Immortal Mistakes

just like you wanted

"Life is overrated," said a low voice from the back of the room, the voice that came out of every government announcement. It belonged to David Kim, President of a nation of eight semi-mortal people. He was standing on the other side of the printing machine, hidden by ROD's metallic arms.

"Rubbish," said Octavia. "Life is everything and our life, yours and mine, Chloe's and Henry's, is flowing through Chloe's veins."

David walked slowly around the machine until he stood in front of Octavia. He raised both his hands. "Enough is enough, Tavi. The experiment didn't work. Humans are not supposed to be immortal."

"Yes we are. Why else would we have evolved to the stage where we can create technologies that extend our lives indefinitely?"

"But they don't," said Chloe. "We're all dying."

Octavia waved her hand. "Temporary setback. That's what science is all about."

David turned away from Octavia. He came over to where Chloe and Henry were standing near the bench on the side wall. "There's another choice. Most of the mortals died in the war but we kept a small group, your twins, safe, hidden away from the fighting. These mortals stayed in the States and had children and their children had children. They are still living in a small beach town in California, near where your family grew up, Chloe. I could take you there. It's the closest to your family you'll get. Octavia doesn't have their memories, not their full memories. She has some paper letters and journals. That's not enough to remake them. The clones will never be the same." 

Octavia's voice was cold, deadly. "Is this ridiculous story true?"

David nodded, his right eyelid twitching. "It was insurance. For when your experiments failed."

"My experiments fail," Octavia said, voice rising, "because you've been thwarting them. Don't think I haven't noticed. Who do you think reclones you when you forget everything again?"

"I wish you would stop. Why do you think so many of us are forgetting? Our brains aren't meant to hold memories for hundreds of years. Our cells aren't meant to function this long. We're not improving, evolving. We're stagnating. And this is my fault and yours. We did this to the human race. And I have to live with that. Until I forget and you shove those memories straight back in my brain."

"Go to your evolving mortal colony then and leave me here with mine."

Chloe watched them yelling at each other from across the room and wondered how many times had they had this conversation? She watched Henry watch his parents argue, reading his face for signs of what he knew. None of this had been in his memories. Not in the copy he gave her. Henry's eyes were narrowed and his mouth pinched. Chloe couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"She doesn't want to save you," David said, still with his back to Chloe and Henry, not taking his eyes off Octavia,"she wants to save herself. That's what this is all about. She's too old to have another biological child so she has to use a grandchild."

Octavia crossed her arms and glowered at them. "If you go with him to this little mortal world, there will be no 3D printing. No way back from the dead. And no family for Chloe."

Chloe squeezed Henry's hand. He looked down at her, his face lined with concern. 

"What do you want to do?" Chloe whispered.

"Whatever you want, Koala. If you want to go, I'll come with you. If you want to stay, I'll stay."

Chloe put her hand in her pocket and rolled the vials through her fingers. There could be anything or nothing inside those vials. All she had was Octavia's word that it was her family's DNA.

"I want to keep our baby," Chloe said.

Henry ran his hand over her hair and down her neck, resting it on her shoulder. "So go?" he said, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, let's go."

"No," Octavia screamed. She launched at Chloe and grabbed Chloe's wrist, encircling it with her fingers. She punched a needle into one of the veins that rose on Chloe's hand. Chloe jerked back but Octavia held on, desperately trying to steady the syringe against Chloe's moving arm and draw back the plunger. David grabbed Octavia from behind, lifting her away from Chloe. Henry pulled the needle from Chloe's hand, covering it with his own to stop the bleeding.

Chloe was shaking.

"You okay, Koala?" Henry said, wrapping himself around her.

She nodded into his shoulder.

"I can clone you and impregnate you again Chloe. I will get that blood," Octavia said, struggling in David's arms.

David released his grip. "No you won't. There are no more working 3D printers. You're on your own just like you wanted." He motioned to Henry and Chloe, "Let's go." They followed him through the back door to the port dock, leaving Octavia gaping in the middle of the printing room.