Gemotions

I sat across from her, the patent lawyer, our faces mirroring a shared state of confusion. We'd both filed for the same invention – a revolutionary device for harvesting energy from the air. The details, the schematics, the purpose, even the names we'd chosen for different components… all were identical.

I leaned back in my chair, my mind reeling. My breath caught in my throat. I suddenly felt cold, despite the room's stuffy heat. My carefully constructed plans, my dreams of innovation, all suddenly felt uncertain, vulnerable.

She kept shaking her head, as if trying to physically dislodge the impossible reality before us. "This… this can't be happening," she repeated, her voice barely a breath.