Where was I?

My head throbbed and ached and felt fuzzy. I clambered up from the bed. Balancing myself, I found that I had gone off to bed fully dressed – with suit and tie and everything. I could not remember why. Did I drink a lot last night? Probably. Where was I last night? How did I reach home? A thousand questions rang in my head. But I could not remember anything at all. My eyesight seemed blurry, and I found that I had a bandage on my head. So, I had hurt myself too last night. Hell of a hangover!

I felt the walls with my fingers and reached the medicine cabinet. Eyes still half-closed, I found the box I wanted. It was dark inside the room. I casually drew the curtains open, and stark sunlight flooded in. I shut my eyes instantly. It still felt that the dazzling light pierced through my eyelids. Slowly I opened my eyes, squinting. I needed Paracetamol for the headache. I gulped down two and returned to my bedroom.

It was past eleven already as per my watch. I started feeling ravenous hunger. Not in the mood for fixing anything for myself, I grabbed my hat and walked out of my apartment.

I took the elevator down. I usually preferred the stairs. It gave the necessary exercise, considering my job involved a lot of sitting and studying and taking notes. A daily jog up and down five floors helped.

"Good morning!" A teenage boy said as I walked into the elevator.

"Morning…" I replied, with absolutely no idea about who the boy was! Did I take some amnesia pills also last night? I felt irritated with myself. Since when did I become such an irresponsible drinker?!

I crossed the road and walked into my usual breakfast joint. Robin, the regular waiter, was not here today. A cheerful girl walked up and placed the menu before me.

I waved my hand, signaling that I did not want it.

"My regular black coffee, strong and egg sandwich," I said.

The girl looked a bit surprised, then with a smile, she asked, "Egg with salad, or egg mayo or egg-cheese?"

"My reg… Okay, egg and tomatoes please." I was surprised. When did they start having so many options?

Sipping my coffee, I tried to remember what might have happened last night. I began to think from the beginning.

I worked at a genetics research firm owned by my friend. We dealt with stem cells, genetic manipulations, and gene technologies. The age of "Organic" and "non-GMO" was long gone. Genetically modified crops and livestock were the new "organic". It gave me immense pleasure to remember that, among many others, I was one of the prominent proponents of this new theory. We had long learned to counter the adverse effects of genetic modifications that people once feared so much. I was even offered a partnership in the firm because of my lauded researches.

Applied sciences like biophysics, biomechanics had soared. The newest find of our firm was a technology where we could tap into anybody's memory and transfer, store, wipe and restore it anytime– "Memory-Harness", we called it. We got it patented immediately. It's application prospects were huge. Scientists, academicians, literally anybody's life work and experiences would not be lost anymore. Mental illnesses could be treated. Criminals could be interrogated objectively. Polygraph seemed like child's play now. No doubt, if it fell into the wrong hands, it could wreak havoc.

Did we celebrate the patent last night? No. it did not feel right either.

We were now planning to appeal again, the nth time now, for our much-coveted project on cloning. Non-human cloning was already on vogue. It brought a revolution in the food industry, solved the hunger crisis to a great extent. But human cloning was not permitted yet. Too many ethical issues and too many orthodox opinions were blocking the path. It pained us, scientists, a lot. Despite the implications, we could not deny how wonderful it would be to have someone like Stephen Hawkins, or Einstein amongst us again! How much they could contribute! Legendary scientists, beautiful actors, mesmerizing performers - the possibilities were boundless. It pained me, irritated me so much to sit still. I did not understand these dim-witted human rights activists and politicians who just rallied and stood in the way of science.

"Sir, may I clear the plates?" that cheerful girl asked.

I jolted back from my thoughts. "Yeah.. sure… by the way, where is Robin today?" I asked her finally.

She seemed to think a bit, then said," Sorry sir, I am new here. I will check with the staff..."

I waved, "Never mind."

I paid and walked out, still dazed. I could not even remember which day it was. I stopped a boy on the footpath and asked.

"It's Thursday!" the boy said with a surprised, impatient look.

The young were always restless and impatient. They took us for old and useless, who could not even remember the days of the week! I smiled to myself. I was like that too. Too ambitious, too desperate, too eager to do something unique. I was lucky to have found my path. But many from my era had faded away without a trace, living ordinary lives, raising children, and earning for a comfortable lifestyle, running the rat-race. I pitied them. I was different with my eyes set on the Nobel someday. But it was not that I got everything easy. I had worked day and night. I had slogged beyond reason. And how proud I was of myself for that!

"Come with us." I heard a heavy voice and looked around. I had walked into a lonely alley, absent-mindedly it seemed.

"Come with us, please," two burly men in gray suits said, grabbing me by my arm and handcuffing me.

"You know what you did and what we are here for." The bulkier among the two said.

I was taken aback, absolutely unable to make anything of the situation. I tried to remember last night again. Did I steal something? Oh God, did I kill or injure someone? Did I get into a fight with some politicians?

"No, listen, what did I do? You can't arrest me like that!" I tried to break free.

"Doctor, please co-operate. We have an arrest warrant."

They pushed me into the car.

"I need my lawyer. I need to call my firm," I argued.

"Once we reach the station," they said conclusively.

On reaching the CID headquarters, they took me to meet the DGP.

"Sorry to bring you here like this, Dr. Garg. But you have evaded us quite a few times already. We got lucky this time. We had no other choice," the DGP said.

I was still completely clueless. "But why? What did I do?" I asked desperately.

The DGP frowned. "I know you will deny everything, Dr. Garg, and we understand. You needn't speak at all. We have informed Genetics Plus Corp. of your arrest."

I shook my head in exasperation. The throbbing pain had returned. Then I noticed something absolutely absurd on the table.

The table calendar showed today's date to be 02-10-2083!!! It was a day after my birthday, but three years into the future! So probably I had boozed last night for my birthday, we did that for each colleague, but the year did not make any sense. What bullshit was that?! I turned around to find another calendar in the room. But that one showed the same year too.

"Are you joking with me?" I blurted out, suddenly standing up.

This sudden act surprised the DGP. "What is it?" he asked, standing up.

"What date is today? Are you trying to fool me?!" I pointed at the table calendar.

He looked at me and then at the calendar and then again at me. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"This is 2080!" I said with conviction.

Everybody made some sort of confused noises.

"Dr. Garg, please sit down. You are probably not feeling well right now. I will suggest you do not speak until your lawyer is here."

I started fuming. Were they taking me for a lunatic? Or a senile?

***

The next two months were a nerve-racking experience for me. I faced courtrooms. I was convicted of conducting illegal experiments and researches involving human cloning, endangering people's lives, experimenting with people, and using human tissue without permissions, breaking laws. It went on and on.

I saw my photos and posters. They looked luxurious. It was very evident that I had made a lot of money from my work. I was already a partner at the Genetics Plus Corporation. The genetics research wing of which had been shut down for good now. However, they found very little research data or evidence whatsoever. I had supposedly weaponized human cloning and had traded the same. And, all these had started even before I was granted permission for research. I had also hidden it from my friend.

All sorts of impossible things were said. I decided that I was framed, and the whole city was styled to fit the plot! It felt like I had entered a science fiction novel.

"So many people can't be lying.. creating such a huge farce is impossible, right? Why are you still trying to deny?" The DGP said one day.

Eventually, I accepted that I had indeed lost three years' worth of memory. Somebody had wiped out my memory and used me as a scapegoat!

All through the trial, I denied and cried and pleaded. They used our Memory-harness technology on me and found nothing. I could do nothing. I never had any close relatives, never bothered to have one. Work was everything to me. My friend and colleagues abandoned me, seeing the gravity of the charges. They gave statements against me. Probably they were the ones framing me!

"You erased your memory and hid it somewhere, to restore it once this is all over, isn't it? But this time you are going nowhere! We are not buying your head injury, walking in the alley, anything, you know!" The prosecutor said.

Ultimately, I was declared insane and sentenced to a high-security mental institution. High security because they considered that I still could pull strings and attempt to escape! I was dangerous because I did not budge from my point, and despite every effort, they could not convict me directly.

***

Three months later, I had a visitor at my cell. I was not sure if that was imagination altogether. I found it difficult to tell between reality and hallucinations those days.

He was a man of about 5 feet 9 inches, good physique, with shoulder-length sand pepper hair and beard. He wore spectacles. He walked into my room in a cream Trench coat and hat.

"Hey, buddy! Sorry for the trouble!" he said after dismissing the attendant.

I kept silent.

After shutting the door, he took off his hat. Then his specs.

"Can you recognize me?" He asked.

I half-heartedly looked at him. Then I saw that he looked familiar. Seeing my expression, he said, "Look closely!"

Then I found that he looked like me. I was taken aback. "Who are you?" I blurted out.

He smiled and started his monologue.

"Genetics. Human cloning. Memory transfer. They are my children. How could I let the morons destroy everything? I had to save my inventions. You should be happy to know that everything is good now. The escape plan succeeded. Without your help, it wouldn't have been possible, though. The blood tests, the anthropology, everything matched perfectly! And what's novel is I used my own inventions. It is my greatest show!"

"I don't get you," I said, though a dread slowly crept into my heart.

"C'mon! Don't disappoint me! Think! You are me. I am you, buddy! You are my clone! I transferred my memories till three years back, when nothing of this had started, and planted you at my old place. I don't stay there much, just maintain the place. It came to good use ultimately. You did not have to fake in the interrogations, and I did not have to get caught! How ingenious!"

He laughed.

"I am here to apologize to you, really. And to thank you for your sacrifice." He said with a fake, somber face, then started laughing again. He appeared like a lunatic to me.

"Am disgusted with you! I could not have become a monster like you. Never!" I shouted at him.

"But I am the real one, right? You are the clone. I had to fund my research. If those dim-wits did not, I had to find a way, isn't it? How can you not see it? You are me!" He said.

"I am not you! Sharing the same genotype does not make me you. You are mad!" I again shouted.

While going out of the door, he turned back and said, "There is something you should know though, I don't know if its good or bad. It's for you to decide. You will probably not have to suffer for long. The art is not perfect yet. I suspect you will develop early aging and malignancies soon. It feels bad, but whatever. Take care," and he left.

It was too much to take in. I slumped down on my bed. There was no point in telling anybody. Who would believe a lunatic after all?

***

It had been two years since my trial. I had analyzed the past events and planned and maintained a low profile in the meantime. Given my docile nature, they had let their guards down a bit. And I took the chance.

It was dead at night now. I wrote down everything in a diary and hid it in a cabinet of my cell, before leaving.

Today I set off to make everything right. I set off to fight myself.