Katie’s first two wishes didn’t go to plan, but she had one more. “I wish I could go back in time and talk to my former self.”

“It doesn’t work like that,” explained Gene. “Although, I do have a snapshot that we took before COVID hit. The idea was to use it to test whether we could have responded to the pandemic better. You could talk to your former self, but it’s not like it’s going to change anything in this branch.”

“I know,” replied Katie. “I’ve kinda given up hope of fixing this branch, but if I could just go back and make even one of my alternate selves’ lives better, it would be worth it.”

Gene started typing something, and soon the loading bar was spinning again.

“Please tell me that you’re not a TERF,” pleaded Katie. “Or a transmedicalist.” 

“Of course not, I’m just gender critical,” replied younger Katie.

Katie placed her hand on the mouse, but Gene intervened to stop her, his hand on top of hers, preventing Katie from moving it to hit the ‘x’ button.

“Relax Katie, this is just you from four years ago. I’m sure she’s just joking.”

“Oh my God, you really thought that I was a …” came younger Katie’s voice.

“Yeah, turns out our alternate selves that transitioned early are not as great as you might think.“

“Wait, transitioned? Is that why you—uh, future me, looks like a hot girl?” asked younger Katie.

“Yeah, we transition!” exclaimed Katie.

“We do?” questioned younger Katie, failing to disguise the excitement in her voice.

“Yep,” replied a smug Katie.

“Well actually,” corrected Gene. “Our Katie is just one of the many possible branches, so it’s not guaranteed. We’re only working with a sample size of one, so I can’t say for certain how likely it is that you’ll…“ 

“You will,” interrupted Katie. “So don’t wait. Start now.” 

“But you’re me in 4 years right? And it looks like you’ve already been on hormones for at least a year, which means that I start in three years tops. Is waiting another three years really going to make that much of a difference in the long run?”

“Yes. Every year of life is precious. Don’t throw them away being something you’re not.”

“Well, you may know that you’re a girl, but I don’t. I’m not really sure what I am. I just feel like I need some time to work things out before rushing into anything.”

Katie was about to argue, then the first two alternate selves she met came to mind. They were beautiful, but they were not her. She didn’t want to be like that. Reluctantly, Katie made up her mind. “You know, I think you’re right. Take your time to think it over, I don’t want to force you into anything until you’re ready for it. You need to figure it out for yourself.”

Katie gave her younger self a wave goodbye, then ended the call.