Now, with The Rackets cancelled and her relationship with rakish iconic superstar Jake Michaelson reduced to simple friendship, it was all she could do to stay in the public light. She had gone to the Oscars wearing an outrageously sweet dress worthy of Shirley Temple, she had kidded herself on Saturday Night Live -- but the simple fact was that people assumed she was anorexic when she wasn't.
Fulchester could see for himself the whole problem, how shapelessly the otherwise lovely Lola filled out, or failed to fill out, a black dress that hung straight down.
"Welcome, Cleve; welcome, Ms. Pyle. Please, both of you be seated." He sat on his own large desk and pulled something out of his vest pocket, handing it to Cleve.
Lola looked on. "It just looks like a black marble."
"Go ahead and feel it, Ms. Pyle. In that state, it's as hard and heavy as iron -- but once it's subjected to heat for a while and pressure is applied to an incision in it, it can inflate to over a yard wide and still be very strong. This was the crucial missing component of our pilot project, since we're out to safeguard against any leakage."
"It's so cold!" Lola noted as she accepted it.
"Yes, we keep it deeply refrigerated. It begins to expand at room temperature."
"You're putting this black marble inside me?" she joked.
"Not it its current state, obviously; right now it's only good for ten cubic centimeters." Fulchester took it back and pocketed it, then pushed forth what looked like a cigar box. "That was the cover, now for the book. Show her, Cleve."
Cleve handed Lola a sparkling translucent golden mass of a kind of cohesive jelly. Lola was fascinated by it.
"It's like it's in perpetual motion!" she remarked. "What is it?"
"The technical name is PHRIG," said Cleve.
She giggled in spite of herself as it lurched about in her hands. "Are you sure it's not flubber?"
"No," Cleve assured, "it's PHRIG. Polymeric Helium-Retaining Incremental Gel. Polymeric: that should be obvious, it's a very sophisticated synthetic. Helium-Retaining: it's able to hold a kind of 'fizz' of helium, much as a carbonated beverage contains carbon dioxide."
"A fizzy soda can fall ... flat." Lola smiled at her pun.
"A soda will, but this won't. Incremental: we can put in as little or as much as often as we like. And Gel: it's definitely gelatinous."
Lola could not help but be amused by it. "It's sort of like a cross between ... ginger ale and a Slinky."
Cleve took it back from her and put it away. "We designed it to try to match the reality with the fantasy. This gives you perfect bulk and texture while remaining extremely light and even very bouncy and uplifted."
"It seems sort of ... unmanageable."
"I'll be putting this in very slowly, under absolute sterility at all times. First the 'marble' goes in, warms up, and is ready to inflate. Then we imbibe the gel. This is minimnally intrusive surgery, involving just a slight nick beneath each breast. It takes a long stay, but I'd say it's worth it."
"So would I. I don't just want extra cup sizes, I want the best you can get for 1000cc's each. I believe you guys are the best."
"Then it's settled," said Fulchester. "Thank you, Ms. Pyle, I believe you're helping us to pioneer something really special."
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Tue Jun 08 09:13:27 2004