Wolf Dominion Volume 2
Chapter 24

I gasp violently awake, clawing at the robotic hands on me again.

Again and again and again! I never had time to think.

Every time I woke up like this.

But this time I’m different.

This time I understand.

I’m in the fucking cloning hull! I recognise it!

And this time I know where the fuck I am underground – and where to go, and what to do.

I knew the override.

I knew the system.

I knew everything.

I have technique this time, and answers. I’m not in a daze as I sit upright and punch my hands right through the faces of these life-sized robots.

I’m naked and slippery and fresh right out of the tube preserving me and my original memories, but I see the stun gun before they use it on me. I pick it up and I take out the three robots around me, two holding my legs down – one trying to fix it’s stupid face.

Once the three fall over, short-circuit taking them out, I turn.

And I see myself.

Taller, metal foot, broken spine and broken neck – it’s not a pretty sight.

Luna Ryder is dead from jumping from that fucking podium.

Human Ryder – me – rises up.

All the humans on this mission were volunteers to explore the planet Genesis, led by Eld-Rs. They were the head top secret scientists, who had their fucking plan to use our innocent curiosity to experiment on us. While they remained on Earth, controlling the system of our ship through these robotic creatures, designed to run and maintain the ship – and they also sent us young scientists to be used like this.

But hell, we were all young and stupid. Thinking it would be an awesome adventure.

Far from it.

I quickly take myself from this scene, and I hide behind the other tubes.

All my friends were hooked up to their clones, feeding in information about their biologically engineered bodies. There were so many different types.

There is a whole row of new clones being grown, even mine, childlike. There is also a room for the beasts, somewhere in here, I know it.

But as I’m trying to sneak through the tubes, wondering how I’ll get out of here, and up into that well – all the robots are slowly stopping their work.

A red silent light begins to flash, and all their eyes turn to me.

A female voice, booms out, celebratory in tone, “Mission Complete! Destroy all Controls!”

I watch as the tubes immediately start to drain.

“NO!” I run around frantically, watching as each original human gasps awake – and they fall out of their tubes, as the doors open.

And the robots in control from those on Earth, come forward exactly like military soldiers – taking out the original humans, splattering their brains all over the floor with tools or their bare hands – whatever they hold, they use to inflict a killing blow.

It’s so horrific, the screams and gasps of confusion – none of the waking humans have a single moment to know what’s happening before they’re murdered.

Familiar faces all around me are being blown apart. One by one.

I back up into a corner, as everyone is slaughtered.

I’m frozen and in shock, as the silence soon replaces the screams.

The robots start to take out the dead bodies toward an incinerator in the corner of the room, which I see it let off a red horrible glow everytime a body is thrown in.

One lone robot comes to me eventually, then casually holds a gun to my head.

I hear the faint words, leave one, quietly.

The robot drops the gun, then walks away.

“Start the repair process,” a more awake voice speaks, from the walls again, “There’s a delay – I’m talking to you, Ryder,” I look up at all corners of the ceiling, “You’re free to go.”

“What do you want from me!?” I scream out, too emotional to think logically, “Why did you murder all these innocent people?”

“Relax. They are alive in their upgraded military bodies; their Genesis bodies. You’ll be returning to Earth when you’re ready to board! Get ready!”

“They can’t remember… you k-killed them…” and one after another, their original bodies are being incinerated forever, as if they never existed.

“You and Seye remember, that’s enough, if you survive, we’ll talk when you get back to Earth.”

“Why did you do this?” I ask, feeling numb.

“War is expensive – and we’re in the greatest war Earth has ever seen right now. We need your help. We need leaders.”

“Who needs help?”

“Those who’ve paid for you,” she sounds exasperated that she has to explain this.

“To fight more wars – for people who paid?” I want to throw up, but she does not answer me.

I stumble around, looking for the exit and feeling lost between the thousands of tubes, now empty and reflecting off one another. I’m too dazed to work out my next direction.

I don’t hear the silent walk coming up behind me.

All I feel is the tap on my shoulder.

“Don’t forget me.”

I spin around, staring at myself – taller and scarred, with a broken arm and bent fingers.

“…you’re alive…?” I ask myself, a short breath escapes my much smaller lungs.

“Fall didn’t fucking kill me for long, huh,” Ryder speaks to me, she answers me, scowling brilliantly, “I’m in so much fucking pain… huh, you’re so small.”

“You’re giant,” I blink, “How can we be conscious in two different bodies?”

“Transcendence, obviously,” Ryder answers me, and I look around.

I tell her, “I can’t be in a perpetual sleep anymore, all the tubes are empty of that guck that keeps me asleep. So now you’re just... a copy of me. But I have more knowledge than you now.”

“So stay, and don’t fucking leave,” Ryder even scares myself as she commands me.

“I know the override,” I state, professionally.

“Then override it,” Ryder again, freaks me out. My human instincts are going off, alarming danger. Even though she – I – looks mostly human, she’s a tall vicious predator, just like a beast, but in a giant human-like body.

I speak gently now, as I try to stay calm, “I died to remember my real identity, are you okay?”

“No, I feel empty. I tried to kill myself,” Ryder laughs, “Obviously I’m not okay.”

“We have a heart, don’t forget it, I’ll be with you when I sleep,” I answer, “Go… and we’ll join our minds later…”

“Transcendence is a signal, I’ll pull you in now –” as I’m looking into my own eyes, my vision starts to shift.

I’m thrust into the Luna’s head, and I’m looking down at my human self – who is having a full blown seizure on the ground.

“Careful,” I scold myself as I lean down, to stop her from knocking her head, and our minds switch again. We seize, in and out of each other’s minds and bodies, unable to stand and be awake at the same time.

Eventually only one of us is going to win the battle.

I don’t expect it to be this one.

I stay still on the floor, lying head to head with my other clone.

Yep. My clone gave up.

I slowly sit up and spin to be on my knees as I look the Luna over – a hollowed out face and matted hair, no matter how many times I brushed it. I had more sense, in this human body.

The Luna looks so forlorn and not in any peace, even asleep.

Her metal foot looks smooth but reminds me of horrible things.

“See that?” the female voice talks through the speakers.

“Who are you?” I ask, hissing it.

“My name is Emma.”

“Emma, a nice Earthly name,” I look up, “What do you want now?”

“That’s the difference right there, we’re all watching actually, it’s fascinating, it’s perfect… the difference. A good solider obeys and submits, eventually… or commands without a hint of mercy. We made that clone a perfect soldier, able to switch, but you see the simplicity of them? And your Alphas, they are that, Alpha… but not very diverse in emotions, you see. That’s why they like war. They only know one thing. They want to win.”

“Then how come I won this little battle, of who should be conscious?” I ask, while holding my Luna’s head gently, brushing the hair behind her ears.

Emma can’t answer me.

At least, I don’t think she can.

But she does, only once I’ve made sure the Luna Ryder is comfortable, and I slowly make my way out of here.

And then Emma does speak up again, right before I walk out the cloning hull exit.

“This is the final test, we’ll see what they do to you. Human. We already know the answer.”

I feel a dry sense of humour fill me.

“Why would you create soldiers designed to kill humans efficiently on planet Earth – you created blood thirsty soldiers and blood thirsty beasts. You’re crazy.”

Even Xrat had terrified me on occasion, even as the Luna.

Emma’s answer should not surprise me.

“It’s not up to me, Ryder – it’s up to who holds the cash and who dictates the wars.”

“Money,” I almost choke on the word.

“Money can buy anything; hell, we made it to another planet, didn’t we? And made exactly what we wanted.”

“Exactly what ‘we’ wanted?” I ask, “Interesting.”

“We don’t worry about controlling them, we can buy that too.”

“What did you and your people learn from the Genesis Mission, Emma?” I ask, so excited for this answer.

“How to make winners.”

Too obvious. She may as well have said ‘how to win a bet’.

“No. If Genesis is a fake pretend Earth, when we do return, your lot is about to enslave the whole planet to a fucker called Skye, and he’ll come down from the literal sky, and then he’ll literally enslave you all. Because he doesn’t like stupid. And you’re stupid. Pass that onto your superiors, and make sure they blow us up before we land.”

“Still suicidal?” Emma tries to hide her mocking laugh, and small light giggle.

“I’m a scientist too – and I’m just passing on my results.”

“Biased results.”

“You could call it that,” I murmur.

She doesn’t talk again.

I walk through the ship I remember, now in a small human body, with old and new memories. I walk to the exit door into the well – and it’s so heavy I can barely open it. I see the rope being levered down, as the bucket swings and picks up oil… it’s starts to rise.

My eyes are weak and I can’t see well in the dark, but I would have to jump into the full bucket. And hopefully not drown on all the oil, while I took a free ride to the surface.

To deliver a prompt message to Wolf Dominion.

We could get off this rock.

I had the override.

I had the info.

But I had to pass on more information that they wouldn’t like.

If they wanted to complete the mission for humanity; they were all better off dead.