he’s not. Someone would have reported you as a clone who hadn’t been blanked of real life memories, and the authorities would have investigated. He’d have been heavily fined and all future transactions concerning clone orders would have been monitored, at best. Worst case, they would have seized all his money, closed down Clone World until a new buyer could be found, and sentenced him to death.”
“A new buyer?”
“Clone World is a very popular vacation spot. I’m certain they would reopen it. JDJ Cryo Corp is a powerful company on Earth. They would have put pressure on the authorities to make certain it reopened. That planet is where a good portion of the clones are sent.”
“Wow.”
He nodded.
“I hope the current owner doesn’t order another me. That would just be too weird.”
“I’d pity her if she reached Clone World. She’d end up being very unhappy.”
“Maybe we should tip off the authorities to make certain that doesn’t happen.”
“No. We need Clone World operational. I raid their shuttles to gain plasma for us to survive. It would also alert the authorities that some of us had escaped and are free. I’m known to them as a pirate, but they’d put much more effort into catching me if they were aware that I’m really a clone.”
“Why the bother for just one clone?”
“I’ve told you. I guess I haven’t stressed how deeply humans fear our kind. We’re genetically enhanced. That means we’re stronger than birthed beings. Faster. We’re also harder to kill because a little clone plasma heals us quickly. I could break a thigh bone, but give me fresh plasma and I’d heal within an hour. Add in the fact that we’re also smarter than a birthed person, with the ability to learn new skills within minutes, and it makes all of us a serious threat if we wished to do them harm.”
Gemma gaped at him.
“It’s best if Earth doesn’t realize that any of us have escaped. The ones running Clone World don’t want anyone to know we’re missing. I’m certain they hope we deteriorated and died.”
She swallowed hard. “Got it.”
He led her to a lift and pushed a button. “I also don’t want JDJ Cryo Corp to realize you aren’t the Gemma they believe your source material came from.”
“Why?”
The doors opened and he pulled her inside. He didn’t answer right away but instead told the computer to take them up three levels.
He finally looked at her. “They would destroy your original source material. I don’t want that, in case something ever happens to you.”
She frowned, not understanding.
The lift opened and she found herself in a long, wide corridor. It reminded her of a hotel hallway. There were tables and lamps placed at intervals down the space. He stepped out and firmly gripped her hand.
“You’re not going to continue that thought?”
He faced her, holding her gaze. “I’d have Fig or Free break into Clone World’s accounts and order another model of you to be made, if you were to die. As I said…I don’t want to lose you, Gemma. I refuse, now that I’m coming to know you. I’d have you illegally cloned with your memories intact and intercept the shipment to Clone World to steal you all over again.”
Her mouth fell open as his words sank in.
He shrugged. “I won’t lose you. We’d have to start over from the moment you woke on that shuttle. All the current memories you’ve made wouldn’t be there, but I’d have a second chance to get you through the initial shock of finding out you’re a clone. I just hope that doesn’t happen.”
She didn’t know if she should feel hurt or angry. “In other words, this is basically a test run to see if I can stay sane, or you have to hit a reset button by getting another me?” She felt insulted for sure.
“No. It would be insanely dangerous to hack into Clone World to place that order. Foolish even. So far, it hasn’t been cost effective for Rico Florigo to send a death squad to hunt us down, but that wouldn’t be true anymore if we began tapping into Clone World financial accounts to order more clones. They haven’t linked the stolen plasma shipments to us. Piracy is expected, but all known thieves are human. It would be suspicious if they were hacked, a clone was reordered, then that same clone went missing. But I’d do it. That’s how determined I am to make certain you survive.”
It was kind of sweet and flattering, when put