"Fringey…"
Summary: Sarah and her sisters see there's an even darker side to Dyad's little cloning-fest…
(Not sure about this one but while I await more details for "Nessun Dorma" I'll play round with this darker one and see how it goes.)
Disclaimer: No copywrite infringement intended.
Part III…
"Two more?..." Paul stared. "You're saying there are two more of you out there?"
"There are probably thousands of us…We told you that." Allison frowned. Cheese and crackers? She offered, pushing tray…Paul catching Sarah's "accept the peace offering" stare, thanked her, grabbing a few.
"And one of this pair is dead." Sarah noted.
"Don't look at me…" Felix to Paul's "did you know about this" stare… "They just let me in on this after they decided my place was once again to be used for a pot-luck minus the pot. And the food…"
"I would have brought something from home…" Allison frowned.
"It's fine…" Paul put up a hand. "And these…This…Twin…Clone…Isn't human?"
"She's human, just horribly abused…" Allison noted. "There's not a doubt she's human, like us…" nervous stare.
"Absolbloomtootly…" Sarah patted her.
"But she's not…Another Helena?" Paul, carefully…
"She's worse, in some ways…" Sarah sighed. "If what Art's learned and Felix's boyfriend…"
"Thank you for the acknowledgement of my own little romance, sis…" Felix beamed.
"Yeah, oodles of happy for you…If what they've told us is true, she's some kind of Dyad zombie robot…Without a real brain."
"What? That's not possible…"
"With Dyad…The impossible just takes a little longer…" Sarah, brightly, batting eyes at the end. "I didn't want to believe it either but they've gone and lobotomized some of us…In the womb I guess…"
"We hope…" Allison sighed.
"And found some way to run the poor kids like robots…Nice, eh?"
"And they were out killing people? Committing crimes? Why would Dyad and Leekie take a risk like that?"
"To prove they can, we think…" Sarah, coolly. "Why let us round around alive? Because they figure they can. And the benefits balance the risks I guess."
"It's probably a test…That's what Cosima and Sarah's…Beth's…Partner thinks…And Donnie agrees." Allison noted.
"Donnie does, eh?" Paul nodded. "Well, that sells…"
"I've had enough of that!" Allison glared. "He's been right on a lot more than you have and he's never betrayed me…Unlike some people, namely you, with some of our sisters, namely poor Beth."
"Ally." Sarah sighed. "And you knock it off…" eyeing the frowning Paul… "Ole Don has done his bit for the team and then some."
"Thank you." Allison nodded.
"Fine…" Paul put up a hand. "So we have robotic yous running around, doing whatever Leekie and co tell them to and with not even Helena's crazy mind to appeal to? That about right?"
"About…" Sarah nodded.
"This goes beyond horrible…" Allison shook her head. "They made them without any mind and now they just use them like…Is that the whole project? To figure out how to make us like that? And we're just the rejects?"
"God knows, sis…" Sarah shrugged. "But why Dyad and its bastards chose to go ahead with their cloning project doesn't matter a tinker's damn to me…We're here and we're human and we have a right to exist…More I'd say than that bastard Leekie and his whole crew."
"Yes…" Allison nodded. "But the thought they could have that kind of control over our lives…Flick a switch and some of us are mad killers like Helena? That's terrifying…" she shuddered.
"They're afraid of us, sis." Sarah insisted. "We don't need to be afraid of them, they need to fear us…And we'll keep givin' them cause. And these girls, poor kids, are not like us, whatever they are."
Right, right…Allison nodded, tensely.
"So what happens if the police come across your record as Sarah or notice Beth looks an awful lot like the mad killers they've been chasing?" Paul asked, eyeing Sarah.
"We'll say…I'll say…I was with my partner and/or my boyfriend and oh dear God, I never knew I had a twin or twins, especially murderous ones." Sarah, in Beth voice.
"And the police will buy that because…?"
"Your pretty and earnest face when you back me up, along with Art's…Earnest…Face."
"That's awfully mean…Your partner's very attractive…" Allison cut in… Uh…
"Well, I mean…"
"I can give you his number…If you and Donnie are still having problems or if you've gone for the open marriage option…"
"You're a nasty and vicious person sometimes, Sarah." Allison frowned.
"So she is…" Felix, mock sigh… "I can tell you from years of…Hey!" he ducked as Sarah tossed her coat at him…
"Cops gotta be, kid…" Sarah, in Beth voice…Grinning at Paul.
"Ok…What about this roboSarah?" Paul asked, glancing at Sarah with a stern look…
Leave her alone…
Yes, Dad…Return stare…
Felix rolling eyes with sidelong glance to Allison…Our kisseepoos couple's having a ro moment. Allison, wan smile…
"…Do you have any ideas about tracking her down?" Paul, frowning at Felix.
"If she surfaces again, we might be able to find out if she's being remote-controlled or what." Sarah noted. "Cos is pretty sure some kind of remote controlling must be involved…They can't think the way they are and the situations change too much for a computer in their heads to be running the show unless Dyad's invented a pos…Positronic…?"
"Good…" Allison nodded.
"Positronic brain, like Mr. Data in Star Trek. And Cos is…Pretty…Sure they haven't."
"Poor things…Poor, poor things…" Allison, weeping a little, suddenly… "What kind of monsters are these people? What did they ever do to deserve this?"
"You answered your question, Ally." Paul noted quietly. "These are monsters. Cosima and I, it's true, hoped, for a moment, they might not be but that's exactly what they are."
"Bottom line is…" Sarah sighed. "This is a job for a cop, so Art's plan of getting me reinstated and cleared and back to active duty is in force. Beth is back and will have to stay back, at least for the foreseeable future."
"This mean your Bethy clothes sense is back as well?" Felix teased. "Oooh…That means Beth's credit card is also once again available." Beam…
"A card I have to pay, Felix." She frowned. "And you've already jacked it up enough."
"Well, if I am the brother…"
"Cousin…Beth didn't have a brother."
"Cousin…Of Elisabeth Childs, I must dress the part, right?"
"You're already well decked out, Fee…"
"I still can't believe Art can manage your clearance…" Paul sighed.
"We told them what Beth found out…She has a couple of unknown sisters, one utterly insane…She wanted, natch, to try and keep it in the family and bring Helena in alive."
"And Dr. Chen?"
"Same story…Wrong place, wrong time…I was trying to secure Helena. But everything hinges on that tape of Beth jumping at the train station. If that gets to the captain, I'm done…If we keep it suppressed, he may, for Beth's sake, let things stand, for now."
"And Art is convinced his current partner, this woman. Deangelis?, will stay with our program? That's a lot to ask…"
"We've told her everything, she's agreed…If she tries to back out, well…Art can threaten her with suppressing evidence before…But I think she believes us. It's a little hard not to after all she's seen."
"Including us…" Allison nodded. "I think and Donnie agrees, we can trust her. And we're pretty good judges of character, I did after all, spot my monitor."
"After having her as best friend forever for years…" Sarah noted.
"Maybe they programmed that into me…" Allison slumped a bit. "Maybe my whole life is some computer program Aldous Leekie wrote up…"
"It's not." Sarah shook her head. "We're not robots or programmed machines, Ally."
"We can say that…But now, how do we know?" Allison, tense again. "We might be missing parts of our brains…Have chips inside our skulls…"
"Ally, no more You Tube for you…" Sarah grinned.
"Donnie's made me an MRI appointment." Allison eyed the others. "It's not approved by our insurance of course but I've got to know that my brain isn't…"
"You've never had neuro testing or a brain scan…?" Paul asked.
"X-rays when I banged my head years ago…EEG once in college for a student volunteer thing…But I need more than that…" Ummn…She eyed Sarah…
"Ally?"
"We'll need that $75,000…I know it's a waste but I have to do this and MRIs cost, especially when there's no insurance approval."
"Actually, Ally…I don't think it's such a bad idea…" Sarah, quietly. "I didn't want to suggest it right away but…Cos…"
"You don't really think…?" Paul…Felix, worried stare.
"No, not like those two…But there could be…Something…" Sarah noted. "But there's no need to empty the Hendrix bank account, Ally. Cos is arranging a thing through a friend of hers at the University. We'll be 'volunteers'."
"Great." Allison nodded. "That seems to be our fate in life, right? 'Volunteers', out of necessity…" sigh… "But I'm not thinking…How is she?" careful stare at Sarah.
"No worse, no better…"
"And that bitch Delphine? Any word regarding her quote help unquote?"
"Not yet. But even Leekie doesn't seem to want us dead, Ally."
She nodded…
"So this means you'll all be going to Minnesota?" Felix, grimacing… "The white, snowy version of Hell by the side of Lake Wobegone?" Reflecting happily… "Well, you can be sure I'll hold the fort here, watch Kyra, maybe make a few sensible purchases to help maintain my new status as a Childs cousin, if you'd leave the card."
"I'm sure you'll love Minnesota, Fee." Sarah beamed to his horrified stare…