His thoughts must have been evident on his face.

“Mr. Adams.” Charles Scott’s tone was laced with a hint of irritation. “Our scientists have just created an exact replica of you. You are staring into the face of a scientific miracle. A perfect human clone. The Meld should be the least of your concerns. If the FDA can see fit to keep Meld on the market, there is obviously nothing for you to worry about. Of all people, I’d think you’d be the last one to doubt the Meld.”

Jeremiah took his place in a chair next to the bed and tried to swallow his worry. He nearly gagged on it.

Dr. Pike began to connect Jeremiah’s brain to that of his empty double, and he felt a bit as though he were about to be syphoned like a gas tank. But he knew it didn’t work that way. In actual fact, he supposed, it was more like being copied. He began to wonder what his clone would do with all the conflicted thoughts swimming through his mind, all the personal turmoil and philosophical struggle he’d faced in the weeks leading up to this moment. He’d agreed to have himself illegally cloned. He was walking out on his family and leaving a replica in his place. It hadn’t been an easy few weeks. What a thing to wake up to, he thought.

“What’s with all the wires? There weren’t any wires when I took it before.”

“This is a different kind of connection,” Pike told him. “Normally, Meld acts as a neural stimulant on the brains of both subjects. The clone has no active neurons yet. This is a one-way thing. Think of it as a download. The physical connection is necessary.”

“Besides,” Scott said, “hardwiring prevents the accidental input from anyone else in the room. It wouldn’t do to have the clone picking up random thoughts from me or Dr. Pike.”

Jeremiah nodded and turned his attention to something he hoped would be easier to grasp.

“Does it have to be so cold in here?”

“For the moment, yes,” Pike said without explanation.

“Mr. Adams,” Scott said tersely, “please relax and allow Dr. Pike to do his job.”

He couldn’t relax.

“If the clone is going to know everything in my mind, doesn’t that mean he’ll immediately realize he’s a copy?” Jeremiah asked. “Won’t he remember everything that’s happened up to this moment? The agreement? Our conversations? All of it?”

“I will make sure that doesn’t happen, Mr. Adams,” Pike said. “I’ll be connected to each of you so I can monitor everything that’s going into the clone’s mind. Everything will go from your mind, through me and into the clone. I’ll have full, precise control over the entire thing.”

“When we implant the memories,” Scott added, “we can be as selective as we need to be. All the information about the cloning—every thought you’ve ever had about it—will be withheld from what we insert into his mind. We can filter it. Everything else will be preserved. He will wake up thinking he is—and always has been—Jeremiah Adams. He will remember leaving for work this morning, exactly as you do, and he will remember a car accident. It will all make perfect sense to him.”