Error.
I have been dreading this day for as long as I can remember.
Clone Verification Day.
The day when all seventeen-year-old students are tested to prove their integrity and authentic genetic line as clones, as well as, finalize their registry before graduation. The scan also finalizes their placement in society.
It’s a day every clone looks forward to with excitement and anticipation. Yet, for me, it terrifies me. I’ve always had mixed feelings about this day, excited to graduate, but fearing the process.
The process is just a quick scan over the marker at the base of our neck or on the shoulder of one’s arm. The markers exist to confirm that you are not only a clone, but that you are the single iteration of your code. There cannot be more than one of your clone code in a single lifespan. They store the information about all of your current and past clonings, in order to give the illusion that we’re all just normal humans, even though we all know we’re clones.
It’s just a scan; no finger prick or drop of blood, and it’s done. The results come soon after that with all the information I need to move on to graduation.
Simple, right? So, why doesn’t it work for me?
Error. That’s all the scanner reads.
I look up at the Gentech worker and our eyes lock.
“Um, well, um…” she manages to utter, as she looks from me to the scanner. “This has never…well, ha, um, I’ll be right back.”
She quickly leaves the makeshift room, pulling the curtain behind her; no doubt to alert someone higher up. But, what about me? What does this mean for me?
Once again the hollow feeling in my stomach returns. This doesn't bold well, and yet, it isn’t a surprise that something went wrong. I've always known that I’m different. That something is wrong with my marker. After all, everyone else has markers that light up clear and bright when the UV mock scanners loom over them. It doesn’t matter that everyone’s marker is slightly different; at least that’s what the instructors say. Some light up in a different color and others glow in different shapes.
However, my marker lay faint and thin, like a pale filament beneath my skin. Most days it’s dormant, a simple crescent of light that never fully brightens.
For me… my marker is dim and barely readable. As though I was given an older model that is now obsolete.
“What should we do?” It’s the same Gentech worker from before. She’s talking to someone on the other side of the curtain. “The second ‘error’ reading also read ‘No match found. Anomaly detected’. I barely had time to erase it from the screen before she saw it.”
No match found?
Anomaly detected?
What is she talking about?
“Shh, just act normal,” says another Gentech worker, as if whispering would make a difference. “The director will be down here soon. If the girl learns that something is wrong and runs off, we'll be in hot water.”
I vaguely realize that they quickly pass by my makeshift room, without saying a word to me.
The director? He doesn't sound like someone I want to meet.
It's time to go.
I slide off the bed and quickly grab my bookbag. Peaking through the curtains, I scan the area in the gym where all the temporary exam stations were set up. The Gentech girl is at the front entrance of the gym, talking with two other Gentech workers.
“I can't go that way,” I whisper to myself.
I look to my right towards the back door of the gym. It’s clear. Glancing back at my tech worker, I quickly slip out of my exam area and head to the back door. If I can make it there in time…
“Ok, Miss Ponce, we’re…”
I quickly slip into another room, hoping that I haven’t been seen.
“She’s gone!” a voice calls out.
In seconds, there’s a flurry of activity outside the temporary rooms. Footsteps rushing by, Gentech workers talking rapidly, and frantic movement all around. It’s as though a war broke out in the middle of the school gym and I’m at the center of it.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
I’m caught!
I almost jump out of my shoes, turning around to face the voice behind me. I gasp as I stand frozen in front of Rian, my forever rival. He has bested me in everything since grade school, though I doubt he’s even aware of our rivalry. Not only that, but he’s also the one guy at the academy that every girl likes.
Not me of course. He’s my rival.
“You’re in my class, right,” he asks, sliding off the cot he was sitting on. “Phyllis…”
“It’s Felicity,” I correct him, shaking my head.
He doesn’t even know my name?
“Felicity… right.”
We stare at each other in silence for a moment, neither of us moving. All around us the Gentech workers are becoming more frantic and I know it’s only a matter of time before they find me. I need to find a way out of here, but my body won’t move.
Finally, Rian clears his throat before asking, “So, why did you come in here?”
“Well…”
“She’s got to still be here! Search all the exam areas!” someone said, loud enough to echo off the gym walls.
I panic.
What am I supposed to do now?
Looking around the room, I see that my only option is to hide under the cot.
“Hide me,” I blurt out in a whisper, as I quickly crawl under the cot.
“What?”
“I’ll explain later, just please,” I glance back at the closed curtain, before locking eyes with Rian. “Hide me. I need your help.”
Rian hesitates for a moment, then nods his head. He pulls the sheet from the cot down half way to cover up the front after I slide under. Seconds later, I hear the curtain open.
“What’s going on?” Rian asks, as he sat back down on the cot. “You’re not a Gentech worker.”
Ignoring his question, the man demands, “Reveal your marker and prepare for verification.”
He must be one of the Authority Officers who deal with major societal issues. This situation is getting worse.
There was a small open area where the sheet didn’t cover. Looking through the opening, I’m not able to see more than the man’s shoes from my position, but the low humming noise from the scanner helped me to know that Rian’s marker was being scanned.
Valid. Rian Vale.
Of course there was no issue with his scan. That’s something that would only happen to me. Just my luck.
“Vale?” the man asks. “Do you mean to tell me…”
“Yeah, Director Vale is my father.”
That’s news to me too. I start to wonder now what that means for me. The director’s son is helping me, but what motive does he have for doing so?
The tone of the man changes, “Sorry, we have to verify all students.”
“Why’s that?”
“We’re looking for… sorry, I have to ask. Have you seen Felicity Ponce?”
I flinch at the sound of my name. This is the moment when my fate is sealed. I just wait for the moment when Rian gives me up. I see him shift his feet and I can only imagine him reaching down to drag me out of my hiding spot.
“No.”
Silence.
No one spoke for what seemed like several minutes. I could feel the atmosphere change, like the calm before a storm.
“And if we discover otherwise,” another man says, walking further into the room. “You know how much trouble you’ll be in and the predicament that it will cause your father?”
Rian’s feet shifted again.
“I didn’t see her,” he says again. There was no anger or fear in his tone, but he spoke with so much confidence that it left no room for further argument.
The officers lingered for a few moments more, as though they were studying him. Then, without saying another word, they both turned and left, pulling the curtain closed behind them.
“Gym secure,” someone says on the other side of the exam room.
As soon as the footsteps of the officers fade, Rian pulls back the sheet and helps me out from under the cot.
Neither of us speak.
It’s too quiet for too long and I’m fully aware of every tremor in my body. Rian is still holding my hands… still standing too close to me. I know he sees that my marker isn’t glowing, yet he doesn’t say anything.
Not yet.
“You’re shaking,” he finally says quietly.
“I’m not,” but, I know I am. I just don’t want to admit it.
It’s quiet again, but only for a short moment.
“I see, so… your marker didn’t activate.”
He’s not asking me a question; he’s stating a fact.
I nod, not sure if I can clearly answer him. And then it finally dawns on me; I understand why my parents were so worried this morning. Why they barely slept the night before. How my mom hugged me too tight before I left for school.
I clear my throat, “It’s defected, that’s all. I just need to get it fixed.”
“That’s not how it works.”
I guess he would know considering who his dad is.
Of course he would know; he’s Rian Vale… my rival. He knows how everything works. He has top marks in Systems Theory, he excels in every sport while maintaining excellent grades, and he is always able to keep his emotions in check. Oh, and he’s the son of the Authority’s most decorated administrators.
This is why I can’t stand him.
I pull my hands away and walk past him. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” I whisper, afraid to talk any louder in case the officers are still around. My voice sounds odd to me, as though it’s small and timid like a mouse.
“I know, of course you didn’t do anything. How could you?”
How could he know?
My chest tightens. What’s wrong with me?
“Besides, if it was defected, they could just fix it there on the spot. Instead, they’re searching for you,” he continues, as he walks back in front of me. “What did the scanner say?”
Don’t draw attention. Don’t tell anyone.
I hesitate. The promises scream through my head.
I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to tell him. It’s not like Rian is my best friend, Jax, and I don’t even tell my friend everything.
“You said you would explain later,” Rian reminds me, a smug look forming on his face. “Plus, I did keep you from getting taken away.”
Of course he would use that against me. I wouldn’t expect anything less from my nemesis.
“I… I only saw the ‘Error’ reading, but…”
“But, what…”
What will happen if I tell him? I don’t feel right about any of this, but he doesn’t seem willing to let it go. I can feel the weight of his patience eating away at me. I close my eyes, knowing that I will regret this sooner rather than later.
“I overheard the Gentech lady tell someone that the scanner also read ‘No match found’ and ‘Anomaly detected’.”
Silence.
I look up at him now to see his reaction. His eyes are wide and he looks visibly shaken.
“That’s not possible,” his voice has changed, matching the pale look on his face.
“I know,” I say, shrugging my shoulders. “It doesn’t make sense.”
He gently grabs my wrist, checking my marker for a glowing light. My skin burns under his touch. His fingers are warm, steady, and firm enough to anchor me, as he continues to examine my wrist. Yet, my marker stays dim, barely visible. There’s no pulsing light, no glow; nothing.
However, I notice his marker glowing a gold and bright blue spiral along his forearm. It was steady and confident. A marker fit for the son of a high government official.
He inhales sharply.
“You’re cold,” he murmurs.
His thumb brushes lightly over the place where my marker should flare up. Instead, I shiver softly.
He looks up at me and our eyes lock.
Crap! He felt that too!
Clearing his throat, he says, “They won’t stop looking for you. They’re probably locking down the school as we speak. Then they’ll track attendance and pull surveillance. You need to get out of here now.”