‘Beeeeeep. Beeeeeeep.’ went off in my head. I startled awake, glaring daggers at the figure in the bottom right of my vision. The same smug AI was making alarm sounds. I promptly told her to stop and sat up. Three years had passed. During that time I completed lessons, while staying in the infirmary. In order to become less conspicuous, I slowed my learning’s pace. A baby equivalent to a sixth month year shouldn't have been taking Calculus. I did the minimum to continue being a genius. I apparently received a stipend of credits for completing lessons, although this option was disabled by my AI until I had the body of a seven year old. Clones grew at a rate double a normal human's growth. This meant I would be able to purchase ship items in three months.

‘Ohhh’ I forgot to mention I was on a spacecraft. Clones were created on imperial battleships as military personnel. They were the janitors to the fleet admirals. Every branch of the military used clones. I hoped to get a spot as an officer. Someone who controlled a large ship. Being a marine or fighter pilot seemed like a terrible idea. On second thought,  I might get a cushy station as a marine. Unfortunately I couldn't get a normal job being a clone. The normal citizenry held all the political offices and non-military jobs.

The planet I was serving was Arth, home to a world wide empire. We were currently building up our forces for war. Unfortunately, who we fought in the future was confidential, leaving only conjectures.

The other babies had grown as well. They occasionally spoke with me. Most were well behaved for children, but a few were troublemakers. Given the fact I was essentially in my late twenties, I was having none of it. The first snot nosed brat to approach was Wanth, a mean spirited spitter. Remember the whole hating moist things?

“Hey, what's with your dumb name.” ,said Wenth. He repeated “Tom” several times, and aimed his wet loogie at me.

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Expecting the dumbass’ strategy, I dodged it. My fist launched aiming at his solar plexus. While he was trying to catch his breath, I swept his legs from under him, resulting in a thud when his head hit the floor. I kicked him in the stomach twice. An overwhelming victory.

At this point the bully, used to getting his way, was on the floor crying. A few onlookers smiled. Few would resist Wenth, but no-one likes an asshole. They were still weary, expecting me to take his place in the children's hierarchy. Instead, I sat down with one of the Empire’s novels.

Alice could download online books and have them visualize before me. It sucked not having anything to hold onto. No pages to flip, but the text was easy to read. 'Twas one of the benefits when your AI mother knew everything about you.

The book was titled the The Plains of Deltorah, a historical fiction about the empire’s beginnings. Horse like beasts were the main mode of transportation. Ersoh had two heads and many rows of teeth. Whoever had the bigger meaner beast ruled the land. Weapons and automation didn't arrive until later with space faring species bringing technology with them. I still didn't know why the Empire were essentially made up of humans though. Maybe we were related to Earth, or all space faring species were human. If anthropologists ever learned about Arth, they would be stunned. Didn't early civilization evolve from monkeys? Either way, I didn't seriously care.

Reading on the traditional currency of the empire came from the Ersoh. Their teeth were bargained for goods. The credits I would be getting could be exchanged for teeth. Inflation increased over the thousand year span of the empire. Most teeth were equivalent to a dollar when at the time a tooth might have bought acres of land. This was do in part because most farmers raised their own Ersoh. The hide was as tough as steel. Even the ship we were in had a lining of the thick hide underneath the titanium plating.

Alice nagged about doing nothing productive, as I past the halfway mark of the book. I ignored her and continued reading… for about a minute until my “mother” took away the book. A physics lesson appeared to replace the book. With a sigh I got to work.