Jeremiah focused on that now. Maybe Meld did have some silver lining, after all, he thought. Maybe it was miraculous.

Chapter 2

Jeremiah had no idea how long he’d been under the Meld when Dr. Pike’s voice began to penetrate his mind again.

“Mr. Adams. We’ve finished the transfer. We’re done here. Wake up.”

Jeremiah shook his head in an attempt to disperse the fog in his mind and felt Pike’s hand on his shoulder easing him to a more upright position in the chair. He must have fallen completely asleep under the sedative, he realized, and that possibility touched on a vague sense of worry in the back of his mind.

“It’s time to go, Mr. Adams,” Scott said. “The clone will be waking up soon and we can’t have him wake up to your face. I will take you to your new home now.”

“I just need a minute.” Jeremiah closed his eyes again and fought a sudden wave of nausea.

Charles Scott took a slight step back, afraid, no doubt, that his four-hundred-dollar shoes were at risk.

After a moment, Jeremiah stood up slowly and followed Scott down an intricate puzzle of intersecting hallways and through doors that were opened by a wave of a key card in Scott’s hand. When they finally arrived at the living quarters, Jeremiah couldn’t have retraced their steps if he tried for the entire year. At the moment, he didn’t care. His head ached and all he wanted was a place to lie down.

They entered through a nondescript door into a generous room, furnished with two light-colored leather couches, low tables and a desk in the corner outfitted with a sleek, all-glass computer terminal. Discreet overhead lighting cast everything in a pleasing glow. But despite the size and opulence, the room felt closed in. Two walls were lined with shelves of books and a third was almost entirely filled with a six-by-eight-foot screen, which, at the moment, was turned off and blank.

“That’s quite the TV,” Jeremiah said with some surprise.

“That monitor is where you will watch your clone each day, Mr. Adams. Four hours, every day, for the next 365 days. It is controlled remotely, but when not in use for its intended purpose, you can certainly watch television as you desire.”

“Bugs Bunny will look terrifying on that thing.”

“This monitor will also serve as a window to the outside, Mr. Adams,” Scott said, ignoring Jeremiah’s attempt at levity. “It can provide you with a real-time view of just about any place on Earth equipped with a camera feed.” By way of demonstration, Scott picked up the remote and revolved through vistas of an African wildlife sanctuary, an outdoor market in Amsterdam and a convenience store that could have been somewhere in Detroit.

“You’re going to be secluded within these walls for a rather long time,” he said. “We thought this technology would at least give you the illusion of more expansive surroundings.” Scott nodded toward a treadmill in the corner with a helmet-like device hanging from its handlebar. “That’s the latest in virtual reality tech,” he said. “Put that on and you’ll swear you’re walking the streets of Paris, jogging in Central Park or whatever else you’re inclined to do.”