The Imperfect Clone
by Fariel Shafee © 2008
Robert came out of the dome to gaze at the scattered stars in the magnificent reddish sky that spread to infinity. A dusty breeze blew as he walked across the yard. In front of him lay rubbles and broken machines that sullenly spoke of a doomed day. He could hear Dan learning a new algorithm inside the small dome. Dan was his own creation. He was also his only hope.
Robert had looked for other survivors before, but could locate none. He had sent messages to random addresses by every possible means for a long time only to have his own signals echo back to him in the most satirical manner. Then he had tried to find hints of another person, some body broadcasting any news or messages anywhere -- TV, radios, computers none conveyed the words of another soul. In the end, he decided to devote his time rather to create Dan.
During the first few days after the doomsday, while still in a shock, he had felt some sort of revengeful gratification. They had gotten what they deserved! Over and over again he had tried to warn the mob. He had asked them to be careful. What they were holding was not a mere toy. He himself had created the device for them. It was magical -- a small chip, but with the promise to do miracles if used responsibly. Warning signs were clearly printed on top of each of the devices about potential hazards that may or may not be known of yet.
But the day one genius caveman invented how to light a fire, the arsonist also prospered. When the knife was created to help in the hunt for meat, murderers thrived as well. Robert knew the history. Yet he had hope when he handed over to the mob a device with the same pride the caveman had within him after seeing the first spark. Only, the technology for creating fire was not potent enough to destroy an entire planet.The mob had not only been rowdy, they had also been extremely ungrateful. Robert never received much for any his work. In the beginning of his research, he had signed a contract in carelessness that handed over the entire profit to his company. They had also deceived him from most of the fame. Once the project was nearly done, the boss's overindulgent niece was stuck onto him as a new member of the group. The boss had then happily gone to the press -- to introduce his own niece to the rest of the world with pride. As the proud girl, with a set of instructions handed over to her by Robert himself as per the order of his boss, went to more and more interviews and photo shoots, the company became famous. Every employee received a bonus as well. Robert had always been a loner, and also rather devoid of charm. Very few people stood by his side when he had initially tried to protest.
Hence, it would be lying to say he did not feel some dark satisfaction right after the dazzling light took all by horror in the middle of the night.The explosion had started in one abused device, and then overtook another, and then spread across the globe. Soon the entire map was silent.
Robert had the world to himself now. Huge semi damaged luxurious houses on both sides of the streets, now barren of the occupants, could all be claimed as his. He could indeed be very happy.
However, the mixture of vengeance and glory eventually disappeared and gloom took over his mind. One day, amazingly, he realized that he missed his postman, and then his milkman, whom he barely knew. Soon he started to feel that it would really be rather great if that florist next to the building smiled at him once more. As time passed by, he missed the TV news, and all the joy reported there. Scarily, then he discovered that he also missed the grief of the people he never knew in distant parts of the world, and he wanted to reach at least one of them to share how they were so similar.
Later, came a day when he stood in front of a mirror, and saw that his hair was slowly turning gray. There were wrinkles under his eyes and he would feel tired after working only for a few hours. He knew that very soon his life would also be over.
He then found himself staying up all night, begging to a god he never ever believed in to give him a little more time, or something he could leave behind after he was dead.
As the grief died down, he found himself back in his old dusty lab. There he picked up a small board and a few tiny chips and started to create Dan.
Robert would teach Dan all that he knew -- every piece of knowledge he had, each value he held and all the dreams he possessed. Dan would carry him on after he was no more; and really, this would be perfect. Dan would learn with the most accuracy and would retain the knowledge completely. Robert's mind would go on living even after he perished.
One day after some time, Robert started to feel that there was something missing in Dan. Though the machine copied all it was fed in order to become a clone of his own mind, it would never ever succeed. It was missing the most vital component – the parts that made him Robert, and closer to the mob he loathed. The part that made him human with all the human errors that he himself never saw. Dan would remain imperfect because of all its perfections and all the mistakes it would NOT make – and for missing the greed and irrationality that remained within Robert as well, that made him beg to a god to let him live for ever at whatever the cost may be. Robert's final creation, that was made to be the greatest, was simply an imperfect clone – because of its inherent perfections.