Gemotions

He bounced his knee, a frantic little tremor betraying his inner turmoil. The fluorescent lights of the lab hummed, a monotonous drone that did nothing to soothe his restlessness. He ran a hand through his hair, the gesture more out of habit than need.

He’d envisioned a device to measure the exact nutritional content of a single meal. A culinary chemist’s dream. He’d spent months perfecting the algorithms, building the prototype. Then, he found the patent. Already filed. Devastation washed over him, a cold and hollow pit.

He slammed his fist on the table, a sound too loud for the empty room. He felt a profound sense of the pointless nature of his efforts. The world felt muffled, distant, and uninteresting. He stood up and slouched to the exit.