Jurassic World: Reign

Chapter 7: Lone Clone

Genetically inhanced creations are an odd bunch. They are alive, but not through natural means. They breathe the same air as us, eat some of the same food, but can they really be considered as true beings? Or are they nothing more than lab experiments?

That's been a subject of debate for years ever since word got out about InGen making genetic clones of Mesozoic dinosaurs. Yes, they look like them, but there are some aspects that were exaggerated to appeal to certain audiences. And even then, most of them don't stay true to what they were back in the prehistoric age.

Some of them are bigger, more aggressive. Ones like Dilophosaurus even have traits that no dinosaur from the Mesozoic possesses and that was a poisonous spit that blinds it's targets. In cases such as these, can they really be called true beings? Or are they monsters?

That term can be used for many things. To an ant, a human is a monster due to our size in comparison to them and how easy it is for us to crush them without noticing. But if an animal was made through genetic tampering, are they monsters?

What even is a monster?

Some would say that they are monsters just by appearance alone. If they look unnatural or ugly, then they can be called monsters, but there's another side to this term.

If that creature did things that were morally unjust or questionable, like killing a person. Then maybe they are monsters but do we ever ask them if they feel that way? What if they kill in order to live? And what about the ones who don't kill? Do they deserve to be called monsters too?

These were the thoughts that were plaguing the mind of Maisie Lockwood. She was a living being wasn't she? She breathes, eats, thinks just like how you'd expect a normal girl to. But was she truly a person?

That was harder to answer. If it weren't for the fact she was a clone of someone else, she wouldn't be having this issue. All she'd worry about would be the things all normal teenagers worry about, school, their future, their interests. But was she normal?

She wasn't even meant to be made. It was only through a man's grief that she was brought into this world. Should she live? She isn't even allowed to go to town, she's not allowed to go anywhere, really.

Because what would happen if she does go out on her own? All she'll get are the gazes of people who think she's some kind of freak of nature. It's not like her being clone is that much of a secret. She doesn't know how, but it got out to the news. All they'd need to recognize her is to see her face. She doesn't even know why some of the
people in the town she goes to doesn't call anybody on her.

Why did she have to be like this? Why can't she be a normal girl? One with friends, one with freedom, one with an actual life. Can't she have any of that?

Unfortunately not.

It's like the popular saying goes "People are scared of what they don't understand." They're scared of her, or at least don't approve of her existence. But why? She has never hurt anybody in her life. She's always tried to be a good person, to do the right thing and-

Oh, right. "The right thing." It's what she thought she had done when she released every animal that was captured from Nublar onto the mainland.

Granted, she did it because in her own words, they were alive just like us humans are. They have a right to live. But knowing what resulted from that, was it really the right choice?

The young girl slumped onto her bed and put a hand on her forehead. Thinking about this gave her a headache. But what else could she think about? This is who she was wasn't she? She was just "The Clone Girl." Nothing more, nothing less. She's never been anything else and has no potential to become anything else. And why should that matter? It's not like anybody will remember her, right?