“I didn’t realize…” Sharp began, but Elizabeth cut him off and ended the conversation. He had to bring it up again the next day for her to talk about it. “I know you might find this hard to believe but I used to have this electronic brain in my head, and she used to be my best friend.” Liz confided in Marcus Min Lee. Even though it's in her head, she berates herself for using his full name. She still hadn’t gotten used to him not being her Marcus- not even hers but the other Liz. Knowing and accepting is so...difficult. Besides, she thought he was trustworthy. He felt...genuine somehow. And she had so much inside her head that needed to come out. Her brain needed...air. Some space. Her head felt heavy and similar to a chaotic mess. It was just too much to process everything. It was either him or running to the other side of the forest and screaming at the top of her lungs. She didn’t even know if that was a normal human reaction or if it was a defect with her. Marcus Sharp sai
Dr Carson It had been months after when Dr Apple Carson scanned the horizons, years back, expecting the girl’s return, knowing it would have taken more than a year but in her nervousness about it, she had looked for her. The scientist then went under the impression, that C-5 had died like the others. Another failed experiment. When C-5 showed up, out of the blue it astounded her, but the scientist kept out of her way even though she would no way be recognized. Her excitement rose once more, but meeting C-5 had proven again, she did fail. Dr. Carson had monitored her for the first few weeks, thinking the girl was doing her work and doing it undercover. But she was wrong. She did nothing but run around with the people she came with and crush on the lieutenant; which is normal considering who they were and how familiar they were with each other's past, through their human DNA. Of course, the replicas will not understand that and just think of it as familiarity, rather than the truth w
Weeks went by and nothing was seen approaching them in the water. They checked daily and even had men remaining on the coastlines but nothing. It made everyone uneasy. But in that time, everyone got more acquainted with each other. Sharp learnt that Polo should be shot, and he was a troublemaker. The man thought he was being slick not knowing that when he tried to bully a child for his food rations, that he was among creatures with special abilities. He liked most of the humans, namely one of the humans named Angela. Her body bore marks like he had never seen before. In fact, all of them gathered around her and touched wherever they saw her scarred flesh, not backing down even when she seemed uncomfortable. Scarring was not something they were used to being as they healed quickly. Just the day before she confided in him that her only regret in life was that she did not get to kill the man that gave her the scars. He had never heard something like that before; a human wanting to hu
Lieutenant Sharp Some days went by and the Lieutenant made an alarming discovery along with Angela, the human, warrior-looking woman, he’d befriended. Lance had told him warriors carried battle scars similar to hers, not just tattoos. Sharp had decided that evening he liked the woman- the beautiful warrior who lived with her human inflicted scars. The feeling seemed mutual for she came to him with her suspicions. Lane was teaching him, the ways of humans. The way they think and moved. Their reaction to certain things said or done. However, Angela requested he keep this between themselves and she waited silently with a stern look about her face, waiting until he nodded before she said another word to him. Then they endured the next few hours in mostly silence for Angela wasn’t much of a conversationalist…neither was he. Though, she did say, “Those guys seem to trust you so that works for me.” By ‘those guys’ he knew she meant Matt and Randall. But did they? Sharp didn’t get that f
Lieutenant Sharp By the week’s end, they celebrated their victory, the open waters of the ocean remaining void of any other vessels approaching so it was marked safe for now. But the lieutenant had other things on his mind. Like the caged man Kia was constantly on the lieutenant’s mind. He looked at Liz in the recreation room that was there for them alone. Warriors. Elites. Winners. All titles were given to them but they knew the truth- clones. They had certain perks as they were the forcefield behind the place. They had privileges as the captain said because of it- but the lieutenant felt it was because the man was afraid. After all, the captain and his entire board were mere humans and could be pig chowder if Sharp or one of his team members snapped one day. He figured the man was playing it safely...as he should. Sharp didn’t need to ‘snap’ nor did any of the people in this room. It was because they were built to obey, that they stayed. If they actually wanted to leave, they
Elizabeth stood in the dimly lit chamber of the hidden lab, the faint hum of machinery filling the air around her. The flickering screen in front of her displayed rows of data, each line a piece of the puzzle that was her life. She scrolled through the information touching the screen with her fingertips lightly, her heart pounding as she recognized the names of the other clones- each one labeled with a purpose, a role they were meant to play. Jakes, Elizabeth; Version 5.3, was at the bottom of the list. 5.3? Heart pounding inside her chest, she took a deep breath, her fingers trembling as she navigated through the files. The names of her predecessors blurred in her vision; David, Alyssa. Kela, Dodi. Rebecca, Laura- all her friends- not hers but the human Elizabeth- and each a failed experiment. Each is a discarded attempt at creating the perfect version. And then there was her, the most advanced, the culmination of years of research and experimentation. But what did that mean? Was s
LizLiz’s mind raced with troubling thoughts for the next couple of days. Her recent findings had stirred up a whirlwind of questions. She had learned that she was likely one of three clones, each programmed with the Kia system, and her mind was occupied with doubts about the other versions of herself. Had Clones 5-1 and 5-2 survived? If so, where were they now? What was their fate with the Kia programs? And, most pressing of all, who was the mastermind behind this entire operation? Marcus needed to know her discovery. Her thoughts churned as she wandered through the indoor gardens where Randall and Matt had settled. The gardens, a stark contrast to the harsh reality of their usual battlefield life, were a haven of tranquillity. Yet, Liz could sense the unease that lingered among both men. The peace and relative safety of their new environment seemed to leave them restless as if they were struggling to adjust to this near-provincial lifestyle after the constant adrenaline of the fro
The dim light of the recreation room cast long shadows on the walls as Liz and Marcus Sharp sat across from each other. The air was heavy with the residual laughter of their comrades, but the noise seemed distant now. Liz’s cheerfulness had faded now in the past weeks, leaving behind a contemplative silence. Sharp, ever perceptive, noted the subtle change in her demeanour and decided it was time to address it. “Liz, you seem preoccupied,” Sharp began, his tone unusually gentle. “What’s on your mind?” Liz’s gaze drifted to the game board where she had just been celebrating a win from Marcus. The pieces, now abandoned, seemed to mock her with their silence. She took a deep breath before turning to face Sharp, her expression a mix of frustration and unease. “It’s nothing, really,” she started, her voice wavering. “Just some unsettling thoughts. I really need to separate my memories from the now. I still think of you as Marcus, you know? And Matt and Randall are still- ” “Shh, I know.