AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The clone hesitated. “I would guess that it cost extra to surgically remove all traces of where you were grown inside a clone facility.”
Marisol nodded. “You take orders directly from my gramps?”
MC-3 nodded again.
“Does anyone else know?”
The female clone shook her head. “Not that we’re aware. We four were created at the same time as you to be your medical team. They sent us on the same transport you arrived in on Clone World. We’ve taken care of you since the beginning. Our orders come directly from Rico Florigo.”
Marisol felt calmer. “Gramps thought I’d go insane if I knew I’d been cloned like the original dozen test clones did.”
MC-3 nodded. “His personal collection of illegal clones don’t survive beyond a year, at the most. They take their own lives or mentally degrade until they die. You’ve far exceeded that because you weren’t aware that your origin body died.”
“It’s more than that,” the other female clone took a seat on the coffee table, perched on the edge. “We’re given access to your grandfather’s clones and their medical records to compare your progress. The private collection faced a new, foreign life. The depression and insanity they have experienced wasn’t only caused by learning they were clones but because of their new purpose.”
“To amuse my gramps by being his sex slaves, right?”
The second female clone gave a sharp nod. “We’re alive. So are you. You didn’t even know the truth until this evening. Be strong, Ms. Florigo.”
“Call me Marisol.” It only seemed fitting since they were keeping her alive. “I need plasma, right?”
“Yes.” MC-3 nodded. “You do. It’s been three months since your last transfusion. We could wait a week before your body begins to degrade if you need a few days. You’ll die without the plasma.”
Marisol was a clone. It was astounding, horrifying, and her entire world had just been flipped upside down. “Do it now. It’s why you came. Let’s just get this over with.”
“Are you going to confront your grandfather?” MC-3 appeared frightened after asking that question.
“No.” Marisol thought she knew the man well, but her gramps had cloned her and kept it hidden. It was possible he would destroy the clone body she currently had and just order another one to be grown from the source material. They’d reprogram her mind to make sure she’d forget. He could say she’d been in a coma or something to explain why she’d lost years of her life, then have her miraculously wake up. “This is our secret.”
All four of the clones appeared relieved. “Thank you. This will be more comfortable in your bedroom.” MC-3 let her go and stood.
“Wait. I’ve left Clone World since then. How did I pass customs?” She raised her hands. All humans were chipped and scanned. Only true ones birthed by human parents were imbedded with them.
One of the males answered. “They removed them from your original deceased body and transferred them into your clone body. We weren’t aware that was possible until we were given your medical chart.”
Marisol let that sink in. Those chips were supposed to only work on actual humans, but her grandfather wasn’t one to take no for an answer. “I would like to know your names.” Marisol glanced at the other three clones.
The tallest male cleared his throat. “I’m MC-1. That male is MC-2. The other female is MC-4.”
Marisol memorized their names and faces. They were her medical team. “How do you hide it from me when you give me plasma?”
“The small needle insertion on your skin is healed by the time you wake in the morning. We drug your food, so you’re unaware of this procedure. You’ve never suspected. We’re good at this.” MC-1 shrugged.
“Will it hurt?” Marisol got up.
“No. We need plasma every three months, too.” That answer came from MC-4.
Marisol led the way into her bedroom, her mind reeling. I’m a clone. I died. Oh shit.
Chapter Two
Marisol stared out of Straton Miller’s office window four days later. It was a beautiful, sunny day in the botanical garden just outside. Paying guests staying at Clone World strolled the walkway paths below, some even having catered picnics. She had to admit that she felt a little envy that he’d gotten such a great view. Her office didn’t have any windows. It had been deemed a security risk to her safety.
She’d hacked into the computer system inside Straton’s office. The answers she’d learned helped her add more pieces to the puzzle of what had happened to her at that signing conference. The medical team hadn’t been correct. The blame probably lay in the files they’d been given. It came as no surprise that her gramps had even lied to the clones caring for her. The truth didn’t exactly come easily for someone so used to being deceitful.
Marisol had found the billing date for the order of her new body. The accident had happened on the space station but not when she’d been about to travel home. She’d died six hours after arriving for the conference.
That meant the initial business meetings and her realizing Free wasn’t coming, the pain of it, were real memories. She’d gotten sick the following morning, battling flu-like symptoms. That had been a lie, along with the trip home with her burying herself in paperwork. Those had been implanted memories someone at the clone factory had cooked up. It also explained why she hadn’t gotten certain companies to contract with Clone World, which she’d been certain she’d easily land. In her head, she’d let her gramps down by becoming sick. In her heart, she’d blamed her broken heart.
