Chapter One
Chapter One
The Present
Marisol read over the data one more time. She hadn’t checked that account in nearly a month. At first, she’d done it in desperation, hoping to see a withdrawal or charge on the account. It would prove that the man she loved was still alive. Her hope had faded rapidly after the first year. That’s when he would have run out of clone plasma and needed to purchase more. Then, it had just become a habit. Nothing had changed until that day. Someone had finally accessed it.
It hurt so deeply that she hadn’t been able to touch her dinner. The meal sat cooling on her dining room table from where the housing staff clones had left it for her over an hour before. A small group of them brought her meals, cleaned her home while she was at work, and did her laundry.
No one else was aware of the discrepancy she’d found earlier that day. The missing large sum had been funded through a hidden marketing account, the same one she’d used to pay for the man she loved to escape Clone World.
Only her, Free, and Figures knew how to access that money to prevent it from being flagged. Those funds officially didn’t even exist. She certainly hadn’t used it. That only left two other suspects. At least one of them was still alive. It was the only explanation.
It had taken time, but she’d traced what had been purchased. Her grandfather bought illegal unblanked clones from time to time. Those were clones created with memories from their original human-sourced bodies.
She pretended not to know about the ones in her grandfather’s private collection. It turned her stomach, imagining why he’d want off-the-books female clones created, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it. It horrified her that he probably used them as sex slaves. He sure couldn’t parade them in public or introduce them to the guests.
Her gramps bribed officials at JDJ Clone Corp on Earth to do highly illegal things. He probably also paid off the law authorities, so they didn’t check those shipments coming from the clone factories on Earth. They’d just look the other way if she managed to slip intel to them about his activities or warn him that he had someone leaking information.
Not that she’d do that. Her gramps would have no problem killing the illegally made clones to destroy the evidence if anyone bothered to investigate. It wasn’t like he cared about them or even saw them as living, breathing people with feelings. They were products created to do jobs and nothing more. He didn’t even consider it murder when one was executed for failing to perform the way they were intended.
It was prohibited and punishable by severe prison time to have any clones made with memories still intact from the original source materials. Those would have been living humans. It was considered unnaturally cruel. Those clones would awaken believing they were the same people they’d once been, unaware that they’d died. The shock alone of learning they were now property instead of free individuals would be enough to make their sanity snap.
There were other factors, too. In some cases, the time lapses between their deaths and when they were awoken as a clone could be drastic. Everyone and everything they knew would be long gone in the past. Rumor had it that DJD Clone Corp had been collecting DNA and the brains of certain high-profile individuals for a century.
That would have been anyone the company felt might be historically relevant in the future. Politicians. Celebrities. Entertainers. She knew of one horror novel author her grandfather had purchased a clone copy of with memories. That wasn’t for sex, at least. Her grandfather wasn’t attracted to men. She suspected he was forcing the poor soul into writing more books for his private reading or for some twisted financial gain in the future.
“He’s a monster,” Marisol whispered.
Clone World would be shut down if it ever came to light what the owner of the planet had unblanked ones created. The authorities would terminate all the clones her gramps had bought. Every. Single. One. No matter how much she hated what kind of lives those dozen or so illegal clones lived, it was better than watching all of them be slaughtered just because her gramps broke the law. Over eight hundred clones worked on the planet.
Why would Figures or Free pay for an illegal clone to be made? It had been a female. That was all Marisol had been able to figure out on the payment transaction. It wasn’t like DJD Clone Corp was going to put an unblanked clone purchase in writing to make the crime easily provable. The billing price let her know the truth. A clone with real memories costs almost three times the normal amount of a programmed one. It also proved that at least one male, if not both, was still alive. She blinked back tears.
Free had never contacted her while she was at Barlish station. She’d grieved him, certain that he’d died. One of his fellow clones would have sent word to the station telling what had happened to him otherwise. At least, that had been her assumption. None of them had sent a message to her hotel room. That’s why she’d believed they must have been killed shortly after their escape.
It left only one conclusion to come to after someone had used that account. Free had lied from the beginning, used her, and only pretended to be in love with her. The realization was…painful.
She’d been a fool. One who’d tormented herself with Free’s memory and the shattered dreams of a future they should have had together. The pain in her chest became so intense that it hurt to breathe, and she clutched at the front of her shirt.
A small noise alerted her that someone had entered the other room. No one should have been inside her home. Marisol dropped her arm, ran to the weapon she kept hidden behind a picture frame of her deceased parents, and fisted it. The housing staff had no business being in her home after dinner delivery.
She backed up into the corner behind a tall artificial plant and targeted the doorway to the living room. Four people wearing medic uniforms strolled casually through it, each carrying a blue med bag. Two were males, and two were females. All of them had black hair, but their eye colors varied. They didn’t see her at first, heading toward her bedroom.
“What in the hell are you doing?”
They froze at the sound of her voice.
Marisol stepped out from behind the tall plant. “Answer me. What are you doing in my home?” She glanced at their uniforms to be sure, the blue strip around their throats and wrists telling her they were, in fact, clones.
The tallest male slowly faced her. “It was a mistake. We’re in the wrong home. Our apologies.”
She kept her weapon trained on them. “Bullshit. You should have gone after my gramps if you wanted to kill someone. I get it. I do. I see you,” she said softly. “I know you have feelings and emotions. I didn’t buy this damn planet or force you to work here.”
All four clones just silently watched her.
“I don’t keep you enslaved, and I can’t leave either. Do you understand that? My gramps would never allow me to have a life somewhere else. I’m seen as property, too, because I’m family to him. He’s an asshole that way. If you ever repeat my words, I will deny saying that, but that’s the truth. I’ll pretend this never happened, for your sake. Just don’t come after me again. Do we have an agreement?”
The tallest male clone nodded. “We didn’t wish you harm, Ms. Florigo.”
She glanced at the bag he carried, really noticing it for the first time. “That is a clone plasma carrier.” She frowned, staring at the tallest medic. “Stop lying. Giving me clone blood will kill me. Why deny it? As I said, I understand your anger, but you’re going after the wrong target. I’m not your enemy, damn it. I have sympathy for your kind. Trust me, I do. You should have talked to the clones who deal with me every day, and they would have told you how I treat them as equals.”
He sealed his lips.
“Do you understand what I’ve said? I won’t report this because you’ll be killed. I don’t want that. Just don’t come after me again.” Marisol needed them to understand.
The second male clone lifted his gaze, holding her stare. “We aren’t here to harm you.”
“I’m ordering you to stop lying.”
“I’m not.”
She stared at his face, trying to read him. “Then why are you here?”
“I’m not permitted to say.”
That confused Marisol until another thought hit. “Did you think you could kidnap me and force your way off the planet? I hate to break this to you, but it won’t work. I guess you don’t know Clone World history. Let me clue you in. A group of clones tried that with my parents. They took them hostage and made it all the way to a shuttle. My gramps had it shot down. He sacrificed their lives to stop those clones from getting away.” Bitterness rose inside her. “He still stands by his decision that killed his own son and daughter-in-law. He’d order security to attack us despite the odds of me dying to stop you from escaping.”
One of the two female clones lifted her head. “We know about that tragedy. It’s included in our download information package to prevent it from happening again.”
That confused Marisol more. “Then why try this? Security will just blow us out of the sky if we even manage to get inside a shuttle. We’d all die.”
“We’re not permitted to say.”
Marisol frowned at the female. It was something a clone would say if they were under orders. “Who sent you here?”
“We aren’t permitted to tell you that,” the tallest male clone stated.
“But someone sent you?” Marisol knew that had to be the case if they weren’t there for revenge.
The female clone who’d spoken before nodded.
“Was it another clone?” Marisol studied her features, looking for a hint of that being the case.
The female shook her head.
Marisol believed the medic was being honest. There were only about six dozen humans living on the planet. Then again, it could be a tourist. It was possible that her gramps had made someone angry enough to want to hurt him by having her killed. “Who sent you?”
“We aren’t permitted to say.” The second female clone lowered her head. “May we leave?”
Marisol was growing angry. “You know I could hit the alarm, and you’d be killed, right? You entered my home without permission. That would be seen as an act of aggression on your part. I want answers, damn it. Someone tell me something. Please?”
The second female clone stared at Marisol again. Her features softened. “We would be killed regardless if we talk.”
The mystery deepened. It left Marisol more alarmed than afraid. What is going on? She lowered her weapon. “Please? I didn’t hit the alarm. I said I’d forget this ever happened. I just want answers.”
The tallest male clone glanced at the other three before looking at her. “You wouldn’t like the truth, and you’d betray our trust if we did tell you why we are really here.”
Marisol made a decision. She walked up to that clone and offered him her weapon. He gawked, refusing to accept it by taking a step back.
“This is me giving you my trust. Please tell me who wants to kill me and who ordered you to come here. Otherwise, just shoot me. I’d rather see it coming than have to worry about the next time someone launches a sneak attack.”
The tallest clone paled a little. The first female stepped closer. Marisol offered the weapon to her.
The female ignored it. “You will tell someone, and they’ll know we spoke the truth to you,” the clone whispered. “It’s forbidden. We’re the only four who know.”
“I won’t,” Marisol swore. “Just tell me what is going on.”
The female glanced at her clone counterparts. They seemed to study each other. The second female clone walked around them and addressed Marisol.
“I’ll tell you, but if you let on that you know the truth, we’re all dead.”
Marisol faced her. “I give you my word.”
“We come in here every three months. We’re your classified medical team, Ms. Florigo. You should have eaten your dinner that was drugged to put you to sleep. We give you plasma.”
Marisol stared at the female clone, letting her words sink in. Her heart pounded, and she felt lightheaded. The implications shocked her to the core. “Oh shit.”
“We’re sorry. You weren’t supposed to ever learn the truth,” the second female clone whispered. “You look ready to faint. May I?”
She didn’t wait for permission but came at Marisol, dropping the med bag she held, and carefully wrapped an arm around her waist. Then she led Marisol to a chair at the dining room table and eased her down to sit.
Tears filled Marisol’s eyes, but she didn’t try to hide them. “When? How?”
The female clone crouched in front of her seat. “Take deep breaths.”
She listened, doing exactly that. “What’s your name?”
“MC-3.”
“M for medic, but what does the C stand for?” Marisol tried to focus on that instead of the horror of what she’d just learned.
“Classified.” The female clone paused. “That is the actual title. We four were created to take care of you and were labeled that way. We’d never hurt you, Ms. Florigo. You die, we die. You’re our sole purpose.”
Marisol understood. Her grandfather had ordered a team of medic clones to be created, and the only job was to take care of her. “Three?”
“Third member of our four-person classified medic team.”
She glanced at the other three, then back at MC-3. “When? How? Do you know?”
The female clone took the weapon from her loose fingers and placed it on the floor. “Does it matter? We’ll be blamed if anyone finds out that you’ve realized the truth.”
“I just want answers. Please. When did I die? I died, right? I’m a clone. One with memories since I didn’t even know I was a clone. That’s why you brought plasma. My gramps did this?” Marisol answered her own question before they could. “Of course, he did. He’s the only one who could.”
The other female clone cleared her throat. “The file we were given says you were on the Barlish station when there was a docking accident.”
MC-3 took one of her hands, holding it. “The file states that two of your security officers died that day with you. They were escorting you to a shuttle on your way home when a pilot of another vessel made a fatal mistake. He hadn’t completely unfastened the docking clamps. There was a breach in that section of the docking bay, and you were sucked into space.”
Marisol tried to remember but couldn’t. The last time she’d been to that station had been when Free was supposed to meet her. Only he’d never contacted her. The trip home was a blur of her feeling really sick, but she’d been heartbroken. Only I never made it home, did I? Marisol died. Then she’d woken as a clone, not even knowing the truth.
MC-3 released her hand and gently cupped Marisol’s face, forcing her to stare into her brown eyes. “You were blown into space. It would have happened fast. The rest of your security team quickly located and retrieved you with a shuttle. They were ordered to put your body into stasis to preserve it and immediately fly to Earth.”
Marisol was able to put together what must have happened from there. “So I could be made into an illegal clone. I have memories, although some of them have obviously been altered.”
“It’s why you’re classified.”
“I don’t have the tattoo or any scarring on my hip from where I would have been grown.” Marisol was certain of that.
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.