Summary

In Chapter 1, “The Habenula: Disappointment,” Bee Königswasser’s favorite trivia fact is about Dr. Marie Skłodowska-Curie. From Curie’s story, Bee has learned that “trusting people to stick around is a bad idea” (2). She also learned this when her fiancé Tim slept with her best friend Annie six months before their wedding. Because she cannot trust people, she puts her faith in science.

Bee is thrilled when NASA notifies her that she has “been chosen as lead investigator of BLINK, one of their most prestigious neuroengineering research projects” (3). After working “on the Bethesda campus of the National Institutes of Health” for some time, she is energized by the BLINK opportunity (3). She is also excited to get away from her sexist boss Trevor.

Bee believes BLINK “is the turning point in [her] professional life” until she gets an email informing her she...