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“The Pelossians have refused trade with us.”
“No matter.They will do as they are told and turn over the mines, or they will die.So will you.”
His original shook his head.“No.”
“No?”The officer sighed.“I didn’t think you were this soft, Hammond.”To one of the other soldiers, he said, “Kill him.”
His original looked up at the officer, whose hands, studded with ports, reached for him.Before he could blink, his body froze, every system failing.Everything turned dark, spots forming in his vision as he slid to the ground.
Rhys tensed.His automatic functions took over, forcing him to breathe again.
A rainbow of colors burst in front of his vision, like a star gone nova.His breathing slowed and heart rate returned to normal, as if he’d resumed his regular sleep patterns.Image fragments danced through his mind, pieces of memories he couldn't recall before now.He saw his original’s life in its entirety for the first time, as if he had lived those experiences himself.Saw the intergalactic war that had spurred the creation of the cyborg program.His role in it, hideous as it was.His successful bargaining on behalf of his fellow enhanced soldiers for better pay and working conditions.And finally, his realization at what his troop was doing, the pain and suffering they inflicted on others.Shame flowed through him at those memories.
Finally, he saw the cyborg uprising he’d instigated.He saw his original getting shot again.Another memory of waking up in a fluid-filled tank resurfaced, and he knew he was watching his first successful clone.
A jolt of what felt like raw power sizzled up his spine.Rhys opened his eyes, blinking against bright light.Had he been cloned again?Was he being resurrected as RH104?He tried to speak, but the words didn’t come.
“Shhh.”The voice was familiar.“You’ve been through a lot.It might take a few minutes for your larynx to work again.”
Work...again?Did that mean he hadn’t been cloned, that he was still in his 103rd body?Rhys swallowed.At least that was functioning.“Hnnn.”
“I saidshhh.”A dark shape filled his vision.For half a second, Rhys thought it was his executioner.He blinked and saw it was SP29.“We replaced malfunctioning sensors in your brain.”
Rhys licked his lips.“Hippocampus,” he croaked.
“And your cerebellum.What did I say about talking?”
A dry cough escaped him.“Fuck you.”
SP29 smiled thinly.“There’s that charming personality again.Don’t try to move too much.Your head is still healing.We had to break it open.”
“It would’ve been easier to clone me again.”As much as Rhys hated to admit that, it was the fastest way to heal a cyborg with failing brain components.
“Hannah might have killed me if I’d done that.”
The mention of Hannah made his heart lurch in a way that had nothing to do with his cybernetics.“Where is she?”
“Aboard the ship.She’s in the cockpit with Jasmine.”
“Can you get her?”
SP29 didn’t need to be asked twice.He left the sickbay faster than Rhys had ever seen him move.Whether it was because of Rhys’s recovery or an excuse to see Jasmine, he couldn’t say.Despite the gravity of the situation, he couldn’t help but smile.The motion made his head hurt.Cringing, he gingerly touched his temple.He felt smooth skin, where his hair had been shaved, and a thin line, where his skull had been sutured.His cybernetics tallied up a damage report and it skated across his vision.The chips in his brain had critically failed, accounting for his memory lapses and physical collapses.
He heard Hannah’s weeping before he saw her.He wished he could get up to comfort her but didn’t dare move just yet.Her tear-streaked face loomed over him, terror in her eyes.“Oh, my God!”
“I’m fine now,” he said.
“You look like you’ve been ripped apart and sewn back together!”
“I was.”
“Thank God for that.”She buried her face into his shoulder, sobs wracking her body.“They didn’t clone you again!”
“I would still be gestating in the tank if I’d been cloned.”He lifted an arm to hold her, his head protesting at the movement.
She lifted her head and sniffled.“I thought you were going to die.I couldn’t handle it.I don’t think I can go through losing someone I love again.”
Rhys’s heart skipped a beat.He looked around the room at the neutral expressions of his fellow cyborgs.“Leave us,” he commanded.SP29 bit back a smile and looked away before leaving.The others remained rooted to the floor.“Go,” Rhys repeated.“Come back in five minutes.”
