eactions as a
demi-God."

Forrester swallowed hard. He felt as if he were on a moving
roller-coaster. No matter how badly he wanted to get off, it was
impossible to do so. He had to remain while the car hurtled on.

And where was he going?

The Gods, he told himself with more than ordinary meaning, knew.

"The power which is to be infused into you," Vulcan said, "if you don't
mind the loose terminology--"

"I don't mind in the least," Forrester assured him earnestly. "Not in
the least."

"The power infused into you will make some changes. These will not only
be physical changes. Mental changes must be expected."

"Oh," Forrester said. "Mental changes."

"Correct. Physically, you see, you will become what no mortal can ever
quite be: a perfectly functioning biological engine. Every sinew, nerve
and muscle, every organ and gland, every tissue in your body will be in
perfect harmonic balance with every other. Metabolically speaking, your
catabolism and anabolism will be in such perfect balance that aging will
not be possible."

Forrester thought that over. "I'll be immortal," he said.

"In that sense of the word," Vulcan said, "you will. You will be, as a
matter of fact, quite a good deal tougher, stronger and harder than any
animal now existing on the face of the Earth. I must except, of course,
a few of the really big ones, like the elephant and the killer whale."

"Oh," Forrester said. "Sure."

"But make no mistake. You can still be killed. A bullet through the
heart will not do the job; it will merely incapacitate you for a few
hours. But if you were to have your head blown off by a grenade, you
would be quite dead. Remember that."

"I don't see how I could forget it."

"You will heal with incredible rapidity, but there are limitations.
Anything that pushes the balance too far will be fatal. You can lose a
hand or even an arm without serious harm; the missing member will be
regrown. But if you were to fall into a large meat-grinder--"

"I get the idea," Forrester said, feeling pale green.

"Good," Vulcan said. "However, there is more."

"_More?_"

"There are certain other powers to be given you in addition. You will
learn of these later."

Forrester nodded blankly.

"Now," Vulcan said, "all these physical changes will have a definite
effect upon your psychological outlook, as I imagine you can plainly
see."

Forrester thought about it. "Well--"

"Let us suppose that you are a coward who ha