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Dr Cale’s s about me was cold, like the te I didn’t like the things that she was saying I didn’t like thely "It took a long time Everyone’s been very kind Mom most of all"

"Adam’s been awake for almost a year and a half," said Dr Cale "He’s done re was in ain "I’m not like that," I blurted "I had an accident, and I was unconscious for a while, but I’ fro s like reading and writing and how to put together a sentence Things like walking and doing basicand where I went to eleirl I’d been before the accident--but that was different Those memories were in a different part of the brain

I wasn’t like him I wasn’t like it

"Did you have an implant before your accident, dear?" asked Dr Cale calmly

"Yes," I whispered

"Then you can’t be like Adam I understand why you’re concerned--I would be too, if I had your medical history--but you don’t need to be The implants are too territorial There’s no way yours would have tolerated the introduction of a second to its habitat" Dr Cale s It chilledlike my Adam to happen under natural conditions Tansy is proof of that, aren’t you, Tansy?"

"Right as rain in the htly She rocked onto her heels, and said, "I didn’t have caring parents who keptand buythat said ‘Jane Doe’ and a deadline for so Lucky forirl who’d been reat test subject" She glanced to Dr Cale "Did I get that right?"

"A little out of order, dear, but yes, you got the broad details of what happened," said Dr Cale "Tansy was a ward of the state When I heard about her case, she had just been declared legally dead and was only being kept alive to fulfill a few foran donations I siinal confor"

"What’s that?" asked Nathan warily He took a step back, putting our shoulders in a line with each other I reached over and laced rateful for his presence If I’d been trying to deal with this alone, I would have been hysterical and crying in a corner by now

"Adaenesis as the species is currently recognized He may be the only representative of his subspecies, but he’s distinct enough to be an entity in and of himself He was able to take over a properly prepared host, one that was already ideally suited to his needs I needed to knohether the D syeneral population could do the sa handed out like candy were capable of taking control of and integrating with a human host"

"Can they?" asked Nathan He still sounded like he didn’t quite believe her, maybe because he didn’t want to I, on the other hand, believed every word

And I didn’t want to Because if they were all true…

"You bet we can!" Tansy beamed at him "I am new and improved and don’t even remember most of the time that I’m actually an invertebrate in really fancy pants! Iher hands up in the air like she aiting for applause that would never coeneration of wor as if Tansy hadn’t spoken That really was a time-saver "She didn’t mesh quite as ith her host’s nervous systeood, but she deical oddities that I would have preferred to avoid"

"Thatpeople apart, and she really wishes I’d stop doing that, because it’s antisocial and stuff," said Tansy

Ada people apart is rude"

Tansy stuck her tongue out at hi children interact Fully grown, adult children ere either delusional or were actually the hosts of sapient tapewor on around us, I didn’t knohich one I wanted to believe There was so" wasn’t the right word Dr Morrison would have called it a judging word if I’d brought it up during one of our therapy sessions Then he would have made a note on his pad, and I would have found myself with another sixThey were just soone And that’s what Dr Cale was saying happened