"And what makes you necessary for the job?"
Bettmann extended his arm and grasped the pit of his elbow.
"What my clone doesn't know is that the CIA will be after someone
who looks exactly like me: they'll arrest him when he tries to get on
the plane. And if I get on the plane with your help, the hijackers will
think I'm the copy, not the original."
############
Brad and Svetlana's bodies rubbed against each other in the
shadows thrown by the wall they were up against, and then the two
of them were tugging at one another's clothes in the darkness.
Man was pressed against woman, pinning her to the cold stone
wall, and there was soft grunting in the shadows, a sound
muted by knowledge of the close proximity of others.
When the act was over, the two clones joined the rest of Carter
Dedender's five hundred followers on the circular marble steps of the
central meeting hall of Dedender's compound. Four hundred clones
and the one hundred women who had borne and raised them over
the last fifteen to twenty years all kept their eyes on the fifty-year-old
Dedender, who had already begun to speak from his position in
the center of the lowest level, directly beneath the skylight of two-way
mirrors that offered a view of the southern hemisphere's night
sky.
"My children," Dedender began with extended arms that spread
his white robe, "I want to remind you what a tremendous occasion
this shall be, not only for us, but for the world. In the morning,
we must bid your mothers goodbye and depart for our awaiting
destiny.
"Have no fear of the challenges that await us. For remember, it
is our destiny that awaits us, irreversible and irrepressible, our
destiny to continue the human race - with the best of the best, with
the crème de la crème. Yes, my children, your originals are spread
across the globe right now, most of them enjoying a summer vacation
in comfort." Dedender began making a round of the bottom level of the
hall. "But that comfort shall not last, nor shall they themselves."
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