“was not a dream, it was an actual memory you had, because you were kept in a tube filled with amniotic fluid your whole life until Thursday night. This is when they took me to the hospital and replaced me with you.”
“ Who would do that?”
“ That doesn’t matter right now. Tell me, do you remember being at the hospital at all?”
“ No, nothing.”
“W hat about going to the Imaginarium?”
“ I remember that vaguely, bits and pieces, I apparently won.”
“ It’s odd you don’t remember the details. I know exactly what my strategy was.” Suddenly a thought came to him. “Wait a minute, the game! It must have been the trigger for the replacement. But why?”
“ I think you’re crazy,” the clone replied. “I’m going to call father.”
“No, no, don’t do that. Please don’t. Something terrible is happening to us.” Allan started to tell the clone the whole story of his misfortune, and then his rescue, his coming back home, and finally the discovery he made while listening to his father’s phone conversation.
As the clone listened to Allan’s story, he looked as though he was going through a transformation. His boyishness, the innocent air of somebody living a sheltered life, was replaced by a new hardness of his features. His eyes began to bear a determination of his whole being, his chin pushed out with a stubborn will to triumph.
“This is absolutely crazy. I can’t possibly be a clone.” He stared at Allan, as if waiting for a challenge or for the nightmare to end. When nothing happened, he went and took a seat on the desk chair. He placed his head between his knees, trying to get his bearings back. “I don’t feel any different. Should I?”
“I don’t know, man,” Allan replied. “I personally haven’t met any clone, not that I know of, anyway.”
The clone looked at Allan with questioning eyes. “What’s going to happen to me, now that you‘re back?”
“ I don’t know. I’m not here to harm you, I just wanted my life back. So here I am. But I have to ask, do you feel as if your memories are yours?”
“ Of course they’re mine!” He stopped, as if trying to remember something. “Although, now that you mention it, I do feel a bit detached from them, like they have no power over me. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s more like what has happened in my life are things I’ve read in a book or watched on the Digiscreen, nice stories, but I can’t quite understand why they should mean something. I had that feeling this morning, remembering I was going to play tennis today and wondered why I don’t feel any excitement about playing, knowing all the while that I used to like the game. You think it’s because I’m new on the job?”
“Maybe. Tennis is a great game, but I can see your point. If you never truly experienced the thrill of the challenge and the physical exertion of your mus cles while playing, probably your brain can’t force excitement about it.”
“ You know what else, this morning I was thinking how I’d like to be called Lan, does anyone ever call you that?”
“ No, I’ve never cared to be called Lan.”
“Then that’ s the first thought I can claim for myself. Might as well use the name Lan, now that there are two of us…”
“Why didn’t you call father the moment you laid eyes on me?” Allan asked. “I mean, when you hit me over the head. Why not rat me out right away?”
“I don’t know. I was curious , and intrigued. But I didn’t feel any revulsion, if that’s what you mean. More like you were my twin brother or something like that. I’m sorry I hurt you.”
“Then you’re a better man than me, because to tell you the truth, the first thing on my mind after what happened was to find you and kill you and be back again, just like before.”
“I can’t possibly be better. I’m you , remember?” Lan gave him a mischievous look.
Now that the air was cleared between them, Lan asked Allan a lot more
“ Who would do that?”
“ That doesn’t matter right now. Tell me, do you remember being at the hospital at all?”
“ No, nothing.”
“W hat about going to the Imaginarium?”
“ I remember that vaguely, bits and pieces, I apparently won.”
“ It’s odd you don’t remember the details. I know exactly what my strategy was.” Suddenly a thought came to him. “Wait a minute, the game! It must have been the trigger for the replacement. But why?”
“ I think you’re crazy,” the clone replied. “I’m going to call father.”
“No, no, don’t do that. Please don’t. Something terrible is happening to us.” Allan started to tell the clone the whole story of his misfortune, and then his rescue, his coming back home, and finally the discovery he made while listening to his father’s phone conversation.
As the clone listened to Allan’s story, he looked as though he was going through a transformation. His boyishness, the innocent air of somebody living a sheltered life, was replaced by a new hardness of his features. His eyes began to bear a determination of his whole being, his chin pushed out with a stubborn will to triumph.
“This is absolutely crazy. I can’t possibly be a clone.” He stared at Allan, as if waiting for a challenge or for the nightmare to end. When nothing happened, he went and took a seat on the desk chair. He placed his head between his knees, trying to get his bearings back. “I don’t feel any different. Should I?”
“I don’t know, man,” Allan replied. “I personally haven’t met any clone, not that I know of, anyway.”
The clone looked at Allan with questioning eyes. “What’s going to happen to me, now that you‘re back?”
“ I don’t know. I’m not here to harm you, I just wanted my life back. So here I am. But I have to ask, do you feel as if your memories are yours?”
“ Of course they’re mine!” He stopped, as if trying to remember something. “Although, now that you mention it, I do feel a bit detached from them, like they have no power over me. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s more like what has happened in my life are things I’ve read in a book or watched on the Digiscreen, nice stories, but I can’t quite understand why they should mean something. I had that feeling this morning, remembering I was going to play tennis today and wondered why I don’t feel any excitement about playing, knowing all the while that I used to like the game. You think it’s because I’m new on the job?”
“Maybe. Tennis is a great game, but I can see your point. If you never truly experienced the thrill of the challenge and the physical exertion of your mus cles while playing, probably your brain can’t force excitement about it.”
“ You know what else, this morning I was thinking how I’d like to be called Lan, does anyone ever call you that?”
“ No, I’ve never cared to be called Lan.”
“Then that’ s the first thought I can claim for myself. Might as well use the name Lan, now that there are two of us…”
“Why didn’t you call father the moment you laid eyes on me?” Allan asked. “I mean, when you hit me over the head. Why not rat me out right away?”
“I don’t know. I was curious , and intrigued. But I didn’t feel any revulsion, if that’s what you mean. More like you were my twin brother or something like that. I’m sorry I hurt you.”
“Then you’re a better man than me, because to tell you the truth, the first thing on my mind after what happened was to find you and kill you and be back again, just like before.”
“I can’t possibly be better. I’m you , remember?” Lan gave him a mischievous look.
Now that the air was cleared between them, Lan asked Allan a lot more
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