Part 1 now. Working on Part 2+. Please give feedback.
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Year: 2085
Location: San Bernadino, California, USA
Background information: Thought the Human Genome Project completed it's first draft in 2003, it wasn't until 2055 until it's usefulness was unlocked. From there, the concept of the "cafeteria child", a child created by picking out different qualities like hair color, eye color, and genetic predisposition, was finally within grasp. 30 years later, the concept is still being studied, though there is progress. The San Bernadio Science Institute is making the fastest project, but few know why they are leaps and bounds ahead of similar labs around the world.

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Regardless of what anybody tells you, having a STEM degree, even a masters, even one from Pepperdine University, doesn't make job hunting suck less. My name is Jesse, I have a masters in genetics, I'm 26 years old, and today's my first day at The San Bernadino Science Institution in California. After 6 months of working for scrap, I'd finally made it into the big leagues. I was stoked to work at SBSI, it was the most difficult research lab to get into. Even the application requires a blood sample, but I guess they want to map your DNA by the time you get on-board.

I took the train into the city, and from there a bus to their main offices. The modest 5-story building in the heart of the city is a facade, the true labs are 1500 feet below the surface. I walked into the office, and was greeted by the secretary. After showing her my papers, she led me upstairs to human resources.

There I was greeted by a thin Latino woman and a tall white male, both behind a large desk. I shook their hands and they offered me a seat in front of the desk.

"Mr. Westall, I want to thank you for joining us at the SBSI. You've made a great choice. This is your supervisor, Dr. Marteen. He oversees the human science department, where you'll be doing most of your work. Before we begin, I need you to sign this non-disclosure agreement. There's a reason we do great work here, it's because our scientists know their work will be kept secret. Our work is important, we can't have information on our projects getting out."

I flinched. Whatever they were hiding in that lab must be incredible, or fairly illegal.

"I know you must be concerned, but you'll understand once you get down there. You have nothing to fear, trust me. We hired you for a reason."

I shrugged, and signed the bottom of the form.

"Very good. He's all yours, Dr. Marteen."

I was then led to the elevator, and we headed down into the lab.

"Jesse, do you know the legal status of cloning in America?"

"It's illegal, sir."

"Well, yes and no. Science waits for no man. We're in the process of overturning that law, but we cannot merely stop what progress we're making because of legal reasons. The plebeians on the surface just don't see the value of a genetic copy."

"Am I going to be working with clones?"

"Oh more than that. First off, you'll be working in our sports science lab. We have the genes from today's top athletes. I'll explain more when we get to the course."

"As in ‘obstacle course’?''

"Obstacle course." He said, matter-of-factually.

The elevator dinged, and the door opened. The sterile white of the corridor reflected the fluorescent light right into my eyes, and I was blinded for a few moments. When I adjusted, I followed Dr. Marteen down into a locker room. There were doors for men, women, and one that had the sign for women, but smaller.

"What's the purpose behind that locker room?"

"Patience, Mr. Westall. It will all be explained soon."

He had me change into a clean suit.

"Now we just need to find your lab assistant. Her class should be down here."

I had no idea what he meant by class, but I liked that my assistant was a woman. Dr. Marteen led me down a long hallway past a couple of classrooms, each with about ten children. Further down was a computer lab, where another class was learning programming.

"Miss Halbrecht, could I please have," he looked down at his clipboard, "student number 001815."

I craned my head to see who stood up. I was taken aback to see who my assistant would be. She couldn't be older than seven, and about three-and-a-half feet tall. She had long brown hair, down to the middle of her back, and striking green eyes. She was goddamn adorable.

"You called me, Dr. Marteen?"

"Yes ma'am. Please come with me. Miss Halbrecht, please excuse her for the rest of the day. Jerry, Eight-fifteen, please follow me."

We headed back to the laboratory section, and just when I thought we were heading back to Sports Science, we veered into the administrative offices. Dr. Marteen led us back to a conference room, where a laptop and projector were set up for presentation. He motioned for us to sit down at the table and he moved towards the laptop. He stopped, then sat in a seat across from us.

"Jerry, meet Student Eight-fifteen. She's your clone."

I stared at him, completely dumbfounded. He must have understood my blank expression, so he continued.

"I like to tell people before the presentation. It clears up a lot of misconceptions."

"But how is that possible? She's at least seven years old. I applied for this job six-months ago."

"Ah, but we've had our eye on you for a while now. We picked you for employment after your first year at Pepperdine. You had top marks and we needed that for our research. We knew you would eventually choose us, so we started the cloning process early. Your DNA was sequenced when you signed up to be a bone marrow donor, how sweet. From there we began building and growing Eight-fifteen."

He got up and moved to the laptop at the end of the table.

"This presentation will show not only your similarities, but also why we need you both. First off, you mentioned that you thought she was seven-years-old. Well, you're close. She was cloned and force grown three years ago, but an aging compound makes her body age twice as fast, along with her emotional maturity. The hyper-growth serum injections stop at six years and from there we begin a Methuselah serum treatment that stops aging. She will remain in the body of a 12-year-old as long as she revives those injections."

One by one, he showed us both our physical features and the corresponding genes. While I had no way to confirm at the moment if it was true, I knew I had access to a lab and a degree in genetics, so it wouldn't take too long to see if this was true.

I kept looking down at the young girl sitting next to me. Was she really me, or at least a female version? What was the point of her?

"I've seen that look before," said Dr. Marteen, stopping his lecture on our hair and skin genes. "You're wondering why I made her a girl."

I nodded "Pretty much."

"In addition to working in the sports science lab, you'll also be acting as a control. Eight-fifteen is testing your intellect from the perspective of a female. We want to see how she tests compared to your scores."

"Hmmm," I said, neutrally.

"Which leads us to our last slide, your X chromosome."

"What about it?" I interjected, slightly interested.

"Did you know you carry a recessive gene for urinary incontinence? When we doubled your X chromosome, it caused it to express."

I cringed. I hadn't any idea. Eight-fifteen looked down and blushed slightly. It was quite clear that it was a bother to her.

Dr. Marteen continued, "I just wanted to make sure you knew before she moved in with you."

"WHAT!?!?" We both said, astonishingly, I was in no position to be raising a child, and I doubt she wanted to come live with a 26-year-old.

"Yes. Eight-fifteen, you'll be moving out of your dorm here at the institute. Jesse, you'll be adopting Eight-fifteen. Not legally, of course, but in the traditional sense. Since she doesn't exist in the eyes of the state, you won't have to worry about legal standing. Eight-fifteen, you'll need to go back to your room and pack your things while I have a final discussion with Jerry."

"But I don't wanna go with him. I like it here."

"You must, young lady." Dr. Marteen was trying to be soothing, but he was failing at it.

Internally, I was screaming, but I had to keep it together. There would be time to freak out about raising a child as a 26-year-old bachelor, but for now, this kid needed stability. I put on a brave face and got down to her level. Looking her in the eyes, I tried my best soothing voice. "Hey, I didn't plan this either. But, let's make the best of it. I'll take you to the store and you can pick out what we get to eat for the next week or so."

"You mean I won't have to eat cafeteria food anymore?" Her voice rose in pitch as she realized her fortune. There must not be many dining options for three-and-a-half year old clones.

"No ma'am. I also have a room that you can sleep in, and you can decorate it however you want. My apartment is really cool, promise."

"Okay, I guess," she was feigning sarcasm, something I did frequently. I was really taken aback. She ran back to her room to get her things ready.

"I'll come pick you up in a bit!" I yelled after her. Turning to Dr. Marteen, "Is there anything else I should know?"

"She'll get attached to you very quickly, they all do. Try to portray a father image to her, stern but loving. Also, I'd suggest naming her something that isn't 'Eight-fifteen'."

"I'm 26 and raising a seven-year-old, this is going to be great." I rolled my eyes and looked back at Dr. Marteen. "Few more things. What should I know about her incontinence? Do I get a bigger paycheck now that I'm raising a child?”

“All in due time, Mr. Westall. While eight-fifteen is packing up, let's look at the course.”
–----
The course was on the other side of the complex and at the lowest floor. At twelve stories underground, there was an incredible amount of room in the structure. The course was 100 yards long and had everything from ropes to a ten-foot scalable wall. I was excited to see how four-foot tall girls would get over it. Dr. Marteen must have seen the look on my face, “It really is quite marvelous. It's our little gem.”

“I can't wait to see it in action.”

“You'll start next Monday. Take the rest of the week to get acclimated with Eight-Fifteen. I want you to develop a strong bond with her. The clones all develop bonds, but it's The Originals that need to put in the most effort to build the trust.”

“The Originals?”

“That's the official title for subjects who've received clones, as in the original specimen.”

“Makes sense.”

“Let's head up to the dormitory and collect Eight-fifteen. She should be ready now.”

Before we headed out, we dropped my cleansuit off down a chute to the incinerator. I didn't understand why, we hadn't come in contact with anything hazardous. I added it to the growing list of unanswered questions. As we walked to the elevator, I remembered one in particular, “You never answered my question regarding compensation.”

“You'll receive an extra $40,000 per year as a stipend for housing, feeding, clothing your clone. Health insurance for both of you is included and free. You'll need to get a new apartment.”

“Why?”

“Your neighbors are going to wonder why you suddenly have a school girl suddenly living with you, especially one that considers you her father. It's best if you sever the ties and build new relationships. We will cover all the costs of breaking your lease, and provide you with information regarding closer apartments.”

“Why are you doing all this? I'm just out of grad-school, yet these are perks that would be reserved for directors at other labs.”

“We wouldn't have brought you on if we didn't want you. This is our way of keeping you. Happy workers are good workers.”

The elevator dinged and we stepped inside. He pressed the button for B3 and I made a mental note that this was the dormitory floor.

“We have an interest in keeping you around. You are the control subject to an important experiment. Rather than forcing you into servitude, we provide you with the best perks. If you ever find yourself in a position where you would consider leaving us, please come talk to me. We are reasonable people and will accommodate your needs.

“In that case, I'd like to see about getting a condo. Does the institute have a realtor group that they use?” $40,000 on top of the $100,000 starting was enough to make me consider getting a mortgage. California property prices be damned, it was time I owned something.

“I'll get you their information before we leave.”

We stepped out of the elevator and walked down the hall; I was crunching numbers in my head as we wandered the corridors. This new bundle of joy threw quite a monkey wrench into my bachelorhood, but I was certain to make the best of things.

When we made it to her room, it wasn't exactly exciting. It was sparsely decorated and it looked like she didn't have much to pack up. I wasn't exactly regretting the decision to tell her she could decorate her room however she wanted, but I had a sneaking suspicion it would end up making my wallet cry.

She wheeled a small suitcase out of her room and looked up at Dr. Marteen and I. She had changed out of a cleansuit and into jeans and a polo. Looking down into those iridescent green eyes, I asked her “You all packed up kiddo?”

She giggled. “You're really tall.” Looking at Dr. Marteen, “Am I going to be as tall as him one day?”

Dr. Marteen smiled, “That's what we're here to find out.”

She looked back at me, “Go like this.” She brought her hands down in front of her, interlacing her fingers together and making a round-shape with her arms. As soon as I did it, she had her foot in my hands and was hoisting herself onto my shoulders.

I was flabbergasted. “You comfortable up there?” I half-shouted in a joking manner. I looked over a Dr. Marteen. He was having a hard time keeping a straight face. I shrugged my shoulders.

“You're really climbable. I like it.” She wiggled her bottom a little, getting comfortable, and I felt her special underwear squish and crinkle. At least she wasn't going to wet herself down my back.

“Well you can crawl all over me when we get back to the apartment. If you wanna stay up there while we walk out, I don't mind.” I grabbed her suitcase as she held on to me. If she was going to be like this, I couldn't be asked to complain. She was way too adorable to be angry at.

We wandered back to the elevator and made our way up to the surface. Stopping by HR, I was given a benefits packet that included the name of a real estate agent. The same Latino woman couldn't stop giggling at the child on my shoulders. After leaving the office, with her still on my shoulders, I headed for the train station.

“Where are we going?” She asked.

“We're taking the train to my apartment. There, we'll get my car and go to the grocery store.”

“How far away do you live?”

“15 minutes by train, but I'll probably be moving closer now. I'm thinking about getting a house.”

“A MANSION?” She half-shouted dreamily.

“Haha, I don't make that much yet, but it will be nicer than the apartment we're in now. You'll get an even bigger room in the house than in the apartment.”

“This is gonna be great. Can I call you daddy?”

I froze. Dr. Marteen said I should form the father/daughter bond, but it was different once I actually heard the child on my shoulders call me “daddy”.

“Yes you may, on one condition. You have to tell me what you want to be called. Eight-fifteen is a boring name, surely you have a better one in mind.”

Without skipping a beat, as if she had been planning this for the last three and a half years, “Erika.”

“And a middle name?”

“Holly.”

“Well Erika Holly, it's nice to finally get acquainted with you.”

“Daddy.”

“Yes honey.”

“I'm wet. Do you still want me on your shoulders?”

We were almost at the train station. I couldn't feel any warmth or wetness around my neck, so she wasn't leaking through her pants. “It's fine. I'll change you when we get home.”

“I brought some extra diapers in my suitcase. I knew this would happen.”

“Are you speaking from experience?”

“Maybe.” she said, slyly.

When we reached the train station, she wanted to climb down and sit next to me. A guy in a suit with a young girl in a school uniform wasn't innocuous at all. I was just a guy picking up his daughter for something. Nobody was going to card her, she wasn't buying beer. Nobody would ever know, unless I told them, that she was an identical replica of me, but younger and a girl. As long as I wasn't suspicious about her, everything would be fine.

When we finally arrived at my apartment, I showed her to her room. The two bedroom model was more spacious, and I was convinced I was going to get a roommate. I had one now, just not under the original circumstances. The room came with a dresser, and a bed, so it was just a matter of getting her settled in. She plopped down on the bed and looked around. “How long are we going to be here?”

“What? Not good enough for Princess Erika?”

She looked down sheepishly, “I didn't mean it like that.”

I kissed her on the forehead, “I know, I'm just kidding.”

She squeaked and giggled. “I like when you do that.”

“We still need to go get food for the week. Did you want to change?”

“I can't...” her voice trailed off.

“What's up?” I asked, leaning in to hear her.

She put her mouth right up against my ear. “I can't change myself. The diaper always comes out loose and crooked. C-can you do it?”

She was a seven-year-old in everything except natural age, but in that moment, she was a toddler to me. I was in no way ready to take on this burden. Every fiber of my being was screaming for me to get out of there. I could run away and join a punk band. Shave my head, grow a beard, live a long-dead dream. But I couldn't, she was counting on me. If I left, she would have nobody.

“Okay,” I said. “take your pants off.”

She pulled a fresh diaper out of her suitcase and handed it to me. Dropping her pants, it was quite clear how wet she was.

“Hey, droopy-butt, how long do you normally go in-between changes?”

“Uhhhh, a few hours. I put on a fresh one in the morning, change at lunch, change before dinner, and change before bed.” She was on the flood now, waiting for me to clean her up.

“And you don't get a rash?” I ripped the tapes off, pushed her legs up and slid the diaper out from under her.

“Nope. If I notice I'm leaking or I just feel wetter than usual, I'll change earlier. I usually get about two wettings into each one.”

I slid the new diaper underneath her and made sure it was nice and tight. I picked her up and hugged her tightly.

“I love you, daddy.”

I froze, for a second time today. Hearing her attach to me that quickly, it was like nothing I had ever been through before. I was beyond scared, but I had to keep a brave face on. There would be time for a breakdown tonight when she was fast asleep.

“I love you too, Erika. Now get dressed, we gotta go get food.”