A lovely and sunny Monday morning is the first spot of our story. Alexander Kipling, a 25-year-old lawyer who lives in New York City, had just decided to practice his profession after quitting his high school rock band – he just couldn't stand his parents' complaints about it anymore, although he did want to be famous because of his music – and, on that day, he was going to wear his suit and tie for the first time. Not that he was excited about it, but he did think it was easier to do what his parents wanted him to, at least until he had money enough to leave their house and take care of his own business.

On the other hand, his best friend, a 22-year-old Science teacher named James Fletcher, is always trying to convince him to do the opposite and follow his dream of becoming a rock star. He does believe that you must do whatever makes you happy, no matter what other people think about it or how much money you will earn for that. If you're happy, that's OK. But Alex is not that optimistic.

Right before leaving for the office, he called James to ask for some advice. Actually, he had the impression that his days used to go really good if James wished him so. It was his first day as a lawyer, so he did need this motivation. After almost 15 rings, the phone was finally answered.

— Hello…? — A sleepy voice spoke on the other side of the line.

— James, don't tell me you were still sleeping…

— Of course I was. I don't have any class on Monday mornings. You were supposed to know that, my beloved best friend.

— Oh, that's true. What an easy life that I would love to have…

— And since when my life is easier than yours?

— Since today. What happens today, my beloved best friend?

A brief silence, followed by the noisiest and most hysterical laughter ever. Alex almost threw the phone on the floor and stepped on it, but he really didn't want to spend his first income buying a new one. James stopped laughing for a while to take a deep breath and speak again.

— Wait, dude, wait. Please, tell me that you are wearing… Suit and tie. Are you wearing suit and tie?!

— Yes, James, I am wearing suit and tie. Any problem about that…? — Alex sibilated, trying to control his anger as much as possible. Another load of laughter. Another deep breath. Speech.

— No, no problem at all… I just feel sorry because your tattoos won't see the daylight for a long time, probably. I'm sorry for laughing, but it's very, very funny to imagine you wearing suit and tie. It's totally out of your irreverent style.

— I should had thought about that before choosing the Law school…

— Definitely. But well, I'm sure you will be a great lawyer. You're great in everything you do.

— I wasn't great at Chemistry… — remembered Alex.

— Because that was my task in the gang. But hey, aren't you late? You were supposed to be in the office at 7 AM.

— Yes, I am late because I wasted my time here, listening to your insane laughter at my new life style. Anyway, I just called to say "good morning".

— Alex, you called to hear me saying "good morning", so here it goes: have a great day, believe in yourself, do your best and become the best lawyer in NYC. Then you can become the best rock star in the world.

— Thank you, dude. I hope so. Someday, maybe…

— At the right time, in the right place and with the right people. Now, go. Your first clients are waiting for you in the office.

— What would I be without your friendship, dude?

James smiled.

— A lawyer. Bye!

Alex went right to the office, feeling much better about himself. James had that great ability of cheering him up, and it had been like that since the day they met, at high school, some years before. James was a nerdy boy who loved playing chess and studying Chemistry and Physics. He was the best and his grades were filled with A's. And for that reason, obviously the thugs hated him. One of them, Clint, tried to beat him down in the school corridor right after the class, and he would have done so, if the basketball teen star Alex Kipling hadn't shown up at the right time and saved the young boy from those tough hands. From that day on, James and Alex became inseparable — and Alex's grades on Chemistry and Physics got better with a little help from his friend. On the lawyer day, he had this little help again.

His first day in the office went well, but once it was the first day, he didn't have a lot of clients. Actually, only three, and what they wanted from him was so easy to do that he didn't spend a lot of time on it. He was coming back home at 3 PM. He knew that James would be leaving school at that time, so he passed by there and picked him up so that they could have a coffee and talk about their days to each other, as they used to do at college. Well, he really wanted to talk about his day, but James didn't allow him to; as soon as he got into the car, he started talking like his life depended on it.

— Alex! You don't know what happened today! Do you remember that professor of mine named Phillip Howards? Of course you do, he was my favorite professor, he was a genius and all! So guess what? He invited me to be part of his new experiment! He is testing a new intravenous substance which is able to improve our brain skills, and he wants some young men to take shots of this substance! I really want to join his project and I wonder if you don't want to join it with me and…

— Wait, wait, wait, James! First of all, I don't remember who this professor is, and second, I don't want any substance in my veins! I'm happy with my brain skills, they don't need to be improved.

— Actually I think you need to have your memory improved, Alex.

— What do you mean!?

— I mean that this is going to be awesome! Think about it: you will be a more efficient lawyer because you will memorize absolutely everything about your clients! Please, join the project with me! I've already talked to Randall and Andrew, and they said they're in!

— Well, Randall is as crazy about these things as you, so I guess it was easy to convince him, but Andrew… You had a lot of hard work, didn't you?

— No, I just said that you were in and he agreed. He's looked up for you since high school.

Alex was perplexed.

— Sometimes I wish Andrew had his own opinion about certain things…

— Try to make him eat meat, then.

— That's what I'm talking about. Well, you will call him right now and tell him I'm not in.

— Will you hurt my feelings like this, Alex? I'm your best friend! — James faked some tears.

— Oh, you… Stop it! OK! I'm in! Damn it, you always convince me to do what I don't want to.

— If you didn't want to, you simply wouldn't agree at all, Alex. You're curious, aren't you?

Alex sighed.

— Yes, I am. When are we supposed to do that?

— Tomorrow. Dr. Howards gave me the address of his lab and we must be there at 7 PM.

— 7 PM? Hm, that's unusual. But it's better for all of us. So... Can we talk about other parts of our days now?

In the following day, Alex left the office at 5 PM; some new stuff to do. He had enough time to go home, take a quick shower and pick up his friends at their houses before going to Dr. Howards' lab, though. James and Andrew, a 20-year-old Biology graduate student who studied at the same school than James and Alex, seemed to be the only ones who were really excited about the experience they were about to go through. Randall, the 19-year-old Physics graduate student, also from the same school, was always in a bad mood.

As soon as they got into the lab, Howards took them to a room full of vials, syringes, needles, cotton, and some other weird stuff. The four of them lay down on stretchers and each one received his own shot: Alex's had a vivid yellow color, which Howard said to be good for the memory; James's was light blue, and it would be good for concentration (James used to be very distracted about almost everything); Randall's was intensely red, which would improve his ability to solve logic problems (he loved that); and for last, Andrew's had a dark green color and it wouldn't help any brain skill, but it would improve his metabolism and nutrient uptake from all the vegetables he ate as a vegetarian. They didn't feel anything special about the shots on that night, and each one went home to have their last night's sleep as common human beings. Something was about to explode, and only Dr. Howards knew what it was.