Ben’s eyes shift from his work phone to his PC screen. A new e-mail. “Lottery Winner!” the subject line says. When he reads the text his heart sinks.
 
Winning the lottery would be a cause for celebration, except in this case. The spin doctors from the marketing department must have been hard at work. The instructions in the e-mail say to go to the CEOs Office, with a short addendum stating that he didn’t get the promotion he applied for. He gulps and locks his computer.
 
Everyone around him can see it; he is ‘the chosen one’. Some smiles are of relief, others are of sympathy. They all knew this day was coming. None of them had the guts to put their name forward, so one of them had to be picked at random.
 
He takes the lift up from his dungeon and into the sunlight. As it ascends the side of the skyscraper, he sees grey clouds assembling in the distance – clearly ready to rain down hell. The sun is still shining, but for how much longer?
 
“Funny, rain wasn’t in the metrological provisions,” he says to nobody in particular.
 
Ding! The lift arrives at its destination. The doors slide open to reveal a single long corridor. At the other end the words “Madam Executive's Office” appear in big bold letters, on a sign attached to that room’s door. The corridor is completely empty, aside from a lone water cooler just outside Madam Executive’s Office.
 
He takes a moment to catch his breath. Sweat trickles down his form as the gravity of the situation continues to take its toll. His eyes dart around frantically. Maybe there is an open window I can jump out of?
 
All of the doors appear to be locked and the rooms vacated, from what he can tell. Through the window of some them, he has a direct view towards the city below. Apparently there’s been a car crash.
 
He quietly taps on the door to her office and then takes a step backwards. From the behind the door he hears a thump. Then a short man, a quite bit younger than he is, probably an intern, opens the door. His head peeks out from the gap between the frame and the door.
 
“Are you Ben?” he squeaks.
 
“I am,” he replies, barely audibly.
 
“Oh! Madam Executive would like to see you.”
 
“I know, that’s why I’m here.”
 
He opens the door wide to reveal an opulent room. On his left is a grand old bookcase made of the finest woods, on his right, stretching almost up to the ceiling, is a statue of the Greek Goddess Aphrodite, the Goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. At the desk towards the middle of the room sits a woman, probably in her early thirties if he had to guess. It is one designed in a such a way as to mimic the Resolute Desk found in the Oval Office of the White House. Perfect for a resolute woman!
 
Madam Executive is a robust bespectacled woman, of East Asian heritage. About the same height as he is and ‘curvy’, with flowing black hair that extends just beyond her shoulders. She is seemingly a rare example of a woman of her ethnicity with large breasts, assuming the stereotype is correct of course. She wears a red t-shirt, leaving her deep cleavage exposed. A welcome sight for sore male eyes, perhaps. Her black blazer sits neatly on the back of her chair.
 
“Do you know why you are here?” she begins, using her hand to shift her black-rimmed spectacles down the bridge of her nose.
 
“Y-yes Ma’am,” he stutters as he scurries off down the hall.
 
“Good. Sit down. Tommy, you may go back to your den for now.”
 
Madam Executive extends her free arm to point at the posh leather sofa before her. The sofa is quite low to the floor and her desk on a pedestal, making her look all the more intimidating. He takes a sip from his bottle and then places it on the floor. All the while, she is eyeing him up and down.
 
“Yes, you’ll do perfectly,” she says, her cherry red lips creeping into a sly smile, “I’ve been speaking to Ana...”
 
Ben is caught off guard by her words. He gasps, causing Madam Executive to cut herself off. She sneers at him, clearly upset at the interruption.
 
“W-what how?” he croaks.
 
Her clenched fist slams into the desk, causing an earthquake inside of her shirt. He flinches and grasps both of his elbows. She leans across, allowing more of her breasts to come into view.
 
“Idiot! Don’t cut me off...!”
 
“S-sorry.”
 
“There you go again, cutting me off! You know, maybe I should just fire you, hmm? Nobody would notice you were gone. Lucky for you though, the company needs you now more than ever. Now, where was I?”
 
She leans back, returning to a more relaxed composure. She then takes a moment to examine her nails, admiring her reflection on the shiny black paint. Meanwhile, Ben stays sat in silence, afraid to speak.
 
“As I was saying before you rudely interrupted me, I phoned home and have spoken to your wife. Lovely woman.”
 
He nods frantically, eager not to upset her any further. She grins, revealing a set of immaculate teeth. After a brief pause she reaches into her cleavage for a golden ballpoint pen. He can’t help but stare, much to her annoyance.
 
“I’m sorry, were you raised in a barn?” she asks.
 
“I was actually raised on a farm...”
 
“Silence!” she snaps, “did your parents not teach you that it’s rude to stare?”
 
His head nods frantically again. Her other hand extends towards a draw on her right, taking a piece of paper out of it. She slides it in his direction. With her pen, she points towards a dotted line near bottom of the sheet. He has to stretch he neck in order to see what’s written on it.
 
“You need to go away and read this document,” she begins, “as you know we need to test out some drugs. Having spoken to your wife, I know that she is really keen to test out the Elixir of Youth, but you will need to both sign to commence the trial. I’ll be over later in the week to discuss any questions and to deliver your wife and your daughter's copies personally.”
 
He looks at the paper then back to her and then back towards the paper. The contract stipulates that his family shall receive $10,000 a month, in addition to his current salary, plus an unlimited supply of the two new drugs the company is testing, for him, his wife and their daughter. Unfortunately for him, the elixir of youth has been reserved for the women in his life. He will be allowed to test shrinking serum only.
 
“I understand you are wanting to pay for your daughter’s college fees and your wife also wants to go on a nice cruise holiday. She should ask you to take her to Vietnam. Lovely country. Maybe I should throw in a holiday to Vietnam? I’m sure she would appreciate the gesture. It would also be a good way to be rid of you for a while.”
 
She laughs at her own quip. He isn’t sure how to respond. He gulps and crouches before her desk, succeeding in demeaning him further. He take a moment to scan the paper.
 
“Ben, was it?” she says, looking down at his distressed form with her signature piercing stare, “Listen closely Ben: you will speak of this to nobody. There is a lot money riding on those medicines. Simply nod if you understand.”
 
He nods slowly. With a contented sigh, she sinks back into her chair, slouching, her eyes half lidded. She presses a button on the arm of the chair and Tommy immediately comes rushing in, as though he was hidden behind the door the entire time.
 
“Ben, if you’d like to follow me,”
 
“Little Tommy,” she says in a tone reminiscent of a mother annoyed at her baby son, “were you listening to the grown-up conversation, hmm?”
 
Tommy freezes. He looks towards the floor, his fingers seeming to do battle with one another. She turns to look at him, her relaxed composure now gone.
 
“What have I told you about waiting behind the door, hmm?” she says, her tone growing angrier.
 
“That I shouldn’t do it,” he replies meekly.
 
“That’s right Little Tommy. Now, guess what I have to do?”
 
“N-no, not in front of Ben, please.”
 
“Very well. Ben, the company pharmacists will be in touch with more details regarding the medicines. Hopefully next time we meet you’ll have some more manners. If your penis wasn’t so microscopic, I’d swear you had an erection.”
 
Ben sits in silence, thoroughly humiliated and unsure of what to do. His eyes remain focused on Madam Executive's own. Seeing his indecision she growls.
 
“Well, what are you waiting for?” she chides, “Go! As for you Little Tommy...”
 
She stands up and faces Tommy. The size difference between the two is now clear. Tommy’s eyes are level with her chest.
 
Ben sprints out of the room like a man who has just seen a monster. Maybe he did really see a monster? He shuts the door behind him, not daring to look back. As he makes his way down the corridor, he hears a whimper and then a squeal.
 
He frantically presses the button for the lift. Even as the lift doors open he is still urging the button. He leaps inside and immediately starts attacking button for his floor.
 
When he arrives at the basement level, he exists the lift to the sight of everyone’s eyes on him. Some expressions are of pity, but the majority show no sympathy whatsoever. A man in a greying labcoat, slightly taller than he is and with long black hair, greets him and motions for him to follow him. He is led across the office towards a laboratory area.
 
“What do you know about the medicines?” the man asks as he opens the door to one of the laboratories.
 
“Barely anything,” he replies.
 
“Good. We were sworn to secrecy. A lot of interest from the government in them.”
 
The man shuts the door behind them and lets out a long sigh. His gaze lingers on Ben, unnerving him. Around the dimly lit laboratory, various pieces of medical equipment are strew haphazardly, giving the impression of a lack of discipline.
 
“As the lucky winner, you have been chosen to be our first human test subject,” he says, not making eye contact as he goes to look at some papers, “well, I say that, but Madam Executive has been feeding them to – crap I should not have said that. I should not have said that!”
 
“Feeding them to whom?” he asks.
 
“Forget I said that.”
 
“Alright.”
 
The man walks across to another corner of the laboratory to retrieve a couple of boxes of medicines. One is the Shrinking Serum and the other is the Elixir of Youth. The packaging is inconspicuous, containing only the necessary words. At a glance one might mistake them from a generic shop brand of painkillers or something similar.
 
“The first,” he says placing one of the boxes onto the table in the middle of the room beside Ben, “is the Shrinking Serum. You as part of the trial, you will be shrunk down to three feet in height and then returned to normal.”
 
“Got it.”
 
“The second is called the Elixir of Youth. I’m not entirely sure how this one works, but I have a rough idea.”
 
“Oh?”
 
“Well, I think it’s something to do with collagen production and hormones. Changes your DNA too. She didn’t really do a good job of explaining it to me.”
 
“Okay, that doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence.”
 
Ben nervously scratches the back of his head, unnerved by the lack of detail he is being given. The man, completely oblivious to his worried expression, has returned to check his papers. Ben decides to take a closer look at the medicine boxes and notices the words “In-Q-Tel Investments” in one corner on the front. Barely noticeable, but they are there.
 
“Who are In-Q-Tel?” he asks, bringing the box close to his eyes for further examination.
 
“Huh? Where does it say that?”
 
“Right here.”
 
Ben shoves the box in the man’s eyes and points at the text. He has to really squint to see them. His eyebrow raises, now also curious about the text.
 
“You know what? I have no idea,” the man replies, scratching the top of his head in confusion, “how odd. I can’t believe I missed that! Maybe I should be going to get my eyes examined.”
 
Ben chuckles nervously at his exclamation. Ignoring him, the man turns around to take a piece of paper from a clipboard left on the worktop and hands it to him. The paper apparently contains instructions on how to use the medicines.
 
“Let me run you through how to take the medicines. The Elixir of Youth contains nanobots and stuff for feminine hormones. I don’t know why there’s no male equivalent so don’t ask.”
 
“Okay then.”
 
“Your wife and daughter should take one injection each day for a first week and then top up once a week after that. They could take more, but it’s not recommended as too many nanobots might cause a few issues. The nanobots in the medicine will travel around the body repairing things and eliminating so-called ‘free radicals’.”
 
“What kind of issues may arise if took much is taken?”
 
“Well, the blood stream will become clogged with nanobots of course. Not to mention the hormone changes. I was advised by Madam Executive herself that your wife is very sensible woman though. There’s no need to worry about overconsumption.”
 
Ben smiles, happy to have his ‘wife choices’ complimented. The man then takes hold of a box of the other type of medicine. He looks at Ben with a stern expression.
 
“This is the Shrinking Serum. It will result in the shortening of your bones and you should see a decrease in your height and weight. Should decide to take part in the trial, Madam Executive has instructed your wife oversee your taking of this.”
 
“Huh?”
 
“She doesn’t trust you is I think what she was getting at. After all, who besides a total idiot or a masochist would want to take this drug? Not even the prospect of having a more youthful and beautiful wife could seem to convince any of the men in the company to take these. They aren’t stupid of course.”
 
Ben gulps. What am I getting myself into? I could simply just quit my job now and be done with it. But then what would my wife think? She obviously wants this opportunity.
 
“Right, right, yes of course.”
 
The man leans over the table to take another look at his notes. He fumbles through a few sheets of paper until he reaches his desired page, taking a moment to consider it. Ben’s eyes wonder around the room, not wanting to caught staring at the man’s documents.
 
“Ah yes, here is it. As stipulated in the contract, you are entitled to receive an unlimited supply of this medicine, but the company is not liable for any mishaps you may experience when taking the medicine. I assume Madam Executive explained that clearly to you?”
 
Ben gazes into the man’s eyes with a look of fear. Both of his eyebrows rise, seeming to be taken aback by his reaction. Ben licks his lips, trying unsuccessfully to moisten the now dry skin around his mouth.
 
“Basically it means we can’t be sued...”
 
“What? Why?”
 
“When you take part in a medical trial you wavier certain rights...”
 
Ben, now seething, clenches both of his fists. He looks across to the man, who is clearly startled by his sudden outburst, with eyes ablaze. The man holds his hands up defensively and takes a cautious step backwards.
 
“It wasn’t my choice to go through with this though!”
 
“Madam Executive told me to tell that you can either take part in the trial or your contract is terminated. It’s a cruel world I know. I haven’t had a raise in years.”
 
Ben takes a deep breath. Then another. He places his hands on the table beside him and looks towards the ground.
 
“Apologies for getting emotional. Totally out of character for me. We really could do with the money I guess,” he says, shedding a tear, “my daughter is going to college next year. Or, well, hoping to. We’re assuming she will anyway.”
 
“An extra $120,000 a year will go a long way I’m sure.”
 
“It really would. My daughter, Ela, her best friend always has such expensive looking jewellery and I always have to apologise to her and remind her that we could never afford such things. Maybe now we can.”
 
“Certainly. The money involved did definitely have me tempted I must admit. However, the changes are irreversible. That’s what dissuaded me. Well, that and I don’t have any women in my life.”
 
The man lets out a long sigh. Ben gives him a sympathetic smile. He smiles back.
 
“Don’t worry about me,” he says, now looking towards the floor, “I’m used to being a nerdy loner.”
 
“I’m sure you’ll find somebody eventually. You probably just need to put yourself out there more. I used to go the gym a lot – that’s how I met my wife.”
 
“Oh nice. You may go now. My name is Frederik by the way. But you can call me Fred. I don’t think I properly introduced myself earlier, apologies.”
 
“Don’t worry about it. I can get very caught up in my work too. It’s a pleasure to meet you Fred.”
 
“Much of my free time is spent bowling, so if you ever want a game or some lessons you know where to find me. Here I mean, not at the bowling alley. But of course you knew that. Gosh I must sound so stupid right now.”
 
“Bowling sounds great. If you give me your mobile phone number we can keep in touch.”
 
Fred’s face lights up. He gives Ben a thumbs up gesture and then goes to look for a blank sheet of paper. Seeing this, Ben passes him a scrap of paper he saw earlier.
 
“Absolutely!” Fred exclaims.
 
Fred quickly scribbles his number down on the scrap of paper and Ben does the same. Phone numbers now exchanged, Ben leaves for his desk. It’s only at the end of his work day that he realised how unproductive he’s been since his stark meeting with Madam Executive. As the wall ahead of his desk shows, it was just last month that he was employee of the month. Oh well, I suppose I had better get going and hope I can catch up tomorrow.