Capacity to Feel - I

The Squirrel estate wasn't as loud and noisy as it usually was despite Bill Squirrel being in his laboratory basement. Usually, the racket he'd cause while working on his inventions would force his parents to throw him out.

This time, Bill was resting his eyes as he sat on his green laboratory chair.

Drool dripped onto his white jacket. His digital monocle was still on his face

as he slept.

He had just completed his greatest invention yet. Bill had built a machine that could clone matter. The cloning machine was a set of two hulking metal chambers, each nearly touching the ceiling of his basement laboratory. Between them was an input terminal that Bill would use for the cloning process.

"For the good…of…Nation-X…" muttered Bill in his sleep.

Before passing out, Bill had tested the machine with a few solid objects around his room. The laboratory chair that he was lying on was cloned by the device. He used the second chair to rest his feet as he took his nap.

There was a knock on Bill's metal door. At first, the knocks were a bit unassuming.

"Bill?" said a voice on the other end of the door.

It was his sister, Blakely. She had taken to pestering her older brother whenever he was in his laboratory. Blakely knew that Bill was home but found it strange that she heard no sounds coming from the basement.

"Bill!" she shouted after knocking on the door again. This time much more loudly.

Bill merely sputtered and gurgled as he shook restlessly. He paid no heed to the calls of his sister. Blakely opened the door to see Bill lying on the chairs. Before going over to him, she caught sight of the cloning machine that Bill had constructed.

"Whoa!"

She looked at the machine from top to bottom. It was certainly one of the more impressive constructs she had encountered in the basement laboratory. She absolutely needed to know what it was.

"Bill, wake up!"

She shook him with a ferocity that startled the napping Bill.

"Huh? What?" said Bill as he immediately sat up and scanned the room with his digital monocle out of confusion.

"Bill! You need to tell me what's this new invention of yours," said Blakely. "I absolutely have to know what this thing is."

Bill rubbed his eyes sullenly. He really needed the rest, but after hearing Blakely's voice, he immediately knew that it wouldn't be possible until her curiosity was satiated.

"You sure know how to annoy me at the perfect time. I was having such a nice dream, too."

Blakely snickered.

"What was it about?"

"I was giving a speech and just about to accept an award from President Standridge for my latest invention."

Blakely rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Now I really need to know what this monstrosity is. Show me, will you?"

She grabbed hold of Bill's white jacket sleeve and tried tugging him off of the chairs. Bill sighed and stood up.

Maybe I should really consider inventing a lock for my door, he thought as he adjusted his jacket and monocle.

He walked over to the enormous cloning machine he had created and looked at Blakely earnestly.

"This happens to be my greatest invention yet. It's a device that allows for input matter to be cloned as an exact carbon copy of itself."

"Wait," said Blakely, her mouth agape. "Are you telling me you've invented a cloning machine?"

"That's right," replied Bill. "If I place any matter into one of the chambers as input, the machine will replicate the matter in the opposite chamber."

"That's so cool!" said Blakely as she walked toward the input chamber.

"Blakely, don't!" yelled Bill. He ran over and grabbed her arm, yanking her away from the chamber. "I haven't tested it out on living matter!"

And I certainly don't need two of you around, thought Bill.

"I wasn't going to go in," she protested. "I just wanted to get a closer look."

"You can look from a distance."

"Fine. Can I test it? I'm wearing my favorite dress right now, but can I change out of it, and we try cloning it? Oh! Can we clone some of my jewelry too?"

Blakely was wearing her favorite armless green summer dress that she had designed herself. She had a serious talent for clothing design. Her professors at National University would tell her that themselves. Some of the articles she produced were sold on her online shop, and she was already beginning to generate a name for herself. Bill already knew what she was thinking.

"No, Blakely. I did not develop this cloning machine for unjust self-enrichment. I built it because it could be used to solve a plethora of the world's problems."

Blakely huffed in defiance. "Well, what would you do with it then?"

"I could put it to use for things like replicating major organs that are in demand at hospitals around Nation-X. Do you know how long you have to wait to get a kidney transplant? Or how about finding a way to replicate some food sources so that I can get rid of world hunger? There are so many practical applications for this other than getting rich and famous."

Blakely shook her head. "Fine." She softened her stance when she considered the possibilities of the device. "Do you really plan on doing all of that stuff?"

"That and more," replied Bill. "I just need to make more adjustments so I can test out replicating living matter."

Blakely nodded understandingly. "All right. I won't bother you any further. Just let me know if you need anything, okay?"

"I could use a cup of coffee."

"Invent yourself a coffee machine then!" said Blakely as she closed the basement laboratory door behind her.

Bill sighed. "I should've seen that one coming."

He now looked at the terminal and placed the settings. The goldfish would not be altered in any way; it would maintain its exact self post-cloning.

A small amount of adrenaline from excitement kept him awake. He pushed a button on the terminal to proceed with the cloning process. The cloning machine erupted in noise as the chambers once again began to vibrate. After the small seam of green light was no longer visible, the chambers ceased to make noise.

Bill walked to the input chamber first. He opened the door and took the fishbowl out. He scanned the goldfish with his digital monocle and nodded approvingly at the vitals he saw. He placed the fishbowl on the laboratory table and dropped some fish food into the bowl.

He took a deep breath.

The moment of truth.

Bill opened the door of the output chamber and saw the fishbowl sitting inside. He nervously picked up the bowl and looked at the goldfish. The fish stared at him in curiosity, blowing tiny water bubbles as it floated around.

The vitals were the exact same reading as the original goldfish from the input chamber.

Success! I can't believe it worked!

He placed the fishbowl next to the original and fed the goldfish some flakes. Like its original counterpart, the goldfish happily ate the flakes as they dropped into the water.

Bill staggered back to his office chair and sat down. He buried his hands in his head. The only thing keeping him up was the idea that his creation was progressing as planned. He could make Nation-X a land of veritable prosperity and well-being.

If only I had some help.

His head was still buried in his hands. The unthinkable was beginning to cross his mind.

What if I just replicated myself?

It was a radical thought, one with severe repercussions, but Bill's mind was so fogged at this point that he couldn't think things through. All he knew was he really needed to get some rest.

I'll do it. I'll have restrictions in place, of course, and a way to put an end to my clone in case it goes rogue.

Bill lifted himself off the chair and dragged himself to the chamber terminal. He changed some of the settings for the cloning process; his clone would retain his cognitive abilities and knowledge of molecular physics and biology.

What does my clone not need?

It didn't need any of his past memories. He couldn't individually select what it could and couldn't remember, but he could decline for it to have every memory he had. All it would retain would be that of the cloning machine. It would keep his clone focused on the task at hand.

There, that should stunt the hippocampal formation of my clone, but just enough so it only affects the stored memories and not any other cognitive function.

Bill also decided to implement that the clone did not have a desire or reliance for using the digital monocle. This was so he could add an emergency safety feature. He could terminate the clone through his digital monocle by shutting off its brain.

It would be a quick death without suffering if it ever came down to it.

Bill placed all of these features in the terminal, took off his digital monocle, and placed it on the laboratory table. He took a deep breath and stepped inside the hulking input chamber. The space inside was more than generous. It would have enough room to fit even the largest of Nation-X's denizens.

This is it.