Short Stories From Out There

Copy Thoughts

Mauve lights flickered on and bathed the room as Henry Golds stood looking through the glass wall at the impending sunrise. He had traveled here from Titan to help with the settling. A lot of work had gone into getting Earth back to a habitable state over the last few centuries, and he was one of the lucky chosen to enjoy the first full day on the newly restored original planet of Humanity. The atmosphere had been scrubbed and replenished, and plant life again covered the land. There was still quite a bit of tech underground from the many millions of people who lived in bunkers and tunnels, and the escape into space had ultimately been necessary, but they assured them that it was all dormant or contained. The fatal waves of mysterious energy had dissipated, and it was time for the Earth to be populated.

Meanwhile, a copy of him went to the Asteroid belt for a final sweep of its stores. A newly developed use for Horston drives had many looking for materials passed over due to their past uselessness.

It was a sad fate, thought Henry, to be gliding among the deadly spinning shards looking for treasure, Copies risking their lives, not for their gain, but the gain of their Source. Copies were typically ignorant of their true nature. No doubt his Copy thought it was the original Henry. He felt a pang of guilt, thinking of himself, working away at collecting, and finding out one day that he had no rights nor a future. Once they performed the task, the Copy got recycled, its memories saved for the Source to peruse and even absorb if the Source wanted them.

Henry heard the chime of the reminder, which meant it was time to go out and enjoy the sunlight before the day was underway. He finished the morning meal, glanced at the day's itinerary, and walked over to the glass wall. Henry paused for a moment, not knowing why. He suddenly had a strange feeling of dread. He knew it was just nerves. It was long since anyone had stared bare-eyed into the First Sun. He walked forward as part of the glass hissed aside and let him through. The door hissed again and clicked behind him as he walked over by the rest, twenty in all, and prepared to greet the day. Drones rose around them, taking measurements and recording the moment for history.

As he felt the heat of direct sunlight hitting his skin, he smiled. This moment was immense, and he took a breath, savoring the gravity of it.

Henry's forehead began to tingle. A few seconds later, it became uncomfortable. He looked around. Everyone else seemed to experience the same.

The First Sun was halfway visible, as the tingling turned into an itch. The itch moved inward, and he swore he could feel the front of his skull itch beneath his skin.

A strong sting of pain shot through his head and went down his spine. Henry ran for the door he had just walked through and almost smashed into it as it did not open like it should have. He slapped it, trying to swipe it open, as sometimes needed to be done if a sensor was acting up. To his horror, it would not open.

Henry spun and looked at the drones and the others. People began screaming and fell to the ground, writhing in pain. He fought the urge, trying to keep his wits about him and figure this out. The drones were swarming around them, recording and staying out of reach.

Henry ran for the shade behind the single-story glass building, but the sunlight was everywhere. There was no escaping it. He couldn't see the First Sun but knew it was probably visible. He shut his eyes tight and fell into a ball, keeping as much of his skin covered as he could as he tried to reason this out and figure a way to get safe.

He could pull something over himself, dirt or maybe plants. He reached to grasp some loose dirt, and his arm stopped responding. It was stuck outstretched and reaching.

His whole body froze. He couldn't think straight. He heard the screams of the rest and the hum of the drones as he faded into panic.

His last thought was his earlier thought: The sad fate of a Copy finding out it was a Copy. He tensed in a violent spasm of white-hot pain and died.

The First Sun rose into the sky as the drones' hum changed and began collecting memories and materials from the Copies spread across the area. High above, in orbit, Henry Golds sighed and started the report. It was going to be a long day.