“He isn’t normal. We need to see someone.” Karen whined to her husband. “What if something is wrong with him?”

The couple looked down at the four year old boy playing with toys on the floor and nodded in unison. Later that afternoon, they arrived at a doctor’s office who took them on short notice due to the urgency of the situation.

 

“Please, Dr. Downings… we don’t know what to do. There’s something not right with him. Run whatever tests you need.”

The young doctor scanned the physique of the child, and surmised the issue, though to be thorough, he took samples. Blood, urine and stool were collected. The family waited hours and hours for the results to return. Little Jacob was confused, but accommodating, as was his disposition. 

Karen and her husband took deep breaths, hearing the door open and the doctor step in.

“I’m so sorry.” he apologized in advance for his diagnosis. “It’s exactly what I suspected. Would you like to have a seat for this?” 

“No, doc, please just tell us.” Karen requested impatiently.

“He has…” the doctor turned and gave Jake a regretful look. “...a protein deficiency.”

 

Karen broke down. She sobbed on her husband’s shoulder loudly and he fought through tears to console her. “We can have another, honey… it’s okay.” She nodded up at him and they both left the room. Jacob never saw his parents again.

Doctor Downings gave it a few weeks before approaching Jacob, who was playing with some toys, still in one of the examination rooms. The doctor referred a specialist in the field who would do the work needed free of charge.

Jacob went on his way to seek out the specialist. Down a hallway there was a laboratory with two scientists focused very intensely on a project under a microscope. As he approached cautiously, they turned and grew excited. They had a test subject.

“Hello! Doctor Downings told us all about you. What a shame… But we have something to fix you right up!”

The female scientist walked up to Jacob and callously shoved a piece of food in his mouth. He chewed reluctantly but was quickly realizing how delicious the food was.

“What was that?” he asked innocently.

“That was the perfect piece of beef.” she turned to her partner. “Told you we did it.”

“I don’t know…” he pointed at Jacob, who was now writhing in pain on the floor. His body was bulging in spots and then deflating. “Look… now we have to deal with this.”

Jacob fell unconscious within moments of the effects of the food kicking in. It was close, but not yet perfected. It replicated within his body rapidly.

“Young man.” 

“Hello??”

“HEY!”

Jacob woke up to the lab assistant yelling at him. His arm felt strange. He looked down at it and saw that his forearm had a clear panel now. Behind it, a beige liquid sloshed around. It was filling however, and he could feel it expanding.

“Here.” the lab assistant grabbed Jacob’s hand and twisted it off. “Your arm does this now. Those scientists said they didn’t want another death on their hands… Drink this.”

He held the wrist above Jacob’s mouth, though nothing was happening. “Push.” Jacob focused his energy into his arm, and it began to spray into his mouth. “The beef in your body is being synthesized into this liquid. You’ll always have an excess of protein.”

Jacob sat up and ignored the trauma of abandonment. “Thanks bro.” he said to the lab assistant and then he walked out.

 

For ten years, he sat outside of a local gym and sold his protein until he had money to open his own gym. He beefed up with age, and would have been a record breaking lifter and bodybuilder had he cared to compete. His life was about inspiring others. His mission was to make protein abundant to all who needed it. Protein deficiency? Drink some Protein Jake.