THE GENETIC DUPLICATE -- Day 7 part 1

Kyra and Kim were sleeping for four hours when Kim yelled out in her sleep, "It's not my fault. Go away."

As Kim kept repeating herself, Kyra woke up and heard her. After getting up and walking into Kim's room, she saw that Kim was talking in her sleep. Kyra then gently woke her up.

Kim quickly sat up and looked around in an unfocused manner. Kim then looked at Kyra, brushed her hair from her face and asked, "Is it time to get up?"

"No; you still have about four hours to sleep," said Kyra. "You were yelling, 'It's' not my fault,' in your sleep."

"I was just having a dream that's all," said Kim.

"It sounded more like a nightmare," said Kyra. Kyra sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm also curious to know what wasn't your fault."

Kim was quiet for a second. She then said, "I dreamed that people were killed and then came back like in the movie, 'The Night of the Living Dead.' The people came after me for them being killed. Mom, I'm sorry to disappoint you."

"Hey, you didn't disappoint me," said Kyra.

"I couldn't get my mind off of feeling guilty," said Kim. "I even dreamed about it."

"Kim, I'm not disappointed in you," said Kyra. "I never expected you to stop feeling guilty right away. I never thought that you would dream about it once you were asleep though. Of course those horror movies you watched on Earth didn't help matters."

"What do the horror movies I watched have to do with my dream?" asked Kim.

"Kim, your knowledge of the movies gave you the setting of the dream and your feeling guilty is what triggered the dream," said Kyra.

"I guess that makes sense," said Kim.

"Kim, we can go into the common room and talk until you relax enough to go back to sleep?" asked Kyra.

"I'm okay to go back to sleep now," said Kim.

"You're not too upset over the dream?" asked Kyra.

"It was just a bad dream, and I had bad dreams before," said Kim. "I have always turned over and went back to sleep."

"Okay, if you find yourself unable to sleep, you can come to me at anytime," said Kyra.

"Okay," said Kim. "Goodnight."

Kyra kissed Kim on her forehead. She then said, "Goodnight, oh and try to have pleasant dreams,"

Kim grinned and said, "I'll try." Kim then lay down again as Kyra was standing up. After Kyra left the room, Kim turned off the light and closed her eyes.

Three hours later, Kyra's conversation in the common room with her dad woke Kim up. Kim got up, got dressed and walked into the common room.

Kyra and Capt. Lockwood were sitting on the couch. Capt. Lockwood was sitting on the end while Kyra sat in the middle. Four novels were on the coffee table. Underneath the novels was a pad of blank paper.

When Kim stepped in, Kyra stopped what she was saying to her dad and looked at her watch. She then said, "Good morning, Kim. How did you sleep?"

As Kim was sitting down next to Kyra, she said, "I slept okay." Kim then made a gesture that she was still tired.

"Kim, you look tired," said Capt. Lockwood.

Kim said as she was yawning, "I am."

"I was going to let you sleep for another hour, so if you're tired, go back to bed," said Kyra.

"If I go back to bed, I might start having strange dreams again," said Kim.

"You just said you slept okay," said Kyra.

"I did sleep okay, but I also had a weird dream," said Kim.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Kyra.

"I dreamed that the corridors on this ship were a flowing river and I was swimming in it," said Kim. "Everyone from this ship was in a row boat while trying to get around."

"That was a weird dream," said Capt. Lockwood.

"Actually, I was enjoying that dream," said Kim. "I was eleven the last time I swam in the river, and I miss it. I was actually supposed to have spent two weeks with my Aunt Brittany and Uncle Robert. Those are my relatives, who own a farm, and their farm is not too far from a river, so I would have been able to swim in the river then, but I was taken by space aliens a month before I was supposed to do that. I wonder if Beth swam in the river then."

"It sounds as though you like swimming very much," said Capt. Lockwood.

"That's my favorite thing I like to do," said Kim. "On Earth we had an indoor swimming pool at my house, and I would go swimming every chance I got. If I got angry at my parents or one of my brothers, the swimming pool was the first place I went."

In an inquisitive manner, Kyra said, "So swimming helps to calm you down."

"I never thought of it like that, but I guess it does," said Kim. When Kyra grinned Kim looked at her in a confused manner. "Why are you grinning?"

"Kim, that dream you had wasn't weird at all," said Kyra.

"What do you mean?" asked Kim.

"Your subconscious was providing you the means of relaxing," said Kyra. "Since we don't have a swimming pool for you to calm down, your dream provided you a river."

"That makes sense," said Kim. "Mom, you should be a dream therapist or at least a therapist. I think you're good at it."

Kyra grinned and said, "Actually I owe my skills as a therapist to Petra. Petra was a school therapist. She gave me a lot advice during my first year of teaching. Also I think Petra gave me more reading assignments than I gave my students."

Kim looked at the books and asked, "Speaking of reading assignments, what's with the books?"

"Those are mystery novels," said Kyra. "My dad got them for you."

"Oh cool; thanks Capt. Lockwood," said Kim.

Capt. Lockwood grinned, and said, "You're welcome. I also brought you a pad of blank paper. It's on the bottom of the books."

"Thanks," said Kim. "Did mom ask you to get it for me?"

"She did," said Capt. Lockwood. "Oh, I almost forget." He then pulled out some colored pencils from his coat pocket. "Here are some pencils I thought you could use."

As Kim took the pencils she said, "Oh cool. Thanks."

"You're welcome," said Capt. Lockwood. He then stood up. "Kyra, I need to get to the pilot's cabin."

"Okay, Dad, I'll see you later," said Kyra.

"Bye, Capt. Lockwood," said Kim. "Thanks again for the books."

"Again, you're welcome," said Capt. Lockwood. He then left the quarters.

Kim stood up and said, "Mom, I'm going to the bathroom."

Kyra looked at Kim's feet and said, "Kim, put on your shoes and brush your hair. You can stop off to use the bathroom while we go to the mess hall."

"I guess I can hold it until then," said Kim. She then walked into her bedroom.

Twenty minutes Kyra and Kim walked into the dining area while carrying their rations. Kim saw Hilton and Julian at a table eating their rations. She then asked, "Mom, can we sit with Hilton and Julian?"

"We can ask Hilton if we can join them," said Kyra. Seconds later Kyra and Kim walked up to Hilton's table. Hilton and Julian were sitting on the same side of the table. "Hilton, do you mind if Kim and I join you and Julian."

"I don't mind," said Hilton. Kyra and Kim sat down on the opposite side from Hilton. "Kim, Julian tells me that he had a great time playing games with you."

"I enjoyed hanging out with him too," said Kim.

"Kim, I don't let Julian go to the recreation room without me going with him…" said Hilton.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to take him there," said Kim.

"Kim, no-no, I wasn't meaning to imply that you did something wrong," said Hilton. "I guess I should have chosen my words more carefully. What I was trying to say, Julian likes playing games with you and you seem to be good with him, so I was thinking if you didn't mind, I would let Julian go to the recreation room without me as long as you were there to look after him."

Kim looked at Hilton in a curious manner and asked, "I like playing games with him and reading to him, so why would I mind?"

"Normally kids your age don't want kids Julian's age tagging along," said Hilton.

"Julian is my buddy, so he can tag along with me anytime," said Kim.

"Okay, that's all I wanted to know," said Hilton.

"Kim, will you play the musical keyboard?" asked Julian.

Kim looked at Kyra and said, "I do want to play."

Kyra grinned and asked, "Are you sure?"

Kim nodded and said, "I'm sure. I just freaked out yesterday when I saw people staring at me. People like my playing, so I want to play again. I just hope I don't freak out again." Kyra rubbed Kim's back. Kim looked at Kyra and grinned. "Oh Mom, when is Mass?"

"We have an hour before it starts," said Kyra.

"That's seems awfully quick after getting up," said Kim.

"Kim, you actually slept two hours later than what you usually do," said Kyra.

"If I slept later than usual then why were you wanting me to go back to bed?" asked Kim.

"We went to bed late last night, so I was letting you sleep late," said Kyra. "Now eat your food."

Kim took a bite of her food.

On board the Galactica in one of the sick bay's wards, Dr. Salik, Cmdr. Adama and Cassandra were standing at the bedside of belonging to a woman in her early twenties.

When the woman woke up, she abruptly sat up and looked around in a terrified manner. She then looked at Dr. Salik and asked, "Where am I?"

"We will answer all your questions, but right now we need you to tell us what your name is," said Cmdr. Adama.

"My name is Jessica Randall, but you can call me Jess," the woman said.

"Jess, my name is Cmdr. Adama," he said. He then pointed out the others. "This is Dr. Salik and his assistant Cassandra."

"Commander, your uniform looks military, but I don't recognize the insignias," said Jess.

"That and other things will be explained to you shortly," said Cmdr. Adama. "Jess, what is the last thing you remember?"

Jess thought for a few seconds. She then said, "I was in the woods camping with my boyfriend and eight others. It was nighttime and we were all enjoying singing at the campfire, except for Marcie and her boyfriend, Daniel. Marcie ran into camp yelling that Daniel had fallen into a river from a cliff and disappeared from sight. Daniel couldn't swim, so everyone ran towards the river with flashlights. After reaching the sections of the river where he fell in at we separated to search for him. I know I wandered around for a good fifteen minutes when my flashlight went dead."

Jess stopped talking. Capt. Adama waited a second. He then asked, "What happen after that?"

Jess said in a manner as if she wasn't sure of what she was saying was true, "I banged on the flashlight a couple of time trying to get it to work." There was a short silence. "The sky then lit up as if it was daytime. Oh my god!" Jess looked around in a terrified manner. "Who are you people and where am I?"

"Jess, this might be difficult for you to believe, but you were abducted by space aliens," said Cmdr. Adama.

"You can't be serious," said Jess.

"I am serious," said Cmdr. Adama. "You were found in stases on board a severely crippled alien ship, and we brought you aboard our ship, the Battlestar Galactica."

In a stunned manner, Jess asked, "What is a battlestar?"

"A battlestar is a warship that travels through the stars," said Cmdr. Adama.

"Okay, I'm going to wake up any second now," said Jess.

"You are not having a dream," said Cmdr. Adama.

Jess looked at Cmdr. Adama's uniform more carefully. She then said, "So this is real and while I was in stases people launched starships into space."

"The people aboard this ship and the other ships in our fleet are from the twelve colonies of the colonies of Kobol; however, we are human," said Cmdr. Adama. "In fact we believe that the humans on Earth are our thirteenth tribe."

"You told me that I'm not having a dream, but I must be," said Jess. "This is too unbelievable to be true."

"I understand how overwhelming this news is to you, but I assure you that everything I told you is true," said Cmdr. Adama.

"If this is not a dream and you are telling the truth, are we orbiting Earth?" asked Jess.

"We are nowhere near Earth, but we are searching for Earth," said Cmdr. Adama.

"Then how do you know that I'm from Earth?" asked Jess.

"There are six others who were abducted as well," said Cmdr. Adama. "You are the third to regain consciousness."

Jess asked in an inquisitive manner, "Six others? My friends?"

"The two who woke up before you are not from your group," said Cmdr. Adama. "I don't know about any of the others."

"Are you certain the two who woke up are not from my group?" asked Jess.

"The two who woke up before you are, Kimberly O'Brian and Seth Whitefeather," said Cmdr. Adama.

"Okay, you're right; I don't know them, but if all possible, I would like to meet them," said Jess.

"I can arrange it," said Cmdr. Adama. "Cassandra, are there any shoes for Jess?"

"Yes, Commander," said Cassandra. She then walked to a table; picked up a pair of shoes; walked to Jess and handed her the shoes.

As Jess was putting on the first shoe, Cmdr. Adama said, "Jess, there's one more bit of the information about you that you should know."

As Jess was putting on the second shoe she asked, "What about me?"

"When the aliens abducted you, they also made a genetic duplicate of you," said Cmdr. Adama. "Jess, you are that genetic duplicate…"

In a stunned manner she blurted out, "I'm a genetic duplicate?"

"You are; however, you are also Jessica Randall as much as the Jessica Randall who is on Earth," said Cmdr. Adama. "Normally I would keep my mouth shut about this, but Kim and Seth figured it out on their own, so you might too."

"Whoa, wait a second," said Jess. "I'm a clone and the real Jessica is on Earth?"

"Clones have flaws within the DNA; however, you have no flaws of being duplicated, and as I said, you are Jessica as much as the other Jessica who was released on Earth," said Cmdr. Adama.

"How do you know that I'm the… the genetic duplicate and not the other way around?" asked Jess.

"Are you supposed to have any scars?" asked Cmdr. Adama.

Jess looked at her right palm. She then said, "When I was sixteen I was running near a house that was being remodeled. There were boards all over with nails sticking up. As I was running, I tripped and when I tried to catch my fall, my hand caught one of those nails just right and I drove that nail through my hand. I'm supposed to have a scar right there, but I don't. Cmdr. Adama, how do you know that the other Jessica was released?"

"We get a lot of our information from Kim," said Cmdr. Adama. "She is fourteen years old, and she is a psychic with the ability to astral project. The Kim on Earth is twenty-four and she has the same ability. With their astral projecting ability we have an indirect communications to Earth."

"Okay, this is becoming more bizarre each passing minute," said Jess.

Cmdr. Adama grinned and said, "I share your feeling of things being bizarre. Now, if you come with me, I will give you a tour of the Galactica."

Jess stood up and asked, "Commander, the Kim on Earth is ten years older than the Kim on the Galactica?"

"Kim actually lives on the luxury liner the Solar Flare, but yes; that's correct," said Cmdr. Adama. "You, Kim, Seth and the others were in stases for ten years."

"Wow, this is unbelievable," said Jess. "Cmdr. Adama, you said that the ship I was found in was crippled. How was it crippled?"

"Come with me, and I will tell everything you want to know," said Cmdr. Adama.

Jess followed Cmdr. Adama out the door. As they walked down the corridor Cmdr. Adama told Jess everything she wanted to know.

While walking through the corridor, Cmdr. Adama and Jess met up with Lt. Gaeta. Lt. Gaeta said, "Commander, all but four crews on the planet have secured their equipment. Three of the four will be about another six hours. Abraham's harvesting crew is experiencing a harsh electrical storm, and we won't be able to evacuate them until after the storm passes. However, Col. Tigh estimates that we will be able to leave this system in about fifteen hours."

"Thank you, Lieutenant; carry on," said Cmdr. Adama.

"Yes, Sir," said Lt. Gaeta.

As Lt. Gaeta was walking away, Cmdr. Adama picked up the conversation with Jess of where he had left off.

During Mass, as Casimir gave the sermon, Kim played the musical keyboard on Casimir's cue. Kim sat where she couldn't see the people in the chapel. Fifteen minutes before the sermon came to an end, Starbuck and Jess entered the chapel and sat down in the back row of seats. Kyra and Seth sat close to the front.

Jess listened with interest to the remaining fifteen minutes and when Casimir ended Mass, Starbuck stood up and said, "Follow me and I will introduce you to Kyra and Kim."

As people were preparing themselves to leave the chapel, Kim sat at the musical keyboard and played. Casimir stepped up to Kim and said, "Kim, you can stop playing now."

While Kim continued to play, she asked, "Do I have to stop?"

"You don't have to stop, but Mass is over," said Casimir.

Kyra and Seth were walking up and heard Kim say, "Well, I just want to play until most of the people have left the chapel."

Before Casimir was able to respond Kyra asked, "Kim, why do you want to keep playing?"

Casimir stepped away to let Kyra handle things.

Kim said, as Starbuck, Jess, Hilton, Julian and Adonis were walking up, "When I play, I focus my attention on my music and not on the crowd. When I'm not playing, I'm aware of the crowd."

When Starbuck, Jess, Hilton, Julian and Adonis stepped up, Starbuck said, "Kim, you are good at playing the musical keyboard."

Kim stopped playing and said, "Okay, now I'm starting to feel the present of the crowd."

"Kim, relax," said Kyra.

"People stepping up here are making me nervous," said Kim.

"Kim, no one is trying to make you nervous," said Starbuck.

"I know, I just get nervous when I know there is a crowd watching me," said Kim.

"You are very talented," said Jess.

"Thanks," said Kim. "So Starbuck, how long were you here?'

"Jess and I heard the last fifteen minutes of you playing," said Starbuck.

"Who's Jess?" asked Kim.

"I'm her," said Jess. "My name is Jessica Randall."

"Kim, like you and Seth, she is also from Earth," said Starbuck. "When she heard about you and Seth she wanted to meet the two of you."

Seth stuck out his hand and said, "Nice to meet you Jess. I'm Seth."

Jess shook Seth's hand and said, "Likewise."

When Jess looked at Kim, Kim asked, "Are you related to a Juanita Randall?"

"Except for my parents and my brother, I don't have any living relatives with the last name of Randall, and my mom's name is Crystal," said Jess.

Kim stuck out her hand and said, "In that case, it's nice to meet you."

As Jess shook Kim's hand, she asked, "It wouldn't be nice for you to meet me if I had a relative with the name Juanita?"

"Only if she taught first grade," said Kim.

Kyra looked at Kim in a stunned manner as Jess said, "I get the feeling that Juanita Randall was your first grade teacher and you didn't like her."

"I like her as well as I liked my appendicitis that I had a few years ago," said Kim.

Kyra slightly grinned and shook her as Jess said, "I don't know what she did for you to dislike her that much, but I'm glad that I'm not related to her."

"Jess, even if you were related to Kim's first grade teacher, you are not her and you would still deserve Kim's respect," said Kyra.

"I wouldn't disrespect Jess, but I wouldn't be trying to make friends with her either," said Kim.

"Kim, be nice," said Kyra.

Kim just nervously grinned.

"Anyway Kim, it's nice to meet you," said Jess.

"Kim, since there are only a few people around you, how about playing something from Earth?" asked Starbuck.

Kim peeked to where she was able to see who all were in the chapel. When she saw that the chapel was still one-third full she said, "People are still here."

"Well, I'm not going to try to talk you into it, but I would love to hear something from Earth," said Starbuck.

"Kim, please play a song," said Julian.

"Julian, if Kim is nervous about playing in front of people then we shouldn't try to get her to play," said Hilton.

Kim looked at Julian for a second. She then took a deep breath and said, "I'll play something. I just hope I don't get sick over this."

"What do you mean?" asked Starbuck.

"Starbuck, Kim has a very nervous stomach, and she will get sick if she gets too nervous," said Kyra.

As Starbuck stepped back, she said, "I'll stand back a step."

Kim remained motionless as she stared at the keys for a short time. Kyra stepped up to Kim, placed her hand on her shoulder and asked, "Kim, are you okay?"

"I'm okay," said Kim. "I'm just trying to think of something appropriate to play in a chapel."

"Mass is over, and as long it isn't crude and it better not be, I don't think Casimir would mind what you play," said Kyra.

"Actually, I know what I can play," said Kim. "I'll play my Aunt Ruby's favorite gospel song."

Kim played Donna Fargo's song, 'You Can't Be a Beacon If Your Light Don't Shine.' Kim played the musical keyboard only for a one verse. She then, as she stared at the keys, sang the words to the song loud enough for people to hear. People stopped exiting the chapel to listen to Kim's song.

When Kim was done playing, Starbuck said, "Dr. Clu-Isic was right. You do have a pleasant singing voice."

"Thanks," said Kim. Kim looked up at Kyra. "So Mom, how many people are looking this way?"

Everyone in the chapel was looking in Kim's direction. As Casimir was walking towards the musical keyboard Kyra said, "I'm not going to answer that question, Kim."

"Everyone's looking, aren't they?" asked Kim.

"Kim, relax," said Kyra. "You didn't do anything to be embarrassed about."

"I can't help it," said Kim.

Kyra rubbed Kim's back.

Casimir stepped up and said, "Kim; I and the others enjoyed that song. It was interesting."

"Thanks," said Kim.

Kyra looked at her watch and said, "Kim, we need to be going."

"Can we wait a few more minutes so more people can leave?" asked Kim.

"Kim, people are no longer staring this way, so let's go," said Kyra.

"Fine," said Kim. She then stood up and timidly looked at the people who were leaving the chapel. No one was looking her way. "Okay, we can go."

"Kim, do you have any idea as to why you are so terrified of crowds?" asked Jess.

"I'm not terrified of crowds; I just get extremely nervous when a lot of people stare at me," said Kim.

"Kim simply doesn't want to be the focal point to a crowd," said Kyra. Kyra motioned for Kim to start walking.

As everyone walked towards the exit, Jess asked, "Kim, when was the first time you remember being nervous in a crowd?"

"I was three,—" Jess looked at Kim in a curious manner as Kim continued to say, "—and I was standing next to my brother Brandon as Brandon was waiting his turn to bat. Oh, I left out the part that Brandon played little-league baseball…."

As they approached the chapel exit Jess said, "Kim, I'm sorry to interrupt, but are you telling me that you can remember things when you were three?"

As they were leaving the chapel and were stepping into the crowed corridor, Kim said, "I remember a few things when I was three, and I can definitely tell you things when I was four."

"Jess, Kim has a great memory, so if Kim is saying that she can remember back that far, I would say that she can," said Kyra.

"Okay, Kim; finish your story," said Jess.

Kim thought for a second. She then said, "The person who was batting hit a foul ball in our direction. I didn't really know that the ball was hit in our way, and I was startled when my brother jumped in front of me the way he did. The ball hit my brother in the lower back and when the ball fell to the ground, I noticed everyone staring at me and pointing. I got scared and started crying. My grandma was there and before she was able to get to me, I threw up on my brother's shoe."

Kyra rubbed Kim's back. She then said, "Kim, we still have five hours before we need to be on the Galactic. So do you want to go to the computer room?"

"I do," said Kim.

"Kim, why are you going to the computer room?" asked Adonis.

"I'm curious to know which animals on Earth came from Kobol," said Kim.

"There are animals on Earth that came from Kobol?" asked Jess.

Kyra was about to answer when Kim said, "Dogs, cats, chickens and more came from Kobol. I want to find out what more is."

"Ms. Lockwood, may I go to the computer room with Kim?" asked Adonis.

"You can, but you and Kim can't be playing in the computer room," said Kyra.

"Mom, aren't you going to the computer room?" asked Kim.

"I'm just going there just to tell the person working to let you access the information on the wildlife and plant life that originated from Kobol," said Kyra. "After that I'm leaving."

"How long are you going to let me stay in the computer room?" asked Kim.

"I will give you two hours, and then you are to come home," said Kyra.

"Cool, thanks," said Kim.

Kyra grinned as Jess said, "Kyra; Kim, would either of you object if I tag along with you?"

"Why do you want to tag along?" asked Kim.

"Starbuck brought me here, so I can meet you, Seth and Kyra, and I would like to stay and get to know everyone better," said Jess.

"Jess, I have no problems with you coming with us, but I should warn you that Kim likes to talk and ask questions," said Kyra.

"I have or should I say, had an eight-year-old cousin who asked a lot of questions, so I'm use to it," said Jess.

In a skeptical voice Kyra said, "Okay."

Jess caught the tone and looked at Kyra in a curious manner. Jess then dismissed the tone and said, "Kim, tell me about you."

As they walked through the corridor, Kim started to tell Jess her detailed life story.

As they reached the intersecting corridor, Starbuck put her hand on Kim's shoulder and said, "Kim, I'm sorry to interrupt your life story, but I want to say bye to everyone. I have to get back to the Galactica."

"Bye, Starbuck," said Kim followed by everyone else.

"Kim, I enjoyed your song and your musical keyboard playing," said Starbuck.

"Thanks," said Kim.

Starbuck waved. She then turned left and continued down the corridor.

Kyra, Kim, Seth, Adonis and Jess turned right at the corridor and continued walking. As they walked Kim continued her life story. Hilton and Julian kept going straight.