The Darwinians

 

 

“We have six functioning Nobels,” the raven-haired man says, proudly.

“The Nobel for Art merged faster than all of the others.” The woman releases a violent cough.

“Which means we now have to spread our resources even thinner,” the bearded man says.

“Interestingly, Kevin is the only one able to maintain a normal sleep cycle.”

The bearded man snorts. “That’s because Bartholomew and he have nothing worthy to work on.”

“He prefers to go by Bat,” the woman says.

“Does it really matter? This is an exercise in futility. It dilutes our scientific mission.”

“Let’s remember, we needed his grant,” the raven-haired man says.

“Which is the only reason I agreed to it. And if that gamer wants to spend the next sixty years trapped in the mind of a hoodlum, who am I to judge?”

“They’re both a bit more than that,” the woman says. “It may be time to establish measures of success for Art. I recommend we assign Deborah to him.”

“No,” the bearded man decides. “We need to keep her focused on our Nobel for Chemistry, and the other two Nobels. I won’t approve shifting our people’s time to debrief a vandal.” He takes a sip of water from a crystal goblet. “We’re on the verge of making monumental advances that will elevate the human condition. We’re reaching for the stars, and we can’t be distracted with these subjective pursuits. We owe it to the future. We owe it to Sophie.”

The woman leans forward in her chair. “But what if we could transfer the ability to create the kind of art that alters the way society thinks. The implications would be—”

“It is not a practical science from which humanity can benefit,” he declares.

The woman closes her eyes in exasperation. The raven-haired man sighs.

The woman puts on a tight smile. “You might remember, Reginald, that Alfred Nobel excluded Mathematics from the Nobel prizes because he didn’t believe it was practical. Math!”

“Point noted, but I’m still against it.”

The raven-haired man looks at the woman. “When do you want to schedule your procedure?”

“Not quite yet,” she answers. “I won’t put a member of my family at risk until I’m certain it’s safe.”