Speed as the relative perception of time
In 'The New Accelerator', Gibberne's drug speeds up every bodily and mental process about a thousandfold. The user feels normal while the world seems frozen, with a falling glass hanging in the air and people fixed mid-gesture. At that speed ordinary movement creates enough friction to scorch clothing. This shows that experienced time depends on how fast the observer processes events, and that a gain in speed brings its own physical costs.