Rolling meadows

Chapter 1 - The Flyer

I was on my home from work the other day when I noticed it: a flyer outlined in bright colors with bold letters saying “subjects wanted for medical study” with scant other details besides a QR code to scan. I’ve never been anything remarkable, medically speaking. Besides an immune system that never seems to be able to keep the flu at bay, I’ve never really had any medical issues nor any interesting diagnoses. But that’s beside the point, as once I scanned the QR code it brought me to a landing page that simply said “Weight Gain Study Participants Needed: if interested please fill out the following form.” I immediately closed the browser window and continued on my way back home.
When I finally returned home (the metro was ten minutes late. Of course it happened at rush hour) my roommate, Elise, waved a piece of paper in my face exclaiming “look what they did! Look what they did Autumn! The landlords are raising our rent AGAIN!” and sure enough, it was the written notice informing us that we would each have to pay significantly more each month for the privilege of sharing a run down apartment with drafty windows and a beautiful vista that looked out onto the paper processing plant. I knew I needed to move out, find a better place, but life had been so hectic with work that I hadn’t been able to look or visit any new apartments. Instead though, I looked at any ways I might supplement my income to keep up with rent, as my menial office job wasn’t going to keep me living indoors for too much longer. I found some an online thread extolling the virtues of medical studies which piqued my interest with their promises of “$500 stipend for participation – just three check ins required!” or something like that. Unfortunately, they were mostly for people in categories I didn’t fit into – longtime smokers, people with chronic pain, people with conditions I’ve never heard of – until someone said that there was a weight gain study that was giving ludicrous benefits to all participants.
I clicked on the link which brought me back to the page I had seen earlier in the day, but I read past the first line this time. It continued “Study organized by Dr. Roseanne Carter of Central City University seeks to investigate the effects of extreme weight gain in young individuals to best understand the health impacts of this condition, which has notably risen in recent years.” I figured that this “extreme weight gain” was probably something like 40 or 50 pounds. It couldn’t be anything I couldn’t lose after the study. So I kept scrolling to see what the requirements are for the study:
Age 18-35? Check, I just graduated college as a 22-year old finance major.
Current BMI between 20 and 30? I had to use a calculator, but I worked out that my BMI was a trim 22.3, as I stood at 5’3” and weighed 126 pounds. To be fair that was more than I usually weighed, but it was well within the confines of the study, so I kept reading.
Able to have monthly check-ups with medical staff? I’m sure I could fit it in my schedule.
Willing to live within reasonable travel distance to Central City University for observation and check-ups? I didn’t love the city, but I figured it would be tolerable for the year or whatever the length of study was.
Benefits: Stipend of $5,000 per month, free medical care for the duration of the study (if desired), free housing for the duration of the study (if desired), access to three catered meals per day (at subject’s request). All benefits extended to lifetime guarantees at the completion of the study, if participants complete the terms of study.
So far, so good, so I filled out the form with some basic information and waited for someone to call me back. The call came a few days later when a man with a far-away sounding voice said that they would love to schedule a time for an entrance interview as the study was unique when compared to most other medical studies and that they wanted all participants to be very aware of the scope and requirements of the study.