Mirrored Man: The Rob Tyler Chronicles Book 1 (12 page)

“What do you think, SIS?” he asked out
loud.

A female voice responded over the speaker in
the ceiling. “I think that, upon completion of my current
diagnostic, I will be operating at ninety-eight point six percent
efficiency.”

Jimmy smiled. He had programmed the computer
to respond to any such non-specific query using a percentage
equivalent to an average human’s internal temperature, to report
normal functionality. He felt that it added to her “personality”
when she responded in such ways.

“No, no. I mean about our visitors.” Jimmy
was unable to contain a chuckle.

“Major Gregory William Mathers, medical
doctor, United States Air Force—”

“No.” Jimmy cut SIS off before she gave him
the biographies of the major and the senator. “I mean, what do you
think is going to happen today?”

The female voice took on a sympathetic tone
as it responded, “I'm afraid I don't understand the question,
Jimmy. Could you please restate the question with more definable
parameters?”

Jimmy's smile faded. He’d been tinkering
with the artificial intelligence for a year and it still couldn't
make small talk. “Nevermind.”

“Very well, Jimmy. I apologize for not being
more informative regarding your inquiry.”

Jimmy watched as the group entered one of
the two small labs leading to the chimp enclosures. He then looked
back at the progress bars on the three screens monitoring the
diagnostic.

“An hour and a half,” he sighed.

THE SENTATOR TOOK HIS
time with the
doctors as he toured the facility, asking many questions. He spent
a fraction of his time trying to understand the cloning process
that the team had developed over the past decades by viewing the
equipment and materials that made it all work. Don was a good
teacher, but the senator lacked the basic knowledge of biology to
follow most of what the geneticist provided.

He also wanted to meet Jimmy Bennett, but
the young man refused to respond to the knock at his door. Don made
up an excuse, saying Jimmy was busy with program analyses, but
Kitchens was already aware of the computer expert’s lack of
enthusiasm when it came to authority figures. Especially U. S.
government authority figures.

They spent most of their time with the
chimps, although Kitchens interacted little with them himself. He
preferred to observe them in their habitat, complete with the
sounds of the jungle piped in through the speakers hidden
throughout the rooms, and that seemed to suit the chimpanzees just
fine. They took advantage of the extra time with the humans by
playing with June and Don, as they usually did.

“Well, I must say I'm impressed, Doctors.
Brad and Angelina seem to be as healthy as … well, as healthy
chimps. They appear to be as playful and intelligent as Paris and
Charlie.”

“The chimps did all of the heavy lifting,”
June replied, tossing Angelina another grape as she was sitting on
the ground next to her, holding a Cabbage Patch Kid. “They’re only
of average intelligence. They’ve been versed in American Sign
Language and can even add and subtract double digits.”

“That’s amazing.”

Kitchens watched Don and Greg play with
Brad, tossing a yellow and green beach ball back and forth. The
animals warmed to Greg almost immediately, and Greg was enjoying
the interaction, although he was having a difficult time navigating
some of the soft ground in the paddock.

“And,” the senator continued, “they are
obviously very happy and well taken care of.”

June looked lovingly toward Angelina. The
chimp placed her forehead on June’s. “They'll be much better in a
couple of months.”

“What do you hope to accomplish when they
arrive at their reserves, Doctor?”

June thought for a moment before answering.
“I'm hoping they'll be able to live some semblance of a normal
life.”

“C'mon, June.” It was Don. “What about
Lucy?”

June stood up and looked at him with a
measure of contempt. “Lucy wasn't anything like our chimps.”

“Lucy?” Kitchens asked.

“Lucy was a chimp who was raised from
infancy by humans,” explained June. “For years, she was treated as
any other
human
child. They let her have her own room and
watch TV. They even let her go to the refrigerator and pour herself
a drink or get a cold snack by herself. She was one of the
family.”

“Really. Was she like Michael Jackson's
chimp? Oh, what was its name?”

“Bubbles. And I'd really prefer not to talk
about
him
if you don't mind,” June said soberly. “When Lucy
was about thirteen, her
parents
”—June practically spat the
word—“got tired of her and sent her back to Africa. Well, she had
absolutely no idea of what to do. How to act. She'd never been
alone before. She'd never even seen another chimp.”

“What happened?” Kitchens asked.

“She got depressed. Just like you or I
would. There were plenty of other chimps there on the reserve, but
she was still alone. She avoided them because she didn't know
them.”

“The poor thing.”

“Finally, after two years, someone Lucy had
known from her past came to visit her.  Well, when she saw him
she ran over to him, so happy to see someone she knew.” June
paused, looking around for Angelina who had wandered off. She found
her a moment later in a corner, pretending to groom the doll. “Come
here, baby girl,” she beckoned as she sat back down. The chimp was
more than happy to comply. She looked up at the senator. “Lucy had
been taught some American Sign Language, so she started signing
over and over, 'please help, out.'”

“Oh, no,” Kitchens said. “Well, these
guys”—he gestured to Angelina first and then to Brad—“look like
they're pretty well adjusted to this place.”

June huffed. “Believe me, we've worked very
hard to make that happen.”

Kitchens’ brow furrowed again. “And there
have been no abnormalities of the internal organs? I know that has
been the case with earlier cloning experiments.”

June found the senator to be quite
knowledgeable about the subject. He had obviously done his
homework. “None.” She looked the senator in the eye. “Trust me. If
anything of the sort had ever become evident, I’d have had PETA,
the ASPCA, Greenpeace, and anyone else I could think of here.” She
snapped her fingers. “So fast your head would spin.”

“Well, I'm an animal lover as well, Doctor.
I'd hate to hear news like that, too.” He smiled and looked at
Brad, who threw the ball at Greg hard enough to knock the major off
his feet. Brad, obviously amused, jumped up and down, hooting with
glee.

“Honestly, Senator, when it comes to our
chimps’ behavior, I can answer any question you have. Maybe even
more than Juan. But as far as the cloning process,” she shook her
head, “I have no knowledge, and I don't want any.”

“Well Doctor, I can't say I blame you there.
But it's an unfortunate fact that I must find out all of the dirty
little secrets about this project.  Especially now that I'm
gonna be so closely involved with it.”

June’s expression turned stoic. “Then you've
decided to fund the project?”

“One more question, Doctor.” Kitchens said,
completely ignoring her direct question, “About this side
effect—”

Before he could complete the thought, she
said, “There are no lasting effects. The babies”—a term that only
she used when referring to the chimps—“simply lose consciousness.
When we separate them from one another, they come around. It’s
almost like they just take a nap.”

“And this only happens when the donor and
the clone are in close proximity? When they can see each
other?”

“Yes, sir, but we still have no idea
why.”

Kitchens turned to face the door where they
had entered. Standing there were Yeoum and Tiong. He hadn’t heard
them come in, and June, who was already facing that direction, had
made no indication that they had. The professor stood as he had
before, arms folded, wearing the same scowl.

“What about you, Doctors? Any idea what
causes it?”

Tiong glanced at Yeoum, but there was no
sign that he might answer. He looked back at the senator. “We have
a theory that the chimps’ primitive brains—”

“Oh, brother.” It was June’s turn to
scoff.

Tiong continued. “Perhaps the chimp’s brain
cannot accept the image of itself not behaving as it would
expect.”

Kitchens’ lack of understanding was
evident.

Tiong tried again. “It's like … looking into
a mirror. You see your reflection and it does everything that you
expect it to do because it's simply a reflection. It can't do
anything that you don't expect.”

Kitchens shook his head. “But if I look at
myself in my sister’s home movies, I don't always see what I expect
because I don't remember what I did in them.”

“Yes, sir, but in two dimensions only. Not
three. The animals have been shown digital images of themselves.
Both stills and video. There was no such reaction.” Tiong's
frustration, as he searched for the right words, was growing.

Yeoum lowered his arms and took a step
toward the senator, softening a bit in an effort to appear less
confrontational. “The higher function of the brain of a human test
subject is sufficient to allow us to suppose that the anomaly will
not be present.”

June, who had turned her attention back to
Angelina, heard the words and turned to face the men. A look
somewhere between shock and amazement registered on her face.

Tiong also shot a look at Yeoum. “What did
you say?”

The professor ignored the question and
continued looking at Kitchens.

The senator, on the other hand, was looking
from one face to the other. He found the words “human test subject”
distasteful, but he was more disturbed by how the others reacted to
them. The professor had said too much in defense of his work. The
senator berated himself for not speaking to the Yeoum privately
about the side effect.

Tiong looked from Yeoum to Kitchens. “Human
test subject?”

Yeoum was more annoyed than concerned.
“Doctor Tiong, would you and Doctor Phillips please go check on
Paris and Charlie?”

“But—” Tiong started.

Kitchens laughed and changed the direction
of the conversation. “Now, who came up with those names, anyway?
Paris and Charlie? Brad and Angelina? I don't know about y'all, but
I don't wanna get sued.”

Tiong looked at June, who shook her head
slightly and then started for the door. Angelina went after her,
but June held her hand up. “No, baby. Go and play with the boys,
okay?” She forced a smile. “Go on, now.”

Angelina turned reluctantly, hooted a few
times over her shoulder, and proceeded toward Brad, Greg, and Don
who were still playing with the ball. She stopped long enough to
grab her doll along the way.

Tiong followed June, leaving Kitchens and
Yeoum to their private conversation.

Kitchens made sure the remaining men weren’t
paying attention to their conversation, and then asked, “How do you
know that, Professor?”

Yeoum frowned, unaccustomed to being
questioned. “In my previous work, I experienced physical
abnormalities, but no psychological issues. There were no
associative neurological anomalies with any of my subjects.”

Yeoum hadn't used the word “human,” but the
senator had still heard it.

“Professor, I would appreciate it if you
would keep the details of your previous experiments in North Korea
to yourself. I'll leave those demons for you to contend with, sir.”
Kitchens couldn't help but show his revulsion for the professor's
previous methods.

The professor showed a hint of regret. It
was clear the senator's words had stung him. Seeing this, Kitchens
softened and took a moment before he continued. “I'm approving the
funding, Professor. I'm”—he searched for an appropriate
term—“excited … at the prospect of your work. I look forward to
hearing about your progress in the coming weeks. However, I'd
appreciate it if you could try to explain the process to me, as
well as to the major, as he will be working closely with you and
your team through the completion of your work.” He looked over his
shoulder. “Major, would you care to accompany us?”

As Greg and Don turned to leave, Brad threw
the ball at Don, hitting him on the back of the head and nearly
knocking him down.

Yeoum wasn't really unhappy with the major.
He was, rather, unhappy that the military would now take over the
project. He’d had complete sovereignty up until now, but he had
always known this day would come. It was inevitable. But it also
meant that he was as close as he had ever been to completing his
work. He was on the cusp of accomplishing what his father had died
trying to perfect three decades earlier.

Greg looked closely at the professor as he
passed. The older man had a rare smile on his face.
Maybe he's
not so bad
.

* * * * *

“
YOU HEARD IT TOO,
didn't you?” Tiong
asked as they walked.

“I don't know what I heard,” June lied.

“You don't know—what are you talking about?”
Tiong demanded. “Chi said 'human test subject'.”

They entered the enclosure, and June closed
the door behind them before she spoke. “He was probably talking
about human organ cloning.” She proceeded further inside where the
noise would mask their voices.

Paris had her Tickle Me Elmo and Charlie was
hitting a blue and white beach ball towards the two as they came to
greet them. But June ignored the chimps, sitting down next to one
of the rock-shaped speakers and pulling Tiong down with her. She
plucked a leaf from a nearby plant and turned toward Tiong. “Didn’t
you hear what the man said?”

Tiong practically shouted. “Of course. I was
standing right next to Chi. He said human—“