Dr. Franklin Terzini paced about in his underground laboratory. Unable to devote the level of concentration that was required for his research he stalked about his work area. The heels of his black patent leather shoes generated a distinct rhythmic clacking sound upon the pristine, painted concrete floor with each step he took.
As his sense of prudence prevailed, he realized such parading was a waste of energy. He opted instead to perch on the edge of his wall-mounted cot in the alcove that served as his makeshift bedroom.
With one arm folded across his chest and the other stroking his chin, Terzini unconsciously rocked back and forth. He was unnerved by Gabriel’s blatant decision to defy him. He could not tolerate rebelliousness. Though Gabriel offered a sound argument to explain his insolence, the fact remained that his creation should not have been capable of defiance.
He trusted in his creation’s conviction, that the bonfire excursion was crucial to his process of blending into mainstream society, but Gabriel’s disregard for protocol left him unsettled.
Outwardly, no one would guess he was troubled. He always projected composure, coldness. Despite his visible calm, however, Terzini battled bouts of paranoia. Uneasiness festered in him like a wound, chafed until it became raw.
He continually revisited and questioned every aspect of Gabriel’s behavior in the days after the incident of insubordination. It became a pervasive presence in his life. It affected Terzini’s eating habits, disturbed his sleeping patterns. The occurrence galled him, became so persistent it interfered with his research and development.
While Dr. Franklin Terzini could contend with sleep and food consumption disruption, distress during his numerous hours of work was simply unacceptable.
Distraction in the laboratory inhibited his ability to build on the foundations of his previous works, to create. His drive and dedication and tireless trials, continuously seeking to surpass his last achievement, had led to the creation of his masterpiece: Gabriel.
Gabriel would be Terzini’s legacy, his gift to the world. Even his designation was selected to carefully articulate his purpose. Bearing the name of the archangel Gabriel who, according to Abrahamic religions, was a messenger of God, the geneticist considered his creation to be other-worldly, if not angelic, in appearance. His name, however, did not reflect Dr. Terzini’s religious convictions, for he possessed none. To Dr. Terzini, religion was reserved for the weak-minded. The name Gabriel maintained its implications only to serve as a suggestion of an emissary that would transform the world.
Gabriel and his subsequent offspring would transform the fabric of the human species. He would evoke a revolution. Because Gabriel was his conception, it would ultimately be Terzini who was responsible for the reformation of mankind.
The thought of having to destroy his stunning success drove Terzini to the brink of madness.
Gabriel was formed with free will but had been adapted to never challenge his maker. Though he was equipped with a brain that absorbed, processed and retained information at a rate unequalled in the history of humanity, conditioning Gabriel was relatively simple.
Dr. Terzini implemented fear conditioning, a process by which a person learns to fear new stimuli. Fear conditioning imparted Gabriel with a physical response similar to fear. This fear was reserved solely for his creator, Dr. Terzini.
Though designed to be devoid of human emotion, Gabriel received this subliminal distress. Terzini viewed it as a necessary means of controlling his subject. Therefore, fear was permitted and was to function on a somatic level as opposed to a psychological one.
If a design flaw were to occur and Gabriel considered defying his maker, a physical response similar to that of a paralyzing anxiety attack would overtake him. Such an overt display would alert Terzini and warrant immediate destruction. Under those circumstances, Gabriel would be considered a failure.
Dr. Franklin Terzini considered the prospect that Gabriel had flouted him, superseded his authority, and managed to circumvent the conditioning he had received. Such a notion was preposterous. It would represent a mistake.
Though Dr. Terzini believed himself to be incapable of such a mistake with Gabriel, he thought it necessary to consider the remote possibility. He reasoned that observation of Gabriel’s behavior when he was unaware of such scrutiny would yield empirical evidence as it did with every other subject he researched.
Compelled to act immediately, Terzini researched and visited numerous websites that offered an array of surveillance equipment before he decided on a large quantity of wireless devices that would provide him with audio and visual feed directly uplinked to his personal computer.
Thanks to overnight express delivery, Terzini would receive his investigative instruments the following morning.
He would utilize the full six and a half hours during which Gabriel was at school allocating numerous mini cameras in virtually every corner of the stunning Victorian house. He would mount minute motion-activated reconnaissance apparatus in lamps and overhead lighting fixtures, clocks, fake plants, framed art work, cabinets, closets and mirrors.
No room would be unmonitored, no corner unexposed to the watchful eye of Dr. Franklin Terzini.
To even the most observant of people, the paraphernalia Terzini purchased would be nearly invisible. Gabriel would detect no difference in the furnishings of the home. He would go about his day-to-day routines and he could observe and study his subject’s behavior, record any changes.
Inspired, Dr. Terzini also purchased a duplicate of his initial order for his laboratory. Though he did not consider his clandestine research site to be vulnerable by any standards, in the interest of meticulousness, it was imperative that it not be neglected.
Dr. Terzini would not be constrained by time when wiring his lab as he would be when connecting the system in Gabriel’s residence.
Each row of florescent overhead lighting fixtures would be equipped with devices that would survey the entire quarters and provide more than twenty-four hours’ worth of streaming video with audiovisual authentication.
Once all cameras were tested and proved to be fully operational, Dr. Terzini would be satisfied with himself once again and able to resume his daily activities without distraction. He would be able to recommence his genetic explorations and advancements.