by C M Dancha
Mr. Hakala let him know about Ms. Groetschow and Rollie Sweats' dinner date. As soon as she left, he entered her apartment and set the incendiary bombs which he would activate remotely from across the street. After policing the area of his tools and materials, he washed his hands and stood in the kitchen admiring his work. Before he left the apartment, a woman with red hair entered and casually walked across to the dining room table. She removed a couple of discs from her carry bag and placed them on the table, then picked up a necklace of black pearls which she strung around her neck. An admiring smile crossed her face as she fondled the fashionable pearls. She then danced around the apartment with an imaginary beau.
Todd froze hoping she would leave without seeing him. As the redhead danced around the living room she noticed Todd standing like a statue in front of the sink. She let out a yelp and almost fell over backward in surprise.
"Oh, my God, you scared me to death. My God, why didn't you say something? I think I'm going to have a heart attack."
When the redhead regained her composure and her heart rate returned to normal, she put a big smile on her face and walked across to Todd.
"Hello, I'm a friend of Sophia's. She asked me to drop off those discs this evening. She didn't tell me someone was going to be here. My name is Claudette, and you are?"
"I'm Sophia's father. So, good to meet you, Claudette. I'm sorry that I scared you; I didn't mean to. I'm surprised…" Todd continued making small talk as he considered what to do with the redhead. The more he talked, the bigger her smile became and the closer she moved toward him. Within a minute, her face was no more than ten inches from his.
Todd felt so discomfited by this woman's lack of boundaries, he drove the heel of his right hand upward into her nostrils. The blow drove the bridge of her nose into the brain cavity rendering her helpless. As she slumped to the floor, he held her up long enough to snap her neck. He then dragged the lifeless body into the living room where he laid it behind a large sofa.
It didn't matter who this woman was, but Todd always made it a point to know who he’d killed. He checked her halo identification and memorized her full name and Phoenvartis employee number.
The incident with the redhead had been a mistake, but a lucky mistake in his favor. Had he left the apartment before the redhead arrived, she might have discovered the bombs and contacted Sophia or the authorities. He might have also detonated the bombs when the redhead turned on the apartment lights, mistakenly thinking it was Sophia. He needed to give more thought to avoiding mistakes created by unexpected guests and interruptions.
He continued to review the events of that evening, remembering how he left the Opulenz through an emergency exit using hardware which bypassed the alarm system. He walked across the street and waited in the third-floor apartment he’d rented for surveillance. Two hours later, Sophia and Rollie came strolling down the street, arm-in-arm. At the entrance of the Opulenz, they kissed, hugged and finally went their separate ways. Todd prepared to activate the bombs as soon as she turned on the lights and waited for what seemed like five minutes. It was much too long for her to reach her apartment. Even though his gut was saying something was wrong, he rationalized and made excuses for why the apartment remained dark. Finally, the lights went on and he remotely triggered the bombs. Sophia's apartment was consumed in a flash of light which was strong enough to illuminate the entire street in front of the Opulenz. Todd congratulated himself on another successful hit and left the rental to take the earliest transport back to Brussels.
Todd sat at the restaurant table trying to explain why Sophia hadn’t been in the apartment when the bombs detonated. There were only two possible answers. She either didn't go into her apartment because she knew something wasn't right, or, she knew Klaus was close by and made a hasty retreat from the apartment before he got to the fourth floor. Either way, she made the right choice. Klaus, on the other hand, paid an extreme price for making the wrong choice.
Again, he concluded that more thought had to go into making sure the right victim was in future kill zones. Maybe he needed to use remote vision cameras to confirm the mark before activating bombs or other deadly weapons.
His Myka arrived at the right time. He was weary from reviewing the failed ‘hit’ and needed to squelch his rumbling stomach.
With the large cloth napkin draped over and around his head he took the bird entirely into his mouth by its tiny head. He bit down and shivered in ecstasy as the juices flooded through his mouth. Even though he tried to contain the entire delicacy a few streams of innards escaped from the corners of his mouth. The napkin did its job and caught the flying juices before they landed on the floor or a neighboring table. With the care of a surgeon, Todd put the bird's head and beak on the serving plate and waited to order his after-dinner drink.
5
THE BLOOD OF PATRIOTS AND TYRANTS
"Mr. Sweats, the gentleman I examined is in remarkably good health for a middle-aged man. Rather than waste time going over each test I conducted, here is a recording of the test results. You can review them at your leisure or take my word that he has no medical issues now."
"I thank you, Doctor Stevenssen. I'll take your word on his condition. By the way, did he say anything which you found interesting or unusual?"
"He was very curious about who I was and my training as a doctor. When I told him my degrees and credentials, he wanted to know exactly where the schools are located. He also wanted to know what field of medicine each degree qualified me to practice. For some reason, he seemed fascinated with my education. Other than that, he seemed perfectly normal and we had a pleasant two-hour visit. But I did have a tough time understanding his use of the English language sometimes."
Rollie started to laugh to throw off the doctor. There was no reasonable explanation which could explain the clone's use of an early dialect of English without exposing too much about his identity. "Yes, he does love to kid around."
Rollie could tell by the doctor's expression that he’d hoped for more details about the clone's jokester personality. He was disappointed when Rollie stood up and escorted him out of the office. "Doctor, I have another meeting to run to, but again, thank you so much for the comprehensive medical exam. Take care."
Rollie had another meeting but it wasn't until after lunch. It was with the company's mental health doctor to discuss the replicant's psychological tests. He was more interested in this report than the clone's physical condition.
As much as Rollie wanted the human clone to be perfect, it still bothered him that there was a possible flaw in Maxine which might be in the human replicant. That flaw might have led to one episode of abnormal behavior with the frog. It might also explain why Callie claimed that Maxine was not the same primate she’d befriended in the jungle. Callie discovered what was wrong with Maxine but didn’t live long enough to pass on her findings to Rollie. Her murderer made sure the secret of the flaw went to her grave. Someone was willing to kill to negate all disastrous consequences for the ReLife project.
Rollie made a complete review of Callie's recordings, trying to identify the flaw in Maxine's personality. It was like looking for a needle in the haystack. What was easy for Callie to identify was impossible for Rollie. He finally gave up and realized the only thing he could do was keep close tabs on the replicant. At best, he could only watch for behavior which was abnormal compared to the average human. There was also the possibility that the mental health tests would uncover a psychological defect. If so, then it was a guess whether it was the same flaw which showed up in Maxine. In a couple of hours, he hoped to learn the answers to these questions.
His research to identify the human clone was more successful than trying to find the flaw in Maxine's psyche. Rollie spent hours reading about Thomas Jefferson, Sally Hemings, their lives, children and family tree. The more he read the more intrigued he became with this man. It didn't matter whether he was or Rollie's great grandfather or not, many generations removed. The man was simply fascinating.
Besides being the third President of the old United States, he was also the Vice President under the second President, John Adams. He was a founding father of the country. He served a term as Governor of Virginia and represented his State at the Continental Congress. In the international arena, he fought against the Barbary pirates and negotiated the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. That acquisition from France doubled the size of the United States. After retiring, he donated his book collection to start the Library of Congress and founded the University of Virginia.
His greatest accomplishment was being the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. Rollie didn't know exactly what this document was or its significance to American history until he’d found a banned copy of it in the underground marketplace. It cost him a considerable amount of World Credits, but it was worth the price. The principals set forth in the document were so inspiring, he read the document over and over. Before long he had the important parts memorized. He wondered how anyone in their right mind could fail to agree with the God-given rights of freedom and liberty extolled in the Declaration.
Jefferson's professional accomplishments included being a renowned architect and trained lawyer. He applied his Master of Mathematics knowledge to surveying and mechanics. Horticulture was more than a love or hobby with him. He was a gentleman farmer who oversaw the operation of his estate, Monticello, and several other plantations. At six feet, two inches, he was taller than the average man in late eighteenth-century America.
He believed deeply in the Almighty but shunned organized religion. He was opposed to any attempt to create a State-sponsored religion. He rejected the political philosophy of federalism which held that a strong central government should dictate rules and regulations to the States and its citizens. He strongly supported Republicanism which held individual and State's rights in higher regard than the central government. Democracy, self-determination, and individual rights were the cornerstones of his political beliefs.
On a personal level, he was very casual in dress and manners, overindulged on wine, and was a poor public speaker. He spoke several languages, played the violin and loved to sing. He was not good with money and found himself in debt during most of his adult life.
One of the quotes from Jefferson grabbed Rollie's attention and captivated his thoughts. He read and dissected it repeatedly because it was so different than any political philosophy he knew of or studied. It was simple and to the point. ‘The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.’
He thought he knew what Jefferson meant, but wasn't quite sure. Each time he read it he came away with a different interpretation. He packed this quote away until the right time when the clone in the lab downstairs could be asked to explain it.
The other subject which grabbed Rollie's attention was Jefferson's relationship with his slaves. He was very interested in the mixed-race slave named Sally Hemings.
Although he opposed slavery, there were approximately two hundred slaves working the Jefferson estates. Often, he legally represented slaves attempting to gain freedom. As President he signed an Act prohibiting the importation of slaves. On the other hand, he never freed any of his slaves until his death when Sally Hemings and her children were granted freedom. Rollie read several different speculative theories on this dichotomy. The one which seemed most reasonable was that keeping slaves was strictly an economic necessity. Jefferson bought the slaves on credit and could not afford to let them walk away and hire workers to replace them.
The entire story about Sally Hemings and Jefferson being distant relatives to the Sweats family was fascinating. After Jefferson's wife died, he took a position as America's Minister to France. At the time, he was in his mid-forties and Sally, who accompanied Jefferson's daughter to France, was only fourteen. It was rumored that Jefferson started a sexual affair with Sally during his ambassadorship to France. Over the next two decades, Sally had six children which many people believed were fathered by Thomas Jefferson.
Even though the Hemings-Jefferson union became accepted history there were many who believed Thomas did not father her children. They pointed to the age difference and the lack of evidence that Jefferson ever took sexual advantage of any other female slaves. The debate raged for hundreds of years. When DNA chromosome testing was perfected in the mid-twentieth century the debate took another twist.
After exhaustive testing, the DNA testing proved that descendants of Sally Hemings were related to a Jefferson. But the testing did not prove which Jefferson. There were six other Jefferson men who could have fathered Sally's children. One was Randolph, Thomas's brother and the other five were first cousins. All six of these men had the same chromosome as Thomas. It was the same chromosome which ultimately showed up in Sally's descendants.
Randolph, a party-going drunkard, was closer in age to Sally and was known to have regular sexual relations with many of the female slaves. Rollie couldn't find much information about the cousins, other than they were younger than Thomas. They did live close enough to Monticello to have known and associated with Sally.
The scientific evidence was inconclusive. Whether Rollie was a direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson was still debatable. About all he knew for certain was that the positive results from hemotank tests proved he was related to someone on the Jefferson family tree. His great grandfather from 18th century America could be any one of several different Jefferson men.
There was one thing which supported the theory that the clone was a replicant of the third President of the United States. Grandma LeeLee believed this version of history and Rollie couldn't ever remember her being wrong about anything. In a court of law this would be unacceptable evidence but in Rollie's world, it meant a great deal. He had learned the hard way to never bet against Grandma LeeLee. So, for the time being, he would accept her folklore, maple box, severed finger and hair as conclusive proof. He put aside all his doubts and the unanswered questions surrounding this issue. Until proven otherwise, Grandma LeeLee's story was the indisputable truth.
Rollie had a couple of hours before the meeting with the mental health doctor so he headed to the primate lab to see the clone. It had been over a day since Rollie's last visit. During this time, the clone had gone through extensive testing, training, and education. Besides the comprehensive physical and mental testing, he also received hyper-lessons so he could function in the world he now lived in. Each day he was bombarded with all the historical, economic, and political events and facts which took place from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the present day. The hyper educational machine force-fed all these facts into the user's memory while he slept. To fill in current events, daily news and entertainment broadcasts were piped into the lab twenty hours a day.
When Rollie walked through the second interlocking door, the clone was sitting in front of the halo screen. He was watching a broadcast on how to make specialty beers, wines, whiskeys, and other alcohol-based liquors. He didn't bother to look up to see who entered the lab, he seemed mesmerized by the broadcast. If Rollie didn't know better, he would have guessed the clone was taking notes on how to start a business making alcoholic beverages.
After taking a good look around the clone's living quarters, he thought that might be a good guess. There were dozens of empty wine bottles scattered around the lab. It seemed like wherever the clone polished off the last drop of wine was where the empty bottle stayed. Starting his own vineyard might be a necessity just to stay financially even with all that he drank. The research which claimed Thomas Jefferson loved to drink wine and had a huge wine cellar was spot on. Of course, Randolph, Thomas's brother, was no slouch either when it came to drinking.
Rollie went over to the table, pulled out a chair and watched the broadcast with the clone.
Without looking at Rollie, the clone said, "Sir, this is fascinating. I always knew there must be easier ways to ferment, filter and produce wines and whiskeys. The science behind it is so simple,
I can't believe I didn't see these obvious methods. If I had done only half of what I've learned in the last hour I could have increased my production tenfold."
"So, you used to make your own liquors?"
"Yes, I had a vineyard and I'm sure I had a distillery."
"Where was that?"
The clone puckered his lips and turned to face Rollie. "I'm not sure where that was, sir. But I'm sure I use to make socializing beverages. Do you know when and where that was, sir?"
Rollie wanted the clone to regain his memory by himself so he needed to be very careful answering any questions.
"I might know but I'm not sure. It's very important that you regain your memory by yourself without any help from me or anyone else. Over time, I will fill in the blanks which you can't remember. But, for now, it's entirely up to you. So, try to remember as much about yourself as possible and when you remember something, write it down so we can discuss it."
"Do you know who I am?"
Rollie had expected this question from the moment the clone woke up in the lab. He was surprised that it had taken almost three days before the clone brought it up. "Again, I have an idea, but I'm not one hundred percent convinced. Let's help each other figure out the answers to these questions. Okay?"
"I don't have a choice, sir. I'll help you if you promise to tell me what this is all about within two weeks."
Rollie thought for a moment about whether making such a deal made sense. He had no idea if two weeks was a reasonable timetable for a human clone to recover its memory. Considering the other events happening at Phoenvartis, especially Slice's pending arrival, Rollie decided it was reasonable to fast-track everything.
"You have a deal. In two weeks, I'll tell you everything I know."
"Good. What is your Christian name, sir?"
Rollie wanted to laugh at his question because it was so anticlimactic. They had spent hours together talking and never once had the clone attempted to learn Rollie's full name.
