Raging appetite

Feeling the hunger pangs, you headed back to the medical lab for your next meal. By now you'd gotten completely used to eating your meals there, and you began to wonder if you'd ever be able to eat somewhere else. As you entered the lab, you saw two Greys working alongside the doctor, and he signaled for you to come over to his station.

"Using your equation, we have made a breakthrough, or more precisely, a series of breakthroughs," he announced. "Thus far, we have identified three potential formulae that may be a close enough match for your physiology. There are potentially others as well."

"That's terrific news!" you exclaimed. "How soon will they be ready?"

"The first one is already completed and ready for testing," he said as he motioned toward a clear container holding a pinkish red liquid resting on his workstation. "It's approximately a 97% match, but due to that 3% variance, there could be some side effects."

"Like what?" you asked.

"Due to your unique hybrid physiology, our simulations aren't able to ascertain a full predictive evaluation. Given the urgency of finding a replacement, our recommendation is to let you test it directly with your permission."

You picked up the container and eyed the liquid suspiciously. It's color reminded you of red wine, but from it's thickness, it looked more like an oil or even blood. "Now?" you asked

"Yes, the monitors are active," he replied.

As you pressed the container to your lips, the fluid immediately began to flow into your mouth, and you almost gagged in response. Unlike the sweet tasting semen from the Odyssey's crew that you'd been drinking previously, this mixture tasted very bitter, almost spicy like a pepper sauce. You didn't mind spicy foods in moderation, but this was far more than you would normally want. As you tried to **** it down, your eyes began to water and sweat formed on your brow. Soon you had half of the container finished, and with sheer willpower you kept drinking the rest of it without **** it back up.

Until now, the only side effect had been the spicy bitter flavor, but the moment your power convertor began to process the liquid, you began to feel something else. At first it was increasing warmth in your torso, but that soon changed to a burning sensation that flooded through your entire body and extremities accompanied with a strong throbbing in your head. You couldn't concentrate and began to feel extremely agitated. Now more than anything, you wanted to get this over with. You tried squeezing the bottle to try to make it flow faster. Surprisingly, it crumpled like a can made of thin aluminum, but it had the desired effect of forcing the last bit of the pinkish red liquid into your mouth. All three of the Greys moved backward in response, and they actually appeared scared.

"What's wrong?" you shouted, and then you slammed the crushed bottle down onto the console which suddenly split and collapsed into several pieces. "What's going on?" you roared, and your voice echoed loudly throughout the lab. You looked down and saw the veins were bulging on the back of your hands and slightly glowing. "What's happening to me?"

The doctor motioned his fingers and instantly a bluish beam of light came down from the ceiling striking your forehead. It felt cool and soothing. "Try to relax," said the doctor. "The effects should end shortly."

You picked up a piece of the broken console, intent on hurling it across the room, but then you dropped it, unsure why you'd even picked it up. The throbbing and burning sensation subsided, and you no longer felt agitated.

The doctor looked at one of the remaining consoles and noted, "Despite the unexpected side effect, the nutritional benefit achieved the necessary tolerance range. This was a successful test."

This was considered successful? You could barely believe it. "Unless you really want another rampage, try a different recipe next time!"