"Now," Doctor Horowitz continued, "are you available for the next few months? Full time?"
"Come again?" Jason asked.
"Well, you're a student, so I expect you to be available for the summer. NASA has astronauts for much longer than that, of course, but the experiments are going to take longer than an afternoon, and we of course wish to control all the variables. You'd be fed and housed, of course, and I believe we can even arrange college credit."
"Sounds cool," Jason said. "I'm game." This was great--he'd been wondering about what to do for summer housing, and now he'd have room and board for the full summer, and college credit.
"Good," said Dr. Horowitz. "What we'll be testing are several things. The main one will be the muscle-enhancing serum, but another will be one to offset the bone-loss that happens in weightless environments. It's a drug which we think should actually increase bone density. And of course we're wanting to test our suspension and nutritional tanks, for when we travel to more distant planets. There's a special hookup so that when you're in REM state, which should be near constant, you will be able to interface through a computer."
"That's a lot," Jason remarked.
"Budgetary concerns," Dr. Horowitz explained. "Anyway, if you'd simply sign here and here--liability waivers--I think we can begin."
Jason did, then Dr. Horowitz led him into a room with what looked like a sarcophagous filled with the stuffing from a beanbag chair. "Microbial nanites," Dr. Horowitz explained. "They'll be cushioning you, monitoring your progress, feeding you and processing your waste. However, first the drugs."
He got a needle a couple of vials, injecting Jason direcly in the arm with each. "Intramuscular is best. Now, if you could disrobe."
"Huh?"
"For the sarcophagus. We'll store your clothes while you sleep."
"Oh, uh, okay." Jason disrobed, then was led by the doctor up some steps at the end of the sarcaphagous.
"Simply fall back, as if you were falling into a pool. The microbial nanites will support you."
Jason did as he was instructed, a little nervous, but then as he fell back, it was like falling into a giant bubble bath. It made his skin tingle, and then he inhaled some of the stuff, which made him cough for a second, and then suddenly he could breathe.
The foam or whatever it was enveloped him, forcing his arms away from his sides until he hung suspended, then he started to drift off to sleep until somehow the darkness suddenly became light and he was looking at the doctor again.
"Resting comfortably?" Dr. Horwitz asked. His voice was tinny and he seemed to be standing on the other side of some glass. Jason then realized that he was hanging suspended in a void.
"Where am I?"
The doctor chuckled. "Physically, your body is in the suspension sarcophagous. Mentally, you're in virtual reality. Allow me to give you some furnishings. Computer, run simulation Z-56."
Instantly, the darkness around him was replaced by a swinging 60s singles pad, down to the shag rug and the strange lamps. It didn't quite feel right under his feet, however, and he was still standing there naked.
"Uh, do I get clothes for virtual reality?"
"Certainly," Dr. Horiwitz responded. "Computer, simulation option T-78."
At once, clothes materialized around Jason. He was dressed in a frilly pink bridesmaid dress.
"Simulation option T-87 I meant," the doctor corrected and the bridesmaid dress became a hawaiian shirt, board shorts and flip flops.
"This is a bit better," Jason admitted, and for the course of the next three months, he got to explore the various entertaining aspects of living in virtual reality. His body remained in the sarcophagous, being nourished by the nanites, until at last the three months were up.
"Well," Doctor Horowitz remarked. "It's time to release you from the tank, Jason. Let's see how well the enhancement drugs fared."
Suddenly, the world went dark, and then Jason realized he was in the tank. He struggled to get up, but it was like wallowing if fluffy Jello, but at last he got his legs beneath him and was able to rise up out of the nano-bath, wiping the foam out of his eyes until he could see.
Dr. Horowitz stood there, looking up at him, and Jason climbed out of the sarcophagous like he would out of a hot tub, still looking down at the doctor by quite some. In fact, he realized slowly, he was looking down at the top of Dr. Horowitz's head.
"It appears," the doctor said slowly, "that the serums and the nanites were a bit too effective in increasing bone density and muscle size."
"I'm a giant," Jason rumbled.
"It appears so. We'll have to take some measurements."
In a daze, Jason stood there as the doctor got a ladder, measured his height, put him on medical scales and judged his weight and finally announced some number over two meters and a bunch of kilograms.
"What's that in feet and inches and pounds?" Jason demanded.
Dr. Horowitz did some quick calculations. "Well, in English measures, you are now eight feet seven and three-quarter inches tall, while your weight has increased to 768 pounds."
"What am I going to do?"
"Go back to college?"