If anyone reading the story discovers a typo or other error, please let me know so I can correct it. You can send an email to: barnold@ralabs.com. Please let me know where you saw the story and what the error was. I'll attempt to get it corrected. Thanks Rebekkah deMere for her expert nit-picking that helps me keep the story on track.

This is a work of fiction, with a few real life experiences added in. All of the characters in this story are fictional, and any resemblance to anyone else living or dead is probably a coincidence. Please notify me if you are archiving this and the other chapters of the story on a web site. Permission specifically granted to Sapphire’s Place, Crystal’s Story Site and Petra's web site to archive this. If you intend to publish this story in magazine or book (paper or electronic) format, please contact me for arrangements. Additional information on this story may be found at: http://www.ralabs.com/zapped/

 

Zapped!

by: Bob Arnold
© 2002 - All Rights Reserved

 

Chapter 8 – "The Techno Goddess"

 

Tuesday -

Sleep hadn’t come easy last night so I fought to keep my eyes open when the alarm clock woke me up. I spent most of the night thinking over all of the permutations of doing the radio show and how it might fit into my new lifestyle. I tend to examine new opportunities before I just jumped into doing them. Some things, like the play, are relatively known events with a starting point and an end point attached to it. Other things like the radio show were only partially known events with only some type of starting point attached to it. From doing a similar show about five years ago, I knew pretty much what to expect and what it would be like doing a local live one hour talk show on a weekly basis.

Looking back, it all started when I was asked to be a guest on one of the other weekday afternoon talk shows on WTGF. I had been helping the station with their computers and the internal network used to distribute the incoming newswires to the computers in the newsrooms and air studios for several years. I was also helping Roy at the same station with occasional engineering duties.

The show’s host was looking for someone to talk about where technology and computers was headed and I happened to get a call after Roy, the station’s chief engineer, recommended me. I was scheduled for just the first thirty minutes of the show. The response was so incredible that the host asked me to stay for the whole three hours of his show. We talked about computers and almost any other technology question that came up. The phones never stopped lighting up until at least twenty minutes after the show ended.

When I finally got out of the on-air studio I got called into the general manager’s office and was offered my own talk show to start on Saturday morning. At the time the money they offered was considerable and there was no way that I could refuse an offer like that. Of course I jumped at the chance. By the time I left the building I had recorded a couple of promo spots and they were playing on the air to advertise the show to start on the weekend.

I had lots of fun doing the show since the incredible shyness I had didn’t enter into the picture. I went into each show with a specific purpose. That purpose was to answer the listener’s questions to the best of my ability. When I held that thought, being on the radio was a mystical experience for me. For an hour I could set aside my fear and just enjoy helping people understand their computers or helping to resolve their computer problems. The knowledge that almost a million people could be listening never bothered me. Oh sure, for the first few minutes of each show, my stomach felt like it had butterflies the size of B-52 bombers in it but that feeling passed quickly as I settled into a familiar routine. It was the highlight of my week every Saturday morning to go to the station and do the show live. I only missed one show when I got the flu and lost my voice for a week.

The show lasted for a little over a year until ownership of the station changed. The new owners wanted to go entirely to sports talk and that meant all of the existing shows got dumped, mine included. The show’s demise happened at the start of an especially bad period in my life. Just hours after the last show aired my mom passed away from a long battle with her heart and diabetes. I made the mad dash to her bedside but I was too late to really say goodbye and tell her I loved her. The damage to her body was too great and only the life support equipment was keeping her alive. I held her hand as the support equipment was turned off. She died quietly about thirty minutes later with me still holding her hand and stroking her hair. I like to think that she actually heard the things I said in that last half hour of her life even though I know that was impossible. The doctors said that her brain activity had dropped to nothing just before I got to the hospital. My tears of grief at her passing did flow but only after my change. The shock of the change and everything else over the years built up so much that my emotional control totally and permanently failed.

Her passing and other events around that time soured me on broadcasting or doing anything else for a while. I tossed aside requests to write several magazine articles, an offer to do a technology book and at least two requests to bring back the old radio talk show on other stations. I even turned down the chance to guest host a local television show several times.

I walked around in a fog for over a year barely existing from day to day. I nearly lost my job at the college because of my deepening depression. A friend refused to accept my self-imposed exile from reality and got me to come out of my stupor a few weeks after the first anniversary of my mom's passing away. I am forever grateful to her. I shudder whenever I think of what was likely to happen to me if I persisted on that self-destructive path. I often wish that Maggie hadn't taken a job outside the area and moved away two years ago.

It’s hard to shake old habits. I still find myself wishing for the simpler time in my life not so long ago when I could go anywhere and not constantly be recognized. The main problem I had then was kids calling me a fat man and pointing at me. Now wherever I go I'm recognized as the guy that turned into a woman. Even if nobody comes right out and asks, heads turn as I walk by. Maybe it's just the male ritual of watching women but sometimes it sure makes my skin crawl.

Sometime last night it finally hit me that no matter what I really wanted to do, even as a man, someone or something was always poking, prodding or pulling me in new directions. Before my change I had written a newspaper column, done stage work in lighting and sound, helped produce a weekly television show, and done a live radio talk show. I designed and installed sound, security and fire alarm systems and cable television distribution networks, constructed the network at the college and served as technology reporter for Radio New Zealand International. I wondered just how many other people had been as blessed as I had been in doing such a wide variety of things.

Sometime during those agonizing hours I came to the conclusion that no matter what I did, people were going to recognize me. There was simply too much publicity about my transformation and the events that happened after it. There would always be curious interest in the man that changed into a woman after getting hit by a lightning bolt. I was just going to have to accept that and move on with my life. If people were going to look at me and recognize me when I went out then let it be for something more than being a medical curiosity. Let it be for whatever I've done since the change not because of it. If that involved doing live radio or maybe television again then so be it.

Around two AM, I finally decided to apply my best efforts toward doing the talk show at WTGF. If I tried and succeeded then I would have something to be proud of and more than a little bit of money besides. Not that I really needed more anyway. If I failed then at least I came away with a new experience and the knowledge that I tried my best. I wrote several pages of notes and left the pad on the nightstand. By around two thirty, I turned the lights out and drifted off into a fitful sleep.

The alarm clock started buzzing at five AM rudely pushing me toward getting up. I decided that rolling over in bed was better than rolling out of bed so I reached out to turn off the alarm. I ducked under the covers and snuggled down into the nice warmth of the bed. I wasn't scheduled to start work again until next week so some extra sleep was just what I needed right now.

A few hours later I woke up again when the private line started ringing. A glance over at the clock showed that the time was just a little after eight AM.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Jen, This is Peggy. Did I wake you up?"

"Yea but I needed to get up anyway. You coming over this morning?"

"Sure if you need me to."

"I think I'd like that today. I need someone to talk to and I did want to go over more makeup and clothing stuff again."

"Great. See you around nine AM? It's just after eight now."

"Can you make that eleven AM, Peggy? It will take me almost an hour just to get myself sorted out this morning. Then I need to make some phone calls that will take up most of another hour. We can go out to lunch after you get here then take care of my questions when we get back. I'm buying, ok?"

"I'll go for that. Where are we going?"

"Have you ever been to Salvatore's?"

"No. I've heard about it though, very good and expensive. We're going there for lunch?"

"Yes we are. I have to arrange a business meeting and you're invited too, better dress up for it though. Nothing too fancy but business type attire would be best."

"All right. I'll see you around eleven then. Bye, Jen!"

"Bye!"

I fumbled to put the phone back on the hook and sat up on the edge of the bed. I rubbed my eyes and stared out the window for a few seconds looking at the low clouds scooting across the skyline. The dark gray morning just about perfectly matched my mood. I really wanted another couple of hours of sleep but if I was going to get anything accomplished today I have to get moving.

I showered and dried off then got dressed in a bra and panties. I put on my bathrobe and headed for the kitchen to get a quick breakfast. I decided on a grapefruit and some toast along with a glass of orange juice. Twenty minutes after I started I was finished eating. I headed for the computer room to do a quick check and look at the weather forecast since it would have some effect on what I wore today. The forecast was about the same as yesterday so I decided to wear something similar.

Back in the bedroom again I found a matching skirt and jacket in a lighter shade of blue than the set I wore yesterday. The skirt was a few inches longer so I shouldn't have a problem getting into the truck quite as bad as yesterday. I found another white blouse in the closet. I found a pair of shoes with heels an inch shorter than yesterday. I remembered what the three inch heels did to my feet. I didn't know how long I would be wearing them and decided to go for comfort.

I put on another pair of the same smoke color panty hose as yesterday and completed dressing in the outfit. I added some simple touches of makeup and combed and brushed my hair into the usual ponytail style that I wore so often now. A spray of rose scent went on last. I decided to stop and see what Peggy said about the effort. I thought I looked fine as I turned out the light on the makeup table. I headed for the room next to the guestroom I had set up as my home office.

I was glad that I had done it since it now looked like I would have a real need for it with the radio show looming on the horizon. I brought my purse with me and dumped the contents on the desk. I placed most of the things back in the purse keeping some paperwork I had tossed in it separate. I sorted the paper into two piles then turned toward the PC I installed as the business workstation. About two minutes later I was logged into the Windows 2000 server in the computer room.

I called up the address and phone book and entered much of the information on the paperwork into the appropriate places. I checked my work then saved the database. I started up the word processing program and started a note file on the radio show. I wanted to put as much of what I thought about last night into the note file as I could. Things like travel arrangements and costs and more.

I was certain that I wanted to retain ownership of the radio show. I would grant the station rights to distribute it and work out an agreement to use their facilities to produce the show. If I ever had a falling out with the station at least I would still own the show and it should be much easier to move it to another station. I also wanted to make certain of the financial arrangements. I made a note to ask who they were going to have for a call screener and board operator. I was thinking that maybe if there was time I could get Tammy to do it if she wanted to and could get training in time. I made additional notes about travel costs and the other little things that usually developed.

A look at the clock on the PC's task bar told me I had been dallying long enough. I dialed the radio station and asked for the general manager then gave the receptionist my name. He came on the line a few moments later.

"Hi, Jennifer. How are you today?"

"Hello, Bob. I've recovered from the shock of our lunch yesterday and I've made a decision. I'm interested in doing the show and will host it as well. There are a few things we need to work out though. Can you meet me at Salvatore's again today for lunch? I'm buying."

"I can. What time?"

"How about around twelve thirty? Could you figure on as long as two hours if we need to work out some details?"

"It sounds like you've added a few wrinkles since we last talked."

"I have and I think you'll be pleased with them, Bob. If we handle this right we will both benefit greatly."

"Then I'll be there at twelve thirty. I have to get back to a staff meeting but I did want to take your call. Can I tell the staff about this?

"I guess that it would be all right. What I will be asking for isn't so outrageous that the deal is likely to fall through. Just hold off on any press releases and ad sales until we can get something in writing. That's all I ask."

"Thanks, Jennifer. I'll see you at lunch. Bye!" The phone clicked then the line went dead.

The next call was to the special reservation number on the card that Sal had given to me. "Salvatore's. This is Sal. May I help you?"

"Hello, Sal, this is Jennifer Stevens. I'd like to make a lunchtime reservation for today. About twelve thirty with a party of three total?"

"Hi, Jennifer, yes that's confirmed. Will you be able to bring the materials with you for the sauce today?"

"Sorry, Sal. Not today but I promise that it will be this week."

"Thank you. I'll see you at twelve thirty then."

"Bye, Sal."

"Goodbye, Jennifer."

I hung up then I dialed Rebekkah's number. I heard a couple of rings then someone answered.

"This is Rebekkah. Can I help you?"

"Hi Rebekkah. It's Jen. I wanted to make an appointment for Peggy and I to get all fixed up for the award ceremony Saturday night. Can you still fit us in?"

"It's about time you called. I was beginning to think that you were going to have someone else do it. Yes. I can fit both of you in. What time?"

"How about three PM. I'll just have enough time to make it to your place, come back here to finish dressing then make it to the ceremony."

"Three is fine but I have a better idea. If you want I can come to your place and do it there. It will save you lots of time getting ready and you won't risk undoing what I have planned for you two. Besides, if I see your dresses then I can color-coordinate the makeup."

"That sounds great. Do you need anything special here?"

"No just a source of water and a sink nearby. The rest I can bring with me or improvise. Me coming to your place will cost about twice what a visit here would but it will save you a lot of time and running around."

"Thanks, Rebekkah. The extra cost isn't a problem at all. I'll look for you around three PM then." I gave her my address and the private line phone number so if they got lost they could call me for directions. We chatted for a few more minutes then Rebekkah said she had to go and open the shop for the day.

My final call was to the hospital to inquire about Dannie and George. I really wanted to help them both when they were injured but the sudden appearance of the paramedics had effectively stopped me. I didn't want to be discovered as a "miracle worker". I wanted to give Dannie her wish and make her a real woman. I just don't want to be found out when I did it. I figured that if I let her surgery and recovery progress normally then I could visit her at home to attempt to make the transformation. The accident would provide Dannie with a new legal identity after her surgery. I could safely complete her change with nobody else finding out about it. It would look rather strange to have two mysterious sex changes happening so close together both in time and distance especially since it was a matter of public record that I was there when Dannie was hurt.

I got through to the nursing station on their floor. The only thing I could find out was that they were both in stable condition and were able to have visitors. I inquired about visiting hours then decided to see them tomorrow. The nurse said that they should both still be there.

I thanked the nurse then put the phone back on the cradle. Another glance at the clock on the task bar told me that I still had almost an hour and a half until Peggy arrived. Since I had invited Tammy over later today, I thought I had better get the radio room running again. I still hadn't fully checked things out after the storm a few days ago. I turned the PC in the office off and walked a few short steps to the radio room.

I powered up the equipment with the master key then sat down at the desk to check things out. I removed the cable I had used when I found the signal my body was making and reconnected the cable to the master antenna switch. I selected the dummy load position on the switch and sent a few seconds of carrier into the dummy load to make sure the transceiver itself was working properly. I decided to try the power amplifier so I reached over and hit the power switch on the front of it. It used tubes and needed about thirty seconds to warm up before I could test it.

The red READY light came blinked on and I tested the amplifier into the dummy load. Then I selected the dipole antenna and hit the transmit button. A second later the SWR HI light came on and the amplifier and radio stopped transmitting. I stood up to check the cables were all in place and found that the cable for the dipole antenna was unplugged from the antenna switch. I put the microphone on the desktop next to the telephone after brushing the front of the radio slightly.

Just as the tip of the plug contacted the inside of the connector on the switch box the telephone started to ring. I heard a click of relays as the transmitter keyed the amplifier then both my arms felt like they were on fire. My muscles stiffened as I was thrown backward against the wall a few feet away. The world turned an inky black as I slid down the wall.

>>>>>>>>>>**********<<<<<<<<<<

A light on the console started to flash. The holographic image showed a woman slumped on the floor in a room full of radio equipment. The man at the console hit a button and spoke. "She's just been hurt. Can you come to the command center?"

A woman's voice came out of the speaker. "I'll be right there." The air above the pad shimmered a few seconds later. An image of a woman formed then solidified. She shook herself as the process completed then stepped off the pad and walked over to the console.

"What happened?"

"She just got shocked by the radio equipment. The implant has been damaged."

"Any hope that the nanobots can repair it? They worked well enough changing him from a man to a woman."

"I'm not certain." He shrugged as he watched the holographic display. The woman in the holographic image started to move rubbing her head where it had hit the wall. "She's starting to come around now. Think she'll be all right?"

"Other than some bruises and a few small burns that the nanobots will repair she'll be fine. She lost the abilities they gave her when the implant failed didn't she?"

"She should have lost them unless the failure was only in the communications circuits. There was a very short burst of data as the shock hit her then after that nothing."

"She's up now. That's all we can do. Go ahead and shut down then go home."

"Thanks."

The woman watched as the holographic image faded out. The Restoration Project had worked. It had taken years of a word here and a thought planted there to move the unsuspecting male toward his destiny of the lightning strike that day. It would serve as the cover for the change. They almost had him once but the wiring of the old school building absorbed too much of the charge to cause enough damage to conceal the real cause of the change.

If the general population only knew what havoc had been created when the first atomic bombs were used in World War 2 years ago. It had altered reality terribly to the point that future generations of the human race were at risk. The salvation should have been the older sister of Robert Stevens. Instead, the child had been born with birth defects that were too great for the baby to survive more then a few short hours. That baby carried the genetic material that would have been used later to cure a terrible plague.

The next child born, Robert himself, was supposed to have been born a female and also carried the needed genetic material. Instead, he was born male with the genetic material present but inactive and he also had less critical birth defects. When the plague came, he would have been among the first to die because the genetic protection he carried was inactive. Only his transformation to a genetic female would protect both his life and the genetic material.

They had expended great amounts of resources to implement the required change and ensure that she would survive until needed. Years of careful planning and analysis had paid off so far. There was nothing more that they could do to help Jennifer Marie Stevens through the problems that lay ahead for her. She would never know fully how she changed or why.

The woman stepped back over to the pad then punched in a few codes. She stepped on the pad and after a few seconds her image shimmered then faded.

>>>>>>>>>>**********<<<<<<<<<<

I think I was out for only a few minutes. I rubbed the back of my head and tried to stand up. I made it to my feet after a couple of unsuccessful attempts. I shuffled over to the chair and dropped down hard into it trying to remember what happened. I remembered the shock as the phone rang. I looked over at the radio and saw the VOX feature was turned on. I must have hit the button when I put the microphone on the desktop. When the phone rang the mic picked up the sound and the radio went into transmit mode. That sent about eight hundred watts through me. No wonder I felt like I had been run over by a bus.

I shut down the station and headed for the bathroom. The damage wasn't too bad. I had a large bump on the back of my head and my fingertips were red from the shock passing through them. I had one hand on the antenna connector and the other on the grounded antenna switch box. They were inconvenient injuries but hardly life threatening. I realized that Peggy would be arriving soon and finished my bathroom trip returning to my bedroom. I just finished touching up my makeup when the front doorbell rang.

I opened the door and saw Peggy standing there in an outfit very similar to mine. "That looks great Peggy. How am I doing?" I twirled around giving her a head to toe look at me.

"Pretty good. Are you SURE you were a man just a few short weeks ago?"

"Positive, Peggy. I've just had the best teachers in the world that's all."

Peggy smiled. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes. I made the reservation earlier this morning and I'm all set. Oh, wait. I forgot my notes for this meeting. Let me get them." I retrieved the folder with my notes and hurried out of the front door with Peggy right behind me.

I made it to the restaurant just as Bob's car pulled into the parking lot. "Hello, Bob. Glad you could make it. This is my friend Peggy. We can talk in front of her so don't worry about saying anything in the meeting."

"Nice to meet you Peggy. Say were you involved with Jennifer on that bus crash?"

"Yes. That was me."

"I'm pleased to dine with two such fine looking women." He offered us his arms and escorted us into Sal's.

Sal greeted me by my first name when I entered the restaurant. He beamed proudly as he pointed to the picture we had taken yesterday.

"You sure don't waste any time do you, Sal?"

"In my business I can't afford to. Let me show you to your table."

We followed him to a small table out of the main view of the general dining room. I thanked Sal for the privacy as he left to get a waiter to serve us.

We got all settled when a waiter delivered three menus and set up our table with silverware and napkins. I turned to Bob. "Go ahead and order whatever you want. This one is on me today for Peggy's aid in helping me after the transformation."

"Thanks, Jennifer." He turned to the waiter and placed his order. Peggy and I did the same. The waiter collected the menus then left for the kitchen.

"Well, Bob, we need to talk about the show. I am very much interested in doing it and will agree to serve as the host as well. There is a lot we need to work out though."

"Let's get started then."

Over the next hour, Bob and I worked out all of the details to our mutual satisfaction. It was rough at times but, after hearing my reasons, he readily agreed to my plans. We both made several pages of notes as we talked.

"You're one tough negotiator, Jennifer. I think we'll both be happy with the results if everything goes as you've outlined. You left enough room for trouble too. I like your plan."

"Thanks, Bob. I was up most of last night working it all out."

"So you didn't tell me what you want to call the new show. You used the name 'Online' for the previous show. Are you going to use that one again?"

"Somehow, Bob, it just doesn't seem to fit any more. I was thinking of 'The Techno Goddess' as the name of the show."

"The Techno Goddess?"

"I thought if you were going to do billboard and newspaper advertising that I needed to set an image that would stick in the minds of the listeners. I was thinking of the picture of me dressed in some type of ancient Greek or Roman type outfit posed as a statue holding a notebook PC. What do you think?"

"I like the idea, Jennifer. There are several variations too. Your face dressed like that on a notebook screen or your entire photo done as a digital image on a notebook screen. You could even do a desktop image for listeners to download from a web site."

"Now you have an idea of what I was thinking too. I can very easily do at least one and probably two local appearances just after the show starts. The possibility also exists that I could do others outside of the area when the show gets picked up in other markets. That's why I wanted to take care of travel expenses and such up front, Bob."

"Jennifer, I do like this whole plan. Is our usual handshake good enough until I get the paperwork drawn up in a few days?"

I offered my hand to Bob. "Does this answer the question? Deal?"

He shook my hand and said just one word. "Deal."

I motioned for the waiter to come over to our table. "Could you bring us three glasses of champagne please?" A few minutes later Sal appeared with a tray with three glasses of the bubbly.

"I take it some type of business deal was concluded successfully?"

"Sal, you must have the walls bugged."

"Hardly. Requests like this are most common here. This is some of my finest. Enjoy!"

"Thanks, Sal." I picked up my glass and turned to Bob. I paused a moment as he and Peggy got their glasses. "Here’s to the start of what I hope will be a very profitable arrangement for both of us."

"I'll drink to that, Jennifer." We clinked glasses and sipped the cool liquid. It did tickle my nose and I giggled a bit.

"You're happy, Jen."

"Of course, Peggy. This has worked out much better than I ever thought. I even have to admit that my change has only helped things along. This is one of those times in my life I can truly say I'm happy and I had to become a woman to get here."

Bob spoke up. "That's another thing we need to talk about, Jennifer. What are you going to tell the listeners about the change?"

"The truth, Bob. Of course I'm not going to go into a lot of detail on the air but I do plan on having all of the details on a web site as part of my biography. I see no reason to hide anything since it's all public knowledge in this area anyway. If someone asks on the air, I will admit to it and politely point him or her to the web site. It's that simple."

"A very reasonable way to handle the situation, Jennifer. I applaud your attitude."

"It's the only option open to me, Bob. I am what I have become and I am not ashamed of it. In fact, I suspect that if I hadn't had the accident in a few years I wouldn't be alive anyway with the health problems I had. The only down side I see to this so far has been having a period and learning how to be a woman. Packing over 20 years of learning into just a few weeks is hard."

I saw Bob look at his watch from the corner of my eye. "Jennifer, I do need to get back to the station and start the paperwork rolling. What do you want to do about the publicity campaign?"

"If you'll let me know what you need I'll get the pictures and other material prepared so you can book the billboard space and newspaper ads. What about television spots? Do you want to do any?"

"I'll have the ad agency give you a call with the requirements. I wasn't planning on any television spots yet but other stations may want them. Is that something you can do?"

"I'll work on it. I have a few local contacts that I can use to get something on tape."

"I'll give you a call when the paperwork is completed and waiting for your signature. Is it ok if we have a signing ceremony with the local press attending?"

"If you think it will help publicize the show, yes, that's fine with me, Bob."

"I'll talk to you in a few days then." He got up from the table and walked out the door. I waved for the waiter to return with the check for our meals.

Minutes later, Sal came over with the check and the picture he had placed on the wall. "Could you please sign this for me?"

It was the picture that was taken when I kissed him on the cheek. "I'd be happy to." I took the picture from him and the pen he offered. I signed it "To Sal, GOTCHA! Jennifer Stevens".

"Thank you, Jennifer. Here's a set of the photographs as you requested. I'll leave you to finish your meal." He bowed slightly then left to hang the picture again.

"Wow, Jen. You sure do get the best don't you?"

"It's been that way lately. I'm waiting for when the magic wears off and I turn back into a pumpkin or toad again."

"Not gonna happen. Wait and see. You have some interesting times ahead I think. Just enjoy the ride as long as you can."

"That's the main plan right now. Looking back, I'm not certain if I was ever in charge of my own destiny. It feels like I've always been manipulated into new or bizarre situations quite beyond my control or desires. This isn't the first time and I'm quite certain that it won't be the last."

"Situations like what, Jen?"

"The previous radio show is a good example. I was never looking to get into radio behind the microphone. It just happened when I got asked to be a guest on someone else’s radio show. Then there was getting involved with a television show. I mentioned to someone that I had an extremely large record collection. Next thing I know I was asked to supply the production music for a television station. Remember the old PM Magazine show? I did the music for almost every local story they produced, over thirty of those stories made it into national distribution to other stations doing the show. The story they did on the lady blacksmith was one of my favorites."

"What else, Jen?"

"Let’s see. There was the software I wrote to do all of the paperwork at horse shows. One day I was talking to one of the instructors at a different college I worked for. She served as steward at over a dozen different horse shows during the summer months. We started talking about the then new field of personal computers. That was in 1980. Turns out she was paying to have the horse show paperwork done as batch jobs on a mainframe system. I told her about how a personal computer could probably do all of the work and save her the costs of logging the paperwork to the mainframe site and paying hundreds of dollars a job to get printouts that were days or weeks old when she got them back. I never expected that she would ask me to write the software for her to do those jobs. The work we did eventually became the example others used to write new software packages to do the same thing. Today there is at least one company making almost a million dollars a year from what we started. No, I’m NOT getting royalties either!"

"Is there more, Jen?"

"Well, I wrote a newspaper column for four years about computers. That happened before the radio show did. It got dumped into my lap when the paper bought a couple of very early Radio Shack Model 100 notebook computers then needed a program to translate the word processor program’s files into something the mainframe at the newspaper could use. I pioneered the electronic filing of stories at that paper. What I did became the model for other papers in the publishing group. When the person writing the existing computer column quit I got asked to take it over. I never went looking for it, it just happened."

"Wow, you have had lots of things get dumped in your lap haven’t you? Any more to tell?"

"I’m not certain at times if these things have been a blessing or a curse. I seem to careening from one thing to another and it hasn’t gotten any better in the last week. And there’s nothing more that I want to go into right now, Peggy."

"Well, I'm all finished eating. Where to next, Jen?"

"Back home I think. We were going to work more on makeup and clothes today weren't we?"

"If that's what you want. From what I've seen today you have all of the basic skills already. The finer points will come with time."

I motioned the waiter to come over to take my credit card to pay for the meal. "As soon as this is taken care of we can get moving." A few minutes later the waiter returned with the receipt for me to sign and my credit card.

The trip back to the house was filled with talk of clothes styles and makeup hints. Even after two more hours of talking and trying things at my makeup table, I doubted that I would ever be able to master the more complex aspects of fashion and high-end makeup jobs. I decided instead to rely on the people around me to help with the times when I really needed to look great. I knew that Rebekkah was willing to help, as was Tammy if I needed it.

Around two PM Tammy called and asked if she could come over for a while. I gave her the address and told her that any time after about three thirty was fine. Around three, Peggy and I finished up my lessons on makeup and clothing selections. Peggy said she needed to head home anyway to get supper ready so we hugged and waved goodbye as she headed out to her car.

Tammy was right on time as an old car driven by her mom pulled into my driveway just after three thirty. I greeted them at the front door.

"Hi, Tammy. I see you found me. Is this your mom?"

"Yes, Mom, this is Jennifer Stevens. Jennifer, this is my mom, Sharon Kelly. Finding you was easy. I just looked for the house with the most antennas."

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Kelly. Please come in." I led them into the living room and we found seats on the couch and chairs. "I guess this place does look like some type of communications complex doesn’t it? Maybe one day I’ll get a place farther outside of the city. For now though, this is home."

Tammy’s mom spoke. "And it looks like a very nice home too. Ms. Stevens."

"Thanks, Mrs. Kelly and please call me Jennie or Jen."

"Please call me Sharon.

"Now that introductions are out of the way how you like to operate my ham station for a bit, Tammy?"

Her eyes were almost glowing. "I’d like that a lot!"

"Come on then. Sharon, I’ll be back in a few minutes and we’ll talk, all right?"

She nodded as Tammy and I went to the radio room. I gave Tammy the standard introduction to the equipment and asked her to use her own call sign if she worked anyone on the air. I gave her a new logbook to use when she was visiting my station then left her to have some fun. I was closing the door behind me when I heard her call to a G3 station in England. I giggled a little then headed back to the living room.

"That’s quite a daughter you have there, Sharon."

"She sure has been a handful, that's for certain. There are days when I can’t keep up with her."

"I’m not much older than her and she wears me out at the theater."

"Yes, Tammy told me all about you. Is what she says true, Jennie?"

"If she told you that I have a 45 year old male mind in a 24 year old female body that about sums it up."

"I thought she was making that up. It’s true?"

"Yes, did you see the coverage of my change on TV after I got hit by a lightning bolt a few weeks ago?"

"I really didn’t pay any attention to it but I do remember hearing about it. So that was you?"

"It was. I became what you see before you in about three weeks at least physically. The mental adjustments to my new life are an ongoing process. I’m doing quite well now though."

"Please forgive me for asking this question but you don’t have any sexual designs on my daughter do you?"

"No need to forgive you, Sharon. It’s a valid question. No, I have no sexual feelings Tammy or any other female. I’ve adapted far enough to know that as a female I now prefer males."

"That’s a relief. So want else did you want to talk about?"

"Tammy mostly. I noticed several things about her. Can you tell me more of her background?"

"I’ll try. Let’s see… as you probably know she just turned eighteen a few months ago after graduating from high school. She’s supposed to attend the local Community College in a few weeks to begin studying Electronic Media and Broadcasting. So far I’ve been able to get the first term’s tuition. I don’t know where the rest will come from."

"What about her childhood. Can you tell me anything?"

"She always was a tomboy of sorts. She was always interested in electronics and radio more than dolls or other toys. I’m afraid she didn’t have a very happy childhood either. Her father and I were married too young and we didn’t have an easy time. He started to drink and got very violent toward the end. When he finally snapped and beat both of us I packed up and left. That was almost ten years ago. He’s in prison for what he did to us. I got a divorce and a restraining order but he’s threatened to come back again when he gets out."

"How long until that happens?"

"Almost another year until his first chance at a parole. Tammy has nightmares sometimes about it. She wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. I have them too but not as much as Tammy does."

"A lot of things can happen in a year Sharon. For now just don’t worry about it. If the time comes when it becomes a real problem I’ll help you figure it all out. In fact I’d like to help both of you a lot more if you’ll let me."

"How?"

"Well first there’s the matter of Tammy’s education. I think that young lady can make something of herself and I want to help her try. I’m prepared to offer a job that fits right in with her studies. In a few weeks I’ll be starting a new radio show dealing with technology and computers. I’d like to have Tammy be the producer of the show. She will run the console and screen my calls in addition to making sure everything else related to the on-air portion of the show goes smoothly. That’s a lot of responsibility. It will involve her working with me at least once a week at the radio station and as often as I need her that doesn’t interfere with her college studies. There will be some strings attached to the job so she’s going to have to work for it."

"Like what?"

"One of the big ones is that her grade point average can’t go below 3.75. If it does she’s off the show until it goes back up. Another is that she stays out of trouble, no arrests for being drunk, no drugs, not even a speeding ticket. If her record is clean now it needs to stay that way. If she comes home reeking of beer and obviously drunk I want to hear about it."

"What is she going to earn for all of this?" I handed her a sheet of paper I had placed face down on the coffee table.

"This is what she’ll earn. She will be encouraged to put most of it away for her education. I’ll even set up an account that will pay her interest if she decides to save the money. I will also provide a company car for her and your transportation. She’ll have to supply the gas herself but the car, and the maintenance for it, will be paid for by my company. She’ll get the car when she gets her first set of marks of 3.75 or better. The car goes away temporarily if the grades slip too."

"She will also need to travel with me from time to time when I have guest appearances across the country. All expenses will be paid and I’ll provide a clothing allowance for things she needs to travel in style over and above the salary on that paper. Travel with me will end temporarily if her grades drop below 3.75."

As she looked at the sheet her jaw dropped open. "But why do you want to do all of this for my daughter?"

"Sharon, it’s because I see some of the old me in her. I’ve done well in spite of my past and I just want to help Tammy do the best she can with what life has to offer her. If my helping her and you makes things better for both of you then I’m happy. There’s no pressure in this offer. I haven’t talked to Tammy about it yet since I wanted your approval first. If you decide against it I will understand without question and no mention of this will ever be made to her. The choice is yours at the moment."

Sharon sat there stunned for a couple of minutes. I left her to go see how Tammy was doing. I watched her work several stations snagging some rare DX that even I wanted to work. Much to her credit she got all of the QSL information in her logbook and logged the time and frequency of the contact properly. I spoke up during a break in the action. "Well, Tammy, having any fun?"

"Lots of it. I’m working things my old beat up Heathkit gear doesn’t even hear."

"That’s just from having a good antenna system. Do you have any room for antennas where you live?"

"Not really, Jen. We have some restrictions on what I can put up. Besides, I’ve been saving all of my money for college when I can earn any."

"I know. I’ve been talking with your mom. I just wanted to see how you were doing. I’m going to go back to finish my talk with her now. Have fun!"

She waved as she found another pileup to work through. I’d love to see what she could do in a weekend operating contest if she was having this much fun working DX now. I headed back to the living room again. Sharon was sniffling quietly on the couch.

"Why the tears, Sharon?"

"I’m just happy that someone has come along that can help. It’s been so hard trying to raise her all these years by myself."

"So you’re going to allow me to help?"

"Yes, I will. Are you going to tell her now?"

"I’d like to if that’s all right with you. It sounds better if it comes from both of us and that we present a common set of goals to her. I’m going to have her sign an agreement so we both know what is expected of each of us. It will keep us both on track. What do you think her reaction will be?"

"Knowing Tammy, she’ll probably go wild. It should be quite a sight to see when she finds out."

"Sharon, do you want to freshen up first before we tell her? I can make some coffee or tea or get you a soda."

"Thanks, Jennie. I’d like some tea please. Tammy drinks tea too."

"Tea coming right up. The bathroom is down the hall on the right in the guest room. I’ll be in the kitchen." Sharon headed for the bathroom, I went to the kitchen and put on a pot of water for the tea. I dug out the tea bags, my finest tea set and some snacks appropriate for tea. Sharon walked into the kitchen as the pot began to boil.

"Will we have tea in the kitchen?"

"We can if you like, Sharon. It makes it so much easier than the living room."

"Here is fine then. I still can't get over this. It comes as such a surprise."

It took a few more minutes to finish preparations. I left for the radio room and practically had to hog tie Tammy to get her away from the radio. "Tammy, I think you really want to do this now. Come and have some tea, please? You can come back in here in a little while but right now your mother and I need to talk to you."

"But I wanted to…"

"Now, young lady! MARCH!"

"Now you sound like my mom!"

"Good! I'm glad she gave me those lessons while we were talking. SCOOT!"

Tammy wrinkled up her nose at me. "Yes, ma'am." A big pout spread across her face. I suspected it wasn't going to last long. She followed me into the kitchen and plunked down in a chair. Her mom started first.

"Tammy, Jennie and I have been talking and she has some things she would like to talk to you about. I want to say right now that I agree with everything she says and I will back her one hundred percent. I want you to listen very carefully and think things out before you answer. OK, honey?"

"All right, mom." She turned to face me.

"Here’s the deal then. Tammy, I want you to work for me helping me with my radio show. I have a position for a producer. Those duties include screening phone calls and running the audio board each weekend while I'm on the air. " I went on to outline the rest of her duties and exactly what I told her mom about her salary, travel and the car. Her eyes got larger and larger at each step and she started squirming with excitement in the chair. It almost looked like she was going to explode.

"Well, Tammy what do you think? Do you want some time to think about it?"

"Are you kidding me, Jen? I would have to be insane to turn an offer like that down!"

She launched herself out of the chair straight toward me and nearly hugged the stuffing out of me. "Whoa there, girl. Are you sure you want to agree to all of the terms?"

"Of course."

"Then you wouldn’t mind signing an agreement between the two of us so we both know the limits of our deal?"

"Where’s the paperwork. I’ll sign it right now!"

"It’s not ready yet but I’ll have it ready when we meet for the first rehearsal of the play. How’s that?"

"Great. So when do I start training on the studio equipment?"

"I’ll need to arrange that with the station. I have a couple of other things to do first though. I have to set up the company and get the paperwork in order so I can legally hire you. Then I have to get some photo work done for billboards and newspaper advertising."

"Really? What are you going to call the show?"

"I sort of like ‘The Techno Goddess’ myself. I was planning on dressing like a Greek or Roman goddess statue holding a notebook PC for the photos."

"Sounds good, Jen. Am I going to have a character too?"

"I hadn’t thought of that. Give it some thought and see if there’s anything along the same lines you can find. If it sounds good we’ll try it, Tammy."

"So when does the show start?"

"In about 4 to 5 weeks. The station wants some lead time to promote it by spots on the station, newspaper ads and some billboards. They also need the time to get the network of stations and satellite link operational."

"Just let me know when I can start training. I’m all set to go anytime."

"Do you want to use my ham station a little more today? Your mom and I can chat a while longer."

"I’d like that a lot. Are we done here?"

"Yup. Go hit the bands again." Tammy grinned as she headed back to the radio room.

"I’ve never seen her this happy before, Jennifer."

"Thanks, Sharon. I hope that she will make good on her promises."

"There’s one thing I do know for certain about my daughter. When she says she’ll do something she stays with it until the job or task is finished. She’s definitely not a person that quits easily. I think she’ll do everything you need her to do and much more."

"That’s just what I’m looking for right now Sharon. So how are things going for you?" Over the next hour or so Sharon and I talked about her life. I found out where she worked, what her background was and much more. I found myself admiring the woman because of all the hardships she went through never once providing less than the best she possibly could for Tammy.

The time was nearing five PM. I had to shoo Tammy out of the radio room with a promise that she could stay overnight on a weekend and use the station. I waved as their car pulled out of the driveway to head homeward.

As I headed for the kitchen to get some supper I thought of the days and weeks ahead. I would start work again next week, the play would start rehearsals in a few more days, the award dinner was this coming Saturday night, and I wanted to have Adam over again in the middle of all of it. My life before had been relatively simple compared to what it has become now. I sighed as I grabbed a package of chicken thighs to make Shake and Bake Chicken for supper.

>>>>>>>>>>**********<<<<<<<<<<

Jimmy Glover sat in an old chair in his run-down apartment reading the local paper. It was a few days old but Jimmy loved to look through the old papers just to make sure he didn’t miss any information that might be of use in one of his scams. His girlfriend, Susan Gillmore, was out getting them both something for supper. He didn’t always live in these run-down conditions but it was good cover for both of them.

Jimmy Glover was a con man on the run after his last scam in Los Angeles netted him over a million dollars in sweet, totally untraceable cash. He just made it out before a friend of the old bag he had been bilking tipped her off to the diamond scam. He had been selling the old dame fake shares in a diamond mining scheme. On paper it looked great, an investment of a few tens of thousands of dollars could return hundreds of thousands of dollars in just a few short weeks.

The old dame had been most helpful in lining up her friends to invest in the business with the promise of a huge investment for a little outlay of cash. Jimmy was very willing to accommodate all comers as long as there was cash in their hand. His whole plan fell apart when one of the old dame’s friends investigated the "company" only to find out that there was no record of it ever legally existing anywhere. The certificates that Jimmy had issued to each of his "investors" were all worth exactly the value of the piece of plain paper that they were laser-printed on.

By the time the police got involved, Jimmy and his girlfriend were already moving out of the state taking a random path across the country. They had a bunch of fake ID cards and drivers licenses and could use a variety of disguises to change their appearance. They changed cars every week or so and only bought cars from individuals that wanted to deal in cash.

It had taken two months zigzagging across the country but they now found themselves in Syracuse in upstate New York. Jimmy found the apartment for rent in one of the older sections of the city and decided that the police wouldn’t look there for someone that had over a million dollars in cash available. He felt reasonably certain that he had ditched any attempts by the cops to trace where he had gone.

Jimmy’s scamming ways started nearly 25 years ago when he started to cheat his kindergarten classmates out of their milk money. It only got worse in grade school and then later on in high school. Jimmy ran a small bookmaking operation on the school’s football and basketball games. While it was never proven that Jimmy fixed the games, enough of the football and basketball teams were seen around Jimmy that the school administration was always watching him closely in school. The thing was that he never accepted a bet at school or talked about it either. He used a playground off school grounds and a couple of fast food places as where he conducted "business".

It brought in a nice little profit until he made two mistakes. The first was accepting a bet on the school grounds. The second was that the student he took it from was a new transfer into the school. Turned out to be the son of another police department’s chief. They placed the boy in the school to catch Jimmy in the act and break up the gambling ring.

Jimmy got relatively light punishment when it was learned that members of the school board and the city council were betting on the games and using Jimmy to place the bets. The whole thing got quietly resolved and little was ever printed in the local paper about it. A few people did mysteriously transfer to other schools or found jobs elsewhere but the real reason for the resulting run of job changes and personnel changes was never publicly known.

Jimmy only got expelled and was forced to return what he had collected to the police. Of course, he didn’t give them everything and somehow managed to retain twenty-five thousand dollars buried in some sealed quart jars inside a plastic wrapped steel box deep in the woods behind his house. Only Jimmy knew the exact spot where his little treasure was hidden.

A month or so after his expulsion from school Jimmy turned eighteen and decided that he had had enough of the small town life. He retrieved his stash and departed for the big city never to return to that miserable little town or his parents again.

Life in the city agreed with him and soon he had come in contact with the local underground, a group of con men and thieves that populated the shadows of the city. They accepted him as one of their own and he soon learned all of the tricks of the trade. He learned the craft well. Some of the gang would say that Jimmy turned into the ultimate con man. Fearless and ruthless when it came to milking someone for all of the cash or valuables they were worth then making the poor victim regret that they didn’t have more to give him. His smooth presentation was honed to perfection after years of running smaller scams all over parts of the state. He didn’t look like a con man either. His boyish good looks and manners made everyone that saw him accept him as just another honest businessman trying to get ahead in life. He dripped culture despite the fact that for most of his life he existed in the dark underworld of crime.

Susan Gillmore was a good match for Jimmy. He picked her up off the streets as a homeless runaway two years earlier. The girl was eighteen then and had blossomed into a stunning twenty year old woman under the constant attention of the con man. She had served him well in many different scams. He had come to appreciate her talents at convincing over the hill old men that she actually loved them. She contributed well to the diamond mind scam by duping many older retired gentlemen into using their retirement funds to invest in the non-existent diamond mining operation.

Her long brown hair and dazzling green eyes could melt even the most hardened miser into tossing away all of his money to amuse her. More than once she had been instrumental in masterminding their getaway from disaster when the con fell apart. She had a desire to wear the finest clothes they could afford and eat in the best restaurants. She grumbled constantly about the tattered old apartment when they first arrived in the area. She knew they had to hide out for a while longer but she still didn't like the fact that they were doing it in apparent near poverty when he had almost a hundred thousand dollars stashed away in the money belt he always wore. She knew the rest of the million was buried somewhere in the area but he wouldn't tell her exactly where it was.

Jimmy heard the apartment door open the close. Her heels clicked as they moved across the hall into the kitchen. "Jimmy, I got us some Chinese. Come and get it before it gets cold!"

"Be right there!" He got up from the chair tucking the newspaper under his arm and stepped into the kitchen.

"I got you the pork fried rice. I got come sweet and sour chicken. We can split them so we can have some of each."

"Sounds good to me. Did you check out that old storefront?"

"Yup. Looks like a good spot to set up the church bit to me, Jimmy. Right in the middle of the neighborhood. Won't get much from the people here but then you always get what we need from people outside the area that think they can help these people."

"Yup, it's a sweet little con, Sue. Do just enough to look like you’re making a difference then take off with the rest of the funding. Maybe we'll ride this one out a bit longer and go for a bigger score."

"When do you want to start?"

"As soon as we can rent the place and get it fixed up enough for our purposes. I gotta keep track of someone while we're in this area too. Take a look at this." He slid the paper across the table. The picture on the front page showed a woman presenting an award to some science fair students at a local mall.

"Isn't that the guy that got hit by lightning then turned into a woman? She calls herself Jennifer Stevens now doesn’t she?"

"That's the one. I think if I bide my time a bit I may be able to work out something to use her for. I just have to figure it out. Maybe we can start a crusade against her because of her 'unholy' change. The folks around here ought to love that. Should get us more money to wage the battle against that 'Godless harlot'."

"Just be careful, Jimmy. Don't go too far with this scam and start believing it. We almost lost the entire load the last time you did the church bit."

"I'm over that. Sue. Won't happen again. Besides we have a bit of operating capital now." He patted the money belt around his waist.

"Just don't blow it all setting this one up, Jimmy."

"Shouldn't take more than fifty thousand to rent the place and get it outfitted like we need it, kitchen and all. Now all I have to do is decide on a name for the ‘church’ and names for us then we can get started."

 

>>> To be continued in Zapped! Chapter 9 <<<

 

 

 

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© 2001 by Bob Arnold. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.