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Kyle had entered college, yet his bad habits have not stopped, but worsened, that's why a group of nerds try to revert the situation by building a machine, however, the results did not end up as they expected, but the opposite. This is a story I wrote and posted previously on the old website Part of his hand was touching the WC’s water, a collateral damage for practicing the non-official sport of every school: bullying. Kyle was sinking the head of a skinny boy whose name was Luca, a student of Cybernetics and programming. Why was Kyle bullying the guy? Simple, Luca refused to give him his lunch, plus it was fun. Kyle belonged to the wrestling team, so his constitution could be described as huge, and on the contrary to the examples found in the animal kingdom, he was not inoffensive, but a complete predator. It did not matter if it was in the Ring or not, he was unstoppable and ferocious. He liked to demonstrate who was in charge, diminishing others, being feared. Kyle only obeyed or respected those who proved to be stronger than him, which were few. “I hope you had learned the lesson” he said when he took out the head of his victim from the water. “Next time, if I ask you to give me your money or your lunch, you better do it. Got it?” Luca nodded, water running over his face, hair wet and unkempt. “Good” Kyle released his grip abruptly. If Luca had not reacted in time his face would have smashed against the toilet. Kyle exited the service laughing. Lunch time was about to finish and he still was hungry. He needed too much to sustain his performance at 100%, after all, his scholarship was due to wrestling Luca stayed some more time in the service. He washed his head and stared at his reflection, thinking over his hate toward the muscle head. It has been half a year since he began college. He thought that at this point of his life the threat of bullying should have being vanished; however, it proved to be wrong: imbeciles could be found everywhere, included university. Yet, he was not a bone easy to gnaw, quite the opposite, stubborn as a mule. Besides, he, with the help of some friends that also suffered the misuses of Kyle were working on a private project. Once he settled down his mood, he left the toilet as well. There were some classes in the afternoon, then, the project. Most of people had gone to their rooms or their places when Luca headed to the lab located in an abandon building of the university. Despite the structure being lacking of maintenance, Luca and his group found it in an acceptable state. Electricity still work, most of the equipment as well, they were outdated, though. But this did not stop them, on the contrary, they got down to work. They cleaned the place where experiments would be conducted, repaired some of the machines, brought what was not very used. This took them around a month, but eventually they succeed. Luca had two other friends: Damon, an engineer and Noah, a biologist that wanted to focus on Neurology. The three of them were working on a device that could alter the behavior of people, by changing their mental capabilities at will. Its main purpose, however, was to be used as an instrument to subdue their enemies. Damon developed a pair of glasses and audiphones to serve as a medium for the machine to interfere with the neural waves and net, while Luca developed a program to achieve it. Noah, on the other hand, investigated about the topic to find the best ways to achieve their goal. They spent the rest of the semester in that activity. Several experiments were carried on mice, dozens of versions of the glasses and the program were made. The experiments consisted in using two samples of mice. One was exposed to the machine, while the other was not. Before the exposition several tests to measure their intelligence were carried out on both samples, then, once one of the two sample was exposed to the effects of the machine, the same tests of intelligence were repeated and results analyzed. They agreed that the experiment was successful if more than 50% of those mice that were exposed diminished their intelligence. They reached to the amount of 90% of the mice being affected by the half of the semester, yet they went even further in the experiment. Luca and his group wanted to know if they were able to control how much an individual could be changed. This meant more research and test should be done, but they did not give up, but persisted. The experiments carried out consisted in changing certain parameters of the machine in several groups of mice and then measuring their performance in several tests. They registered the amount of mice being affected against those whose parameters were not varied or were not exposed, as well as how much their brain activity and intelligence was affected for each parameter. Spring arrived when the three researchers agreed that the machine was ready. They found that each parameter they altered had a specific effect in certain neuronal processes which meant that they could altered specific parameters of intelligence at will. It was time to level up the project and test it on real subjects and they knew who that person would be. Kyle, on the other hand, continued with his normal life. He kept following his strict regimen of training. By the end of the semester he was reaching the heavy weight category and was starting to become a legend in the athletic fields for he had not lost a single competition since he entered university. His grades, on the other hand, were average to low, just enough for not being expelled from college. However, Kyle was facing a dilemma, he had stagnated in a plateau. It did not matter how many times he varied his routine, how much weight he added to each exercise or the amount, as well as the kind of food he ingested, or even the supplements he took. Kyle did not improve; he was stuck in 85kg with 1.85m of high. That situation irritated him, becoming more violent with people around him. Sometimes he tried to hit the sand bags at the gym to unleash the wrath within him, but most frequently, he did that with others, at least out of school. The acts Kyle was committing were far beyond what professors could tolerate. The wrestling athlete frequently jumped into fights, even if it had nothing to do with him, he just wanted to release energy. These incidents quickly climbed in violence within seconds as Kyle punched his rivals repeatedly until unconsciousness, wrapped their necks until they fainted or bended their limbs in odd angles, making them crying for mercy, which he enjoyed. Perhaps he will not go to the heavy weight leagues, but he was still the one in charge. Kyle, however, belonged to the elite of the school, which meant he used to participate in most social events such as parties. It was a medium to feed his narcissistic personality, for he used to go wearing clothes that could show everyone the majestic body he had sculpted over the years. He spent half of the night walking around so everyone noticed him. Girls desired to be between his strong veiny arms, perhaps even to have a ride or more than one, guys stared at him with envy, greediness, lust (some at least). He was aware of this, every gesture, every movement he made was to emphasize the beauty of himself. Each time he brought a glass of beer to the lips was so all of them could look at how his biceps struggled for space with his shirt, when he made a step was to show the way his shoulders waved, the ups and downs of the chest while breathing, to expose the molders he had for pectorals. He had returned from the bathroom when he drank another glass of beer. Music was good that night, relaxing as well as entertained. People were dancing on the floor, but he remained sat, back resting on the bar, while arms where open, the first bottom of the shirt as well, to show some glances of his chest. Some people looked at him, their faces were, probably, blushed; Kyle replied them with a cocky smile, that night he was not interested in sex, rather to be worshiped. Those were the last memories he had before waking up. It was an illuminated room, filled with machines and lab instruments. Surfaces were immaculate, the room, air-conditioned. Kyle was confused and disoriented, looking to every place he could to remember where he was. “I guess you don’t know where are you, do you?” a high pitch voice came from the back. Kyle tried to look for it, but only his neck and torso (in some extent) could move, his arms looked like to be restrained. “Give up” another voice “those strains are made to resist the strength of an elephant.” “Damon, Noah?” Kyle asked when the fog that covered his senses faded away “What the fuck did you do to me?” “We are testing a device we’ve been working on during the last semester” A third voice came out. Kyle realized it was from Luca. “When I get free of this shit you will pay!” he roared, the other three just laughed “How the fuck did I ended up here?” “Simple” Noah explained “Some substances shouldn’t be mixed with alcohol, unless you want to take a deep nap.” Kyle look at them, for they had moved to stand before him, confused. “We drugged you, idiot” Noah stated “I put a narcotic in your beer when you went to the bathroom.” “Never leave your beverage alone and if you do, drop it and take another.” Damon laughed. “Some minutes later you were far asleep and we offered ourselves to take you to your rooms, no one refused” Noah continued “But we brought you here instead.” Wrath increased gradually inside Kyle’s body. He struggled to free himself, roared like a wild beast, but it was futile, strains were sinewy. They did not give away at all. “Well, enough of this” Luca spoke “Guys, let’s get into work, can we?” The other two nodded in response. Damon looked for some glasses and a pair of audiphones, then returned with Kyle to try putting them on. The wrestler fought, he wagged his head intensively, tried to bite, to hit with the head, even to make Damon drop the devices to the floor, yet the engineer managed to put them on. “What are you gonna do to me!!!!!” wrath was changing to panic “Take this fucking shit outta my head!!!!”. The three nerds did not pay attention to the words of the wrestler. They were focused on another machine, checking parameters, variables to see if anything was under control. In a matter of seconds, Luca switch on a button, a soft hum was heard, a light flashed inside the glasses and an odd sound bummed from the audiphones. A wave of electricity traveled across Kyle’s body, his head began to hurt. He felt as if something inside his skull was being broken, like thousands of needles were piercing his brain. “Stop!” was what he could managed to scream. The pain was so intense he barely could think clearly. His brain was on fire, melting and reshaping, he thought it would explode in any second. Gradually the pain also spread to the rest of his body. Kyle felt as if microscopic knives cut his muscles threads. Heart frequency accelerated, sweat ran from the forehead, he was about to have seizures. Then it stopped. Luca had turned the machine off; Damon went to take of the devices off from Kyle. This one panted with some troubles. His eyes were white. “Is he alright?” Noah asked. “Kyle, are you ok?” Damon tried to get the attention from Kyle. The wrestler gradually put his eyes on the engineer. “Eh…” his tongue was thick it was hard to talk “I think so… ah! My head!” “Damon, release him. I don’t think he can harm us now” Luca ordered, Damon obeyed instantly. Once Kyle found his hands free he put his head in them, trying to mitigate the pain of it. “Do you think we should leave him here and do some tests?” Damon asked. “I would like to, but we better take him to his room. People might wonder where he is. Even though he is a dick head, he is part of the wrestling team” Luca replied. So, the three of them helped the wrestler to stand up. His head was spinning so much he did not realize who were those around him. They made a long trip to the dorms, Kyle walked slowly, with difficulty. Once they got to his room they left him on the bed. Next morning, Kyle woke up. His head still in pain. It felt like his brain was pressing the skull, trying to gain more space, but bones did not move. He also felt heavier, clothes, snugger. He was covered in sweat, as if he had just returned from a long workout session. Kyle swallowed some pain relieve pills at the bathroom, then headed to his scale, a morning ritual he had acquired long ago. The scale marked 88kg. It took some seconds for Kyle to realized he had gained some weight as his mind banished the veils of sleepiness. His eyes opened widely. After so long, it finally did it. He took off his clothes in an instant to inspect his body. Changes were minimal, but they were there, for someone who had a good record of his physic like him it was evident. He searched within his less aching brain to see the cause of this sudden bulk up, just to remember the incident of last night with the kidnapping. “I don’t know what those nerds were looking for, but I like the result” He said while he swayed at his Olympic body. Kyle headed to classes after taking a shower. He had math at first hour in the morning, a subject he hated badly for he, most of the times, could not follow. Grades, of course, were low as well, just enough to pass the semester. He used to take a seat at the end of the classroom so he had freedom to sleep or just playing with the phone, after all, he did not get what teachers said. That day’s topic was integrals. Kyle had heard the rumors from older students about them, about how difficult they ended up. He also remembered how hard was for him derivation. The professor began his class, Kyle did not pay attention at first, but for some unexpected reason, by the half of the class, he realized he was focusing on each word of the man before the board. Variables covered the board completely. Hundreds and hundreds of operations, equations, examples, demonstrations… mathematical jargon in general was all that could be seen. Yet Kyle understood every last character of it. By the first time in his life he was able to understand numbers, no matter how long equation was or tedious, it was there. His mind working at a high speed solving each one of them. “Who dares to solve this?” the professor had erased the board to write one equation. No one raised their hands, except for the clever one and Kyle. “Wow, this is not usual of you!” the professor expressed after realizing the miracle of the wrestler last action. “Is this one of your meat head’s joke?” “No” Kyle answered bluntly “Just wanna have a try.” “Ok” he said in disbelieve. Several exams proved him that the only thing that brute had in his head was wrestling and gym sessions, but he was a professor, he has to give students a chance, even if they certainly will fail. Kyle took the chalk in his right hand and proceeded to solve the equation on the board. An arrogant smile shone upon his face. Step by step he wrote on the board, each time closer to the solution. The professor stared at him amazed, it was an obvious reaction, if one knew about his record of F’s and C’s across the last semester they would not expect this behavior. “So…” Kyle exclaimed when the equation was solved “Is it alright?” It took some seconds for the teacher to process what just happened. Kyle had solved the equation, not only that, but also it was correct. Each one of the steps was right. He could not believe it. “Yes, it is” he whispered, loud enough for the wrestler to hear it. Kyle was about to return to his seat, but the teacher stopped him. “Would you like to try another more complicated?” Kyle was not sure what happened to his mind. Before last night, he saw all intellectual activities boring not suited for him. He was a man of actions, someone that likes to show how mighty he was. But now, the spark of challenging his mind seemed tempted as well. His egocentric and competitive nature spoke for him. “I wouldn’t, what is it?” The math teacher wrote another formula on the board. Kyle watched it for a few seconds and began to solve it. Once he finished the professor checked it to find it correct as well. “Satisfied?” Kyle asked. “Yes” the professor still did not believe what it was happening. “Are you?” he questioned back. “Somehow I find this entertaining as well” Kyle laughed. The professor asked him to wait for a moment so he could pick up some other exercises for him from the text book. Once he did it, he told him to solve them back to his seat and gave the answers at the end of the class. Kyle did as he said. The rest of the class, he spent it solving one exercise after another without problems. Except for one. He spent 15 minutes trying to figure it out, but eventually he managed to find the solution, it was a long process, but he got to the result. When he handed the answers to the teacher at the end of the class, he told him to not assist the next class, for he had achieved the objective of the lecture after solving the last equation. Luca and friends were curious about how was Kyle. Last night his responses were slow, dizziness was evident, as well as confusion. Yet they still have to test him, just to be sure the experiment succeeded. They waited until lunch time to look for him; they found Kyle at the park, alone as usual. They approached slowly, without wanting him to notice, an entire semester proved that it was a terrible idea to disturb him. Noah perceived something out of the ordinary with Kyle’s head as they got closer. He was not completely sure about it, but it looked like his skull was bigger, arms were more swollen as well. “Isn’t his head a little bigger?” he asked in a whisper to the others. “Now that you say it, I think it is” Luca answered. “What could be the cause?” Asked Damon. “Hydrocephaly?” Noah suggested. “Odd” Luca muttered “We didn’t find any case of hydrocephaly in mice.” “Maybe different species don’t respond equally to the process. But if it is, indeed, hydrocephaly we we can say our goal was fulfilled” Noah explained. The other two smiled at these words. Hydrocephaly truly cause some mental retard due to accumulation of liquid in the brain. “Still, we have to make some tests” Luca added, the others agreed. “Hey, guys!” a deep voice extremely familiar interrupted them. The three nerds looked at the place where it came from. Kyle had stood up the bank and was waving his hand friendly. They stayed quite before replying, this was so unreal that they could not believe it. “Hi” Luca’s voice was low and shaking. “What are you guys doing here?” “Eh… we were looking for you?” Damon continued. “What for?” this time the tone was dryer “What else are you gonna do to me?” Somehow, this tone relieved them. They were more used to this form of “conversation” than the previous one. “We just want to make you some tests, to see if everything it’s ok with you” Noah explained “Don’t worry, we won’t put you in the machine again. It’s a promise.” Actually, that was exactly what Kyle desired in those moments. He was curious about it and the possible uses it could have. “Ok, no problem” he returned to more joyful tone “I’ll go with you.” The four of them headed to the lab. Luca, Noah and Damon headed the way, Kyle followed them at some distance. They were concerned, he noticed, but for now he would stay in a low profile, he will continue with the game, just until he could figure out how the machine worked… perhaps even improve it. Physical examinations were the first tests. They found nothing out of the ordinary except for a bigger diameter of the skull. An IQ test was the next. Kyle missed some answers on purpose, half of them to be precise, as well as those he actually did not know or was not sure about the correct answer. Then they passed to some tests to measure coordination, leverage and physical performance in general, he also missed one or two exercises, but mainly because he still wasn’t use to his new complexion. Luca, Noah and Damon were satisfied with the results of the tests. Kyle showed some mental retarded, it was minimal, but it meant the experiment succeeded. He was also a little bad with physical performance. “Well, we are done!” Luca exclaimed “Thanks for this.” “No problem” Kyle pretended a dumb smile. The nerds were the last to depart from the lab. Kyle headed to the gym. He had memorized the location of the laboratory, later in the night, or another day, he will return to investigate furthermore. Gym session proved he had gained more muscular mass. The usual weights he used to lift were no longer enough, so he had to increase them. Blissed filled his mind as he stared his muscles struggling with the new weight, veins widened to carry more oxygen to the exhausted muscles, sweat drops ran from his forehead and wetted his clothes. He grunted every time he exhaled some air. He was stronger, but he was not satisfied, however this time he knew how to achieve it. Later that night, when most people in the campus were asleep or focused in studying, Kyle slipped away from his dorm. Night was fresh, perhaps a bit cold. The moon observed the wrestler walking down the path to the abandon buildings where the lab was found. His heart bitted inside his chest for the excitement, eager eyes looked the gradually shorter distance than separated him from his goal. Doors were unlocked, so Kyle did not have problems entering the building or the lab. Once inside, he turned on the lights. The place was as they left it in the afternoon, the machine in one corner, the glasses on the table, some drawers at the opposite side of the machine. The wrestler went there first, wondering if the nerds had left some papers and manuals about the functioning of the machine. He just found some sketches and general ideas about the procedure and the working of the engine, nothing too clear. Yet it was enough to discover it was about using some waves on the brain that should, in theory, make the synapsis of the brain to change as well as some other effects on the structure of the organ itself. He then went to the machine. After turning it on, Kyle made a quick check of how it worked, the interface, the parameters, what did every button do. He discovered that in theory this device could do nearly anything to people, it did not matter if it was to improve his mental or physical condition, but to worsen it as well. He was tempted to use it again, but was cautious. Even though he understood the general functioning of the machine, he would not risk what he had achieve due to an accident. He will gather more information and then use it. Kyle went back to his room after having inspected the lab. The campus was as empty as when he slipped away from his dorm. The only sounds were his steps and some crickets and frogs that sang under the moonlight, hidden in the bushes, far from the light casted by the lamps. Once he reached his destination, he lied on the bed and fell asleep in an instant, dreaming about what the future could bring to him. Next morning, Kyle thought about a way to get access to the data the nerds had. They certainly kept them in their computers, so he had to figure out how to take them from the nerds or at least a method to steal the information without they noticing it. There was one class he shared with Luca, who he supposed had the entire information of the project, after all, he looked to be the one in charge. On his way to the classroom, Kyle thought about possible strategies to get the data. He reckoned the usual routine of Luca, he always carried the laptop to classes, he usually went to the toilets during breaks and left it on his seat, that’s what his chance. He just had to figure out a way to entertain the nerd as long as possible so he could look for and copy the information he needed. A word appeared in his mind, Kyle smiled at the taste of it. Once in the classroom, before lecture started, Kyle went to greet another “friend” that also take that class, not before leaving his things next to Luca’s seat. “Hello, Vincent!” Kyle patted his friend’s shoulders with enthusiasm “How things are going?” “Well, day’s just started, there’s not much to tell” Vincent answered after shaking hands with Kyle. “You’re so funny like always” Kyle laughed “Bro, I need a favor from you” he approached to Vincent’s ear in order to whisper the petition “I need you to entertain Luca once he goes to the bathroom during break. In need something from his computer.” Vincent’s face paled at these words. Even though he belonged to the wrestler team as well, he has not fond with the bully theme and tried to stay away as much as possible. The idea of being part of a plot to bully Luca was despicable. “I don’t know, bro, you know I’m not into that” Vincent replied, his hand scratching his neck. “Come on, bro, I won’t do nothing to him, it’s just copying some stuff.” Kyle complained. “Why don’t you ask him then?” Vincent asked “If it’s not the big deal, ask him.” “You know how things work, I have a reputation, we are not too close…” “Yeah, yeah.” Vincent interrupted “You are too proud to ask a nerd something because of your giant ego, not to say you’ve been a dick with this guy.” “Vincent” Kyle smiled “We can do this in the good or the bad way.” “What, are you gonna punch me in the face like you do with everyone that don’t do as you say?” Vincent’s tone was menacing. “Oh, no, I have found some new methods that seem to be more effective and less physical” the smile widened and the tone dropped “For example, I could ask someone to deliver certain video of yourself, beside some further information to your parents.” “What video and what information” Vincent began to sweat. “That amateur porn video you did with Nick last semester” Kyle dropped the words at Vincent’s ears and delighted at his reaction “I’ve heard it was quite popular within the gay sphere in the campus. I wonder if your family, so rich and conservative, would like to know one of the heirs of their company is also a rising gay porn star” Vincent gulped. Silence wrapped both boys in the classroom. Kyle looked carefully at the reaction of Vincent, he was starting to enjoy this. Punches were good, but blackmailing, threatening victims with information, playing with their minds to make them to what he wants, started to be even more enjoyable. “So, are you gonna help me or not?” Kyle talked again, Vincent just nodded in response. “I’m glad you help me, bro” Kyle patted Vincent’s shoulder once more and went back to his seat. Luca went out to the toilet as usual once the break came. Kyle looked at Vincent and gave him a sign to follow the nerd, he executed at once. Kyle took Luca’s computer, luckily it was turned on, without password. He opened the local disk to start his searching. He spent some seconds to consider well the possible location of the information. Judging by the amount of friends as well as the people that could had access to the computer, Kyle imagined that the information should not be very hidden. So he looked for files whose names were related to the machine. “Project” was the file’s name. Some science and programming projects were contained as well as what Kyle was looking for. He connected his USB to the laptop in order to copy the information, it took him enough time for moving back to his seat before the nerd returned from the toilet. Later that night, Kyle turned on his laptop in order to check the information he had stolen from Luca. He also lit a cigarette, the same Marlboro brand he had smoke since high school. After some inhalations, nicotine was already working on his brain. Kyle used to smoke whenever he wanted to study, it helped him focusing, yet this time he did it just for the habit. By the first time in so long, reading was not a big issue. He did not suffer from dyslexia, but reading texts longer than a couple of sentences was a burden for him. However, while reading the research, he was more focused than ever in his live. He not only could read entire documents, but also understand and absorb all that knowledge. The machine worked with waves that, according with their length and frequency, would affect the usual behavior and working of the brain, enhancing or diminishing its capabilities. He wondered why it did not work on him. In order to satisfy his curiosity, he did a quick research about humans and mice brains, there he found the reason: wave length in both species were different, so a same wave length applied by the machine could cause different reaction in both subjects. As for the muscle growth, he was not certain either, maybe the electric charge he felt made several micro fractures in his muscles enhancing their growth. Kyle also studied the different parameters the nerds had set to the machine in order to, in the future, play with them as well. The idea of a shortcut to become bigger obsessed him, especially when all the other methods he had tried were useless and he craved for more. And now, he also wanted to be smarter. He did not sleep well that night. His dreams were full of fantasies of him being stronger, smarter. An Olympic god with a Megamind head, lifting hundreds of kilograms with one arm, solving the hardest of equations. Enjoying the worship of people around him, calling him a god. He dreamt he became as tall as a building or even a mountain, people gathered to watch him, to satisfy his needs. If anyone dared to challenge him or to go against his will, he just smashed them to pulp with a hand, or crunched their bones by constricting them within his fist. The desires of using the machine persisted next day, yet he held up until night to do it. He did not want to be found, nor to have accidents or unnecessary disturbances during the process. This ended up with a terrible performance in his training, although he did not mind too much, as well as smoking two package of cigarettes. He slipped away during the night, when everyone was far asleep. His heart pounded inside his chest as he got closer to the lab, anxiety grew stronger with each breath. The world around him lost any meaning, he only thought about the machine, about his improvements in mind and body. The lab was undisturbed, just like he left it before. Kyle soon went to the computer where parameters could be changed. He turned it on, put them in the opposite values, put on the glasses and the audiphones, took the remote control it had and sat on the chair, then pushed the button. An electric charge hit his body in an instant. Kyle began to shake intensively, pressed his teeth against each other due to the influx of energy into his brain and body, he even grunted. It pained, his head felt about to explode, blood looked as it was boiling inside the veins, sweat began to run over the skin, wetting his clothes. This time Kyle did not complain, nor scream, for now he knew what was going on. It was like training, it is painful, but it was worth for something. The pressure over the bones of the skull was unbearable. Kyle’s brain was changing by the seconds. New synapsis was forming between the existent neurons, while new ones appeared and connected with the others. Bones had to change as well, although the process was slower. The mineral matrix had to weaken first so the brain could grow, sutures opened gradually to give more space. The skull’s diameter increased centimeter by centimeter, hair line got farther and farther from the eyebrows. Kyle’s head was looking more like a pear or the head of an alien. The body did not stay behind the transformation. Second by second clothes felt tighter, muscles pressing against the fabric. Kyle, in order to forget the terrible pain of his head, focused on the growth of his body. He felt how the already massive pectorals grew into mounds, the three pairs of abdominal muscles turned into six iron plates. Shoulders expanded laterally beyond the size of the chair; muscles down them exploded into mountains of pure strength, veins drawing the surface. Deltoids expanded to the sides, creating a shell for the back. Legs turned into pillars, neck thickened, trapezoid blasted. Kyle set a lewd expression on his face, he was enjoying it. He was delighted about how powerful he was becoming, the mighty in what his body was turning. He rejoiced in the way the muscles pressed the clothes until the held no longer and tore. Shreds of fabric fell to the floor, Kyle was almost naked, just his boxers held on some, but they were also in their limit. Sadly, the machine stopped. Kyle stayed some seconds on the chair, he was drunk with the pleasure of the growth, his tongued hanged out from the mouth. Chest went up and down with each breath. “Fuck” his bass voice boomed the room “That felt awesome.” Kyle stood up from his seat, took off his glasses and audiphones, eyes widened. He not only increased in weight, but also in high, the ceiling looked closer than he remembered. Then he dropped his eyes to his body, he liked what he saw. He was gigantic. Kyle looked carefully at each centimeter of his body, touched every surface, every depression of every muscle, every vein. He flexed one arm, then the other, biceps blasted with power. He hit his chest, it was hard as iron, then his abdomen, strong as six… no, eight diamonds. “This body is spectacular, but it’s not enough” Kyle exclaimed, flasks trembled due to his deep voice that resonated within the room “Why did the machine stopped?” Kyle meditated about this situation for a few seconds. He guessed the machine had reached the maximal capability. “I need to find another way, I want more, more pleasure, more growth” he muttered. Then a spark within his massive brain turned on. “What if I take the force from others?”. The idea was hilarious, but wasn’t this situation hilarious as well. Now he had a big brain, perhaps the biggest in the planet, he will find a way to do it. Yet, he needed help, do it by himself would take time, but with a team, the awaiting would shrink. “I need some minions and this machine will provide them to me” Kyle smiled before going to the main panel. He made some changes to the program, adjusted some variables, added some parameters. In an hour it was done. Kyle laughed when he decided who would be his first assistant, the leader of the team that built this machine, Luca. He was disoriented when eyes opened. It took him some seconds to discover he was at the lab, how, he had no clue. The last thing Luca remembered was him walking through one of the halls of the university, a hand covering his mouth and nose and passing out. It happened so fast that his brain had to time to process it. Luca tried to stand up, it was useless, he was tied to the chair. “Those strains can hold an elephant” Luca heard a bass voice rumbling the room. His blood froze inside the veins. “Who’s there?” Luca asked to the void. “I guessed this voice is unrecognizable now, but you know me well, nerd” the room trembled “It’s me, your old friend Kyle.” Luca gulped when he saw the giant before him. That monster was certainly Kyle, with a lot of pounds in muscles and a big head resembling aliens. He was wearing a large coat, yet he was so massive clothes were too tight to his body, feet were so big he was shoeless. “Impressed?” the monster named Kyle flexed one arm, fabric struggled to not tear “This is the result of your machine. Sorry, you had one mistake, which ended up turning me bigger and smarter.” “What? But we did several tests…” “On mice, idiot” Kyle interrupted “Human brain wave are not in the same frequency or length of mice, so you just enhanced my capabilities, which I thank you.” “What are you going to do with me?” Luca asked after a long pause. That situation was too much to handle it. “Well, I like this body, but I’m not satisfied. I want to become bigger, sadly, I reached the maximal capability of the machine” Kyle explained while he moved to the table where the glasses and audiphones were “In order to do that, I need to create or improve the machine, but I need help. You and your friends are going to assist me.” “No way!” Luca exclaimed “We won’t help you. Not after all you have done to us.” “You don’t have a choice” Kyle put on the glasses on Luca’s face and the audiphones on the ears. Then he went to the panel and pushed the button “Not after this.” Several color patterns appeared before Luca, a wave of electricity stroke his brain. Luca tried to take off those devices from his head, even though he knew its futility, but the instinct of self-preservation spoke for himself. His head ached, it was like its brain was melting. Some saliva dripped from his mouth to the floor as well as his t-shirt. Convulsions continued some more minutes, Luca tried to say something, but his tongue felt heavy and thick, so he just stammered. Kyle turned off the machine and took off the devices from Luca when this one stopped mumbling. Luca had now a dumb look on his face, saliva was still dripping from his mouth. “Hello, asshole. Are you ok?” Kyle inquired “Yes” Luca struggled to move the tongue, it still felt heavy. “What do you wanna do?” “I don’t know” Luca’s eyes were empty. “Would you do what I command you?” “Yes.” “Come here” Kyle commanded. He could not stop laughing for what he was watching: Luca was trying to stand up from the chair in order to fulfill the task, but the strains impeded him to do so. “You are such an idiot, let me take these off from you” Kyle went to the chair and untied Luca who, in return, stood up and stayed looking at him. “Let’s see” Kyle took off his coat “One more tests: worship me!” Luca did not hesitate. He approached to Kyles body and began to touch it, pet it, even licking it. Kyle smiled at this. He enjoyed how Luca massaged every muscle in his body without doubts or repulsion, yet with an empty look. “Ok, that’s enough” Kyle ordered, Luca stopped immediately “Go with your friends and bring them here so they become just like you. Try to act normally, as you always do.” Luca nodded and went out the room. Kyle stayed there working on new glasses and audiphones for the new recruits. Luca went to classes as usual. Almost no one realized about his new condition, except for the lack of words. It was not as he didn’t talk at all, but he was more laconic than usual. Noah and Damon did notice this new unfamiliar behavior. “You’ve been kind of quite recently” Noah stated while they were heading back to the dorms “Is something wrong with you lately?” “No. I hadn’t even noticed it” Luca replied. “Are you thinking about something, are you concerned about any issue?” Damon asked “Things had been great recently, especially after what we got rid of Kyle.” “Yeah, our machine worked as we wanted.” Noah added cheerfully. “Oh, yes, the machine… Kyle... It worked after all” the orders of his master resounded in his head “You know? We should go back there. Maybe we could do some changes” a smile appeared over Luca’s face. “What kind of changes?” Damon was curious “I think it’s just fine.” “We could do something for people obey us, for example” Luca answered. Noah and Damon stayed quite for a moment, thinking about it. “It could be fun” Damon agreed. “Yeah, we could use some people to do our homework, sometimes it’s just exhausting” Noah joked “Well, let’s go to the lab.” The three of them nodded and headed to the lab. Once they arrived, Noah, just as Damon, were astonished of what they found: sitting on a chair, a nearly two meters Kyle with an enormous head was waiting of them. Their jaws hanged open, speechless, eyes wide open. “What’s the meaning of this?” Noah exclaimed after recovering the faculty to speak again. The question hanged in the air unanswered. Luca went to the door to lock it. His friends turned their heads into his direction, amazed for his actions. “What are you doing?” Damon inquired. “Master Kyle needs assistants to improve the machine” Luca replied as if nothing out of the ordinary was occurring. “Master?” Damon and Noah exclaimed at the same time. “He is now my loyal servant” Kyle explained “I made some changes to the machine in order to modify some aspects of people personality and behavior. In this case, I just brain-washed him to turn him into a minion.” Noah and Damon terrified at these words, they tried to escape, but Luca and Kyle, who moved as fast as a ray despise his weight, trapped then in an instant. Both nerds struggled for freedom, but Kyle’s wrapping was too strong, even Luca’s. They were dragged to a pair of chairs to be tied later. Both pleaded for their lives, but Kyle did not care, all the contrary, he enjoyed the crying of them, while Luca payed no attention. After some problems with putting them on the glasses and audiphones Kyle managed to made before, the wrestler turned on the machine, sending the brain-washing waves into Noah and Damon’s heads. They both felt the same Luca did before. “Time to put your hands into work” Kyle ordered after the three nerds were completely turned into his loyal minions “Gather some information about the topic, then we will find a way to achieve our purpose” the brain-washed boys nodded at these words. Another six months passed until they finished the machine. Luca, Damon and Noah continued assisting to classes, Kyle, due to his appearance, stopped going to classes and participating or using the gym. Yet, he managed to make a deal with the university to take classes from “home” coming up with the excuse of a rare disease that impeded him to go to school. He also did some tests to change his scholarship for something more academic. The machine now consisted in two boxes: one bigger in order to hold Kyle and the other for the victim. Some wires connected both compartments. It worked by first destroying several tissues of the victim in order to convert them into energy that later traveled to Kyle, where it will be turned into mass, later due to the tissues’ destruction, the subject ended up being pulverized, dust was also dragged to Kyle to complete the transference of energy. Kyle stared at the machine before him, eager for power once again ignited inside him. This was the longest period he had had without working out since he began training. Even with his mighty body, anxiousness was beginning to making him crazy. His brain, on the other hand, fed with all the knowledge he could afford. He read hundreds of books and papers of any kind of topic: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy, Philosophy. He spent hours solving complicated puzzles or riddles or playing strategy games, all in order to kept his mind working. “We need volunteers” Kyle expressed “This time, even if we had made several tests on animal models, from mice to dogs, I want to be certain everything will go well. Bring me here two subjects in order to test the machine.” “What will happen with the one that absorbs the other?” Luca asked. “We could turn him into a minion or “food” for me” Kyle answered with some laughs. The three nerds nodded in agreement with his master so they departed from the lab later. They managed to bring two sportsmen, one belonged to the football team, the other from basketball. They deceived them with new supplements, which needed to be tested. Both athletes were concerned at first, but the good reputation of the trio helped put those thoughts apart. They followed them to the lab, where, once the five people entered it, Kyle caught the sportsmen and locked them in the chambers. Both barely put some resistance, because they froze in fear beholding the mighty man before them. Luca and the others checked each parameter following Kyle’s orders meticulously, they put deaf ears to the players yelling. Kyle sat on a chair to observe the course of the experiment. Both guys inside the chambers complained behind the transparent walls, but neither of the rest of people outside pay any attention. Panic as well as dread could be seen in the faces of both men; confusion filled their minds. Both men started to sweat when the machine was turned on. Waves of energy flowed from it to the body of one of them to the other. The two sportsmen grunted in pain, their bodies trembled and contortioned due to the influx of energy. Some minutes later there was a shy diminishing in one of the subject’s corporal mass, while the another had an increase. Kyle observed how the athletic constitution of one faded into thin, while the other scaled into that of someone who does weightlifting periodically, and not only that, but the pleasure the last one was experiencing. He could watch him closing the eyes, bending the head back against the chair, smiling lewdly. His mass increased steadily, pectorals pushed the fabric out so nipples became evident, deltoids expanded laterally to fill the tank top he was wearing, squats grew to fill the pants, arms enlarged as well. The basketball player instead, became skinner, muscles were no longer evident, his chest had flattened, ribs were starting to be evident from the skin, limbs deflated. The football player had earned the body of a bodybuilder; his face was relaxed into a lustful expression. Clothes had been torn, with boxers still struggling to hold the butt, quadriceps and even the penis, leaving a sculpted torso so everyone could see: six stones covered the abdomen, a pair of mounds, the chest, arms were thickened into 20 inches at least. On the other hand, the basketball player looked like someone who suffered of severe malnutrition: bones could be seen perfectly under the skin, eyes had sunk into the orbits as well as the belly under the thoracic cage, skin also looked drier and scaly. Some minutes later, his vital signals stopped, skin began to turned into dust, then the bones pulverized as well. Those particles were absorbed by the machine and then sent to the football player whose body mass increased some more. Kyle ordered to open the chamber of the football player. The new titan was still drunk with the influx of dopamine and oxytocin in his body due to the muscle growth, yet Kyle managed to speak with him. “I see you liked the result, don’t you?” “Yeah” the new brute exclaimed lewdly. “I might give you more if you help me” Kyle lied. The football player looked at Kyle with eager in the eyes “What do you think?” “I’m in, boss!” he exclaimed “What do I have to do?” “Bring other athletes to this lab” Kyle said while he went to the table to look for the glasses “But first I need you to put these on” the football player did not hesitate, some minutes later he was another lawful minion. This time, Kyle waited for the others in one of the machine’s chambers. He took good care of connecting and checking everything was in order for the moment his minions brought the new victims. He gave specific orders about what they must bring: exceptional athletes, if they practiced sports that demanded strength even better, as well as top students in science and engineering. The football player would take care of the first group, Kyle knew that just by showing his new acquired body would raise curiosity of the other sportsmen, on the other hand, Luca’s group would just play with the desire of knowledge of the scientific branch of school. Both groups arrived one hour later; they were as amazed as Noah, Damon and the football player when they first saw Kyle, however, they had no time to react, for they all were put to sleep with some tranquilizers the minions carried. Then, they separated the individuals in two groups: one for enhancing muscular mass, the other for intelligence, later, they proceeded to enter the victims to the chamber one by one. Kyle enjoyed the first wave of energy that flowed into his body from a karate fighter. Instantly, his levels of oxytocin and dopamine sharply rose. Muscles contracted under the skin, blood stream redirected mainly to the biggest muscular groups in order to provide as much oxygen and nutrients for the growing tissues. “Yes, grow!” Kyle grunted, enjoying the pleasure of the growth. His voice deepened into a bass, Adam’s apple enlarged as well as his neck to match the new registers. Trapezium muscles explodes into mountains, shoulders widened laterally beyond the limits of the chair, arms had to bend in a 90° angle due to the new muscular mass that appeared. Pectorals protruded even further until feet were no longer visible from above. Calves pressed the genitals as they grew as well to catch up the upper body. With the second men, a boxer, a new influx of testosterone poisoned his body, as well as growth hormone. Kyle not only increased his mass, but also his high. As he became taller, muscles stretched until he was no longer having an exaggerated and unnatural body, but one of a giant instead. Body hair began to sprout around his chest, belly, arms and legs, as well as some protuberances over his shoulders. “I need more!” Kyle thundered, menacing with demolishing the crystal chamber he was in, he was now around 2.80m high. Another athlete substituted the previous one. Kyle pleasure continued, protuberance turned into spikes, skin dried into scales. “This is not enough, I want more!” he roared. More and more people were added to the machine. Claws grew from Kyles fingers, a new appendix sprout from his rear, skull began to reshape as the brain began to grow as well and his rostrum started to deform into what it looked like a muzzle. The machine was not only affecting his macroscopical structure, but DNA itself. Genes were activating and deactivating constantly, sending millions of changes to the cells. Kyle was gradually less human and more reptilian, more specifically a dragon. The chamber where Kyle was contained could not hold any longer and broke down to pieces by the time Kyle reached 3.50m. He was no longer a human being, but an anthropomorphic dragon. Dark brown was most of his body, while his chest, belly and palms were red, as well as the hair he had grew over the head, chest and abdomen and the tip of his tail. Kyle looked at his body, he did not despise it, on the contrary, he felt that was his true self, yet, the desire of being bigger and smarter did not diminished, but increased. However, the machine was destroyed, yet there were still some subjects to drain their lives. The new born dragon thought about it until something turned on inside him. He was not sure how, but he thought there was something he could do about it. So he extended his hand over the little persons below him. An influx of energy went to his palm form the people. His instinct was right; he can now drain people’s energy to satisfy his need. “Become my food, insects!” he exclaimed. The minion did not hesitate, they were more than happy to serve their master, even if that meant death, the others, who were just starting to awake from sleeping, were not that agree, yet they could not do much but becoming dust. Kyle was 6m by then. Not only his body had enlarged, but his brain as well, which also gave him a new capability: mind control. As soon as Kyle got out of the building, breaking down the main door as easy as a kid destroying a Legos castle, he went to the gym, it was late in the morning by then and he knew there were some people in there by that time. Once he arrived to the front entry, he focused on the people inside, sending a mental wave to their minds. Some resisted at first, struggling with intrusive thoughts that Kyle put in their heads, but eventually they surrendered. Once they went outside with empty looks, Kyle proceeded to drain their energies. “Come, come to me!” the gigantic dragon repeated over and over inside his mind, turning those thoughts into hypnotic waves that traveled across the campus as he walked and grew larger and stronger. “Worship me, be one with me” People affected by the mind control moved like zombies towards the dragon that was now in the center of the campus. Some of them, the ones Kyle found worthy to integrate to his structure, whether it be due to their intelligence or their strength, disappear instantly, those less worthy, had the task to worship the dragon. Half of the campus had vanished from existence when Kyle reached 20m. Hundreds of people gathered around him begging to care him to worship him. He did not stop them, he enjoyed being worshiped as a god, no, he was a god. People should build temples to honor him, sculpt statues and write songs in his name. Soon it would be possible, for his enormous brain was strong enough to create mental waves that could travel some kilometers. He could feel the new “zombies” on their way to pay services to him. A new religion and a new global order was beginning to form. Kyle was now the most powerful creature on the planet, his last goal was achieved. “Come, worshipers, your new and only god is here waiting for you.” Nayar Leng