The Dreams of the Black Butterfly by Mark James Barrett

Author:Mark James Barrett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
Published: 2016-01-22T05:00:00+00:00

“Good morning, it is Mr Schema. Just confirm by opening your new eyes on your new first day.”

Daniel sat up slowly. “How?” he asked in a whisper.

Nobody answered. There was just the babbling room trying to mollify him, while its sterility, its stark light, scratched his new eyes like nano-thin razorblades. He curled up on the bed with his head pressed against his knees and rocked back and forth slowly.

Breakfast came: green algae on toast, mango juice and a sweet green tea. As Amber placed it on the table, Daniel leapt to his feet and the girl just made it to the door. Her yelp of fear encouraged him. He threw the tray and they brought him down with an infrasonic pulse. When he woke, there was a new tray on the table and a new breakfast.

“Good morning, Mr Daniel …”

He took the tray and dashed it across the wall. They knocked him out six times before he calmed down.

“What have you done, you bitch?”

Dr Gene-Mart smiled. “What we are asked to do under provision of your insurance policy.”

“But–”

“Your parents added something else. I guess you never bothered to listen to the whisperprint.”

He shook his head in disbelief. His hands went up to his face and began to explore it. They probed nostrils that were wider than expected, pulled at a fuller lip, a higher cheekbone. He noticed a gleam of pleasure in Dr Gene-Mart’s eyes. Finally, his hand went to the mirror. He looked in silence upon his new face.

“Mr Link kept his side of your little deal. Your DNA was not backed up I’m afraid, but your consciousness was. It’s kept separately in a secure vault. So here you are in a new body.”

He watched her lips in fascination, stunned by the words that were now spilling from them.

“You may develop some disparities in personality traits, but rest assured it is a healthy donor clone. There will always be some impact between the clone body’s cells and your consciousness. Cells have memories, too, and you may find you acquire a liking for things you never did before. Naturally, the donor’s history will be made available to you. That’s the best we can do under the circumstances, Daniel. We are not Gods.” She allowed herself a smile.

Daniel realised he had smashed the mirror. “You caught him?”

“Yes, Daniel. He had been under surveillance for some time. You’re going to hurt yourself with that–”

“When?”

“A few hours after he shot you I believe. He’ll be in the body of a walrus by now. You know what they do to murderers, Daniel.”

He was on her in an instant and the broken shard of mirror rose and fell in a rapid blur, tossing strings of bright red baubles high above him. He marvelled at their sparkle and warm patter as they fell back upon the doctor’s bronze skin.

“Die, die, die!” he commanded and then fell onto the dead woman as the room’s control mechanism fired a lethal sonic wave through him.

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