Final answer

"De-aging?" You ask. "Does that mean that one can make me immortal?"

"You could use it to avoid aging, but I would caution you to be very careful about using the word immortal to describe yourself unless you truly mean it." Drake says with a chuckle. "True immortality requires much more than just not aging, and there are those out there who would take it as a challenge if you made that claim."

"Well, that's ominous..." You say absent-mindedly. "Still though, that sounds like the obvious best choice. How much studying do I need before I can actually shapeshift? Are we talking a weekend cram session or like five years of med school?"

"Probably a month or two." Drake says. "It depends on how compatable you are with hyper-cognition and how long it takes you to master ESP."

You think about how you dropped out of college ten years ago, only to end up needing that same knowledge now. Was that irony? It seems ironic, but you aren't a hundred percent sure what irony is, and every time you think something is ironic, there are always people who say it isn't.

"I take it you'd prefer going the transformation route?" Drake prompts.

"Yeah, let's do it." You say, firmly committing to the decision.

"Great." Drake says. "Well, I can probably whip something up for ESP and hyper-cognition tonight or tomorrow. Transformation is going to take some difficult-to-procure materials, but since we need to wait for you to get some studying done anyway, I can source those over the next few weeks. Multipresence is going to take even longer, as I'll need to do some research before I can even figure out exactly what I'll need or how it will work, but I am confident I will work something out eventually. Does that timeline work for you?"

"Sounds good to me." You say excitedly, ready to get started.

"Well then..." Drake says. "I can see from your microwave clock that it's almost midnight now. Unless you have anything else, I can take control and see you in the morning?"

"Oh right." In your excitement you had almost forgotten about your whole half of this bargain. "I guess, yeah, go for it. I'll... see you in the morning."

You feel a sudden wave of vertigo and black out.