My professor summoned me to his home, a grand estate on the marshland of the sound. He invited grad students for dinner occasionally, but not since his accident last year, a motorcycle mishap that left him with a severe and worsening limp.
“Charlie!” He greeted me at the door, only holding himself upright with the help of a silver-tipped cane. He led me, fast as his cane could carry him, through the house. We walked tile by tile down a cavernous hallway, step by tortuous step up a grand central staircase, until, twenty minutes later, we reached his study, the walls lined with awards and honorary diplomas, all citing his work in biochemical innovation or applied neuromechanics. Out of breath, Professor Harry opened the lid of a globe bar and pulled, from the ice, a plastic water bottle.
In the corner, near the professor’s desk, there stood a life-size marble statue which, strangely, wore a high-slit, backless gown.
“Venus?” I asked.
“My darling wife Clara, may she rest,” he said, hobbling toward it. “Her face, her exact proportions. Her nose, her shoulders, her breasts.” He cupped a hand against the statue’s ass, a far off look in his eyes. A basket full of women’s clothes sat on the floor nearby.
“I need your help,” the professor said at last. “With a new project.”
The work was for credit, though it also included room and board, he said. A good opportunity. He assured me it would mark a landmark advancement in biochemical engineering, a way to make a name for myself.
“This leg, I can’t get as much done as I used to,” he said. “But not for much longer if we’re successful.”
“Some sort of surgical procedure?” I asked, wary about the prospects of such a self-serving venture.
He shook his head.
“We’ll never have eternal life, nor should we,” he said. “But why not eternal youth for the living?”
The professor said we’d need one other grad student. He recommended Madison, but he left the decision up to me since I was to take the lead.
Then, too tired for the return trek to the front door, he let me see myself out even though I never officially accepted the job. Read more »