Everything had been packed up and moved out of Hank’s condo except for one box.
Adam Gibson, cleaned up, relaxed and casual in khakis and a blue polo shirt, looked around sadly one last time, and then picked up the box.
Meow.
He looked up. There on an exposed ceiling beam was Sadie, Hank’s RePet.
“Sadie, why are you hiding up there?”
Adam set down the box. He reached up and Sadie jumped down into his arms.
He put the cat into the box, picked it up, and started toward the door. Hank’s virtual girlfriend flickered on, wearing a see-through negligee.
“Goodbye Adam. Remember, if you see Hank, tell him he can come back any time. No questions asked.”
“He’s not…” Adam considered telling her Hank was dead. But there was no way. She may not have been real but she sure looked vulnerable. And Adam was through with hurting people.
“Wherever Hank is,” he told her, “I’m sure he’s thinking about you.”
She smiled. “I miss him.”
“So do I,” said Adam, locking the door behind him.
* * *
Woof.
Clara laughed at Oliver, then threw the ball for him again.
Her mother sat beside her watching the six o’clock news.
“In another bizarre proof that human cloning is beyond the reach of current medical science, bio-industrialist Michael Drucker has died while apparently attempting to clone himself.”
Natalie grimaced, just thinking of it. She had no idea that the story had anything to do with her own life.
“Authorities have concluded that the experiment had no chance of succeeding…”
The front door opened, and Adam came in carrying a box. A cat was peering out of it.
Clara saw the cat and jumped to her feet, excited.
Natalie looked puzzled. “I thought Hank’s cat was a…”
“She is,” said Adam.
“But you hate RePets!”
“I changed my mind,” said Adam, handing the cat to Clara, who hugged her excitedly.
“Can we keep her?”
“Of course,” said Adam.
Clara gave Adam a big hug. She broke away, and ran off with her new cat. Oliver followed them, barking.
Adam watched, his eyes shining. Then he turned away, so Natalie wouldn’t see the big tears that were rolling down his face, dropping onto his blue shirt.
Forty
Like a great bird looking for insects, the huge orange crane bobbed its head over the containers and cargo on the dock.
Then it found what it wanted, a high speed multicopter as sleek as a dragonfly, and bent down for a pickup.
It was a Whispercraft. The DOUBLE X CHARTER lettering on the fuselage had been overpainted with a new logo:
ADVENTURE CHARTER
PATAGONIA, ARGENTINA
Two men watched the crane pick up the Whispercraft. They were big, powerful men who might have been identical, except that one wore a blue polo shirt and the other wore white.
“I wonder, am I really human?” one mused. “Do I have a soul? God didn’t make me. A corporation did.”
“I don’t remember being so philosophical,” said the other, in the white shirt.
“You’re not me,” the man in the blue shirt said. He watched the Whispercraft as it was lifted from the dock. “Well, I’ll have three weeks at sea to try to figure it out.”
The other asked, “Did Clara like Sadie?”
Adam nodded. “She was thrilled. She didn’t want to let go of her.” He looked up, his eyes shining. “Thanks for letting me say good-bye.”
The real Adam put his hand on his clone’s shoulder. “Listen. I figured if I were you…” He took a photo out of his wallet. “Well, here.”
Adam took it and looked at it. It was the snapshot from the locker, of Clara, Natalie, and Adam at the beach.
He handed it back. “It’s yours. It’s time for me to make my own memories.”
The real Adam held up the photo and studied it. “They’re part of your memories too. You were willing to die to save them. You might think about that when you’re out at sea wondering if you’re really human. If that’s not being human, I don’t know what is.”
He offered the photo back. This time it was taken.
“Thanks.”
The two men turned and watched as the Whispercraft was lowered into the hold.
* * *
A few hours later, at dusk, a cargo ship sailed under the majestic bridge at the head of the harbor, bearing south.
A familiar noise was heard overhead.
Fwump fwump fwump …
A Double X Charter Whispercraft hovered over the fantail of the ship, dipping its rotors in a last good-bye.
A passenger on the fantail responded with a half-wave, half-salute.
Then the Whispercraft transitioned to flight mode. The rotors folded into the fuselage, and it streaked away, back toward the waiting city lights.
About the Author
Terry Bisson won the Hugo, Nebula, and Theodore Sturgeon Memorial awards for his story “Bears Discover Fire.” He has written numerous short stories, several novels, and many movie novelizations, including The Fifth Element and Galaxy Quest. He lives in New York City. You can sign up for email updates here.
Books by Terry Bisson
NOVELS
Wyrldmaker
Talking Man
Fire on the Mountain
Voyage to the Red Planet
Pirates of the Universe*
NOVELIZATIONS
Johnny Mnemonic
Virtuosity
Alien Resurrection
The Fifth Element
Galaxy Quest
The 6th Day*
SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS
Bears Discover Fire and Other Stories*
In the Upper Room and Other Likely Stories*
*denotes a Tor book
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Happy Birthday to … Who?
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
About the Author
Books by Terry Bisson
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
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br /> Copyright © 2000 by Phoenix Pictures
All rights reserved.
Edited by James Frenkel
A Tor Book
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ISBN: 0-812-57947-X
First mass market edition: November 2000
eISBN 9780765390066
First eBook edition: December 2015