Chapter 15

F  R  E  E   on   the   S  E  A

ARKON   CH-15     Arkon One, CloneWorks

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-33, Fri, 2045 hr

Captain Kuznet led them down the gangplank to the Quay, where a reception committee awaited.

"Welcome aboard," said Commodore Kaiser, "I will just make a brief introduction to some staff you may come in contact with frequently. Next Saturday night we will have an informal welcome party after you have time to get oriented. This is Elder Charles, Council of Elders representative; and Captain Nelson, in charge of the module where your quarters have been set up; and Guild Master Hedtke; and Dr. Jian Liu, head of genetic engineering for longevity; and Dr. Katya Markovic, head of Ai applications."

"Frank and Jamie will be your facilitators and guides for three months as you settle in. Their cabin is nearby in the next hall over."

"Thank you for the warm welcome," said Captain Kuznet, "These are the founding members of Arkon Delta; Stakka and Renka, Karl and Robin, Zak and Sophie, Alan and Jane, Dan and Katie, Ed and Mary. They recently lived in a small village in Canada. There was a resource conflict that drove them down to Monterey where we intervened to help them. They are still suffering a little bit from the rough journey, culture shock, and coming into advanced society, so please cut them a little slack for social awkwardness."

Captain Kuznet and Commodore Kaiser went off together to swap sea stories and Frank said, "Please follow me and I'll show you to your quarters." "There is a 24-hour food court nearby," said Jamie, "And tomorrow I will take you to personnel and have badges issued."

As they went down a dead-end hallway Frank explained, "Each key card opens the door ahead and two doors into the conference room and the back door at the other end. The numbered keycard will only open your individual door as well. There is also a commo pod and a gray Arkon Delta hoodie in your cabin." "We'll meet in the conference room in 30 minutes," said Stakka, "And all go to the food court together for a snak."

In the conference room Stakka said, "Good, all the hoodies seem to fit. We should always wear them when we're out in the open, I believe. Probably 80% of individuals that see four of you together would think, 'Oh!, they're from the same family'. But 20% might have an alarm reaction and think, 'Oh my God!, clones'. So when we're going from here to another office we should go 2 by 2 and take a slightly different path. Because it's a little late tonight and the food court is close by, we'll just go as a mob, heh, and I'm starving."

The next morning Frank and Jamie showed up at 9 to take them two by two and get their ID cards issued.

After lunch they gathered in the conference room for a live video presentation by Dr.Liu on cloning and genetic engineering.

"Nine years ago," Dr Liu explained, "A Chinese research team drew DNA from fetal monkey cells from a macaque and used that to create clone eggs. They created 127 eggs, 79 of which were transferred to 21 females.

"Four pregnancies resulted, but there were two miscarriages within two months of gestation. The other two were successfully birthed, and named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua."

"Since that time we can imagine someone has been cloning humans. They must be more efficient at getting live births and we can imagine two or three ways they could accelerate growth. It would be nice if we could locate them and form a joint venture for further research.

"Genetic engineering on humans started in1998, when inactivated viruses carrying a special gene were injected into the target leg muscle of old men, who lose a third of muscle mass between 55 and 70. The viruses attach to the individual cells and squirt in the gene. The gene then tells the muscles to rev up production of IGF-1, a naturally occurring hormone that builds new muscle tissue.

"By using CRISPR, a gene editing tool, we can like, cut and paste segments of chromosomes to make new ones. If there's a defective gene that could cause early onset diabetes, we can just cut it out.

"In conclusion, when you log on to your computer, there is a tab called college courses. Inside that you will find some labeled cloning with somatic cells or fetal cells, another labeled gene editing, cell structure and chemistry. For those of you interested in getting hands-on experience, I will put together a short list of courses and videos, that our lab techs used, which will enable you to work in our Laboratory. The material might take two weeks if you spend three or four hours daily."

They spent the next week doing exercises for dr. Liu during the day and then late at night going out exploring, two by two.

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-34, Fri, 1915 hr

"Having a Friday review meeting in the conference room is a good idea," said Karl, "Should we wear hoodies to the welcome party tomorrow night?" "I think we can skip them tomorrow," said Renka, "Its not far and the hall lights dim after 20 hundred hours."

"Here's some background for where we came from in Canada," said Stakka, "It's a small city in the Northwest Territory called Yellowknife. It's at the North end of the Great Slave Lake. Russian and German miners were fighting over copper deposits. We had a difficult overland journey following railroad tracks and broken highways to Monterey."

"I don't know about the rest of you," said Ed, " but Mary and I finished the courses recommended by dr. Liu yesterday. Maybe we could ask about starting on-the-job training this Monday." "Did the rest of you finish as well?" asked Stakka. There was a chorus of yes's. "Great," he said, "I'll speak to the doctor at the party tomorrow."

"The book 'Art of War' suggests how we may find our clone makers" said Dan, "It's called 'Lure the tiger down from the mountain'." "What that means," said Katie, "Is we set up a website called 'Designer Workers', they never rust and reprogram quickly. I'm sure our clone makers would see that as competition and make inquiries we could follow up on."

"Another approach we thought of," said Allen, "Is to send two male and two female chinese students to register for genetic courses at Gwangju University." "They could say straight out they got a scholarship from Arkon One," said Jane, "And some of the graduate students and teachers that worked on that project 9 years ago may still be there, or know where they went."

"On the Designer Worker website," said Zak, "We could even say we are taking applications for employment."

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-34, Sat, 2100 hr

At the Welcome Party dr Liu was saying it's really incredible how fast they learn." "We think they are gifted," said Renka, "With high IQ and social skills to match." "I think it would be okay for them to start work- training this Monday," said dr. Liu, "Frank and Jamie can bring them over at 1230 after the shift has started."

Stakka was explaining to Commodore Kaiser and Captain Nelson that his Team had come up with several plans to discover the Clone makers.

Katya was going over the results of her Ai comparison program with Renka and Stakka. "The program compares every location as well as looking for standard defects that have been discovered in the last 20 years. They have the same genes except for male-female differences, and no defects. They even have one area that's the same but different from normal humans. We don't know what it does at this time. The other interesting thing is compared to European populations they seem to be chimeras, like lower body from Spain, and torso and heart and lungs from Germany, and brains and facial features from Russia, and so forth."

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-35,Mon,1300 hr

Instead of just observing in dr. Liu's lab, the Arkon Delta team got to actually perform some of the operations under supervision of staff.

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-36, Fri, 1910 hr

At their regular Friday meeting Karl said "We've been looking at the other residents on our Sunday exploring trips and quite a number have tattoos on their hands, arms, neck and even their face." "So we were wondering," continued Robin, "Could we put some simple designs on our face? That would make us look more different." "I think that's a good idea," said Stakka, "Renka and I may join you." "Yes," said Renka, "Mabe have one element in common. Like a small triangle dropping down from each cheek bone."

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-37, Fri, 1920 hr

At their regular Friday meeting Zak asked, "Can we get space to set up our lab and repeat the fetal monkey clone experiment?" "Also we want to start work on miniature cattle for beef on floating islands," said Sophie. "I'll take that up with Captain Nelson this weekend," said Stakka.

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-38,Wed,2111 hr

Wednesday night Stakka, Renka, Karl, and Robin were at a small stand up bar away from the tourist hangouts having a craft beer and sharing a Red Zinger. A large tourist came up behind Rinka and put a hand on her shoulder saying, "How about a dance, sweetie?" She brushed his hand off saying, "Don't touch me, I'm busy, go away." He reached out to touch her shoulder again and there was a blur of motion and Renka ended up sitting on his chest with a large knife pointed under his chin and she said, "Listen carefully; I said NO and DONT TOUCH ME; if you touch me again I will cut your hand off." At that time two peacekeepers arrived and dragged the tourist away. "WoW!" Said Robin, "What was that?" "That is called Taekwondo," said Renka, "I can take you by the dojo I train at tomorrow." "Me too," said Karl, "I think that would be a good skill for all of us to have."

At their usual Friday meeting Stakka reported, "Captain Nelson will find a 20 by 50 meter space for your clone research. Dr. Liu will put together a list of equipment that you will need to have installed." "Dan and Alan are working on an artificial womb," Karl said, "Is there a mechanical model shop that could put together their idea?" "There is," said Renka, "And Frank can help you find it when you need it." "Using a weak virus to insert a genetic tweak could have military uses as well," said Ed, "From things we've read online about biowarfare, that has not been mentioned." "I'll discuss that with dr. Liu," said Stakka, "And see if she has come across anything in the literature she reads."

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-39, Sun, 1010 hr

Stakka went by the Comm Center and sent a message to Babylon, "Expect to see Boss Chako Saturday morning." and another to Monterey, "Expect to be at airport 1000 next Sunday. Have minty Green Zinger seeds ready to take back to Monterey. 70% sativa with strong minty aroma and taste."

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-39, Tue, 0930 hr

Captain Nelson called a meeting of the Arkon Delta team. He explained, "When the modules launch in January they would be crewed by 70% new trainees from Arkon One and 30% old hands that had been on the original module launch. Also the period from mid January to the end of March is a minimum storm period for the Pacific. Expect the trip to take about 45 days.

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-39, Fri, 0930 hr

Friday morning Stakka and Renka

boarded a seaplane for an 8 hour flight to Babylon, to make a status report to Boss Chako, and then on to Monterey.

Babylon, 12,027, Wk-39, Fri, 1800 hr

Renka and Stakka debarked from the seaplane at 1810, stopped for a snack, and headed for the Three Palms check-in desk. "We'd like to pay for two days now," said Stakka, "And can we get a receipt? We're on an expense account." "No problem," replied the clerk, "Here's your key card." "We represent Delta Ventures," said Renka, "And we'd like to make a 10-minute presentation to Boss Chako tomorrow. Can you help us with that?" "Certainly," replied the clerk, "I'll just connect you with his appointment secretary."

Renka booked a 15-minute slot at 1015 and they went up to their cabin.

Babylon, 12,027, Wk-39, Sat, 1010 hr

As they approached the receptionist desk she pointed to the door behind her and said, "Go ahead, he's expecting you."

They entered and Boss Chako, standing behind his desk said, "Please take a seat. "Thanks," said Stakka, "The Arkon Delta will launch modules the third week of January, 12,028." "And Captain Nelson has informed us," said Renka, "That when the modules launch in January, they would be crewed by 70% new trainees from Arkon One and 30% old hands that had been on the original module launch. Also the period from mid January to the end of March is a minimum storm period for the Pacific. Expect the trip to take about 45 days." "So things are going well," said Stakka, "We will come by with another update week 46." "Very good," said Chako, "See you then."

Back in their cabin they ordered room service for dinner and practiced Kundalini Yoga until midnight.

Babylon, 12,027, Wk-40, Sun, 0630 hr

Stakka and Renka boarded the  seaplane at 0630 for a 3-hour flight to Monterey.


Monterey, 12,027, Wk-40, Sun, 0930 hr

Stakka and Renka debarked from the sea plane at 0930. Entering the terminal they grabbed a snack and headed for the exit. Just outside they were met by Rico who said, "Hey, good to see you." "And we have some homegrown Red Zingers," said Lola, "Back at the ranch, heh."

When they reached the Safe House compound Dingo and Tengo came out to greet them. "We have hot chocolate and snacks to go with a Zinger inside," said Tengo. "Do we need to get Sergei and Natasha down from SanFran?" asked Dingo. "Hot chocolate sounds good," said Stakka. "We have nothing urgent for SanFran," said Renka.

Warming up with snacks in the kitchen, Stakka said, "We have a nice surprise for you. The first batch of genetic engineered Green Zinger seeds." "If there is room at the far end of the backyard, you might put up a plastic-covered grow back there," said Renka.

"How is Dragon Products doing now?" asked Stakka. "It's doing well," said  Dingo, "We leased about two hectares just touching our property and planted mild goldleaf tobacco, which is just coming up." "The cigarette machinery arrived two weeks ago and the building to set it up in will be ready next week," said Tengo.

Monterey, 12,027, Wk-40, Wed, 0630 hr

Stakka and Renka wave goodbye and board a seaplane for 12 hour flight to Arkon One.

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-40, Fri, 1910 hr

At their regular Friday meeting Karl said, "We plan to host an online discussion among the residents here on Arkon One about clone laws and regulations that would protect them and regular humans." "We'll start with indentured servitude," said Robin "And work out from there." "That sounds good," said Renka, "Be sure and save a copy of all the responses."

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-41, Sun, 0930 hr

Karl and Robin host a public online forum to propose legal rights, documents, and discussion for clone's protection, such as indentured servitude with specific legal rights and time limits. Here is a summary of their findings:

1. Every clone should be sold with an indentured servitude contract stating their physical, medical care requirements and salary and the date they will be freed, including a possible  ticket to some developed continent.

2. Hazardous or unusual work conditions for indentured clones should get special compensation and consideration. For example if human workers last four years in a difficult job a clone must be given Freedom after 5 years.

 

3. An indentured clone may not be killed intentionally or placed in circumstances where death is certain.

4. An indentured clone's organs and body parts remain the property of the manufacturer and may not be sold or leased by the indenture contract holder.

5. An indentured clone may not be subleased to a third party.

6. A free clone may enter into marriage contracts with normies.

7. A free clone may be adopted by a normie.

8. A free clone may adopt a normie.

9. A clone's manufacturer may inspect and indentured clone at any time without prior notice.

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-41, Fri, 1930 hr

At their usual Friday meeting, Stakka reported, "Dragon Products, the Cannabis cigarette project started by Dingo and Tengo is coming right along. They have planted mild goldleaf tobacco which has been coming up for three weeks now and the cigarette machinery will be installed in a new building the end of this month." "Did they like the green mint seeds?" asked Mary. "They did," said Renka, "In fact, they were planted in a new plastic covered grow at the far end of the backyard before we left, heh" "Dr Liu said an industry newsletter already mentioned a dwarf beef product line being developed in China," said Ed, "And she suggested we work on the digestive system and improving the efficiency." "We could approach them about a joint venture," said Katie, "When Arkon Delta launches in January." "I second that motion," said Robin.

(expect posts Sat 8 am EST)

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