“What are you?” I asked the little capsule. It was compact and very black, and it looked like a carbon supplement with a tornado inside it.
“It’s a little power plant,” said my doctor, who was also compact and very black. “You can think of it as one, that is. This pill is filled with bacteria-sized machines that live in your gut and convert excess methane to energy. You’ll take some more pills later with machines that live elsewhere in your body, and those use energy from these guys. After a few weeks, you’ll have enough power in your large intestine to charge a billion nanomachines for a whole month.”
His eyes sparkled at me. “More importantly, you’ll never suffer from flatulence again. I hear the ladies all breathe easier these days.”
“They work that well?”
“Studies are showing that they do. This research began with efforts to reduce the detrimental effects of dairy farming on Earth’s atmosphere. You remember that, right?”
“I thought we quit farming dairy once milk got replaced with the new stuff.”
“Right, right, but this started around the same time, and it was only a few years ago that the FDA let it onto the market, since human testing is so prohibitive. But it’s been out and about and doing great since then, although I still can’t believe the they’re calling it ‘iBiotics’“. He chuckled. “Makes it sound a few decades out of date.”
I swallowed the ancient nomenclature along with the pill and a mouthful of water. I keep an old beaker-styled glass mug nearby whenever my doctor visits, but he’s never noticed it. Maybe it’s too old.
“Anyway, that’s it for today. I’ll see you again in a few weeks for the next step. Any other questions?”
“Not today, doc. Thanks. Stay safe on the way back.”
“My pleasure. Stay safe yourself.”
With a quiet whummmm, my doctor sped out the window towards the city center.