Duplicate Minds

Fifteen

Rajeev awoke the next morning to what sounded like fighting. His first thought was that Mira and Rosa were engaged in some kind of spat, but then he recognized one of the voices as male. He jumped out of bed and opened the door to the room.

"Mira?" Rajeev called downstairs. "What's going on?"

He heard the male voice, not addressing him, but, presumably, Mira. "So he is here!" Footsteps echoed up the stairs and a man came into view. He stopped halfway up when he caught sight of Rajeev peering down at him.

"Mr. Sundaram . . . it's a pleasure to meet you."

"And you are?"

Mira ran up behind the man and looked up at her father, her eyes pleading for forgiveness. "I'm sorry, dad. He ran past me and I couldn't stop him."

"It's fine, Mira. But the question still stands: Who are you?"

"I'm Donald Lovitz. I work for Fresh Meat."

"Fresh Meat? That . . . that meat suit company? How did you even know I was here?"

He laughed. "Meat suits . . . that's a colorful way of putting it. We manufacture biological body replacements, yes. As for how we found you, well . . . we have our ways, Mr. Sundaram."

"What do you want?"

"Mr. Sundaram, our CEO would like to arrange a meeting with you."

"Gregory Maltek?"

Donald raised an eyebrow. "You've done your research."

"Why does he want to talk to me?"

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to divulge that information. Here's what I can tell you. If you accept, we'll send an armored car to pick you up and take you to the airport."

"The airport?"

"To take you to Fresh Meat headquarters in San Francisco."

"So you want me to fly across the country to meet with the head of your company, but you won't tell me why?"

Donald crossed his arms and looked up at Rajeev with the faintest hint of a smile, as if he knew a juicy secret that Rajeev did not.

"How do you like that new body of yours, Rajeev?"

"I like it well enough."

"I'm sure that's all it is . . . sufficient. But what if instead, you could have a body even better than your old one? One that allows you to partake in the pleasures lost to you in a mechanical body? Strolling through a garden and smelling the sweet scents of the flowers. Sinking a fork into a perfectly-prepared steak and letting the juices flow over your tongue, overwhelming you with flavor. Meeting someone special, someone who drives you wild, and ravishing each other after a bottle or two of wine. None of these things are possible for you, Rajeev. But Gregory Maltek can give you all that and more. And if you're willing to help him, he'll give it to you for free."

Rajeev hesitated. He was just as skeptical of Fresh Meat as he was of Next Level Technologies, but in truth, it wasn't lost on him that living in this body meant he would indeed miss out on all the pleasures Donald had just described. As skeptical as he was, the possibility of getting put back into a flesh-and-blood body was tempting. Besides, all that was being asked of him was to meet with Maltek. He wasn't committing to anything and he could always change his mind.

"Okay," he said. "I'll meet with Maltek."

"Dad!" Mira looked shocked. "What are you doing? We have plans for you. You're just going to walk away from all that?"

Rajeev held out his hands defensively. "I'm not committing to anything. I'm just going to talk to the man."

Donald turned around to face Mira. "Honestly, Ms. Sundaram, we'll take good care of him. I promise. We'll even have him back by dinner." He turned back to Rajeev. "I'll send someone to pick you up in about two hours. Be ready." He turned around, nodding at Mira as he passed by, and walked out the door.

As soon as he was gone, Mira marched up the stairs to confront her father. "What are you thinking, dad? Fresh Meat is just as bad as NLT. All they care about is money."

"I'm not interested in their money. I'm just interested in hearing what Mr. Maltek has to say. That's all. I promise I'm not going to become some corporate goon out to do his bidding. Okay?"

She shook her head. "I still don't like this."

"Look, I'll be back by dinnertime, just like he said, and we can start planning our media strategy as soon as I get back."

"All right. I guess I don't really have a choice."

***

Rajeev wanted to put on some clothes so he wouldn't attract stares on the way to the airport. Mira's were too large for him, but Rosa lent him a pair of jeans and a black hoodie that did a decent job of covering up the inhuman aberration that was his body.

A couple hours later, there was a knock on the front door. Rajeev answered it, and was presented with a short, frail-looking man with a pug nose and squinty eyes dressed in a driver's uniform.

"I'm here for Rajeev Sundaram," he said.

Rajeev, unsure whether the driver was aware that he would be driving an android and not a human being, tilted his head downward to obscure his face with the hood. "That's me," he said, stepping outside. He followed the driver to the car, and, after the driver opened the door for him, slid into the back seat.

They arrived at the airport, but not at the terminal. Instead, the driver pulled around back to a private runway.

"A private jet?" Rajeev asked.

"Of course. It's actually more cost-efficient for a big company like ours than taking a commercial flight."

Rajeev walked up the steps and into the jet. It reminded him a bit of Air Force One as he'd seen it portrayed in movies. Donald Lovitz was already on board, sitting on a small couch. When he saw Rajeev, he stood and stretched out his hand.

"Glad to see you made it without any problems, Mr. Sundaram. Please, have a seat."

Rajeev shook his hand and took a seat on the couch beside Donald's spot. Donald sat back down as someone pushed the stairs back into the plane and closed the door.

In moments, they were off, soaring into the sky. Donald helped himself to a bottle of beer on the way; Rajeev got the sense that he would have offered him one if he'd been able to partake, but of course, he didn't have a mouth.

The flight took about four-and-a-half hours and Rajeev was grateful when they landed. He realized Donald's promise to have him home by dinner couldn't possibly be true, as it would obviously take just as long for the return trip. Mira was going to be mad. He tried not to think about it.

Another car was waiting for him when he exited the jet. The drive to Fresh Meat took another twenty minutes. The car pulled up to a shiny skyscraper in the heart of the city. The driver parked, got out and opened the door for Rajeev.

"Mr. Sundaram?" A man was waiting for him outside the door. He was tall, square-jawed and handsome, with an impeccable, business-casual haircut and a mouth full of sparkling white teeth. He was dressed in a pinstriped black business suit and wore a narrow, blue tie.

"Yes. I'm Rajeev Sundaram."

"My name is Roger," the man said. "Follow me. Mr. Maltek is very excited to meet you."