We asked some of Australia's top fantasy and science fiction authors to select two of their stories tied together by a single theme and to write an introduction on how they had explored that theme — to give some insight into their writing and how they see the big issues. We also paired the writers with Australia's top SF artists, so that each publication also showcases the illustrator. Then we released the publications in pairs. The result is the Aurealis Duos series.

In these two moving stories, where the term 'transalien' was first born, Dirk Strasser asks the question, if science can help a transsexual become the gender they know themselves to be, what would happen in the future if humans could become the alien they truly believe they are?