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By Alise Linder

A collection of futuristic science fiction stories set around the spectrum of human choices. Live or die. Run or fight. Sacrifice yourself or someone else. What would you choose?
Would you clone yourself to save the human race? Would you fight for a stranger's life? Would you sacrifice yourself to save an enemy? Would you ask someone else to do any of those things? Would you fall in line or would you choose?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jul 31, 2014
• ISBN: 9781312395725

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Five Science Fiction Short Stories

Alise Linder

© 2014 Alise Linder.  All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-312-39572-5

God’s Copy Shop

Lost a loved one?  Need a colleague who can think just like you?  The television sang out delightedly, the host stepping back and spreading his arm to indicate the state-of-the-art facility.  Welcome, one and all, to God’s Copy Shop.  First rate clones in cut-rate time.  God got it right the first time, we get it right the second!

Cut! the director shouted, enthusiastically grinning at the line of five straight-faced scientists.

You have got to be kidding me.  The first in line stated pointedly.

The director’s face fell, dejectedly, You don’t like it?

God’s Copy Shop?

We are not calling the facility that.

This commercial is the most ridiculous thing we have ever seen.

"God got it right the first time?"

Have you heard of evolution?

This is beyond absurd.

Call us when you have something useful to contribute to our efforts.

The director frowned, momentarily at a complete loss.  But, not one to be so easily cowed, he mustered up his spirits and summoned his creative team as five perfectly identical scientists quietly exited the laboratory turned film studio.

This is ludicrous.

This man is an idiot.

The five clones stood in a perfect circle, each with his feet planted firmly and his arms crossed.  Their conversation went around the circle as they each arrived at the same idea at virtually the same time.

We need him.

We barely got the cloning laws passed.

Someone has to sell this idea to the public.

Who cares what they think?

They’re idiots, too.

We shouldn’t allow them to clone themselves.

They’ll only create more idiots.

The law is clear.

We can only operate a cloning facility if it is available to the public.

Then we won’t tell the public.

Five identical pairs of eyes met.

We can’t really hide it at this point.

Fine.

We let the idiot make his commercial.

Fade in on a park.  It’s a sunny day.  A man and a woman stand on an emerald green hill holding hands.  The woman speaks softly.  After the plague we couldn’t have more children.  So we went to God’s Copy Shop.

Two identical boys run up the hill and join their parents.  The man grins knowingly.  They even offered us a two-for-one special.  Two more identical boys run up.  But we opted for the bulk discount.

The lights came up.  So, so… the director rubbed his hands together.  It’s good, right.

The five scientists stared at him.  You’re fired.

The Daily Report – Classified Section

Available to the public

Cloning capabilities

See Doctors One through Five for details

Lazarus Rising

The phone rang forbiddingly.  Chief General Locke rolled over in bed.  He wasn’t asleep.  He rarely was.

Yes?

This is Dr. Addamson from Bella Terra.

Locke’s face fell.

I’m sorry to inform you, sir…  We found Adele, sir.  She’s dead.

Locke didn’t answer.

Sir, did you hear me, sir?  Your daughter is dead.

I heard.  Locke swung his legs over the edge of the bed.  Where did you find her?

Addamson paused.  In a ditch, sir.  Just a few miles down the road from the facility.  I’m so sorry, sir.

Where’s the body?

Sir?  Addamson was surprised at Locke’s neutral tone.  Sir, I… Here, sir.  She’s here at the facility morgue.

I’ll be there shortly.

Locke hung up the call with Addamson.  He spoke a command into his phone and a text was sent to his driver calling for the car.  Locke carefully stood up from the antique four-poster bed.  He walked calmly to the en suite, brushed his teeth and shaved.  He stepped back into the bedroom and sat down on the bench at the end of his bed to put on his shoes one foot at a time.

When Locke had pulled on his suit coat, he went down to the front door.  He stopped for a moment and looked at the framed photograph of his late wife holding the then five-year old Adele.  He tugged the door firmly shut behind him.

It was only a twenty-minute drive to Bella Terra Sanatorium.  The facility was set in the open country among the green rolling hills of Virginia.  Bella Terra was highly regarded by professionals and by the families of those who were unfortunately consigned to the facility for treatment.

Locke’s driver opened the door for him, and the Chief General of the Central Intelligence Assembly put his feet solidly on the concrete driveway.  He walked steadily through the front doors and was shown considerately to a cold slab and a pale dead girl on it.

She didn’t look anything like the picture on Locke’s front table.  The rich brown hair of her five-year old self was a sickly grayish color on the nineteen-year old laying in front of him.  Her soft, baby skin had withered along with her mind in the last fourteen years.

I’m so sorry, General.  Dr. Addamson shook his head sorrowfully.  We’re reviewing the security footage again, but there’s just no sign of Adele leaving.  We have no idea how she got out or who… who did this to her.  We’ve been searching most of the night, but we were too late, sir.

Locke glanced at the blood-smeared sheet that delicately covered the girl’s mutilated body, but he could only spare a glance.  He was sure that what had been done to her body was horrifying, but Locke’s focus was on the slashes that marred her young face.

I need a moment, doctor.  His voice was blunt and sounded too loud in the white-tiled room.

Dr. Addamson nodded uncertainly.  Of course, sir.  I’ll be right outside if you need me.  Locke didn’t reply but stared pointedly at the doctor until he left.

The General waited for the door to click shut, then he reached out his fingers and gently turned the girl’s head, exposing the left side of her neck.  A small circle of skin just under her hairline had been neatly excised.  Locke turned nearly as pale as the corpse.

He strode out of the room letting the door slam shut behind him.  Doctor Addamson had clearly been pacing the hallway outside the morgue.

Sir, if there’s anything…

Locke cut him off.  You’ve done everything for her that you can, doctor.

That’s not what I… Addamson trailed off.

The General didn’t particularly care.  He made his way back outside and into his car.  Then he spoke a command to his phone and uttered the two most terrifying words of his life.  Lazarus rising.

***

Connell tried to drop his end of the crate at the same time as Billy.  Billy O’Meara was the marvel of all the docks.  The longshoreman never stopped talking.  Connell was pretty sure that Billy hadn’t taken a breath in hours.

The pair