1:4:8 Doubles (Part 2)

It was so much nicer indoors. The air was cooler and less humid, the ground didn’t feel quite so hard and the sun was nowhere to be seen. Lore tapped their glasses and updated their map. The only blip on their tracker was them so they started walking down the corridor. Lore wandered, alone until they came to a door. From their map, they were expecting a small cupboard but, forgot where they were. There were thirteen tables in the impossible space; fabricators lined the walls and a good portion of the Campus’ population filled the room. Lore scanned their map but, still nothing. They turned to leave but something grabbed their arm.
“You got a moment?” Emm turned Lore to face them. “‘Buy’ you a drink?” They dragged them to a table and sat Lore down with Clayton. Emm fabricated a pot of tea and three mugs. “I was wondering if I could pick your brain a little about how you were created…” They set the tea down.
“I’m a bit busy at the moment but… Okay… But I’m not sure how much I can tell you though…” Lore fidgeted in their seat.
Emm poured them a drink. “Of course, I know but it shouldn’t be anything too timeline threatening.”
“We were wondering how you’re so mentally stable.” Clayton looked Lore up and down. “You see, all of our efforts have ended in… less than favourable results.”
“They went ballistic the moment they saw themselves.” Emm rocked their head. “Some before then.” They shrugged. “We really don’t know what’s going on.”
Clayton passed over a tablet. “This is how we’ve got everything configured so far. We’re using fabricated proteins and minerals to clone the body and the memories are being infused through Infostamps. It worked fine for our Char clone but the Lore is just not taking it as well.”
Lore scrolled through the settings. “Did you design these cloning pods?”
Clayton shook her head. “No, they’re Quatarrian. We found the designs and built one. Is it a problem?”
“They’re designed to create Quatarrian clones!” Emm planted their hand firmly in the centre of their face. “Four strands of DNA as opposed to two. Humans might be too simple for them.”
“I’m no expert in cloning but I do know one.” Lore paused and took a sip of their tea, scalding their tongue. “I really am quite busy but I could get them to take a look at your cloning pods for you later. See if they can make them work.”
“Sounds perfect.” Emm rose. “We’ll take you down to our lab.”
“Right now?” Lore tried to move away from the table but Emm grabbed their wrist. “I’ve got to be getting on.”
“You’ve got a Breacher, I’ve got a Breacher. Time has no meaning.” They vanished in a flash. “Right then!” The light dissipated and the lab became visible around them. Human sized test tubes surrounded them with various monitors and readouts giving information about the beings at various stages of development that floated within them.
Lore barely had a moment to get their bearings before they were being spun to face the room’s main monitor. “Okay, okay, I’ll take you to them.” They blinked, trying to blink away the dizziness. “We’ll need helmets though. The expert can’t know it’s us. Or that we’re clones.”
“I’ve got these. I’m guessing they live in a habitable atmosphere because if not, these aren’t going to work.” Emm removed two large helmets. “Old prototypes that we never finished. EVA suits to match our new fleet.” They struggled as they passed one over to Lore. “Potts beat me to it.” There was a sourness in their tone.
“Okay… give us a moment to think…” Lore tapped at their Breacher. “This should be an alright time… I think they said it was two years after the embargo…” Donning their helmet, they reached out for Emm. After grabbing their wrist, they filled the lab with white light once more.

It felt strange being back in Celreagaire. It was a lot quieter than when they last visited. They had chosen the last coordinates they had visited, finding themselves in the heart of the Celreagairian Military Guild. It was the middle of the night and, according to their Breacher, there were no humans present other than them. They got a quick reminder of their Breacher’s settings when they heard a pair of footsteps approaching. Emm tried to hide but their helmet wouldn’t quite let them; Lore remained in the middle of the room, frozen with hope that they knew who the noisy steps belonged to. A face peered around the corner and their hoping paid off.
“Excuse me? Might I ask quite who you are?” Tolan looked a lot younger than Lore thought they would.
Lore thought for a moment before responding. “Doctor Tolan. Lovely evening we’re having, wouldn’t you say.”
They were taken aback. “It is. Perfect temperature.” Their politeness confused them for a moment. “Sorry, who are you?”
“An interested party and that’s all I can tell you. My associate and I need your help with a project.” Lore gestured for Emm to leave the shadows but they refused. “You need to do the talking.” Lore whispered.
“What project might that be?” Tolan tried to get a better look by moving around the room.
“We’re trying to grow a clone however, we’re finding that they consistently experience psychosis once they’ve had their memories implanted.” Emm spoke with Lore gesticulating as they did to maintain the illusion of them being alone.
“I may be able to help but I’ll need to see your vat and whatever you’re using to implant memories.” Tolan sounded intrigued by the concept. “But we’ll have to go to my lab. I don’t suppose she’ll appreciate me working for an outsider…” There was a flash of white light as Emm returned to their lab to grab a vat. Tolan nodded towards the Commander’s room. “Undulia’s a bit tetchy about outside help.”
Emm returned and passed the tank to Lore from the shadows. It was surprisingly light for its size but unwieldy nonetheless. With a little help from Tolan, they easily managed to sneak it into the lab and on to their table. Tolan grabbed themselves a screwdriver and wanted to start disassembling the vat however found themselves using it to scratch their head more than anything.
“Who built this? And what with because I don’t think I have anything that fits that.” Tolan set the screwdriver down. “Any clues?”
“Tell them that you need to push the front panel in until you hear the click then let go. It’ll open up.” Emm’s voice came over the helmet’s speakers.
Lore walked over to the cloning vat and tried to work out which side was the front before relaying the instructions. “Push that panel in until it clicks. Should open up.”
Tolan did as they were told. Immediately, they started fiddling with the newly revealed screen. “There we go!” Tolan exclaimed before covering their mouth. They tapped away. “Impressive set up. I’m assuming you’ve tried running a diagnostic but I’ll do one anyway.”
“How long will it take?” Emm’s request rang so loudly in Lore’s ears that even Tolan managed to hear it.
“I’d say I can have it done for you by next Thursday…” Tolan looked unsure. “Friday at the latest. Is that okay?”
“We can make it work. Oh, would it be possible for you to see if it can be configured to make humans?” Lore nodded. They had somehow forgotten about the massive helmet they were using to disguise their identity until it collided with the cloning vat creating a crashing echo that filled the lab before spilling into the rest of the outpost. “Sorry…” They whispered. “I’ll see you Friday… About this time.” Lore awkwardly back-pedalled into the main entrance area. Emm stepped into the moonlight.
“All sorted then?” Emm asked as though they hadn’t heard every word.
“Come back Friday.” Lore set their Breacher. “Come on then.”
They grabbed Emm; two bursts of white later and it was next Friday. They landed at exactly the same time as they left. The outpost looked exactly as it had a week ago, dark and drenched in the light of the now full moon. The polished bronze of their helmets reflected the light almost acting like torches in the dark.

Emm returned to their shadowed corner while Lore pressed on, back to Tolan’s lab. They were waiting for them in the darkness.
“Punctual. I like that. But a knock next time would be appreciated.” They seemed to have only just recovered from a shock.
“You alright?” Lore noticed Tolan was sweatier than usual.
They shook their head about in a half nod half shake. “No, no… Yes… Sorry, I’m fine thank you. You’re cloning vat is ready I think…” They opened it up. “I had to do some jiggery pokery but it should be capable of stable memory transfer. Shame though, it’s capable of so much more and the whole thing would be a lot more stable if you mixed in a bit of whatever this thing considers native DNA. It’s magnificent whatever it is.” Tolan smiled. “I’d recommend going easy on the memory transfers too. I’ve set it to its fastest write speed but the slower the better for subject stability.”
“Thanks Doctor.” Lore nodded as they picked up the vat. “Be seeing you.”
Lore shook Tolan’s hand before taking the vat and manoeuvring it back to its owner. As they entered the main reception, they heard something else moving in the darkness. Fearing Undulia, they picked up the pace as much as they could without alerting her further, reaching Emm in record time.
“Let’s get gone.” Lore whispered hurriedly.
Emm failed to react, lost in thought and deep in their consideration of a possible future. It took Lore close to four more attempts before Emm even registered their presence and remembered where they actually were. “Oh! You’ve got it!” They shouted before clapping their hands to their helmet. “I’m ready to go when you are.”
Lore rolled their eyes and Breached them back to Emm’s lab. They set the vat down before checking their Breacher for the time. Half a second had passed since they left. Lore ripped the helmet off and threw it to the floor before sprinting out of the lab to resume their hunt for the faux Lore and Char.

As they left, Emm scanned the modified pod and fired up the fabricators. “Computer, I need Fifty-Two vials of sample Omega Twelve and a full scan of the cloning vat next to me.” The computer dispensed a large case with fifty-two vials of viscous liquid. Emm pulled it out of the fabricator bay before making their next request. “Computer, I’d also like to withdraw… half of the council’s Rel. Authorisation Emm Twenty-Five, One.”
“Transaction authorised. Dispensing Rel.” It responded as several, plate sized cogs stacked up in the fabricator’s shelf before spilling out, onto the floor. “Scan complete, ready for fabrication.”
“Okay, once the shelf’s clear, fabricate five units in their compact forms.” Emm scooped the cogs from the floor into the case before getting the remaining Rel from the shelf. As soon as the last Rel was in the box, the first of the cloning pods appeared. Although in its expanded form the cloning vats were rather light, compressed and folded for travel, they had a surprising heft to them. Once they were finally all fabricated and fitted into the crate, Emm set their Breacher for a return journey to Celreagaire. They were back before their Breacher’s light had time to fade. They took a breath before resetting their Breacher. “Right then, pickup time.” Emm vanished once more.
Celreagaire had seen better days. The Military Guild Outpost was crumbling around them; they stood, staring at their wrist, confused. “Hmm… Strange…” They ran a diagnostic as they searched around the building for any signs of life. They got at least partial confirmation that there was still something alive on Illia when a series of explosions shook the building. They heard something coming from the part of the building Tolan had once designated as Undulia’s office.
“To all on this frequency, Celreagaire has been attacked. Alex’s Middlethem have been outfitted with new technologies and are on the warpath. They have destroyed several buildings. The Sat’Mach were able to force them down into The Conglomeration for now. We are not currently sure of the death toll But the Sat’Mach are keeping Celreagaire safe from further attack. Any assistance would be appreciated.” Tolan signed off. They hoped that Sanctuary Point would heed the call.
Emm scanned the building that had just been hit. “Twenty six.” A calm voice cut through the chaos. “Shame.”
“What was that?” Tolan didn’t even look around.
“There were twenty six people in those buildings. Sorry.” They responded. Emm lowered their Breacher.
Tolan recognised their voice. “You forget something?”
“Not forgot, more need something back.” Emm smiled. “Where are the cloning vats I gave you?”
Tolan couldn’t believe what they were hearing. “The cloning vats? Are you serious? All this going on and you’re here for the vats?”
“Bad timing I know but I need them before they reach Johned.” Gunfire punctuated their point.
“Time traveller and you still have the worst timing.” Tolan sighed. “Most of the samples were destroyed and the move totalled one of the vats but the other four in The Conglomeration.” They scribbled a series of numbers on a piece of paper. “The co-ordinates.”
“Thanks.” Emm took the slip and instinctively folded it.
“You want to say hi to Pip? They’re over there.” Tolan nodded towards the monitors.
Emm’s eyes darted around the room. “Who’s Pip?”
“Nevermind. You’ve got time, they’re not even thinking about Johned yet. They’ve only just got the map.” Tolan sounded disgusted.
“Where are they going then?” Emm tapped the co-ordinates into their Breacher.
“Rexel.” Tolan nodded as Emm vanished.

“Why the hel would Crait be going to Rexel?” Emm shook their head before their entire body started shaking uncontrollably. “Pissing hel it’s cold.” They had no idea where they were Breaching to until they had completed the Breach and outside of the Illian sphere was not where they wanted to be. Buried, just under the surface, the same crate Emm had given them a few minutes ago. It looked as though it had been there for a while. They removed it and tried to open the case; the ice lingered in the latches, securing the contents. Emm gave it their best try but their hands continued to slip down and, on occasion, stick to the metal before picking up the case and Breaching it back to their lab. The warmth was instantly appreciated. “I wonder what was going on there? Computer give me the latest news from Illia.”
“Headlines from Protectorate sources currently regarding Illia: The Illian civil war reaches the end of its first week, how did it start and why should we care?, First outer rim colony Illia rediscovered, and Commander of Illian Military Guild found safe on Faendrosis by Councillor Crait.”
“Hmm.” Emm shrugged.