Gemotions

The fluorescent lights of the lab hummed, a sound that grated on Elias’s nerves. He hadn’t slept well, the knowledge that he'd poured months of work into this project – this painstakingly detailed artificial intelligence – only to have *her*, Dr. Anya Sharma, waltz in with something identical, a mirror image of his creation, swirling in his gut.

Anya was across the room, smiling brightly, gesturing towards a complex algorithm displayed on a monitor. He clenched his jaw, the muscles in his neck protesting. Her voice, usually a pleasant melody, sounded like fingernails scraping on a chalkboard. "Isn't it amazing, Elias? The possibilities are endless!"

He wanted to scream. He wanted to rip the wires from her machine and watch the circuits spark and die. Instead, he forced a tight smile. "Fascinating," he managed, his voice thin and brittle. He wanted to be anywhere but there.