No Charge for Alterations

On the rugged, almost barren world of Deneb, a veteran physician grapples with the arrival of a bright‑eyed, muscular newcomer from Vega. Dr. Kalmar, hardened by decades of frontier medicine, recalls the old ways of his mentor while trying to keep the colony’s modest hospital running amid endless shipments of livestock, hydroponic crops, and restless settlers. The tension between his seasoned cynicism and the eager optimism of Dr. Hoyt fuels a quiet clash of philosophies about technology, gender roles, and what it means to “civilize” an alien landscape.

Amid the daily bustle of space‑port crowds, cargo elevators, and the ever‑present hum of life‑support systems, the two doctors must negotiate not only the practicalities of treating a scattered population but also the unsettling promise of the Ego Alter rooms—devices that can strip a woman of her “high‑falutin” traits to make her fit for field work. Their uneasy partnership hints at deeper questions about autonomy, cultural imperialism, and the price of progress in a world still learning to grow its own roots.