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“It would definitely be easy to control someone with that inside them. You’d be more likely to act on your basic instincts. You’d be focused on survival, that sort of thing.”

“Survival? When I was with the Inkral, they said something about taking care of my needs. I didn’t understand it at the time.”

“If you had someone who fed you, gave you somewhere to sleep, um, kept you... satisfied.” Atticus sounded like he was smiling.

“What my brother is trying to say is the Inkral would control you by making sure you didn’t freeze, go hungry, and got laid now and again. Those are everyone’s basic needs. If they did that, you’d be content to do whatever they wanted you to do.”

Daisy bit her bottom lip. She had been behaving weirdly with Rexx. She’d been jumping him every opportunity she had. Was that because she wanted to, or was it because the Inkral tech was making her horny and Rexx was simply at hand?

“Before we begin, I have a question,” she said.

“Go ahead,” Atticus said. “I promise I’m almost fully qualified to answer all medical questions.”

“Idiot,” Estelle hissed.

“It’s not about this procedure. I trust you to get this right. The Inkral tech, can it make you do things you don’t want to do?”

“No, but I reckon it manipulates your reasoning. You wouldn’t question why things were happening, or why you were being told to do things,” Atticus said. “It focuses your mind on your urges and immediate needs.”

“So the way I’ve been behaving and feeling since I had this inside me, it’s because my inhibitions have been lowered?” Daisy said.

“You got it,” Atticus said. “Whatever you’ve been doing, it’s because you wanted to do it. Are you thinking about anything in particular?”

“A few things.” Daisy puffed out a breath.

“Like what?” Atticus said.

She wasn’t going to mention all the hot times she’d shared with Rexx. “I pulled a gun on Rexx. I shot him. I didn’t really want to do that. Although sometimes, I do want to blast him out of my way when he gets too protective.”

Estelle snorted a laugh from behind her mask. “I’ve come close to shooting Atticus dozens of times. Sometimes he deserves it. He’s infuriating.”

“I’m not infuriating.”

Estelle glared at him.

“Okay. Only about once a day am I annoying enough to shoot.”

“Shall we get on with this?” Estelle said.

“Of course. What’s inside Daisy is fascinating,” Atticus said. “I’m hoping to get an intact strand so I can examine it.”

“Atticus, stop waffling.”

“I’m not. Science is never waffle. We don’t want this getting on the open market. As soon as I’ve pulled it apart and figured out what’s going on, I’m reporting it to the ethics branch of the Intergalactic Council. The Inkral will be screwed when this becomes public knowledge.”

Daisy let out a sigh as Estelle and Atticus continued to bicker. Relief trickled through her. What she felt for Rexx was real. She’d spent so long avoiding the truth. Her fears had held her back. Even though she’d convinced herself that Johnny and her family were talking horse shit about her being a failure, there’d been a tiny part inside her that made her doubt herself.

“I’m ready when you are,” Daisy said. “Get this stuff out of me.”

“Excellent plan,” Atticus said. “Now Estelle has stopped gossiping, she can give you some sedative and pain relief, and we can begin.”

Estelle simply shook her head as she got to work. She nodded at Atticus.

“Hold still, Daisy. You’ll feel a slight sting in a couple of seconds,” Atticus said.

Daisy arched her back as a cold ache started at the top of her spine and inched through her veins. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together. It would be okay. She’d get through this.

“I’ve inserted the tube in the first position. I’ll make two more insertions, each time injecting the chaser. Then it does its work.” Atticus blew out a soft breath. “Injecting the first site now.”