“Hello, Mom,” I said when she entered the room.
She wasn’t surprised in the least to see me. “Briana.” She was dressed in a tailored suit, but wore a lab coat over it. Her words didn’t slur, and she didn’t look the least bit hung over, a look I had come to expect from her. “Looks like Janice has shown you our little problem.”
I glanced at the two sickly clones. “She did.” I angled my head. “What are you doing here, Mom? What is going on inside this building?”
Never in the past seven years had I known my mom to wear a lab coat or show any interest in my dad’s work. She volunteered at historical societies and women’s groups. She ran a large house. And she grieved. Grieving took up a lot of time when you refused to accept that life went on—or that your other child might need a mom.
“This is my project. Your father wasn’t ready to expand into this building, so I asked him if I could use it for my own little experiment.” She stuffed her hands in her pockets. “And since he pretty much saw me as a grieving drunk, he was more than willing to let me fiddle about with a new hobby.”
“Hobby? You have human clones here!” I yelled. “And you call this your ‘little experiment’?”
“Don’t you patronize me, Briana Howard. Your father thinks he’s the only one who can change the world with medical technology? I did get a master’s degree in biophysics, and a medical degree—degrees I never used because I was expected to raise two children instead. But when Boone died, and—”
“And you stopped raising me…”
Her eyes narrowed, angry and spiteful. “You were never mine. Always your father’s. As I was saying, after Boone died, Sandra found me, and with her help—”
“Sandra’s help?” I laughed. “You really made a deal with the devil there, Mom. You purchased human children Sandra manufactured inside incubators so that you could run experiments on them? Like, since they were cloned in machines and not carried by actual humans, they have no more rights than lab rats?” I couldn’t hide my disapproval. “What are you doing to those poor kids in there?” I thought about what Tane had told me—that clones were taken from the room, and some never returned.
Mom walked a few steps closer. “I’m not doing anything that you hadn’t wished into existence. This company might bear Boone’s name, but I give all the credit to you, dear daughter, for dreaming up the concept.”
“What are you talking about?” My heart sped up just wondering what she could mean by that.
“Follow me.”
I looked back at the sickly clones. I would come back and try to heal them. I would fix whatever this was, or I would die trying. But first, I had to find out exactly what this woman who dared call herself my mom was up to.
Janice had remained silent during the entire exchange, and she stayed behind as Mom led me back into the room of clones. I hesitated for a moment when I didn’t see Tane and Tamati, but Mom urged me along, and I followed her to a lab still inside the BSL-4 zone. Inside were tall tables, microscopes, and other equipment, much like every other lab at Howard BioTech. On the far side of the room were two examination chairs, and in them were two young children: Tane and Tamati. I gasped, but stopped myself from sprinting to their sides.
A man was seated by one, and a woman by the other, both wearing white lab coats. They stood when they saw us.
“Mrs. Howard,” the woman said. “You’re just in time.”
“Wonderful. This is my daughter.” She gestured to me. “She’s going to observe, if you don’t mind.”
“Certainly. Let’s get started.”
My heart beat wildly out of control against my chest. The two technicians sat again. Beside them were metal trays with surgical instruments and…
“Are those trackers?”
I stepped forward, but Mom stopped me with a hand to my arm. She lifted a gaze toward two security guards that stood by the door. They immediately crossed the room, each holding a Taser.
I looked from my mom’s grip to her face. She gave her head a little shake. “We will sedate you again if we must. What happens to you after you know everything is completely up to you.”
What the hell does that mean? I stared at her eyes—eyes that held a glint of triumph, power.
I turned back to the lab techs and tried to calm my out-of-control heartbeat. I decided it would be better to find out what exactly was going on before I went on a tirade. But if Mom thought I was going to stand idly by and watch her hurt these two clones, she obviously didn’t know me very well.
I took in a breath, then let it out slowly. “I just meant… since you’re claiming that I dreamt up whatever’s going on here, I should get to know whatever it is they’re doing to these children.” I eyed Tane and Tamati, who had not moved. “I just want to understand how my concept is coming to life.”
“You were an amazing intern last summer,” Mom said. “You clearly had the most innovative project concept. But you left before the company could honor you—and besides, since you’re the daughter of the CEO, we decided it was better to award the prize to another intern. However, this,” she gestured to the procedure in front of me, “is your project coming to life.”
I retreated into myself and recalled the previous summer. By the time I was completing my final intern project, I hated Vance, and I certainly didn’t care about the project. I had no intention of giving Vance anything he could actually use. I didn’t want that disgusting person profiting off of an idea I dreamt up. So I’d suggested something that I knew would never, under any circumstances be implemented…
I studied Mom’s eyes, then turned to the metal trays. Trackers hadn’t existed then, and I’d had no idea that human clones existed. But as the details of my proposal flooded back, the room began to spin. I was a sailboat trapped in the eye of a cyclone in the middle of an out-of-control sea.
“Oh my God,” I whispered, praying that a divine power would step in. I swallowed hard, took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. I couldn’t lose control. Not now. These clones needed me. Their lives depended on it. I faced the people in front of me. “You’re creating artificially intelligent humans.”
“It’s ingenious, really. These are intelligent children, by design, who will receive a tracker at the base of their brain. Those trackers will enable us to control where they go and what they do. Not to mention, the trackers will ensure they don’t run off and escape. My oracles will give them the knowledge they’ll need for whatever mission they’re assigned—or whatever job they’re purchased to perform. It’s so much better than that infantile mechanical idiot robot Minerva your father built.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be a viable idea,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
“What was that, darling?”
“You’re crazy,” I said more plainly. “What I proposed wasn’t supposed to be real. It was a joke.”
“On the contrary. You sell yourself short. It was brilliant,” Mom said. “You have a gift.”
“How many?”
“What?”
“How many children have you placed trackers inside?” It was Sandra all over again.
“Oh… I don’t know. Half a dozen or so? Some weren’t so lucky. Their wounds wouldn’t heal after we inserted the trackers. They became rife with infection and, unfortunately, died.”
“You killed innocent children.” I squeezed my eyes tight.
“I don’t see it that way.”
Tears stung my eyes. Like Jonas and Jack, I was the child of a monster.
“Your brother was a huge success, though.”
“That is not my brother,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Of course it is. Rai’s an exact clone of your brother, and has even been equipped with your brother’s memories. Do you realize what people would pay to replace lost loved ones?”
Another security guard pushed through the door, walked to my mom, and whispered something in her ear. She nodded to him, then turned back to the lab technicians and the two clones. “Let’s proceed.”
I clenched my hands into fists. Blood pulsed loudly between my ears. I had to do something. I got inside the two technician’s heads and realized that they, too, were equipped with trackers. It was as if my mom had gone to the College of Sandra.
The technicians began prepping the two clones. The chairs were lowered and flattened. They asked the clones to roll over. Only then did I notice the holes in the chairs where the clones could put their faces, like massage chairs—only these children were not being treated to a relaxing spa treatment.
“Does Dad know about this?”
“What? Of course not. Your father is too much of a coward to take this kind of bold risk.”
“Then why would you? This is wrong on so many levels.”
“Don’t be naïve. This is how medicine advances. Trial and error.” Mom crossed her arms and watched as the techs shaved and cleaned the backs of the children’s necks. The children had apparently been given a sedative, because they did everything that was asked of them without hesitation. “But if we succeed at creating the intelligent healing machines you and the original clones were supposed to be? Then we’re geniuses, and we will advance medicine beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.”
“Intelligent healing machines,” I repeated. “But those…” I turned toward the oracles.
“No, those oracles aren’t equipped with that kind of knowledge. But oracles can be removed, and new ones inserted in their place, depending on the level of intelligence we want our AI subjects to have. It takes an incredible amount of time and resources to manufacture a single oracle, and the more complex the knowledge they contain, the more precious they become. In fact, there is only one healing oracle in existence. It took nearly a year to manufacture.”
The muscles along my neck tensed. Did she know I knew the whereabouts of that oracle? “Is that why you killed Vance? Because he took the healing oracle?”
“He was supposed to have delivered the healing oracle to our supplier as payment for the trackers. But he gave it to that pathetic girlfriend of his. And, well, we know where it went after that, don’t we, Bree, dear?” She cast an evil look over at me, and I feared she would kill me whether I gave her the oracle or not. My own mother.
“You said the IIA wanted the oracle.”
She laughed. “You’ll believe anything, and I figured if you thought the IIA had your father and wanted the oracle, you’d be scared enough to hand it over. I know how the IIA scares you.” She had the nerve to make fun of me then.
“And what do you mean about a supplier? You didn’t get the trackers from Sandra?”
“Initially we did, but when you kids destroyed her, I had to find another supplier. He’ll be here soon, by the way, and he won’t be as nice as I’m being. He’ll force you to hand over the oracle.”
I thought about that—about who else could get their hands on trackers. And I came up empty. Jonas had talked about trackers being stolen from Palmyra, and the discovery of some in Costa Rica, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember the details.
“While we wait for my supplier, let’s move on.” Mom turned back to Tane and Tamati. “So far, our AI creations have limited knowledge based on the optical implants your father has created. For now, we’re just testing our ability to control the clones through their tracker and feed them knowledge through the implant. But once we’re able to mass produce the healing oracles, I’ll be able to finish what Sandra started.”
I was terrified of her confidence in this ludicrous plan.
I faced her. “Where is Dad?”
She frowned. “Your father refused to cooperate, so I made sure the police knew he was protecting your whereabouts.” She grabbed my hands. “Sweetie. Don’t you realize what we can do here? I have all the evidence to send your father away for Vance’s murder. You would take over Howard BioTech, and together, you and I will have the world’s largest medical conglomerate, capable of producing an endless supply of cloned healers. All you have to do is hand over the oracle. I can provide you with the future you need and deserve. Much better than your father could.”
Did she think I would hand over this healing oracle just for the privilege of entering her web of deception? “You’ve got this all figured out, don’t you?”
“Or,” her voice turned cold, “I can hand you over to the police, along with enough information to convince them that you killed Vance because of what he did to you last summer. And that your father murdered Lora because she and Vance leaked highly classified scientific research. You both can go away on murder charges.” She shrugged. “Your choice.”
Grief coursed throughout my body as the woman in front of me died a slow, painful death inside my heart. When I had returned home this summer, I didn’t have high expectations that I would suddenly have loving relationships with both of my parents, but even with the events of the last year, I hadn’t expected this.
I glanced at the techs, who were patiently watching our conversation. What must they think? Or were they so heavily controlled by their trackers that it didn’t matter? I gestured toward the technicians. “I think they’re ready.”
“They’re ready when I say they’re ready. Are we in agreement?”
This woman had lost her mind. I had decided one thing though: what was happening in this building was about to come to a halt. “Sure. We’re in agreement. I’d love to see more of your plan.”
“And you’ll hand over the healing oracle to me?”
“Of course,” I lied.
“If you’re lying, dear Bree, you will go to jail, forever. And that’s if my supplier doesn’t force you to submit to his control with your very own tracker. But I think you’ll get on board when you see what we can do here.” Mom turned to the techs. “Begin the procedure.”
Besides being a new kind of certifiable, Mom failed to understand one very important fact—the same fact that Sandra Whitmeyer and John DeWeese had also failed to comprehend: she couldn’t control anyone from the team of original clones. Including me.
And I’d had enough of this display of crazy.
I reached out to the minds of all of those in the room, except for Tane and Tamati, and one by one I altered what they were seeing. Controlling their minds, I made them continue to see the bodies of the two boys in the chairs.
Then I mindspoke to Tane and Tamati: Tane, Tamati, I want the two of you to crawl out of the chairs. No one is going to hurt you, I promise. I motioned for them to come to me, and they scurried to my side.
The two technicians leaned forward with scalpels raised toward what they thought were their test subjects. As their hands reached the bodies they wished to cut, they met air. They felt for the bodies, but their hands fell all the way to the white sheet that wrapped the chair.
“What is it? What’s going on?” Mom stepped forward, trading confused looks with the technicians.
Tane and Tamati looked up at me. I turned to the door. Mom’s guards looked just as confused as the others, but they waited patiently for orders. Addison popped into view on the other side of the glass, and I let out a relieved breath.
I urged Tane and Tamati toward the door, toward Addison. Addison is going to help you.
What about you? Tane asked while walking away from me.
I’ll be fine. Now go.
Tane and Tamati raced out of the lab and into Addison’s arms, and the three of them disappeared from my sight.
“She’s manipulating our minds! Guards, restrain my daughter!” Mom yelled behind me.
The guards lunged for me, but I sidestepped them. I darted around the guards and ran toward the glass. I manipulated their minds so that they couldn’t see me, but I knew immediately I couldn’t hold it long.
Addison, I mindspoke, where’s Jonas?
I don’t know, she answered. Last I heard from him, Rai had cornered him inside your dad’s office.
I squeezed my eyes tightly, but I had to have faith that Jonas would survive a run-in with Rai. Get to the other clones. Make them disappear while I end this, I mindspoke.
Just then my invisibility wore off, and before I could get hold of the minds in the room again, pain shot into my rib cage and exploded throughout my body. I’d been tasered. I fell to the ground, writhing in pain. And the Taser wasn’t the worst of it. Fire exploded in my head, punishment from the strain of altering the appearance of the clones to so many people simultaneously, and from making myself invisible.
“What are you waiting for? Pick her up!” Mom barked.
One of the guards leaned over me and was about to scoop me up, but I fought through the pain and managed to slip inside his mind. I disappeared from his sight and rolled out of his reach. The other guard, who could still see me, came after me, so I let go of one mind and entered the other. I was feeling too weak to alter both their perceptions at once. I wasn’t as good at this disappearing act as Addison was.
The problem was, disappearing from one person’s vision at a time was not going to help me escape—at best it bought me an extra second or two. I needed to think fast.
It was then that I noticed a syringe lying on one of the metal trays. I imagined it was some sort of sedative, so I lunged for it, snatched it up, and spun, holding it out in front of me as a weapon.
“Briana,” Mom said. “Please calm down. You don’t want to fight me on this. Don’t you see? We’ll be such a good team together. You can finally embrace who you are, and we’ll help people.”
I stared at her. “Help people?” She had gone completely mad. But it gave me an opening.
“That’s right. Of course.”
“How about we start with the two sick clones?” Those clones were barely hanging on as it was. “You start putting the health of the clones first, and I’ll help you with your company.”
She smiled. “Okay. We can start there.”