Lex stalked the corridors of Island South, an enraged tiger trailed by sheep. Iversson just about managed to keep pace with her; the Professor was tall and had long legs. Meanwhile, Diana Weyland had to almost run to keep up, hurrying along in her towering stilettos. The soldiers or mercs or whatever they were followed behind.
"Alexa," Iversson said "I just want to remind you that you must keep calm. Selim needs you."
"So you keep saying," Lex said through gritted teeth "I think you'd better just show me what it is you think I ought to be calm about and let me judge for myself!"
"Alright," The Professor stopped next to a door not too far away from the suite they had been using as Selim's sickroom "Just promise me, no yelling or hysterics. I don't want him …upset."
Lex steeled herself as the Professor swiped her ID card and went through the whole security rigmarole. At her elbow she could sense Diana Weyland watching. She wasn't smirking openly but Lex could sense that she was very much enjoying the whole situation – after all, it was she who had engineered it. Her dislike of the woman ratcheted up several notches.
The door swung open and they stepped forward into a room that looked like a child's playroom… quite an unruly child's playroom at that. Toys and clothes littered the floor, battered toys that had clearly seen a lot of active service. Part of the wall and floor was a soft padded surface, scored and ripped in several places. It was quite a bright sunny room. One whole wall was a window just like in Diana Weyland's office and off to one side she could see a doorway that led into what looked very much like a small, but also very untidy, bedroom.
Lex looked around, puzzled. Just what was she meant to be seeing here? Had they prepared this room for Selim all along? Was she meant to be frightened? Or impressed that they were so confident that she and Selim would one day be their prisoners? But then…. why the hell was the place such a mess?
Just then she heard a voice coming from the adjoining room – what looked like a bedroom – an exasperated male voice. She could tell that the owner of the voice was obviously trying to restrain his temper in the face of extreme provocation "Come on kid, quit throwing yourself around!"
Then another voice – childish, high pitched and familiar – raised in indignation "You can't tell me what to do! Where's my Mom? Where is she?!"
She watched in disbelief as Selim burst out from inside the bedroom in a state of extreme agitation "Leave me alone!" He yelled "I wanna play! I don't wanna stay in there and you can't make me!"
A large man in a black uniform came out of the bedroom, striding after him. Lex was puzzled that her son didn't even seem to notice she was in the room, despite his saying he wanted her.
"Goddammit kid!" The man spat angrily "Simmer down and stop making such a racket!"
"You can't speak like that to me!" Selim howled. He was completely beside himself now, fully in the grip of a world-beating tantrum "You can't tell me what to do! Nobody tells me what to do!" He began to snatch up things from the floor and hurl them at the man one after the other as hard as he could. When the man approached and grab at the flailing arms he gave a scream of rage and lashed out furiously. He caught the man across the cheek with a fistful of claws leaving bright red slashes across his skin.
"Let me go!" He bawled "I want my Mother – where is she? Where is she?!"
Lex was stunned. She had never seen Selim behave this way before. Even when he was very young he had never acted like this. And he didn't even seem to notice her standing there. But then again, maybe this change in his temperament was a result of his illness and the treatment he was going through.
"She's not your mother kid," The man said harshly "You know that!"
"I hate you!" Selim fought to get away as the man got a stronger grip on him, struggling like one possessed by demons.
Lex's jaw set hard, enough was enough. . Much as she was relieved to see him up and about so soon she was worried that this man might injure him… or that he might injure himself. She stepped forward "You take your hands off him!" She said sharply.
Selim and the man both turned to look at her in surprise. Her son just stared at her. The man looked at her for a moment and then his gaze slid past her to Iversson who was standing by the door. "Do as she says Farrell." Iversson told him, then to Selim she said softly "It's alright now."
Lex crouched down on the floor and held out her hands to her son "Selim?" She said "Why don't you calm down sweetheart? You don't want to hurt yourself."
Selim was now looking at her in astonishment. He stood up, temper tantrum forgotten, and approached her cautiously. She knelt, waiting for him to come to her. He was obviously confused – and he'd been ill. She didn't want to startle him or upset him.
As he came nearer she was reminded very strongly of his father. Those vivid eyes were still glowing from his outburst in the way that Scar's did when he was very angry or in the grip of some other extreme emotion. The vessels in them were swollen with luminous blood. With a stab of worry she noticed that somehow the way he moved was different from before. She wondered if this was a result of the operation too.
She waited, but he didn't fling himself into her arms as he usually did. He edged around her warily until he got past her to where Iversson stood by the door. Then to her utter bewilderment he went right up to Iversson and clutched hold of the other woman's leg. The Professor knelt down next to him, put an arm around his shoulders and smoothed his brow "There now," She said gently "There wasn't really any need for all that fuss was there?"
Selim was still watching Lex, his brow knotted up suspiciously. Then he looked up at Iversson "Mom," He asked "Who is this lady?"
"Her name is Alexa," Iversson told him "She's come to visit you."
"Why is she calling me that weird name?"
"Because she's got a little boy just like you," Said the Professor "And that's his name."
The child's eyes lit up with sudden interest at this news and he took a hesitant step towards Lex "Is that true?" He asked "Do you have a boy just like me?"
Lex stared at them them both, stupefied – trying to make sense of a world gone mad. Was what Iversson said true? This wasn't Selim? "But he looks just like him! It must be him!"
Her mind raced, working overtime, tripping over itself "Have they done something to him? Brainwashed him so he doesn't remember me?" Her mind reeled as she tried to get her bearings "But that's not possible," She realised "I only saw him a short while ago and he remembered me then…"
Now it was beginning to dawn on her… there were discrepancies. His speech was different; it lacked the very faint accent and odd intonation that Selim had when speaking English, picked up from his father. This child sounded like an all-American little boy. He moved differently and he behaved differently too. Lex had never seen Selim have a meltdown like the one she had just witnessed, it was not really in his nature.
Also, more tellingly, the boy she'd left sleeping just under an hour ago had darkly shadowed eyes and his head had been swathed in bandages, under which was undoubtedly a large surgical scar covered in stitches. This child had obviously not been through a major operation anytime recently.
"But then where in the name of God did he come from?" Lex thought desperately. She felt like she was going insane.
Suddenly she realised the other Selim – she didn't know how else to think of him – was still looking at her, waiting for an answer to his question. With a superhuman effort she pulled herself together, not wanting to upset him "Whoever this boy is," She thought "He's still only a child and none of this is his fault."
"Yes, that's right." She said, making herself smile at him "I do have a little boy like you, he's my son. What is your name?"
"Isaac." The child told her "What's your little boy called?"
"Selim." Lex bit her lip "He really does look just like you. So much that for a moment I… got confused and I thought you were him." Her eyes flashed up to Professor Iversson, who was watching her tensely.
"Oh." The boy looked at his feet for a moment, considering "Where is he?"
"He's just down the hall." Lex saw him immediately look round to the door "But he's asleep at the moment. He's been ill, but now he's getting better."
"Can I go see him when he wakes up?" Isaac asked "Mom – I mean, the Professor told me that nobody's like me, that I'm special. Cos of my NDA."
"DNA Isaac." Iversson corrected him.
Isaac nodded impatiently, but then his gaze returned to Lex. Clearly the idea of another boy the same as he was intrigued him far more than a lesson in genetics.
"Well I can see she's right, you are very special." Lex said "But my son is very much like you."
"Can I go see him Mom?" He said to the Professor.
"When he's feeling a better Isaac," Iversson told him "But right now he's asleep and you should be too. I need to speak to Alexa so you go to bed like a good boy and in the morning, maybe you can see him if he's feeling up to it."
"Alright."
Isaac's face creased up in a little frown again and he pouted slightly but he let Iversson lead him placidly back into the adjoining room and a few minutes later she came out.
"I think we're long overdue for a little talk Professor, don't you?" Hissed Lex.
Iversson grimaced "Not here."
As soon as they were down the corridor in the plush confines of Iversson's office, Lex exploded "Just what the hell is going on!" She demanded "He is exactly like my son – exactly – so can you please just tell me what the fuck you've been doing? Where did he come from?"
Diana Weyland and at Professor Iversson stood watching her, Iversson looking miserable, Weyland inscrutable.
"Can't you guess Lex?" Weyland shifted her weight slightly as she leaned on Iversson's desk.
"I don't want to guess!" She yelled "I want you to cut the bullshit and just tell me!"
The bodyguards started forward, looking as if they might be about to tackle her to floor.
"Oh get out!" The Professor snapped at them suddenly, her usual composure cracking at last "Go and stand outside!"
Iversson pressed a hand to her mouth and screwed her eyes shut for a moment as they left, then turned and looked Lex in the eye "He's a clone." She said heavily "Isaac. That's what he is. That's why he and Selim look identical; because – genetically speaking – they are. I created him using a sample of Selim's DNA that we took from him whilst he was in utero."
Lex stared at her in horror "But that's insane!" She said "Why would you do that? Why would anybody do that?"
"Scientifically speaking, it was just too good an opportunity to miss. When you escaped you took Selim with you and any chance we had of studying this alien life form at close quarters disappeared overnight. Although I suspected you'd be back someday, I didn't want to pass up the chance of a lifetime if you weren't – this was the next best thing."
"That was why you left, wasn't it?" Lex whispered "You needed someone just as unscrupulous as you are to bankroll your crazy experiment so you left government service and hooked up with her!" She indicated Weyland with a trembling finger.
"Well I don't agree with your characterization," Iversson drew herself up, impressively dignified "But yes, I had the samples in cold storage when we got the news that we were being closed down. I knew those idiots at the Department would never have sanctioned something like this. They couldn't see the huge potential scientific gains it represented, only the potential for bad publicity if it ever got out, but I could. I stole the samples. I'm not proud of it but I did it for the furtherance of human knowledge. I knew Weyland Corps might have an interesting perspective on things given the history, so I went to Diana with my proposal."
"And you were right to do so," Weyland interjected smoothly "In private enterprise one is always so much more free to be creative than in public service – that's why we're able to get results. In less than five years we've made such huge strides we're light years ahead of everyone else in several fields. Just the by-products of your work alone have been hugely beneficial to this company."
"I'm very happy for you." Lex said bitterly "But that's a child in there, not a product."
Weyland sighed "Don't be so tediously melodramatic. Isaac has a pleasant enough existence, he wants for nothing."
"Oh yeah, he seems really content." Lex snarled "Not at all confused or distressed. That's why he thinks you're his mother!" This last was directed at Iversson "Is that what you told him?"
"Children need some kind of maternal figure to focus on for love and affection." Iversson said firmly "It's only natural that he should want to attach himself to me, I'm the one he sees the most. I haven't lied to him about it. It's close enough to the truth – I did create him, after all."
"Your version of the truth is a pretty twisted up version, what about when he grows up? How much of the truth are you going to tell him then? Have you even thought what you're going to do with him? He's getting bigger every day – by the time he's a teenager - "
"Well this has all been very interesting," Weyland put in, as if the whole conversation bored her "But I have things to be getting on with so I think I'll leave you ladies to it. I imagine you have plenty to talk about."
She got up, crossed to the door and let it swing shut on their outraged faces. They heard her heels on the floor echoing like gunshots, receding down the corridor.
Both women were silent for a moment, then Iversson turned to Lex with a pleading look on her face "Alexa, try to understand," She said "I did want to tell you. I just felt you'd been through so much already…having a seriously ill child is so hard on any mother!"
Lex sat down in one of the armchairs in front of Iversson's desk and put her head in her hands for a moment.
"Professor I don't think there's any time or any way you could have told me that it wouldn't have been a serious mindfuck."
"Perhaps you're right." Iversson conceded.
They sat in silence for a moment and then Lex looked up at her "That Diana Weyland is a real piece of work."
The older woman said nothing. Lex ran a hand through her hair and drew a deep sigh.
"She's not much like her father;" She said "I liked him."
Iversson stiffened "Diana has been a very generous benefactress. Without her, none of my achievements here would have been possible."
Well you'll forgive me if I don't share your enthusiasm." Lex said sarcastically. She thought for a minute then she said with a little frown "I thought human cloning was illegal…"
"Well technically yes, but I imagine it's a moot point here. Neither Selim nor Isaac are fully human and given that Isaac is already in existence, what serious action could be taken? Probably there'd be ways around it."
"And I'm sure she would be just the one to find those ways, right?"
Iversson said nothing. Silence descended once more.
"So… Isaac?" Lex said finally "Is that some kind of biblical reference?"
Iversson looked at her sharply "What?"
"Because if it is, it's not very well-omened."
"I'm not sure I know what you mean." Iversson looked confused.
"Don't you know the Old Testament?" Lex raised an eyebrow "My parents made me go to Bible studies every Sunday, well… every Sunday we were somewhere they had a class. It kind of stuck in my mind; the brothers, Isaac and Ishmael.. half brothers anyway; that's one story nobody comes out of all that well."
"No, that wasn't where it came from." Iversson said "Isaac was my son's name."
Lex started in surprise "You have a son?"
"He was around the age Selim is now."
"Was?"
"Yes."
"What happened to him?"
"He died."Iversson said tonelessy. Lex stared at her.
The Professor opened her mouth to speak again, but stopped, pressing her lips together as if she was trying to hold the words in. Her mouth quivered for a moment then finally she said quietly "It's just the worst thing in the world, to watch your baby suffer and be powerless to stop it."
Lex was deep in thought as the Suit from Weyland's office and two other guards escorted her back to her cell. Iversson evidently had some other pressing business to attend to but Lex knew she'd be back to resume her watch on Selim as soon as possible.
"So you didn't know?" She resurfaced from her thoughts. The Suit was talking to her she realised "Excuse me?"
"You didn't know about the other kid?" He said "Musta been a shock."
"Look at you," She said coolly "Pretending like you give a damn."
"Just asking Ma'am."
"And of course whatever I tell you, it'll make interesting listening when you report back to your employer."
"No, I was just wondering if you were ok."
"How considerate. You needn't bother. It's none of your business."
"Don't like it when someone offers you sympathy, do ya?"
"Is that what this is, sympathy? Feels like something else to me."
"Well now, what's that quotation?" He smiled lazily "'To the pure in heart all things are pure'."
She regarded him sidelong now orange in the last flare of the dying sunlight. He was tall and very lean. She supposed he was attractive in a dark, ascetic way.
"Well then, I suppose I must be impure," She raised an eyebrow "Either that or you're a slimeball."
His own smile broadened into a grin "Hey, who says it ain't both!"
She was grateful to see that they were now at the door to Selim's room and after he'd gone she sat down at her son's bedside, tapping a fingernail on her teeth thoughtfully.
Something about this man sparked a memory, not a welcome one. She had to think before putting her finger on it – Coulter, that's who she was reminded of. Not his looks, just the way he carried himself. The realisation did not make her feel friendly towards him.
On the other hand he was clearly attracted to her. She realised this without feeling a shred of ego, with a detachment that came from living outside humanity for a long time. She was neither flattered nor repulsed. Only one thought filled her mind "How can I use this to my advantage?"
