23 – Web of Lies #2
Chryl stomps her foot, scowling at Electra, but she doesn’t budge. Surely she doesn’t think he wants them to have a catfight over him.
“Or,” Electra butts in, “we could team up. You know, girl power, and you could tell me what’s in the closet. That would make me very happy.”
Chryl’s eyes narrow as if she’s contemplating her next move.
Fortunately, Electra has far less experience bending manupartners to her will compared to him. “Chryl, you have my attention now. Let me deal with Electra. I’ll be in there in a few short moments.”
Beaming, Chryl says, “Yes, Daddy!” He watches as she excitedly slams the door behind her before returning his attention to the now-fuming human woman.
“Deal with me?” Electra’s lips curls in a sneer.
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “You know I didn’t mean that.”
She shakes her head. “What are you hiding, Res6?”
The brother I’m trying and possibly failing to resurrect. “Nothing,” he lies.
“Every time I feel like I’m getting closer to you, something like this happens.” She paces to her bedroom door and opens it.
He has the distinct feeling that if he lets her go through it, recovering from his latest screwup might be more than he can manage. He needs a good explanation. What about something related to their outings? “I have a surprise for you,” he blurts out as an idea strikes him.
Her brows lift.
At least she’s listening. He takes a calming breath, making a mental note to acquire two tickets.
“I wanted to save it for a better moment, but I have tickets for a fantasy ball called Saturday Sirens this weekend.” He read about the event, but decided not to get tickets since he’d likely be dealing with a freshly awakened Jerme and an angry Electra.
She frowns. “What does that have to do with the problem in the closet?”
He shakes his head. “Our outfits. The dress I got for you has an electrical component. It keeps short-circuiting. I need to schedule a technician to come look at it before the event.”
Another mental note: procure a ball gown and tuxedo.
She plants her hands on her hips. “Can I see it?”
He chuffs. “What, and further ruin my surprise?”
Her eyes narrow. “I don’t believe you.”
“Ah, well, you will when you see it,” he says, feigning a shaky confidence, and slips into his room.
His back hits the door, and both Chryl and the body double stare at him.
Ignoring them, he thinks the command to message his personal shopper about the formal attire, but his thoughts are so convoluted that he can’t put together a message.
That’s when he notices the closet door rattling.
“I told you,” Chryl says, twirling a lock of blonde hair.
There’s no way this should be happening. Panic has him jumping into action. He throws the closet door open. The trial is no longer attached to the electrode pad, and as he catches the convulsing body, he shoots Chryl a glare.
He hauls the seizing Jerme trial to the bed. Chryl helps him lay it down. “Chryl, there’s a medical kit under the sink. Get it.”
The body double sits in its chair, judging, as Chryl does as he asks.
He props pillows around Jerme’s head, leaning his hip against him to keep him on the bed.
Chryl sets the box down and opens the lid.
He fishes out one of several preloaded syringes.
It’s rare for a manupartner to seize upon activation; it happened more in the early research days when they were tinkering with their programming capacity.
Still, he’s prepared. He injects the anticonvulsant, and Jerme stills.
He takes a few deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart.
“What’s wrong with it?” Chryl asks, taking the syringe and replacing the cap. She tosses it back into the medical kit.
He turns his angry gaze on her. A guilty pink blooms on her cheeks. “Chryl, what did you do?”
Tears well in the manupartner’s eyes. “The video on your website says to push the button when it turns green. I was just trying to help.”
Res6 buries his head in his hands, groaning.
It’s not Chryl’s fault; it’s his fault. How can this day get any worse?
He has a possibly failed trial lying on the bed next to him unconscious.
An angry Electra that he’s fed more lies.
And Chryl, a manupartner who has been around so long she may be gaining sentience.
The lingering hope he felt while visiting Jerme’s memorial site with Electra fades to something gray.
He turns to the body double. “Will you please comfort her?”
Chryl nods, agreeing with the suggestion, crawling into the body double’s lap. When it pats her back, he goes back to ignoring them as usual.
He gets out the portable BioLume Gene Scanner. He quickly runs a scan, then waits. When the results populate on its screen, he shoots them over to himself and Lextr. A minute later, he has the other man on a call.
“Hold on, why did you activate it before you did the final scan?” Lextr asks.
Because the manupartner I got as a buffer from the woman I’m falling for is individuating and decided to be helpful and pressed the bright green button before I got the chance doesn’t feel like the right answer. He says, “It’s not important.”
Lextr hums like he does when reviewing data. Res6 takes out his tablet and does the same. With each passing minute, his anxiety skyrockets. This is only one of ten—if it fails, they can isolate the issue and correct it. Still, his eyes are starting to blur, the data becoming a jumble.
Lextr hums again, and his patience snaps. “Lextr, did the trial fail?” Will I get my brother back?
“Did you see section B83c101?” Lextr asks.
He swipes to the section. “I see it.”
“It looks like there is hidden epileptiform activity that we couldn’t measure until activation.”
His throat constricts. “What does that mean? Are his memories viable?” They can stop the seizures.
“It would appear the cognitive load during the NAM activation caused a spike-wave. The subject’s memories might have expressed had the subthreshold activity been absent,” Lextr says.
“So it might have worked, if it weren’t for the spike?”
“My guess is the seizure it caused burned out any potential memory imprint, but you won’t be sure until it wakes up,” Lextr says.
As if summoned, Jerme—not Jerme, the trial—sits up.
Oh Zorg. It looks just like him and the manupartner body double, but knowing it’s made from Jerme’s DNA makes it feel completely different.
More significant. Real. Is he real? The faint glimmer in its eye feels like a sign of life, of memory.
Like his brother. Is this it? Is he about to see Jerme after all this time?
Tentatively he asks, “Jerme?”
The trial grins, and it is just like his brother.
Joy barrels through him. After six failed trials and a close call, he did it!
He has Jerme back. This time he’s going to fix everything.
Be the brother he needs. He shifts so quickly that he knocks the medical kit off the bed as he throws his arms around his twin.
“Oh, Jerme, I’ve missed you so much. I’ve been so lost without you. ”
But Jerme isn’t hugging him back. He leans away, holding his brother by the shoulders. It’s the same grin as a moment ago. Did he imagine Jerme’s signature quirk? Jerme blinks. “Hi!”
Please, Zorg, no. This can’t be happening. Terrified at the prospect, but desperate to know, he asks, “What’s your name?”
As its eyes glaze over, his stomach drops.
It says, “I think my name is Jerme!” Then it beams as if pleased with itself.