BooksBarbecue
Back The Copycat
Chapters (68)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Chapter One
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Chapter Two
  12. Seven
  13. Eight
  14. Nine
  15. Chapter Three
  16. Ten
  17. Eleven
  18. Chapter Four
  19. Twelve
  20. Thirteen
  21. Fourteen
  22. Chapter Five
  23. Fifteen
  24. Sixteen
  25. Chapter Six
  26. Seventeen
  27. Eighteen
  28. Nineteen
  29. Chapter Seven
  30. Twenty
  31. Twenty-One
  32. Twenty-Two
  33. Chapter Eight
  34. Twenty-Three
  35. Twenty-Four
  36. Twenty-Five
  37. Chapter Nine
  38. Twenty-Six
  39. Twenty-Seven
  40. Chapter Ten
  41. Twenty-Eight
  42. Twenty-Nine
  43. Thirty
  44. Thirty-One
  45. Chapter Eleven
  46. Thirty-Two
  47. Thirty-Three
  48. Thirty-Four
  49. Thirty-Five
  50. Chapter Twelve
  51. Thirty-Six
  52. Thirty-Seven
  53. Thirty-Eight
  54. Chapter Thirteen
  55. Thirty-Nine
  56. Forty
  57. Forty-One
  58. Forty-Two
  59. Chapter Fourteen
  60. Forty-Three
  61. Forty-Four
  62. Forty-Five
  63. Forty-Six
  64. Forty-Seven
  65. Chapter Fifteen
  66. The Following Summer
  67. About the Author
  68. About the Publisher

Mr. Corby smiled. “That is the perfect example of evolution and adaptation to save your species from extinction. Some species are even able to change their gender, like clownfish. Which comes in handy sometimes.”

“Some people think my aunt Mia changed her gender,” Taylor said, “because she used to be my uncle Todd, but she says she was always a Mia and her body just had to catch up with the rest of her.”

Mr. Corby smiled.

“Do you think people evolve?” Cassie asked. “Like, do you think we could ever change color like a chameleon or make ourselves look like someone else?”

Ali leaned forward, intrigued.

“Perhaps,” Mr. Corby mused. “Of course, human beings have evolved over time. For instance, we used to be hairier.”

“My dad is still pretty hairy,” Tom called out. “You should see his back!”

Murray’s hand shot up again. “But getting less hairy happened over thousands of years, didn’t it? Do species ever evolve quicker than that?”

Ali held her breath, hoping for the answer to all her questions.

“Excellent question, Murray. Charles Darwin believed evolution occurred over tens of thousands of years. But recently, scientists have discovered a phenomenon they call rapid evolution. Some species are changing and adapting much faster than anyone believed possible. Sometimes that’s because a new predator is introduced into their lives or they change geographic location by hitching rides on airplanes and the like.”

“Do you think humans could ever experience rapid evolution?” Murray pressed. He glanced over at Ali, who smiled. “Could they develop the ability to look like other people?”

ALI’S THEORY ABOUT EVOLUTION

  1. Charles Darwin was mostly right.
  2. Rapid evolution is weird and makes you worry that the tree in your backyard might walk away if you threatened to cut it down.
  3. Is the evolution of moth wings and Copycats the same thing?

“Perhaps if they were threatened or their environment changed quickly enough, they might develop new abilities to compensate,” said Mr. Corby. “It’s not impossible that, over time, humans might be able to alter themselves at will.”

“But what would be the benefit?” Emily asked. “I wouldn’t want to look like anyone else.” Emily seemed subdued since her lunch out with her parents. She’d barely said hello to Ali when she’d arrived back.

Cassie rolled her eyes. It was a pain that Cassie disliked Emily. Otherwise, they could all be friends.

“Simple, Miss Arai: surprise. Imagine if you could turn into anything. You could hide in plain sight, and your enemies would never know you were there. Or you could learn secrets by being someone else, or even replace someone in their life. In some ways, if you could be anyone, it would be like becoming an invisible person.”

It was impossible for Ali to miss the appalled look Murray and Cassie exchanged. She grinned. Being a Copycat was proving to be more interesting than she’d suspected.