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Chapter 10
Chuck Springer laid in bed completely absorbed in reading the material Mike had downloaded. How often had he dreamed of this moment, of creating a human being?
At ten years of age he had watched that old, horror movie “Frankenstein” with Boris Karloff and he’d become obsessed with playing God and replicating life, like Dr. Frankenstein had been obsessed. How many insects had he killed and tried to revive with methods that frightened his parents to death? Now, it had happened right here...but at what cost? Todd Manning had been raped of his DNA, imprisoned and victimized while Gemini was a psychotic freak programmed with a life that wasn’t his own.
“I beheld the wretch--the miserable monster whom I had created,” he whispered, remembering Dr. Frankenstein’s own words.
He’d wanted accolades from the scientific community, not a prison term. It was to get away from the bioethics commission that he’d come to this desolate place, not to have to deal with the morals of his research or to even have to think about them, but now, with a human face on it, the all too human, almost Christ-like face of Todd Manning, the ethical ramifications seemed daunting...and more significant somehow.
“Knowledge is God. Is it?” he whispered to himself feeling guilty, as if he were already an accessory to a theoretical crime.
There was a knock on his door and an icy shiver ran through his system. It was midnight, though it was still fairly light out, and usually everyone was in bed by now in this place. Suddenly he felt like a Jew, afraid of the knock on the door at midnight that would take him away on some cold, crowded train, on a track that faded into the bleak, icy wilderness...into oblivion. Suddenly, he was afraid of disappearing.
“Who’s there?”
“Tukluk.”
Chuck jumped up and opened the door, letting him in quickly and looking around, making sure no one was watching.
“What’s going on? What the hell are you doing here? I thought there were guards at your dorm? How did you get out?”
Tukluk looked nervous.
“No guards. They haven’t been paid in weeks, so they packed up and took off about an hour ago. No one will know they’re gone till morning.”
“What? What about the guards in the basement?”
“They’re gone too, man. And look,” said Tukluk, opening his hand and revealing a key. “Simoot, one of the guards gave it to me before he left. It’s to the basement lab.”
“Shit! Are you telling me that no one’s guarding the basement? Well, fuck, let’s go down and see what’s going on?”
Chuck put on his shoes and opened his door slowly, checking the hallway. He and Tukluk walked past a few doors.
“Here. This is Mike’s room.”
Chuck knocked softly on the door. There was no answer, so he knocked again, a bit more loudly, but there was still no answer.
“He’s not here! I don’t get it...I saw him a few hours ago and he said he was going straight to bed.”
They exchanged an anxious look.
“Let’s go,” said Tukluk, heading down the corridor and out the door to the next building. As they entered the building and made their way toward the basement they noticed that the place was completely deserted.
Finally they stood at the basement door. Tukluk took out the key Simoot had given him and tried it out as Chuck smiled at the sound of the lock turning and the door opening. They entered quietly, peaking down the stairway looking for guards. There were none.
When they got to the bottom they looked down the length of the hallway, in both directions, and noticed that the entire place was deserted.
“I think it’s time Todd found out why he’s here, don’t you?” asked Tukluk.
“Sure, but, how the hell do we tell him that he’s been cloned.”
“Why don’t we show him,” said Tukluk, heading for Gemini’s room.
As they approached the room they notice the door beginning to open. Tukluk shoved Chuck back beneath the stairway as they watched Dr. Crespo coming out of Gemini’s room. Digging in the pocket of her white smock, she dabbed her eyes and leaned against the door, clearly upset and exhausted as she walked slowly up the stairs. When they heard the door lock upstairs they came out from underneath.
“She was crying,” said Tukluk.
“Yeah...I guess Gemini must feel like her own kid...”
When they entered the room they could hear his labored breathing as they approached the bed. Tukluk touched his arm and shook him gently.
Gemini opened his hazel eyes, blinking wearily with narcotic drowsiness. His eyes rested on Tukluk’s face then moved to Chuck’s struggling to recognize them.
Chuck noticed the glass vile of solution that was dripping slowly through a clear tube and being fed into Gemini’s arm intravenously.
“It’s a morphine drip. He’s pretty out of it. I’m going to clamp it and see if we can’t wake him up a bit,” said Chuck.
When he’d finished he and Tukluk helped Gemini into a sitting position and placed him in his wheelchair.
“What...are...doing? I want...sleep,” he protested lethargically.
“Gemini, I’m Dr. Springer...we met the other night,” said Chuck as he moved the morphine drip and catheter carefully, hooking them to the chair, making sure he was comfortable.
“My name...is...Todd...not Gem...”
“Are you sure?” asked Chuck.
Gemini’s eyes narrowed, his brow furrowing slightly as he nodded, the morphine impinging his ability to access his programming.
“I’m Todd...I’m...I think...”
“I’m going to wake Todd up. Follow me when you’re ready,” said Tukluk, slipping out the door.
Tukluk ran down to the end of the long corridor where Todd’s cell was.
“Todd! Todd...wake up!”
Todd’s head jerked up quickly. He turned around and stood up, rubbing his eyes and pushing his long, tangled hair back, out of his face.
“Hey, Tuk...what the hell’s going on? I didn’t even get dinner tonight. Have they decided to starve me to death now?”
“Todd...listen. The guards split...this place is going under and they took off a few hours ago. I think most of them realize that you’re being held here illegally and they don’t want to be involved.”
Todd looked confused.
“What the hell does all that mean? What’s going to happen to me?”
“I don’t know. But...I think I know the reason why you’re here...and why no one’s come looking for you.”
Todd approached him.
“Why?”
“The reason you weren’t missed is because...you weren’t missing.”
Todd stared at him, his eyes narrowing.
“What’s that...a riddle? What the fuck does that mean!” he growled impatiently with sleep-deprived crankiness.
Tukluk watched the wheelchair approaching in the distance as Chuck pushed Gemini gently down the hall, the bottle of morphine rattling softly as they neared the cell.
Todd heard someone approaching.
“Who’s that?”
Tukluk approached Todd and placed an arm on his shoulder.
“It’s the answer to all your questions, my friend,” he said cryptically, as the wheelchair finally arrived and Chuck stopped in front of the cell, turning Gemini to face Todd.
2003 Copyright by Trog
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