After his destructive departure from London, Dave finds himself in a private jet on his way to the United States firmly in the clutches of Frank, the nasty piece of work who heads the Omega Group, as well as the mysterious and secretive Omega Central, which funds all the research Dave‘s pee of destruction has produced. The collective has a secure and secretive HQ in the desert Southwest, where Dave is wheeled off the plane to begin the most grueling and sadistic phase of his guinea pig career.

Although Frank and several of his associates make no secret of their contempt for Dave, most of the scientists working with him are clearly uncomfortable about experimenting on him, as well as the future implications of their work. Dave has his suspicions, none good, but what he’s finally forced to endure is beyond imagination, and when he begins hearing a male voice speaking to him in a distinct Crawley accent, he’s not sure if he’s dead or lost his marbles, but he’s sure it’s one or the other.

Or neither. Dave has encountered a newly extant intelligence, and with the help of that force, as well as a sympathetic scientist, he manages to escape the man-made hell in which he’s trapped. The voice guides and guards him while revealing the truth behind his torture, which horrifies Dave. He vows never to again endure such abuse, but when an epically violent battle ensues between Frank and a rival, setting off a self-destruct sequence, Dave is the sole source of escape … but only if he submits once again.

The last book in the Rocket Fuel Pee trilogy is funny, but forces Dave — and the reader — to confront the consequences of what an individual with unquenchable lust for autocratic power will do when empowered to impose their bloodthirsty will upon humanity. What kind of person unhesitatingly uses another to wreak absolute havoc on the world, and what compels a man — a mere yob —who has already suffered too much to save others at his own very costly expense?

Oliver Franks has taken a fairly simple concept —what toll does a modern diet of sugar, salt, fat, and preservatives take on a body? — and expanded it far beyond its imaginable boundaries. It’s a frightening concept, and while Franks leavens his meditation with typical dollops of humor, he also raises an alarming specter: to what lengths will environmental and nutritional polluters go to insure not only profits and success, but control of the human race? He executes it brilliantly.