my longer legs gained a step on her, and as the
house came into sight and loomed closer, the two of us were in a dead heat.
I couldn’t let her win—not
twice
in the same race.
I landed on the porch an instant before Lucy did. But before I could declare any kind of victory, she turned and said, “I
let you win—
the run.
”
Then my “sister” disappeared inside the house.
Chapter 46
I HAD TO retrieve the skiff, and when I got back to the house, my father was sitting out on the porch. Just the sight of Dad
there brought back the most powerful memories of past times at the lake.
“I’d like to chat,” I told him. “I really need to talk some things through. Like 7-4 Day.”
“Can’t help you,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m a clone.”
Like Mom’s, this one appeared to be an exact duplicate—with a beard, hat, and worn-out work clothes. Anticipating my next
question, it said, “We take care of most of the chores and require no pay. Slavery at its very best.”
“Where’s my father then?”
“Working in the lab. Where else? Nice chatting with you,
son.
”
Shaking my head, but smiling at the “slavery” line, Iwalked down the stairway to the underground lab and found my father sitting in front of a bank of monitors that lined one
wall.
Some of them showed maps of different areas around the globe and contained colored clusters that looked like they represented
populations. Others were flashing coded messages.
“Feeling better?” Dad asked, swinging his chair around to face me.
“Suppose I did agree to fight against the Elites,” I said. “Then what happens?”
He pointed to the bank of monitors. “I’m in contact with resistance leaders around the world. We were just discussing you.”
“Around the world? What are you talking about now? There’s nothing out there but… savages.”
“That’s what the Elite leadership wants everybody to believe, Hays. Things are actually much more organized on our side than
they like to let on.”
So, more government lies. Supposedly, Elites made up only about 5 percent of the world’s population. But they controlled North
America, and their military power kept the rest of the world cowed into submission. The official story was that other continents
were crowded with humans, dirty and barbaric, and the only Elites actually allowed to travel there were government and corporate
insiders.
So what was the
real
story? I suspected that I was about to find out.
Chapter 47
I SPENT THE remainder of that evening in the lab with my father, learning the basics of the communications code and the other
systems that the human resistance used. The real truth was that I just wanted to spend time with him, possibly get to know
him better. Obviously, I hadn’t known before who he was.
After several hours, Dad stretched and pushed his work chair back wearily.
“I’m going to get a little rest, Hays,” he said. “I’m getting to be an old fart, and after all,
I’m only human.
” He smiled at his little joke. But so did I.
“I’ll stay here. I’m not all that sleepy.” In fact, I was antsy—I wanted to
do
something to help the humans, especially my mom and dad.
As he was leaving, my father said, “There’s something elseyou should think about. Toys might seem like harmless fun to you, as they do to most people, but they can be sinister and
very dangerous. I’m not exaggerating for effect. These toys are not what they seem.”
“How’s that? They’re just harmless entertainment.”
“No, they’re not. The Elites have been pushing them out into society because they want them to be like a drug—or a cult religion.
The very best toys take you away from the real world so you don’t have to deal with it. Elites
do
have some human qualities, including a modicum of compassion. Most of them would be a lot more concerned about what happens
to us if they didn’t spend so much time in toyland. But the leaders
house came into sight and loomed closer, the two of us were in a dead heat.
I couldn’t let her win—not
twice
in the same race.
I landed on the porch an instant before Lucy did. But before I could declare any kind of victory, she turned and said, “I
let you win—
the run.
”
Then my “sister” disappeared inside the house.
Chapter 46
I HAD TO retrieve the skiff, and when I got back to the house, my father was sitting out on the porch. Just the sight of Dad
there brought back the most powerful memories of past times at the lake.
“I’d like to chat,” I told him. “I really need to talk some things through. Like 7-4 Day.”
“Can’t help you,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m a clone.”
Like Mom’s, this one appeared to be an exact duplicate—with a beard, hat, and worn-out work clothes. Anticipating my next
question, it said, “We take care of most of the chores and require no pay. Slavery at its very best.”
“Where’s my father then?”
“Working in the lab. Where else? Nice chatting with you,
son.
”
Shaking my head, but smiling at the “slavery” line, Iwalked down the stairway to the underground lab and found my father sitting in front of a bank of monitors that lined one
wall.
Some of them showed maps of different areas around the globe and contained colored clusters that looked like they represented
populations. Others were flashing coded messages.
“Feeling better?” Dad asked, swinging his chair around to face me.
“Suppose I did agree to fight against the Elites,” I said. “Then what happens?”
He pointed to the bank of monitors. “I’m in contact with resistance leaders around the world. We were just discussing you.”
“Around the world? What are you talking about now? There’s nothing out there but… savages.”
“That’s what the Elite leadership wants everybody to believe, Hays. Things are actually much more organized on our side than
they like to let on.”
So, more government lies. Supposedly, Elites made up only about 5 percent of the world’s population. But they controlled North
America, and their military power kept the rest of the world cowed into submission. The official story was that other continents
were crowded with humans, dirty and barbaric, and the only Elites actually allowed to travel there were government and corporate
insiders.
So what was the
real
story? I suspected that I was about to find out.
Chapter 47
I SPENT THE remainder of that evening in the lab with my father, learning the basics of the communications code and the other
systems that the human resistance used. The real truth was that I just wanted to spend time with him, possibly get to know
him better. Obviously, I hadn’t known before who he was.
After several hours, Dad stretched and pushed his work chair back wearily.
“I’m going to get a little rest, Hays,” he said. “I’m getting to be an old fart, and after all,
I’m only human.
” He smiled at his little joke. But so did I.
“I’ll stay here. I’m not all that sleepy.” In fact, I was antsy—I wanted to
do
something to help the humans, especially my mom and dad.
As he was leaving, my father said, “There’s something elseyou should think about. Toys might seem like harmless fun to you, as they do to most people, but they can be sinister and
very dangerous. I’m not exaggerating for effect. These toys are not what they seem.”
“How’s that? They’re just harmless entertainment.”
“No, they’re not. The Elites have been pushing them out into society because they want them to be like a drug—or a cult religion.
The very best toys take you away from the real world so you don’t have to deal with it. Elites
do
have some human qualities, including a modicum of compassion. Most of them would be a lot more concerned about what happens
to us if they didn’t spend so much time in toyland. But the leaders
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