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Friday, September 5, 2008

“I don’t want to let her down. After all, it’s still Alice.”

Darian nodded his head in obligatory agreement. “Yes, sir.”

Mr. David Dillin-Moore paced back and forth across the small strip of floor behind his large, oak desk. “Alice would have wanted this for her…for this Alice.”

“What you are saying is true, sir.” Darian nodded his head again, a nervous motion.

A cool breeze fluttered through the closed, white blinds and caused them to hit quietly against the window frame.

“Shut that.” Mr. Dillin-Moore waved his hand in annoyance at the source of the distraction.

Darian shuffled around the edge of the desk so that he could reach the window. He shut and latched it, his gaze lingering on the outside view for a long moment, then with a self-conscious blink he turned his back and walked with quick steps to his usual place in the center of the room. He held a clipboard in front of him, pen at the ready to jot down any of Mr. Dillin-Moore’s daily itinerary.

Once again absorbed in his personal dilemma, Mr. Dillion-Moore stroked his short, black beard in a repeated, aggravated flick of his wrist.

“For Alice…I think I can risk it.”

He stopped pacing, his shoulders relaxing as he made the decision aloud.

“Yes. I will let her leave the mansion.”

Darian raised an eyebrow. He had not been expecting to hear those words for at least another year.

“She’s your daughter, sir. Perhaps it would be better if you started her on a gradual basis. Instead of…letting her leave.”

David Dillion-Moore clenched his teeth in anger. He hated being questioned, all the more when it was his clone. He stepped out from behind the desk and came to a stop directly in front of his counterpart.

“You’re my clone, not my advisor. Now go make sure that she gets packed - let 0-7 help her with the clothing.” He added the last as an afterthought. “She has impeccable aesthetic tastes.”

Darian swallowed, hunched a little, gaze averted after the reprimand. He turned and left the room, head bowed. Mr. Dillin-Moore watched him go, gray eyes smoldering with repressed anger. He really hated the fact that his clone was so assertive. It should have been conditioned out of the him - the scientists had promised.

There were some scientists that he would be questioning closely in the coming days and if he didn’t like their answers then they too would be leaving the mansion.

***

Snowflake Gurl 0-9-9 followed the motion of the rainbow twirling across her bedroom wall. A soft, cool breeze shifted the glass necklace she let hang in her window, the bright sunshine outside doing the rest of the work. She smiled wide and traced the multi-colored wonder with her fingertips. It was beautiful.

A knock sounded on the door.

“0-9-9, are you decent?” Darian’s voice called through the door.

Rolling her eyes at the interruption the 17 year old girl pushed herself off her bed.

“Yes, Dare.” She replied. “Come on in.”

The door opened hesitantly and the man peeked in as if to be certain before stepping fully into the white room. All of the furniture and decorating were of the purest white. Each Snowflake had their own color code preference and 0-9-9 had chosen white at a very young age.

Her light blue eyes, ringed by a hardly visible pink edge, shone with laugher. She giggled and pulled Darian’s suit sleeve, bringing him over to the wall.

“Isn’t it great?” She asked, pointing to the rainbow on the wall.

He cocked his head to one side a confused frown marring his Asian features. “What is it?”

“A rainbow! I read about how to make them on the web.” Her smile got even wider as an energetic enthusiasm took over. “See!” She pulled him over to her desk where a white computer sat on a white desk.

Darian looked at the page she had referred to and his brow furrowed. “How is it that I do not know what this is?” He asked in confusion.

0-9-9 waved it away with one hand and pointed at the screen with the other. “Does it really matter? I mean, just look at this! It’s amazing…and beautiful.” She sighed softly. “I wish that I could see a real rainbow. Outside. It says that they generally show up after or during rain storms. I would love to be in a rain storm. Don’t you think that would be fun?”

“Sure.” Darian answered uncertainly. He gently reclaimed his arm from her grip. “You can find out. He’s letting you go.”

A squeal of joy erupted from the young woman and she jumped to her feet.

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