On my fourteenth birthday, I met my father. He received me in the most magnificent building in Solar City—a colossal pyramid-shaped structure.At the entrance, I got my first clear view of the Leopard II Warriors. They all had rugged faces, fierce eyes, and thick, short necks. They wore enviable, gleaming helmets and held powerful energy guns, with two grenades hanging from their chests. There were rumors in school that their bodies were mixed with leopard genes, and some said their combat effectiveness was comparable to that of a heavy tank from the last century.

I walked for quite some time through the maze-like, endless corridors before I realized that Mr. Zhou had led me to a rectangular room. The room was softly lit, with a thick Persian rug underfoot that felt like walking on loose sandy ground.Mr. Augustus, my father, silently walked across the rug towards us and said sternly, "Well, is this the little one?"As I looked at him, a strange emotion surged within me. His forehead was high, and his nose reminded me of the beak of a hawk. I knew that no matter what I was thinking, he could sense it. His mind was connected to mine, encompassing my thoughts.

Mr. Zhou quietly retreated.He leaned over to look at me, and his face appeared large due to our close proximity. This wise face also revealed a cold, cruel expression. His eyes were wrinkled, and his skin sagged; he had grown old."You have grown up," he said. "From today onward, you will learn to manage the affairs of the Clone Empire. I am old, but you have youth. Countless strong soldiers are growing, and numerous able-bodied workers are maturing. The Clone Empire is thriving like you. One day, you will own the world."

His voice carried a dreamlike charm. He approached the table, where a thick book with gold-edged bindings was placed. I was familiar with this book; it was "The Republic," which Mr. Zhou had required me to read thoroughly."Do you remember what the justice of a state consists of?" he asked.I replied, "The justice of a state consists in the three classes—rulers, guardians, and producers—each having their own place and fulfilling their own duties.""Correct answer, my child," my father smiled. "Plato's Republic was never realized, but the Clone Empire has achieved this. Rulers, guardians, and workers, along with their descendants, will all engage in the occupations most suited to them. This is a just nation."He turned around and stared at me, saying, "You must become like me to inherit my position. Jim, I hope you won't disappoint me."

When I returned to the large Spanish-style house, I was already late for my appointment with Jenny. Unbeknownst to me, Jenny had blossomed into a graceful young woman, and despite the poor diet and harsh living conditions, they had not obscured the beauty she inherited from her parents.

I regarded meeting my father as a significant event and shared this with Jenny. However, Jenny's reaction was unexpectedly indifferent. She said coldly, "I know your father. He's intelligent and terrifying." "But don't you have a mother too?" I asked curiously. "She would never come to see me," Jenny replied melancholically. "She has too many daughters."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

After that, my meetings with Jenny gradually became less frequent. She had to study secretarial work, typing, nursing, flower arranging, cooking, as well as dancing and social etiquette, while I spent my days touring around Sun City in a jeep. Usually, Mr. Zhou was responsible for the commentary, but sometimes my father would do it himself.

How eagerly I looked forward to meeting my father. I could understand every word and action of his, and he could understand every slightly naive question of mine. I admired him particularly for the extraordinary wisdom and courage he demonstrated in his youth.

Long before the war broke out, when the Gene Control Committee was in charge, human asexual reproduction was banned. My father, along with a group of scientists and equipment, came to an oasis deep in the North African desert, in the homeland of the tough and warlike Tuareg people, and ignited the first spark of hope for cloned humans.

Twenty years after the devastating war finally came to an end, people on the battered continent were busy rebuilding their homes, unaware that a new nation was quietly rising. This nation swiftly accumulated wealth by selling strong labor and high-yield grain seeds, which were in desperate need after the war. Meanwhile, an army composed of well-equipped Leopard I warriors was expanding at an astonishing rate. Every warrior was valiant and skilled, and the territory of the Clone Empire expanded rapidly as a result.

In 2161, the empire's influence first penetrated southern Europe; soon after, the first clone soldiers successfully landed on the Indian subcontinent. In the Americas, the clone cavalry was unstoppable, breaking through everything in their path.

By 2175, the number of clone warriors had surpassed 100,000, while the number of clone workers reached an astonishing 10 million.

Despite widespread banditry in various regions after the war and occasional skirmishes within the empire, the empire continued to grow. A new generation of Leopard II warriors was soon put into use, and clone workers began to diversify in terms of varieties and specifications. New clone factories sprouted up everywhere like mushrooms after rain.

The once small oasis had now transformed into a city capable of accommodating 200,000 people. Standing in my father's office, I overlooked rows of gray rooftops stretching to the edge of the city, interspersed with patches of sand-covered playgrounds. There, every clone was molded into a predesigned form, and those who failed to meet standards were eliminated.

To the west of Solaris City, there were no buildings; everything was hidden within a lush jungle oasis spanning hundreds of kilometers in radius. Occasionally, a low rumble of thunder would echo, quickly fading along the dried-up Is River valley. That was the special training base where toddler Leopard II clones were sent for rigorous training. Before reaching adulthood, they had already become skilled warriors.

I once visited another massive structure with thousands of rooms above ground and an underground section of comparable size. Each room was equipped with ten artificial wombs and maintenance systems. I always watched with curiosity and trepidation as the tiny figures inside the glass bottles stretched their limbs and sucked their thumbs. Hundreds of scientists (all young third-generation scientists) worked there, responsible for controlling the fetuses' nutrition supply, determining their intelligence levels through decompression devices, and eliminating those with abnormal development.

Under dim lighting, rows of glass containers glowed faintly, making the scientists resemble wizards walking through an underwater world.