Enemy Me Treatment
Enemy Me
J Carrell Jones
Enemy Me is about a man who wakes up to realize he has died several times before in the attempt to stop the powerful pharmaceutical behemoth Forever Life from starting human trials using drugs capable of curing any disease, any ailment, making any genetic change. He has many more lives to go.
ENEMY ME
KENT (Male Early/Mid 30s), who at this point knows himself as Pete, finds himself in a large cylindrical container filled with light green fluid. He "remembers" he is a clone and realizes the clone before him is dead. After the fluid completely drains the container door opens and Kent steps out on weak legs. He sees five empty containers on one side and twelve occupied chambers on the other. In the other chambers are adult males, adult females, and several kids - all different nationalities and all clones.
Kent finds his way into the kitchen. A sandwich and a tablet are waiting for him on the kitchen table. The tablet has the headline, "Suicide Bomber" destroys the main lab of Forever Life. Kent makes his way to the main computer room and meets Mike, the Complex's Super Computer. MIKE (Male voice 40s/50s), with the help of pre-recorded videos from George, the Suicide Bomber, gets him up to speed. In one of the videos George states that the world is full of Androids and he's gonna have to make him one. After the video finishes Mike tells Kent there is someone sleeping in “his” bed. Her name is BECKY (Female Early/Mid 30s).
Becky, unknowing that George died, mistakes Kent for her lover. Within moments she figures it out and, enraged, races to the Clone chamber. She grabs an axe off the wall and is about to smash the eighteenth container. The one with Omega - the last clone, who was engineered to be a huge killing machine that has the strength to topple small buildings. Kent stops her in time.
Mike stops talking to Kent for a time. Things work out and Kent and Becky are at least talking and working together. Eventually, Kent assumes the name Kent and he says to Becky, "Hi Becky. My name is Kent. Nice to know you. I used to be a clone. Now I am my own person." Kent also tests PRAX (Male voice 40s), Mike's Android helper, for sentience. During this time Kent learns that FORREST (Male Redhead Youthful 50s), Forever Life CEO and Co-Founder, is the first Pete Clone. The Clone all the other clones have been trying to stop. Kent finds out George recorded 1 years' worth of memory and thoughts.
RICK (Male late 40s), the lead Detective, with his partner BARBARA (Female Mid 40s), go over some of the early clues on the Forever Life building bombing. Rick witnessed Pete's death over fifteen years ago, yet he was looking at a security cam photo of the suicide bomber - Pete Walker. After discussing the case the two decide they have to have a meeting with Forrest. Rick is trying to kick a smoking habit by chewing and later swallowing too much gum. Barbara often teases him about it. They get the okay from the Captain and off they go.
Forrest meets with the Detectives. He and Rick share in a drink of expensive Cognac. Forrest is shown a copy of the photo and he admits it looks like his "brother" Pete, but he declares that he oversaw Pete's burial and therefore it cannot be Pete. Rick doesn't push the point. Barbara asks for permission to see the crime scene. Forrest has his Administrative Assistant, TROY (Male Mid/Late 30s) escort the Detectives to the damaged floor.
The Division’s Forensic team - THOMPSON (Male 40s), SMEKHOV (Female 30s), and ANOSOV (Male 40s), is still collecting data. The trio is very eccentric when working together. They occasionally answer in unison or finish each other's sentences. The team is able to find traces of a very powerful explosive. It is so powerful that a thumbnail piece can destroy a medium sized car. During the exchange Rick notices Security Android units dressed in black. A dozen units had been hiding in the shadows. The Forensic team in an eerie voice says in unison, "They watch over us." Troy, Rick, and Barbara, un-nerved by this, say good-bye and make a hasty exit. The Forensic team laughs when everyone is gone. Thompson says, “That was the funniest shit we ever pulled off.”
Rick and Barbara decide to pull into the Lo'tion (pronounced, Low-she-own) Diner for lunch. While still in the parking lot they discuss the use of an illegal clone for sabotage. They conclude that Pete Walker must have created clones and he was taking revenge. They decide to follow up with the Forensic team later. Rick pops in another gum in his mouth. Barbara absently says, "Don't swallow." Rick absently replies, "What do you know about swallowing?" The two get out of the car and enter the Diner. They are greeted by SARAH (Female/MILF 40s), the host.
With some teasing and couching Barbara, by kicking him in the shin several times, gets Rick to ask Sarah on a date. Sarah likes both Detectives and understands both have great chemistry and history together. As Sarah leaves to get another order Rick says, “Goddamnit woman. Kick me in the shin again and I’m stomping that little man in the boat’s head in." Barbara kicks him harder. She says, "Care to rephrase that?”
Rick and Sarah go on their date. It is sweet and nice.
The next morning Rick walks into the office. When he reads a printout Barbara hands him he nearly has a breakdown. Thompson reported that someone hacked into Forensics’ computer and destroyed all the collected data. He and Barbara rush down to Thompson's office located in the lower area. Thompson tells Rick not all is lost, but Rick is not buying it. The Forensic team in unison tells him, "Calm down, follow us, and learn the truth. Our way or leave and be clueless." They turn and walk into the lab. Barbara follows with Rick reluctantly behind. Thompson walks them over to a work table and displays holographic images of DNA. It is the bomber's DNA. With a lot of theatrics Thompson final reveals that the DNA belongs to Pete Walker-ish. He explains that this DNA is from Pete's brother. It's still a clone but enough of a difference to get around the band of cloning. The group also discovered the DNA from the content in the bomber's stomach. Smekhov explains that she had been collecting combinations of food from all the restaurants around the city. She has been cataloging the DNA combinations and they know what the bomber ate and were he last ate. It was a specialty sandwich from the Lo'tion. Rick and Barbara laugh with relief.
WALTER (Male late 30s), reporter for a Major Newspaper that had been doing investigative reporting on Forever Life was working late at night. His computer was running a spectrometer analysis on a security cam image of the explosion at Forever Life. After it finished an email message arrives. Walter opens it and quietly says "WTF." He saves the images and calls his boss, HERB (Male 50s). It is 2:00 am in the morning. They talk. Walter says he'll quit if the data and images aren't Pulitzer worthy.
Kent is sitting in a medical chair wearing a helmet with many wires connected to it. Becky says he doesn't have to go through this. Kent asks Mike to start the process. It is very painful but after a few minutes the process stops. Kent slowly opens his eyes. Becky, worry on her face, asks is he okay. Kent wearily smiles and says, "I'm okay, Beck." She says you called me "Beck. Only George called me Beck." Kent starts crying and declares he loves her. After a moment he tells Becky they have to wake the others. Only Omega remains asleep. Kent also tells Becky that Forrest needed George. They had secret meetings but George refused to join him. Kent says that Forrest had a memory gap on the process to produce a perfect clone 100% of the time. Becky says she didn't know and had another reason to be mad at George. She admits she can’t call him a Son-of-a-Bitch. Kent says she could because in a way he was right in front of her. She frowns and lashes out at Kent as if he were George. When she is done. Kent, acting like George, apologizes.
Rick and Barbara walk into the Lo'tion. They talk to Sarah, who is happy to see Rick - she enjoyed their date. They show her George's picture. Sarah asks if he is in trouble. They tell her no and explain they just want to question him. They talk and it comes out that he had meetings with various people over the years, including a man with Red hair - Forrest.
Herb and the Newspaper staff talk strategy about the data they have. He gives everyone their assignment and makes a phone call to his boss, MUHAMMED (Male 30s).
Kent and Becky stood outside one of the containers. Becky says, "Which one first?"
PETE (Female, Late 20s/Early 30s) finds herself in a large cylindrical container filled with light green fluid. She "remembers" she is a clone and realizes the clone before her is dead. She is puzzled that her hair is very long and she "feels" different. After the fluid completely drains the container door opens and Pete steps out on weak legs. She looks down and sees breast. She laughs then faints. Kent catches her.
The second female Pete faints almost immediately. The third one feels between her legs and faints. The fourth one curses up a blue streak and it goes on until all the clones are awake.
Hours later, all the clones are in the auditorium seating in the large comfortable chairs. Prax had finished passing out sandwiches and drinks. Kent, standing at the front, explains the situation. Most are not happy. They view videos recorded by George and listen to a previously unknown audio recording from Pete Prime. They start to realize the importance of their existence.
Thompson was sitting at his desk when a package is headed to him. The Desk Sergeant says the carrier is being held and that the package has passed deep scan of bombs and contaminates. Thompson opens the box. Inside is a large Solid State disk drive. He calls the team together.
Forrest reads a printout that says the Forever Life super computer had been hacked. He talks to Troy and offers him a new position as body guard. Troy accepts and leaves to start training. Forrest reaches into a small drawer in his desk and pulls out a cell phone. He pushes the call button.
Kent and the clones are discussing their next move. Kent tells them George had a plan. Just then Prax walks up with a cell phone. Kent takes it and presses the speaker button. It is Forrest. Forrest wants a truce. Kent insults him and makes it hard. Eventually they agree to meet at the Lo'tion - one human bodyguard with security units five blocks away. Forrest is furious that Kent controlled the conversation.
The Clones decide to take on names. They discuss their circumstances and how unfair things are.
Walter and Muhammed arrive at DONALD J MARTIN’S (Male Late 60s) Mansion. He is the owner of the Newspaper and major Forever Life stockholder. Muhammed and Walter show him the events and articles. He reads and listens to everything. After a while he says "run it." He hates Forrest. Donald picks up his phone and dials TED (Male 60s), owner of a major News channel. They talk. Ted tells Donald that his group received similar evidence and he gave the okay to run the show in an hour. Donald turns his back but says over his shoulder Muhammed has one hour to run the story. The head Butler appears and shows them the way out.
Rick and Barbara show up at the Lo'tion. It is crowded with familiar faces, but Sarah tells the two detectives most our tourist visiting. They talk and she tells them the first time she met George. She also mentions his meetings with people, including an interesting Red head. Rick gives her his office number. The leave.
Prax stands in front of Omega's chamber. He asks Mike if this is the right thing to do. Mike says Omega has been reconditioned and that a confrontation is inevitable. The door opens and the big guy steps out. Prax says, "Welcome to your new life . . . Omega."
Kent walks into the Lo'tion, finds Forrest and Troy already sitting at a table. Sarah gets their order. In the back room she calls Rick. Forrest and Kent argue, sometimes loudly, mostly not. Eventually Forrest and Troy storm out.
MEG (Female 40s), the DA, is in Thompson's office looking over the recently delivered hard drive. It has lots of videos. One video shows a strapped down Pete. Someone in a Hazmat suit sticks a syringe in his arm. A few seconds later Pete's arms grow 3 times bigger. Pete screams. The man gives Pete another injection and the arm returns to normal, however, Pete convulses for a few seconds then goes still. The man looks at monitors and pushes several buttons. Pete's body jerks a few times. The video stops. The Meg agrees to get a search warrant. Rick's phone rings. It is Sarah. She tells him George is at the restaurant meeting with the Redhead. Rick thanks her and informs everyone in the office about the meeting.
A heavy armored cargo van speeds down a two lane road. Suddenly, a large figure jumps out and broad sides the vehicle. The van skips across the other lane, corrects itself only to be broad sided from the other side. It slides across the lanes into a ditch. The security units inside the unmarked van unfasten their seat belts. The back doors suddenly rip away and large hands and arms reach in and crush each unit. The driver spins around just in time to have a hand over its head. A second later its head is crushed. The hand withdraws.
Rick and Barbara come across the wrecked van. They wait for a Division patrol car to show up. They are amazed at what happened.
Kent starts eating his sandwich when Rick and Barbara enter. Rick hands Barbara a photo as a cover. She asks is there something wrong. Rick says no, but it is important. She points to the table Kent is at. Rick and Barbara slide in and they talk. Rick starts eating Forrest's untouched sandwich. All three talk. Kent clarifies that his name is Kent and George was his brother. Kent gives the detectives a rundown on what the miracle drug really does. Rick tells Kent he needs to talk to the DA. Suddenly Rick and Barbara are hit in the face with cake. MARTY (Male late 20s, Pete Clone, Little person) jumps up onto his table and yells "Food fight!" All the clones are there. After several minutes the fight is over and the Diner only has Rick, Barbara, Sarah, and MEL (Male, 50s), the owner, who steps out and yells, “What the hell is going on here!” Food is everywhere. Rick's phone rings. The warrant is ready.
Forrest clicks on a Question Mark icon on his desktop. It displays "No messages". The door chimes. He lets it chime a few times, exasperated he hits the "Door Open" button and says "What?!"
Troy hurries to his desk, "Sir, Channel 7. Important. All bad news."
Forrest frowns. He's never seem Troy flustered. A large flat screen TV lights up on the opposite wall. A male newscaster says, ". . . CEO Forrest Taylor is alleged in a conspiracy to release a highly controversial drug known as Transgenetics. Currently, set for Human trials, the FDA has placed a hold on the go ahead . . .”
Troy hands Forrest a tablet. On it reads, "The Watcher Group released a special report on the dangers of Gene Therapy." There are several photos showing Pete Walker’s face twisted in agony.
Forrest's phone rings. The caller id shows "Martin, D. J." He answers. Martin tells him the Board has voted him out and his computer access has been revoked. Foster taps at his desktop computer. "Access Denied." Forrest hangs the phone up without saying a word. He walks over to the bar and fixes a half glass of Cognac, lime juice, sparkling water and several black olives. Troy watches as he drinks it rapidly. "I'll be taking the rest of the day off." Troy nods and walks out. Foster walks over to his private elevator. "Access denied." He walks out the front door, down the aisle, and to the public elevator. He makes his way down to the garage, to his car. Security Units are blocking his way. One says, "Please sir. I'll have to ask you to wait for the Chief of Security." Foster starts to yell. The Unit takes a step forward and says, "Sir, display any further acts of aggression and you will be pacified." Forrest starts to yell something when he suddenly shuts his mouth. The Chief of Security arrives and tells Forrest he has to pat him down. Forrest reluctantly lets him. There is awkward silence as Forrest is allowed to get into his car. The Security Chief tells him he should use the back entrance as the front is already full of reporters.
Forrest drives out the back way only to be stopped at the outside exit gate by several Division cars. A Rick approaches the car. Forrest rolls down his window. The Rick orders Forrest out of the car. Enraged Forrest rolls the window back up and calls his lawyer, SID (Male, 50s). Sid tells him he has to turn himself in. Rick starts using a battering ram on the driver side window. Forrester panics. Eventually, Sid calms him down when he says he'll call the Mayor and Chief of Division. Forrester rolls down his window enough to be heard and pleads not to be hurt. His car announces that the vehicle is in Record Mode. Forrest gets out and is promptly arrested under the watchful eyes of a dozen news copters.
Prax finishes passing out the last bag of popcorn as Kent and everyone watches the news feed of Forrest being stopped and then arrested.
One week later . . .
Kent is sitting at the main computer console reading the news of Forrest's arrest and the bankruptcy of Forever Life. He also reads an article about a smashed van with destroyed unmarked Security Units. Kent sighs and confronts Mike about several secrets and missing memory gaps. Mike admits that he was Pete's first memory transfer test and the reason he didn't say anything was he needed to stay behind the scenes and observe all the clones objectively. Kent is still not convinced that Mike is telling him everything when suddenly he hears a deep voice. It is Omega. Kent is startled but remains calm. He realizes Omega was behind the Van accident. Omega smiles. Marty steps out and asks Kent to follow him to the main auditorium.
All the clones are there including Becky. They tell Kent that they are going their own ways. Some will go off-world, some to the surface, others will travel. Then Mike and Becky drop the first shoe. She and George were married. Mike explains that George took a second name, 'Kent', and making changes to the Marriage certificate would be easy. Kent smiled, nodded, and says, "There's something else."
Becky places his hand over her heart. She asks, "Who made Prax?"
Kent assumes George did, then he thinks about it. Becky says, "Pete made Prax." George suddenly pulls his hand away and then puts it back. Becky nods and admits she is all real except for an artificial brain stem and metal core in her skeleton. She stresses she is human. Kent thinks about it and agrees. He asks, "When do we leave to start our new life, wife of mine?" Becky smiles and replies, "It started the day you said, 'Hi Becky. My name is Kent. Nice to know you. I used to be a clone. Now I am my own person.'"
The end.
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