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PART 4.5: AND WHAT OF THE CLONES?
Summary: If you're going to save the world, you may
as well be thorough about it.
Author's Note: This story takes place during my After
The Run Series, between Part 4: Jeremiah Isn't a
Bullfrog and Part 5: Fulfill The Prophecy. I looked back
and found I wasn't the only one asking, "What did they
do with the clones?"
MULDER RESIDENCE,
WEST TISBURY, MASS.
1:18 AM
HOURS BEFORE DEPARTURE TO
NAVAJO RESERVATION
For many, the fate of the clone colonies, the colony of
drones keeping the bees in Alberta and other locations,
and the many other clones in vitro or mature was not known.
One man would hold the knowledge of that until all was
resolved regarding the prevention of Colonization.
Fox Mulder had been visited the previous day by Jeremiah
Smith, a member of an alien race opposed to the others who
would fight the greys for possession of this world. Smith
was among many who were called "The Resistance". He advised
Mulder and Agent John Doggett to travel to the Navajo
Reservation to ask that mining rights to a rich magnetite
deposit be given to those still loyal to the government in
order to fight off Colonization. This metal was fatal to
aliens who were exposed to it.
Mulder was just falling asleep in preparation for his early
flight with Doggett when he felt compelled to get out of
bed and sit downstairs in the living room. He sat there for
fifteen minutes wondering why he was there. Scully was fast
asleep, as were William and John Doggett.
The house was locked up and the lights were out. Why was he
sitting on the couch in the dark? Perhaps the answer would
come to mind.
Mulder was startled when Jeremiah Smith appeared again. As
he turned on the lamp beside him, he thought he was
dreaming. "Jeremiah? It's late... "
"We need to discuss one more thing. I'm sorry to have
awakened you. No one must know what we're about to discuss.
Do you remember the Colony in Alberta?"
Mulder rubbed his eyes. "Do I have a choice? So many mute
little girls all resembling Samantha when she was taken. Then
there were the blond boys, the dead Telus repairman and the
bees. A Clone colony run completely by drones. Virus carrying
bees. Scully was stung by one of them and damn near died. What
about the clones?"
"They cannot remain. They are instruments of the Colonization
plan."
"We can't just kill them! What do we do with them? We give
them a language, we educate them, we... we integrate
them into society." Mulder was now wide awake and steaming
inside. "We don't just KILL them!" he whispered angrily.
"The older ones live with them. They have language, they
know what they were designed for and they were fighting
against it. They were rebelling! I'd like to think that
some part of my sister lives on after all that #$%@!"
"Mr. Mulder, the younger ones stay the same age as long as
they are alive. Genetically, they have no potential for
language, education, procreation. They would pose a serious
burden on society. You do not believe in slavery, and you
cannot institutionalize them as those with autism or mental
illness. We propose to take them to our world to live out
their lives. They will be well cared for."
"My God. And the adults? What happens to them? Do they get
jobs at Walmart, houses, mortgages and pay taxes? Do we
really need to see clones of so many abductees, which I
remind you includes those created from cells taken for me,
Scully, and so many others? My picture on a few dozen driver's
licenses, who knows what names they'll have, and I'll be
mistaken for them. Oh, and Scully? She's seen one clone of
herself, Emily. I don't want her seeing any more of them
around to wound her more than she already has been, or
looking at other people and seeing her face! Dammit! I've
had enough! Don't forget the families of the women who were
taken, their eggs stolen, their clones walking around, and
their families scared half to death that they'll see their
wives and mothers over and over again! Don't!"
"Mr. Mulder, we understand what these men and women went
through, the women who were given the cancer. We cannot
take lives that are not ours to take."
"Even if those lives were not your enemies' to take?"
"We have asked the adult clones who have managed to hide
what they wish to do. They know they cannot see the families
they were products of, but they do deserve to live. What we
have proposed to them is a life on our world, along with the
younger ones with no language. But again, they are not ours
to take from their home."
Mulder shook his head, a wry smile on his face. "You don't
understand. I can't just call the various countries of the
world, tell them I know the secret, and promise to keep my
mouth shut, expecting to live with that knowledge. I have a
family to think about! Besides, we can't just ask them to
please give us the clones because they're not really all
ours! And I sure can't tell them I know the secret! Do you
know what many countries are like? Their governments would
never agree to this! We'd have more wars, each country
blaming the other, and they wouldn't believe the 'shadow
government' story. I have a family to think about!"
Smith nodded with empathy. "We will speak to those who were
spawned from the experiments. We know we cannot put you into
a dangerous position. Our plans can be carried out. I know
you think this is not the way everything should have happened.
We just needed to hear from the clones. We are aware of Earth's
limited understanding of these things, and the secrecy many have
been living with. We thought you should know. If at least one
person here knows the truth, perhaps no one will ever agree to
a deal such as your government made ever again. You're in a
position to make sure trustworthy people will know the fate of
these unfortunate children."
"I see. The... the fetuses... the eggs... what happens to them?"
Mulder found the issue a difficult one. "What happens to the
knowledge about the genetics? It's far more than the genome
studies have ever discovered!"
"They were terminated, the eggs destroyed, and the doctors
involved are long dead. Unfortunately, the Bounty Hunters were
carrying out their plans during the time you and your colleagues
were investigating the laboratories. No scientist who
participated in the experiments lives, and no information
remains."
Mulder felt his protective instincts rising to the surface.
"By whose authority?" he whispered.
"By those who are responsible for their existence."
"Oh no... I have to tell Scully." Mulder stood and was
about to run up the stairs, but Smith held him back.
"You must not. Not just because of her condition, but because
you cannot spread word of any of these things until your world
is free of those who would own it, and destroy it in trying. I
know you must rest before your flight."
Mulder stood and stared Smith sternly in the eyes. "Do you know
where they all are? All the clones? Do you know that all the
re-written genetic material was disposed of, the eggs and
fetuses all accounted for and gone? Do you?"
"If I didn't, I wouldn't be standing here before you. The
Bounty Hunters are powerful, and while they do not agree
with us, we have managed to remain discrete. Any other option is
out of the question. They wish to exterminate us, but their hate
prevents them from winning. Will you keep the information I have
given you until the time comes for you to reveal it?"
Mulder paced the living room, feeling that his heart just couldn't
carry this burden he was debating in his mind. "For how long?"
There was a sense of resignation in his voice.
"Perhaps the time will come soon, perhaps never. There may never be
a need to tell anyone. You do not need to answer people who might
not understand any of the things that have been done, any of the
creatures created."
"I'll do it," Mulder said firmly. "Make sure they live out their
lives with some semblance of normalcy and freedom! They're still our
people."
"My race is not a barbaric one, I assure you. They will be well
taken care of and live out their lives in co-existence with us. I
must leave now. All will go well."
Mulder was left to ponder their conversation. If anything, another
secret was one hell of a burden. Hadn't he kept a couple of secrets
from Scully for too long? First the removal of her eggs, then his
location when he picked up and left her so soon after William's
birth. He prayed he would never need to tell anyone about their
loved one's "children".
Heaven knows, his child had been through enough, and so had he and
Scully. He recalled having been taken as well. Was there going to
be someone younger or with growth accelerated with his face, too?
END
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