The Similars (The Similars #1)(60)
“No one wants a thousand copies of you!” someone shouts from the crowd.
“Maybe not,” Madison says, maintaining her cool demeanor. “But if they did, would I—should I—have a say in it? Who owns my DNA, anyway? Scientists? Other people who want to play God? Or me?”
The crowd grows quiet as everyone contemplates that thought.
“Some people believe DNA is the window into the soul. I happen to agree. I believe it is the only thing each of us possess that is purely, uniquely ours. If we don’t have control over our own DNA, we have no control over our destiny. And if that day comes—or should I say, when that day comes—we will have crossed an invisible barrier into a world where anything is permitted. Like stealing someone else’s genes and using them for one’s own gain. Or choosing embryos from a petri dish based on intelligence, or looks, or talent. Eugenics isn’t a concept from a science fiction novel. It is a real possibility unless we take a stand, unless we stop those who wish to destroy the very essence of what makes us human and distinctly American: our individuality.”
A few people start clapping. Others storm out of the gym, the door slamming behind them and echoing across the room. Madison holds up a hand to silence the applause.
“Who will you be if there are others exactly like you? What will make you special? I would argue—nothing. Because there is no point in being you if you are replaceable. If you are disposable. There’s no point in earning that high stratum. No point in practicing those extracurriculars. No point in falling in love. Because someone else could do it for you. Someone else could take your place…”
My pulse quickens as I think of Levi. Madison’s wrong. He and Oliver aren’t one in the same.
Madison stares out at all of us. The crowd is hushed, completely rapt—even those who think she’s totally off base are still mesmerized by Madison’s audacity. And even though I don’t agree with any of what she is saying, there is no denying that Madison is a very compelling speaker.
She lowers her voice. “When I found out I had been cloned—against my will, without my parents’ permission—I was devastated. Someone had taken what makes me me, and shared it? Watered it down? Made me…irrelevant? I’ll be honest. It took me weeks to crawl out of the emotional hole I dug for myself. Then I realized what I needed to do.
“My calling from this point on is to protect all of you, so that you never have to go through the same experience that I have. So that you never have to live with the reality that I wake up to every single day. The reality that I am not unique, and—as long as she exists—I never will be again.
“That starts with the Similars. We must make it clear to the world that their existence will not be tolerated. That we won’t freely welcome clones into our homes and our schools. That they shouldn’t have the same rights as the rest of us. Recent events have shown us that we can’t trust them, not when one of them has allegedly attacked a fellow student.”
I gasp. She means Levi. She is making this witch hunt about him. I feel sick to my stomach. This is not okay. Everything about what Madison just said is so completely twisted and unjust.
“Obviously, the Similars were not taught proper ethics or morals where they grew up. The truth is they should be sequestered from the rest of society, because of the threat they pose.”
I stand, my blood boiling, and scan the crowd for teachers, for Ransom, someone with authority who can rein in Madison. But Ransom’s gone.
“Read the leaflets. Think about what I’ve said today. You can buzz me or Sarah Baxter, my copresident, with any questions. In the meantime, I implore all of you to help us make the world safe again. Say no to clones. Say no to clones. Say no to clones!” she shouts, raising a fist in the air, echoing the chant I heard on the news during Christmas break.
Pockets of students begin to chant after her, quietly at first, then louder, and with increasing conviction. No! I want to shout out, but I know my voice would be lost in the din. Tears fill my eyes, hot and wet, as I drift to the back of the crowd to leave. I’m not the only one who is disturbed by Madison’s message, but it’s hard to push my way out of the throng. The battle cry grows stronger as more students shout, “Say no to clones! Say no to clones!”
I grab a student’s arm—a girl who is chanting along with Madison. “Why are you doing this? What did clones ever do to hurt you? To make you feel this way?”
The girl meets my eyes, surprised I’ve addressed her. “They existed.” I feel a lurch of nausea, and that’s when I see them. Madison, Tessa, and Jake are at the side of the gathering, forming their own little circle. They are joined by Ransom. And he doesn’t look angry. He looks pleased.
The Lab
I inch through the crowd, wishing I could move faster as I make my way closer to Madison, Tessa, and Jake. I wonder what they’re discussing with Headmaster Ransom. Why does he look so happy after that cringeworthy display of bigotry and intolerance? He was the one who invited the Similars to Darkwood in the first place. Has Ransom known about Madison’s ill intentions all along? Has he been bought by her parents? Did he use Levi as a cover-up for the crime Madison committed? I know it’s a long shot. Ransom might be weaker than I thought, but would he go so far as to frame one student to protect another whose parents are important financial donors? I don’t know. All I know is that my conversation with him about my suspicions led him straight to the authorities.