"I really can't tell you exactly, but let's just say that our government does need people with a background in psychology and a certain...flexibility in accomplishing missions."
Doctor Michaels rushed in. "It's spreading," he said. "Just like we suspected. Where the new DNA encounters the old DNA...it doesn't overwrite it...it is like the old DNA tries to become more like the new. It adopts parts of it. We need to reexamine the entire group tomorrow."
"They don't seem to notice," Ruby commented. "Or at least not fully. We met with one subject who didn't notice she'd lost a few inches of height."
"Rationalization," Rebecca said. "It is rather easy to get people to not focus on something when there are multiple things going on. Might be why it started with the genitals...that would certainly distract most people. People are so...invested in that part of their anatomy, they might not notice height changes. Was that the woman with the dog? I really should talk to her."
The two doctors looked at her. She seemed like she was more interested in studying the situation than the people. They were fascinated by the situation, and understood their orders to ensure that there was no panic, but...they were concerned for the well being of their patients as well.
"You have to think about the big picture," Rebecca Fine told them. "If this spreads...imagine if suddenly everyone in Congress swapped pieces? Or what if someone used this to start some kind of religious war? I'm not trying to hurt these people, and I hope we can help them...but you have to start treating this like you do a potential outbreak. Until we know what it is, or believe that it is not likely to repeat, we are all monitoring the situation. So, if we have to fudge the truth a bit..invade their privacy more than we should...it is a necessary evil to accomplish the mission."
The two doctors nodded. They didn't like it, but it explained a lot if the government who had recruited them for this emergency was thinking about it that way.
