Simply put stem cell research gone awry.
Victor H. our college guinea pig has signed up to earn class credit
and cash by testing a new athlete's foot treatment. The treatment
involves a biogen using human stem cells with the idea that the
subject's foot will generate its own immunity to fungus. His right
foot receives treatment with the stem cell product. His left foot is
treated with traditional fungicide. Victor undergoes daily treatment
for 6 weeks. At the end of six weeks he is to continue showering
barefoot at the campus gym and at his dorm. The product will be a
success if his right foot remains athlete's foot fungus free.
After three weeks, Victor notices a slight swelling of his right foot,
but the researchers dismiss this as a harmless side effect. When in
week six the stem cell treatment is halted. The cells of Victor's
right foot go wild producing their own rapidly dividing cells. The
main effect is that Victor is now nicknamed Big Foot by his dorm
mates. By the end of the seventh week, he's find it difficult to walk
and finds that he is forced to hop around on his giant foot. The
researchers had not anticipated any problems so they timed the seventh
and eighth weeks to fall during winter break.
The highly reactive stem cells are targeted to be foot cells and they
begin to infect Victor's normal cells. By the end of the eighth week
most of his body has been absorbed into his now humongous foot.
On the morning of the ninth week, classes resume and the researchers
find a giant foot waiting for them in their lab. At first they think
it's a plastic joke, but are soon proved wrong. One of the researchers
mistakenly examines Victor the foot with his bare hands. Inside of the
week he is well on his way to morphing into a foot creature as well.
Mutant adaptive qualities of the manfoot is that it retains it's
sentience the brain tissue is apparently unaffected, but the muscle
and other tissues are. The big foot is able to absorb oxygen that it
needs from the atmosphere. and similarly is able to suck up water and
nutrients through its sole. A night watchman's dog foolishly attacks
Victor who stomps it, and then absorbs the crushed dog as nutrients.
The night watchman draws his taser. In the morning, beside the giant
bloody footprint only his watch, wallet, flashlight taser, buttons and
zipper are found.