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Description
The boy stood in the centre of the room, on display for all the adults to see. The room’s border was lined with chairs in which various adults sat, watching him. Some were dressed elegantly, sporting suits and ties, or sleek dresses and matching pearls. Others appeared in normal, casual attire, though their attitudes and words were just as intelligent as the others’. They murmured to themselves, pointing at the child in their view, then leaning towards each other for private conversation.

The boy stood quietly, not wishing to make any unnecessary noise. He gazed back into the eyes of those who chose to gaze into his own, curious about their intent. His eyes darted around the room, absorbing all the attention. He felt special in that moment, though he couldn’t quite hear what the people were whispering about. Was is even about him? He didn’t know.

A new woman entered the room, her lab coat flowing behind her. She pushed her red rimmed glasses to her nose as she made her way towards the boy. The adults quieted as she made her entrance, folding their hands into their laps. The new woman reached the boy and laid a soft hand on his shoulder, making the child feel slightly uncomfortable. It wasn’t everyday that someone touched him, after all.

The woman spoke up, clicking her right heel in the floor for attention.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” she began. “I would like to ask you to not spare time in making a decision. X41 needs a trial owner, and he needs one soon. As one of his creators, I insist that this cannot be emphasised enough.”

A man spoke up from the crowd, raising his hand to draw attention to himself.

“I understand that whoever receives X41 will be paid generously, but what are the effects on him? What do we have to do with this experiment of you and your colleagues, Dr. Harper?”

Dr. Harper traced the boy’s head with her pale fingers, parting the black hair in the process.

“We cannot keep him in the lab, Mr. Bentley,” she explained. “X41 needs human interaction, or else we fear he may mentally degenerate. Become feral, as you might say.”

Another woman from the crowd raised her hand, slightly leaning forward, her green eyes completely fixated on the boy.

“How old is he?” she asked. “Is he even able to talk? He hasn’t said a word since we’ve gathered. Not everyone here has the time to teach language, you know. Some of us are busy.”

The boy frowned, but said nothing. Dr. Harper glanced at him, then redirected her eyes back to the woman.

“Ms. Cole, do I hear annoyance in your voice?” Dr. Harper asked. “You know, your presence isn’t required here. We only ask for someone willing to watch over him.”

Ms. Cole stared silently at the doctor, quickly humbled by the veiled scolding. Her face then blushed pink as she realised the others were watching her as well. The doctor let her words sink in, then continued.

“His physical body is only two months old, but his intelligence is that of a boy about ten to thirteen years of age. And to answer your other question, he is able to speak English fluently. It is in the Midwestern American accent, and he also has storage capacity for a backup language as well, just in case. Say hello, X41.”

The boy turned to fully face Ms. Cole, shuffling his feet nervously. He wasn’t used to speaking to strangers in his short life.

“Hello,” he greeted her. Ms. Cole simply stared, only making the boy feel more uncomfortable. The woman had eyes like an owl, and they were especially judgemental ones.

Another man, sitting next to Mr. Bentley, raised his hand.

“Does he have a human name yet?” he asked the doctor.

“No, but whoever takes him may give him one,” Dr. Harper relied, her mouth forming a small smile. “I understand you work in a women’s hospital, Mr. Webb. I assume you are used to watching mothers name their children, correct?”

Mr. Webb nodded, flattered that she mentioned his occupation. Some people just couldn’t understand a doctor like another one could.

Dr. Harper clicked her heel again, and let her gaze fall on the rest.

“Before anyone else asks questions or gives commentary, let me recap you all on his situation.” she announced, cupping the boy’s chin. X41 simply stared at the floor, disliking being talked about in third person.

“X41 is the first pure human we have seen for centuries, thanks to scientific advancements.” she started. “As we all know, our race has a mixture of many human and animalistic genes due to the worldwide accident five centuries ago, in the year 2018. Archaeologists have shown that since then, we’ve become more physically powerful and efficient, much stronger than the race we used to be.
Still, though we have these abilities, science applied to archeology has shown us that pure humans have one thing that we have since lost in those ancient years: Time.”

Some of the people in the crowd began to shift in their seats, curious as to what she meant.

“Time,” Dr. Harper continued, “is what we as modern humans are missing. Evidence shows that pure humans lead much longer lifespans, despite their weak structure. Hypothesises point to the fact that though our genetics give us more power and strength, be it physical or mental, our cells have a much harder time replicating those genes for the rest of our lives. Therefore, we live shorter lives.

Some of you may be wondering just how short or long I mean when talking about lifespans. Currently, it is an amazing feat to live to the age of thirty. This is the norm for us. But for the ancient, pure humans, they lived up to three times longer. Maybe even more. Solid records indicate that some even lived longer than a century.”

A few in the crowd gasped, shocked. It was hard to fathom a human living that could live past twenty seven, let alone one hundred. The doctor grinned, pleased with their reaction.

“X41 here is a manufactured pure human, currently the only one in existence,” she explained. “By manufactured, I mean built from genetic particles upwards. You may find this strange, but he has no animal abilities. None at all. Compared to our modern humans, he is rather weak. Except for his lifespan, of course.

Now the real question is, who is willing to watch him grow, as a part of our experiment? Be aware that pure humans lived longer, and as a result, mature much slower. What we age in months, he will take years. He might be frustrating at times, and will not function as a modern human.”

Dr. Harper’s words earned her silent stares, and a few shaky hands from the crowd. She sighed, and tried again.

“Whoever takes him will be paid one million dollars. Now, to rephrase the question, who wishes to become a new parent?”

All hands went up at once.

Description
The boy stood in the centre of the room, on display for all the adults to see. The room’s border was lined with chairs in which various adults sat, watching him. Some were dressed elegantly, sporting suits and ties, or sleek dresses and matching pearls. Others appeared in normal, casual attire, though their attitudes and words were just as intelligent as the others’. They murmured to themselves, pointing at the child in their view, then leaning towards each other for private conversation.

The boy stood quietly, not wishing to make any unnecessary noise. He gazed back into the eyes of those who chose to gaze into his own, curious about their intent. His eyes darted around the room, absorbing all the attention. He felt special in that moment, though he couldn’t quite hear what the people were whispering about. Was is even about him? He didn’t know.

A new woman entered the room, her lab coat flowing behind her. She pushed her red rimmed glasses to her nose as she made her way towards the boy. The adults quieted as she made her entrance, folding their hands into their laps. The new woman reached the boy and laid a soft hand on his shoulder, making the child feel slightly uncomfortable. It wasn’t everyday that someone touched him, after all.

The woman spoke up, clicking her right heel in the floor for attention.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” she began. “I would like to ask you to not spare time in making a decision. X41 needs a trial owner, and he needs one soon. As one of his creators, I insist that this cannot be emphasised enough.”

A man spoke up from the crowd, raising his hand to draw attention to himself.

“I understand that whoever receives X41 will be paid generously, but what are the effects on him? What do we have to do with this experiment of you and your colleagues, Dr. Harper?”

Dr. Harper traced the boy’s head with her pale fingers, parting the black hair in the process.

“We cannot keep him in the lab, Mr. Bentley,” she explained. “X41 needs human interaction, or else we fear he may mentally degenerate. Become feral, as you might say.”

Another woman from the crowd raised her hand, slightly leaning forward, her green eyes completely fixated on the boy.

“How old is he?” she asked. “Is he even able to talk? He hasn’t said a word since we’ve gathered. Not everyone here has the time to teach language, you know. Some of us are busy.”

The boy frowned, but said nothing. Dr. Harper glanced at him, then redirected her eyes back to the woman.

“Ms. Cole, do I hear annoyance in your voice?” Dr. Harper asked. “You know, your presence isn’t required here. We only ask for someone willing to watch over him.”

Ms. Cole stared silently at the doctor, quickly humbled by the veiled scolding. Her face then blushed pink as she realised the others were watching her as well. The doctor let her words sink in, then continued.

“His physical body is only two months old, but his intelligence is that of a boy about ten to thirteen years of age. And to answer your other question, he is able to speak English fluently. It is in the Midwestern American accent, and he also has storage capacity for a backup language as well, just in case. Say hello, X41.”

The boy turned to fully face Ms. Cole, shuffling his feet nervously. He wasn’t used to speaking to strangers in his short life.

“Hello,” he greeted her. Ms. Cole simply stared, only making the boy feel more uncomfortable. The woman had eyes like an owl, and they were especially judgemental ones.

Another man, sitting next to Mr. Bentley, raised his hand.

“Does he have a human name yet?” he asked the doctor.

“No, but whoever takes him may give him one,” Dr. Harper relied, her mouth forming a small smile. “I understand you work in a women’s hospital, Mr. Webb. I assume you are used to watching mothers name their children, correct?”

Mr. Webb nodded, flattered that she mentioned his occupation. Some people just couldn’t understand a doctor like another one could.

Dr. Harper clicked her heel again, and let her gaze fall on the rest.

“Before anyone else asks questions or gives commentary, let me recap you all on his situation.” she announced, cupping the boy’s chin. X41 simply stared at the floor, disliking being talked about in third person.

“X41 is the first pure human we have seen for centuries, thanks to scientific advancements.” she started. “As we all know, our race has a mixture of many human and animalistic genes due to the worldwide accident five centuries ago, in the year 2018. Archaeologists have shown that since then, we’ve become more physically powerful and efficient, much stronger than the race we used to be.
Still, though we have these abilities, science applied to archeology has shown us that pure humans have one thing that we have since lost in those ancient years: Time.”

Some of the people in the crowd began to shift in their seats, curious as to what she meant.

“Time,” Dr. Harper continued, “is what we as modern humans are missing. Evidence shows that pure humans lead much longer lifespans, despite their weak structure. Hypothesises point to the fact that though our genetics give us more power and strength, be it physical or mental, our cells have a much harder time replicating those genes for the rest of our lives. Therefore, we live shorter lives.

Some of you may be wondering just how short or long I mean when talking about lifespans. Currently, it is an amazing feat to live to the age of thirty. This is the norm for us. But for the ancient, pure humans, they lived up to three times longer. Maybe even more. Solid records indicate that some even lived longer than a century.”

A few in the crowd gasped, shocked. It was hard to fathom a human living that could live past twenty seven, let alone one hundred. The doctor grinned, pleased with their reaction.

“X41 here is a manufactured pure human, currently the only one in existence,” she explained. “By manufactured, I mean built from genetic particles upwards. You may find this strange, but he has no animal abilities. None at all. Compared to our modern humans, he is rather weak. Except for his lifespan, of course.

Now the real question is, who is willing to watch him grow, as a part of our experiment? Be aware that pure humans lived longer, and as a result, mature much slower. What we age in months, he will take years. He might be frustrating at times, and will not function as a modern human.”

Dr. Harper’s words earned her silent stares, and a few shaky hands from the crowd. She sighed, and tried again.

“Whoever takes him will be paid one million dollars. Now, to rephrase the question, who wishes to become a new parent?”

All hands went up at once.