Gemotions

The fluorescent lights of the lab hummed, a monotonous drone that seemed to vibrate in Elias’s skull. He blinked slowly, the words on the screen blurring. The code swam before his eyes. He rubbed them, a gritty sensation under his palms. *Just one more module,* he thought, stifling a vast yawn that threatened to dislodge his jaw. Across the room, Dr. Chen's assistant, a young woman with a perpetually cheerful expression, was packing up her things. Elias glanced at the clock; it was nearly midnight.

He stumbled to the coffee machine, the bitter aroma doing little to rouse him. He poured a mug, the dark liquid sloshing over the rim. Back at his desk, the code seemed to mock him, the lines of text an indecipherable jumble. A knock on his door startled him. It was Dr. Chen, looking strangely flustered.

“Elias,” she began, her voice tight, “Could you come look at this? It seems… we have a situation.” She led him to a screen displaying a project interface identical to his own. He stared, disbelief warring with a creeping sense of inevitability.