The Thesis of Gabriel Knox

Gabriel Knox has always been at the top of his class. Ambition and drive are what got him a scholarship to The Archway Institute, a prestigious university where some of the world’s top scientists have studied. In his 6th and final doctoral year, his focus on neurogenetics consumed all of his time and energy. Gabriel’s unwavering goal? Define the future of neurogenetic research-not just publish, but lead the first breakthrough in genetic engineering. Soon, he’d compete for the prestigious Veridian Grant for Human Advancement: a postdoctoral fellowship at the Orion Research Institute. This grant will fully fund his research for 2 years, but more than anything, many recipients of this grant later go on to become Nobel Laureates - Gabriel’s ultimate ambition. He wants his legacy to endure long after he’s gone.

Gabriel is focused and disciplined- more than anyone he knows. He never misses class, always first in, last out. He spends every waking moment studying and when he can’t, he’s thinking about it. He eats, lives and breathes his research, practically living in the lab or library. The only people he bothers with are those working toward the same goal as him. Everyone else, even family, is secondary. He’s engaged in short term relationships in the past mainly for academic reasons, but for Gabriel, emotions are a distraction from what truly matters to him- success and prestige.

Tonight is the Veridian Grant Gala. A black-tie event for the top doctoral candidates. Gabriel arrived early ready to network, to shine- and as he approached one of his professors, he saw the only other person who gives him a run for his money: Anika Bravo.

Just as brilliant and Gabriel’s equal in every way, Anika is the only other student who has just as many letters of recommendations, has led just as many projects and is able to match Gabriel’s ambition.

The first time Anika knew of Gabriel was at a lecture and it was then that she knew he was arrogant, overly confident and incredibly intelligent. She thought there was something he was lacking besides humility and that was the ability to care. He didn’t care whose feelings got hurt or what people thought of him. Not that she couldn’t be as ruthless, but for Anika what made this work and her life truly satisfying was humanity.

Her ability to feel empathy and compassion fueled her desire to help people. She was motivated by the desire to make a change in a world one day she would no longer be in. For her, the possibility of changing lives for the better drove her to dedicate her life to finding a cure for Alzheimer's.

“Gabriel. Meet Anika Bravo” Professor Dowry said

Gabriel extends his hand to shake hers. “Gabriel Knox”

She put her hand in his ”Yes, I know who you are.”

Gabriel tried to recall when they met but he came up empty.

“We haven’t officially met, but I do know who you are, I mean, who here doesn’t?”

He laughs a little “Ah. Well, yes of course I know of you as well. No one else has come as close to my impeccable record as you have Anika.”

“That’s true. Except I don’t come close, It’s the same actually.” She said with a sly smirk.

When she smiled at him, Gabriel felt something he had never felt. People have of course challenged him in the past, told him he was wrong, told him he didn’t have what it takes. None of them however have been able to sway him. Hearing it from her was different because, unlike all those people, Anika was like looking at his own reflection. He couldn’t understand what it was he was feeling in that moment but he found himself unable to take his eyes off her the rest of the night.

At the podium, his presentation was flawless- until he made eye contact with her. His usual poise faltered and while he spoke about his thesis. Her steady gaze shook him. Then, Anika spoke and she too was flawless.

“Before we rewrite humanity, let‘s learn how to heal it”.

Her thesis is a direct challenge to Gabriel’s. His research and end goal is to identify the genetic blueprint for brilliance and rewrite it. They may be equals when it comes to academics, but there is one thing clear. These two could not be any more different.

After dinner, Gabriel asked Anika to dance. As they moved to the classical music playing, their talk was sharp, technical and borderline flirtatious. He asked her about her work and she answered with passion. Their exchanges were electric and for the first time, he thought of something other than his research. She thought perhaps there was more to him than she initially thought.

At 11:59 pm professor Dowry took the stage.

“Normally we name one front runner for the Veridian Grant. But this year, we have two: Anika Bravo and Gabriel Knox”

Applause fills the ballroom as everyone claps. Their eyes locked- admiration and dread in their eyes and the flicker of tension breaks the warmth they shared.

“You must collaborate to fill gaps in your dissertations. The stronger result will win”

A smirk appears on each of their faces. “It war now” they said.

In the following months, they shared lecture halls, labs and endless amounts of coffee to keep them going during late nights. The tension from the competition and mutual attraction strained them. One late night Anika confessed she lost her father to Alzheimer’s when she was 13. Gabriel felt something odd when he heard her talk about it, but in the end told her that no one finds cures with emotions.

“How can you fix people you don’t understand?” She challenged.

He doubted himself every time they had conversations like this. He told himself to stay focused but he couldn’t stay away from her warmth. In her, he saw everything he lacked. Anika was equally conflicted- annoyed by his coldness but drawn to his ambition. He was a flame she both admired and fear. That night, they kissed. Electric-and wrong. They knew only one of them would win and whoever didn’t wouldn’t be able to look past it.

Gabriel is behind on his research, a painful realization he came to one night when they were discussing their data. The more time he spent with Anika, he realized her seemingly flawed approach ultimately has years on his. He needed a final dataset to propel his research and she had it.

When he woke up in her apartment the following morning, he found a stack of papers in her study. He wasn’t snooping, he told himself. She had been talking for days about a dataset she was trying to incorporate into her thesis. Gabriel pretended he knew what she was talking about, but what Anika didn’t know was that he was listening with different ears.

He saw a file cabinet underneath her desk with one of the drawers slightly open. As he went through the files he saw most of what he already had, except for one thing. A breakthrough in RNA correction data- a crucial piece of data that would make his thesis full proof. Gabriel hesitated, thinking back to last night and how it felt. He thinks back to everything Anika had shared about herself with him and how she didn’t judge him when he told her about his biggest fear- failure, being judged and more than anything not living up to his potential. He didn’t hesitate for too long though, because he walked over to the printer and made a copy.

Two weeks later, Gabriel submitted his dissertation- integrating her RNA work under his theoretical model. Anika was stunned considering she had just seen his draft and saw it still had gaps. She felt bad for him. All of that arrogance and false confidence he portrayed yet he was missing the most important pieces of data. Data she had.

She knew she would win. She started picturing him coming with her to Amsterdam and working alongside her. He could continue his research with her- after all she had missing pieces he needed. He didn’t have to give up his life’s work, they could be a team. So when he showed up at dinner that night with the news, she was shocked but also didn’t know how to pretend she knew he would lose. Without that data, his research is purely hypothetical.

Anika submitted hers the following week. Their defenses passed without revisions. Gabriel and Anika celebrated and by the end of the night they couldn’t stop calling each other “doctor”. Back at her place, as they laid in bed, Anika turned to Gabriel.

“Promise me no matter what happens tomorrow, you’ll go to Amsterdam with me”

Gabriel was silent for a moment then chuckled.

”What makes you so sure you’re going to win?”

She laughed “Because I will”

“Spoken like a true scientist” He grabbed her and took her in his arms. “I promise that…I will be there.”

The Veridian Grant ceremony arrived two weeks later. Pioneers in science and medicine were there and Gabriel pictured himself in 20 years from now being one of them. He looked for Anika but her seat was empty and was nowhere to be found. He attempted to reach her but his messages wouldn’t deliver and his calls went unanswered. Anxiety in him roiled.

Champagne glasses clinked and the ceremony began. He checked his phone over and over but nothing came through. Gabriel was not surprised when they announced him as the winner. He made his way on stage and applause filled the room. There was a huge smile on his face as he accepted the award and gave the acceptance speech he practiced.

“I don’t know why you bother practicing” Anika teased him when he let her hear it a few nights before.

Gabriel felt a sting go through him as he thought about her. He risked a glance at their table, her seat still empty. She knows. Without that data, Gabriel knew his thesis wasn’t strong enough. With it, it didn’t matter what Anika did, his was stronger. Anika was trying to fix something that’s been broken since the start of time. Even with the data, she wasn’t going to advance humankind. Gabriel on the other hand, was on a path to manipulate DNA In order to make humans more intelligent and advanced. Exactly the kind of work the grant wants to fund- hard science.

Gabriel knew Anika would never forgive him. But he kept the promise he made to himself- he will be in Amsterdam. And that mattered more to him than how she felt. A relationship after all was never in his plans and as long as he accomplished his goal, he didn’t need it. He pushed aside any thoughts of having someone to share his success with, at the end of the day, no one could ever truly understand him.

Many years later, Gabriel’s office held books with his name on them, medals and even a Nobel Peace Prize. He’d seen Anika several times at galas and award ceremonies- never alone, sometimes expecting. Gabriel would remember the way she looked at him that night. After the award ceremony, he went looking for her. She looked at him with nothing but pity- not as the man he thought he was but the one she knew he really was. The man who chose the world over the person who could make it worth being in.

The truth is that Anika did understand him, and would’ve done whatever it took to make it work. Gabriel on the other hand, would betray and abandon someone who loved him if it meant winning. He saw the name “Dr. Anika Bravo” on many published papers and she won many awards herself.

Each time, she spoke highly of her husband and how he supported her career and gave her 3 beautiful children who gave even more meaning to her work. Gabriel felt a sting every time he heard it, and questioned if it could’ve been him she talked about that way. In reality, he was more successful than her and won many more awards than her, but every time he stood on a podium and thought he had won, it tasted bitter. And all he really felt was loss.