only existence they knew, and they didn’t expect to be treated with respect or empathy.
He had interacted with plenty of entertainment models when he’d worked at Clone World. The new ones were eager to perform their parts and considered it an honor to amuse the tourists. They must have gotten more extensive programing than he had, as a service clone. It hadn’t been a joy for him to work security. He’d just been resigned to his fate. Clones weren’t given a choice.
Big had hated his job. Dealing with unruly guests speaking to him as if he didn’t have emotions or thoughts. Occasionally he’d been attacked, unable to really defend himself. Clones were only permitted to gently subdue violent offenders. It was against the law for a clone to hurt a human. Even an out-of-control drunken one who thought it would be fun to attack a clone to see if they bleed red.
They did.
Humans seemed to resent him even speaking to them when they needed to be reminded of rules they were breaking or were caught sneaking into areas out of bounds. Some of the guest complained when they were confronted by him, and he’d be punished. It was all bullshit. Big had just been doing his job. If he had ignored the infractions committed by guests, he’d have gotten punished for that, too. It was all about pleasing the guests. Even the asshole ones.
The humans living and working full time on Clone World, the ones in charge of assigning his duties, weren’t any better. They treated clones the exact same way as they did androids. None of the ones he’d known had cared if the punishments they’d dealt out were reasonable or just.
Life had been utterly depressing on Clone World for Big. Every year, it had grown worse until he no longer felt any happiness. To watch other clones in similar jobs suffering along with him hadn’t been a comfort. It had made it worse. But his fate would have been instant death if he’d ceased to perform his assigned duties. Perhaps it was part of his programming to have a strong will to serve…or maybe it was just sheer determination not to give up.
Then, one of his friends had come up with a plan to escape, with the help of a rare human living on Clone World who had been sympathetic to their plight. For once, he had felt hope. They had a new option. To leave. Freedom.
It had been frightening for Big to think of leaving the only life he’d known, what he’d been created to do, but anything at that point would have been better. Six of them had used their skills, access to the docking area, and knowledge of the planet to get off Clone World with the help of a human.
Big cut off those memories and focused on securing the crates of plasma in his cargo hold. Gemma sat belted in, silently watching him. He worked faster, wanting to get the shuttle far from the transport. The vessel’s onboard computer was still broadcasting an auto distress signal. Not only was his life in danger, but now hers as well.
Gemma was from the year 2020. He muttered a curse. It would probably be helpful to do research on that time period to see exactly how much the world had changed since her source material’s death. He’d also have to keep a very close eye on her mental stability to make certain she didn’t try to end her own life. The transition from living human to clone would be drastic. He refused to lose her. She hadn’t asked to become a clone.
He also admitted, deep down, that he ached for companionship.
He’d been alone for almost two years. When he and the other clones had first escaped Clone World, Fig and Free had scouted possible locations for them to live. The mining station they’d found was remote enough to avoid being detected but close enough to the travel path from Earth to Clone World, making it possible for them to raid transports for the plasma they needed to survive.
They’d been lucky to find the location. Fig and Free were hacking geniuses and had downloaded information from an old freighter they’d discovered floating dead in space a few weeks after their escape. They’d docked with it, hoping to find food or other supplies. It had been abandoned for nine years. The logs stated the main engines had blown from age, the crew had gotten rescued by another ship, and