Elizabeth Jakes The Clone System

Prologue

*Inside the Last Standing, Functioning Building Containing the Final Radiation- Free Humans: One of the five islands of 'The Nation' after the nuclear war.*

The Island; Amerindias Unidas 

Biomedical Lab

Time: 23:55

Year: 2085

A loud, grating alarm echoed through the sterile corridors of the lab, cutting through the heavy air like a knife. The youngest member of the team in Triangle Control Room folded his arms across his chest, a smirk playing on his lips as he spoke. "Just jury- rig the darn thing."

His cocky attitude was not well received by his older, more experienced colleagues. They had been in this room, in this lab, for months- years, even- and knew their work inside out. They ignored his arrogance, understanding all too well the excitement of new recruits who thought they knew everything.

"Check the power output," Luke, one of the senior members, instructed calmly, dismissing the newcomer's bravado. He directed his words to the man seated in front of one of the main screens, focusing on the task at hand.

"Aculator- " the newbie began, but another man, gritting his teeth, cut him off.

"Would someone get this guy to shut the- "

"Shut it, newbie," mumbled the man with long-plaited hair and a pierced left nostril, almost as an afterthought. He deftly manoeuvred the ball in his hand over the seated man's shoulders, navigating the massive screen. They called him 'newbie' despite knowing his real name- Li- because he still needed to learn his place. Two weeks of enduring his know-it-all attitude had taught the older ones that he was just excited to be there. They all had been when they first joined this section.

This lab was like the ancient Harvard but in a world on the brink of collapse. Getting in here was a mark of superiority- proof that you were smarter, brighter, better than the rest. But unlike the others, Axel didn’t go around bragging. He just held his head a little higher, his confidence speaking for itself.

The atmosphere in the room wasn’t panicked, but there was an undercurrent of concern. The alarms blaring at all hours were familiar, but they knew this one was different.

"Containment clear," announced the computer’s monotonous voice, alerting them to the captain’s entrance. The automated female voice was designed to be calming, though it often did little to ease their nerves.

The walkie-talkie in the captain’s hand beeped. "Alpha 3 here, Alpha Team 1, come in. What seems to be the problem, guys? Over," came the only female voice in the conversation.

"Alpha Team 1 here," the redheaded man responded, pressing the button. "The reactor’s acting up, but we’re on it. No worries, Alpha 2? Over." The captain was a tall, burly man.

"Alpha 2 here. The coolant and core pressure are messed up, checking it. Over." His voice remained calm despite the growing tension.

Static crackled over the radio, followed by a frantic transmission. "Team Alpha 5, Circle is under ra…beep…static…I repeat, radiation leak in Circle…static…"

There was a brief pause before the captain asked, "Alpha 2, 3, 4, did you get what Alpha Team 5 said?"

"Yeah, radiation leak in Circle. Alpha 3. Over," another voice confirmed, the shapes of the rooms their teams occupied dictating their call signs.

*Static*

"Square? Over," the captain repeated, his voice more urgent now.

"Lethal…static…" came the panicked reply from a young man.

The silence that followed was heavy, the tension palpable as the man in Rectangle tried to radio the other teams for an update.

Then all hell broke loose. "Alpha 3 here, Square is at 1300 F. Over," came the frantic transmission.

"Team Alpha 4, high radiation breach… *static* ...primary…static…beep…over."

"With maintenance crew, update soon, Alpha Team 5. Over."

Four minutes later, another garbled message came through. "Alpha…beep…dam…breach…"

"Alpha Team 1 here, can you repeat?" the captain demanded.

"One of the…beep…*static* …escape…"

On the screens in front of them, a naked, bald female figure appeared, captured by two cameras angled differently. She jumped from a great height into the dam below. The alarms echoed through the corridors, followed by the automated voice, “Happy New Year 2086- ” A single beep from an alarm interrupted the message, “- may the year ahead treat us well. Please proceed to Central Hall. Remember, we are all in this together.”

At the end of one of the tunnels, an injured man and two security personnel in olive-green short-sleeved coveralls looked down at the water, watching as the body hit the surface and disappeared beneath it. The lights behind them flickered and then went out completely for a minute, but the men did not move. They stood there, eyes adjusting to the darkness, waiting for any sign of life.

Nothing.

Three more figures came rushing in: one in a long white lab coat and two others in charcoal grey coveralls. The generator hummed back to life, restoring power to the lab, but still, no body surfaced- lifeless or not.

"Marcus," one of the tall, slim-built men in grey coveralls slapped the shoulder of the man beside him. "It’s a goner. Come on, we’ve got some cleanup to do."

Marcus Min Lee, dressed in the same thick, long-sleeved white uniform, continued to peer into the darkness, blood soaking through the front of his shoulder. Beneath the heavy material, his entire chest and stomach were wet and sticky, soaked in his own blood.

The doctor was accustomed to bloodstains; they did not affect him much. After all, even if he lost a limb, his job was to grow human parts, and he already had a replica of his body in storage.

None of them had anticipated that the female would try to escape, but Min Lee figured the new system had confused her with memories of her human life. As he peered over the cliff, he thought that perhaps he should have played those memories in her brain for a few weeks before waking her. The scientist pondered this before returning to his lab.

Five years passed, and the same thing happened again.

With the same female clone. Marcus Min Lee frowned deeply as he once again looked over the edge where she had jumped.

None of the other clones had ever behaved this way. The digital consciousness had been a success for the past year, and their routine was simple: they would wake, answer some questions, take their medication, eat, and sleep. It was a controlled process, and after a few weeks, they would function on their own.

So what had gone wrong this time? And why her, again? What triggered her to attempt an escape from the only safe haven left after the nuclear war? Of course, she wouldn’t have known that yet- they hadn’t had a chance to explain before she grabbed a scalpel and sliced his arm open. Sharp’s thoughts wandered as he questioned why a scalpel had been there in the first place.

What affected C-3?

Marcus Min Lee, a man engineered to be devoid of emotion, twisted his head to the side as the clone's body floated to the surface hours later, lifeless once again. He could tell by the way she lay, face down, that she was dead. Most likely, she had drowned after hitting some rocks, perhaps even bleeding out underwater before surfacing- just as last time.

This was indeed peculiar. His forehead creased as he squinted, scrutinizing the bruised, pale skin of the female clone. He twisted his head slightly, wondering what her last memory had been. Was it of him? Or was it of what she had just done? He pondered on the cloned body of his late wife, Elizabeth Lee.

Escape.

A failed attempt, but still, an escape. These clones were supposed to make precise, calculated moves. So, what had caused this chaotic, very human-like, panicked action?