And he remembered the coffee cup.

Scott had all the early signs of a serious neurological disease. Either Parkinson’s or, far more likely, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis—ALS. In either case, it was going to get worse. In either case, he was dying.

It made sense. It answered a lot of questions. But as Jeremiah stared at the computer screen, it presented even more ominous ones: if Charles Scott was sick, what did that say about this experiment? What did that mean for him?

The realization hit him before he even saw it coming. Scott’s own words echoed in Jeremiah’s mind: “Our work means everything, Mr. Adams. It means mankind can finally be free of all the random, senseless frailties of the human body. It means a second chance.”

The meaning of those words became suddenly crystal clear. Charles Scott didn’t care about second chances for the whole of humanity. He wanted a second chance for himself.

Despite what he’d told Brent and everyone else, his motives weren’t purely scientific. He was in it to save his own life. And that clock was ticking.

Charles Scott was a desperate man. Worse, Jeremiah realized, he was a desperate man with a lot of money at his disposal and in a position of considerable power. Jeremiah felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up: right now, Charles Scott controlled every aspect of Jeremiah’s entire life and that fact probably meant very little to him.

Chapter 13

Day 82

On Sunday morning, Jeremiah picked up the landline phone and asked to see Dr. Pike as soon as possible. He knew better than to confront Pike with his suspicions about Scott, but he wanted to speak to him, to see if he could discern anything from the man’s demeanor. An hour later, Pike had his head inside Jeremiah’s refrigerator. He emerged with an expression of utter confusion.

“There are plenty of healthy choices here, Mr. Adams. I really don’t think you’re in danger of starving.”

“I am if I don’t eat it.”

“I’m afraid your recent physicals have been unsatisfactory. You need to lose some weight. You are nearly seven pounds heavier than your clone. I’ve been telling you for weeks now to watch your diet and use the treadmill more. If you’d listened to my advice, you wouldn’t be in this situation now.”

“Can’t you just fatten up the clone?” Jeremiah asked, only half joking. “Sneak in and switch a few things around in his fridge. He’ll catch up in no time. And, that way, no one gets hurt.”

“This isn’t funny,” Pike said.

“I’m not trying to be funny. Look. I have months left here. Why is it so important that I catch up to the clone right this minute?”

“It’s very important,” Pike said. “If something were to happen, something which made it necessary for you to switch places with your double at a moment’s notice, you’d have a hard time explaining to people how you managed to gain seven pounds in a matter of hours.”