Gemotions

“And that concludes my presentation,” I heard my counterpart say. The words echoed in my ears, bouncing around the sterile white walls of the exhibition hall. My fingers had gone cold, and I clasped them tightly together, trying to warm them. Across the room, I saw the team from Apex Robotics, the company I’d been competing against, smiling and nodding.

I’d worked on this exhibit, the self-navigating drone show, for a year. They presented the same thing. The same drones, the same flight paths, the same holographic projections. It was like looking into a distorted mirror, a sickening sensation.

A wave of heat crashed over me. I blinked hard, trying to clear my vision. My throat felt thick, and I could barely swallow. They said something about a "joint venture," and I found myself wanting to run away.