The man sat back in his chair and folded his hands across his knee, looking distant as he began again. “Oh, all the things you might expect. Wonderous vacations, exciting adventures, elicit romances.” He shot me a sly look at the last. “Of course, it cannot be anything too fantastical or the brain won’t accept it as reality. So no trips to Mars or having superpowers, I’m afraid. And, those things are beyond the scope of what you’re being offered in any case. We have three Tiers of service. Tier One is the least expensive and is where everyone has to start. It is what we call the Knowledge Tree.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Have you ever wanted to know how to build a car engine? Or fly a plane? Or play the piano? Tier One will give you a professional level of knowledge in one subject area. Something that would normally take years of dedication will be learned in less than one day.”

My eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

Aller smiled again. “Very much so. You’ll still have to train the muscle memory, of course, but that usually takes a few hours of practice at most. It will be like you are an expert returning to a well-known skill after being away from it for a year or two. And you will keep it forever.”

I was starting to be excited in spite of myself, but I thought back on something else he had said. “Why did you say everyone starts at Tier One?”

“Well, for two reasons. First, the human brain is very adaptive, but we find the greatest success by starting with something relatively small. As strange as it sounds, it is much easier to teach you how to be a tennis pro or an excellent computer programmer than it is to give you a week-long adventure as a deep-cover secret agent. The brain accepts the core information easily, but the experiences themselves are trickier. With Tier One, we’re merely giving you what we call “filler experiences”—you on a tennis court or sitting at a computer in a bare room. Just enough memory of learning the skill that your brain accepts it as reality and does not experience any mnemonic dissonance. After a brain has experienced the technique, it becomes more accepting of more elaborate realities and the other Tiers become an option.”

“Ok. I guess that makes sense. What’s the second reason?”

Aller chuckled again. “Why, the money-back guarantee, of course. If you are not completely satisfied with your Tier One experience, you will get a full refund of the money your friend paid for it.”

I gave a nervous laugh. “What’s to stop me from liking the treatment and still asking for a refund?”