"They laughed at me when I said I could alter the human body as I pleased", came Dr. Jekyll's voice through the empty laboratory. "They called me MAD. But wait... just wait until they see me... muhahahahAHAHAHA!"
The manic laughter came to a very sudden stop, and the woman in the labcoat paused and adjusted her headset. "How did that sound?"she said, her voice now apologetic and sheepish. "Sorry, I... I just had to try that out. It just doesn't feel right without it".
She sighed. Dr. Henrietta Jekyll was a thirtysomething assistant professor with big problems. Her graduate students were not publishing at an acceptable rate, and, for that matter, neither was she. At least, not the kind of papers her university wanted her to. They only wanted high impact papers in engineering and biomedicine. Philistines. Just when I'm on the verge of a breakthrough.
With lack of university funding came lack of money, and that was another problem for Dr. Jekyll. You wouldn't know by looking at her, but Dr. Jekyll had some... unusual tastes. Standing 5'5'', with mousy brown hair in a tight bun, thick glasses, and a featureless, skinny body, Dr. Jekyll was careful to conceal her unique kinks and desires from the outside world. What would the committee think, after all? Besides, it's nobody's business but my own. Just because I saw the whip and handcuffs in Dr. Rivera's car doesn't mean I have to let anyone know about it either.
But now, now she finally had a way to indulge her deepest, darkest desires AND satisfy her committee. The preparation she had in front of her, if her calculations were correct, would alter her on the most basic cellular level. If it worked, she would not only get promoted to tenure... why... she would even get a Nobel prize! At least, that's what she hoped.
"Final memo", said Dr. Jekyll. "Will take serum now. Wish me luck". With that, she took her headset off and picked up the test tube. "Bottoms up?"
She took a deep breath, and downed it.