Author's Note:
With the DomCo series of stories reaching its conclusion, hopefully, in the coming year, it seems an appropriate time to publish an update on the family that started it all. The observant reader may notice that all of the DomCo stories take place close to the same time, the start of summer, as all of the girls are approaching graduation or heading into their senior years. This particular tale is set some weeks after the events of The Second Place Sister. and before Angela's adventure in Doppelgänger.
Results
John Hamlin sat at a conference table next to a man in a white lab coat. It had taken a couple of weeks of research to find the right person for the job, as well as a lot of money, but it had resulted in a better understanding of what was happening to his daughter's body. Kenny, the DNA specialist he'd finally settled on, had flown in a week ago from Atlanta. John paid him handsomely to come out and interview, luring him with the promise of a very special project with the utmost secrecy. Even if he chose not to accept, John would still pay him enough that it would have been foolish to say no.
Curious, Kenny had searched the internet for Hamlin's name. He'd found that John was the head of a software design firm, had published multiple papers on interconnected computer systems, and that he was widely celebrated and respected in his field. He'd also been in touch with several of Kenny's colleagues. What he needed a DNA researcher for, though, was a mystery.
After signing a non-disclosure agreement, John had laid out for him one of the saddest tales he'd ever heard. The things he'd said didn't seem real. When he'd dropped the name of Rebecca Swell, though, Kenny was hooked. Everyone in his field had heard of Swell. She was one of the brightest shooting stars to ever grace the scientific community. She'd published some of the most detailed work on genetic re-sequencing in the last decade, been courted by such a huge list of potential employers that it made Kenny jealous, and then she'd fallen off the face of the Earth.
When John Hamlin had related what Swell had done with his daughter, Tori, Kenny couldn't wait to take a look some of her work first-hand. He'd met Tori a week ago, beautiful, funny, kind, but troubled. He'd spent the time since deeply ensconced in Tori's blood. What he'd found, and finally put on paper to share with John, was disturbing, to say the least.
"Just lay it out for me," John said, "how bad is it?"
Kenny breathed a sigh, his hands shaking as he shuffled his reports, "I honestly don't know if I can be of any real help," he had to admit, "I mean, I'm willing to give it everything I've got for you, Mr. Hamlin, but Rebecca Swell is one of those brilliant anomalies in science that only comes along once in a hundred years. If I had to compare her to someone, it would be like Einstein, Hawking, and Da' Vinci all rolled into one. In fact, brilliant is an understatement."
John's face fell, but he had to know, "Just tell me."
"Tori's libido is, roughly, 50 times the norm for someone her age. Her pheromone production is off the charts, egg production is non-existent, and her hormones are doing things that I can't even begin to understand right now."
"I don't know what that means, exactly," John admitted.
"Well, her egg production means that she will never get pregnant, obviously," Kenny explained, "It wouldn't matter how often she tried, there's just nothing there to fertilize. Pheromones, those are what we all produce to attract or repel other people. They're like little signals that we pick up from one another, that tell us whether to be attracted or repulsed. Some of the most successful people in the world, like yourself, produce a lot of positive pheromones that make people agreeable toward you."
He continued, "Tori, now, her pheromone levels aren't just high. They're incredible. Frankly, I'm surprised she can even go out in public without any...unwanted attention. Libido, that's your sex drive, is way above normal. Her hormones are, also, doing things that just don't really happen naturally. For example, her progesterone production is almost nil. When progesterone levels are high, women have more difficulty achieving orgasm. At low levels, orgasm happens more frequently and easily. Her estrogen levels are abnormally high, which means her natural lubrication is increased significantly, and testosterone levels are also ridiculously high, which means her desire and aggression are almost out of control,"
John sat back in his chair and asked, "Is there anything that we can do about it? Can it be reversed or contained?"
"Without a lot more work, I can't say for sure. Whatever Rebecca did to her, all I can tell you right now is that it's working aggressively on her genetic code, as well as the factors I mentioned. What I do know, though, is that I can't possibly hope to do this alone. Hell, I don't even know if the whole of Harvard's research team could understand this without a lot of time."
"Can you at least tell me if it's going to get worse?" John asked.
"Well, that's the only good news I have for you right now. It looks like, whatever is happening to her, it's starting to peak. I'd be comfortable saying that it's about hit the end of its work. I don't think she's going to get any worse."
John breathed with relief, saying, "Thanks, Kenny. If you're willing to work on the problem, you just tell me what and who you need. I don't care what it costs, or what it takes. Everything I have is at your disposal."
"I'll do my best, Mr. Hamlin," Kenny assured him.