International Legends

Chapter 22 - Leo

As the ship rocked back and forth through the Vortex Sea, spiraling toward Arkerthia's timeline, Mani began to tell her story.

The Story of the Vampire Queen
I was a clone of a very rich lady named Moni Cashmore. I had never seen her before, but she was one of the most important women on the MariCorp ship. I realized that one day when I had escaped from the manufacturing plant, perusing through one of the owner's rooms, watching a commercial that was playing on the television. She was sitting across from one of the interviewers in what seemed like a covert interview. She and the other person were wearing masks, but I could tell who she was. My heart bested wildly and I struggled to come to terms with what I was seeing. This woman who was in front of me was me.

"We make sure that our clones have a humane way of life," said Moni, stretching out her fingers. "Giving them community and a faith to believe in. Filling them with motivational speakers and leaders for them to look up to. The lie that our universe had ended was also a good one."

"Some would say that this decision was controversial. That you weren't giving them the chance to make decisions for themselves and were effectively making them live a lie," says the interviewer, resting his head in his hand.

Moni just laughs and says "These individuals don't have the freedom that you and I have. They want something to root for and we effectively gave them what they wanted. The story that this universe had ended due to Capitalism and greed was something that they could believe in. It made them and it helped them to Make them subservient to the system."

The interviewer, pondering these words says "So they are thinking they were serving a higher purpose, and that promotes the social cohesion?"

"The mistake is making the assumption that these people are individuals," says Moni. "They are animals - less than human. They don't have the capacity to think through this as we do. Plus, they make for a massive collagen resource."

The interviewer laughs.

"I heard this was your fourth clone?"

"Yes," says Moni. "Especially with how much I am using my phone these days, it's incredibly helpful to have a new hand every now and then."

I wrestled with this reality as I ventured back to the assembly line, feeling dazed as I watched everyone working around me. I looked out the window. We had been told that nobody could breathe or go outside due to the pollution in the atmosphere, but I really peered out there and noticed that in spite of the smog - the sun was just as bright as ever. What kind of wonders were outside? Trees? Birds? My imagination fluttered wildly in my mind as I felt my hands due to repetitive motions of my task, feeling no attachment whatsoever to the work I was doing.

...

I grew uo with the same stories you all did the Gods the Wizards, Axel, as well as Legends of Emgralore. My favorite story, of course, was the Vampire Queen and how she had risen from nothing - becoming of of the universes' most legendary of inter-dimensional beings. She was said to "Sit at the right next to the right hand of Arkethia herself."

I received this information form a text called the "Reflections of Sophia the Nun." It was throw her text and the interview I witnessed that I was able to recognize that everything I was told was a lie.

Realizing that my profit margins were doing nothing for the market sector of Emgralore, I was  moved to the breeding department. This I figured was in regards to Moni's obsession with her own pretty hands. How soon would it be that my own hand was chopped off? I couldn't say.

Instead I was chained up as a breeding cow. It was disdainful to see the attitude these men had for these women, but I supposed that it was an attitude many of them had for such a long time - perverting and guiding their desires for control.