206 Years Ago
April 6, 2287
Akihiro Sato, with three previous yadokari in his mind at the same time, opened his eyes in the cloning vat. Outside, three soldiers pointed guns at him.
The great and terrible Hiro Sato. Naked and covered in goo.
Then he wondered how much of a threat he could be. His hands had torn out the neck of an old man. His mouth had smoothly lied to deflect human trafficking. His fingers had perfected the latest hot hairstyle in Pan Pacific United, the Kasumi. His lips had kissed his roommate in university, a Canadian woman who threw herself at him at a bar, and—he grew cold inside—his lips had kissed…himself?
Disgust and confusion flooded him even as the fluid began to drain from his tank. What was worse, he only had one memory of kissing his clone, not two. Which meant that during their hunt they had missed at least one clone.
Another clone’s worth of memories he didn’t have. Memories he didn’t want.
His vat opened and Detective Lo appeared beside the soldiers as a tech monitored the numbers from his vat. “Akihiro Sato, you are under arrest for two counts of murder, conspiracy, attempted murder, fraud, and treason against the Pan Pacific United people. Among others. Do you have anything to say in your defense?”
Emotions clashed within him. Detective Lo, the face he had come to trust, was stony and impassive. She knew what was inside him now. Not just him, but the others. He remembered her kindness and help—matter-of-fact, but sympathetic. But other memories surfaced too, of Lo cruelly interrogating him, starving him of food and sleep, leaving him alone with a burly guard for one minute too long, and holding his broken hand and forcing him to sign euthanasia consent. He looked at her with equal coolness.
I don’t have room to judge what she’s capable of.
“No,” he said. “I am guilty of all you said. But I have a deal to offer.”
Lo raised an eyebrow. “Which one of you is offering?”
Hiro considered. “I believe you have to take it from all of us.” It was difficult to speak. Loyalties and guilt flared as he formed the next sentence. “I remember where I was cloned. And who cloned me. All of me.”
The next few weeks were difficult. Hiro spent them in a cell—back to sparse and uncomfortable—meditating. Sometimes he met with the psychologist and they discussed keeping his criminal personalities suppressed. Sometimes he could keep them down. Other times, when he was speaking with Detective Lo and trying to give her information about the lab that had cloned Hiros for criminal activities, he would remember how it felt to kill, the incredible rush of power, how first he was immortal and then he was in control of others’ lives and it was like godhood and oh, so sweet. Then he would break into shivers and be unable to continue.
After five months of this, of nightmares where one clone’s memories would surface and remind him of how it felt to be outside the law, he had a decent night’s sleep. When lights went out, he was out immediately. When they came on, he woke, feeling refreshed.
That day at the psychologist meeting, he sat in his gray jumpsuit and smiled at the doctor.
Dr. Ambjørn Berg, a visiting clone psychology expert from Norway, smiled back at him. “I trust you slept well?” he asked through his interpreter, Minoru Takahashi, a young linguistic genius awaiting execution for treason. Hiro had some concerns about how the man was translating his therapy, but he had little choice in the matter.
“I slept very well, actually, for the first time in this life,” Hiro answered.
“Then it worked,” Dr. Berg said, sitting back in his chair.
“What worked?”
“Hypnotism. I hypnotized you to repress the, what did you call it, non-dominant memories. You still have to stay in prison for your crimes, but you should be more stable now. And they will likely reduce your sentence a few years if you remain in good standing.”
Hiro rubbed his forehead as if he could tell whether the yadokari were really gone. “But how am I going to find out the information for Detective Lo?”
“She was with me when we hypnotized you. We got all the information she needed. Unfortunately the lab that cloned you is a bit outside the realm of Pan Pacific United control.”
Hiro nodded. He was relieved, despite still having to do time for crimes he—the one he was thinking of as the dominant Hiro, himself—did not commit. They talked about some other things, mainly going over some standard questions Dr. Berg asked each time he met with Hiro, but something was bothering him.
“Dr. Berg, one last question,” Hiro said before he got up to leave. “You managed to suppress these other lives’ memories. But what happens for my next clone? Does hypnotic control carry on in a mindmap?”
Dr. Berg smiled, “It will, Hiro. Those problems are over for you forever. But he’s lying to you.”
Hiro’s head snapped up and he looked at the doctor, then the translator. He realized that Minoru had added the bit at the end. He nodded mutely, stunned, and Dr. Berg shook his hand and left the room, Minoru on his heels.
Hiro found Minoru in the cafeteria later that day, hunched over a bowl of pork ramen.
“What did you mean, he was lying?” he asked, placing his bowl next to Minoru’s. Hiro had rice and vegetables. He wondered where Minoru got pork.
Minoru shrugged, stuffing noodles into his mouth. “You have to watch people closely when you translate. You learn how they speak, and if you can learn that, you can tell when they’re lying. It’s pretty easy; I don’t know why everyone can’t do it. He did right by you the whole time you were in there, till the end. He has no fucking clue what happens to a new clone who was previously hypnotized.”
“But can’t they look at my most recent mindmap?” Hiro asked.
“Don’t know,” Minoru said. “I’m not a doctor. All I know is he was lying when he said he’s sure the hypnotism will carry to your next clone.”
“Thanks,” Hiro said, looking at his own dinner.
Minoru smirked as he slurped in a noodle. “Liar.”
Hiro didn’t see Dr. Berg again. Satisfied with his success, the doctor went back to Norway. Hiro himself continued meditating daily to keep his mind quiet. He wasn’t taking any chances.
The other clones’ memories were distant now, like the old memories he had once assumed were dreams. Once, in a masochistic temper tantrum, he reached for the memories on purpose, trying to grab hold of them, but they slipped away. He was moved to a cell in the regular wing, no longer needing medical separation from the others. Lo had given him his choice of cellmates, though, and Minoru Takahashi was willing to join him.
Minoru and Hiro became fast friends. Minoru had intended to one day become a clone, but his current record made it unlikely. He was in for treason, which meant a death sentence. He was surprisingly blasé about it.
Hiro watched with interest as Minoru toyed with others, manipulating people into giving him food, or spreading rumors to cause a fight between prisoners, always slipping into the background and never getting directly involved.
He wondered at one point if Minoru had manipulated things to room with Hiro, instead of the other way, but he didn’t care. Minoru gave him someone to focus on aside from the voices in his head.
Detective Lo brought them tea in their cell before breakfast one day. “You’ve been mentally cleared,” she said. “Dr. Berg is very pleased with you. And himself,” she added, a smirk playing on her lips showing she didn’t think much of the doctor. “I wanted to tell you some things that have happened.” She pointed a remote at the camera on the wall and clicked it. “Let’s have some privacy. So, about that cloning lab. As it’s on Luna, we have very little jurisdiction there. We’re looking into the matter officially on a diplomatic level, but I wanted you to know that I dropped some hints to some other interested parties.”
“To?” Hiro asked.
“A certain group of people are dedicated to hunting people associated with hackers. Stray clones, the hackers themselves, and so on. We can’t legally arrest people on Luna—”
“While hiring assassins is much more legal,” Minoru said helpfully.
Lo ignored him. “—but if one of your spare clones we didn’t catch dies in mysterious circumstances, then we don’t cry too much. Your situation is unique, and you’ve helped us identify an illegal cloning lab on Luna that is a threat to Pan Pacific United. The judge is sympathetic to your situation.”
“And?” Hiro asked, watching her carefully. He had been taking people-watching pointers from Minoru.
But instead of speaking, Lo produced her tablet. Hiro felt bile rise; he would never get used to seeing his own dead body on display in front of him. This Hiro had a thin face and long hair in three braids down his back. He had been choked to death.
“And his mindmap?”
“There is no known copy of him,” she said.
She looked like she was telling the truth. He closed his eyes and sat back on his bed in relief.
“This one was bad,” she said. “He’d been hatcheted. Pure psychopath. Had done a lot of damage on the streets of Luna. I’m not even sure he was doing what he was programmed to do.”
“Now what?” Hiro asked.
“From what you told us, that should be the last one. The lab is shut down. You’ve been cleared via psych test. I think we can reduce your sentence even further, but you’ll still be here for the next ten years or so.” As always, she was matter-of-fact when presenting good news or bad.
He sighed. “I’ll take it.”
Lo glanced at Minoru, then back at Hiro. “I wanted to show you something, by the way. I just heard about plans for a ship built on Luna. They are looking for a…unique crew. I know the main American working with the team. Hiro, your face has been seen several times, and few people understand your situation. You need a fresh start. May I recommend getting some distance learning on mechanical engineering with a focus on piloting spacecraft?”
“Fresh start, huh?” Minoru said, leaning forward.
“I’m not authorized to offer this to you, Takahashi,” Lo said, tucking her tablet away. “You’re very likely going to die for your crimes, not colonize a new planet.”
“That’s very true,” Minoru said, nodding. He leaned against the wall and sipped his tea.
Hiro got worried. Usually when Minoru looked like that, someone was going to get in a knife fight or lose dinner or something. He focused back on Lo when he realized that she was waiting for an answer.
“Sounds good. Better than being a pariah here on Earth.”