function abc(a, b, c) {
  a = a" abc"
  b = b" bce"
  c = c" cde"
  return (a b c)
}

function def(d, e, f) {
  d = d " 123"
  e = e " 456"
  f = f " 789"
  return abc(d, e, f)
}

BEGIN {
  if (!base) base = 2000000

  for (i=0; i<base; i++)
    x = def("this", "that", "the next thing")
}