The Three of Me

By JP Lorence

 

'The Three of Me' is a science fiction short novel. The story line is set in the early Twenty Second Century and deals with events surrounding tissue replication technology under study and experimentation in a University Lab.

   

The main character, Ilio Tarak, is a janitor in the Laboratory Group wing of the University in question. Due to an equipment malfunction, he is accidentally copied twice by an organic replication device held by the school. Forced to conceal the existence of his two clones, he brings them home to hide them. Their existence represents a capital crime within the current justice system, and only he and the Professor in charge of the department know of the existence of these two, who name themselves Alpha and Beta.

 

Neither is cognitively identical to their original, however, although being physically indistinguishable from him. The first run clone is mentally limited, but retains all of his original's memory and personality. The second one retains none of his personal memory at all, and is highly sociopathic, but is equipped with a highly accelerated central nervous system, possessing several times the intelligence of his original. They proceed to emerge into the outside world, conducting projects of their own and impersonating him at times, both with and without his knowledge. With their radically different personalities, they involve Tarak in a series of schemes and events for which he is entirely unprepared.

 

The plot arc of the work involves the commission of a crime perpetrated by Beta, in which he involves Tarak. A member of the University Staff where Tarak works is killed in the process. It is left up to the Alpha clone, the Professor, and a female friend recruited from Human Resources to try and save him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: JP Lorence
• Release date: Apr 20, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224762576

Book preview

Chapter One

The Janitor looked on in horror at the scene on the floor in front of him. There they both lay, identical copies of himself, although he could no longer see the slightest resemblance, not even to each other. He watched as the blood stain issuing from one grew on the carpet before his eyes. The other had his head cocked at an awkward angle betraying the fact that he had just died of a broken neck.

He looked out the window at the passing pedestrian traffic one level below. Had any of them heard the fight that had just ensued? It was unlikely, it had all happened so quickly. One had stabbed the other, and the other had succeeded in breaking his neck before he bled to death.

He thought of the two individuals he had come to know recently, who he now saw on the floor of his living unit. One of them still retained the subtle sneer that had characterized him through his short life. The other looked only still and blank. He had to look away even as he took these things in, the picture of their corpses was such a parody.

Every one of those people on that pedway had a name, an identity. It was uniquely theirs. The two on the floor had recently taken that from him. He swore it would never happen again.

(Eleven Weeks Earlier)

ILIO TARAK AWOKE WITH a sharp jolt. His chrono went off, emitting the alarm tone. The time read 6:75. Cease alarm! Tarak yelled at the device. The timepiece went silent. He had been dreaming intensely, but he realized he couldn't remember clearly about what. Something about looking into a cracked mirror, that's all he retained. 

He held his hands up in front of himself. They were shaking slightly. He had awoken this way several times recently, and considered the idea of going for a neurophysical. No time for that now, he had to go to work.

Twenty five minutes later he was staring out the window of the trans as it carried him towards the Regional University where he worked as Sanitation Maintenance staff. It was strange, performing one of the lowest jobs on the ladder while surrounded by the province's science elite. He didn't mind that a bit. Witnessing what these researchers went through to make their careers, he often counted his blessings. As a student, Tarak had scored high enough marks to become a Labor Organizer if he had so wished. But when a position in the University Labs had opened, he opted for that instead.

The trans reached the University stop and Tarak shuffled out with three other riders. Numerous drives were out in the morning rush hour, mostly cheap old models. He wove his way through the intersection and headed for the Lab entrance. Another long day on the horizon.

ONNI VILEK EMERGED from his drive and straightened his instructor's uniform. This was about to be a challenging class session and all he could do was brace himself as he took in the sight of the University student intake. Second year students were usually among the worst as far as the Science Department went. They seemed to consider themselves scientists already merely because they had made it through the first round of eliminations, while they really hadn't even gotten their feet wet. Vilek was enough of a veteran to be well acquainted with this fact.

Today's lecture would involve a demonstration of the newest trophy of the Biotech Department, the Organic Replicator. It wasn't their invention, but the model the University had gone to great lengths to secure was the most advanced model constructed so far.

The Replicator was a cell layer printer. It consisted of an MRI scanner and a printing gun that layed down stem cells in blocks. It could program those cells to be anything you wanted- flesh, bone, nerve tissue, and so on. You could make a whole new hand for yourself if you wanted, or a replacement liver. Maybe even copy the last member of an almost extinct species. The potential was enormous.

Vilek knew enough to see the obvious question coming from a mile off. Why not a whole person, Professor? At which point, he would recite the equally obvious answer. Serious human rights violation. It's illegal, and it should be.

A FEW MINUTES LATER Vilek found himself staring down a lab full of eager students occupying the observation chairs. Most had their tablets in hand, and he hoped they were reviewing the session notes. A few obviously weren't.

Professor Onni, I have a question regarding the stem cell specs you've listed- a young female student in the front broke in.

Sorry, Mila, I'll answer of your questions after the lecture, but I have to start now. Vilek appreciated her enthusiasm deeply, but she had no sense of academic etiquette whatsoever. Second year, of course. And like so many other high performing students, he took a moment to remind himself.

Vilek took the speaker's circle at the front and addressed the class. Today, I'm going to demonstrate the Organic Replicator in action. If you've reviewed the class notes... he coughed loudly at this point, you'll have learned that the subject is a small amphibian.

He withdrew a small plastic box from the storage cabinet and opened it, displaying a tiny frog to the students. The frog took the opportunity to jump out of its container, but Vilek managed to catch it just as it did. Perhaps she resents the resents the idea of being duplicated. he said.

The Replicator itself was a large boxlike fixture almost three meters long and two high. One half of it was the scanning chamber, slightly larger than an average shower stall with multiple imagers mounted within. The other half contained the cell reservoirs and a mounted printing arm dangling over a square platform. This was the business end of the device.

Vilek placed the frog inside a transparent screw top container and set that inside the scanning chamber. I'm about to engage the process. Watch the stats as they appear on your student tablets, you'll see the whole sequence.

A few button clicks later, and the imagers swung into action. Multiple bursts of light hit the bottle and the frog jumped