groaned. "That is just embarrassing."
"I guess it's just natural, like a dog licking itself or something," you offer.
punches you in the arm. "Quit staring you perv." She looks down at your erection. The outfits you had to wear while in stasis kept you alive, but had to be minimal, and that meant they left little the imagination. So, your pants hide nothing, the distinction of a few veins are visible. Well, you could be thankful it was not like the older stasis bed, when you had to get naked and they stuck one tube down your throat and another one up your ass. You turn to your sister. You look her directly in the eye; no one could accuse you of looking at anything perverted now.
"Not my fault, Sis. A hot girl diddles herself in front of a man, the body reacts instinctive-like," you say holding up your hands defensively.
gives you a queer look. "Did you just call me hot?"
You're taken-a-back. You have to think did you mean what that. Your mouth is slowly opening to the side as you consider. The clone, upon closer inspection is very attractive. When you look at her, somehow, you don't see a your sister you just see a pretty girl. Then you look at and first time you don't that girl you grew up with, but a young woman three months shy of tweenty years.
You scoff, "Yeah, I think I just did. Sorry."
"No, don't worry about it, . A girl likes to hear it from time to time." sounds almost like she is flirting with you. This is all too weird.
Project Genesis begins to groan as her hand in her mouth moves to her breast. "OH! Come On!" shouts. She shakes Project Genesis to wake her up. Project Genesis yawns and stretches as she opens her eyes for the very first time.
"Hello," she greets the two of you using genetically programmed memories of language. "Is one of you the captain? I feel I need to find the captain."
"Well, I guess I am the captain, though I don't think that is very important, Miss..., what do we call you," you say turning back the clone. She is up on one arm with her legs folded under her but out to one side.
"Oh, I am Project Genesis, Captain, but you must understand, it is important that you are my captain, Captain," the clone insists. "I must serve you Captain, above all other colonist. I know with every fiber of my being that my purpose is to do as you say."
"Well there is only , you, and me still alive, so captain doesn't mean much don't you think," you ask rhetorically, as you rub the back of your head feeling a bit of surprising embarrassment. grabs your arm and is squeezing it as tightly as her hand could. It hurt.
"..." you don't need to say more. You can see in her tearful eyes what it is. The full weight of their deaths just hit your little sister. Tears run down her cheeks in steady streams. You hold her with both arms as she begins to beat on her chest in frustration. Now that has lost it, you can no long push the reality that she is the only passenger to make. You really are all alone. For all the two of you knew you were the last three human being anywhere in the universe. Those damn fools back on Earth may have finally killed each other off. Even in the best case scenarios it would 30, 40, maybe 50 before another colony ship would arrive. Even the chance that the survivors of Earth would consider colonizing again with in the next century or two.
wails into your chest crying, "They're gone, . They are all dead. Mom, Dad, Henry, Catherine, our whole family, plus all our friends, and the people we never even got to meet on the ship, and everyone on earth, they are dead." You stroke her soft honey brown hair to soothe her. You yourself begin to shed tears thinking to the billions of dead. Her legs falter and the two of you drop slowly to your knees. You kneel before each other Project Genesis looks on, not fully understanding, but still with compassion. At least there was that; you feel sure that Project Genesis ability feel for others was a gift from your mother, her last gift to anyone. |