The Experiment

"I will destroy you, Martin Fanter, if it is the last thing I do." Kay whispered over their handshake. She meant it. The crowd was with her--scientists, sponsors, and religious leaders--all of them had been there that the day the experiment was proposed. They all wanted nothing more than to see their time and money bring results, and this man was the only thing in the way.
The betrayal still smarted. He had been by her side every step of the way--he had donated funds and promised more, he had helped find the children--he had even been a teacher. And now...
"Kayla Everett, you may begin."
Kay took the mic from the podium and turned to face her opponent.
"Martin, we are not here to waste these people's precious time, so I will cut it short. We are all wanting to ask the same question: Why would you denounce an experiment that could save humanity? Our world is on the brink of collapse--socially, economically, and religiously. We have little hope for this generation, but we can give hope to the next. Transcendence could save them all. These children will grow up free of all social constructs, free thinkers with original ideas and no knowledge of evil--you, as one who reads the Bible, can look on it as taking the tree of the knowledge of good and evil out of the picture. We are raising a new Eden." She lowered her mic and looked expectantly at the grey-haired man across from her.
"I am withdrawing my support because the experiment is going to fail. It has a fundamental flaw: It is based on the assumption that people are naturally good. But we have already seen the early evidence of selfishness and anger in these children, and, unchecked, it will only get worse. Leave them to themselves and these children will kill each other. It's child abuse and unethical to experiment on humans."
"Ah." Kay's sarcastic tone elicited a chuckle from the audience. "So you would site your antiquated worldview as proof of a problem. Have you considered that, maybe, you might be wrong? As for the children, this experiment is completely legal. They are not being experimented on like lab rats, but rather snatched from the streets of third world countries and troubled homes to be raised in paradise. There is nothing they need or want that is denied them. The ethics committee have cleared everything ten times over. And as for their behavior, they are toddlers. They are spirited and curious as any other children. And, as in other children, this will pass with time. Little Lord Fauntleroy doesn't exist."
"But what is I am right, Kayla? What if the evil of society comes from within individuals rather than a collective ideology? We began this experiment to create perfection. What if the end result is a monster?"
"Have you been reading Frankenstein again? I warned you that it would give you nightmares." Kay relished the burst of laughter from the crowd. "At worst, we may end up with influences breaking through and rendering this experiment ineffective. Martin Fanter, you called us here. If you have nothing better to say, we have full right to ask you to pay us for wasted time."
"I do have more to say--and I am paying for this event." Martin turned to the audience. "You all need to know what changed my mind on all this. Last summer, my daughter, after all these years, finally contacted me again. The mess she made of her life was what first got me involved in this experiment. She told me she had found a cure for society that she swore would work. I was skeptical, but I am no longer.
"Jesus Christ is the only answer." A scoffing murmur ran through the crowd. "Please hear me out--I know it sounds cliche, but He turned my drug addict daughter around completely. Then He changed me. Two thousand years ago, the God who created heaven and earth sent Jesus Christ, God in human--" The murmur rose to a roar as people stood to their feet. "Friends--colleagues--listen for a moment. Jesus said that murders and hate and lies come from within the heart, not social pressures--that we are born with a nature bent on evil. That is why the experiment will fail. All good comes only from God--and this God sent His Son," Martin was speaking faster and faster as people began to walk out. "Christ Jesus was the only man who ever lived without that sinful nature, but He died our death for us so that all who turn to Him can be freed from that sin nature and given a new nature. This is our world's only hope. Please, I am begging you to listen."
Kay smiled patronizingly. "If that is the best you can do, Fanter, you are no great loss to our experiment." She paused for a second, then raised her mic again. "The experiment goes on. Goodbye, Martin." She dropped her mic to the ground with a boom, then left the stage and followed the scattering crowd out of the hall. She hadn't even needed to say anything. Martin had ruined his credibility on his own.

Eleven years later, 1,000 miles from Hawaii, on Transcendence Island, formerly known as Palmyra Atoll, a young teen strolled the beach. His name was Tyson Vrede. And this was his kingdom. He smiled at the setting sun. The day had been well spent. The tide gently rose and fell, distant shapes still visible, floating away to be lost forever. They had taught him well. He knew he was accountable to none but himself. This was freedom. This was his purpose. They had the ship. They had the world before them. Tomorrow, they would see if any could stand against them. The professors couldn't. Ms. Everett lay  on the sand, where she had finally fled. She had almost reached the ship. It was a close call. They could have been left stranded. Tyson knelt down and picked up a handful of blood-caked sand. He liked the smell. He turned to the pristine complex they had been imprisoned in. The other teens stood on the walls, splattered with red from the night's play. It was time to change the world. They had tasted what they were capable of. And now they wanted more.