“Healing Vapor Distribution running at full capacity? ScioN serum distribution sequence initiated? This can’t be!” Caiden said to himself. It was difficult to make out what lay beyond the glass, but through the mist Caiden could see a human’s leg.
The healing vapor function finished its operation and was slowly filtering out of the stasis pod. When the mist was gone, Caiden could see the body of a woman. She looked very strong. She was about five feet and ten inches, and was very well defined. It was almost as if she were built specifically for combat. She was covered by a skin-tight, flexible material, like a diving suit.
Caiden examined the construction of the stasis pod. He discovered an engraving text near the rear portion of the chamber. Clone Nutrient, Repair & Maintenance Pod? No Way! he thought. Just as he finished reading it, the contents inside an entire row of stasis pods became crystal clear. There were many male and female clones locked in animated suspension inside these things. The clones had a diverse range of skin colors; some were dark skinned, others fair skinned, and others had tanned skin. All the men and the women had similar, if not identical, features.
Whoever headed this project must have started this years ago, slowly multiplying the pool of possible clones to mix genetic coding with, and give birth to newer, slightly different looking offspring than the prior copies. Thus, the variations, yet, eerie resemblance to one another. Caiden surmised. None of these clones looked any older than thirty years of age and were all physically fit, which was also very strange. So, the rumors were true. Zonos really built themselves a military police force made entirely of clones.
Wasting no more time, he synced-his holo-watch to a live feed broadcast mode and transmitted the feed to his severs at his place in Darkside. Simultaneously, he contacted the twins.
“Caide, what’s this weird link you just sent?” Nami asked.
“Jus’ hurry and click it open,” he hastily replied.
“What is all this? Where are you?” the twins asked.
“I’m at some sort of cloning facility,” he whispered.
“Cloning facility?? What about Vantz? Any sign of him yet?” Nami shot back.
“I dunno yet, I’m still looking. Ended up running into this place,” he replied.
“So, why are you sending us this?” Hitomi asked.
“This is a huge discovery. I’ll explain when I get back. I just needed to make sure you guys got this link. Is it being properly uploaded to the server?” he said.
“Yeah, its uploading as we speak,” they replied.
“Okay, good. I’ll contact you if I need anything else.”
“Caide wait!”
He cut transmission.
Cognitive synchronization can only mean one thing; Zonos/Psi-Corp is controlling the free will of these clones by way of the COGLIMS. Not to mention the lengths they’ve gone to conceal their identities. This could explain the reasoning for those ridiculous helmets they wear when on duty, he deduced.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the subtle flicker of a light. He retreated to the shadows and looked in the direction of the light. Approximately twenty feet above, near the far end of the facility, was a control booth, sealed by double layered glass. There were myriad of blinking lights flickering from up there. Caiden made out a single silhouette manning some controls. His back was turned, so he hadn’t spotted Caiden yet.
Shit, that’s my cue, he thought. Just as he began heading back, he heard the door that he hacked open. Two people walked through. One had a large toolbox in his hand, the other looked like a standard guard. Caiden retreated further into the shadows as he watched the other two men walk from the back entrance and up the metal staircase leading to the control booth.
“I dunno why they went through all that bullshit to make such a shitty maze and such a shitty entrance to this place. I mean c’mon! Why so secretive? It’s not like the public would really believe we have a force made up entirely of clones,” The guard said.
“You’re such an idiot. It’s no wonder you’re limited to grunt work. Too stupid to see the bigger picture” the workman replied.
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” the guard asked.
“Exactly my point,” the workman said. He whispered under his breath. “What a fuckin’ idiot.”
Just as they entered the control booth, Caiden quietly surveyed the area. From his position, he was closer to the front entrance than he was his original point of entry.
“Shit! Can’t waste any more time!”
He made a dash for the front exit. Success! He made it, completely unnoticed by the three men, but there was a new problem. In addition to needing clearance for entrance into the facility, he needed clearance to leave. Any attempt at leaving without verification would trip the alarm system.
“Shit!” he panicked.
Once again, he connected his fiber optic cable to the input on the security panel and initiated the same sequence as earlier. The door from the control booth opened.
“Good thing you guys got here. I was starting to doze off,” the control booth guard said.
“I guess so, huh? We’re gonna make the rounds. It’s Pod function maintenance time,” the workman said.
“Have a blast” the booth guard replied.
Caiden turned his focus back to the display from the security panel; he counted down the seconds. The pod workman and the new guard on duty began traversing through the massive facility, starting with the large row of pods closest to the entrance. Great, just fucking great, Caiden thought to himself. Five, four, three, two, one. Access granted! The two men were fifteen feet away. The only thing between them and Caiden was the stasis chamber that they were inspecting.
Preoccupied by their task at hand, Caiden
