The sun was rising as Gwyn stared at the city from the window in her room. She could see her reflection on the glass pane, despite being barely eighteen she already had wrinkles on her face. She shrugged before making a cup of coffee, she could always try to find a way to look young again. As she drank the liquid in her cup, the young doctor heard a knock on her door. She already knew who it was, she was expecting an appointment today. If she could, Gwyn would have ignored them altogether. With a heavy heart, the young doctor went to open the door. The two men greeted her and entered without even asking. One of them was her father but she never saw the person next to him before, even if she already had an idea about who it was. The three of them sat together around a table, with Gwyn's father starting the conversation.
"Gwyn, how are you doing? It's been a few months now, is your new house to your taste?"
"I barely spend time here, I'm always at the lab or my office."
"It was like that for me too, but don't worry, you'll get used to it. But I have to say, even for our family, you're one of a kind."
"Father, there is no need for praises. Just get to the point."
The man stayed silent for a few seconds, intimidated by the direct tone in his daughter's voice.
"Very well, let me introduce Evert to you. We searched for a while and decided he would be the most suited for you."
Gwyn looked at the man next to her father. He looked around her age, not too tall nor too short, and seemed in a healthy state.
"Good, I trust your choice, Father."
"See, she likes you." The man tapped Evert's back with an enthusiasm that wasn't shared "So, how does it feel to be chosen by the Hansen family?"
"Well, it's a lot of pressure... I didn't even know it was how peoples were chosen."
"You don't know how it works?" Gwyn asked, a bit annoyed "Can you at least tell me what you know?"
"Y-Yes. You're a family of geniuses made by the government, they search for the best possible partner so the child has the best genes possible."
"That's basically it, yeah." Gwyn said nonchalantly "It's been generation that they tried to make the perfect human."
"And I think we already reached it!" Gwyn's father said with a warm smile "Gwyn is the smartest person in the world! I can't imagine how wonderful your child will be!"
"We will do our best to make a healthy descendant, Father. I have to go now, I'm busy."
"Already?" Evert said, a bit disappointed "I thought we could spend some time together..."
"Evert, is it? Our relationship is purely for the good of humanity, do not expect me to provide any more than necessary. You can go with other women if you so desire, just don't get STDs."
Gwyn left her house with her father and the man inside. Once he was sure she was gone, Evert decided to turn toward her father with some concern.
"So... We're supposed to have a child now?"
"She's cold, but she already agreed. And your child could possibly solve world hunger or be an important political figure! You should be proud."
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"Yes... It's just... Very different from what I imagined."
Gwyn reviewed a file that one of her workers sent her in her lab. It was for a possible cure to cancer that they were working on for a few years now. Even if she was only eighteen, she already had four years of experience as a chemist and created many drugs that helped humanity. She never stopped to think about whether it was what she wanted, and it didn't matter much, she didn't have any other choice than to do what she was supposed to. While she was reading the paper, one of her coworkers arrived running. The girl with short red hair ran toward Gwyn with a smile on her face, a smile that the young doctor gave back to her.
"Gwyn! Are you working today? I thought you were going to meet the father of your child."
"Silvia, you're here. I did meet him, he looks like a decent person. However, I think they could have found someone better. He seems to lack confidence."
"That's a shame, I still think you could ask to at least choose the person you wanna be with."
"It's unimportant. Why are you here? It's rare to see you awake so early."
The girl with red hair smiled and showed a paper to her friend. Gwyn frowned and put the files in her hand on the desk before taking Silvia's paper. It was an acceptance letter from the most prestigious psychological school in the country. Gwyn couldn't believe it and smiled brightly at her friend.
"You did it! I knew they'd accept you!"
"Hehe, thanks. It wasn't easy but I studied really hard for the entrance exam."
"You did great, I'm sure you'll become a great therapist. You deserve it after all the efforts you put in."
"You're still ahead of me, you're two years younger and you already have so much experience."
"I was gifted, I'm more impressed by all the efforts you put in. Between the two of us, you're the one that deserved it the most."
"Come on, you'll make me blush." Silvia said with a smile before looking around the lab "Wait, where's everyone? Are you working alone?"
"Yes, they decided to go on a break today. I haven't worked much lately, it's been hard to focus for me. The least I could do is catch up on the work I missed by daydreaming."
"That's so unfair..."
"That's the price to pay for being a genius... I envy your stupidity sometimes."
"Hey, was that a compliment!?"
Gwyn laughed along with her friends, both glad to be with each other.
"Hey Gwyn, once you finish your cure, let's do a road trip."
"I can't. It's too dangerous, the government would never allow me to do that."
"I never said we'd warn them. Just go together, letting the wind show us the way. After a month we'll be back, and I promise I'll convince them it was my fault."
"You're going to tell them you kidnapped me?" Gwyn asked with a smile.
"I might, would you really complain if I did?"
"Not really, it would be a nice change of pace."
"It's a promise then! We'll do it someday, you better not forget!"
"Even if I did, you'd remind me every day. You have your studies now, you shouldn't forget that."
"Yes... I won't... How long do you think it will take?"
"For the cure? Maybe a few years. The problem is that finding the right balance is difficult, we have no current way to only target the cancerous cells. For now, we're trying to create an antidote and a violent poison that would destroy every cell."
"I guess there's no cancer if there's no survivor."
"Of course there will be survivors, that's what the antidote is for. The antidote doesn't work on cancerous cells, only healthy ones. So if you take the antidote and then the cure, you'll be fully healed."
"You really are a genius if you manage to do that. I feel dumb for coming here to show you the letter."
Gwyn smiled softly and put her hand on her friend's shoulder to comfort her.
"You know, I feel like you deserve more respect from everyone than I do. You're making so much effort, even despite your disabilities, you manage to do things I couldn't."
"Come on, you could easily be a therapist."
"No, there's nothing more annoying than people telling you their problems. I don't know where you find the patience for that."
"Don't worry, you won't have to do that, you're already very busy with your problems."
"For sure... My father wants to enroll me in law school, he said I could easily do it on top of my research."
"He did? I can't believe it, you already use all your time, you need a break."
"It's fine, and I agree with him. If I don't learn the law, who's going to save you when you get in trouble?"
"I-I'm not going to end up in a court of law! Anyway, you should go back to your research now. The earlier you finish, the sooner we can do a road trip."
"It's not a few hours that will change much. Take care of yourself, I don't have a law degree yet."
Silvia pulled her tongue out at Gwyn before leaving the lab. the young doctor couldn't help but smile while taking her report from the desk.
"Don't worry, we'll do our road trip someday."