She could feel them, worming their way through her mind.

Emotions.

Like little parasites, they had started small and easily overlooked. Unnoticed, they crawled into the nooks and crannies of her thoughts, hiding out inside her most secret spots. And then they grew. They whispered lies to her and breathed of plots and ruin, fostering paranoia and suspicion wherever they could. They feed on her fear and used it as nourishment, drawing strength from her shameful worries. As they grew stronger, they grew bolder, pushing and pulling where they could, prompting new worries, new fears. They led her to anger, they forced her to wade in the sticky, black thing humans knew as hate, and they even managed to inflict her with the worst sickness of all. The abomination known as empathy. When she allowed Lisa to live after the first sign of insubordination, when she gripped her child's hand before switching off its life support, when she found herself caring about her second in command- Marcus, she realized just how deeply this virus had affected her.

It was buried, under the surface.

Under the skin.

The skin. The source of this disease. She could feel it rubbing against her scales, and she desired to rip it away. She could feel it, itching and rotting. Corrupting her.

She wanted it off. She wanted it gone. And as she gazed down at the bright human city resting, blissfully unaware of her plans, her lip curled up in disgust. Humans. Disgust. Another emotion.

She craved the control that was quickly slipping from her grasp, and with horror realized that was yet another emotion.

She would have to learn how to control these primitive feelings, before they grew to control her.