FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

>>>>Welcome to Other Horizons Labs user [Redacted]!

_ _

>>>>Please select your choice from our present options available for public use:

_ _

-Organ cloning and replacement

-Limb cloning and replacement

-Full body cloning and replacement

-Pet cloning and replacement

-Sentient cloning procedure

_ _

>>>>Thank you for selecting sentient cloning procedure, please select from our available options:

_ _

-Replacement of loved one with complete conscious memory transfer

-Replacement of loved one with genetically enhanced counterpart body devoid of prior illness, complete with conscious memory transfer

-Replication of potential partner due to original host engaging in an active relationship

-Replication of sentient life form with life insurance, complete with conscious memory transfer

_ _

>>>>Thank you for selecting replication of a potential partner, please select your choice of memory alterations available

_ _

-Replicant partner retains full memories

-Replicant partner retains full memories, minus memories of host's current partner

-Replicant retains no host memories

-Custom

_ _

>>>>Thank you for selecting your choice, please provide relevant data on your security information and account, and present the signed document from the host with their signature and yours

_ _

>>>>Scanning

_ _

>>>>Processing

_ _

>>>>Verification of document confirmed, host name [redacted] has given consent for the creation of a replicant based off their own genetic structure and memories

_ _

>>>> Please insert genetic sample now

_ _

>>>>Scanning

_ _

>>>>Processing

_ _

>>>>Genetic sample confirmed

_ _

>>>>Please sign this document in agreement to the terms that [redacted]'s replicant has full citizenship and the same rights as any other sentient species currently on record

_ _

>>>>Signature accepted

_ _

>>>>Cloning process will start immediately on confirmation and will be complete in the span of two weeks

_ _

>>>>Do you wish to continue?

_ _

-Yes

-No

_ _

>>>>Confirmation confirmed, thank you [redacted] for making this life altering decision with us, Other Horizons Labs!

_ _

>>>>Other Horizons labs will keep you updated on the process of the replication and notify you when the replicant is ready. Please note that Other Horizons Labs also offers other services in regards to getting things started with your replicant, allowing you to ease into a new relationship smoothly. Would you like to find out more?

_ _

-Yes

-No

_ _

>>>>Thank you for choosing the expanded and advanced package, we will now begin a short questionnaire about what you might like to have as a first meeting with your replicant partner, please have a seat and relax.

_ _

>>>>And remember, at Other Horizons Labs, anything is possible, everything is optional!

_ _

_ _

1 Year Later

She was sad. Heartbroken. And right now she was headed to the only place she knew that could ever give her any peace of mind. She walked through city blocks rather than take the sky lanes or public transit. Some small part of it gave her peace. Taking the sky lanes far up above, or a faster method of transport made one liable to miss things.

Then again, she was always like that. She was always cautious. Always careful and just a little bit old fashioned. The ancient city down at the bottom layers of this world was like a vast sprawling archeology site. Even that thought caused her to smile.

Before there were towering super structures and vast buildings that stretched to the skies above, there were buildings. Small buildings, adorned with glass for windows, meshed together with old and by now far outdated metals and welding techniques. Buildings laced in stone even. Small rectangular bricks that she had once read about, stacked on one another together, one by one and held in place with a binding agent.

All around her lay the ancient city, so far below the towering spires above. And even still, she had to be impressed. These ancient buildings still operated. These small beginnings for the first beings that arrived on this world, as small as they were, still provided for those who lived on this world. These weren't so much slums as they were an old and weathered neighborhood. A neighborhood that was close knit, and full of life despite its age.

As she walked the darkened streets, she couldn't help but cheer up somewhat. Passing by blocks as she went, walking on solid ground that was paved over with simple layers of a simple material that was based on rocks and oil, although these days it was now cracked and gouged almost into nothing. It was always dark down here. The towering superstructures above blocked almost all light, and through the dark and fog if she looked up, she could barely make out the lights of traffic as it sped through the lowest sky lanes.

All around her, these old crumbling buildings enchanted her. The styles and colours of the many species that called this space home, along with the contrast of current age technology, such as the street lamps that stood in place of this ancient city's own lamps, created something peaceful in her. There was noise, out on these streets at all hours. The bustle of species as they traveled a much simpler way, just like her.

Walking, and simple land based vehicles and transports that rolled along on tires, ancient rubber and aluminum. Stalls and crowds and noise, etched in among the ancient brick and iron of this old world. Admittedly, she didn't like noise. Which was why she was going to the only place on this world that she ever knew could truly bring her peace.

This city was old. It was enchanting. And before the rise of the technology above, spires that stretched for miles high, there was this city. But before this city, there was something else.

Something much older that even to this day still found a way to survive the eons.

There were books.

At long last, she found it. She wasn't even sure if she could. She knew this city like the back of her hand. And yet, it was unfamiliar. Before her stood the ancient building, large and expansive, ornate in its design, designating it as a place beyond a simple home or shop. Pillars carved from stone, with ancient statues out front that had long since weathered into blurred blocks and shapes. Ancient steps of stone that were cracked and split apart welcomed her, and the entrance boasted something truly special.

Only one set of doors remained, the rest having been blocked off with reinforcing sheets of metal, and this set of doors was a preserved rarity on this world. Ancient wood from forests now long gone. Up the ancient steps and to the old doors, she pushed on them.

And they didn't move.

She sighed visibly. It was locked. If she wanted to get into this building badly enough, which she did, she could easily find something to break through these simple ancient doors. But the thought never crossed her mind because the thought of damaging something so priceless to her was practically a sin.

And yet here she was. She had found it. She never thought she could. In the back of her mind, this place was always here on this world. But she could never find it because she didn't know where it was. She shook her head. No. She knew where it was. It was just that she didn't have enough context about it in the city above.

But she was here now. She rolled that wonderful word around in her head. Library. Even just standing here made her feel better. But she wanted to get inside. She looked up to the ancient doors that blocked her way, thinking. This building was old. And she remembered that. There was more than one way into it and she was sure she knew what it was.

Morning down in the depths of the old city was a rather subjective term. It was always dark. The street lamps powered from the towering city above were the only source of light and they never faltered or flickered. But the beings down here had long since become used to the simple changes in light, what little light that did manage to come from above.

Amber woke up and started the day like any other. The morning shuffle out of bed to the waking world, and the sluggish struggle of slowly putting herself together bit by bit until she could call herself awake. Her loft was simple and small, essentially a closet compared to other homes around here. But that didn't matter. Her home lied elsewhere.

With some semblance of order and something eaten to start the day, and a simple, clean coat thrown over top of things, Amber set off with a heavy bag at her side packed with papers. Off to work once more, although she could hardly call it work. Every day was something new for her. If anything, the daily routine of rising in the morning and the long trek through the city streets and traffic was her job.

Down the spiraling staircases of this antique for a building, and outside to the streets beyond, packed with motorists using ancient, land locked transport, and the bustling of people from all across other worlds assaulted her without fail every morning. The noise and the crowds never really did speak to her. So she tuned them out and moved forwards towards the one place she ever had peace in.

The Library.

The trip wound its way down, and Amber climbed up the ancient cracked steps to a building she'd long since come to call home. This was her true home, and her place of work. Her very own archeological site. Even though she did this every morning, the climb up ancient stairs, the leering remnants of statues, and one of the only remaining legitimate set of wooden doors from this planet greeted her with the same feeling they always did. She loved it here.

Holding up a card in her hand aimed at the device above the doors, it activated, scanning her person. These doors may have been seemingly fragile and ancient wood, but they were reinforced. On one hand they had an invisible barrier encasing them, which encompassed them entirely in a micro vacuum which remained heat controlled, preserving the doors for what they were. And on the other hand, barriers and force fields were also present for physical protection.

Amber knew this building inside and out. And she knew that breaking through the front doors, however horrible the thought was, there were other, easier ways in that only she knew about. Thinking about it now though, the thought crossed her mind that she should one day soon protect even those entrances. Those seeking to commit vandalism could be incredibly crafty.

Amber pushed past the great wooden doors into the main lobby of the library, and was instantly aware that something was wrong. The lights were on. She never left them on. Amber spoke to the simple automated system that had been set up throughout the building.

"Security. Please run a full scan of this building and pinpoint any intrusion or intruder to me."

"Scanning. No intrusion detected."

_ _

_ _

"What? That can't be. Check your files please. I never leave the lights on."

"Data logs show that this an accurate statement. No intrusion detected."

_ _

_ _

Amber tapped her foot on the ground as she looked around the ancient lobby around her. Old and weathered marble, offset by bundles of cables and suspended lights, power cables and data cables all traveling throughout the building. Amber looked up to the camera that scanned the lobby.

"Security. Please go through your data banks and show me any anomalies that have occurred since I checked out yesterday."

"Scanning. Data logs show no anomalies with the exception that you arrived 4.5 hours early to work this morning."

_ _

_ _

"What!?"

"No intrusion detected because your signature is already available within the building. There now exists two signatures in two separate locations. Recommend system diagnostic check."

_ _

_ _

Amber crossed her arms.

"No. Show me. Show me where they are."

The suspended camera on the ceiling swiveled downwards, projecting a holographic image of the layout of the library. In the lobby Amber's signal was apparent. And in one of the sections of the library her signal was found again. Amber nodded.

"Security. Did I do anything at all to damage or breach the archives here since I checked in this morning?"

"No damages or breaches detected. All files and historical documents remain in perfect condition."

_ _

"Thank you Security."

Amber set off immediately towards the location of her other signal. She was sure she knew what it was. But it couldn't be? Could it?

Sara walked in silence among the shelves of the library, in a state of awe. This place had changed since she was last here. She remembered it like she had first stepped in. She was currently in the main archive, the main section of the building. Books, ancient and weathered, stayed put on their shelves in place. Mainly because they were buried under more books.

Only one long expansive isle had been cleaned and organized, with the excess landslide of books blocking its path likely organized, catalogued and stored elsewhere. She remembered this place otherwise. Memories of a dusty, forgotten part of history left in the dark to rot and wither away. It was a huge task for her to do alone.

Which was why she reconsidered. She moved back up to the city above to live with her partner. She stopped in the silence of it all and shook her head. Her partner. It still stung even now. Things didn't work out. And that's why she was here now. And it seemed like whoever had taken her place was doing a good job. Why, they had done exactly what she would have done. Start in the main archive and clear one row at a time.

Sara brushed the dust off a book absent minded, as she pulled it carefully off the shelf. She was right. This one was preserved well. She always got lost in them. Wanted to read all of them. Opening up the ancient thing with another wave of dust and the smell of old paper, the silence was cut through like a knife as a voice that was firm at the start but then quickly faltered.

"Put that book down!"

Sara turned in surprise, her eyes passing over the figure of somebody, and as she registered who it was, she dropped the book from her hands. The ancient thing slammed onto the floor and echoed through the isle as she watched in some sense of perverse horror. The crash of the book tensed her completely, and the other who watched her back, a perfect copy of her stood in the same awed silence, clutching her mouth in her hands.

Every second was long as she stared out towards somebody who looked exactly like her. And then, despite the shock, they both moved. Moved towards the fallen book on the floor that had been dropped and flung a short ways. It was automatic. Sara valued her work above all else and this stranger, an identical twin, did too. Both bent down to pick the book up and stopped.

Sara looked down at the other hand reaching out to the book. It was identical to hers. She looked up to the face of the stranger, and caught eyes that were hers. Exactly hers. Another hush traveled over the library as their gazes met in person. Sara was the first to speak.

"Who are you?"

The reaction of the stranger turned sour as she once again withdrew, standing up and cupping her mouth in her hands. Sara picked up the book carefully, standing up and placing it back onto the ancient shelf it rested on. The stranger could only stand and watch as Sara turned again, asking yet another question.

"No. Please. Who are you? Why do you look like me?"

The stranger managed something in between a heave and a sob, and spoke in a voice that matched Sara's. At least, it sounded close to hers, but different when she heard it from somebody else.

"I'm sorry........."

More awkward silence filled the ancient isle as the two stared at one another. Sara stared out at the woman in front of her, realizing that she was a perfect copy. She spoke, moved, acted, and looked exactly the same. Sara looked down at her coat. They even wore the same style of clothing save for different colours. Sara suddenly had real questions. And they needed answers.

"You're a clone, aren't you? They replicated me didn't they?"

Sara's other shook her head in silence. Sara stepped forward now, intrigued.

"Then who are you? I left this job a year ago because it was too big for me. But they needed me didn't they? Nobody else would take it."

Sara's other spoke.

"No..... god I'm sorry I didn't think......"

"Think what?"

More silence filled the isle. Sara looked back through her memories. And then she knew. She wanted to take this job but she never would have had enough funding. And she didn't know how to get more. Sara began to speak but her other cut her off.

"I'm the host."

And then everything came crashing down. Sara slunk to her knees as she realized it. She was the replicant. Her life, all of it..... was fake. Sara's other approached now, able to speak.

"I'm sorry I never wanted to but-"

"You needed the money."

Sara looked up with a hollow smile.

"That's what I would have done."

Sara's other stood beside her.

"It was wrong. I knew it was. But I needed it. I didn't have enough funds for equipment. Nobody backed me our supported me."

Sara nodded.

"So you sold yourself. To somebody willing to buy."

A hush came over the two as nothing more needed to be said. Suddenly, this library didn't seem so peaceful. Suddenly, it felt like it was never hers in the first place. Her life was a sham. The silence was interrupted.

"It's not a sham."

Sara looked up to her other. She had crossed her arms and was watching. It was so strange, seeing her own face look back at her. The face she woke up to in the mirror every morning. Now showing signs of worry. Or was it shame? She spoke once more.

"It's not a sham. I know what you're thinking. But you're me. Right down to your memories except the past year."

Sara started thinking, still slumped on the floor.

"What's your name?"

"Amber.... it's Amber."

"Sara."

The two spoke in unison, a strange sound that was amplified through the isle as it was spoken at the same time.

""Couldn't have the same name.""

Sara couldn't help but smile, watching as the same smile she likely boasted crept over her counterpart's face. Her counterpart, Amber, held out a hand.

"Listen. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry...... I never expected-"

"This to happen. You didn't think I'd ever come down here."

Sara stayed on her knees, but reached out to Amber's hand. Another still came between the two as Sara felt her hand clasp her host's. It was the same. The pressure, the grip, and the way her fingers scrunched up. A perfect copy down to everything. The both of them remained still for some time, until Amber pulled and Sara stood back up to her feet. Standing at eye level at exactly the same height, Sara looked into her host's eyes.

"I'm sorry. I should go."

Sara could see it in her host's eyes. Although she had never seen her own face when she was thinking, she knew what her host was thinking. Sara pushed past in silence, making her way down the aisle quickly. Amber turned, struggling to overcome herself.

"Wait..... please. Don't go."

Sara pushed forward, doing her best not to show hesitation or pause. Amber stepped forward now, following her down the aisle.

"Wait! Please. You don't have to go!"

Sara kept walking down the aisle, speaking as she went.

"I shouldn't have come here. I shouldn't be here. It isn't right."

Amber picked up her pace now.

"I'm sorry. I never should have done it."

"You don't need to say sorry! I would have done it too!"

Sara pushed out of the isle, as Amber stopped.

"Security, lock down the building please."

Barriers activated across doorways and over the library's ancient shelves, sealing everything in invisible walls. Sara pushed forward.

"Security, override my order please."

The hum of deactivating barriers could be heard as Amber swore, picking up the pace again after her replicant.

"Stop! Please. Just stop!"

Sara stopped.

"You don't have to go. Sara. You're me. I gave them access to all of my memories. You're me."

Sara turned.

"I know. That's why it's wrong."

Amber pushed down the aisle, faster now.

"It's not wrong. You're real."

"How can I be sure? I don't want to be an imposter! I don't want to be a copy of you!"

Another hush fell over the library. Sara's words echoed along the ancient shelves as Amber stopped in her tracks. Amber stood and watched Sara. Her replicant did the exact same thing, as two pairs of eyes watched and wavered on each other. Amber nodded quietly.

"You're not. Use your head. Think."

Sara's eyes unfocused themselves to empty space, before looking back to Amber.

"This year."

""We did different things.""

_ _

Another hush crept over the two as they stood apart down the long, ancient isle. Sara spoke first.

"What was your favorite book this year?"

Amber nodded.

"I read one from the archives here. It was from an old science fiction writer."

"Who?"

"Robert A Heinlein."

Sara smiled.

"I read one archived on the Sub-Net. Isaac Asimov."

Amber smiled back.

"I've never read those ones yet."

Once more, two voices echoed in the same pitch across the library.

""Different year. Different experiences.""

_ _

Amber walked forwards towards Sara, who did not turn away.

"Sara. You're me. I'm you. And I made a mistake."

"But I'm here now."

"And you're not a sham. This library. My work. You can help me. I'm inviting you."

"You don't invite many people here often."

"This is an exception."

Sara smiled, laughing quietly as she tried to contain her outburst.

"That is so you! You're don't trust anybody here but yourself!"

Amber crossed her arms.

"You'd do the same."

Sara crossed her arms back, nodding.

"I would. I'd totally do that."

Another pause crept over the two, and once again, the two spoke in perfect unison.

""So what happens now?""

_ _

For both Amber and Sara, being around one another was something out of a strange dream. Glances taken at one another, noticing when the two of them were doing the same thing. It was like meeting a stranger that was so off putting and foreign, that they felt wrong. And yet, at the same time, it was like talking to a best childhood friend.

The day was already strange enough as it was, so Amber had little reservations in taking the remainder of the day off. So now the two sat in an old restaurant, across from each other beside one of the old glass windows looking to the old world outside. Sara looked out the window, speaking to Amber as she browsed through holographic menus on the table.

"I don't remember this place."

Amber nodded as she browsed through menus.

"That's because I've never been."

"Oh. Sorry."

Amber looked up from the menu.

"I wanted to go somewhere I haven't been before."

Sara nodded.

"So I don't feel like this isn't me."

Amber returned to the menus. Sara looked out beyond the glass to the streets outside. Traffic passed on the roads, or what passed for them, ancient wheeled vehicles and people all packed together in the heyday of the afternoon rush.

"You don't get out much do you?"

Amber nodded.

"I like my quiet."

"But you like this area though. It's just so.... old fashioned. I like it too."

Amber looked up from her menu.

"That's why you came down here. Didn't you?"

Sara paused, by now a common commotion between the two. Amber spoke for her instead.

"I know, when I don't feel good. I go to my project. I like it down here. But there's only one place here I really love."

Sara watched Amber back in silence, only able to nod. Scrolling through menus Amber exited through all of them until nothing remained. She smiled, only a half-smile because she knew that if her replicant came down here it was because she was upset.

"I just ordered some drinks for the both of us."

Sara nodded.

"I didn't like any of the food choices either."

"Why'd you come down here Sara?"

Amber was greeted with more silence and a cold face. Her face, across from her that was shutting everything out. Was she really this difficult sometimes? She reached out, grasping at one of Sara's hands.

"Sara. Do you remember Mickey?"

Amber watched as a familiar pair of eyes looked up to hers. And the reaction was the same. Both of them smiled at the memory. Sara giggled.

"Mickey. I didn't know how to pronounce his name. So I called him Mickey instead."

"Everybody laughed at him. They used the name as an insult."

Sara openly laughed.

"And then he hit puberty."

The two paused, and once again, spoke in unison.

""Big Mickey.""

_ _

The two burst out laughing at the memory of their small alien friend. Small at first but boasting a faster age rate than Humans. Mickey became enormous in size and gargantuan in strength. And the only name Amber could use at the time to describe him was "big."

The two's laughing was interrupted as a simple machine hovered over, balancing two pots of tea on mechanical arms that were curiously enough, designed to look frail. But the machine adeptly held its balance and delivered what they'd ordered in a smooth fashion before promptly leaving. Both Amber and Sara instinctively smelled the aroma coming from their pots. The smell from both pots was the same. Sara looked over to Amber.

"Hey. Do you remember Vance?"

Amber set her teapot down onto the table.

"Vance.... Yes. How could I forget?"

Sara smiled.

"It was nice, wasn't it?"

Amber nodded back.

"First crush, first kiss."

Sara set her own teapot down.

"You know I may remember it. But I never lived it."

Once more another silence crept over the two. The sounds of others in the restaurant filtered in now, as the quiet peace shattered. Amber held her cup of tea in her hands, thinking.

"You didn't live it Sara. But you can't change that. You did live something though. That's why you're down here. You lived your life."

"Was it ever my life to begin with?"

"Tell me what happened Sara. Why'd you come down here?"

Another pause and the noise of the café became apparent. Sara spoke with some difficulty, slowly trying to say what she struggled to hold on to.

"I lost everything."

"How?"

Sara smiled, chuckling sarcastically.

"I'm you, remember?"

Amber clutched at her pot of tea silently.

"I had a job, up there. An assistant in some big shot company."

Amber nodded.

"Files. Paperwork. You work like a machine."

Sara nodded back.

"I worked.... and I worked."

Sara paused, as Amber filled in the gaps.

"And you didn't pay enough attention to him."

The two spoke together.

""My work is important.""

_ _

An uneasy silence broke out between the two as something ugly was now revealed. Amber always knew she had drive. Knew she was borderline compulsively focused on her work to the point of days where rest should be had but she didn't take it. But she never thought.....

Sara set her cup down as she drank from it in silence. Amber, likewise did the same. She looked over to Sara, watching her. She paused. Froze and locked up at the words she wanted to say. Sara looked up, nodding.

"You don't have to say it. I know. You're sorry. I'm sorry too."

The now frightening reality of all of it hit home as Amber knew what Sara was thinking as well. She just knew. She could see it in her eyes. In all the little motions she made. What scared her the most wasn't that there was a woman sitting across from her that looked like her, acted and thought like her. It was that she was looking at herself.

Sitting across from her, was herself. And she was hurt. A relationship tumbled down the drain because she worked. She worked to no end. And when things finally started to break down, and the relationship collapsed. Everything else did too. No words needed to be said because when Amber asked the question of what she thought would happen if it were her, the answer was sitting there across from her.

And the answer she saw scared her. Upset her. But right now something more important was happening. The woman across from her wasn't a reflection in the mirror. She was real. And she needed somebody. Something to help her. She needed to focus on something.

"Sara. What are you going to do now?"

Sara perked up at the question, pausing. She looked up to her host.

"You're going to invite me, aren't you?"

Amber sighed. There was no surprise in it whatsoever. Sara really did know what she was going to say before she said it. And yet, that made her unpredictable to Amber. Sara, was one step ahead of her. But she was a replicant. A replicant of Amber. So she waited politely in silence for an answer.

"Yes. I was going to invite you to my home here. If, you didn't have anywhere else to go."

Amber paused, smiling.

"You're going to say yes, aren't you?"

Sara watched Amber back with identical eyes. And an identical smile formed back.

"Yes."

The day moved on and the darkness subtly shifted in the old city, letting all down in the depths know that it was night time. These old crumbling, archaic structures, housing a population that was packed and crowded, who never truly slept, were never totally quiet, even in the darkness of the night that claimed the city in the subtle dimming of light.

Amber passed along on her normal route, passing by usual people she'd come to see every day. People who lived in the flats and buildings along the old crumbled streets. Sara, likewise followed her along in sure strides, as if she was long familiar with this route as well. The two passed by through the crowds quietly, shuffling through together.

Both Sara and Amber could see it. This was a city. It was old, and comparatively tiny compared to the towering, sprawling superstructures above which blocked out nearly all light and housed untold billions. But it was a community. And the community, familiar faces, familiar passerby, had taken notice.

Amber did not walk alone. In fact, no one would be able to tell which one was Amber if she removed her heavy set bag stuffed with papers and her own work. Both her and Sara stayed quiet and kept their heads down along the way. The stares of curious faces stung like knives.

Amber felt dirty. Sick, even. Felt like she had committed a crime. Like she was, still committing a crime. Her eyes strayed over to Sara who looked as equally content to and wanting to become invisible in the crowds. Did they know? Could they know that Sara wasn't just her twin sister she never talked about and was in fact a perfect copy of her?

The questions and worry suddenly evaporated as she found herself reaching over to Sara's hand, and stopped short when she bumped into Sara's hand, likewise, searching for the same comfort. Something jumped in Amber. Crowds always made her nervous. And suddenly, she didn't feel alone in these ones. Amber kept her head down but her eyes strayed over to Sara discreetly. It suddenly didn't matter what anybody thought.

Suddenly, she wasn't nervous. Something in her felt calm. Safe. There was the knowledge that right beside her, walked another person who was her, in heart and soul. She felt the same. Thought the same. She was the same. And Amber felt good, comforting her. And likewise, Amber felt content that her replicant shared the same feeling. She felt safe, knowing that right beside her was somebody who not only shared in her feelings perfectly. But she returned them back.

And suddenly, they were home. Through the crowds and up spiraling, ancient staircases. Past the gazes of those who called this particular apartment home who moved about in their business. Both Amber and Sara stepped through the doorway to Amber's home, and the silence washed over them like a wave. The two of them sighed happily.

""Sound Dampeners.""

_ _

Sara looked around the small, singular room that was packed with an assortment of papers and loose things in a messy, haphazard manner. She smiled, as Amber casually moved through it all with ease, removing her coat and tossing it onto a seemingly random pile. Sara stifled a giggle.

"This. This is so....."

"You?"

Amber sat down on her couch, leaning back and folding her legs up as she relaxed. Sara continued to stand awkwardly at the door.

"It looks messy. But you know where everything is don't you? It's supposed to be like this isn't it?"

Sara pointed to a pile of books sitting against the couch.

"There. You haven't read those ones yet. You lay down on the couch when you read and when you're done a book you reach behind you and pull out a new one from that stack."

Amber smiled, but couldn't find anything to say that Sara wasn't already thinking. Sara, with almost no hesitation, removed her own coat, and walked through the messy, haphazard piles of books and paper that filled Amber's home, avoiding all of them and traversing through safely with ease until she was able to sit down on the couch. She sat down on the couch cross legged, in the very same manner as Amber.

They sat there in an awkward silence, watching each other with smiles.

""What do we do now?""

_ _

Amber pointed over to the wall across from her to a device mounted on it, obscured by more stacks of books or paper.

"I got that TV as a gift from one of my neighbors once."

Sara shook her head.

"I don't like watching the news or much of anything on it."

Amber smiled.

"Me neither."

Sara looked around Amber's small closet of a home.

"Why so small?"

"This was part of a bigger loft once. But somebody walled this room off and separated it. Making room for more people I guess."

"It's nice."

"Cozy even?"

Sara nodded. Amber's home, a small, bricked and walled off closet practically, boasting only one other room and that was a cramped bathroom, felt nice to her. It looked messy at first but Sara knew otherwise. It was all perfectly organized. And quiet. Sara looked past Amber to the lone window which had its shutters closed, blocking what little light there was outside.

"You put the sound dampeners in here yourself didn't you?"

Amber nodded.

"I don't like it outside."

"So you made it quiet."

"Just like the library."

Sara relaxed, easing up in her own tenseness, and leaned back onto the couch with Amber. Awkward silences continually happened between the two of them. And Sara always knew what they would lead up to. Amber spoke for her this time.

"I've still got work to do. But my home-"

"Is your home. No, wait, mine."

Amber giggled. Sara reached over alongside the couch and grabbed the first book that slipped into her hands, as Amber reached down into her bag and pulled her work out. It was so easy. Sara slipped right into it like it was nothing. She looked over to Amber who had already opened up a small holo panel and had started work.

"Hey. Thank you."

Amber nodded back, looking over her work as text and programs operated.

"When I'm done work tonight. You want to watch something on the TV?"

Sara paused before she spoke. That was something she did.

"That's not going to happen is it?"

Amber paused, letting her fingers stop their typing and gestures on the holographic pad in her lap.

"No. It's not......"

Sara smiled.

"That's okay. I want to read this book anyway."

"You're going to sit there and read all night?"

"You do."

Amber smiled.

"Takeout or homemade?"

Sara smiled back.

"Don't feel like cooking. Takeout?"

"I'm thinking that nice little place on the corner."

""Deal.""

_ _

_ _

4 Months Later

Time passed by, and soon, awkward pauses became easily picked up conversations. Sara fit into Amber's life as easily as Amber herself fit into Sara's life. And eventually, the familiar faces, people that lived in the ancient apartment complex and passed them by on the crumbling streets outside grew accustomed to seeing double. Double of the quiet woman who kept to herself and walked a lonely walk every morning to the one place where she could achieve true quiet.

The Library.

Sara fit into the groove of things with no trouble. She came with all of Amber's skills and fell into the same state of mind that Amber did about work. And together the two of them began working on the old relic of an archeology site. Together, the two of them were able to move through the ancient bookshelves and the library at an impressive pace of progress.

Work in carefully removing books from their mountains and piles where they'd been haphazardly dumped and abandoned, separating them, cataloguing them, and eventually, translating them. And finally, preserving them. Encasing them in protective barriers and shipping them off by automated drones where they would be added to storage archives or museums.

Amber was making such impressive progress through the library that her higher ups took notice. And eventually, came the big day when they came down to the crumbling, packed city of old, setting foot on the ancient cracked steps of the library itself, past statues that had faded with time, and through the last legitimate set of wooden doors on the planet.

It had been awkward. A breach in the silence of work. A breach in the safety and peace of Amber's sanctuary. And Sara had the misfortune of meeting them first. Questions were asked, the how, the why, and then finally, who? It was a moment of shock for Sara before Amber had finally stepped in upon noticing that somebody else was in the library. And it left a mark on the two of them.

Sara was met with a quiet, yet noticeable mark of mistrust and illegitimacy from Amber's superiors. As if she herself meant nothing and was a sham. A fake. Not worthy of placing praise upon because she was simply a replicant. Sara could see it. And so could Amber. And Amber fought, once more, in her own subtle ways to make things right. When Amber first wanted to claim the rights to the archeology site down here, none would back her.

She herself had not enough funds to kick start everything. So she made a mistake. She turned to dating services across the Sub-Net and found someone that was willing to buy. Somebody willing to buy a perfect, carbon copy of her, because Amber cared more for her work than anything else. And along came Sara.

But no longer was Sara a mistake. Instead, turning out to be the only person Amber trusted. And today, one long year and four months after Sara's birth, the circle finally closed. At mid-day's break in the quiet peace of the library, Amber received a notification that now changed everything.

From her haphazard office setup, consisting of terminals and holographic panels to keep track of everything in the library, Amber looked up from her state of quiet as she read from one of the many books she had piled up around in her office space. She paused at the notification, looking it over, as if to make sure that it was real. A smile formed on her features as she looked over to Sara, who, likewise, on break, sat quietly on a chair and read her own selection of books.

"Hey, Sara. Come over here."

Sara looked up, casting eyes over to the terminal flashing in front of Amber, and knew what it was. Gently setting her book down Sara closed the distance across the shambles of the office space, and stood next to Amber.

"They finally replied?"

"This is it Sara."

It had been some time since a silence crept up between the two like this. By now Sara and Amber had become accustomed to easily, and freely intertwining each other's sentences. Amber looked at the letter on screen.

"Sara. This is encoded to you. I'm you. I can open it for you if you want."

Sara shook her head, and Amber filled in the gaps.

"No-"

""We'll do it together.""

Amber nodded and held her hand up to the message, along with Sara, and the two pressed against the symbol on screen, and watched as the file was decrypted and opened for all to read. Two pairs of eyes traveled down through the letter in a hurried, excited fashion, but still remaining calm and collected and made sure to take in all the details. The bottom portion of the letter presented itself, and a true, hushed silence fell over both of them.

"We regret to inform you that your application has been rejected. Applicants must have their official degrees in the fields of Archeology, Literature, Language and Translation, and sufficient cultural and historical knowledge on the subject(s) at hand.

_ _

Applicants must have a bare minimum of 5 years of in-field service either in one archeological project or multiple spanning the course before they are liable to undertake a project on their own and are liable for pay and funding.

_ _

While the applicant in question has displayed exceedingly efficient knowledge on all subjects displayed and is aware and capable of proper handling, cataloging, and protection of artifacts, they officially have no schooling records or degrees of which to show for their efforts, and as such, are considered illegitimate by this board and committee."

_ _

The silence that followed was one that Amber wasn't used to in this library. It was always quiet. But not this kind of quiet. Amber stood up from her chair and likewise, Sara began slinking away, attempting to disappear. Amber reached out quickly, knowing full well that if she didn't Sara would try to leave.

"Hey hey hey come here."

Amber caught Sara before she made it any farther and pulled her in, keeping her arms wrapped around her tightly. Amber knew exactly what it was that was going through Sara's head and it showed, as she stifled something of a sob on Amber's coat and fell to her knees, dragging Amber down with her. Amber knew how Sara was feeling but she couldn't possibly know it because while Sara was a copy of her. Sara was always fighting to get out of her host's shadow.

Amber held Sara close, speaking softly.

"It's not fair. They have no right to do that to you."

_ _

Sara looked up, a stain of anger across her features flushed in red and tears.

"You had no right to do this to me!"

The words hit Amber harder than she would have expected. This was it. It was always there. It was always on both of their minds, in the background, something festering and ugly. It was different when Amber apologized and lived with her own shame. But having herself look into her eyes and say it, broke something in her. And now it was Amber who was leaning on Sara's shoulder.

"I'm sorry...... you were supposed to be happy...... this was never supposed to happen."

Sara, surprisingly, didn't slink away in disgust or anger. Instead she returned the hug. And returned the whisper of something soft.

"It's not your fault. You didn't know. You didn't see it. You didn't see yourself."

_ _

Sara pulled tighter on Amber and likewise Amber returned the same embrace.

"But you do now. Amber...... I forgive you."

_ _

Amber was powerless. There was nothing left to be said. And Sara, on letting those words slip by, broke down again once more. Because she was Amber. She was a perfect copy, down to every cell. And she would always, be Amber.

But now it was different. Now, Amber wasn't alone. Amber saw herself every day in a new light. And Sara, staring back at her, was in the same position. The two of them were one in the same, yet both still separate. Sara was Amber. And Amber was Sara. And true to it, the two of them looked up at the same time. Both were now heartbroken for their own reasons. But two pairs of identical eyes watched one another.

Two identical pairs of eyes, sad for their own reasons and filled with hurt from their own realizations. Whoever was the first one to move, didn't matter. The end result was the same for both. Lips, identical to one another met only briefly. And finally, the silence was broken as Amber and Sara moved away from one another, slinking back from each other in the same fashion, blushing in the same fashion, and looking back awkwardly at each other as they both stood back up.

""Sorry.""

_ _

""I should get back to work.""

_ _

Silence filled the library once more and the remainder of the day took on a somber, lonely light.

The daily walk home was no better. Sara and Amber walked in silence together. The crowds bore down on them like they always did, loud, oppressive and noisy. Amber felt insecure, and instinctively reached out, out to another of her who felt the same. She wanted to comfort that other and receive the same back. But the memory of what had transpired earlier stopped her. As if selling herself for profit and believing everything would be okay didn't leave a stain on her as it was.

Amber remembered every detail leading up to what had happened. And tried to make sense of it. She was trying to comfort Sara. And Sara was trying to do the same. And then.... They both fell into it. Amber's eyes turned back on Sara and caught flushed cheeks and eyes that strayed away from her host. As if Amber selling herself out for profit, and then living with her replicant, capitalizing on her and using her for her own ends wasn't terrible enough.

That short moment in the library was good.

As if to confirm her own suspicion, Amber felt something latch onto the sleeve of her coat. Another hand, identical to hers, trying so hard not to be noticed in its advances, avoiding skin contact. No words needed to be said. Amber returned the favor. It all felt so wrong. Conceited and dirty. But it was almost as if.... She couldn't help herself.

To the bustling of ancient machines hybridized with modern technology and engines yet rolling along on ancient wheels, to the crowds of species, to the bustle and noise of the ancient city swallowed in darkness yet still shining in the night, showing off its long forgotten and ancient beauty, iron and stone and glass, towers that were once the crowning achievement in height and modern engineering, a pair of identical beings walked through all of it, invisible and nothing more than a speck of sand compared to all the beings around them.

They walked together, alone in their vices, alone in their own failings and weaknesses. But they felt like all eyes were on them. And they were right. Two identical pairs of eyes, the only eyes that had ever truly mattered because they were needed for their job, kept wandering to each other. Like stars they collided, drawn to one another over the distance, and then bounced away from each other, in the vain hopes that gravity would not finally catch the two of them together.

But gravity could only be fought for so long before it won through. Stars collided and fused, planets shifted orbits or were flung away in the chaos. And were two stars once stood, an anomaly in space, a rarity that stood out in its uniqueness and brightness to all. Stood one.

And then they were home.

The door to Amber's home slid aside, as the two silently stepped into the small space. Silence washed over them as the sound dampeners built into the room filtered out sound waves from the outside world and stopped them from reverberating through Amber's home. In one instant the noise of the outside world vanished and there was nothing left but quiet.

Amber didn't know who moved first. But it didn't matter. Work bags fell and stayed where they landed, along with coats. And a dance through the small closet of a home commenced. The avoiding of haphazard stacks of books and papers, delicate footwork as Sara followed Amber closely, wanting to bring her face closer. It was a question of who lead or who followed. Amber couldn't tell. Was Sara chasing her or was she leading her on?

Eventually the shutters of Amber's window acted as a wall and she was caught. Sara moved forwards and likewise Amber did too. And it happened again. Lips, identical to one another met and paused. Paused because it felt so wrong. But stayed because it felt so good. No words needed to be said. No protest needed to be made. Amber and Sara thought along the same lines. There were no protestant "no's" or "stop's."

Because both of them silently agreed. This was dirty. It was sick and twisted. But it was their secret. And in their secret, they were safe. They were safe to enjoy this because both of them wanted it despite what it was. And because they both wanted it, it was intoxicating. The shutters of the window was where they stayed for the longest time, caught up in each other.

Identical lips and identical hands clasping for one another, the feeling of having identical touch and feel always left them wanting more. Amber had never felt her own lips before and now that she had it was good. Sara held her hands tightly, entranced in a tug of war and shifting as her grip, slender and smooth was matched exactly by Amber.

From each other's eyes they watched one another as they were helpless in the struggle of back and forth, breath growing heated as air simply became a disposable commodity in the way of exploring each other's lips once more. Hands roamed and traveled, and suddenly, something else sparked like fire.

Sara had every memory. And those were weaponized now, as she let her hands roam and travel the way she had always wanted an intimate encounter to be. Likewise, Amber returned the favor, feeling the need to give into herself completely. The excitement fueled itself with no start or end. Hands slid forcefully under tight clothing that was trim and proper, fighting to slide further along, until they reached their intended destinations.

It was intoxicating. Amber's fantasies, her deepest secrets and wants where known, and shared by another who knew them down to every exact detail. The tangle of hands and lips could only last so long and somewhere along the way clothes began to fall out of the equation. Some were removed in short heated moments of agony as Sara parted from Amber or Amber parted from Sara. Some were ripped away in the desire not to fight or struggle with them. And eventually, the closest object of comfort, Amber's couch, presented itself most kindly.

In the commotion the lights were turned off and only some small measure of light filtered in through the shutters of the window. Sara knew every weak point, every place to touch or stroke, every place to be held tightly. As heated as it was, it was awkward. Amber wanted to do the same thing as Sara was, to feed that affection, to feed that lust and to touch or stroke.

It became a struggle to overcome one another and gain a foothold over the other, resulting in short lived turns taken by each. Sara wrapped her arms around Amber, placing one hand in between her chest and sliding it down to rest so affectionately over a heartbeat, breathing down the back of her neck with warm breath that was indicative of lips always just so close to touching skin but so far away.

Sara always knew she was strictly based and after the opposite sex. As did Amber. And that's why part of it felt so wrong. But at the same time, every single weakness, every single fantasy or want of deeply hidden lust was known between the two. This was an exception. One that neither Sara nor Amber knew what it was to be sure.

But the two of them enjoyed it. Always wanted more and always gave more in a seemingly ceaseless struggle to overpower one another to give and receive. Heated breaths, the need to be as close as possible, to be held and caressed and never let go of claimed them. It was exploration, exploring a body that they'd lived in all of their lives from the outside, feeling every curve, smooth or imperfect, every angle and every sweeping motion made by identical hands across them.

Every desire was known and every desire, one by one, was met. A climax was met in hushed or stifled cries, a position changed as the favor was returned, wanted to be given, and then another cycle of heated exploration and divulging in something that felt so wrong, so out of place, but so at home because the one doing it was identical.

It was their secret. Their secret alone to share and to keep. Something that they reveled in, the thought alone bringing even more pleasure to it all, that they were the only ones who knew. They were the only ones that understood each other, completely.

For once, work was discarded completely and the night passed by in cycles of nearly silent, wordless exchanges because nothing more needed to be said. Every action was parallel and those actions spoke louder than words. Amber loved Sara, completely. And Sara returned it, without question. The two of them made their own flaws visible when together.

But now they made something else visible as well. A love that ran so deep that any other could never compare. No other ever would compare. And through the night, in awkward exchanges, in heated struggles and competing love, through climaxes again and again, a dizzying, tiring experience that pulled them along on strings because they wanted more, more touch, more caressing, more grinding and feeling of identical parts, everything began to slow down.

Hearts fluttered in bodies that were tired and growing sluggish, as sleep and rest tugged on their eyes, and eventually, at the same time, Amber and Sara gave out together, staying close to one another for a dying warmth even though their coats had long since sufficed as makeshift blankets. Even the feeling of cold and tired was intoxicating, as the two curled up in the same manner to avoid the cold, pressing close together and wrapping arms and legs together in the last act for the end of today.

And then sleep claimed them both.

Light shifted in the darkness of the outside world beyond, even obscured by shutters, it was noticeable. The change in light told the bodies of two that were clinging to each other tightly that it was morning. And with a routine clockwork, two bodies stirred in the dim rays of light filtering into the quiet space of their home.

Eyes opened and adjusted in the dark, seeing each other, face to face, and the slow, casual stretches and yawns of early morning life found them both. But for once, something different happened. Rather than get up, in an attempt to push oneself up and about for the day, the two stayed there, in the still and quiet of the morning.

Hands roamed idly and affectionately, and eventually, the first words were started and spoken by one, quickly joined in by the other, in an equal hushed voice.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"What happens now?"

"I think you know what happens now."

"Is this right?"

A pause, and two moved towards one another, both engaging in a short lived kiss. They agreed then. It didn't matter if it was right. What mattered was that it felt right. Hands pulled identical bodies close to one another, another sign that the two were in perfect agreement. A hushed lull almost broke into another heated embrace. But the two identical bodies wrapped around each other paused.

""What about work?""

_ _

The answer was obvious, as two voices giggled together at the same time.

""Let's take a day off.""

"Agreed?"

"Agreed."

And the quiet embrace continued.

Amber knew that Sara was identical. But at the same time, they were different. Different lives that traveled away from one another in their experiences over the past year. But now they had intersected. And Sara had fought so hard to break free from the shadow of her host. But as Amber thought about things, in patches of clarity and rest between heated sessions and struggles once more.

What if Amber was chasing after Sara's shadow? What if, all this time, Amber wanted to be in Sara's shadow?

The answer was obvious by now.

Sara had embraced it. Amber had too. They were one in the same for good or bad. Their lives were supposed to be entwined like this. How was it not supposed to be like this if it felt so good? So safe?

Whether the thought crossed Sara's mind, or Amber's, it didn't matter.

Both knew only one thing now.

She loved herself.