She needs a plan.

After depositing Kevin in the nearest hospital, Jessica returned to her hotel room, stripped naked, fell into bed, and slept for what felt like an eternity. Upon waking, she showered, dried herself off, and sat down in front of her research notes.

First, like a good scientist, she recorded what she had learned about the artifact currently fixed to her neck. She detailed how the collar signalled it was going to take control and it's strange power both over her clothes and over her body, but she left out the more pornographic details.

In addition to these more drastic effects, there were a few more subtle changes. She could sense arousal in people. As a woman, she had learned at a young age what most men would want from her and had always been able to detect that, but she could now sense physical arousal, both in men and women. In addition, she could sense when a woman was ovulating. This would have been dismissed as nonsense by Jessica only a few hours ago, but compared to what transpired in Inanna's temple, it was quite believable.

The second change she noticed is she was far more comfortable being naked than she ever had before. She hadnt worn a scrap of clothing since she returned to her room late last night. And even in the cool desert night, she did not wake to reach for clothing or coverage. Nor did she now. A thin robe sat by the door in the event she needed to answer it, but that was more out of social convention than modesty. From this Jessica drew a simple conclusion: the collar was manipulating her mind. It needed to come off as quickly as possible.

With that clear goal in mind, she turned her attention to the other artifacts the woman in the temple mentioned. Her research had turned up a number of locations purported to have artifacts, but they had chosen the one they had because it was the one they were most certain of. Their plan B, a temple the literature referred to as a temple of warmth, was up the coast a few kilometers drive from their current site.

Given its proximity, Jessica decided to try there first, and began to pack a kit. Not knowing what awaited her and with Kevin still in hospital, she decided to travel alone.