This idea has been floating in my head for awhile, so I decided to put it down on paper. Let me know what you think!
Paris, France – 1992
The laboratory, usually so full of life and activity, was quiet. Lab equipment sat untouched, pages of scientific equations left unsolved. The scientists who usually occupied these items had gathered themselves at the center of the lab, their focus now on the two men in front of them – the lead scientists.
Clad in their crisp white Dyad lab coats, Doctor Ethan Duncan and Doctor Bernard Cormier addressed the small crowd. The news they delivered had been shocking, a blow to morale, leaving the lab in an unusual silence.
"Terminated?" said one of the scientists, finally speaking up. Doctor Fournier muscled his way through the group, his round pudgy face gasping for air, until he stood directly in front of the lead scientists. "What do you mean terminated?"
"Funding for Project Leda has been pulled. Project Leda is dead," explained Duncan. "Instead the money will be funneled into a new cloning assignment – Project Castor."
"Male clones," said Cormier derisively, earning an irritated look from Duncan. Doctor Cormier had hardly said a word during the meeting, but those he did say were all laced with contempt.
"Military," said another scientist. Every head in the room turned to find the voice, which belonged to a tall man in a thick pair of glasses. His nametag identified him as Niehaus. "You're turning our research over to the military, aren't you?"
Grumbles of displeasure erupted from the crowd of scientists. It wasn't long before the grumbles turned to angry shouts and protests. Duncan raised his arms, hushing the irate crowd.
"Look, Project Leda was created so we could prove human cloning was possible," Duncan said. "Now that we have, it's time to move on. So, yes, the military has-"
"What of our research? And us?" interrupted another scientist, a short woman with short brown hair. Her ID tag identified her as Hendrix. "And what about our girls?
She waved her hand to the far corner of the room where a group of about 13 small children stood playing in a makeshift play area. They were all female, all identical in appearance, save for one who was taller than the rest and had wavy blonde hair. They all looked to be about 8-years-old.
"All of you and your research will be needed over at Project Castor," Duncan answered. "As for the girls… Well, they'll be dealt with."
More hushed whispers and grumbles of disapproval sprang from the crowd, but Duncan had delivered his message, he was done. Gathering his things, the lead scientist detached himself from the group and moved toward the exit, never bothering to acknowledge the questions thrown his way.
There were several long, loud minutes of arguing before Doctor Fournier found his way to the front of the pack again.
"What do you have to say about all this Doctor Cormier? Surely you're not on board."
"I assure you I'm not, Doctor Fournier," Cormier said. "In fact, I'm very much against it."
"So what do we do now?" asked Doctor Hendrix. "How do we save our little girls?"
Doctor Cormier turned toward the children, who were now busy giggling and running to and fro. He had always known this was a possibility, that – whether successful or not – the cloning experiment could be shut down without a moment's notice. He just didn't think it would be now, not when they successfully cloned 12 beautiful girls, 12 beautiful girls whose lives only just begun.
The thought of "terminating" these 12 clones killed Bernard Cormier. He treated each as if they were his own daughter. In fact, Cormier had become a father himself around the same time the first clone was born. Over the years his daughter Delphine became a regular fixture in the lab, interacting with the girls, playing with the girls, giving the girls – albeit small – some semblance of a normal life.
Bernard Cormier took a few extra moments to watch Delphine play with the girls now. As usual Delphine was all smiles, her wavy blonde hair easily spotted among the sea of brunette. Finally he turned back to the small crowd of waiting scientists.
"We run," Cormier said simply. "We take our clones, we take our research – sequences, equations, whatever made these girls possible – and we run. Nothing gets left behind for Project Castor."
"Run where?" asked Doctor Niehaus.
"Anywhere," answered Cormier, "London! Spain! China! San Francisco! It doesn't matter, just get out of here. Hide."
"Won't we be obvious?" asked Doctor Hendrix. "A group of scientists traveling with clones?"
"We split up," Cormier said, as if the answer was obvious. "You've all worked closely with a particular clone…"
Cormier hoped the scientist could fill in the rest of the blanks. It wasn't an ideal plan, it wasn't much of a plan at all, but it was their only choice. The scientists turned toward each other, discussing options and voicing concerns, until two of the men backed away from the group.
"I'm sorry, Doctor Cormier," said one of the men. "I can't do this, I can't just run away. I have a family."
The other scientist nodded and followed the man as they backed toward the lab's exit. As soon as their backs hit the doorframe they bolted from the room.
"So now what?" asked Doctor Fournier. "We've got way more clones than scientists."
"I know a guy," said Cormier, his voice low. "His name's Carlton. He'll keep the unclaimed clones in the black – undocumented, out of the system – until they can be placed in a new home."
Doctor Fournier looked skeptical, but nodded his head anyway.
"Right, then," Cormier said, grabbing a stack of folders from the table. He flipped one open and read aloud. "Doctor Niehaus you'll be responsible for 324B21, a.k.a. Cosima. Doctor Hendrix you'll be responsible for 324B26, a.k.a. Alison."
Doctor Cormier continued dolling out clones until 324B22 (Rachel), 324B23 (Sarah) and 324B24 (Helena) were the only three that remained. They'd be the three disappearing into Carlton's pipeline, most likely never to be seen by Doctor Cormier or this group of scientists ever again.
One by one each of the scientists packed their belongings, gathered their clone and disappeared from the lab until Doctor Cormier and Doctor Fournier were the only two left.
"Listen, I know you said we should run," said Doctor Fournier, "but I think I'll stay in Paris with Danielle. Now I know it might be dangerous, but I'll be on the look-out for any-"
"Will you do me a favor then?" Cormier asked, grasping Fournier's arm with a grip so tight he nearly made the man yelp. "Will you watch over Delphine? Make sure she's safe?"
"Of course, but why-"
"This plan means I have to disappear as well. This plan means I'll probably never see my family again."
Minneapolis, Minnesota – 2014
"Is this seat taken?"
Delphine wheeled around, the voice startling her. She had been stuck in the lab all day staring through a microscope that she nearly forgot where she was. Not a single person had bothered her since arriving, but now standing before her was a petite dreadlocked brunette with glasses sporting a very toothy smile. The girl waited for Delphine to respond, her eyes moving back and forth between the seat and Delphine's face.
"No," Delphine finally said, waving a hand at the chair, "it's all yours."
Delphine lowered her eye back to the microscope, but was soon interrupted by the woman again.
"Is that for Doctor Dean's class?"
When Delphine looked up she found the woman pointing at her papers.
"Yes," Delphine said, her brows furrowed, "how did you know?"
"I took his class last semester and recognized the lab. That's a tough one."
"Tell me about it. I've been in the lab all day and still have a ways to go."
Delphine lowered her eye down to the microscope again, hoping this time the woman would get the hint.
"Do you want help?"
Delphine raised her eyes and surveyed the girl. She looked genuine in her offer, that big grin on her face once more.
"Do you mind?" asked Delphine.
"Not at all," the girl said, waving her hands in front of her. "I'm Cosima Niehaus by the way."
Delphine shook the hand Cosima presented and offered her own name.
"Delphine Beraud. Enchantée."
Cosima smiled big, a little blush creeping up her neck.
"Okay, so the key with this lab is in the prep," Cosima said, sliding her lab stool close to Delphine so they were practically shoulder to shoulder. Next she reached across Delphine, just slightly brushing her arm, and picked up the pipette. "And this little guy will be your best friend."
Three hours. That's how long Cosima had been stuck in the lab, hunched over a microscope with the beautiful blonde woman. Cosima thought it was totally worth it, though, even if she didn't get any of her own work done.
All Cosima wanted now, however, was some wine and nice quiet, relaxing night back at her apartment. Unlocking her door, she tossed her bag on the ground, but suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. There, on her couch, sat Sarah Manning, bowl of cereal balanced in one hand and the TV remote in the other.
"Well, it's about bloody time you showed up," Sarah said, crunching through a mouthful of cereal. "Marion Bowles has been looking all over for you. Says you missed your meeting."
"Shit," mumbled Cosima, looking at her watch. "I completely forgot. Why didn't you just take the meeting?"
"She was looking for the Geek Monkey," said Sarah, shrugging her shoulders. "That's not my area of expertise."
"Any what exactly is your area of expertise, Sarah?"
"Last time I checked I was the only one defending us, yeah?"
Cosima rolled her eyes. She was sick of it; sick of being the one that was responsible for all the research.
Cosima plopped down at the desk and fired up the laptop. If Marion Bowles had been trying to get a hold of her all day, she'd certainly take her call now, even if it was late. Almost immediately Bowles answered, her image popping up onto the laptop's screen.
"You missed our meeting," said Marion.
"I know, I'm sorry," Cosima said, readjusting herself in her seat. "I was stuck in the lab, lost track of time."
Marion pressed her lips together in a thin line, obviously unhappy with the news.
"Need I remind you we have six dead clones, two missing, and one captured?" Marion pressed. "Your safety's at stake, Cosima. Yours, Sarah's, Alison's… Those involved with Project Castor will stop at nothing to wipe all evidence of Project Leda clones from existence. "
"I know, I know," Cosima said, annoyed. "What have you found out? Anything new?"
"In fact, I have," Marion said, opening a folder. "My sources have confirmed that Doctor Ethan Duncan is dead. Before his passing, however, he gave Project Castor all his research, synthetic sequences etcetera – but it amounts to only half of the equation."
Marion rummaged in her folder and pulled out an old, crumpled photo of a man wearing a lab coat, a scientist.
"Who's that?" asked Cosima.
"This is Doctor Bernard Cormier, a Frenchman and lead scientist number two on Project Leda."
Cosima leaned in closer to look at the picture. All this time she had thought Doctor Ethan Duncan was the sole brilliant mind behind Project Lead, behind human cloning.
"So where is he?
"Doctor Bernard Cormier is in hiding, has been since 1992, that's why we're only hearing of him now." Marion continued. "He holds the secrets to the other half of the equation, the secrets that make human cloning possible. Needless to say, Project Castor wants him. We need to find him first."
"How?" Cosima asked. "The man's been missing for nearly twenty-two years. He obviously doesn't want to be found."
"That's why I needed to meet with you today," Marion said, "Doctor Bernard Cormier had a daughter. No one knows about her, in fact, every trace of her has been scrubbed from the record books. But the intel has been confirmed, and my sources tell me she attends the same university as you."
"What's her name?"
"First name: Delphine. Last name: unknown."