Everyone has a Story to Tell

2

It was early in the morning as Lalnable rushed through the front doors of Yoglabs. Under his arm he had a file full of diagrams and notes discussing his plan for a cloning program.

The whole idea came to him out of nowhere. It seemed to him that this world had very few individual people compared to the other life already living here. And those lives were extraordinary. Xephos had appeared from the stars, a knowledgeable man with leadership. And Honeydew, a roughly built dwarf who emerged from the depths of the mountain caves to aide Xephos as his friend.

And Lalnable, he was a prodigy. His mind knew the answers to questions that had yet to be asked. Machinery and chemistry seemed like a second nature to him as he created new and innovative inventions.

And then the thought of death drawled over his head. Along with Xephos and Honeydew, they brought the tales of friends they had lost in their adventures. The very idea that Lalnable would one day not be able to show his genius horrified him.

So in a moment of brilliance, Lalnable found the answer to conquer his fears.

Now here he was, a bumbling scientist working his way to Xephos' office to meet with the head workers at Yoglabs. After following the signs Lalnable came upon the doors labeled "Head of Yoglabs". With a deep breath, he opened the doors and walked inside.

Three other Yoglab scientists were sitting at a rounded table with Xephos at the front talking to the others. As soon as Lalnable walked into the room Xephos turned and gave a formal nod.

"Here he is now. Hector, why don't you show us your work so far?" Xephos ordered, stepping down to let Lalnable stand in the center of room. Her began to fumble around his files to pinpoint the ones he was looking for.

"I've made a full presentation on my research including all the data, experiments, and all the-" Lalnable started to ramble on when one of the scientists interrupted him.

"Hector, we all believe that this can be pulled off with your knowledge and the proper funding. Xephos may not be as sure, be we already approved the program," the scientist explained. Lalnable was left holding his files with his mouth slightly ajar, too stunned to speak.

How could it possibly be that easy? Maybe he was just accustomed to Xephos' harsh judgement, but the faith these scientists had in him seemed to be a joke at first. But looking at the faces Lalnable could tell they were serious.

"Alright, how shall I get started?" Lalnable asked as he quickly shoved papers back in his folder. Before one of the scientists could answer, Xephos spoke.

"You'll only be using your own DNA, first off. When you successfully create a clone of yourself we'll start the cloning program in full effect." He explained, drumming his fingers on the cold table. Lalnable nodded quickly and watched as the group of scientists now stood up to explain more of the new Cloning Program to him. He couldn't help but look back at Xephos who had sat down, looking in the distance as if lost in thought with a scowl on his face.

With a shrug, Lalnable followed the scientists to his new lab.

__________

The first thing Lalnable noticed was how upgraded the technology was from what he had at home. DNA synthesizers and a large microscope that had ten times the power than the one he had been using.

The head scientist left him to his new office to be alone with only his thoughts and the machinery. Of course, Lalnable instantly set to collecting a sample of his own DNA. His hands were already twitching with the urge to work. The process became like a numb feeling as the hours ticked by waiting for the DNA to become connected and usable.

Lalnable was so lost in thought that he barely noticed the door opening to his lab. He looked away from the DNA sample to see who had entered, seeing no one.

"I'm down here." A voice called out from in front of Lalnable's desk. Peering over, Lalnable saw Honeydew, a face he had only seen once before when he was working on fixing maintenance one day. Xephos would bring him in occasionally to show off what Yoglabs had accomplished, for the dwarf wasn't one to sit through all the testing before the finished product.

"So, you're the guy that Xephos is having a fit over?" Honeydew brought up, trying to stand a bit taller than Lalnable.

"Oh, I guess we're not on the best of terms, then." Lalnable muttered. Of course Xephos would complain to his friend about him.

"Somewhat. But can you tell me...er," Honeydew paused, waiting for a name.

"Lalnable Hector."

"That's a mouthful, but alright. So, Lalnable," Honeydew started again, fumbling on Lalnable's name. "Are you really gonna make a bunch of clones?"

"I hope to, I've only just been allowed to start." He explained, pushing over the file on his studies. Honeydew barely have the folder a second glance as he walked over to the DNA sample that had been slowly becoming ready to use.

"Well no wonder he's so hesitant," Honeydew said as he turned back to Lalnable. "When we were on our adventures before Yoglabs, we found this crazy guys cloning system. It was actually pretty awful if I'm honest. But I'm sure you'll do better than him!" He added quickly at the end.

"Well that would explain Xephos' stinginess." Lalnable sighed as he sat down in the chair behind his desk. Honeydew now decided to look through the folder and was flipping though the pages.

"Well mainly he was talking to me about the old cloning system we saw, but he did say that he had confidence you wouldn't make the same mistake," This made Lalnable sit up in his chair. "But anywho, I need to get back to Xephos before I leave. It was nice meeting you...Lalnooble?"

"Just call me Lalna," he sighed as the dwarf gave him a thumbs up. When he was alone in his lab once again, he twirled around in his chair, thinking of what he had just heard. He had to prove to Xephos that he wouldn't mess it up like they had seen before.

Lalnable now turned his attention to the DNA as the machine let out a small beep, indicating it was finished.

Here we go.