Clone City

As weeks turned into months, Ord had no idea what to do with all the free time he had on his hands. He had given up trying to talk to his co-workers. They shunned him to a man. He had walked every street in Joypolis and played away his last allowance at the game centres.

He sat in the silence of his room thinking about Krm. What did he mean when he claimed ideas had been put in our heads? Every time Ord thought about this, it led him to the relation of citizen to clone. This, in turn, always led to the image of parenthood. And when he tried to frame a question about the nature of that parenthood, his mind went blank.

He would then think of Eva. Meeting her helped. Even though their meetings were brief, it was the only thing he looked forward to. It was strange, he thought, how they were slowly getting to know each another in a way that he’d never experienced before. He realized his earlier view of her was completely wrong. Distorted. And it was an attitude shared by all the Packers he knew. Could that be a coincidence, he wondered? Or had that, as Krm said, also been created? He ran his fingers through his hair and struggled to think it through, but again his mind went blank.

Getting up from the sofa, he walked over to the window. He stood there watching the tops of trees swaying in the distance. On the spur of the moment, he thought, ‘I’ll go there.’ He turned, took his jerkin from where it hung behind the door and pulled it on as he opened the door. ‘Anything’s better than being cooped up like this all day. Out there, that’s where I’ll go,’ he urged himself as he checked he had locked the door.

He jogged down the stairs, telling himself there was nothing more to lose. Nothing made sense anymore. No work, no friends, just time, time, time. All this time on my hands. I try to think, I go blank. Just nothing. Empty. Feeling his throat constrict, he kicked out at a bin at the bottom of the stairs and ran off as it rolled off clattering.

When he came to a deserted street, he slowed his pace to a walk. He shaded his eyes from the sun’s glare. Thinking of the sun, he remembered how he had watched it that morning. Sole friend, he thought now sweating beneath its blaze. Give me strength, he implored. Help me know who and what I am and why no one cares. He stopped and, squatting on his haunches, pulled his head down into his own shadow.

When he felt calmer, he got up and continued walking. He knew he must be close to the city’s boundary. Reaching a junction, he saw the road to his left did in fact lead to the perimeter. He could see security posts on either side of the road at regular intervals with cameras perched on top. Hearing a humming sound, he swung round. Seeing it was only an unmanned garbage vehicle, he relaxed. He watched it pass and move slowly up the road he faced. It left a sickly smell in its wake that made him cover his nose. He turned away from the stale stink and walked toward the perimeter.

Ord noticed how silent it was. A million people were huddled at the centre and yet, here, there was scarcely a sound. No buildings. Just rubbish tips on either side of the road. Dead ends.

When he reached the end of the road, he looked down at the lumpiness of the earth where the tarmac ended. Turning, he looked back and realized he had never seen the Tower from so far away. He looked back at the trees. They too seemed different, now he was closer. Gulping, he stepped off the edge. Dry clods of earth crumpled beneath his shoes. He took a few steps, then more, until the trees began to loom closer. He could feel his heart beating, but reminded himself of the alternative – boxed up in his room.

When the ground grew rougher, he found himself almost stumbling toward the trees. When he reached them, he wondered if he should circle the city or go deeper among the trees. He was not worried about getting lost: he had his locator on his wrist. A sensor activated it whenever he left his room and flashed a silver arrow in the direction of his room. He decided to go deeper.

He continued walking, feeling both excited and afraid. Occasionally, he paused to look at the bushes. Some were in flower. He smelt their fragrance and watched the insects that hovered over them. He noticed some insects crawling into the flowers. The sweet smell was unlike any he had smelt before. He touched one of the flowers. Withdrawing his hand, he noticed a fine film of yellow dust on his fingers. It did not burn. Even so, he wiped it off on his trousers and walked on, looking from side to side.

The forest was not as dense as he imagined. In some places the trees were spaced far apart, but when he looked up, he noticed how their branches reached out and touched those of neighbouring trees. He looked at their dark streaked trunks and ran his fingers up and down them to feel their texture.

At length, he came to a small stream. He had of course seen water before, but never coursing naturally. He stepped down the slope and squatted beside the stream. Watching its gurgling headlong rush, he thought it almost playful. Although he was still unsure of everything around him, he was beginning to relax and enjoy these new sensations. He did not feel threatened. In fact, quite the opposite: he felt elated. He broke a blade of grass and placed it on the water and watched it lose itself in flashes of silver light.

It was unlike anything he had seen before. Very different to the virtual images of the game centres and the plastic shrubbery of the parks, he thought. Spellbound, he continued to watch. When he lay back to rest, he noticed the sunlight filtering through the trees. Sitting up, he looked at how the patterning of shade around him shifted with the wind. He smiled. It was as if the forest was breathing. He liked it. After resting, he got up and walked along the stream. He recalled a random find on his home computer and wondered if this was the kind of thing shepherds did.

Crossing the stream, he walked up the gentle slope of its bank. Reaching the top, he saw a mound at the bottom of a treeless glade of tall grass. Suddenly a shrill cry made him duck. Crouched, he caught sight of a brightly coloured bird darting into a tree. Glancing at his locator, he realized he’d been gone much longer than he’d thought. Before heading back, he keyed in the coordinates it showed on its screen. He decided he would come here again and investigate that mound.