"Yes, that is it. Now, I need to explain a few things about the morphing. You can't just automatically morph ANYTHING. If you want to morph something, first you have to touch it, to acquire its DNA. Just touch the animal...or person, though it's not encouraged to morph anything sentient...and focus your mind on that animal. Imagine it becoming a part of you. Then, it will become sleepy, a feature of the technology that allows you to acquire dangerous animals safely. The DNA will enter your bloodstream, and as soon as you break contact with the animal, it'll snap out of the trance. If it's a dangerous animal, you should already be on your way to the nearest exit, and fast. Once you acquire a creature's DNA, you can use the morph as many times as you like. There is no limit to the number of animals you can acquire and morph. To morph, just focus on a mental image of the animal, and imagine yourself becoming it. It's that easy. I'll warn you, when you morph, the animal's natural instincts come with its body. Rodents, insects, and ocean predators can be difficult to control, so you might want to start with something easy, like a cat or a bird. Dogs are okay, according to my brother, but they tend to be...giddy. I recommend never using a morph in a serious situation unless you have tested it out first, in a safe environment, to be sure that you can handle its brain. I've never had a problem, but my only morph is a cat, so I can't help you much on that account. I know how it all works, but I've never used my morphing ability as much in my life as I used it today."
I waited a moment, to make sure she had got all that.
"When you morph, there are just two big, important rules to remember. ONE: you cannot morph directly from one animal to another. You've got to go back to being human, called 'demorphing', between morphs. TWO: This is the most important. If you stay in morph for two hours or longer, you become a 'nothlit'...that is, you become permanently trapped as the animal you morphed. Since it takes a few minutes to demorph, ALWAYS be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN to leave yourself enough time to demorph, because you can get stuck WHILE you're demorphing, if you aren't totally human at the end of the 2 hour limit. Once you're stuck, you're stuck, and you REALLY don't want to be stuck as something almost-but-not-quite-human. Just remember the time limit, and you'll be okay. It's normal nowadays for morphers to wear a morph-timer watch, like this one."
I showed her my wristwatch, which immediately started a 2-hour countdown when it detected morphing energy.
"They activate automatically when you morph, and they send a thought-speak signal to your brain when it's time to demorph. They account for the amount of time necessary for the actual demorph, so when it says 'time is up', it means it. We can get you one when we go back to town tomorrow to get the others. Oh, yeah. We'll need to get you a morphing suit, too. When you morph, the only clothes that go with you into the morph are skin-tight clothes. Loose clothes will rip or fall off, depending on the size of the animal you're morphing. There are suits on the market that give better comfort and durability than normal spandex, and there are always newer and better models of suit being developed. We can get one for you when we pick up the watch. I think that's just about it! Do you have any idea what animal you want to morph, first? My friends and I were planning on visiting the zoo, before we ran into you. You are welcome to join us, when we go."
