Journal of a Clone

Welcome to the year 2007. In the last two years the government has approved the cloning of humans, after scientists have produced several successful clones. It, of course, came against opposition from people who believe that one should not clone humans, for either research or comfort because of ethical and moral reasons. But never the less, because of the success and now open door, people have flocked to have cloning done. The Agency of Reproduction and Duplication, the one and only agency that has been allowed this opportunity control the cloning process carefully and select the recipients through an extreme screening process to see who should have one.

Some people want a clone for research and to help look into the future and to find ways to cure the past. Some have taken old DNA and cloned people from history and extinct animals (no, there is no Jurassic Park---yet.). Others have had their selves cloned either for the novelty or the ability to live longer through the clone being a blood donor. And there are others, the broken hearted who have lost loved ones through the process of time or crime. Having a clone has been shown to help the families that lost a loved one cope with their heartache.

No one knows exactly what will happen with these clones, how they will progress and grow up, if they will grow up healthily or will the process have harmed them or caused accelerated aging. Because of the unknown factor and concern, all of the five thousand clones created must either live in the Agency’s compound or go to doctors for regular check-ups. Groups still protest strongly over the concept. Will cloning last? Or will it slowly fade away as the novelty of it dies, or be banded? Only time will tell as these clone babies grow up and try to experience life for themselves.
* * *
“Push, Mari Lu, Push! We’re almost there…” the doctor called as Mari Lu laid on the bed screaming as she was bringing a new life into the world.

“No more, please.” She begged, exhausted and filled with pain.

“You can do it babe.” He husband Mark said as he rubbed her hand. His eyes were filled with love and pride as he watched his brave wife trying to bring the baby from her world to ours. “Just a tiny more push, love. You can do it.”

A splitting scream filled the air as Mari Lu gathered the last of her strength and pushed. Everyone’s breath caught and held, waiting for one little sound. With and small jostle from the doctor, a shrill cry filled the air.

Cheers and tears of happiness soon accompanied the baby’s crying.

“Congratulations on your healthy baby girl.” The nurse said as she laid the new life into Mari Lu’s arms.

“She’s beautiful.” Mari Lu said as she pushed back the edge of blanket so she could see her new daughter better. “She looks just like Heather when she was born. I now have my baby back.” She leaned down and gave the baby a soft kiss on the head while whispering over and over that she loved her.

“Mari, you are wonderful. Lindsey is wonderful.” Mark said as he gently brushed a hand over his new daughter’s head. “Welcome to the world Lindsey Theresa Simons.”

Later, after Mari Lu had rested and was back in her room, she spotted Lindsey and Mark, sleeping in the corner of the room. Warmth of fullness filled her. “Mark.” She whispered, trying not to wake Lindsey.
Mark’s eyes fluttered open. “ Hi, how are you now?”
“I’m fine. Great. It’s so great to have Heather again, isn’t it?”
Mark’s eyes softened, but had a slight warning in them. “Remember Lindsey is Heather’s clone, but she’s her own person, remember we agreed on this.”
“Ok Mark. I will.” Mari said as she shifted to be more comfortable, but in her heart she knew that Heather was Lindsey, and that’s all there was too it.
* * *
Twelve years later
3-9-19
Dear Journal, Hi.
Today has been terrible. From the start it sucked. Mom made those blasted waffles with berries in it. I hate that. I rather have chocolate chips, or even plain with just syrup or fruit on top. I don’t think the raspberries taste good IN the waffles. Just because Heather liked it don’t mean I do. I think Heather was a wacko, but can’t tell mom that. It’s time to help dad in the garden. We are planting tomato seeds today so we can have plenty of plants and tomatoes by summer. Dad said if the tomatoes seem to go well going into the ground, we might do a little landscaping too. I like getting in the dirt and planting. It’s so natural and real. Well I got to fly.
C-ya. Lindsey.
Lindsey clicked to save her entry onto her computer, she almost turned it off but at the last minute decided to leave it on because she would be back soon and didn’t want to reboot it. She pulled on her rattiest pair of jeans and flew down the stairs to get out side to Mark.
“Lindsey, where are you going? You know better than coming down the stairs sounding like a herd of horses.”
“Sorry mom, I just wanted to help dad with the plants, and couldn’t wait to get out side.”
“I swear Lindsey, I will never understand you passion for digging in the garden.” Mari Lu chuckled as she reached over to play with the light auburn tips of Lindsey’s hair. “It’s all dirty and messy. That’s one thing that me and Heather had in common, our dislike for dirt and gardening.”
“But that’s all the fun.” Lindsey called as she walked to the door. “See you in a little bit Mom.”
Mari Lu sighed playfully. “Have fun and tell your dad not to let you get too dirty!” she called out the door as Lindsey raced across the lawn. She went back into the house and started to fold the laundry that was waiting on the dryer. She hummed as she folded Lindsey’s shirts and jeans, after she was finished she took the clothes up to her room to place it on her bed so Lindsey could put them up when she got done helping in the garden. As Mari Lu turned to leave the room the blinking light on the monitor to Lindsey’s laptop caught her attention. A quick tap on a key turned the screen saver off and revealed why the button was blinking, it was waiting a save verification request. With a shrug, Mari Lu leaned over to save it for Lindsey. After the file was saved and closed, the title of the folder that held the entries caught her attention: My Journal, as the Real, Unique Lindsey Theresa.
“That’s a funny title. Of course you are real sweetie.” Mari Lu muttered to the screen as she sat down in the chair now intrigued. She knew that she shouldn’t be reading her daughter’s private thoughts, but what major thing could an eleven-year-old be thinking? and it would only take a minute. Mari Lu clicked on a random journal entry called Its ME! Dated from 10-27-2018
Dear Journal,
Why can’t I just be Lindsey Theresa Simons? Why must I be Lindsey Theresa “Heather’s clone” Simons? Its like they think i should be grateful for Heather although I never met her, that I should worship the ground she walked on because I owe her my life. What a crock!
Mari Lu sat back shocked by the entry and venom in it. What was Lindsey thinking? How dare she say stuff like that? She decided to continue reading for answers.

Just today I brought home a report I got an A on, it was on cloning and Mom went on this whole ramble about being special and grateful, and that I’m a wonderful part of Heather. But I’m not Heather I’m ME! ME ME ME!!! Why can’t they see that?
Oops, Moms calling G2G--- Lindsey T.
Mari Lu was beyond shocked. She had no clue that Lindsey felt like this. Of course she was part of Heather, but she was herself too. Why did she feel like this and what gave her these thoughts? Wanting more answers to the workings of her daughter’s mind she clicked onto the next entry in the journal.
10-30-18
Why do I always start Dear journal? It’s not like you can read this. Oh well. So today was pretty good. I got invited to Cindy’s birthday party. It’s next week and I can’t wait. It’s going to be a slumber party and they have a pool and everything. Her dad is going to cook out and there will be lots of girls there. Too much fun! Well homework needs to be done before I can get online and chat, and I have got to tell Maria about the party. Toodles. Lindsey.
11-3-18
Today SUCKED!!! I hate them! How could her parents come in and say that I couldn’t come to the party? Because I’m different they said. How dare they treat me like I’m a freak because I’m a clone! Its not like I have a contagious disease. I’m healthy and normal, not a freak of nature. They need to get a life. Clones are here, and I’m a clone, so get over it. I’m just a kid, just like all the others. I’m so depressed! Can’t tell mom and dad I was uninvited because then they will want to know why, then go ballistic. Maybe I'll just say I changed my mind and don’t want to go. Who wants to go to a stupid pool party anyways? I bet they will be boring and have a terrible time. Yeah, they will.

Mari Lu sat and stared at the screen, remembering the day that Lindsey had been invited to the party, how bubbly and excited she had been when she had told them about it. It had shocked her when Lindsey had changed her mind, but she refused to push for details, thinking it was a normal pre-and teenage mood swing. Her heart broke at the words and the knowledge that others thought of her that way, and now Lindsey thought badly of herself because of them. Anger also flared, hot and rampet. How dare they judge her daughter because of her genes. How could they do that, why couldn’t they look at her like a person and not as a science experiment?

Mari Lu had noticed the stares and questions before, but chose to ignore them. It was easier for her not having to explain her heartbreak and decision to bring another Heather into the world, no matter how different Lindsey was. She understood that Lindsey was herself, but why didn’t others see that? She sighed and read on, surprised to see it was a letter from an old friend, Toby. Lindsey and Toby had met at Clone Camp three years ago and had clicked immediately and had kept in contact ever since. She was happy to see the letter and started to read it.

Hey Lindsey,
What’s up there? How are you and your folks? Your mom still raggin’ you about being Heather? Hope not….
Life here at the complex is same as always, BORING! Tests, tests and more tests. I’m fine, but these darn scientists like to keep monitors and such on me. I tell you it bites being one of the first clones. They think something is going to go screwy in my body or something, but I don’t need to go into that, you know how it is, I just envy you living outside the complex.
Lindsey, I need to tell you something, you need to know. First, I’m scared stiff. I am approaching my fifteenth birthday, as you know, and that means that I will be ready; I will be considered “fully developed.” Well one thing I haven’t told you is that the man who was my donor, my purchaser, has ruined himself with out having to wait for an organ donor or worry about his body rejecting the organs. He’s smoked, drank and done just about anything to kill himself. He knew I was here, a perfect DNA match, so when I become developed I can be used as a donor for his organs that he ruined. The Agency has agreed to this, thinking it will be good for organ donor research, especially studying the effects of cloned organs and the experiment of trying to transplant several different organs, all in one day. The Agency is interested in the research so they will not block the right and save me, even though they have the legal power over Mr. Kinsly. I’m scared, I don’t want to be a donor. I don’t want to die; I’m too young. Mom is furious, and we are trying to find loopholes in the contract and such, but things look bleak.
Lindsey, I care for you and will always be your friend. Please don’t give up hope on me, and always remember: Skittles.
Take care Linds. Love, Toby.

What?! How on Earth did Toby get the idea he was going to harvested by the man who had paid for his own clone? It didn’t make sense. How could a mother let her son think this? It couldn’t be true…could it?

Mari Lu in shock and rage reread the letter and wondered what gave Toby this insane idea. Scientists couldn’t do that; it was in the contract that all DNA clone carriers had signed, wasn’t it?

Fueled on emotion Mari Lu jumped up from the chair and went to her room to dig out the contracts she signed when making the agreement to have Lindsey. Thirty minutes later, and chilled to the bone, Mari Lu had her answer.

Article 5 section 3:
The Donor of Clones.
The donor has supreme control of the clone. If in the case there is no donor known or deceased, the purchaser of the clone has the legal control. The donor or purchaser may use the clone as they wish; either for a child, experiment or to experiment with. The Agency of Reproduction and Duplication has rights over the donor/purchaser, but must only step in and intervene if they disagree with the first rights, or wish to see the child themselves.

Mari Lu sat stunned. She had not seen that clause before in the contract when signing it for the agreement to have Lindsey.

“Hey, honey, Lindsey and I are going to the garden store to pick up some plants, what to come?” Mark called from down the hall, snapping Mari Lu out of her daze.

“No thanks. Have fun.”

She got up and watched her husband and daughter climb into the SUV and drive off. She was grateful for the time alone to think and the opportunity to read some more of the journal.

Feeling slightly guilty, she went back to the computer and opened the next file. Over the next hour she realized stuff about her daughter she never knew, realizing she did not know the real Lindsey at all.

12-13-18
It’s almost Christmas! I can’t wait, did a lot of shopping the last few days. Got Maria a really cool bracelet and I saw a kit on making smoothies that Toby would die for. Hope he’s ok, I’m worried about him. I hope they found a loophole or way to get out of him being an organ donor.
Got Mom a card and picture frame…
1-1-19
It’s finally a New Year. This year I will turn 13. I will be a great day after I hit the three-month mark after my birthday, then I would have out lived Heather. I mean its to bad that she was killed in that robbery when her friends mother took her to the bank while she was staying over, but I will be glad to get past that point so I can no longer be compared. No one knows what Heather was like after this point, so they cant expect me to be just like her. I wont have to hear “what she was your age…” from everyone who knew her. Maybe after we get past her death, then maybe I can live.

Mari Lu’s cried silently as she read these words, all sort of pain going through her. She wanted to dwell on it and figure it out for herself, but she knew time was precious, so she decided to sort it all out later and continued reading.

She glanced through the next few weeks, until her attention caught on another letter instead of Journal entry.

Dear Lindsey,
I hope this e-mail gets to you safely. I have been wondering how you were the last few months. I am safe, and so is Mom. We are on the run from Kinsly and the Agency after not having found a way out of the contract. Please do not email me back so it will not get intercepted and they find us. I will contact you and let you know when we are safe.
Until then, take care Skittles. Tony.

1-5-19
I heard form Toby/Tony. It’s weird to think he and his mom is on the run for the Agency and his purchaser, but I’m glad he’s safe. He better keep emailing me and let me know when I can contact him again. I miss him and wish there were a way for him to come here. It would be nice, not only to have another friend here, but to have another clone. I don’t like being the only one around here. People seem to think either there’s something wrong with me or have high expectations for me to be another Heather. I wish they could see we are not the original DNA people. Maybe if Toby was closer he could be safe from the Agency and people could see that clones are people too.

2-20-19
YES! Today rocked! Got a letter from Toby, now he’s called Travis Jensen, but he is safe and happy. He says he love exploring the world outside the compound, and with the money that his mother saved for the Agency paying her to stay there with Toby, they can settle comfortably where ever they choose.
Mom was kinda Heather-y today, expecting me to want to be a doctor like Heather wanted to be. I mentioned that next week is career week, and it started. I don’t want to be a doc, I hate blood. I want to be an executive for a big company, maybe even start my own. Who knows? Well gotta fly! L.

Mari Lu had finally reached the latest entry of the journal that she had saved earlier. Emotions and thoughts flew through her as she got up and wandered through the house. Why didn’t she respect Lindsey for herself, and not Heather? She had often wondered why Lindsey seemed resentful of Heather, now she knew. She now had answers and knew how her daughter thought and more about her life, but it was shocking to Mari Lu.

One other thought that was streaming through her mind was the question of was being a clone and cloning all it seemed to be? After cloning had been open, it was only a five-year time frame that it was legal, until the clones grew up and the effects could fully be explored before it went further. Before today she had agreed fully to the process, but now she was questioning it.

She heard the SUV coming up the drive. She pulled the curtain aside and watched her daughter jump out and run around to the back, eager to plant the purchases. Mari Lu examined every inch and feature, she may look like Heather, but it was like having a twin, a totally separate person, and maybe it was time to get to know her other daughter for herself.

“Hey Mom, check out the great plants we got.” Lindsey cried as Mari Lu walked out side.

“They look great. So who wants to take five for some ice cream?” she asked, ready to meet her child.
* * *
2029
Article in newspaper:
Today cloning had officially established the rights of clones. Although there seem to be none to little physical side effects, the ethics and morals have been opposed; it has been showed that rights need to be established. One major factor has been the case of Toby Marins vs. Robert Kinsly III. Mr. Kinsly had wanted his clone to be an organ donor, after Mr. Kinsly had ruined his own health. The result would have been Mr. Marinas hacked up like a side of beef for Kinsly’s benefit and the name of science. The officials who allowed this have been fired and are now on trial for misconduct.
There have been several major organizations in the fight to for the rights of the clones. One, the Lindsey Organization, played a major role in the movement of the law. It was headed up by Mari Lu and Mark Simons with the help of their cloned daughter, Lindsey who worked hard to make sure their friend would be safe and to point out that clones are not the donors.
The Agency of Reproduction and Duplication has offered apologies and agreed to follow the new laws. Now clones and safe from donors and further science experiments though the new Constitutional Amendment 27, The Clone Law; it sates “ Clones have the rights and freedoms as any other human being and cannot be used for any type of experiments without agreement from the being or guardian if the being cannot answer for them selves.” May the clones be happy.