Alfedov

Just, a tired programmer, was already downing his second energy drink, trying to fix a bug in his deep neural network. Lines of code danced across the screen, merging into a single chaotic pattern. His vision was blurry, his fingers numb.

“Okay, last commit and I’m off to bed,” he muttered, struggling to focus on the monitor. He wrote what he thought was an innocuous line correcting a bug in the model's self-training algorithm: model.gender_calibration.override = True. He didn't notice that instead of the logical value True, his clouded mind had substituted the string "female." He hit Enter with all his might. The effect was immediate and surreal. A jolt of static electricity coursed through his body, causing him to shudder and lean back in his chair. The world swam before his eyes. He felt his bones grow lighter and thinner, his muscles lose their usual definition, and his shoulders narrow. His chest grew heavier, and long strands of soft, ash-blond hair fell across a face he no longer recognized. His loose T-shirt suddenly hung differently, outlining new, rounded curves.

• What... what's wrong with me? - His own voice, now higher and more melodic, sounded like someone else's. At that moment the door to his room creaked.

• Just, are you there? They brought me pizza, would you like a slice? - It was his neighbor and best friend, Alfedov.

Just froze, staring at him with wide, now enormous, black eyes. The snowman froze in the doorway, the pizza box in his hand hovering in midair. His gaze slid over his long hair, over the changed silhouette in the oversized T-shirt, and over the unfamiliar, yet somehow beautiful, face, distorted with panic.

"Uh..." Alfedov managed to squeeze out, his brain clearly refusing to process the image. "Sorry, I think I'm in the wrong place. I'm looking for Just."

The guy, trembling, raised his hand with thin, graceful fingers.

• Alfedov... it's me, - she whispered in her new voice. The pizza box fell to the floor with a dull thud.