It's 2141. Clones have taken over as the dominant species. Using brain nanochips to surveil thoughts and actions, they have pushed traditional humans down to a status of low-class workers in a discriminatory dystopia.
A nineteen-year-old aspiring me...
A cloudless sky welcomed me when I stepped out of my home that bright Monday. I was going to Replica Ltd. to work, and I was too nervous already.
I would be meeting Eros at the Sappho Residence during lunch break. My legs felt like jelly because I was feeling way too guilty. He had been nothing but honest with me, and I was befriending him just to sneak into his father's office to steal classified information. I felt dirty.
Yes, I kept reminding myself that by doing that I'd be saving both Eros and his mother from Agape's wrath. That was my goal. I wanted to hold on to that idea so that it would give me the strength I needed to carry on.
Despite my motivation, the more time I spent with Agape and the rebels, the more unsure, panic-stricken moments I got when I was alone in my room at night – like the previous night.
I had slept little. Daylight automatically made me feel I could pull through all the shit in my life, but nighttime got the worst of me. Siegfried's and Ray's words on how dark their lives were didn't help at all. I had the feeling that I had seen nothing – yet.
Anyway, the morning hours flew by while cleaning the restrooms in Replica Ltd. that morning. I could only think of how I would manage to make Eros leave me alone so that I could go to the Secretary of State's home office on the third floor, and then use both the ticks and the spiders that Agape had given me to grant me access to any digital device and collect as much intel as possible.
I couldn't come up with anything. I shut the lid of a toilet with anger while I sighed feeling full of frustration as if I were a useless spy.
Maybe Siegfried was right. I was too naive. I had the mind of a civilian, as Agape had put it. I needed to step out of my comfort zone. Otherwise, I would be of no help to Agape – and Eros and Mrs Nevermore's lives would be in jeopardy.
I hated that weight on my shoulders as badly as I wanted to save them.
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"Hello, Eros," I greeted him with a nice smile when I saw him standing under the threshold of the back door of his home.
It led straight into the garden. I could see huge trees behind his frame, leaning on one side of the threshold.
The second Eros saw me, his lips drew the most amazing smile I had ever seen. He would make a perfect model for a dentist ad.
We entered the garden, and he closed the door with care, not taking his eyes off me. Then, we started to walk casually on a pathway made of nicely arranged, old, squarish stones. I was stunned by the size of the garden as much as the huge amount of exotic plants that grew there. It was bewitching. The place felt like a human-made paradise to me. Each and every single one of those trees, plants, and flowers had a label, specifying the name, species, country of origin, and such information.
"Do you like what you see?" he asked me with interest while I wished I had enough time to process all the information I was getting. The place was crammed with specimens and their respective labels.
