The process of genome alteration was simple.
Entro put his myriad of toys to work, cutting and splicing genes; he needed to alter the creatures size and intelligence.
He coded the ability to produce telomerase for its lifespan, extending the wolf's life expectancy to near-indefinite by regenerating the chromosome caps, preventing DNA decay.
Once it was up to his standards, Entro injected the embryo into the pod filled with fluid made to imitate the growth in a womb.
Now it was a waiting game.
Entro had just sat down when he got a knock at his door.
'Who could possibly be...'
Peeping through the eye hole of his door, Entro was greeted with the face of his fellow thief.
'What could this guy want?'
Entro swung the door open.
"What."
The young man froze, his eyes widened slightly and never leaving eye contact.
"It's really you."
It was Entro's turn to freeze in place.
"What do you mean boy," he leaned in, "explain yourself."
The young man exhaled, as if releasing all of his worries in that single breath, before straightening.
"Mr. Entropy Voldstadt," he said, eyes unwavering, "I wish to become your protege."
Silence ensued between the two of them.
"Find another fool to mentor you"
Entro promptly shut the door in his face, barely able to turn around before more knocking resounding, knocking that he ignored.
Well, he tried to ignore. The boy continued to knock for 3 hours at random intervals, it didn't help that the egg would take a week to fully mature. Entro had nothing but time to sit down and watch vitals while listening to random knocking at his door.
His patience was up.
Entro swung the door open, only to not see the boy and feel something hit his feet.
He looked down and found the same boy asleep on the floor, absentmindedly knocking at a door that wasn't there anymore.
Entro stared at him.
This guy was asleep and still knocking; he somehow unlocked persistence that pervaded not only the mind, but body.
He thought about tossing him, that is, until he saw his face, more specifically his expression.
It was the same as when he stood before him, asking to be a student.
If he was someone with alternative motives, the mask would've slipped when the young man fell asleep, unless there was no mask to fall.
"Hey," he lightly tapped the boy with his foot, "get up."
The young man stirred, but didn't awake, mumbling nonsense about cheese cake.
Entro's eye twitched
This guy can knock on my door for three hours but won't wake up?
Sighing, he dragged the blonde boy into his lab and shut the door, couldn't have people thinking Entro knocked him out.
"Kid, wake up," kicking slightly harder than before.
---
Aurelian opened his eyes and was greeted with stern grey eyes.
Sir Entropy Voldstadt, in the flesh.
"Get up kid, you're making me sleepy."
That's when Aurelian realized he was splayed out along the floor. Jumping to his feet, his ears felt hot.
"How long was I out," he said, looking at the floor; his voice barely above a whisper
Aurelian came here in full confidence... half confidence. He told himself he wouldn't leave until he got the great Entropy to agree to take him under his wing.
Now his plans were ruined because he was stupid enough to fall asleep.
"Huh? What did you say?"
Aurelian tensed, but spoke again.
"How long was I out?"
"You're going to have to speak up kid, I've had too many explosions go off near my head and..."
"How long was out," Aurelian interrupted.
"That? I'm not sure, I found you that way in front of my door after you knocked for three hours. How do you even manage to knock out for..."
Aurelian knew it was over. He squandered his chance at making use of himself.
His family wanted him to fix himself, what better mentor than the epitome of greatness?
Yet here he was, having screwed it all up; another person to be disappointed in him.
"... yeah, no idea where she is now. Anyway, what did you mean by protege, I'm intrigued."
Aurelian's face blanked.
"Huh?"
Sir Entropy cocked his head.
"Are you even awake yet?"
Aurelian face heated again.
"Sorry sir, it was just... You're hailed as the genius among the greatest, I'm sure there's something I could learn from you, anything. Please sir, I'm very sorry for falling asleep at your door, I zoned out after knocking and..."
Aurelian was rambling now, he always got in trouble for overexplaining. He couldn't stop himself, the more he thought about how much trouble he could be in, the more words flowed from his mouth.
"I'll somehow make it up, don't let it define my potential, I can be better. Please sir, I just need an opportunity."
Tears streamed down his cheeks now. He couldn't help it, he knew he always messed something up; ruining the biggest opportunity of a lifetime would be a failure that would sit with him forever.
This was the Entropy. Five years ago, people would've killed to watch him work, let alone study under him.
Looking up from the ground with tear-blurred eyes, he found Sir Entropy watching the screen, making notes.
Stunned, Aurelian stood there, unable to move.
'Was he listening to anything I said this entire time?'
Aurelian wasn't sure if he was supposed to cry or laugh.
This was the first time he truly got a good look at Sir Entropy. He was tall, easily over six feet. With dark, short hair and wispy grey eyes that seemed to hold endless knowledge, he was obviously still attractive despite the visible stomach that appeared in recent years.
He'd heard that Entropy had let himself go after resigning from the company and disappearing.
Not hearing any more sound, Entropy looked up.
"Oh, are you done? Perfect, come help me adjust this knob... Hey, did you hear me? Hurry up before it blows this entire block into bits."
"Move faster, it's going to blow!"
Aurelian rushed over and helped him tighten the weird fob sticking out of the island table.
They slumped to the floor when the machine stabilized.
Making eye contact, Sir Entropy burst out laughing, Aurelian could barely contain his awkward laughter that soon turned into guttural laughs; they laughed for what felt like an eternity.
After the sun was well down, Aurelian was watching Sir Entropy run simulations on a... creature.
It was strangely wolf-like in appearance, but it couldn't be, it was much too big. But it was the same design, perhaps a new android he was developing; Entropy taking the world by storm once again.
The thought excited him.
"Hey Lian, come put this on for me."
'Lian?'
"Yes sir?"
It was a strange helmet with wires poking from it; trusting Entropy with his life, Aurelian placed it upon his head, sitting on the bench nearby.
"Fascinating, it has a brain already," Sir Entropy muttered, mostly to himself, but Aurelian could make it out.
'What has a brain?'
For the next 20 minutes, there was a periodic zap on different places of his head, originating from the helmet.
Some zaps were stronger than others, but eventually, they became less noticeable.
"Look here," Sir Entropy said while turning the tablet he was tapping at around, "This entire time, I was getting your brain and this to stop rejecting each other and reactive to each other's chemical response."
There were two fluctuating lines on the screen. One seemed to be much more unstable than the other. However, if looked at closely, it was trying to follow the pattern of the more stable line.
It was intriguing, but Aurelian didn't know what it meant.
"What's happening," he questioned.
"You're going to be teaching it," Sir Entropy responded, with a mysterious smile on his face.
"Teaching it? Teaching wha-"
When Aurelian blinked, he was no longer in the lab.
Glancing around, he found himself in a forest.
Luscious trees in full spring flare surrounded him, the sun beaming beautifully in the sky, birds chirping and flying by, it was almost as if he had teleported.
He was in a clearing of the forest; nothing in sight but grass and trees in the distance.
Aurelian closed his eyes and took a deep breath, absorbing that cleansing feeling nature air provided.
When he opened his eyes, he found a panel with a red button.
'How did... I'm sure that wasn't there before. Then again, I wasn't here before either.'
Engraved onto the side were words that read,
(Press when green)
and when he approached the panel, a few seconds later it turned green.
He pressed it.
Above the panel, a holographic screen appeared, displaying numbers.
(237ms)
'Is this a reaction test?'
Mid thought, Aurelian didn't notice the button had turned green once again. Dragged from his thoughts, he pressed it again.
(263ms)
His face paled.
'I did worse that time?'
Entirely focused on the button, he watched, waiting for it to change color.
Seemingly an eternity later, the first shade of green flashed and his hand flew.
(180ms)
"Ha! I did it"
But when nothing happened afterwards, Aurelian became worried.
"Was I not fast enough," he sullenly questioned.
Lost in thoughts, he once more missed the button turning green.
(366ms)
Aurelian didn't know whether he should cry or pull his hair out.
For an unknown amount of time, he kept trying at the button, lowering his score all the way down to 164ms.
Eventually his hands began to cramp, sweat beading his forehead, and his scores steadily rose from their peak, 10 milliseconds turned into 50, and then 100, until he was stuck.
(302ms)
Aurelian struck the panel, breathing heavily and finding it hard to think, he just sat down and rested.
Against the scenery, the smell of blooming flowers and sound of animal activity, he was helpless.
Before he knew it, Aurelian had fallen asleep, waking in the laboratory once more, the clock showing 9am.
He was asleep all night?
Sir Entropy was fussing over his tablet, jotting down notes into a notepad he must've grabbed while Aurelian was out; he looked upset.
Whether Sir Entropy noticed he was awake or was too busy to care, Aurelian couldn't tell. There was a lot of rushing around the room, furiously typing at his tablet and adjusting knobs on several machines.
Soon, however, he rested his head on the desk for a few minutes before sitting up and powering his machines off.
"It failed," Sir Entropy sighed, not bothering to look away from the desk.
"The energy levels required to support and sustain it were too strong for the original form. The project buckled, crushing itself under its own potential," he dejectedly explained.
Too strong for the original form... crushed under it's potential?
Aurelian was searching for the code behind it, he must've done something wrong.
Sir Entropy's eyes never left the still powered-off tablet, the bags under them very visible.
He must've been toiling at the tablet, without rest, all night long.
It was several minutes before Sir Entropy stood, wiping at his face with both hands, as if to sweep away the exhaustion.
"Go home, I have to clean up in here."
The color drained from Aurelian's face; he had somehow failed Sir Entropy,
He had one job and failed it.
Shame began to build in his heart as he slowly stalked to the door, taking good care to make his steps as slow as possible.
The distance between him and the door lengthened greatly, as if he was crossing a vast expanse, one that led to his eventual doom.
Each foot was lined with lead as he stepped closer and closer to the biggest mistake of his life.
The knob of the door was ice cold, as if the world was warning him of what he was doing.
'I'll be back, no matter what.
'I'll be turned away a thousand times, but I will be back.'
The temperature of the door knob warmed, perhaps accepting his conviction.
Opening the door, he was blasted with the freezing cold air of the hallway, where killer polar bears and penguins stalked labs and board rooms, where predators lurked every corner.
Braving the cold, he stepped into the hallway, taking one last glance at the lab, at his future, standing by the greatest mind this world has ever seen, Aurelian slowly closed the door.
"Be back here at dawn, ready to work until you drop," Sir Entropy called out, without looking up from his tablet.
Aurelian froze, his eyes blurring; somehow it was raining inside.
"Yes sir"