“It’s not a secret, but it's a secret. Anything clone related is handled by the Federation. You see after Twin Food Inc. developed the patent for their cloning process. The government took it over. When I say ‘took it over they didn’t buy shares The patent itself is owned by Twin Food Inc. But the government makes the clones for us, we just supply the meat.”

“What? The Federation controls the food supply?”

“They don’t ‘control’ it, we rent the machines that make the clones for our supplies.”

“Rent?”

“Yes... Along with the taxes we pay, annually, we still have to ‘rent’ the equipment that feeds us all. That’s how the system is. It may be free enterprise, but we still have to conduct with the Federation directly..”

“Why can’t you build your own?”

“You don’t think we’ve tried? Look at Parcelin Group, Antifestin Holding, Laekzain Inc. All of them gone in a blink of an eye.”

“Bankrupt?”

“Yes. They all tried to create their cloning technology in an attempt to break away from the Federation’s monopoly.”

“To maximise profits?”

“Yes... A lot of people believe that certain companies get away scot-free because of the “low tax rate” they have, but companies such as Twin Food Inc. don’t have it all sweet and dandy. We pay Four billion annually in credits alone to the Federation.”

“Four... billion?”

“Right.”

“That’s…”

“Crazy... then you’d understand why some companies would try to shift away from the Federation’s hold.”

“I’d do the same.”

“Exactly. Look, Cypher, I don’t have much time left, but get those samples sent to me so I can look into them properly,” Planson said, his eyes had a beam to them, like a predator. The situation may not be pleasant for me, but I guess the scientist in him couldn’t help but crave new knowledge. “I’ll look into the DNA markers used for the philandric ichor. Once I confirm which of the patents was used, I will get back to you.”

“That’d be great, Doctor Planson, I’ll have the commissioner volunteer the samples to you, and here, this is my Digital ID Frag, you can reach me anytime.

I stimulated my SMB, sending my details to the geneticist's phone which sat in his right pocket. “Contact me anytime doc,” I gave him a curt nod and left backstage to the doctor and his sycophants.

The walk back to the lobby was surprisingly short but frustrating. I thought long and hard about what I’d just heard. The Federation not only controls the military but also controls the technology that produces food. I knew the Federation was scary... but to that level? Shit...

As I made my way out of the Auditorium, I hailed a cab. “Nova, dial up the commissioner,” I told the AI. The phone rang extensively and I gave up after a third call. So instead of waiting for her to contact me back, I sent her a message outlining what Dr Planson and I discussed, of course omitting certain details regarding the government owning cloning technology, as a whole.

Whilst I waited, I noted how quickly Dr Planson was quick to forward that information to me. I found it weird, in truth, but I needed the help to break down this case. I had leads and I was coming up to 48 hours since Adrianna’s... no. Flash Clone Number 1’s death.

I dialled my mind back, to where it all started, trying to get a better gauge of the entire scenario. Adrianna Works for Lyiez Systems. Right. I haven’t checked the video recordings of the interviews that Eclain took. The problem was though, I believed checking them would be a waste of time, based on the fact that she was a clone. Still. I have to check them.

The entire case felt like a horseshoe, curved, with a start and with an end, but where did It start and how would it end? That’s what frustrated me. I just couldn’t see anything connecting to this case, and why it took place.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The cabbie finally picked me up after I waited for him, for over twenty minutes. “Traffic?” I asked, nestling myself into the yellow and blue cab.”

“Tell me about it. Ever since the riots broke out within the Weitson Industrial District, the entire city has been taking alternate routes.”

“That bad?”

“It’s horrible.”

“Humph... good to know

“Where to? He finally asked, after taking it up the Skylane.

Incoming Call…

It’s about time! I celebrated noting the caller's name, blinking into existence. “Just drive around, for now, give me a moment, I have to take this call,” I told the cabbie. I’m sure he smiled. Being told to drive around, was like telling someone to have a free meal.

“Cypher,” I answered.

“I’ve found something…” Rex said, tone hard as ever.

“What’d you find?

“I did a comparison of the footage you sent. The surveillance footage seems to be tampered with.”

“And this is based on…?

“There’s a difference in the colour spectrums of the graffiti found on the walls next to the Vic”

“The colour-what-now, English, Rex, please.”

“Fine,” He said, sighing. “I’m sure you’re aware that there are different shades of colours, for example...purple-blue, yellow-red etc... correct?”

“Yes... I’m aware.”

“Right. In the footage from the surveillance cameras, the graffiti on the walls don’t match. They’re different.”

“Ok... understood. Wouldn’t light and angle affect the shade of it.”

“It would, but the colours are too sparse...different. It’s subtle, but I noticed it. You see, in The video you took, I can see the light reflecting naturally, whilst the light from the surveillance footage is tailor-made, straight from a movie.”

“Tailor? Oh... the surveillance footage’s been manipulated.”

“Finally... you’re catching on.”

“Not my thing, Rex, you know this...think I pay your extortion rates?”I said, jokingly.”

“Anyway,” Rex said, completely ignoring my jape.

Back to business then, alright. Fine. I thought.

“The videos have been heavily edited and based on the compression quality used; I know for a fact, that this was made professionally.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Let’s put it this way, there is no way that ANYONE in that area code affords 20K Recording Quality”

“Why’s that?”

“Because that’s what advertising companies, videographers and movie studios use for their projects.”

“Insecurity, they use the lowest common denominator in their quality. 4K... These videos have been stitched, and WELL done too.

“Stitched?“ I asked, confused.

“Stitching is what the process is called. Video recordings have layers on which each frame is recorded, which can be edited.”

“So, let me understand each frame of the surveillance footage I sent to you, was edited through the layers.”

“Correct.”

“What happened to the original video then?”

“I surmise that the original surveillance videos have been stitched together to get this outcome that we’re seeing... following?”

“Barely... but continue.”

“Right, so because the layers are editable frames, it makes it easy to manipulate.

“When you say, “manipulate,” you mean edited?

“Yes, edited.”

“Then why is it called stitched or stitching.”

“It’s stitching because the way it works is, once you’ve loaded the video file into the software, you can add layers to one frame alone. Once you’ve added those layers, it’s stitched onto the main file, once the encoding process is finished.

“Now you’re confusing me again—make it simpler for me Rex... I’m trying here.”

“Ok... let’s put it this way then. Let’s say a roll of toilet paper is the original footage right? Now, we want to add layers to it. So what will happen is, I take a roll of toilet paper, draw a picture on it, and then place it on the original footage. When I do that, it overlaps the original footage. To meld it together, it’s encoded, which is called stitching,” Rex said, sounding exasperated.

“Ok, let me see if I understand. Let’s say I sent you a video of my hand. Right... you would take that video and add layers of whatever you want to it. Encode... stitch then send it back, as a completely different video?”

“YES! THAT'S IT! That’s what stitching is,” Rex celebrated.

“That’s…”

“Ingenious!”

I went silent over the call and let my mind process everything and how it related to the case. Adrianna’s footage was stitched to show the murder. This means Adrianna was created to die at this particular moment. Possibly the same for John Doe. The only problem was, that there was surveillance footage of his murder.

“This is weird, Rex, quite weird.”

“Not my problem, Cypher, I’ve been paid already for this job. Are we done here?”

“You said that this is mostly done by videographers, advertising companies and movie companies.”

“Yes, it’s like a special effects gig.”

“Gotcha.

The pounding sensation I felt in my brain thumped harder than a stiletto heel burrowing into the mud. It wasn’t from my SMB, but from the gears in my mind turning, trying to make sense out of all of this.

I figured that the more information I received, it would’ve slowly come together, but there was no motive here. This is bullshit. I’d been chasing dead ends for the past two days. Whilst being chased by asswipes. Great.

What was the point of me continuing? Adrianna and the John Doe weren’t killed in either of those alleys. Hell, they weren’t even real people.

“Thanks, Rex,” I said.

The line went dead immediately.

“This is bullshit,” I growled. The cabbie eyed me through his rear-view mirror and I ignored his peering eyes. The weight of the world felt like boulders around my shoulders.

A jolting pain struck me in my right shoulder like a dagger piercing my skin. It was unexpected but thorough. I glanced to my right to ensure it wasn’t some form of a mosquito bite.

It wasn’t.

I saw my rippled reflection emanating from a blade’s silver sheen. Based on the style of the blade, it was a katana and it was protruding from my right shoulder. As if my day couldn’t start any better.

“You’ve gots to be shitting me.”