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06:27 Saturday 2 November 2069
Ethan hadn’t been taking it easy since his reincarnation into the clone of Philip Armstrong. On the contrary, he had hardly stopped planning his next move. Tommy had been installed as his second in command – it was the least he could do really – as he had shown both loyalty and an aptitude for organisation and getting things done. Orders were placed with various companies for the components required to construct more soul transference equipment. More clone-care bases were set up in the various outbuildings to look after the clones until they reached their twenty-fifth day of growth and additional supplies of human growth hormone (Somatotropin or HGH) and its inhibiting counterpart (Somatostatin or GHIH) were in the process of being shipped post haste to augment the forty doses of each that the group already had. The children had previously needed to be a little careful about finances, so as not to leave themselves in a difficult situation, but with the return of Ethan had come a large influx of available cash. Ethan had dozens of secret bank accounts around the world and cost was certainly not going to prevent him from growing a clone army; the only thing that could stop Ethan now was Marcus. And, although Marcus would have suspected that Ethan’s soul had been given its liberty, he had no way of knowing if that were the case and he most certainly would have had no idea that Ethan too was occupying a clone body.
The first batch of ten clones chosen to be created included those of Tommy, Philip, and Jenny. Philip had the advantage of knowing what his clone would look like – Ethan being a living, breathing example of Philip when fifteen years older – and Tommy and Jenny were very curious as to how they would look. It would be like going to sleep a child and waking up as an adult.
Ethan’s initial thought was to create two hundred clones of Philip, the fittest of the children, but then he considered the risks. If, for example, there was a congenital problem with Philip that would show up in later life, then that problem could be duplicated during the cloning process and Ethan would lose the hard core of his loyal followers early, their souls potentially being spread to the four winds. Just as Mother Nature decreed, diversity was the better course of action, minimising the possibility of congenital disease. It wouldn’t hurt to have one more clone of Philip though. Also, just like Tommy and Jenny, the rest of the children were anxious to know what they would look like when grown up.
Philip sat up on the makeshift operating table that had been set up in an adjoining barn, looking straight ahead. He felt a little conspicuous, sitting there dressed only in his underpants, but being the biggest of the boys he couldn’t show any of the nervousness that he was actually feeling, even though he had already gone through the procedure when providing the stem cells for Ethan’s clone. It actually seemed worse because he knew what to expect. It was the needle that worried him. He fought the urge to flinch as the needle punctured the ligaments of his spine, causing a slight clicking sensation. It didn’t help much that the doctor giving the epidural and who would subsequently be harvesting the stem cells from his pelvic bone was a ten year old tomboy, with dimpled cheeks and bunches in her hair. He was worrying unnecessarily though as the tomboy, Susan Rigby, had been one of the top surgeons at the research centre. She may have had smaller hands and needed a stepladder to reach high shelves but she still had all the skill, knowledge, and technique that she had possessed in her previous life. And she hadn’t made a mess of things four weeks ago, so he was worrying needlessly.
Jenny held Philip’s hand, partly to reassure him and partly as a sign of affection. She had liked him since the first day that they had met and, after seeing what Ethan looked like now, she was even more convinced that he was the man for her. She hoped that she would grow up to be beautiful and that Philip would like what he saw when she took over her clone’s body.
Once the anaesthetic had taken hold, Susan made several small punctures over Philip’s pelvic bone, before inserting a special needle into the bone marrow to remove the required stem cells. Once removed, the bone marrow containing the stem cells was whisked away to another area of the barn which had been set aside and equipped as a cultivation laboratory. The extracted cells would be treated with HGH and moved to the maturing area until they were twenty- five days old, having created an adult replica of their donor. On that twenty-fifth day, the new clone would be given the correct dose of HGIH and have their donor’s soul transferred into them.
Philip and his fellow donors would need a good night’s rest in order to recuperate from the effects of both the anaesthetic and the medical procedure and Susan expected them to be well enough to resume duties within forty-eight hours. Jenny had bribed the girl in charge of the recovery unit with a big bar of chocolate to give her the bed next to Philip. When he woke up, the first thing he would see was her face.
Nine more children, including Jenny and Tommy, underwent the procedure that day. Ethan’s intention was to initiate the cloning process for ten clones per day. He had calculated that on the 27th of November the first ten clones would be ready and he could transfer the first ten souls, including Tommy and Jenny. Each subsequent day would see an increase by ten in the number of adult clones and a reduction by ten in the number of children. The 16th of December would see the last of the children’s souls transferred to their clone counterparts. He would be ready to execute his plan.