Numeric Five: Public Archive

Orithyia in the image of Tulip

I do not know who placed this into the archives, but I choose not to remove it. This clone may be as closer of a sibling in biology to me than Tulip is.

*****

Some are afraid of the darkness of death, last time their eyes witness the lights of living. I have seen it as many times as I see life again, revived as the world still needs me but even after thousands of deaths my fear of dying in me is still the same.

"What happened there", Colin my cloner said from the crackles from the speaker on my hip.

"Green scales and antlers, Woodland dragons must of found us", my first sight from this new body was the opened skull of my last body, it was what I normally saw after the transfer of my memories, it is luckily these clone husks have mind exchange surgery inbuilt.

"How are you feeling", he asked.

"Obviously I am okay, as long as a payroll keeps you or someone else making copies of me I don't think I can get unwell", I told Colin, he has the long, tedious, office type of job. Mine are dangerous which makes our perspectives different, and him annoying.

"I am talking about in your head, you are the longest living line of clone to live, I've got to make sure", I knew all of this but it was better to hear him say the whole spiel than try to interrupt him and waste more time "your original, Tulip died nearly a century ago now. I can't believe that in your head are memories from when before the dragon arrived with such minimal mental degradation".

"Colin, lets stay on mission", I snap my fingers near the microphone "before a dragon finds me and we have to get out another body".

"Do not worry Orithyia, I have a few spares and some in production", Colin acted nonchalant about sending out bodies, he saw it as just part of his job but each cost more than a years worth of food. It was better for his performance if I don't stress it to him about it too much.

"No survivors, the group is eaten except me, as usual", my body was writhed with inedible heavy metals and artificial parts so there was only a nibble on my torso.

"How about the package", he said with worry as I looked around me and through the memories of my previous body.

"I lost track of it during the ambush and it isn't around me", I replied back.

"I shouldn't tell you this but inside it was nuclear ore", I could hear him swear but away from the radio "enough to power the base for a season, just get back home, and we'll find another".

"Not this time Colin", on the floor was a Giger counter that was held by the scientist in the group "good thing you put a dragon radar on this body, whoever has the package will ring both of these".

"I know I can't stop you", he said with disapproval "stay safe and most of all, don't get captured".

"It won't happen again", I promised him. It was only once when he was my cloner that my corpse was left near dragons. It took him a cycle to get a body to it. I can't imagine what he would be like as my last cloner, she took 10 to get me a body once.

I use the probe of the Geiger counter as my detector and the radar as my vector to track the package, if it wasn't radioactive there wouldn't be a way to track a package. If a dragon flew away with one or a human, in all cases it was gone.

It points me to the woodland kingdom, the trees may make it easier to hide but keeping them dragons in view would be harder. I move forward, for the humans who don't get another chance like I do, I will make sure our mission is done.

"If you are heading that way", Colin said "in your pocket is a bite stick".

"I hate using these", when biting into it all organs will stop and nerves nulled until you pass out and pass away "I don't need a pain killer when I get eaten".