I stared at the golden man–me–just a larger, older version of myself. A version of myself that I desperately wanted to look like someday. It would take some years of working out and praying to the goddess for a growth spurt…. But that was beside the point. Why was there a second me? And why had he just called me “Number 52?”

“Um, hello, Lord Solomon.” I offered a clumsy bow and instantly regretted it.

I mulled over the millions of questions running through my mind, trying to decide which to ask first.

I cleared my throat and rose from my stupid bow. “Who are you, exactly?”

“As I said, I am Lord Solomon. Well, not exactly. I am an advanced artificial intelligence representing who Solomon Rohn once was.”

He tapped his fingers on the chair, his silence indicating I was allowed to ask another question. But I noticed that his fingers didn’t quite touch the armrest as he tapped. In fact, no part of him touched the chair. He floated above it like a ghost might.

So, he’s still an illusion of sorts, like he’d been during the tests.

“What is an artificial intelligence?”

“It means exactly what it says.”

“Uh, that doesn’t help me.”

The “artificial intelligence” glared down at me with a scowl.

I shrugged. “Sorry. I just don’t understand.”

The man rolled his eyes. “Lord Solomon died many centuries ago. But before his death, he created me, a system that can replicate his thinking patterns and retain his memories. I can even use some of his powers. So, I am intelligent, and I was created by man. Hence the term, artificial intelligence, or AI.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “Does that make sense?”

“Uh, sure. So, you’re not flesh and blood, right? Because you look strange….”

I didn’t know how else to describe it, but by “strange,” I referred to the man’s transparency and hovering feet. As I’d thought before, he looked like a ghost.

“I am a hologram.”

“What’s a hologram?”

The AI… thing, man–whatever–frowned at me. “I’m assuming you don’t have a lot of advanced technology on this planet.”

“I understood about half of what you just said.”

“Never mind that. A hologram is a three-dimensional image created by a configuration of light.”

I pursed my lips. “Uh… alright.” I shuffled my feet uncomfortably, still unable to comprehend what this man was talking about. “And, uh, why did you call me ‘Number 52?’”

“You are Lord Solomon’s 52nd clone.”

I let out a loud, boisterous laugh. “Clone?”

He had to be joking. Didn’t the word “clone” mean a duplicate–a copy? Was this strange man claiming I was a copy of someone else? Impossible!

Lord Solomon–the artificial intelligence–the AI–raised an eyebrow at me. “Yes. You are Lord Solomon.”

“No, I’m Rayden.” I accentuated each syllable of my name slowly.

The AI sighed and placed his forehead in a palm. “No, you are Lord Solomon. More so than even I am. Your DNA is identical to his.”

I folded my arms. “But I don’t feel like this guy you keep talking about. I was raised as Rayden. I have my own memories and experiences.”

“This is true, but…” the AI leaned forward, “you are destined to become Lord Solomon. That is his design.”

I rocked back and forth on my feet. “So… 52. Did this… design of his fail 51 other times?”

“Some,” the Lord Solomon AI said with a nod. “Some died, some didn’t pass the initial three tests, and some just disappeared. And there aren’t just 52 clones; there are more than that. And many are still fighting to become the final Lord Solomon in the end.” His eyes glowed brilliantly at me, amused by something only he knew. “You are in that race now.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I was stuck on the fact that so many clones had died or disappeared and that there were other people out there who were… Well, I guess who were me.

I shook my head. “Uh, Solomon. Lord Solomon, er–What should I call you?”

The AI chuckled. “Lord Solomon is fine. As I said, I think and act just as he did. As, hopefully, will you someday.”

I gave him a tight-lipped smile. I highly doubted that. I felt very much like my own person.

“Lord Solomon, why do you need so many clones?”

Lord Solomon clasped his fingers together. “To make sure the plan succeeds.”

“Sure, sure.” I nodded, not sure what to ask next.

“I believe you have already met Codex.”

“Uh, have I?”

“Hello, Master! I am pleased to finally make your acquaintance!”

“Oh, so you are Codex.”

“Yes, that is Codex. Like me, he is an AI, created only to serve Lord Solomon.”

I froze. “You can hear the voice, too?” I directed aloud to Lord Solomon.

Not to mention, it seemed that the Lord Solomon AI had also heard my own thought response to the voice.

“I can also be in your head, much like Codex is. But what Codex can do that I cannot is stay within your thoughts at all times. I can only do so when you are present in one of my facilities.”

“One of your facilities?”

The man nodded, eyes staring past me as if seeing a world behind the walls that I had yet to discover.

“Lord Solomon has many domains. And you will get to see a good deal of them, I assure you.”

I gulped. “Uh, I feel like we’re getting ahead of ourselves. I don’t know what it is you think I’m supposed to do to become… Lord Solomon. I don’t even know who he was.”

The Lord Solomon replica leaned back and smiled. I shivered at the crookedness of his grin–identical to my own. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to this “clone” business.

“Allow me to show you, then.”

I gasped as darkness overcame me, and a surge of pain shot through my temples. I fell to my knees, finding the ability to stand more than difficult.

What happened next went by in a blur. I was whisked away into a completely different place without having to move one step. The pain pounding in my head now suddenly gone, I rose from my knees and took in my new surroundings.

I stood at the center of a hovel, not dissimilar to the one Drayek and I lived in, but it was a good deal smaller. And that was saying something.

10 people were present in the place, including me, and more than half of them were children–none older than maybe 15, and two of them just waddling toddlers. The corners seemed to pull in tighter as each person gathered to the center of the one room. I backed away from the strangers as far as possible, but no one paid me any heed.

“Hello?” I queried to the room.

No answer and no eyes in my direction. They can’t see me.

The people huddled together and glued their attention to the events occurring in the corner near the hearth that glowed from a small fire. Once I caught sight of what had captured so much interest, I found that I didn’t particularly want to watch….

Among the dirt swirling about the floor, and amid the overlapping chatter of too many people, a frail woman with a distended belly screamed. Her cries pierced through the bodies of people huddled in front of me and rang in my ears. She threw herself back onto the cot after another deafening scream and attempted to catch her breath. A mid-sized man with jet-black hair and a nasty scar across the center of his face brushed a dripping wet curl out the woman’s blue eyes.

“You can do it, my love,” he said, but his words came out in a stumble as he choked on them.

His brows drooped in worry as he gripped the woman’s right hand. “You’ve done it before, and you can do it again.”

She nodded fervently, then clenched her jaw and let out another ear-splitting scream. I averted my eyes, uncomfortable to witness a childbirth firsthand. I felt like an intruder–whether anyone could see me or not.

The woman let out a strained gasp, then the sound of a baby’s cry filled the space. I brought my reluctant eyes back to the scene and saw another woman, plump and much healthier looking than the one who had just given birth; she was the midwife, I guessed. She held up a tiny human for the entire room to see. The newborn squirmed in her round hands and squealed for its mother.

“It’s a boy!”

A chorus of joyful shouts and congratulations erupted after the midwife’s announcement.

“Darling?” The man who sat next to the exhausted mother shook her shoulders. “Clara, what’s wrong with her?”

I wiped sweaty palms along my trousers as the midwife checked between the woman’s legs. The room fell silent, all except for the newborn boy.

“There’s too much blood,” the midwife, Clara, whispered. “I–I don’t think there’s anything I can do.”

The scene froze in front of me, like someone had stopped the passage of time for everyone there except me.

“This is the start of Lord Solomon’s life.”

I started when Lord Solomon appeared next to me and spoke, still clad in his impressive golden armor.

“His mother died giving birth to him, and his father died shortly after from grief.”

Lord Solomon stared at the two frozen parents with a frown. Though the AI had been created by the actual Lord Solomon, I caught a hint of emotion in his expression. So, along with memories, thoughts, and some powers, perhaps the AI could also feel what the late Lord would have felt.

I glanced at the little baby. So tiny, so helpless. Like I had been when the Edronans had found me in the middle of nowhere. The baby already had patches of black hair growing on his scalp, and his blue eyes–much like his mother’s and exactly like mine–seemed to stare into me, even though he was frozen.

I shivered and turned to Lord Solomon. “Right, then, he had a tragic start to his childhood, but that still doesn’t tell me who he was.”

Lord Solomon waved a slightly transparent hand in front of my eyes, bringing more darkness and pain in my head, and then the scene changed around us again.