Chapter 31

I picked Katie up and carried her into the bedroom, laying her on the bed. Everyone followed me in. As I carried her, I looked at her closely. She had a few bruises, a few cuts, probably consistent with having escaped from where she was held. I doubt they just let her go. She had also lost a little weight. That was more serious; she was a small girl to start with. I wondered what she was doing here. According to Megan, she was supposed to tell us when to join her. Obviously, something had happened to change that. I wondered where Cindi was; she was supposed to be with her.

"She's not outside; I checked," Amy answered me before I asked. I looked at Megan.

"Katie was not supposed to be in any danger. Do you know what happened?" I had never known Megan to be wrong before. I guess there was a first time for everything. She gave me a little smile.

"That has never happened before. She wasn't in danger until Cindi made her leave. They didn't like that."

"Where is Cindi, sweetie?" I asked kindly. I didn't want to upset her; she had never been wrong before; now twice in one day? Megan rolled her eyes at me.

"Not wrong now, either. Cindi is here. Just have to find her." Oh goody! A game, I thought sourly. Megan smiled brilliantly at me. She was sweet, but sometimes she seemed to get a perverse pleasure out of irritating me. She shook her head no at me.

"Not trying to irritate you, although that is fun!" she giggled. "Just trying to teach you to be patient. She's here. Just have patience and wait for it." She smiled warmly at me. I did love her dearly, although right now I wanted to spank her cute little butt. She grinned impishly at me and stuck her butt out to be spanked. Where did I loose control over these girls. "When we were born!" They all chimed in together. I decided to quit this game, fun as it was (NOT!) and turned to Becky.

"Can you check her over, Becky, doing that weird mind thing you do? See if she is ok?" Becky gave me a nasty look and stuck out her tongue at me about the 'weird mind thing' remark. She could see I was worried, though, so she forgave me.

Becky moved forward, and put her hand on Katie's forehead. She tilted her head to the side and looked like she was concentrating. Suddenly, she jerked her hand off Katie's head as if it was hot, and looked around the room, a frightened look on her face, to see if everyone was ok.

"I think it would be best if everyone except me left the room." She left little doubt that, as little a hierarchy as the girls seemed to have, she was issuing a directive as the leader of the girls. There was little doubt, either, that for the first time I had ever witnessed, they were rejecting her 'orders'.

"Sorry, no way!" The chorus of refusals came from everyone, including me. Becky looked at us, a sad, worried look on her face, then shrugged her shoulders and sat down on the bed. I waited for her to continue checking Katie out, but she just sat there, looking at us.

"What's the problem, Becky? What did you see?" I stroked her hair, trying to relax her.

"Nothing." Becky was such a lousy liar. I had a brainstorm, for me.

"The same nothing you found when you tried to detect the trace of who broke the connection between Amy and Katie?" I asked gently. Becky whipped her head around to look at me, shock on her face. Ok, so I guessed right. She looked scared, and then she started crying. I sat down next to her and held her.

"Becky. It's time you stopped lying to me. You are really lousy at it, anyway. What are you seeing? Are you telling me that Katie did break that connection? Or is this not Katie? Talk to me sweetheart; I think the time for secrets is fast disappearing." I held her close until she stopped crying. Megan spoke before she did.

"The time for secrets is not over yet. But the time has come for this one, Becky." Becky looked at her, and nodded. I was confused. Who was the leader here? This was the second time I had seen Becky defer to Megan. Obviously, there was much more to Megan that I realized, even having seen some of the things she could do. Who was she, anyway? Megan looked right at me, and smiled sadly.

'Your best friend. Your closest confidant. Your better half. The answer to all your dreams. I love you, dear!' I was shocked to hear Megan's answer in my head. No one else seemed to hear. Becky seemed to come to a decision, and started talking to me.

"Cindi interrupted the connection between Amy and Katie. I don't know why, but the trace was unmistakable... but... weird." She smiled apologetically at my look. "I'm sorry; weird is the only word I have for it. I can't be more specific." She shrugged again. "Katie's mind is a mess. It seems Richard was right. They were reprogramming her, using a technique she was unfam... she didn't know what they were doing. They were almost successful, but they didn't realize you can't reprogram her that way. She's a mess. It is probably a large reason why she is unconscious. If Cindi hadn't taken her out when she did, we would have lost her." The tears started flowing again. I had experience in knowing how severe the loss of one of theirs affected these girls.

"Can you fix her?" I held my breath, waiting for her answer.

"I can. But there is another problem. You better sit down for this one, Daddy." She smiled faintly at me, but I could see she was shaken also. She ignored the fact that I was sitting right next to her. I saw the light go on in Amy's eyes. Megan showed no reaction; I'm sure she knew all this a long time ago. I had the feeling she hadn't been wrong today; we just didn't understand her right. Something she said a few minutes ago was niggling at the back of my mind, but I didn't have time for it right now.

"I am sitting down, Little Orange Person. Tell me." I gave her a brief hug and a kiss to try to calm her down.

"O-kay. I don't know an easy way to say this, so... this is Katie, messed up as her mind is. It is also Cindi. Cindi is in there with her. Two minds in one body. I don't know how that is done. I didn't think it could be done. What I don't know is why Cindi interrupted that connection. Has she been reprogrammed? Are we in danger? I can't do anything for Katie until she wakes up. I will need her help in some areas to know what is Cindi and what is her. We could ask Cindi, but I am not sure I trust her at this point." I could see Becky was concerned and confused. Megan shook her head, no, just as Katie opened her eyes. Well, kind of Katie. Except, they were deep, dark blue eyes, not yellow, like Katie's 'cat eyes'. She started to speak.

"No, I have not been reprogrammed," Cindi answered. Cindi! "Those Neanderthals couldn't reprogram me. That's why they tried with Katie. I had to get her out of there. Becky, relax. It was not me that interrupted the connection between Amy and Katie." It was so good to hear Cindi's voice again. I spontaneously reached over and gave her a hug. She held on to me tightly.

"I missed you so much, Daddy!" She whispered, her voice breaking. I could see Becky wasn't convinced yet. I was though. You know why? Amy was leaning against the wall, arms folded across her chest. Not down at her side, expecting action. She was relaxed. No alarm bells were ringing in her head. She knew Cindi better than anyone. All her actions said this was Cindi, and nothing was wrong. I had learned long time ago to trust Amy.

"Forgive me, Cindi, for the inquisition, but if not you, then who? I felt you on the trace." Becky wanted to believe her, but she had some questions to be answered first.

"You felt me... but... weird. Your words. Becky, had anyone other than you done that trace, they would have believed it was me and the damage would have been done to our family. You are the only one that would have detected that weirdness. So you didn't tell anyone. You ruined their plan. Then Father allowed Protocol 35, so they could not try again." It was a good thing Katie and Cindi looked so much alike; otherwise, it would have been weird, hearing Cindi's voice come out of Katie.

"So, who was it, then?" I asked. "How were they able to simulate you so closely?" All I ever wanted was a wonderful wife and two sweet girls to raise and love. Victoria, Amy, Cindi and Megan all turned and smiled at me. Megan?

"Better sit down, Daddy. You are not going to like this one." She giggled, as she was mocking Becky, knowing I was already sitting. Becky crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue at Cindi / Katie, then giggled herself.

"I really did die, Daddy. Rather, my body did. As you may have figured out from what has happened with Becky, Julie and me, our minds don't really die. At least, not from the same things as our bodies do. My mind is in danger of dying relatively soon, but not for the same reason my body did." We all gasped and looked at her, frightened for her. "Don't worry. The Neanderthals have screwed up every step of the way, and they did here too. Daddy, even though I am here with Katie, you still need to go rescue me when they move me next Saturday to the new place. Otherwise, I will die." She looked at me, expectantly, waiting for me to get it. Amy already had, I could see. Megan had known it for years, probably. I felt dumb. Then, I got it.

"They are going to move your body Saturday?" I felt like a genius. Amy grinned at me.

"They are going to move my new body. The one they 'cloned' for me. 'Cloned' is not the right word, as that would have required 14 years to get to where I am now, but I don't know the word for what they did. Somehow they got a few cells from my body before I was buried, then they... 'cloned'... them to make a new body, 14 years old, within a few weeks. They planned on putting my mind in it, then reprogramming me. Of course, the Neanderthals can't do anything right. They 'cloned' the brain and mind too. So there is already a brain and a mind in there. Like me, except not nearly as nice. They programmed the new mind to make sure of that. She is me, only much more evil." She gave a cute little grin. Almost anyone in the world would be much more evil than Cindi. "Idiots. As if they could reprogram me, anyway. Then they decided to give up on me and try to do Katie instead. They sent word to her that I was alive and needed help and she figured if she went to me, that it would lead you-all there to rescue me. They figured out that even if they were to insert me in the body, I could overcome the mind there. They figured Katie could not, and that they could reprogram Katie. They were finally right on both accounts." Becky looked at her sharply, shocked. "Yes, Becky, they did discover a way to make their reprogramming work on Katie. I convinced her to leave just in time. She had no idea what they were doing."

"Here is the problem, though. I need that body. I cannot last forever with no body, and I cannot stay in here with Katie for very long. A few weeks, probably. Once they move that body, we have to go get it. The downside is that they know we will do that. They will be expecting us. We have no choice, though. Otherwise, I will die."

Becky decided to see what she could do for Katie before she woke up, now that the trust issue with Cindi was resolved. It took quite awhile, but with Cindi's help, she was pronounced good as new. Then, Cindi faded into the background and woke Katie up.

Katie was disoriented when she woke up, and came awake fighting to get out of the bed and run. She was finally convinced she was safe when she saw me and launched herself into my arms, sobbing. I let her cry it out. I hoped her body was in good shape for making tears, with the two crybabies, Cindi and Katie both living in it. Of course, we also had the two hottest, sexiest, horniest young teenagers I had ever met residing in the same body, too.

Cindi / Katie stuck like glue to me all night long. I didn't have any doubts who I was going to be sleeping with that night. They spent a while with Julie, getting to know her. Like the rest of us, they fell in love with her right away. Julie was still in a daze from the night before, overjoyed that she had finally found her 'family'. I had no doubts that I was going to be dealing with the sex / husband issue with Julie soon. She really believed what the man in white had said. I wasn't sure I did, but I had an open mind. Swallowing that tale was minor compared to some of the things I had seen in the last few months. Thinking of the man in white reminded me of what was bugging me about what Megan had said earlier. I decided to bring it up.

"Megan... you said something earlier that has me thinking. When I asked you what happened, as Katie was not supposed to be in danger, and I was thinking you had been wrong for the first time since I had known you, you said 'That has never happened before.' I thought you meant you had never been wrong before, but you meant something else, didn't you? What were you referring to? And Becky, you referred to a reprogramming procedure that Katie was not... then you stopped. I think you were about to say 'not familiar with.' Several times in the past you girls have stopped yourself from saying something that sounded like it was referring to 'things that have never happened before'. What are you girls not telling me?" You could have heard a pin drop in the room after I stopped talking. Four girls, five if you counted Cindi too, looked at me with the old, by now, familiar 'deer in the headlights' look. What surprised me was that Victoria looked at me like that too. I had thought all along that she was in the dark about all this, just like I had been. Seems like not so much. All of them looked at Megan, seeming to take the lead from her. Waiting for her to speak. Who was this shy, unassuming little girl?

"So, how long have you been sitting on that question, Patrick?" Megan asked. Not Daddy, Patrick. I had an idea that address was significant, although I didn't know why. In for a penny, in for a pound. Why not?

"Patrick? So, am I not your Daddy any more? Was I ever? What are you hiding from me?" I knew I was pushing it, but I was tired of being the only one that didn't know what was going on here. Megan's eyes instantly filled with tears.

"Of course you are! How could you doubt that? You will always be my Daddy! It's just... sometimes you have been much more than that." Becky looked at Megan sharply, her eyes warning her to be careful. I saw signs of a flurry of mental communication going on between all of them. Then, I had a flash of brilliance on what was going on here. It all made sense... didn't it? The pieces seemed to fit. But... could it be? It was too bizarre to believe. This was 2006, Earth, not some bizarre science fiction story on a far away planet. We were bound by the physical laws I learned in physics in high school... weren't we? There was no space travel, other than the space shuttle. No Star Trek, or ST-TNG, exploring the universe, finding weird races and strange things. No aliens had ever landed, at least as far as we knew. Well, I had gone this far. Might as well jump all the way in.

"This has all happened before, hasn't it?" I whispered, stunned by what I suddenly was sure was going on. "When you said 'that has never happened before', you meant Katie had never been in trouble before, didn't you? How many times? Is it always the same cast of players? In the same roles? I think not, right, Megan? But it is different this time, isn't it?" I could hardly speak, I was so shocked. Apparently, the girls were just as shocked. It was obvious they never expected me to figure it out. The stunned look on all their faces would have been a sight to behold under other circumstances. Now it scared the hell out of me. My first thought was for Victoria. What happened if this was true? Would she still be my wife if this all happened again? I didn't want to go through it again if the answer to that was no. Why didn't I know about any of this, or remember it? Did it just recycle forever, for no apparent reason, or was there a reason, and an end in sight? I felt Little Orange Person in my mind, her little orange tendrils calming me. Megan had tears in her eyes.

"Daddy... I love you so much! You cannot even imagine how much, what you mean to me, what you have been to me. Please believe me, if I could answer your questions, I would. I can't. For all of our sakes, I can't." She looked upset, like she was refusing me something precious. But she, and the rest of these girls, were geniuses for a reason. I immediately became aware that she did not deny what I said. She didn't admit it, but she didn't deny it either. To me, it was a clear answer, likely the only one I was going to get.

As soon as that thought finished traipsing its way through my mind, they all suddenly looked up. I saw the same look come over each of their faces; a mixture of concern, excitement, love, admiration. I knew something was happening. Then, a white flash of light filled the room, and standing in front of me was an older man, dressed all in white.

"Patrick. So nice to see you again. Or, for your sake, I should say so nice to finally meet you. Forgive me for not shaking hands with you; I am not being impolite. I don't know what would happen if we touched. The consequences could be devastating." He had a well modulated voice that sounded vaguely familiar, but I could not place it. I had the impression I had seen him before. Then, I remembered the white light in the room at home, when Becky invoked Protocol 12. Same light, same voice. I could not remember anything else that happened in that room, however. He gave a big sigh.

"I warned the girls we might have this situation eventually. They didn't think you would be smart enough to figure it out." He laughed as they all gave him a dirty look. He held up his hand before they could protest. "Forgive me; I have a strange sense of humor. They didn't say that; I made it up. I love to tease them." He laughed again, setting them at ease.

"If this were a science fiction story, I would now explain everything to you, and we would all live happily ever after." He smiled gently. "But this is real life. I am not going to explain everything to you. I am not going to explain anything to you. Obviously, you are smart enough to realize I would not be here if you were hopelessly off the mark on your guesses. You cannot be told everything, or even much of anything, yet; the effects would be... not good." I got the impression 'not good' was the understatement of the year. It sounded more like 'devastating' to me. "I am here just to reassure you that the girls cannot tell you anything. It is not allowed. And although we sometimes break the rules in extreme cases," he looked pointedly at Megan, causing her to blush, "this is not one of those cases. You must act without interference from us, by your own free will. The girls will guide you as they can, as they have already, and will protect you, as they have. Please do not be mad at them; I will not allow them to tell you anything. They would, and indeed, have done so before. The results were... not good. Be assured that at some time in the future, not too distant, you will know all; you will know everything I do. However, now your job is to keep my precious Cindi from dying. That would be a disaster. Having gone through it a few months ago, I am sure you agree, although for different reasons. Take good care of all my girls; you will never receive a more precious gift than their love." He turned to look at Megan, a look of love in his eyes. "Megan, sweetheart, do not believe for a minute that I don't know, understand, and appreciate the sadness, sorrow, and loss you are going through. Your sacrifice will be remembered for all time. I will make it up to you, sweetheart, I promise." The look of joy and pleasure, of love, lit up her face, making it almost too bright to look at. Her eyes opened wide as he approached her, wrapped his arms around her, whispered something in her ear, and gave her a kiss usually only shared by lovers and spouses. I saw her eyes turn up in her head, only the whites showing, as she fainted. Amy stepped forward to take Megan in her arms as he let her go. He softly stroked Megan's cheek, then stroked Amy's hair, and turned to Becky and Katie.