The mag-lev doors opened silently revealing the elevators tiny interior. I walked into the elevator and spoke my destination level. The doors shut with equal silence and smoothly began the three hundred story descent. I stared out over the landscape of the city, watching as thousand of aerocars whisked passengers at break neck speeds to destinations unknown.

   Giant skyscrapers reached their tentacles to the heavens, a beautiful foreground to the sunny, crystal-clear sky. I descended down the face of the building, watching the cars race past in hurried gut wrenching madness.

   The elevator flew down the side of the building; the numbers to the floor counting down faster than I could read them. The car slowed to a soft stop, the doors opening up onto the crowded city street. People rushed like ants to a carcass, hurrying to destinations unknown. They were all dressed in single color jump suits, each color representing their standing in society. Browns for the lowest worker, to white to people of the most revered status. Of course, there were no people on the streets wearing the angelic white.

   I left the elevator, turning left to catch the cross-town mag-tube. I sprinted the short distance to the mag-tube boarding station. Entering the transportation cabin, I punched in my desired destination. A small burst of air erupted as the doors to the coffin sized cabin shuttle slid silently shut. The cylinder shook slightly as it dropped into the tunnel. Strong magnetic fields caught the tube and quickly I accelerated within the tiny, confined cylinder.

   The tube dropped rapidly to enter the main tunnel system under the city. Lights seemed to strobe as I raced to my destination, the Consciousness Transfer Facility. I had plans to meet Anne at the CTF; she had chosen today’s entertainment, not letting on what our plans were. The last time she had chosen, we ended up as pirates, sailing the Caribbean in search of bounty. Her adventures were always interesting, always surprising.

   The tube continued to race through the underground tunnels, spinning in soft arcs through the myriad turns necessary to take me to the CTF. The cabin spun, tilted upward, and then stood to ascend back to the surface. A soft grinding could be heard as one air current pushed the tube out of the main tunnel system and into the secondary tube system of the mag-tube station. The cabin slowed, tilted backwards slightly, and then stopped. The door opened with a soft hiss of air, allowing me to exit into the crowded room.

   The mag-tube facility reminded me of the old Earth subway systems that you would see watching the classic movies on the holo-tv. Some of the most modern devices could be traced back to the archaic days a century ago. I exited onto the busy street, staring at different people wearing the same, single colored jump suits.

   I darted across the street, another throwback to those past times. I looked up at the cars, still racing against time to destinations unknown. Time seemed to speed up as the clock raced ahead. Years ago, before mag-tubes, and cross-county message tubes, overnight was considered impressive. Now, a person could travel across the United Continent of America, from Rio to New Anchorage, sign a multi-million credit deal, and return home before the ice in his tea melted.

   The cars raced above, following the course of the paved road below. I watched the cars whisk by for a few moments more before turning back to finish the last bit of my journey to the CTF.

   The CTF was a giant, pyramid shaped building, held aloft by hundreds of steel girders. Some of the cars worked their way into the building, to park on the middle level parking structure. Anne greeted me as I walked through the quickly opening doors, "wonderful," she told me in her lilting singsong voice.

   "Good afternoon, sweet heart," I greeted her, placing a soft peck on her cheek. "What have you chosen?"

   She smiled, a heavenly grin that melted ice and warmed hearts, "you’ll see." She was being coy, enjoying the look of worried excitement on my face. I knew she would not chose something to hurt us, but she did like the unknown, the unexperienced, and there was always a risk that we could be injured if unprepared for the experience we were suddenly thrust into. The risk was part of the appeal of the CTF and its success was, in part, based on that fact. There was the occasional holo-news story on the death of a person engaging in a CTF activity.

   Anne took my arm and led me to the receptionist. She spoke to the yellow-jumpered man sitting behind the plastic, almost clinical, desk. "Paul," she said, reading his nametag, "we have an appointment for two-thirty."

   "Arm," Paul spoke, his voice subdued. The large ground floor was spacious and cavernous enough to carry voices much stronger than a whisper.

   Anne pulled up the sleeve of her pink jumpsuit. She held the small, barcode tattoo on her arm under the pulsing red laser light that Paul held steadily. With a flash a holographic image appeared, black writing on a soft blue background. The letters floated in air, rapidly filling the blue square background. Paul read the hovering screen, occasionally pushing on some of the letters. Each time he made a selection, a soft beep erupted from the floating holographic image.

   Paul explained the risk and the costs, and Anne agreed to them all, offering her arm once again so that the appropriate number of credits could be deducted from her account. The barcode, given at birth to each individual since the Geneva Convention of 2518, took the place of any other forms of identification. With it, any information could be ascertained from a person with the laser reader. Police used it if you were pulled in a traffic violation, shopkeepers used it to be paid for services rendered or items purchased, doctors updated it to add or subtract any know illnesses.

   It was flawless, or nearly so. Some people, fearful of the information written on their own arms have severed their limbs, removing the appendage that they found appalling. Medical technology has advanced that the limb removal seldom worked, as the arm was reattached within minutes and useful again in less than a week. People have done other things, from severing the limb and burning it to ashes, to shattering the limb after using liquid nitrogen to freeze the offending pod. Of course, with these drastic actions, a new barcode was implanted in their skin at another location.

   Paul was talking to Anne in his subdued voice, directing her to the correct CTF room. She took my hand, thanked Paul, and then pulled me with her towards our destination. The building was lit in subdued shades of pink, calm and relaxing. We walked briskly through the building, up two escalators, to a door marked: Animals.

   I looked at the sign, frowning in confusion. Animals? What could that mean? The door whisked open and a shapely young woman greeted us wearing a green jumpsuit. She greeted us by name, shaking our hands firmly. "Are you ready?" she asked, her voice high.

   "Yes," Anne purred in delight.

   "No," I said, my voice cracking in nervousness.

   Anne giggled. "Baby," she teased, sticking her tongue out at me playfully.

   "This way, please," the thin blonde woman directed. We followed her into a sterile room. Eight large, metal chairs circled the room, wires leading up from the top of the chairs, disappearing into the ceiling. She led us to two individual chairs, each of us taking our proffered chairs.

   I took my seat, shifting in subtle fear. Animals? What the hell did that mean? Liz, the blonde woman in the green jumpsuit walked to my side. She strapped my legs into the chair, then my arms. Once secure she did the same to Anne. I have used the CTF twice in the last six months, and knew that the straps prevented the patrons from hurting themselves physically while undergoing the preprogrammed trials and tribulations that they had signed up for.

   Liz pulled out an air hypodermic and injected a shot of yellow liquid into the soft tissue of my arm. Again, she repeated the procedure to Anne. She was the yang to my ying, what happened to me, happened to Anne. We were going to be together on our little vision, what ever that may be. Animals? Fuck!

   Liz spoke softly, "ready?"

   "Yes," I mumbled my voice in a haze, the drug coursing through my body easing my muscles, fogging my mind. From next to me I heard Anne groan a soft, "yess."

   Liz smiled and lowered a visor over my head. My vision obscured I could only reason that the same was being done to Anne. I heard a high pitched whine and then a bright flash of light blinded me as the visor pulsed rhythmically.

   I was flying. Below me a scenic mountain landscape danced around my eyes. I soared through the crisp mountain air, the wind racing past my eyes. My beak opened, and a shrill caw hissed from my lungs. Beak? I glanced left, looking at the soft feathers of my wings. I had a beak, wings, I was a bird.

   It came back to me, the CTF; the word ‘animals’ written on the door of the transfer room, Liz, Anne, the blinding flash. It all came back to me; Anne had selected a transfer into the body of a bird.

   A shrill cry reached my ears as another bird came into view. An eagle, beautiful, graceful, a bald eagle. I struggle to remember with the limited capacity of an eagles’ mind what bald meant, yes, Olde English for shiny white. I reasoned that I was also an eagle, graceful, magnificent, beautiful and heroic.

   The eagle that was Anne cawed again and I knew what she was saying, "follow me."

   I cawed back my affirmation. The air smelled of ozone, crisp and delightful. There were other smells that assaulted my eagle brain. The smell of water in the air, rain was coming. The scent of a dead animal, rotting in the early morning heat. Flowers and animals, rivers and fish, and the scent of a female eagle ready to mate.

   The last scent pushed my human self aside, I cawed again, though I did not control the sound. I soared after Anne, climbing into the silvery sky. We raced higher, climbing above the mountain, pushing through thick clouds. My wings grew damp as the moisture in the clouds stuck to my feathers. I heard the eagle I had become caw again, a shrill sound of animalistic desire. The answering sound of the eagle that I sought exploded in my mind.

   Higher and higher I raced, seeking delight in the mating ritual. The air became thin as we climbed higher. Reaching our maximum altitude the two eagles, Anne and I, circled one another. We feigned towards each other, flipping over to fall from the sky backwards. The eagle that was Anne climbed back up to circle my approaching form. Once again we crashed into each other, the sharp talons of my claws reaching to grab hold of the other eagle.

   We clamped hold of each other, our talons locked, or beaks pecking at the neck of each other.

   Held together, our bodies clamping against each other’s, our beaks biting and nipping, we fell from the sky.

   My wings folded backwards, facing down, spiraling towards the rushing earth. The wind whistled past my head, rustling my feathers. The eagle I had become took over, shoving my weakened human mind aside, I became lost in the moment of our mating. I dwindled, becoming small, weak, lost in the foreign mind of the magnificent creature I had been transferred into. I was simply along for the ride.

   The ground rushed up to greet the coupling bodies of the two eagles. Shrill sounds of cries and caws pierced the still air. Still the eagles spun in fast circles towards the expanding field below.

   I watched as through a tunnel as the mating continued. I could feel the powerful thrusts against the delicate eagle that remained clamped to me. No, not me, the eagle I was.

   My mind became fuzzy, barely able to form coherent thoughts. The eagles mated, and I grew small. The eagles fell from the sky, their coupling continuing in growing passion. Talons ripping feathers from each other’s falling bodies. Beaks ripping against each other. Feathers falling from the sky as each eagle ripped them from the plunging body of the other.

   I…I…. I could not make a complete thought. Was it I? What is I?

   The eagles mated, the eagles fell, and I drifted away.

   An eagle soared higher, climbing into the sky, and still the eagle that was me continued to fall the last few feet to the ground. The mating was complete, the female eagle screeching in delight as she flew higher into the warm, brightening air.

   A wet thud and the world went dark.

   I groaned. My head throbbed in pain. My back was sore, my mouth dry, my eyes shut. I groaned as a wave of dull pain pounded behind my eyes.

   "an uo ear me?"

   I groaned again? I had heard something; I struggled to listen, to hear it again.

   "Can you hear me?" Louder, more pronounced.

   I opened my eyes, the light of the room causing me to squint. "Yes," my voice was weak, shallow. "Where am I?"

   I felt a slight tinge of pain in my arm as I was given another burst of drug from the hypodermic was shot into my system.

   My mind became more clear, more focused. I looked at Anne standing above me a look of concern on her face. She looked into my green eyes, her face twisting from concern to delight, to an almost quizzical grin.

   A blonde woman, her nametag reading Liz, pulled away to set the needle on a roll around table. "Welcome back," she smiled at me, her voice soft. She stepped away to allow Anne to stand closer to my side.

   Anne took my hand and rubbed her thumb over my fingers. "Did you enjoy that?" Her voice was filled with concern and intent wonder. Her curiosity burning, her fear drifting away now that I was conscious.

   I twisted my neck, straining to relieve some tension. "I will be fine," I replied, working to ease her mind. "I…"

   I did not know how to answer her question. I remembered being a bird, an eagle. I remembered soaring above the beautiful scene of the mountains. I remembered the animalistic passion that seemed to overtake all my senses, sight, smell, taste; how my senses became heightened with the single-minded desire, almost overwhelming need, to mate.

   I remember watching it all through a tunnel, the tunnel growing longer, and the scene at the end fading.

   I explained all I could, how the mating overtook my senses, and how I slowly faded, as the eagle I had become pushed me away. I explained how I just disappeared until I became an almost non-entity.

   Anne smiled through it all. "Yes," she told me, "it was the same for me. We became eagles. We became." Her eyes were shining in remembrance, a smile growing as the memories surfaced.

   Her final sentence, we became, explained it all. It was what we had agreed to, a full consciousness transfer, until we became that that we had been transferred into.

   We became.

   And now, once again, we sat side by side, sharing it all.