"I'm studying strength and muscle enhancement applications."
"You mean, like steroids?"
"No, not really. The formulas I've been working with would cause much more immediate and noticeable changes." I pause for a second. I had thought about calling it a day already, but I saw no harm in showing Bailey the results of my experiments.
"Let me show you something," I tell him, motioning him to the cages in the corner. Bailey walks over and looks at the rats in the cages. Then he eyes the cage underneath. "Dude, what's with the guinea pig?"
I smile, "Um, that's not a guinea pig. Look closer."
Bailey does, tapping the cage a bit, to awaken the sleeping creature.
"Be careful!" I warn him.
The creature rises up and turns to face Bailey.
"Holy shit!" Bailey exclaims. "That's a rat!?"
I nod, smiling.
"Dude, he's HUGE! I mean look at his leg muscles! Look at his back!" Bailey turns around and looks at me. "And he got this way from your stuff!?"
"Yes."
"Wow, man, you must've started feeding him since he was just a newborn to get this way!"
"Oh, no!" you laughing, boasting, "He was the same size as his brothers just earlier this week."
"Wait, all this growth in one week! That's wild!" Bailey is momentarily at a loss for words. Then, "Dude, you're going to be so rich. I mean, you've got a supersteroid here. I mean, every man in the world's gonna want to get some of your stuff!"
I look at Bailey, and laugh tensely, "Well, don't get too worked up, boy. First, the materials I need to make my solution are pretty scarce, so I don't think we'd be able to handle such a demand. Second, I'm still in early experimentation stages. There's a long way to go before we know it's safe. It might take years '"
Bailey cuts in, "What does it do to humans?"
"To humans?"
"Yes." I can see Bailey salivating at the thought of its use.
I pat Bailey lightly on his arm, noticing the tense bicep underneath the sleeve. "Bailey, it's too early to say. I've only just begun testing this on rats. A lot more experimentation on rats and other living cells and creatures needs to be done before we can start testing on humans. We have no idea if the stuff's safe."
Bailey suddenly looks a little glum.
I try to cheer him up. "Well, if you're a good assistant, maybe we can speed up the process a little." He's not much more enthused, so you decide it's time to talk game plan. "Bailey, it's getting late. We should talk about your day-to-day duties in the lab, and then we can call it a day. Excuse me for one second, as I go use the men's room, and then we can have that chat."
I excuse myself and head out into the hall.
Meanwhile,