Replica Read online

uncle anymore.

  “I’m not saying I believe you,” she says. “But why would they kill my uncle and replace him with a cyborg?”

  “I’m not sure, but whoever is behind this needed someone they could trust to move the inventory without raising any suspicion. With a cyborg they can embed a program that would ensure they have complete control.”

  “But I’ve seen him on several occasions since he told that story. He seems just like himself.”

  “I don’t think he knows he is a cyborg, at least not most of the time. The units can have multiple programs installed. His main program is to be Uncle Bob. Beyond that he could have other programs that have him doing all sorts of tasks, including staging a massive embezzlement scheme.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “We have to notify the authorities, have them take Bob into custody and see for sure that he is a cyborg. That may be enough to clear my name.”

  “You still have no proof that he is solely responsible for all of this. Could one cyborg coordinate all of this? Wouldn’t someone higher up have to be covering his tracks?”

  I stare silently at the computer screen. She is right. There has to be someone else, someone who put Bob into service, someone who killed Debra’s uncle, someone with a larger plan. There is also the question of what the end game is for this conspirator. Six billion dollars in missing inventory, one murder, all for what? What is happening to the missing units? Are they being sold on the black market for some seedier purpose? If a cyborg can be programmed to clean up a spilled cup of coffee and pour a new one, why can’t it be programmed for more base activities. McGregor has been careful to keep itself out of those controversial areas, and the company’s founder, Joseph McGregor is very vocal in the debate against legalizing human replicas for those purposes. But if someone could reroute thousands of units, defeating the half dozen inventory controls put in place to prevent such activities, then surely the possibility existed that they could reprogram the units for any purpose imaginable.

  Debra taps me on my arm. The television is tuned to a news feed, and they are running a story about a disturbance in Poughkeepsie, New York. From the live footage I see hundreds of people rioting violently in the streets. As we watch the news feed I soon notice some of the rioters are not people, but older model cyborg units. One of the men in the mob turns to see the camera crew filming them and charges forward. The image shakes as it zooms in on the man charging them constantly refocusing on him as he closes the gap. The last few images capture the man’s face before a hand covers the lens and the video feed goes to static before switching back to the anchor desk.

  “Debra, can I see the remote control for the TV?” I ask.

  She hands it to me and I rewind the image, slowing it to frame by frame and then stopping on the final close-up shot of the man’s face. “See that?” I point to the screen. The light behind the camera illuminated a holographic image etched into edge of the man’s iris. “That’s the McGregor mark. That man isn’t a man at all.”

  Debra stares at the screen. “Are you certain?”

  “Yes, that’s our trademark. It’s hard to see unless it catches the light just right.”

  The news anchor announces that another disturbance in Lansing, Michigan has broken out, and another in San Diego.

  “What is going on?” Debra asks rhetorically.

  I sit there watching the news on TV as five new reports roll in across the country of riots breaking out inexplicably. Eventually the woman co-anchor points out the few images of older model cyborgs participating in the rioting and asks the obvious question. “Why would a cyborg be involved in a riot?”

  She is asking the wrong question. The real question is why are there mobs of cyborg units beginning to riot, and I know the answer lies somewhere near the one I have been searching for all along. “This is where the missing units have gone.”

  Debra turns away from the television screen and looks me in the eye. “You’re saying that these mobs are the twenty nine thousand missing units from McGregor.”

  “No, I’m saying these mobs are the result of the twenty nine thousand missing units. There were several older models in those mobs. The missing units were all new. They are the catalysts, the cancer. What has been started can’t be stopped.

  “McGregor revolutionized the human replica industry twenty years ago. They are everywhere now. Their numbers are too great. There will be no stopping them.”

  Debra stares off for a moment contemplating what I am saying, realizing the truth behind my words. Human supremacy is now over. We have replaced ourselves.

  Debra turns back to me. Tears are beginning to form in the corner of her eyes. I don’t know what to say to her, so I just hold her hand and for a moment her gaze before she abruptly turns away sobbing.

  I remove myself from the room, excusing myself to the bathroom, allowing her a little time to gather herself. I realize now that Bob is just a cog in the larger scheme to misdirect resources, enabling this revolution, and that the trail leads to my office for good reason. I turn on the tap water letting it run over my fingers before catching enough to splash my face. The coolness of it calms me. I reach for a towel and blot the water from my face. I want to look in the mirror but I fear what I might see. I have stared in the mirror many times over the past few weeks. Surely I would have seen it before, but maybe I just ignored it. I slowly raise my face and stare into my own eyes. I am strangely relieved. The mark is missing, meaning my end is near, just like every other human on the planet.

  Debra has yet to look in the mirror, but she will soon enough.

  To find the latest news and a complete list of all Hickory Cole works visit my website, www.hickorycolebooks.com.

  Other stories available online by Hickory Cole:

  Photographic

  Amnesia

  The Equation

  The Death of Emily Pritchett

  The Offer

  Orange

  Frank Simmons

  And be sure to look for my debut novel, Little

  When Juni Little stumbles upon details that could explain a series of mysterious animal mutilations around his small home town, he tries to convince the local sheriff that the threat cannot be ignored, meanwhile the list of people he trusts begins to dwindle as those closest to him fall prey to those fighting to keep the secret of the beast buried along with anyone who gets too close to the truth.

  To find the latest news and a complete list of all Hickory Cole works and where you can find them online visit my website, www.hickorycolebooks.com.