The Bod - 2

[philat99]

Chapter 2: A Taste of Hell

?Ok, Jim, strip!? ordered Toby.

?I?ve never been buck-naked in front of anyone but my doctor, Dr. Baxter. What are you two planning??

?Listen, Jim. We were hoping to hold off on our little talk ?til later, but I guess this is as good a time as any. Sit down on that bench.?

?That? bench had to have the narrowest seat they could find for my humongous bottom to sit on. But, oh well. If it breaks, it breaks, and they?ll have to pick me up!

Toby must?ve read my mind. ?That reinforced bench will hold at least a thousand pounds, and it won?t be long ?til your butt fits it well.? What ARE these guys, psychics?

?You should know, Jim, that fate hasn?t brought you here. You?ve got two really concerned friends in your corner - Dr. Tim Baxter and Tom Jordan. You?re here because THEY led you here - for your own good - before you even more seriously destroyed your health.?

Oh, no! Not a morality lesson, too! What have I gotten myself into?

?Jim, it?s about time we formally introduce ourselves to you. I?m DOCTOR Toby Grant and this is my partner, DOCTOR Ted Gallagher. We both met at Harvard Medical School while working on our specialties. Ted has his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences in Public Health, and mine is in Biological and Biomedical Sciences. It just so happened that we discovered one another?s passion for the new research in nanotechnology. We read everything we could get our hands on from universities here in the states, Europe, and Asia. We needed to call on lots of friends to translate the articles for us, but we succeeded in adapting some of the nanorobots from the commercial field to our medical specialty. Although, at first, we intended to work in research at one of the many companies sprouting up all over the world in this field, it wasn?t long before we discovered that most of them were profit driven fronts for government weaponry development; or, they were specializing in certain medical areas, like cancer research. Important as that is along with so many other critical diseases and conditions, we were most concerned with what we saw as the number one problem facing modern societies today - obesity, particularly morbid obesity. Ted can take it from here.?

?When we decided the path we both chose to follow, Dr. Tim Baxter, another Harvard friend but in general practice, Toby and I was each well over 300 pounds with little muscle strength. So, I guess you can say our original quest was quite selfish. Bax was 6?1? and 360 pounds; Toby - 5?10? and 340; and I was the biggest at 6?3? and 490 pounds. We were not happy with ourselves - not in the least!?

?But you?re all bodybuilder types - now. How long did it take? What did you have to do? Did it involve surgery? I can?t take much pain!?

?All in due time, Jim. Your work buddy Tom Jordan was one of our first recruits to try our very secret - at this point - process. He started out at 5?8?, 390 pounds, versus the end product you see every day at work - 6?, 230 pound muscleman - and he wears it well, don?t you think??

?Yeah, sure does! But how long did it take? What did he have to do? Did it hurt??

?It took Tom a year to shed his fat and gain pure muscle. It took Toby, Bax and me around two years as we tweaked our process, which was Bax?s idea in the first place. Toby and I did the nano research to fit it all together. So, James Michael Putski, are you ready to begin the most dramatic change of your life??

?The secrecy stuff sort of put me off, along with the ?orders from headquarters? approach, but I can?t argue with the finished product. Yeah, I?m ready!?

?So, STRIP!? Toby still had a commanding air about him. ?Follow me for your first taste of change - REAL change - in your body.?

So I followed them into a room adjoining the locker room. It had to be opened with a key. The lights came on as we entered and I beheld a - What the hell? - what looked like a rack - a modern version of the old medieval RACK!!! Ted led me to the seat part, which was ample, and simply said, ?Sit.? Another command! Here I am in my birthday suit sitting on a wide bench wondering what comes next.

?Just go with the flow, Jim.?

They were very gentle, I must admit. One on each arm, they laid me back on the bench-like table which had pulleys at each end and at the sides. I know this feels familiar, but when, where - oh, yes, my chiropractor?s table, only lower and with more stuff attached - and those scary looking pulleys!

?Now, Jim, we don?t want you to freak out or anything. You asked about pain,? Ted reminded me. ?There will be some, but don?t forget we?re doctors, and we?ll administer mild anesthetics as needed. You need to remain as calm as possible.?

Toby piped up, ?Before we can advance to the weight loss or muscle gain part of your change, we?ve got to repair your skeletal mass and relubricate your joints. You need a strong base on which to build a strong exterior. Dr. Baxter has already cleared you for all internal organs. Thank goodness they?re still in very good condition.?

?You may have thought of a medieval rack when you first saw our ?stretcher.? (There's that psychic stuff again.) Actually, it?s not far off the mark. We have a few inflatable cuffs to attach to you on either side of certain strategic joints. This is where the stretching happens and the nanobots are inserted. Your excess weight has been pressing down on your joints for a lot of years and we need to repair them. The nanobots, developed here in the U.S, are in a gelatinous suspension which, when introduced into the joint, begin immediately to regenerate the cartilage which had been partially or completely destroyed over the years. They also begin immediately to reinforce the bone structures of the joints to allow for maximum support and movement.?

Extra ?arms? on the machine were pulled out from beneath by Ted to the point where I felt, ?Jesus, you?re getting ready to crucify me!!!?

?Keep calm, Jim. We need to fix the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints and need your arms perpendicular to your body.? Ted then attached the cuffs on either side of the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints.

?Just don?t try to make the legs perpendicular!? I half kidded.

Meanwhile Toby produced huge, very strong looking straps from beneath the table and strapped down my head with a pillow underneath, arms at the biceps and forearms, chest, waist, thighs, and calves. ?Just making sure you don?t move around during the procedure.?

?I?ve never felt so - so - vulnerable!?

?Don?t be a Nervous Nellie, Jim. We DO know what we?re doing. We?re the guys we?ve told you about plus at least 200 more will vouch for our process. That?s pretty good odds.? Toby then attached really big cuffs above and below the hips (amazing with the belly in the way!), the knees, and the ankles. ?The cuffs will inflate to a comfortable pressure while the pulleys attached to your hands and feet will exert mild tension to separate just a micrometer or so at a time as Ted and I inject the nano solution into each joint. Ready??

?As ready as I?ll ever be,? I simply sighed.

Then it began. I didn?t really feel the tension of the pulleys, just the inflating cuffs.

?Holy crap! Something really hurts!? I yelled.

?Did you ever have a cortisone shot in any of your joints?? Ted asked calmly.

?No!?

?Well, that?s what a cortisone shot feels like,? explained Toby. ?We?re just multiplying it by 12 for all 12 joints that we?re working on now.?

?So, 12 times the pain! I thought cortisone shots were supposed to relieve pain!?

?They do, once the cortisone is in the joint and the needle is extracted.?

?Whew! I?m getting hot! All my damn joints are burning up! Is this what?s supposed to happen??

Ted looked at Tony with a strange expression. ?Not really,? he whispered.

?I HEARD THAT!!! This pain is EXCRUCIATING - AND I?M BURNING UP!!! I - WANT - THIS - TO - STOP --- N-O-O-OW!!!?

?Time to sedate, Ted!?

?Yeah, and let?s get our brains focused on the heat! Why is he so friggin' hot????




Coming next: Hell and heaven, too.

[arpeejay]

Let me tell you about my left shoulder...

Great addition! I'm gonna read the rest now!

xoxo

Richard