A Murder of Clones: A Retrieval Artist Universe Novel by Kristine Kathryn Rusch Read Free Book Online Page A

certainly seemed unreal, particularly considering the destroyed bodies below.
    “There’s a lot of damage here because of the decomposition,” Simiaar said, “plus I’m not sure how those branches work, exactly, but they had some effect on the bodies.”
    “Enough that you can’t say how the boys died?” Gomez asked.
    “I’ll have to run tests with some organic specimens that I grow,” Simiaar said. “You wouldn’t, by chance, be able to get some information from the Eaufasse on those plants?”
    “I can barely understand the Eaufasse when they’re giving me walking directions, and I’m pretty sure the Eaufasse have a similar problem with me.”
    “It didn’t sound that way with the Peyti,” Simiaar said.
    “If it’s translating things correcting,” Gomez said.
    “You have doubts?” Simiaar asked.
    Gomez didn’t answer. She raised her eyebrows, just so that she could claim that she had said nothing bad about the Peyti.
    “I know you don’t like to speculate,” Gomez said, fending off that argument again. “But, the plants aside, what can you tell me about the bodies?”
    “I can tell you what I don’t like,” Simiaar said. “I don’t like the age of these boys. They’re too young to die of natural causes, even for clones, and they shouldn’t have died in a group.”
    Gomez nodded. She agreed with that.
    “I don’t like the fact that the shirts I pulled off them had laser burns in the back. I don’t like the fact that the skin on their backs have laser burns as well. A cursory glance of their internal organs, particularly their hearts, show more laser burning.”
    “A laser pistol?” Gomez asked.
    “A laser rifle, given the power of the shot or shots,” Simiaar said. “But I don’t know. I’m just telling you what I see and what I don’t like.”
    “And the laser pattern looks familiar to you?” Gomez asked. “It’s not something that the Eaufasse use?”
    “How the hell should I know?” Simiaar said. “This culture is as new to me as it is to you.”
    “I mean—”
    “I know what you mean. And here’s my answer. The laser burns are consistent with human weapons. That doesn’t mean they’re inconsistent with Eaufasse weapons or that they might come from some weird laser source that I don’t know about. I’m just telling you what I don’t like.”
    Which was, apparently, different from speculating. Gomez didn’t understand the distinction, but she appreciated the fact that Simiaar made such a distinction.
    “What else can you tell me?” Gomez asked.
    “Nothing,” Simiaar said. “My likes and dislikes are accounted for. Now I need to get my hands dirty, do some real science, and then go through the DNA database to see if the source of these clones is registered somewhere.”
    Gomez had never heard of such a thing. “Why would you do that?”
    “Because home-grown clones like these usually come from megalomaniacs who don’t believe one of themselves is enough to satisfy the universe. They need to create more of themselves in their own image to satisfy their God complex.”
    For a moment, Gomez thought Simiaar was joking. Then she realized that Simiaar wasn’t joking at all.
    “You think that person might be in the enclave?” Gomez asked.
    “I think that person might be identifiable ,” Simiaar said. “That’s all. Now, get out. I have work to do.”
    Gomez didn’t need to be told again. She left the forensics lab with more to think about than she had ever expected. Simiaar told her a lot without saying anything. And Simiaar’s opinion coincided with what the Eaufasse said. A group from inside the enclave chased these boys into the clearing and killed them.
    So why had one lived? Had he lived as a warning? If so, why was he outside the enclave instead of inside?
    That surviving kid would have answers that Simiaar was just guessing at.
    Gomez had to figure out the legalities. She had no idea if she could interview someone who requested asylum from