OtherLife

by Jason Segel

  “After the download, Gibson wanted to dispose of Abigail Prince’s body. The artist who designs the robots was the one who convinced him to keep it. As Abigail ages, they can modify the copy. The artist said it would be the best way to achieve verisimilitude.”

  I’m sure this isn’t where Abigail Prince imagined herself growing old.

  “So they’re going to keep her here? Like that. Forever?” I’ve never heard Elvis sound so horrified. “And you’re okay with it?”

  “Don’t try appealing to his conscience,” I warn. “Todd doesn’t have one. Back at the Facility, he managed a whole body farm. We’re talking hundreds of people locked up in capsules just like Abigail. He claimed their sacrifice would be worthwhile when he eventually won his Nobel Prize. Isn’t that right, Todd?”

  “That must have been Martin who told you that.” Todd bristles at the thought of his old partner. I wonder if he still blames me for his death. “He was convinced our tech would end up saving the world. But nobody’s going to win a Nobel Prize for this shit.”

  “Yeah, they usually avoid giving Nobels to monsters,” Elvis notes. “Watson was the exception, not the rule.”

  Something’s brewing inside Todd. I watch as it bubbles up to the surface. Red splotches spread across his cheeks as words begin to spew from his lips.

  “Don’t be naive,” he sneers. “You seriously think other scientists haven’t done worse? The reason nobody’s going to win any awards is because this tech won’t ever go public.”

  I still don’t understand why he’s furious. “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve spent years slaving away at this place. I haven’t had a girlfriend since college. I’ve given everything to the Company. Everything! Fuck, I’ve watched people get killed for it! Martin, Rory, those people in Otherworld—I don’t even know how many. And they all died for nothing. Nothing! What really gets to me, though, is that it took this goddamned long for me to figure it out. I don’t know what Gibson’s got planned, but I know one thing for sure, fame and glory aren’t going to be part of it.”

  Elvis looks as stunned as I feel by the outburst. Todd shakes his head. We don’t get it, and he’s disappointed in both of us. “Two capsules down from this one. That was the first one that was filled. That’s who Max Prince saw when he came here. After you see who it is, you’ll know what I’m talking about.”

  I can see a pair of feet at the end of the capsule. The occupant is male. I catch Elvis’s eye and we walk the few steps together. He bends down first and immediately straightens back up.

  “What the fuck?” he gasps. His face is powder white.

  I pull in a breath and go down for a look. There’s a man lying in there on the stainless steel roll-out tray, naked aside from a strip of cloth that’s been tastefully placed over his groin. I recognize him in an instant. Any American would. “Holy shit, you’ve got the vice president of the United States in here.”

  “It’s a copy,” Todd tells me. “Look closer. The body’s not hooked up to life support.”

  “You’re sure about that?” Inside the capsule, the man’s chest is rising and falling. The hair on his chest flutters each time his nose expels air. “That’s a pretty impressive copy.”

  “I’m ninety percent sure,” Todd says. “But I can’t open the capsule to check. See the door? They added a special lock. Only Gibson can access that particular capsule. Which means only Gibson really knows who’s in there—and who’s in Washington as we speak.”

  I can think of a million terrifying reasons to clone the vice president of the United States. Which was the one that inspired Wayne?

  “Now—do you understand why Max Prince had to die? Do you understand why Gibson murdered Rory in front of us? Do you understand why there’s no fame or glory in any of this for me?”

  As I stand up, I scan the capsules all around me. They suddenly seem more menacing than ever. “Who else does Wayne have locked up in here?”

  This time, Todd doesn’t answer. His eyes dart toward the exit as he lifts a finger to his lips. In the silence, I can hear the soft hum of a motor.

  “It’s the elevator.” Todd doesn’t seem surprised. He opens one of the capsules on the bottom row and grabs Elvis’s arm. “Get in,” he orders. “Quickly.”

  “What?” Elvis recoils, wrenching his arm out of Todd’s grasp.

  “Trust me. There’s no way out.”

  “You want him to trust you?” I can hear the elevator rising. “Are you out of your mind?”

  “Don’t be stupid,” Todd snaps. “If I wanted to have you both killed, I could have sounded an alarm the second we got here. There are panic buttons all over this place. I brought you up here because I wanted you two to see this.”

  I could fucking kick myself. I can’t believe I’ve gotten Elvis and myself into a situation where our lives depend on a man who fits the dictionary definition of a serial killer to a T.

  “You have to get in,” I tell Elvis. “I’ll find one too.”

  “No, don’t,” Todd tells me. “Just play along and everything will be fine. If I ask you a question, answer it simply and honestly.”

  I’ve watched Todd slaughter Children in Otherworld. I’ve seen him try to kill one of my own best friends. There were quite a few times he would happily have murdered me. And now I’m utterly at his mercy.

  I hear the swoosh of the elevator doors opening. It’s followed by footsteps and the sound of wheels on wood. Elvis scrambles into the open capsule, and Todd gently closes the door behind him.

  “Come with me,” Todd orders. We’re going to greet our guests.

  A man in black military garb wheels a gurney out of the elevator while an older man watches, his back to us. The body on top of the gurney is covered from ankles to ears. I can’t see its face. All I can tell is that it’s a male with sandy blond hair.

  “Go get him ready,” the older man orders the man in black. “Be careful. This one’s near and dear to my heart.” The voice is commanding and brusque, with just a hint of an accent. There’s nowhere to hide anymore, so I prepare to attack. Todd elbows me and points at my hands, which are clenched into fists. I reluctantly shake them out.

  “Another guest, Mr. Gibson?” Todd asks casually.

  Wayne Gibson glances over his shoulder and gives us a nod. He’s not surprised to see Todd, and he’s not at all disturbed by my presence. It’s almost as if I’m completely invisible. “Morning, Bolton,” he says. “The system told me you were here. When’s the last time you slept, son?”

  “Sleep’s for pussies, sir,” Todd responds. “I can sleep when I’m dead.”

  Wayne cracks a grin as the gurney is wheeled away. He must have liked what he heard. “I appreciate the dedication, Bolton. But at some point, you’re going to start delivering diminishing returns.” Wayne ambles over to us. I don’t know how I’m supposed to behave. Should I look at him? I let my eyes settle on his face, but I keep my expression blank.

  Todd and I both tower over Wayne. He may not be a tall man, but he’s built like a pit bull. Everything about him screams former military—from his perfect posture to the shine on his shoes. I’ve never had a chance to really study him like this before. Up close his skin appears weathered, like an old baseball glove. The eyes behind his wire-frame glasses are a vivid blue.

  “I’ll make sure to get some sleep soon, sir,” Todd assures him.

  “Glad to hear it.” Wayne pauses to give me a once-over. “That a new outfit?”

  I have no idea how to respond, so I let Todd do the talking.

  “I brought it from home,” Todd explains. “It feels strange dealing with them when they’re naked. It’s getting hard not to see them as human.”

  My blood runs completely cold. Wayne laughs and gives Todd a hearty slap on the back. “That’s when you know you’re making real progress,” he says. “Show me what
our boy can do.”

  Todd faces me. “Simon, how do you feel about the Company?”

  Answer honestly, he told me, so I do. “It’s an evil organization that values nothing but power and money. It will do whatever it takes to accumulate both, even if it means destroying the world.”

  Wayne screws up his mouth and strokes his chin as he ponders my response. “I don’t know,” he announces. “Something still sounds a bit off with the voice. And the answer was a little too fancy. Our boy’s not that bright. Let’s hear some more.”

  “Simon, if you found yourself alone in a room with the man who runs the Company, what would you do to him?”

  That one’s easy. “I’d rip his head off with my bare hands and piss down his throat.”

  Wayne lets out a howl of laughter and slaps his thigh. “You got it! That sounded just like the little bastard. God, I hate that kid. Nice work, Bolton. You never cease to amaze me. Now do me a favor. Hook up our new guest. Then put the kid back in his box and go get some sleep.”

  “Sure thing, sir.” Todd starts toward the capsule where the new body is to be stored. I don’t know what else to do, so I head after him.

  “Why’s your buddy going with you?” Wayne calls out from behind us. There’s a note of suspicion in his voice. Todd stops and I do too. I think I may have just screwed everything up.

  “It’s just the setting I have him on,” Todd replies. “The bots need practice walking around, so I programmed this one to follow me.”

  “He keep you company in the bathroom, too?” Wayne asks. Todd seems to be searching for a reply when Wayne chuckles. “Just joshing, son. Make sure you get enough rest. We need to get started on our new guest tomorrow.”

  “Will do, sir,” Todd responds.

  “Hey, you!” Wayne calls out to the man in black, who’s just finished loading the new body onto one of the sliding stainless steel trays. “Come give me a ride home. I’m too pooped to drive.”

  The man immediately drops the life-support wires and tubes and marches to join Wayne in the elevator. He reminds me of an NPC soldier in Otherworld.

  Just before the doors slide shut, Wayne shoves a hand between them. The doors open once again, and this time I’m sure we’re fucked. Wayne’s pointing right at me.

  “You know what, Bolton? Give that little shit a kick in the ass before you go home,” Wayne says. “Just for me.”

  “Will do, sir.” Todd smirks.

  Once we hear the elevator begin to descend, I finally face Todd. I’ll admit, I was slow to catch on, but now I know. Wayne thought I was one of his robot clones. That means there must be an identical version of me inside one of these capsules. Wayne had them copy me while I was in their custody. As bad as that is, there’s another thought that bothers me far more: they must have done the same thing to Kat as well.

  “When were you planning to tell me?” I growl at Todd.

  He sighs. “To be honest, I hadn’t made up my mind if I should. I didn’t know how much it would screw with your head.”

  “What do you say we find out? Show me,” I order.

  As we pass the gurney that’s still waiting in the aisle, I hear faint thumps coming from somewhere below. Elvis must be banging on the inside of his capsule. I should have warned him he’d be temporarily trapped. I forgot that the capsules can’t be opened from the inside. I squat down, open the door and roll Elvis out. He’s only been inside for a few minutes, but his face has turned magenta and his hair is dripping with sweat.

  “Guess what? I just discovered I’m claustrophobic,” he manages to say as he gulps in huge breaths of air.

  “Then it’s a day of self-discovery for both of us,” I tell him. “I just found out that I have a twin.”

  Elvis’s eyes widen comically. He’s no longer hyperventilating, but he looks like he might spontaneously combust. “No!”

  “Yep.” I point to Todd, who’s already standing in front of a capsule at the end of the row. “I’m going to meet him now.”

  I move toward Todd while Elvis scrambles to his feet. When I reach the capsule, I have to force myself to look through the window. When I do, I see my own body lying motionless in front of me. I glance inside the neighboring capsule. Kat’s copy is in there, completely nude. I avert my eyes, ashamed I looked in the first place. It seems robots don’t even get the benefit of the metallic Speedos the humans use.

  “Don’t worry, I didn’t see Kat,” Elvis assures me as he shields his eyes. I don’t call him on it, but there’s no way he could have known it was Kat in the capsule unless he had taken a look.

  I study my own double. Everything about the body is perfect. They’ve even re-created a small birthmark on my right thigh.

  “Wow, this is much more awkward than I thought it would be,” Elvis says. “I’m not sure I want to know you this well, Simon.”

  I don’t know how to describe what I’m feeling, but I’m definitely not in the mood for Elvis’s jokes. I was still trying to get used to the fact that the Company’s been inside my head. Now I know the rest of me has been violated too. The thought makes me cringe. But the idea that they did the same to Kat? That makes me want to kill.

  “Did you do this?” I ask Todd, surprised to hear how calm and steady my voice sounds.

  Todd catches on and backs away until he runs up against the capsules on the other side of the aisle. “No,” he swears as I take a step toward him. “I downloaded your memories into the clones. That’s all! The rest of the work was done upstairs on five. That’s where the artist makes the bodies.”

  “Can we see what’s on the fifth floor?” Elvis asks eagerly.

  “Yes, I think it’s time to pay a visit to the artist’s studio,” I agree. I have a few decorating changes in mind.

  “I’d take you up there if I could, but I don’t have access,” Todd says. “Just Gibson, the artist and her assistant are allowed.”

  “Her?” It shouldn’t surprise me, but everyone I’ve met from the Company so far has been male.

  “Yeah, the artist is the only lady in the building,” he adds nervously.

  “What’s her name?” I ask.

  “Daisy Bristol. But everyone here calls her ‘the artist.’ She came from the robotics company Wayne bought.” Todd pauses and points at the body that just arrived with Wayne. It’s still waiting on the gurney to be connected to his capsule’s life-support system. “I know this has probably blown your minds, but I can’t stay here while you guys try to figure everything out. You heard Gibson. I need to hook up the new guy and go home. Wayne knows when anyone accesses the elevator. Fortunately for you guys, I work a lot of late nights. I knew he wouldn’t think it was strange if I came here. But he won’t be happy if I don’t leave when he told me to.”

  “Is that right?” I’m skeptical. “Seems to me like you guys have a pretty friendly relationship.”

  “You think?” Todd replies. “I always got the sense he liked Rory better. Funny thing is, that didn’t stop him from murdering the guy. Look, Wayne’s paranoid. He’s got a plan, and he’s not going to let anyone get in the way—no matter how much he likes them.”

  “What’s his plan?”

  “Dude, your guess is as good as mine,” Todd says. “All I know is that it involves the vice president of the United States.”

  Elvis snorts. “You guys haven’t figured it out? Seems pretty obvious to me. Wayne’s using OtherEarth to compromise people in positions of power. Then he brings them here, downloads their memories and makes a robotic clone. As soon as the tech is good enough, he plans to switch them.”

  I’m starting to suspect Elvis thinks I’m a complete moron. “Yeah, I got all of that. The question is why?” I say.

  Elvis shrugs. “To take over the world?”

  Now it’s my turn to be a dick. “This isn’t a comic book,” I tell him. “World domination
doesn’t motivate people in real life.”

  “Maybe Wayne’s latest patient will give us a clue.” Todd clearly wants us to stop arguing and get moving. “Shall the three of us have a look at the new arrival?”

  Todd steps around Elvis and makes his way to the gurney. When he pulls the sheet off, I expect to see someone famous, but I don’t recognize the new guy at all. He’s got the paunch of a sixty-year-old truck driver, but his face is that of a man in his late thirties. I’m looking at the results of a seriously sedentary lifestyle. Wayne’s found the only person around whose health could benefit from a stay at the Company’s capsule spa.

  “Whoa.” Todd rears back and grimaces. He obviously knows the guy.

  “Who is it?” I ask.

  “His name’s Ronald Wahl. He’s the guy who sold Wayne the robotics company. He’s supposed to be off saving orangutans in Borneo or some other do-gooder crap with the fortune he made.”

  “Must not have read the fine print on the deal,” Elvis quips. “Hope you’ve had a good look at your contract, Todd.”

  “Wait, this is one of the Company’s business associates?” I’m finding it a bit difficult to wrap my head around this one. “Why would Wayne want to bring him here?”

  “Tech support?” The joke must be a reflex. Todd isn’t even grinning. If anything, he looks physically ill. This is the price of doing business with the Company. I think it’s finally dawned on Todd that he’s far more likely to end up in one of these capsules than on the deck of a yacht. “Do you really think you can stop this?”

  He’s looking straight at me, but I’m not prepared to answer the question. “Me?” I must sound incredibly stupid.

  “Yeah, you. Everyone who’s gotten in Wayne’s way is gone,” Todd continues. “Except for you. Why do you think I’m showing you all of this? I always thought you were a jackass, but you’re the only one Wayne can’t seem to beat. You remember that kid who survived being killed in Otherworld?”