In a cutting edge research facility nestled in the heart of the futuristic city that had come to be regarded as Neo-Eden among modern day scientists. The city had come to be regarded as Neo-Eden because of the stunning scientific breakthroughs that occurred there every year.
The facility, known as the Nexus Lab was a marvel of modern architecture, with sleek lines, gleaming white surfaces and vast windows that offer breathtaking views of the city. The walls of the facility were lined with advanced nueroimaging equipments, and holographic displays that showed real time analysis and data of the future of human science.
Inside the Nexus Lab, a man stood, staring at a machine inside a glass that seemed to be stronger than even titanium. He was surrounded by multiple scientists who were working day and night to push human science beyond its limits of today.
A lady walked towards him, she had bright green eyes which shone valiantly through the protective glasses she was wearing. she was dressed in the white coat that had come to be regarded as a trademark of Nexus Lab researchers and other researchers all around the world. At the breast of the coat was the name Maya Sinclair.
"How's it going, sir?" Maya asked the man who didn't even take his eyes off the machine inside the glass box. He was observing it like his life depended on it.
The man shook his head. Still no good, Maya. If this thing comes in contact with human brain, it'll erode all the knowledge of evolution that the human brain has managed to garner over the course of hundreds of thousands of years, it'll be begin a quest to corrupt the brain entirely."
"Is it because of the large amount of the A-20 dose that was put in it?" Maya asked.
"I'm guessing so. The A-20 dose is quite healthy when it is in a small quantity. But once it reaches a certain amount, it will become another thing. Very corrosive and complexly corrupting."
"A little quantity was placed in our latest AI model, right?" Maya asked her boss.
The man nodded. "That's right. A little quantity was used to heighten the senses and simulate human emotions in the AI model, but it shouldn't be enough to make it corrupt a brain."
Maya nodded as she went silent. She thought to herself. "I hope so too…"
Elian had a little thought about his life so far. He had never been the academic type who was engrossed with studying, so he graduated with okay-ish results, no one really complained, they weren't expecting much.
After graduating, Elian put his mind fully into his football dream, and in no time, he managed to join Manchester City's U-19 team. But no one really acknowledged him, after all he had joined the team through connections.
Elian had never refuted their claims, neither was he bothered by it. What could he say? They weren't wrong after all, he had joined through connections. But he was not a bad player, so no one really minded him. So far as he was reserved and contributed his own quota to the team, no one paid him any mind.
But recently, he was totally off his game. He was no longer contributing anything to the team and he was now instead, taking the previous quotas he had contributed to the team, of course no one was going to tolerate that.
"Thanks a lot…Meta." Elian had this thought in his mind as he reached the stadium. He didn't want to admit it but he was starting to give up, just before this system appeared with another chance.
Elian had thought all the way to the stadium. He walked into the stadium, he was already kitted, he didn't need to kit again. When he entered, he saw everyone there already, training by themselves. No one had gone home even when the coach gave them breaks, the team was in a relapse now and they were all going to work together to bring about a change, nobody was interested in wasting of time.
Elian dropped his sports bag which now contained his normal clothes on the floor, he was about to join the others when he heard Mateo's voice behind him.
"Slade, are you back?"
Elian turned around, he bowed slightly to his coach as he replied the man. His attention was drawn to the young girl behind him. He had never seen her before, she certainly wasn't Mateo's daughter either.
Elian found his eye lingering on her face, slowly and unknowingly admiring her features. She wore a black face mask across her face, leaving only the upper part of her face visible. Even at that, Elian found this little part of her face extremely alluring. Her blue eyes sparkled brightly, they seemed to tell a unique story of their own. And somehow, Elian found himself wanting to know what this story was all about.
The young girl stared back at him, she found his stare amusing and at the same time, intriguing. She wanted to see where this would end. She sized Elian with her eyes, he seemed to be around her age or maybe slightly older…
" The Director wants to see you tomorrow, by 10:00AM." Mateo said, cutting into Elian's thoughts.
"Okay." Elian said curtly. He had gotten used to this meetings, the director had taken personal interest in him and met with him regularly, but mostly whenever it seemed Elian was going on a backtrack. Their talks had always helped revive Elian, bringing him back on track, but these days, it suddenly stopped working.
Mateo saw Elian's eyes lingering on the young girl behind him and he coughed a bit.
"Emm…Elian, meet Aria, Aria Sinclair. She's a reporter working with the daily news, she was sent here on a solo run to cover the evening sessions of Manchester City's U-19 team and hold brief interview sessions with the players. She might not be able to do all that today, so you should be expecting to see her around for a while."
Elian nodded. Then he extended his hand to Aria for a shake.
"Hi, I'm Elian Slade." Elian said, his hands extended, his face unsmiling. He wasn't smiling didn't mean he was frowning, no. He just had a normal look on his face. Elian didn't really smile in public or when he was with others, it was a complex he had developed at a young age.
Aria placed one hand on the face mask across her face, then she took Elian's hand with the other. She pulled the face mask down, revealing a breathtakingly beautiful face.
"Hello. I'm Aria of the daily news. Nice to meet you, Elian." Aria said in an informal tone, flashing a smile that could brighten up a cave.
Elian drank in her features. Her long hair was tied into a bun and hid behind a cap that was reminiscent of a food researcher's cap. Her face was long and oval shaped, her lips were small and parted, displaying the perfect set of teeth that Elian couldn't help but gaze at.
Elian hesitated a bit, then, still lingering onto the handshake, he flashed a smile.