Waiting in the Shadows

by Trish Moran

  The other girls exchanged glances and nodded.

  ‘Where did I see you? When?’ Simon asked them. ‘And the others?’

  ‘We must take you to where it happened,’ Sakura told him.

  ‘It’s not a place many … people … know about,’ Miyu added.

  ‘It’ll have to be a secret. No one else can know just yet,’ Isaac said. ‘Not even them.’ He gestured towards the bodyguards.

  Sakura looked into his eyes, ‘Are you willing to put your trust in us, Simon?’

  ‘I do trust you. I feel I know many of you,’ he gave a short laugh. ‘You know, I’ve been thinking I’ve been going nuts these past few months!’

  ‘No, you’re not, but this story may be difficult for you to accept,’ Sakura squeezed his hand gently. ‘You were in England on several occasions before you came to study in London, weren’t you?’

  ‘Yes, but I wasn’t really aware of much of my surroundings! I was in a hospital in a Medical Centre somewhere north of London,’ he shrugged. ‘So I met all you guys then, did I?’

  ‘We think it is best to go to the Centre to enable us to establish exactly what happened. And to tell you all the things you need to know,’ Sakura told him.

  The following week Simon set out for the Centre with Sakura, Isaac, and Celia.

  ‘Tell us about your dreams, Simon, in as much detail as you can,’ Celia told him.

  Simon slowly recounted his dreams, telling her unlike the other occasions; he had felt calm when he woke from his last dream.

  ‘I knew I had to find the sleeping girl. And I did!’

  ‘With a little help!’ Isaac pointed out.

  ‘We heard how you had reacted to meeting the students in London,’ Celia told him.

  ‘You did?’ Simon looked around him. ‘Do you all know each other?’

  They nodded.

  ‘And it’s all connected to the Centre?’ he asked.

  ‘You must know about the background to the Centre, Simon. This may be difficult for you …’ Celia began.

  ‘I know about it. My dad has some stem cells cloned from my tissue which they use to repair me when I get injured,’ he said.

  ‘There’s more to it than that, Simon,’ Sakura told him.

  ‘They don’t stop at stem cells; they produce human clones and keep them as spare parts for the humans they are created for. Sometimes more than one copy, like twins or triplets of the donor,’ she told him.

  Simon gave a disbelieving laugh, ‘What, you mean they create whole body copies of the donors and just pick out the bits they need?’

  He shook his head as they all nodded.

  ‘That’s correct,’ Celia told him.

  ‘But why don’t these new people just walk out?’ he continued.

  ‘They are kept sleeping,’ Sakura said.

  ‘In those capsules …’ Simon whispered as she nodded again. ‘You mean you’re one of those …?’

  She caught Celia’s eye in the mirror and watched her nod. Turning her wrist upwards she gently pulled the plastic strip off to reveal her tattooed code – SAF 24912.

  ‘Yes, Simon, I am a Lab,’ she told him. She gestured around the car, ‘Apart from Isaac, we are all Labs.’

  ‘Labs?’ Simon repeated.

  ‘Labs – people created in a laboratory, unlike Non-Labs, myself and you, created under normal conditions,’ Isaac explained. ‘We decided it might make things a bit easier for you if I came with you today, one of your own kind.’

  He took a deep breath, ‘Actually, I’m a bit nervous myself. This is my first visit to the Centre, too.’

  Simon sat back in his seat, a stunned expression on his face.

  A short while later the car turned off the road and headed along a narrow lane. Suddenly it swung onto a dirt track and soon afterwards drew to a halt. Celia and Sakura climbed out and signalled the two men to follow them. They stood outside a small wooden door almost hidden behind a covering of ivy. Celia spoke on her mobile phone and the door opened to reveal Abel. They entered and the door was closed swiftly behind them.

  ‘Has he been informed?’ Abel gestured towards Simon.

  ‘Of the basics only,’ Celia replied. ‘It’s probably better if he visits the Mature Ward before he is given any further information.’

  Sakura held out her hand to Simon, hesitantly.

  ‘Are you ready, Simon? ‘Would you like to look around the room from your dreams?’

  He nodded without looking at her.

  Abel walked to a large frosted glass door and entered a code into a keypad. The door slid back to let them enter.

  The orange glow and gentle humming seemed very familiar to Simon.

  Sakura started to walk slowly towards the far side of the room.

  ‘No, wait!’ Simon whispered. ‘Let me show you where I saw you!’

  He looked around, his brow furrowed in concentration.

  ‘Now; I was … here? … No, one row back! Yes!’ he walked towards a capsule.

  ‘I got out of here and walked up this far. Then I turned to the right. I walked back one, two, three rows.’

  He pointed to a capsule, ‘You were there!’

  Sakura smiled and nodded slowly. She looked around.

  ‘I remember being awoken, and taking my first steps! It felt so strange, yet somehow familiar …’

  Simon nodded. ‘I felt that way exactly!’

  ‘Yes, a Lab brain is programmed to have the physical skills of a young adult; so though it was a new experience, you felt you had done it before,’ Celia explained.

  Simon walked around looking down at the sleeping faces. He stopped in front of a capsule and gazed at its occupant.

  ‘There was a different person sleeping here when I was here,’ he whispered. Celia looked away.

  ‘We must leave now!’ Abel told them. ‘A new shift begins in ten minutes and all wards will be inspected.’

  Soon they were all in the car heading away from the building.

  ‘Where are we going?’ Simon asked. ‘I don’t think I’m ready to return to my London flat and friends just yet.’

  ‘If you agree, we would like to take you to our house. It’s quite nearby,’ Celia glanced at his face. ‘I live there with four other Labs and a Non-Lab. We could discuss this matter.’

  ‘Do you agree to this, Simon?’ Sakura asked him.

  He nodded. For the rest of the journey he remained silent, gazing out of the window.

  Soon they drew up outside the house. Ruby opened the front door and smiled at Simon gently.

  ‘Come in. I’m Ruby, a Non-Lab, like you. We have plenty of coffee and sandwiches ready! You’ve had quite an ordeal, Simon!’

  After introducing the twins and Dette they all sat down in the lounge.

  ‘I think I know what happened,’ Simon began nervously. ‘I know I went to the Centre on three occasions, when I was injured in serious accidents over the past few years. I suppose that on the last occasion I must have somehow wandered into the room where the Labs were sleeping. Somehow I got myself into one of those capsules and …’

  He looked disappointed as Celia shook her head, ‘It couldn’t have happened like that, Simon. First of all, you were too severely injured to get out of bed. And secondly, all the rooms containing Labs are under tight security.’

  Simon looked puzzled.

  ‘I’m afraid you’ve lost me! At the Centre, in the … Mature Ward … you told me I had been there. Now you are telling me I can’t have been there!’

  Everyone was silent for a moment.

  Celia gave a cough and began to speak, ‘This may be difficult for you to understand. And it may also come as something rather shocking. But, what seems to have happened is …’

  ‘No!’ Simon interrupted. All of a sudden, his hands shook so much he slopped coffee on to the table as he put the cup down. He put his hands to his eyes.

  ‘I know what you are going to tell me!’

  Sakura put her hand on his shoulder. There was a long si
lence.

  ‘Simon …’ she began.

  He took a deep breath and sat up.

  ‘No, let me say it and you can tell me if there’s anything … different …

  ‘The … person in my dream, who woke up, walked around, saw you … he was the Lab. The one who slept in a capsule in there.

  ‘He fell asleep on the floor; it must have been the anesthetic. He was being prepared for the operation, wasn’t he? I have his brain, don’t I?’

  Celia sighed and nodded, ‘Yes, Simon. The staff must have been lax; they must have set the dials incorrectly, which allowed him to wake up. There is no record of this. They must have covered up their mistake.’

  Simon was looking down at his hands, ‘I have had three serious operations over the past few years. How much of me is … Lab?’

  ‘We could check through your records. But are you sure …?’

  He looked up at her, ‘I want to know everything!’

  Celia beckoned him to sit next to her. She turned to her computer screen and brought up his details.

  He gazed at the screen and gave a harsh laugh, ‘Heart and lungs, kidney, left hand, both feet, pelvic bone. And I’ve got through two brains!’

  He turned to the others, ‘I’m almost a Lab myself! How many others are like me?’

  ‘We have no report of any other donor experiencing such memories, so far,’ Abel told him.

  ‘Oh God! This is awful!’ he cried. ‘All those … people … just created so their body parts can be used for … people like me!’

  He looked around the room, ‘This can’t go on! We must stop it! Get this place closed down! Right now!’

  Keith nodded, ‘We were hoping you would support us when you learnt of the true work of the Centre.’

  ‘And that you would help us to achieve this,’ Sakura added.

  ‘I will, God help me, I will!’ Simon said fervently. ‘Tell me how I can help!’

  A week later Simon sat with his parents in the family lounge in the White House.

  ‘Do we have to talk about this right now, Simon?’ his mother asked him. ‘Your father has only just come home after a gruelling two months! Can’t it wait?’

  ‘No, Mom. I’m afraid this can’t wait!’ he replied. ‘I’ve got some news for you. Some rather shocking news!’

  He told them of his trip to the Centre and how he had recognised the room where he, or rather, his Lab, had been. His mother was sobbing quietly; his father was grim faced as he drew to the end of his account.

  ‘So you see, Mom,’ he gave a short laugh and spread his arms, ‘Not all of me is what you gave birth to twenty-one years ago!’

  His father shook his head.

  ‘So you have memories that belong to this … other character?’ he said slowly.

  ‘The only vivid ones are the ones in the Centre, just before the operation. But I find that I can do things, or I know things that I would have no knowledge of in my normal life. For example …’ he walked over to the piano and played the start of a popular song. ‘My Lab was given pretty good musical knowledge during his development; I had about half a dozen piano lessons when I was nine, didn’t I? Also, I discovered that I know a lot about European history; things I definitely didn’t study at school. I thought it was a bit strange, but I assumed I’d picked up some facts from the TV or something.’

  ‘This girl …?’ his mother began.

  ‘Sakura? Yes, she is also a Lab,’ he told her. ‘All the people I met are, except for two Non-Labs, humans that is. But the Labs living free lives at the moment are not revealing their true identities yet. They will decide when they are ready to do so.’

  ‘And you went to the Centre, alone with these strange people?’ his mother clutched his arm. ‘My God, what were you thinking of?’

  ‘Mom! You are missing the point entirely! They are cloned humans created as spare parts for wealthy people! People like us!’ Simon cried.

  ‘Look, son,’ his father began, ‘if this is true …’

  ‘There is no if, Dad! It is true! I saw them! Sleeping in capsules! Rooms full of them!’ his son interrupted.

  He looked at his father. ‘It is essential that you get involved, Dad. And not just the US, but all the countries who have subscribed to the Centre. The Centre must be closed down immediately, and the Labs set free! As head of the States, you have a great deal of influence on the rest of the world.’

  ‘Why don’t these … Labs … just walk free?’ his mother asked. ‘Why does your father, or you, for that matter, have to get involved?’

  Simon retold the background Abel, Celia, and the others had told him. How the managers of the Centre, plus the subscribers, were wealthy and in influential positions. The Labs still in the Centre were in a vulnerable position.

  ‘We need to approach this problem carefully so no one is put in danger, including the developing Labs.’

  His father sat silently, fingertips placed together. Finally he looked up.

  ‘I need to make some phone calls. And book a flight to London as soon as possible,’ he looked at Simon. ‘Get in touch with the leaders of these … Labs. I’ll need them to accompany me.’

  ‘And me, of course!’ Simon said.

  ‘No, son. I don’t want you going back to the Centre. I’ll take it from here,’ his father said.

  Chapter Twelve

  ‘We’re always pleased to see you here, Mr Armstrong,’ Sir Philip said as he shook his hand. ‘I’m delighted it’s not to arrange medical treatment for your son this time! He’s been quite a popular patient here over the years! This time you want a guided tour of the Centre? Though let me assure you, our plans to branch out in other countries will not affect any of our present subscribers.’

  He turned to Abel and Celia, ‘And we have here …?’

  ‘My aides. They both have an informed knowledge of the Centre’s background, Sir Philip,’ President Armstrong told him.

  ‘Ah! Well, let me introduce our management team: John Baxman, Tony Vittori, Peter McClaren, and Penelope Chiswick,’ he continued.

  ‘Could I just ask you all, are you fully aware of the nature of the work of the Centre?’ the president said.

  ‘Of course!’ Penelope said. ‘Here we have developed ‘the best of modern medical technology advancements for the betterment of mankind.’

  Mr Armstrong nodded, ‘That’s part of the Centre’s manifesto, yes. But at what price?’

  ‘Oh, you haven’t been listening to the gossip about how we should consider the feelings of the cells we use, are you?’ John sighed exasperatedly. ‘Our meeting with the American company is taking place in three days’ time! We just don’t have time for this now!’

  ‘I’m afraid the takeover is not going to go ahead, Mr Baxman,’ the president said softly.

  ‘But …? What …? You can’t be serious! It’s a multi-billion-dollar deal! We’ve been talking about this for months now! Don’t be taken in by those “hug a cell” crackpot ideas! We’re not going to throw this chance away, I won’t let that happen!’ Baxman spluttered.

  ‘Calm down, John. I think we had better let the president explain himself, before we decide if the takeover will go ahead or not,’ Tony said tersely. He looked at Mr Armstrong.

  ‘Dr Miranda Cheung, the founder of this Centre, was a strong supporter of the good work done here initially. But we do know that before her tragic death she had raised issues with the moral ethics of creating near-human products to be used in the experiments carried out here.’

  ‘How do you know what Dr Cheung was concerned about?’ Sir Philip asked him.

  The president turned to Abel.

  Abel cleared his throat, ‘Some of us were closely involved with Dr Cheung. She was about to demonstrate that these, as you put it, “near-human products” are capable of living independently away from the Centre.’

  ‘You mean the research items in the capsules in the Mature Ward?’ Peter asked.

  ‘Yes, that’s what they are! Items! Spare parts! Not
human beings!’ John spat out.

  Penelope shifted uncomfortably. ‘But we were always told that they were nothing more than a complicated bundle of cells. Designed in human form …’

  ‘Exactly!’ John fixed his eyes on Mr Armstrong. ‘How can you possibly be taken in by these … fictional flights of fancy?’

  Abel pulled up his sleeve.

  ‘Welcome to my world, ladies and gentlemen,’ he said softly, peeling off the plastic strip to reveal the tattooed code on his inner wrist.

  ‘You are a … a …? Oh my God!’ Peter struggled to his feet, knocking the chair over backwards as he did so.

  The others sat open mouthed.

  ‘Pull yourself together, Peter!’ Baxman muttered.

  ‘Yes, I am one of the “spare parts” you create here in the Centre. There are many of us who have been freed over the years.’

  ‘There were rumours of SPs escaping and becoming feral in the hills,’ Tony said, ‘But we always thought it was just a local superstition! The police are convinced they’re just a cover for local criminals. All those prisoners disappearing over the past few months! It would be handy to disappear if you were a prisoner, wouldn’t it?’

  ‘You believed that even when one of us was briefly captured in Hambleton?’ Abel asked him.

  ‘Oh, yeah. There was that, but then the boy escaped. Probably one of the local small-time offenders, stealing to feed his drug habit. We hear loads of those stories!’

  ‘And this is another story! Well done! You certainly got some of us going for a minute. Neat tattoo there!’ John gave a harsh laugh.

  ‘This is not a story that is going to go away! You cannot silence my kind anymore!’ Abel’s voice was rising.

  ‘Let us remain calm. Shall we take a tour of the Mature Ward? One of the Labs has been readied for awakening,’ Celia looked around the table and then held Abel’s gaze. His shoulders were trembling.

  ‘How the devil did you get into the Wards?’ Baxman glowered. ‘There are serious breaches of security here, Sir Philip!’

  The team made their way to the ward silently apart from occasional mutterings from Baxman.

  Penelope and Peter moved closer together as they entered the ward dimly lit with an orange light. There was only the gentle background hum of machinery as they stopped in front of one of the capsules where a man in a white coat stood waiting.