EXPOSED TO A NEW SUBSTANCE
By Drake Knight


Finishing up another day in the laboratory in which I worked as an assistant, I soon became aware of why the lab hours had been extended to nearly a twenty-four hour period over the course of seven days a week, in recent months. Just as I was cleaning up the various workstations of off-going scientists, setting up all of the instruments, machines, and chemicals for the night-shift, a pair of scientists from the day-shift practically kicked the lab doors off the hinges and ran into the room, exuberated.

?We?ve done it! We?ve finally done it!?

These two were like Dr. Frankenstein reincarnated, as if they had just successfully completed the creation that no one thought possible. I soon found out that they had! All eyes turned their direction, fascinated with what the two had to say.

?Yes! It is done,? said Dr. Mortinhimer.

?The fruits of our labor have finally shown themselves! Our three years of experimentation are complete,? explained Dr. Wiley.

After the two scientists were able to settle down, they explained to all who listened that they had just confirmed the satisfactory testing and completion of a project that had taken the laboratory where I worked a total of three years to perfect.

The project entailed the creation of a substance that could be digested by the human body, which caused several unnatural reactions to take place. This product, be it a liquid, solid, or whatever ? I did not know ? could produce levels of symptoms in the human body that the body otherwise was incapable of producing on its own. The substance was to be thought of as nothing short of a scientific achievement of a lifetime.

The miracle substance had many capabilities. Speed was one of those. With the help of the substance, the body?s systems would automatically speed up to an accelerated level, simply by digesting the substance. Upon digestion, fatigue was non-existent and the rate of speed that the body could move was far beyond that of a normal person. Stamina played a role in the body?s increased speed, tripling the effect of the body?s immune system and ability to continue any sort of physical activity for long periods of time.

The substance had other effects as well. Mental focus was sharpened beyond all comprehension. Problems could be calculated with the slightest effort. Strategies could be conceived as if they were already drawn out in the mind ahead of time. Creativity of all forms flourished as if one were a god. The substance turned the mind into a tool that had more efficiency than ever before.

Also within the miracle substance?s power was control of psychological emotion. With the substance, any mental anguish was eliminated, as if morphine were injected into the body. However, unlike morphine, the substance was far less addicting, if at all. Any form of anger, depression, jealously, or any other negative emotion could easily and effectively be countered with the substance, controlled at the user?s whim.

Physical strength was also increased by the substance. The body?s muscles could lift several more pounds of weight than was normally possible. This increased strength went hand in hand with the stamina that was also increased by the substance.

All of these examples of what the substance could do proved to have profound implications. With the ability to control one?s emotions, there would be no fear. Soldiers could do battle with ease. Average people could take on challenges in the workforce without the slightest worry of failure, prompting more positive results.

As well, such clear thinking that the substance produced would be absolute, in the face of any danger or situation. Humankind would be able to solve all mysteries pondered since the beginning of time. Technology could advance to a level only thought to exist in science fiction.

Physical prowess would be unmatched and the body would be capable of conducting super human feats previously unable to conceive.

It was obvious how these capabilities would reshape the world forever, once the substance was introduced to the public. It was a discovery that could, with one instance of digestion, turn any normal person into that of a supposed ?super human?, a new kind of being who?s control reached much farther than before, mentally, physically, and spiritually. It was the discovery of discoveries. It was truly a food of the gods.

And, it didn?t take long to gain notoriety. Once introduced to the media and then the public, the substance became one of the world?s most ingested and enjoyable product, in the form of a pill. It was consumed by millions, everyday. Its effects on the human body were extraordinary and society as we once knew it began to change. Indeed, the substance was dubbed the most world-changing discovery since electricity. Both scientists who created the product were declared geniuses, became billionaires, and both won the Nobel Peace Prize.

But, their glory did not last long.

An insider, someone who had worked closely with both scientists, came forward and anonymously disclosed information to the media that labeled the scientists as frauds! The report, backed by hundreds of pages of notes generated from countless experiments, displayed the fact that the scientists had created a substance that already existed for thousands of years! In fact, the very substance the scientists had claimed to be the originators of was already sold on supermarket shelves and at hundreds of thousands of other kinds of venues on a daily basis! The substance was eatable and already ingested by millions, daily!

I dropped my morning paper to the table in front of me, reaching for my coffee. I couldn?t believe the accusations being brought against the scientists, who were part of every headline on every major paper and in every news and radio station broadcast. I had to see for myself.

As I drove to the nearest convenience store, while listening to the radio. Every station was abuzz with the news of the two scientists conducting the biggest fraud in recorded history. After all of that time, all of that work, I couldn?t believe this was happening! Three years down the drain. Could it have been true? Could such a product that was capable of such changes in the human body and capable of altering society already be sold in nearly any store in the world? How could no one be aware of such a thing until now?

As I parked my vehicle and walked into a store, I heard everyone talking about what was happening. The news spread fast. I headed straight for where I knew the ?real? product should have been. I rushed as quickly as I could, increasing my pace to a slow trot. I knew if I found it that I would be disappointed beyond belief, yet exhilarated at the same time.

Emotion surged through me as I turned the corner and saw it! I immediately knew what the scientists had done. There, right in front of me at a grocery store, was a product that was capable of every wonderful, miraculous, and spectacular effect that the scientists? discovery of a lifetime was capable of producing. I now understood that what had been done by the scientists wasn?t the creation of this substance, only the hype of it! I realized that these men were, in a way, supreme versions of public relations experts, building the world?s notion of the substance to the point of changing history.

Certainly, the substance in front of me at the grocery store always had the power to do all the things recorded and then some. Only, no one had ever exposed it in such a way, until now. From the scientists, that is all it took, along with the added lie of being the creators of such a wonderful substance. At any time, I could have had all the focus, ease of emotion, and increased physical activity I could have ever wanted, purchased for less than a dollar whenever I wanted.

There, right in front of me was the substance, in its true form.

There...was chocolate!


THE END