The Ultimate Community

by J Meverington

  ‘Allie, calm down.’

  ‘Calm down! How can you expect me to calm down? The Community members don’t deserve to live like that, in tents, slaving in the fields. And what if Martin’s business is still running? He must have had other people working with him. Are these people really safe?’

  ‘They’re happy there, Allie. Remember I lived there myself for five years.’

  ‘So why aren’t you still living there if it was so perfect? Why take Molly and Ben away from their friends?’

  ‘It was too hard after Leonora died. Too many memories. I was only there because of her and the children.’

  ‘So back to my point, if it was so perfect there, why didn’t you want to stay, with or without her. No... don’t answer that, because I know the answer. It’s because you had a choice. And you chose not to live there. But those people don’t have a choice, do they? They’re trapped in that world.’

  ‘They don’t know any different, Allie.’

  ‘So, you’re saying it’s okay to keep a bird in a cage because it had been raised that way and knew no difference? It won’t miss flying free because it’s never done it? It might be true, but it doesn’t make it right.’

  ‘Allie, it’s more complicated than that. What if the authorities found out the real reason they were put there? These people’s lives would be in danger. People would want to run tests on them. They’d be more trapped in our world than where they are now.’

  ‘So, don’t tell anyone. Let them out, introduce them into our world, let them decide for themselves.’

  ‘It’s not my choice to make.’

  ‘But you have influence. You lived there for five years and you know Camilla.’

  ‘I don’t need this in my life right now. I have a restaurant to run, I’m busy Allie.’

  ‘I can’t believe how much you’ve changed. When I met you, you were generous, had time for everybody, but now you’re just a self-centred jerk. Ethan was right about you.’

  Damion flinched at the name. ‘I told you to keep away from him. What lies has he been spreading now?’

  ‘He told me how you looked down on them when you moved to The Community. I didn’t believe him when he told me about it, but now I can easily see how you could have been like that.’

  ‘I’m not listening to this shit in my own house.’ He got up and stormed off, leaving her sitting there alone.

  Alice sat and watched the rain pour down on the patio. She wished it would stop so she could go outside and walk off her mood. Damion had always been there for her, she’d always trusted him, but he’d changed. Ambition was driving him, and she hadn’t seen this side of him before. He didn’t need the money, he had plenty of that, so why was he doing it? Why did he have such a need for success? Why did people in general have such a need to do well, to achieve things? Was that their drug?

  Alice was pleased she’d never inherited the ambition her natural parents both had. She couldn’t imagine putting work ahead of her family, or ahead of anyone’s happiness.

  Her thoughts drifted back to Ethan. From what she knew of him, he was a selfless man. His aim was to help people, and to help the world. He still had the ethics that had been instilled in him, living in The Community and London hadn’t changed that. He lived basically, didn’t spend his money on unnecessary things. So, what did he spend his money on? She had no idea, but it wasn’t any of her business.

  She missed him. Even though nothing had happened between them, she knew there was a connection. And she was sure he felt it too.

  Alice spent the afternoon with her head stuck in a book, escaping to another world, far removed from the problems of her current life. Damion had gone to work, and Molly and Ben were at their friend’s house, so she enjoyed having some alone time. The rain hadn’t stopped, but her feelings had mellowed. There was no point being angry, it wouldn’t resolve anything.

  The next morning she got up, and breakfast had been laid out already. Alice sat at the dining table and Damion joined her.

  ‘I’m sorry Allie, I had no right to keep secrets from you. I should have trusted you to cope with the truth of the situation.’

  ‘That’s okay, you were just looking out for me. But... is there anything else I should know? Molly and Ben are your children aren’t they? You haven’t just stolen a couple of clone babies have you?’

  Damion laughed. ‘I can guarantee you, one hundred percent, to the best of my knowledge, that they are mine.’

  ‘Well then, apology accepted. And I’m sorry as well, for being such a grump. I’ve had a lot to take in over the last few days, and Josh swore me to secrecy.’

  ‘There’s something else on your mind though, isn’t there,’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, but you’re not going to like it.’

  ‘Hey, no secrets, remember. Tell me about it.’

  ‘Okay, but you have to listen and not make judgements.’

  ‘I promise.’

  Alice told him of her feelings for Ethan, and how they’d become close since Zac had ended up in hospital.

  ‘Allie, I don’t like it. I don’t trust Ethan, but I have to trust your judgement on this. Just be careful is all I ask.’

  Chapter 38

  Alice spent the week in France getting her thoughts clear then flew back to London with Damion. He went to check on his bars while Alice went out for dinner with Ethan. He took her to a little Indian place, just around the corner from her apartment. It was tucked away down an alley and it was more of a canteen than a restaurant.

  ‘I didn’t even know this place existed,’ Alice said.

  ‘This is the best curry house in London.’

  ‘I thought all the good curry places were in Brick Lane.’

  ‘Nope, this place trumps all of them. They make their curries from scratch, there’s none of that bulk buy stuff here.’

  ‘How did you find this place?’

  ‘Martin had it tucked away in his memory. When I’m hungry and don’t feel like cooking, I’ll often peruse his brain for options.’

  Alice laughed. ‘I’d never imagined I’d be having this conversation!’

  The owner sat down next to them and explained the menu and the specials. Ethan asked him to choose a selection.

  Their food arrived, and Alice got stuck in. ‘Mmmm, you’re right, this food is amazing. I can’t believe I didn’t know this place was here. Damion always preferred fine dining.’

  A scowl crossed Ethan’s face, so she changed the subject.

  ‘What do you miss most about not living in the commune?’

  ‘I think it’s the sense of community where everyone works together to achieve a common goal. There is no selfishness, no greed, people just get on with surviving. And we had a lot of fun, the evening entertainment was always a treat.’

  ‘That was my favourite part too. And people are happy without the need for alcohol.’

  ‘I also loved being at one with nature. The beach, the forest, the hot pools, and the hidden caves. It was a big adventure playground growing up.’

  ‘Yeah, the kids seemed to enjoy it. Shelley’s identical twins were so cute.’

  A frown crossed Ethan’s face.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Just terrible memories.’

  ‘Tell me, talk about them.’

  ‘Martin had arranged for Shelley to be brought in from London. I had an affair with her while Martin had control of me. I would never have done that to Matty.’

  Alice remembered how familiar the twins looked.

  ‘The twins? Are they yours?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘It’s just, their eyes. And they looked like you.’

  ‘No Allie. I didn’t impregnate Shelly. Martin did, before she went to The Community.’

  ‘Gross! How old was he?’

  ‘He didn’t have sex with her, they’re clones of Martin. They were his backup, should something happen to him.’

  Alice almost choked on her naan bread.

  ‘Seriously? He would
have downloaded his brain into them?’

  ‘Worse.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘He would have used one of them for spare parts should he have needed it.’

  Alice felt light-headed. ‘I thought he’d stopped doing that? You said he felt guilty after killing that boy to save the businessman.’

  ‘It was his last project before he died. He’d told everyone he’d shut down the clone business, but he hadn’t. He so badly wanted to live forever, he didn’t care who he used or abused to get there.’

  ‘Don’t you worry that he’s still swimming around in your brain? Aren’t you worried you might slip up? Become like him?’

  ‘Every day Allie, every flipping day.’

  Chapter 39

  Alice invited Ethan back to her apartment. She made them both a green tea, and they sat on the balcony overlooking the Thames River.

  ‘Do you really think you have control over Martin? You’re not likely to start the clone business again are you?’

  ‘No Allie, and I know that for a fact. I don’t believe in organ donation.’

  ‘What do you mean? Organ donation saves lives, how could you not believe in that?’

  ‘I believe in fate. What will be, will be. I think people in the world are spending too much time trying to save lives when they should be trying to save the planet.’

  Alice cringed, what the heck was he on about.

  ‘So, you’re saying, if you needed a transplant to save your life, you wouldn’t take it?’

  ‘That’s correct. I believe in the holistic theory that every little bit makes up the whole. That’s what our DNA is. You can take a small piece and replicate the entire person as seen with the clone technology. What if, when you die, not all of you dies? What if part of you lives on in someone else’s body? Does that mean your soul is not free to move on? You remain in limbo until all of you dies?’

  Ethan was starting to freak her out. She wasn’t a spiritual person and didn’t believe in that sort of stuff. And not donating organs? Who wouldn’t do that? She was marked as a donor on her driver’s license and if she could, she would even donate a kidney to save a good person, just like Terri had.

  ‘But what about the pain you could stop by saving somebody’s loved one? Surely that accounts for something. Isn’t that where a lot of mental illness stems from? People losing a child young, or their parents too soon? I feel you’re contradicting yourself by saying these things.’

  ‘But can’t you see Allie, this is where the clone business started. The intention is all well and good, but people’s greed and vanity get in the way. People want to live forever, they want to look younger. It’s not healthy. The world is becoming overpopulated. Think of how they poison pests when they become a problem. That’s happening in the human world. Viruses, diseases; it’s the natural way of dealing with pests. And humans are the biggest pest of all. But we fight it with vaccinations, drugs, etc, and in the process we are destroying the planet.’

  Alice couldn’t believe it. There was some truth to his words, but it was a simplistic point of view.

  ‘It’s probably because you haven’t lived in the real world long, you don’t understand how things work here.’

  ‘Real world? You think this fake, artificial world is real? Allie, I’m disappointed in you.’

  ‘Ethan, it’s called having a point of view. Don’t go judging me because I have a different opinion to you.’

  ‘I’m not judging Allie, just pointing out the facts. You’ve been to The Community, you’ve seen how humans can live a basic lifestyle and still have fun. Is evolution really all it’s cracked up to be? Are all the people running on the hamster wheel they call life really happy?’

  ‘I think some of them are.’

  ‘What about you Allie? Are you happy?’

  ‘For sure, I love my life.’

  ‘So, what drives you forward? What do you want out of life?’

  ‘There’s so much to see and do. I don’t care about money and possessions. I just want to enjoy myself and help others where I can. I’d like to feel like I’ve done something good with my life.’

  At that moment, the front door burst open.

  ‘Hi honey, I’m ho-ome,’ Damion’s voice boomed.

  He closed the front door and froze when he saw them on the balcony.

  ‘What’s he doing in my house?’

  ‘I invited him.’

  ‘Allie, are you insane?’

  Ethan held up his hands in mock surrender. ‘Hey, I was just leaving.’ He stood up, but Damion pushed him back into his seat.

  ‘Allie, what were you thinking, inviting him here?’

  ‘He’s a friend.’

  ‘I told you to be careful, that he’s not to be trusted.’

  ‘He’s okay. He’s explained how Martin had control of him, but he doesn’t now.’

  ‘You can’t be sure of that. Martin was an extremely manipulative man. He’s probably just having him believe he has control over what he’s doing.’

  ‘Damion, why are you so cynical? Do you not believe people can change?’

  ‘Of course I do, but there’s more to it than that.’

  Alice could see Damion was struggling internally with something. ‘What’s going on, Damion?’

  ‘There’s something I haven’t told you...’

  ‘Really? More secrets? Doesn’t surprise me.’

  ‘It’s not a secret, just something personal I don’t like to talk about because it’s so painful.’

  Alice felt like she’d been chastised. ‘I’m sorry,’ she muttered. ‘Please tell us.’

  ‘I’m just going to get myself a drink. He headed inside and came back out with a tumbler of whiskey and sat down. Damion looked at them both and started talking.

  ‘When I was in The Community, your boyfriend here tried to download his memories into mine.’

  ‘That was Martin, not me.’

  ‘You shut up until you’re asked to speak.’

  ‘Why don’t you let him explain?’ Alice said.

  ‘Okay...’ Damion looked at Ethan. ‘How do you explain the thoughts that have been whirring around in my head since that day? I had a peek into Martin’s life, and it wasn’t pretty. And one thing that’s been nagging at me since it happened, is what was Leonora doing having dinner with Martin and his family?’

  ‘If you give me a chance to talk, I’ll tell you.’

  ‘Okay, go.’

  ‘Martin picked Leonora up when she was down and out, living homeless on the streets of London. He took her in, cleaned her up, and she helped around his home, cooking meals and looking after the children.’

  ‘Seriously? He picked up a homeless woman off the streets and trusted her with his kids? I don’t believe that.’

  ‘No, he downloaded some things into her brain to help her forget her terrible life, and to ensure she didn’t take advantage of them. But she was one of the first people he’d used. He impregnated her with Camilla’s clone. That was Terri of course. Then he sent her to The Community, to help set the place up.’

  ‘I thought Keith was the one who found her on the streets?’

  ‘That was just a cover story.’

  ‘Okay, so what other cover stories do we not know about?’

  Ethan looked down at his feet. Alice could tell he was hiding something. He looked like a lost schoolboy, out of his depth.

  ‘If you want us to trust you, you have to tell us everything,’ Alice said, gently.

  ‘There is something, but you’re not going to like it.’

  ‘Please, tell us.’

  ‘You’re going to hate me for withholding information from you, but believe me, I did it for your own good.’

  ‘Just get on with it,’ Damion said.

  ‘This is about you, Allie.’

  Heat crept up her body while her hands drowned in a pool of sweat.

  ‘It began when Camilla started university. As you know, she was pregnant with you.’

/>   She nodded.

  ‘Keith befriended her, but this was no coincidence; he was actually working for Martin.’

  Alice ground her teeth while Ethan continued.

  ‘Martin had asked Keith to look out for any pregnant woman coming into the university as he wanted to help them. Keith didn’t know what was going on, but the money was good for a poor student, and he accepted the job. He chose Camilla because he’d fallen in love with her, an unrequited love, but that’s another story.’

  ‘Why did he want a pregnant woman?’

  ‘He wanted a baby that he could...’ he paused, and put his hands in his head, shaking it backwards and forwards.

  ‘Ethan, please, just tell me.’

  He lifted his head, and tears streamed down his face.

  ‘Cut the dramatics Ethan, and spit it out,’ Damion said.

  ‘I can’t talk with him here, sorry Allie.’ Ethan got up to leave.

  ‘Please don’t go, I need to know.’ She turned to Damion. ‘Can you leave us to talk privately? I’ll be fine, I promise.’

  ‘I don’t want to leave you alone with him, I don’t trust him at all.’

  ‘Either he goes, or I go Allie, but I can’t carry on with him butting in all the time,’ Ethan said.

  ‘Please Damion, you can wait inside and keep an eye on us from in there.’

  ‘Whatever.’ Damion shrugged and went back inside, leaving them alone on the balcony.

  ‘I’m sorry about him, he’s just protective. Please tell me what happened.’

  Ethan wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeve. Alice rummaged around in her handbag and pulled out a tissue. She handed it to him, and he blew his nose. Alice sat there on tenterhooks, wondering what this all had to do with her.

  ‘I’m still not sure I should tell you this.’

  ‘Please Ethan, if it’s to do with me, I need to know.’

  He breathed in and coughed on a bit of spittle. He blew his nose again and continued.

  ‘Martin wanted a baby he could experiment on.’