling. He didn't want to and he left to live as an adult.

Animika was even younger and hadn't finished her education. "I don't qualify for any advanced training, so what's the point?" she had said. Sara had pursed her lips at the comment and seemed to fighting the impulse to contradict her. Sophia had left home before graduating high school, so she couldn't really say anything.

"I want to change, to become a real woman someday," Sophia said. "But on earth it's expensive and there's only so much they can do anyway. I don't know here."

"You should ask a healer," Animika said. "Look, there's Tapanga. Want to eat with him?"

Sophia nodded yes. She would have to ask, but the thought of going to a healer reminded her of something else. HIV. Could they cure that? She hadn't taken the medicine that the free clinic had given her last week. She hadn't even thought about the diagnosis, the fight with Carl, her homelessness, had all driven it out of her mind.

They were early. Tapanga talked them into going to some seafood place. It wasn't what Sophia would have thought of as breakfast but she was starving. Tapanga's presence ended their former conversation and Sophia wondered idly what Animika had meant about "push" and what options there were for someone like her.

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