Great...

Naomi immediately exhaled and relaxed, smiling gratefully. "Whoa, that... that was crazy."

"Yeah?" Natalie didn't even try to hide her eagerness. "What was it like?"

"It was like... You know when you get Novocaine at the dentist and you can't feel that area? It's like that but with part of my mind."

Natalie winced. "Christ, Naomi, I'm so sorry-"

"No!" Naomi quickly cut her apology short. "It's fine! I, uh... I kinda like it."

"You like it?"

"...yeah," Naomi admitted. "It's fun looking back on how limited I really was. I definitely liked it."

Natalie shrugged. "So you wanna go back to robot mode?"

"Not necessarily. I've been brainstorming some already, but I wanna hear your ideas!" Naomi leaned forward, her eyes gleaming.

Natalie looked concerned again. "Are you sure you're ok? You seem a little too into this."

The change was instantaneous. Naomi lowered her hands and slouched slightly. Dozens of tiny muscles in her body slackened just a little and she sighed. "Sorry," she said with a grin. "I got a little overeager for a minute there."

"And you're not anymore?"

Naomi smiled lazily and tapped her temple. "Nope! Zapped it right out. I was curious to find out what it feels like to have your psyche forcibly altered, and you immediately satisfied that curiosity by removing it."

"I didn't remove your curiosity!" Natalie protested. "I just said I was worried that you were too into it."

"And my brain immediately responded to your worry by dampening my enthusiasm. The process is completely autonomic- I don't control it at all but I can feel it happening. It's really dull and ininteresting."

Natalie stared at her girlfriend, stunned. A beat passed and Naomi giggled, then her face broke. The tension was released and they shared a healthy laugh.

"Listen," Naomi said. "If you don't want me to change I won't. I wouldn't rule it out yet, though. You can give me a week to adapt to you and if you don't like the new me I'll just drop the changes. This part's also autonomic, so the moment you say you want the old Naomi back my brain will do its neurochemical magic and I'll be back to square one."

"That's fucking crazy," Natalie said. "That's... you're crazy! You want me to fuck with your mind and you're offering me some kind of undo button?"

"Not at all," Naomi explained patiently. "Until a few minutes ago I did, but now the prospect feels about as thrilling as waiting in line. The point is, you can test that undo button by giving me back my curiosity. If you're still squeamish, though, I would leave me like this."