by Ryk Brown
Nathan shook his head wearily. “Like I said…very confusing.”
“How much do you remember about your life before…you know.”
“Before I killed myself?”
“I would have phrased it differently,” Jessica said. “More like you sacrificed yourself.”
“I remember most of it, I think. It’s still kind of hard to say. It’s all a bit overwhelming.” Nathan looked at Jessica. “I don’t suppose anyone has a mirror?”
Jessica picked up the data pad next to the bed, and activated its camera, reversing it so that Nathan could see himself.
“I look like him,” Nathan said, as he touched his scruffy beard, then reached up and touched his long, unkempt hair. “I look like Connor.”
“Well, that would make sense, since he was your clone,” Jessica quipped.
“I need a shave and a haircut,” Nathan surmised.
“One thing at a time,” Jessica told him.
Doctor Chen returned with a small bottle. “Drink this,” she instructed, handing it to Nathan.
Nathan sniffed it, his face contorting as he recoiled from the odor. “Are you sure? It doesn’t exactly smell good.”
“It smells, but it has no taste whatsoever,” Doctor Chen assured him. “It’s from a root on Sorenson. It has become very popular on Earth. It numbs the throat and relaxes the muscles around the vocal cords a bit. It should help you speak without the discomfort.”
Nathan held the small bottle away from his nose and took a breath, then downed its contents quickly. His apprehension quickly turned to surprise. “You’re right, it doesn’t have any taste.”
“You should feel some relief in a few minutes.”
“So, what’s the verdict, Doc?” Jessica asked Doctor Chen.
“Well,” Doctor Chen said after a sigh, “his body temp is a little high, and he is definitely dehydrated. His electrolytes are all out of whack, and he seems to be throwing a few ectopic beats here and there. I’ll need to do labs, and run full spectrum scans, but right now I’m not seeing anything that we can’t deal with fairly easily.”
“Then I can go?” Nathan asked, his voice already becoming clearer.
Both doctors put their hands on him to keep him down.
“Not so fast, Captain,” Doctor Chen stopped him. “You just came out of a clone bath, for Christ’s sake. Not that I understand what that even means, medically speaking, but I’m sure it means that you should take it easy and let me run a lot more tests before you start leading the charge.”
Nathan looked at Doctor Sato, hoping for a differing opinion.
“I’m afraid she is correct, Captain,” Doctor Sato confirmed. “Even if the transfer process was conducted in a normal fashion, this body is not yet fully compatible with the transfer technology, and it was still scheduled for another year in the growth chamber. There are many tests to be run. Not only medical, but also psychological and memory tests. We must determine an accurate baseline condition against which to measure any future changes.”
“Changes?” Nathan asked. “What kind of changes?”
“I do not know,” Doctor Sato admitted. “We have been making a lot of this up as we go.”
Nathan laid back down, resigning himself to the inevitable. “So, I’m an experiment.”
“I’m afraid so,” Doctor Sato replied. “But thus far, you are a remarkably successful experiment.”
“Why does that not make me feel any better?”
* * *
“You could have just told us the truth from the start,” Cameron told the general.
“If we told you that Connor Tuplo was a clone of Nathan Scott, who carried his memories, but did not have access to them, would you have been just as inclined to abandon your obligations to your world?”
“Yes,” Cameron replied. “And for the record, we didn’t abandon our obligation to our world. We simply upheld our obligation to the members of the Alliance in the Pentaurus sector, who deserve our protection every bit as much as the people of the Sol sector. Besides, I was referring to the rescue of Nathan’s consciousness. We would have been willing to help.”
“Of that I have no doubt,” the general assured her. “But there was nothing more any of you could have contributed to the effort. In addition, the greater the number of people who knew that Nathan’s consciousness did not die on Nor-Patri, the greater the risk of discovery. The stakes were simply too high. Besides, the genuine grief of people such as yourself only served to reinforce the mistaken belief that Nathan Scott was dead.”
Cameron took a deep breath, letting out a long sigh, as another jump flash washed over the Aurora’s bridge. “Not a conversation I ever thought I would be having, that’s for sure.”
“Captain,” Loki called.
“Yes, Mister Sheehan.”
“We’re down to about a light year’s worth of jump energy. And this is as good a position as any to do a layover. I’m assuming standard practice is still to always arrive with a light year of jump range in reserve.”
“Indeed it is,” Cameron replied. “Where are we, exactly?”
“Pretty much equal distance between Borne, Norwitt, and Haydon,” Loki reported.
“So, still in Dusahn controlled space, then.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You didn’t think it would be better to head out of the cluster? Out of Dusahn controlled space?”
“Isn’t that exactly what they’d expect us to do?” Josh remarked. “I mean, you’d have to be crazy not to, right?”
“Precisely what I was thinking,” Cameron replied. “Very well. We’ll do our layover here. But next time you want to do something crazy, you might want to check with me, first.”
“Yes, sir,” Loki replied sheepishly. “I’ve finished programming the ship’s jump-nav computers to utilize the evasion algorithm. So all you have to do is activate it, and it will provide you with a random series of maneuvers and jumps that should shake free any pursuer.”
“I’ve changed the safeties on all thruster systems to be overridden whenever the algorithm is being used,” Lieutenant Dinev chimed in. “So we won’t even need to go manual.”
“Chicken,” Josh joked under his breath.
The lieutenant lightly smacked the back of Josh’s head in punishment for his quip.
Josh looked at Loki and mouthed, I like her.
“Your crew should be able to handle the evasion without any problems now, Captain,” Loki assured her.
“Thank you, gentlemen,” Cameron replied, although somewhat begrudgingly. “We likely owe you our lives.”
“Hey, it’s what we do,” Josh bragged, as he rose from his seat to turn the helm back over to Lieutenant Dinev. “Want to get a drink later?” he asked the lieutenant as he stepped aside.
The lieutenant said nothing and rolled her eyes as she sat down at the helm again to resume her duties.
“I see some things have not changed,” Cameron said to General Telles.
The general nodded.
“It’s all yours, Ensign,” Loki told Ensign Bickle, as he stepped aside.
“Thanks,” the young ensign replied as he took his seat at the navigator’s station. “Nice work, by the way.”
“Thanks.”
“The crew could use a break, sir,” Lieutenant Commander Vidmar reminded the captain.
“You’re probably right,” Cameron agreed. “Let’s go to condition three, though. I want to be ready to fight on a moment’s notice as long as we’re still inside the cluster.”
“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant commander replied.
“Keep the first light year’s worth of jumps in the algorithm loaded and ready, just in case we get an unexpected visitor,” Cameron instructed her navigator. “And don’t wait for so
meone to give you the order to execute.”
“All hands, set condition three,” Ensign deBanco announced over the Aurora’s loudspeakers.
“Aye, sir,” Ensign Bickle replied.
“Have Commander Kaplan report to the bridge and take the conn,” Cameron instructed as she rose from her commander chair. “I’ll be in medical.”
“Aye, sir,” Lieutenant Commander Vidmar acknowledged.
“Captain, it may be too soon,” General Telles warned her, stepping in front to block her path.
Cameron paused, looking the general squarely in the eyes. “One of my best friends, whom I thought was dead for the last seven years, is alive in my sick bay. He is there because I disobeyed orders and brought my ship, and my crew, across a thousand light years of space, into battle no less. Early or not, I’m going to speak to him.”
“As you wish, Captain,” the general nodded, stepping aside.
“Mister deBanco,” Cameron said as she headed for the exit. “Let Commander Kamenetskiy know that he can join me in medical just as soon as he has the recharge running at maximum rates.”
“Aye, sir.”
* * *
“This is new,” Nathan said as Doctor Chen slowly moved the scanning head over his body.
“Not really,” Doctor Chen replied. “It’s the same tech, just miniaturized.”
“So, no more lying down on a cold metal table, half naked?” Nathan said, looking at Jessica and smiling.
“I think we can skip the memory tests, for now,” Jessica said, grinning back.
“What else has changed while I’ve been out?” Nathan wondered.
“Plenty,” Doctor Chen replied. “Nanite tech has made my job a lot easier. In fact, that big room that used to hold the medical scanner is now a nanite production lab.”
“You make them here?” Jessica asked in disbelief.
“Yup. Special fabricators. Cranks them out by the millions. And we don’t just use them to heal or repair anymore. We also use them prophylactically, to maintain good health.”
“The Ghatazhak have been doing that for a few years now as well,” Jessica said. “Only we don’t have the means to manufacture them ourselves. We have to buy them on the black market.”
“That should do it,” Doctor Chen said, turning the device off. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have quite a few wounded to deal with, and we are somewhat short-staffed.”
“Can I be of assistance?” Doctor Sato wondered. “I am a medical doctor.”
“We’ll take all the help we can get,” Doctor Chen replied, nodding.
Nathan watched as Doctor Sato followed Doctor Chen out of the room. “So, she stuck with me all these years?” he asked after they had both left.
“She and Megel both,” Jessica replied. “They left everything they knew behind. Spent their lives trying to resolve the compatibility issues between Nifelmian and Terran genetics and the transfer systems.”
“And I’m—or this body—is the fifth clone?”
“Yup.”
“Why so many?” Nathan wondered.
“As I understand it, the genetic changes in your brain had to be done incrementally. They originally predicted that it would take at least eight cloning cycles, but they somehow managed to get it down to five.”
“I hope they didn’t cut any corners, so to speak.”
“Doubtful. Nifelmians are very meticulous,” Jessica promised him. “How are you feeling?”
“That stuff the doc gave me helped,” Nathan replied. “I may not sound like myself, but at least it doesn’t hurt to speak anymore.”
“What about the blurred vision and headache?”
“The headache is still there, but the vision is getting better. It was worse in the hangar, where there were objects much further away to focus on. In a small room, it seems to be okay.” Nathan held up his hands, looking at his palms and fingers as he flexed them. “I still feel a bit…disconnected, though. It’s like when you’re using VR training, and you’re moving your hands to make your VR hands move.” He looked at her. “Hold up your hand.”
Jessica raised her left hand and held it in front of Nathan.
Nathan reached out and touched Jessica’s hand with his right index finger. “When I try to touch something, my brain isn’t quite sure when my finger is going to make contact.”
“Is it a depth of field problem?” Jessica wondered.
“No, I feel like my depth perception is fine. I think it’s more of a proprioception thing. Like I’m not sure of my body’s position in space, in relation to everything around me. Like my brain is slow in processing sensory input. But that’s getting better as well. When I first woke up, it was a lot worse… Believe me.”
The door to the examination room slowly opened, and Cameron peeked inside. “Am I interrupting?” she asked politely.
“Cam,” Nathan greeted. “Please, come in.”
Jessica stepped up to greet Cameron, giving her a long overdue hug. “It’s good to see you, Cam.”
“You too,” Cameron replied. She turned her attention to Nathan, moving over beside his bed, making room for General Telles to enter the small exam room.
“I’d hug you too, but I’m still kind of slimy,” Nathan said, reaching out his right hand to her.
“I can’t believe you’re really alive,” she said with a quiet laugh.
“Neither can I, to be honest.”
“Are you all right? How do you feel?” Cameron asked, unsure of what else to say.
“Why does everyone keep asking me that?” Nathan wondered, looking back at Jessica for a moment. “You all act like I was just resuscitated or something. Like I was brought back from the dead.”
“To us, you were,” Cameron replied.
“To me, it’s like I just woke up from a really long nap.” Nathan sat up a bit more. “Except that I was dreaming the entire time. Dreaming about being Connor Tuplo.”
“Then you retain the memories of both identities,” General Telles concluded.
“A general now, huh?” Nathan said, reaching out to shake his hand.
“That is correct. I lead what is left of the Ghatazhak.”
“Yeah, I know,” Nathan reminded him. “Connor’s memories, remember?”
“Do you now have access to all of your original memories as well?” General Telles inquired.
“It’s still pretty fragmented, as best I can tell, but new memories are popping into my head all over the place. Some big, some small. Every sight, every sound, every word… They all trigger new memories to appear. And when they do, more pieces begin to fit together. It’s a bit overwhelming.”
“New memories?” Cameron wondered.
“New is probably the wrong word,” Nathan admitted. “Forgotten might be more appropriate.”
“So, you don’t remember everything just yet?”
“No, I don’t,” Nathan admitted. “But I suspect I will, in time.”
“In time,” Cameron said, repeating his words, as if for emphasis.
“What are you getting at, Cam?” Jessica wondered.
“It’s all right,” Nathan assured Jessica, placing his left hand on her arm. “She’s just doing her job, protecting her ship and her crew.” Nathan turned back to Cameron. “Look, Cam, I have no desire to take your command from you. The Aurora is your ship. Her crew is your crew. I’m here to lead the Karuzari…and as a figurehead more than anything else.”
“You just woke up, after seven years, and you already know all of that?” Cameron asked, an eyebrow raised.
“I have the memories from my life as Connor Tuplo,” Nathan explained. “In fact, I remember those details more clearly than I remember details of my own life. Like you would remember what happened yesterday more clearly
than what happened a year ago.” Nathan looked at Jessica. “To be honest, I feel more like Connor Tuplo right now than I do Nathan Scott.”
Cameron let out a long sigh. “That’s what has me worried,” she admitted. “I trust Nathan Scott. I don’t even know Connor Tuplo.”
“Well I do,” Jessica told her, “and I trust him. Not only because Connor and Nathan are just two names for the same person, but because of what Connor did before he even had Nathan’s memories back.”
“You see, Jessica, even you see him as two separate people,” Cameron argued.
“It’s just a figure of speech, Cam.”
“I suspect it will take time for Captain Scott to become himself…to regain all of his former abilities,” General Telles said, hoping to ease Cameron’s concerns. “As well as to integrate his experiences as Connor into them as well.” General Telles turned to speak directly to Cameron. “In the meantime, we should concentrate on working our way safely back to the Glendanon. If, after Captain Scott has recovered from his ordeal, you are still having concerns as to his fitness to lead, we can address them at that time.”
“Of course,” Cameron agreed. She turned back to Nathan. “Don’t misunderstand, Nathan. I just have to be sure. I’m responsible for this ship and her crew.”
“You don’t need to explain anything, Cam,” Nathan assured her, placing his hand on her arm. “I completely agree with you. To be honest, I’d be concerned if you didn’t ask these questions.”
Cameron smiled. “Thanks.” She placed her free hand on top of his. “And I am very happy to see you alive again.”
The door suddenly swung open, and Vladimir appeared. “Bozhe moi! Nathan!” He paused suddenly, looking at the tense expressions on their faces. “You are Nathan, aren’t you?”
“It’s me, Vlad,” Nathan replied, smiling.
Vladimir charged forward, nearly knocking Jessica over as he spread his arms wide to embrace his long-lost friend, nearly lifting him from the bed. “I can’t believe it!”