Gabby stood quietly, intimidated, gazing around the vast open space. To call it a room was an injustice; it was circular, actually a hemisphere, walls curving away on both sides to fade into distant haze. Above her, the nacreous roof radiating light and a mysterious warmth, arched upwards into diaphanous cloud. Everything but the faces, hair and hands of her colleagues were drawn in shades of white; the walls that became ceiling and sky, the thousands of loungers strewn as far as she could see, the clothes everyone wore, shimmering opalescent. She ran her hand down her gown and could barely feel the gossamer material. Virginal white, the thought made her smile.
She looked around to observe her countless fellow workers, scattered, receding as far as she could see. Talking quietly, sitting and standing around, resting between assignments. Placing her tablet on the arm of the nearest lounger, she sat to stretch and take it all in. She flicked her gown across her shins, bare feet crossed.
"Hello."
Gabby looked up to see one of her co-workers, who must have emerged through the wall behind her. "Hello. I'm Gabby."
"Raquel." She stepped closer, and Gabby took her offered hand.
Raquel was dressed identically, her white gown of the same material, confusing the light so that you could never quite focus on it.
"Can I?" She indicated the next lounger and when Gabby nodded, pulled it alongside and perched, smiling.
"You're one of the new cohort, aren't you? Just started?"
Gabby nodded, "Third day."
"How are you getting on?"
"Good so far. Nothing too difficult. They probably give us newbies the easy ones."
"I'm pretty sure it's random, you get what you get," Raquel replied, checking her tablet as she spoke, then setting it aside.
"How long have you been here?" Gabby asked.
Raquel laughed, "Feels like forever, but certainly centuries."
"But you're still here, you must enjoy it."
Raquel frowned slightly, "I suppose, although enjoy is not really the right word. It's rewarding in that you help the clients, well, most of them. Of course, there's the odd one that makes you wonder why you do it, but keeps you young as we all say."
Gabby laughed without conviction; it was already the fifth or sixth time she had heard the same joke.
"Yes, I know." Raquel said, rolling her eyes, "That and the perfect complexion. Why would anyone give this up?" She held out her hands, palm down and examined her unblemished, dark, radiant skin.
They looked around at their fellow workers. Most were dressed identically, presenting as attractive young men and women, but there were occasional flashes of colour, one or two more flamboyantly dressed.
"Oh, look over there." Gabby pointed, "That's that famous actor. What's his name? I didn't know he'd transitioned?"
"Oh, I know, that was sad, he was so handsome. Car accident, I think. Oh my god, look at him." Raquel was open-mouthed, and a mischievous look settled. "Want to try something?"
"What do you mean?" Gabby asked, wary at the slight lowering of her companion's voice.
"Of course, you're new, you've probably only channelled for a client."
Gabby frowned, looking across at the actor some distance away. He was dressed in chinos and a shirt, chatting with a woman now clothed in a royal blue ball gown. They were too far away to hear what was being said, but he appeared to be asking her to dance.
"What's going on?" Gabby asked. She turned back to Raquel and shrieked in fright her hands flying to her face. The same actor was sitting where Raquel had been a moment earlier.
"Oh for fuck's sake, Raquel. You nearly scared me to death."
Raquel's dark brown eyes were now amber and set in the most handsome face Gabby had ever seen. "Oh." Was all she managed as their eyes met.
"How nice to meet you, call me George." Even his voice was suntanned.
Gabby, dumbstruck and starstruck, took the actor's outstretched hand, feeling the strong, warm grip, her pale skin almost translucent against his.
"You are so beautiful," he said, "You look like an angel, I have the overwhelming urge to kiss you." His gentle, deep voice was inside her head.
"Oh, I don't think that's allowed." Gabby said, but she made no move to withdraw her hand."
"You do know you can choose to channel anyone, don't you, Gabby?" It was his voice, eyes, and smile, but Gabby knew she was hearing Raquel.
She paused, thinking, "What, anyone?"
"As long as they have transitioned, of course," George replied. "Surprise me."
Gabby thought for a moment and made a decision.
"Excellent choice," George said, with a laugh, easing slightly away and opening his arms in welcome. "I always wanted to meet Liz Taylor."
Gabby glanced down to see her gown replaced with red silk, barely covering the most fabulous breasts. "Oh my god!" She placed her hands over both breasts and squeezed them and laughed, "Look at those babies."
George was doing exactly that, and after a moment, he stood and extended his hand, and she took it and stood too. He was almost a head taller than her, and he pulled her gently towards him, his intention quite clear, eyes fixed on her lips.
"Are we allowed to do this?" Gabby asked, resisting gently.
He was nodding, "We are, and management encourages it; builds empathy, they say, reminds us of what our clients experience and allows us to understand some of their more irrational life choices."
"If you say so." Gabby turned her face upwards and leant against him.
They kissed for about thirty seconds, or possibly minutes, it was hard to tell. Gabby broke away, breathless.
"Oh my god, wow!" She said, opening her eyes. "Are you feeling that? I thought we'd transcended all that physical …"
George was laughing softly, "Oh yes. Wow indeed."
Ping!
Gabby glanced down at her tablet. The oblong of veined, white marble had become a screen again, now displaying a name, three photographs and below them a list of transactions.
"Ah, back to work." Gabby reluctantly picked up the tablet, allowing her appearance to return to her resting state. The vivid, figure-hugging dress was replaced by the formless, flowing gown, now draped over a far less voluptuous frame. In her peripheral vision, George became Raquel once again.
Ping!
Raquel retrieved the tablet to review her next assignment.
Gabby was frowning at the data on the screen, scrolling through the transaction list. She had so far not seen any clients who had more than a few minor transactions that needed either repaying or rewarding; this one contained dozens. One after another, every one a credit that needs to be repaid.
"Oh sweet." Raquel held her tablet up to show Gabby the usual three images: a young girl, herself as a woman, and finally, as an old lady. "Heart attack," Raquel said. "But 93, so …." She looked down and scrolled the short list of debits, notable acts of goodness the woman had performed in her life. "What a lovely lady, oh, this will be nice." She looked up, "Yours?" and saw Gabby's face. "What?"
Gabby offered her the tablet, looking panicked. Across the top were three chronological images: a young boy, an ordinary-looking young man and the last, a hard-faced middle-aged man, barely recognisable from his younger self.
Raquel scrolled the list. "Oh fuck! Babe." She glanced at Gabby, shocked and back at the list. "This guy's a monster."
"I thought someone like this would be dealt with by someone like you with more experience. I've only just started" Gabby looked around the room as if searching for help.
"I'm pretty sure it's random, honey. It's just bad luck. I mean, terrible luck, most of us will go through our whole career and never see one like this. What a shitbag, look at what he's done to people, stolen, all the credits he's amassed."
Gabby reluctantly took the tablet back. "I'll never get through all of them before he transitions. He's going to take most of it with him." Anger slowly leached into her voice as she scrolled.
"Well, maybe, but look at the top right of the screen, see that icon? He's a swinger, rope-a-dope; the dumb fuck." Gabby replied with a malicious edge to her voice.
Gabby looked confused and took a moment to understand.
"It means you've got plenty of time." Raquel said quietly, "I reckon you'll manage to take most of them back. Stupid fucker, someone like that really should not hang themselves."
"Oh no!" Gabby gave a little sob and held one hand to her chest. "The first one he stole from is just a girl." There were tears in her eyes, and she looked pleadingly at Raquel.
Raquel reached over and tapped the task's parameters icon. "Look, this one means you don't have to follow the chronological sequence. I've only seen this a couple of times before, but where the list of credits is over a certain size, you can choose what order you do them in. It's so you can deal with the worst ones, the biggest transactions first, sort of even the balance. But honestly, honey, if he was a shooter that might be a consideration, but this sorry excuse for a human has fucked himself. I think you'll get through all of them with time to spare. This scumbag is going to have to face every single one of them by the end."
"What do I do? How do I choose?" Gabby wailed softly, scrolling the list. "Look, 63 of them."
"Honey, I'm going to have to go." Raquel waved her tablet, "I've not got the luxury of time for my old lady, she's about to transition, but do the ones with the largest transaction values first, the people he's taken the most from. And honestly, any that you want to choose. Also, check that the victims have not already transitioned themselves. If they are still alive, they get back what he took. It's not like it never happened to them, but it can make a real difference." She kissed Gabby on the cheek and hugged her. "Also, do them one at a time, come back here each time just to give yourself time to choose, don't rush it. From his perspective, it will be worse too, so that's what I'd do to the fucker! I've got to go."
Raquel turned and walked towards the wall, selecting her first transaction. The doorway materialised and she pressed the bell. Silence, she paused before pushing the door open and stepping into the darkness beyond.
Gabby was breathless; her heart was thumping, and she calmed herself by breathing deeply. This was going to be unpleasant, of that there was no doubt, but she recalled her tutors and her more experienced colleagues saying how satisfying it could be to redress a balance, however little and late. She scrolled slowly down the list and came across a young, beautiful black woman with the most exquisite bone structure. Her beauty should not have mattered, but Gabby had once been mortal and was drawn to her. She was still alive, a teacher now, with a child of her own. But the man had taken almost half of her. How on earth had she survived? Gabby shook her head in wonder at the strength some people possessed. So this beautiful woman, Gloria, would be first. Gabby walked towards the wall with a real sense of purpose, holding down the anger but allowing it to inhabit her. The door appeared, and she pressed the button. Sometimes they answered, but there was no sound, so she pushed the door and walked through into his mind.