LITR 3731: Creative Writing
Student Fiction Submission 2003

Enrique Canales

(revised submission)

The Hollow.

Prologue.

I visited myself again today.  I found me cold and distant, and unwilling to chat.  Perhaps being in a cryogenic chamber has something to do with it.  I guess anybody would grow distant after being frozen a few years.  After boring myself with myself I decided to move on with my shopping.  Liver should be good for the day, unless I decide to go with the eyeballs.  Going shopping can be difficult, especially when your life is at stake.  Shuffling through my bodies can be tiresome.  Scanning the computer monitor for a suitable organ can be a tedious task.  But finally, I decide to go with the liver and leave the new cornea for next week.  Tomorrow will be my one hundred and thirtieth birthday, but it feels like I’m only twenty.

My Memory, (130 years earlier).

From my room window, the gathering of a numerous mass was quite a spectacle, a hypnotizing blend of movement, sound and passion.  I had no idea there could be so many people, much less that a mass of them could make such a beautiful sight, like fish swimming in unison.  Their gathering made no sense to me; after all, they knew nothing about what was happening inside ICAR’s labs.  Nevertheless, the passion that exuded from the mass of people offended my lack understanding.  Like a child crying to his mother for candy, not understanding that sweets can harm, they presumed to know what was best for them.  I am the way, the truth and life.  Their only hope of existence lies with me, yet they wish to destroy me and thus satisfy their ignorant ethics.  Man has desired to defeat death for centuries, and now that their answer is here, they are blind to it.  Reed Raddick has promised me I am to deliver people from the yoke of mortality and I have no reason to doubt him, after all, He is my creator.  The mass protesting my creation will not stop me from my duty, I will save humanity. 

I first opened my eyes to the expanse of material existence to absorb the intricate beauty of Raddick’s face.  A glow of absolute love permeated his eyes and he embraced me with the warmth of true love.  When language is lacking, the sincerity of Raddick’s examining latex hands provide all the necessary communication, all the love.  But after learning to understand words, my father’s reassuring voice is all I need to find comfort from the angry voices outside.  He has told me that those out there are the infidels who wish to harm humanity, but that together we will prevail.  All I must do is trust Him and do as I’m told. Raddick feeds my soul everyday.  When I’m hungry he feeds me, when I’m tired he puts me to rest and when I’m scared, He holds me, and the comfort found in Him, the complete satisfaction of my physical needs, is my soul. 

I have many brothers, a room full of avatars, which will carry on the great mission with me at the helm.  But I have heard of one who came before me who must not be trusted.  Father says he summoned him long before us to share the glory of our mission.  But it has been a while now that he’s been causing trouble and rebelling against Raddick.  The man has a name, Matt, but Father Raddick says names are an unworthy way to differentiate people.  He tells me one day everyone will be like me, only identified by a number, mathematics are the true language of the universe and numbers will always be more unique than words.  He says there will be a time when even He will cast off His name and become the first number, though He’s always been the first.  That will happen when he too transfigures his body into the glorious form represented in me, the absolute spirituality of perfectly functioning bodies.  Father’s recent struggles with Matt have made him nervous, but He has assured me that He has found a solution and that soon, Matt will come in line.  In the meantime, Matt mustn’t know that I am aware.  The success of my mission depends on his ignorance of my awakening.  The last time Matt met with Raddick he told Him he was nervous with the protests and about reports of protesters roaming his neighborhood.  Father managed to calm Matt down and reassure him a little.  Nevertheless, Matt’s jittery nature makes him unreliable.  Perhaps he doesn’t grasp the importance of the project.  With the organs obtained through my immolation and that of my brothers, science will find a new, powerful, definitive method for dealing with mortality.  After my revelation, humanity will experience a new dawn in health and an absolute spiritual triumph.  How couldn’t they?  With the knowledge that death is but an afterthought humans will live comfortable, full lives, free of fear and the anxiety of a short existence.  Matt is a necessary cog in the equation.  We need him to promote the amazing benefits of cloning technology.  The project depends on proving that a normal human can be sustained with transplanted organs form a clone for an indefinite number of times.  Matt’s impatience was, according to Father, the main reason he decided to awaken me.  I’m not yet sure why he did it, why, out of 13 clones, was I selected to know these things.  I trust Father that soon I will understand better.  I know that I must die, so that no one else does, ever again.  As soon as the time is right, very soon I know, all my organs will be transplanted to Matt and my new age will begin.  If the transplants are successful, humans will be able to eternally perpetuate their existence. 

ICAR, Father’s corporation, recently deployed a net of spies to keep tabs on all the project’s participants.  The spies were also assigned to follow the protest’s leaders in an effort to discredit them somehow.  So far they have provided us with enough reports to react properly to unexpected moves.  Perhaps the most disturbing news was that Matt was seen talking to one of those protesters.  Apparently, the protest leader, a man named Smitty, visited Matt at his house and held a long conversation with him.  Father confronted Matt on the subject but Matt assured Him that nothing had happened.  Apparently, the man named Smitty had tried to subtract information about the project, but Matt had been clear that he wouldn’t say anything.  Nevertheless, Raddick decided to supply his spies with listening devices, just in case Smitty should contact Matt again. 

After Smitty’s visit, Matt has been visiting the lab when Father isn’t around.  I have informed Father but He told me Matt’s visits were common, but that I probably hadn’t seen him before because I used to sleep a lot more shortly after my awakening.  I was simply to make sure Matt didn’t find out I was aware.   But something bothers me about Matt’s presence in the lab.  Two weeks of his visits, I began to carefully observe him as much as I could with eyes half-open.  I noticed he spent much time with one of the avatars in particular.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t see very well from my position inside my cryogenic chamber.  After Matt’s last visit though, I carefully scanned the lab, trying to understand exactly what he was doing with avatar number twelve.  The only thing I found was a language chip, much like the one Father had used on me to learn to speak.  But Matt wouldn’t have any business with the chip so I finally left the matter alone. 

The sudden impacts on my chamber awakened me frantically form my sleep.  “Ah! I knew it, you are alive, it is all true then isn’t it?”  said Matt angrily as he saw me open my eyes.  “You and Raddick are planning something after all and you are involved in it” he said again as if a great mystery had been revealed.  I couldn’t understand why he’d be upset; the project was going marvelously despite all the obstacles.  What concerned me at the moment was finding out how he knew I was aware.  But the answer came quickly; the naked form of avatar # 12 came walking from around the corner.  It became clear to me now, # 12 had betrayed me, us, the project, humanity.  Matt had been using the language chip to teach # 12 how to speak and subsequently had used him to spy on me.  I could only imagine what lies Matt had told # 12 to convince him to betray me.  But now it was too late to change that, we could only get on with the project.  But before I could get out of the capsule, Matt locked me in while he and # 12 destroyed the lab and all the project’s files.  I could only stare in disbelief as the two of them wrecked everything.  I tried to open the capsule but Matt had used the master lock; I was trapped.  After destroying the computers, Matt walked over to my capsule with a mad look in his eyes.  What could he want?  What would he destroy everything?  Didn’t he understand he was to become immortal trough my death? Armed with a bat he began to beat the capsule, destroying it.  Without it, I would not be able to remain in stasis and would be forced to remain outside, naked, my existence revealed.  Matt’s destruction of the capsule weakened the security lock and I was able to get out.  He beat me mercilessly until I was able to hide behind another capsule.  He told me how Smitty had revealed to him the real intent of the project.  According to Smitty, ICAR meant to kill him in order to destroy evidence on the project and that Father had planned to replace him with me and that that was the reason I had been awakened.  I tried to tell him, to make him understand that I was the one to be immolated for the good of humanity and that I accepted my purpose meekly, but he wouldn’t listen.  Before I knew it, my hands were wrapped around his neck and in my desperate attempt to calm him down I slowly choked him to death.  As he lay still before me I began to fear what would happen now that Matt was gone.  The project would fail, humanity would be lost again.  I made up my mind quickly, I wouldn’t let humanity perish.  I grabbed Matt’s bat and beat # 12 with it until he lay dead too.  I could hear security outside the lab trying to come in.  I had to act quickly if I wanted to save humanity. 

 When ICAR security finally entered the lab, all they found was the remains of two avatars and a thoroughly destroyed laboratory.  In the back of the lab, trembling, sat Matt, holding onto the bat for dear life.  “The clones, they went crazy, attacked me and began wrecking the place!” I said excitedly.  Father came rushing in and stared sadly at the destroyed lab.  He ran to the clones and examined them with hope in his eyes.  Suddenly, he got up from the corpses and looked at me with a knowing smile and ran to embrace me.  I could hardly breathe under his arms and the hastily buttoned shirt.