Gemotions

The professor’s blood ran cold. The research, the years spent in the lab, the late nights, the sacrifices, all reduced to a footnote. The credit, the recognition, had gone to a rival.

He clenched his teeth, his jaw tight. He re-read the publication, his eyes scanning for mistakes, for some angle to exploit.

He felt a deep sense of wrongness, as though the world was now slightly tilted, unstable. He began drafting a rebuttal, the words sharp and precise.

He knew what he had to do.