Chosen.

Chosen. Chapter eight

Chapter EIGHT

Two Head Scientists working for the mission

"They did well." The tall man comments while writing a few more notes in the Barloc's chart.

"They barely made the cut and you know it.  I highly doubt they will be so lucky in the trials." A woman in similar lab attire, but with a much less friendly appearance replies.

"Well we will just have to wait and see.  At this point, they are on even footing with the other  chosen families and are equally likely to get a slot."  The man states a little too interested.

"Ha, on even footing, you know that is far from the truth.  The eldest son nearly left them all behind and continued on his own.  They almost didn't solve the first riddle.  Plus, obviously there is something they kept from the older sister which just about caused her not to finish with them.  Be honest, they barely completed their assessment together as a family and this is only a taste of what is to come."  The woman responds seriously.

The man knows she's right, and he doesn't know why he's so invested in the Barloc family, but he is.  He finishes writing and puts the chart back with the other final chosen ones.  Changing the subject he asks her, "So, any families you thinking will finish at the top for the 'special sealed mission' yet?"

"A few, it's too early to know anything for sure yet.  I definitely don't think it will be any of the American ones; they are too stuck on their individualist mentalities.  They don't realize the new world will be collectivist in nature, families that take care of their own no matter what.  You can tell by the amount who already failed for trying to finish without their entire family."  She gives me a look, I know her way of conveying the Barloc's were almost in that category, "But, it depends on so much more, so we will just have to see which families show promise in those areas as well."

"You're absolutely right, of course.  But I wonder which families will continue to show resilience under impossible odds and which ones will fold under the pressure.  That is something that can never be accurately predicted no matter how many assessments we give.  We just have to provide the right environment and let survival of the fittest do the rest."  He adds with true concern, "I do hope we can keep any accidents from occurring.  I know we have made every safety precaution possible, but so many risks just couldn't be avoided for each trial to measure what we need it to."  The man has been through this with himself more than a few times.

"Look, I know you don't want anyone to be hurt, but that is not our biggest concern.  We have to figure out who the best fifty families are to save the human race, and more than that, the perfect genes that will likely expand our reach even further than Mars one day.  We don't want to make any mistakes, look what rapid expansion without thought does to one planet.  We can't repeat this pattern throughout the universe; we have to get this right the first time for more than just our sake."  She has given this speech to a few of the scientist's who may have been having doubts lately.

"I know and I'm not questioning what we have to do, but it doesn't mean I'm going to like it when there are eliminations not made by us."  He says as he stares at the image of our dying, future Earth.

"Well if you enjoyed hurting families you wouldn't be working on the mission in the first place, so I'm glad no one is comfortable with that possibility."  She is always so clinical about things.  "In addition though, I hope we can keep the public invested in the trials while giving them as little information as possible about what the families are actually going through."

"The editors have worked it out well.  It is going to be like a tournament, with constant updates on the various families' standings. They will show the public snippets here and there of action, or triumphant family moments, but nothing that might reveal what is actually at stake.  It's pretty amazing, wait until you see the announcement for New Year's Day, they really went all out."  He smiles to the woman and starts walking toward the door.

"That is good. We really do have the best team in history for the mission."  She grabs her stuff and starts following behind.  "We just have to hope the United World Government came through on their end and that the colony is completed with everything they need to survive."

They continue walking down the hall, discussing several other details about the mission and what was to come.

New Year's Eve—11 : 11 pm.