"The berries weren't made to work on humans."

"The berries weren't made to work on humans. They're probably fine tuned to the Epicans' physiology, so that they could work without a hitch each time." Gunna continued, wringing her hands a bit nervously.

"Which means, based on the other things I told you about her..." Garwa kept her going

"She is probably in a vicious cycle of eating berries and eating food, which is going to make her keep.. getting.. bigger?" Gunna finished awkwardly. Her pacing and phrasing making sound like she was trying to give a reassuring smile under her breathing apparatus.

"Well, I kinda figured that already, given what she had said, and how things seem to be going, and that she has basically unlimited access to the berries." you reply, "is there anything else you've deduced?" Gunna and Garwa shared a look, then looked back at you.

"N-not really." Gunna responded

"That's okay, thanks for the info, though." you smiled at her.

"Mi- Mr. Zambac, you understand what this means, right?' Garwa asked, insistently

"Yes, that Brianna is probably in a downward spiral unless we can get her separated from the berries." you reply

"How do you figure this stuff out so fast?" Gunna injected

"I'm a General System Maintenance Technician, so problem solving is a pretty important skill of mine." you reply, you could practically see her pout inside her breathing apparatus.

"Even so, we need to make a plan to help her." Garwa attempted to keep the conversation on track.

"Should we alert her medical correspondent?" Gunna offered

"She could lose her job, or become her own experiment if we do that. We could also just try to help her stop eating the berries." you stroke your chin while thinking of other ideas.

"I think this is a little more important than losing a job, Mr. Zambac." Garwa stoically stated.

"Yea, well, she ain't really got anywhere else to go, so she might be able to get another job on the station." you reason

"Yes, and she would be saved from the ongoing effects of the berries." Gunna chimed in

"But what about the withdrawals? She said in the cafeteria that food tastes bland without the berries in her system." You say

"That should only be temporary, even if it lasts a while, given human interactions with other addictive substances." Garwa recited

"How're you so sure? Some effects can last the rest of a human life, with high enough dependence on the original substance. Like those people on the pharmaceutical station two or three hundred years back, got hooked on experimental pills and afterwards couldn't feel serotonin in their system." You went on, recalling the story from your great-grandmother.

"That seems oddly specific." Garwa replied, "Besides, the effects of the berries should subside a day or two after she stops." she continued

"But she's been eating them for a few weeks, Garie" Gunna said to her, a little quietly, "We only had them-- I MEAN, our experiment, uh only lasted a day! We didn't eat them!" Gunna panics a little, Garwa sighs into her hands.

"You What?" you leaned over, placing your elbows on your knees.

"Okay, we ate them!" Gunna admitted.

"Gunna!" Garwa shot at her

"Garwa!" You shot at Garwa. You and Garwa shared a tense moment. You looked over her, you could see that her suit was tighter in some places, and judging by how that looked, you could deduce that Gunna had eaten some too. "How many did you eat?"

"Three each." She replied, reassuming her composure. "We stuffed our faces for the rest of the day, and that was it. Our conclusion is that they're not exactly meant to be eaten in large quantities."

"Are you sure they've worn off?" You asked

"Mostly, there's some lingering hunger, but nothing we can't manage." Gunna said.

"Right." you sighed...