Chapter 3 - The Women in Glass
Clara wanted to run. Instead, she stepped closer to the cylinders.
The faces were her mother's. The hands, too, with the same long fingers and narrow scar above the left thumb. But one body was that of a child. Another looked middle-aged.
"Those aren't photographs," Clara said.
"No."
"They're people."
Jonas gripped the railing. "They were grown from Elena's cells. Different growth programs, different periods of suspended development. The labels describe stages, not when they were born."
"Did you make them?"
"I helped build the first machines. I didn't know what Victoria intended."
"You were smart enough to build this and stupid enough not to ask?"
He flinched. Clara didn't care.
On a nearby screen, clinical notes appeared beneath a name: E-13. RESPONSE TO VOICE: POSITIVE.
Clara tapped the glass. "Can she hear me?"
"Some can. Don't touch the release controls. Their systems aren't stable without support."
The youngest-looking woman opened her eyes.
Clara stumbled backward. The woman inside pressed a hand against the glass. Her lips moved, but no sound came through.
"She's awake," Clara said.
Jonas was already at the console. "That's impossible. Her cycle isn't due until next month."
A speaker cracked to life.
"Doctor Reed," said Victoria's voice. "I see your daughter found you. Such a touching reunion."
"Keep her out of this," Jonas said.
"Which daughter? I've raised one. You've hidden another. Neither belongs to you anymore."
Clara looked up at a camera mounted beside the stairwell.
"You don't own me," she said.
Victoria laughed once. "Then don't come asking me to save your sister."
Behind the cylinder, the awake woman's palm slid down the glass. With one finger, she tapped letters on the light-sensitive panel built into the glass. Green words appeared beneath her hand.
May you like
NOT DEAD.
Then she pointed toward the sealed door.
