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“Sure, I would’ve.They’re nice to us.They would have woken us up when they landed.”
“Jasmine?”
SP29 waved from Jasmine’s back porch, a basket of something in one gloved hand.His short dark hair was tousled, and his green eyes had an odd mirror effect, like RH103’s did at certain angles.“Hi!”Jasmine said brightly.She got up and murmured, “One of my hot cyborgs calls.We’ll have to talk about this another time.”
As she returned to her yard, a bit of the tension Hannah had been holding on to for years unknotted itself.When was the last time she and Jasmine had had a conversation that hadn’t revolved around loss?
Jasmine laughed at something SP29 said before taking his basket and dropping potatoes into the pot she set up over the fire.Aside from SP29 being a cyborg, it was such anormalthing to witness—her friend being happy and flirty.SP29 wasn’t hard on the eyes, either.Hannah could see why Jasmine was drawn to him.
She peered into the pot again and tried to guess how long the eggs had been in there.At least ten minutes, she reasoned.She’d forgotten to bring a timer with her, a testament to her exhaustion.She carefully removed the pot from its tripod and started back for the house.
Before she could make it to the door, she smacked into something solid and black-clad.Boiling water splashed her hand, drawing a yelp from her and sending the pot crashing to the grass.“Fuck!”she yelped and looked up to RH103’s perpetually neutral expression.
Except, this time, concern flashed across his eyes when she saw her nursing her burned hand.“Let me see,” he said, holding out his own gloved ones.
“It’s fine,” Hannah replied.She bent down to retrieve the eggs, noting that only a couple had cracked in their fall.“I didn’t expect you to sneak up on me like that.”
“My apologies.It wasn’t deliberate.”
“I know, and I’ll be fine,” she repeated.
“At least let me take the pot as an apology.”
“You drive a hard bargain.”Her hand really did smart against the burn.She handed the pot over to him and led him back into the house.
He had already used one of his battery cubes to charge the kitchen lights.Their glow hadn’t been seen since before the earthquake, and Hannah blinked in surprise at the welcome sight.“Wow,” she said in appreciation, her burn temporarily forgotten.
“I know it’s a little early for light, but I thought you’d appreciate it.”
“I do,” she said, touching the wall lamp with her good hand.
“You’ll need some water on that burn,” RH103 reminded her.He put the plug in the sink and worked the kitchen pump until cold water flowed from it, filling the basin.
It wasn’t that bad.It would leave a red mark that would fade in a day or two.But it had been so long since Hannah had anyone to care about her in this way that she obediently stuck her hand into the sink.“I hope you like hard-boiled eggs,” she said.
“My original liked poached eggs.I’m sure their hard-boiled counterparts will be fine.”
The mention of RH103’s original piqued her curiosity.Before she could talk herself out of it, she asked, “Do you know a lot about your original?I guess that’s the person you were cloned from?”
He was quiet for a few seconds, and she wondered if she’d overstepped.
“I have some of his memories,” RH103 replied.“I know his name.Actually, I was thinking of using it instead of my numerical designation.”
“Oh?”
“The subject of names came up earlier today at the power station,” he continued.“BE89 has announced that he is to be called Brandon going forward.I think using regular names is a good way to fit in, so I have decided to go by Rhys.”
He delivered the news with a waver in his voice, so different from his usual near-flat effect, as if he was worried about how Hannah would receive it.
Nonsense.Calling him by a regular name would definitely be easier.“Rhys,” she said aloud.“I guess that’s what the R stands for in your name?”
“The one hundredth and third clone of Rhys Hammond.”
Hannah unplugged the sink and dried off her hand with a homemade towel embroidered by her mother, wrapping it in the worn fabric to soothe the burn.“I think it’s wild that there were 102 of you before.”
“We’re all a little different.Most of the clones were hatched and terminated decades ago, as the technology was being perfected.I’ve been the only RH clone for twenty-eight years.”
That made him close to the same age as her, at least physically.“How did the rest die?”
