Tajlon tried to work through his anger while alone in his quarters that evening. Part of him understood exactly where Jejliard was coming from, but he resented the heavy-handed treatment. He decided there was no way he could put it to rest without confronting his father. He would call him out of the meeting if necessary. The sooner they got this out of the way, the better.

He found his father in the corridor on the way to the conference room.

"Dad, we need to talk."

"I'm listening," Jejliad said

"Don't pretend this isn't a big deal," Tajlon said. "You embarrassed me in front of everyone."

"Embarrassed you?"

"Yes. In the future if we have a disagreement, I would appreciate a more adult discussion."

Before he could delve into the matter further, the ship's alarm system went off and a message from Widhbo came over the intercom.

"Sensors have detected activity on Beldora consistent with the deployment of a nuclear weapon. The Sora is not in danger, but there may be a transient increase in radiation levels in the upper atmosphere. Please move away from the exterior of the ship. Shields going up now."

Jejliard rushed past Tajlon. "We can talk later. I have to get to the control deck."

Tajlon followed him, but was stopped by Hal, who flagged him down as he passed the conference room door.

"Do we know where it hit?" Hal asked.

"No. I'm heading to the control deck now," Tajlon said and kept walking.

Hal took hold of one arm. "What's eating you, Tajlon? I know that look."

"It's Dad. I was trying to talk to him about today on on the Solar Wave, but he acted like nothing happened. We were interrupted when Widhbo came on."

"Well, that's strange," Hal mused. "He was right here talking to us when the alarm went off."

Tajlon looked at Hal, confused. "Dad was in the hallway with me when the alarm sounded.

"That can't be. Not unless there's more than one Jejliard on this ship," Hal replied. "He just left here, headed for the control deck."

"Yeah, so did mine," Tajlon said. He took off at a run to catch up with Jejliard. If Widhbo had been speaking on over the intercom, then Widhbo couldn't have been imitating his father.

* * *

Tajlon ran past several crew members on his way to the control deck.

"I thought there was no danger," one man shouted after him.

"There's not." he called back to them. "This is personal."

When he arrived, his fears were confirmed. Two Jejliards stood side by side looking at a very uncomfortable Widhbo.

"Close the doors please, Tajlon," Widbho said. "And lock them."

Tajlon did as requested. "I thought so."

"First things first," Widhbo said. "The bomb hit north of Turodey and was directed at the Council's security fleet near Agartoon. Casualties are yet to be determined."

"So, it's started," the first Jejliard said. "We barely got out in time."

"Colberton's technicians examined the bombs we made for him and discovered they were fake. Colberton left the fakes with the security fleet before he defected and came after the Sora with his battleship. The Theopians however, were able to make functional nukes from the information Colberton had given them.

The conventional bomb our drone dropped on the battleship fooled everyone and forced a showdown. When the Council's security fleet deployed the fake bombs in response, they only produced a little smoke and a light show. but the Theopian forces retaliated with real nukes today. Neither side knows Colberton and his men survived the attack on his battleship and assume he was killed, but they were able to get off the ship before it sank.

Now any attack Colberton launches against the Theopians, will look to them as though it is from reinforcements out of Trabest. Fortunately, Colberton doesn't have a nuke of his own at present. He is planning to hide in the bunker at NORC until the conflict plays out. Everyone will be forced to take refuge below ground. How long, depends on how trigger happy the Theopians are."

"What about the sub?" Tajlon asked.

"The prevailing winds are in their favor. I've already contacted Mara. She knows what to do," Widhbo said. "Now that's out of the way, we have to figure out what caused this little glitch."

"This is more than a little glitch, Widhbo," the first Jejliard said looking at his double.

"How did it happen, Widhbo?" Tajlon asked. "And more importantly how are we going to fix it?"

"I have no idea," Widhbo said. He spread out his wings and flapped them up and down in agitation. "It's against all protocol. The ancients strictly forbid duplication and the ship is programmed with their directives."

"So, one of us has to go," the second Jejliard replied.

"Whatever we decide, " the first Jejliard said. "We can't have the ship fabricating people out of thin air."

"Something had to upset the order of things," Widhbo insisted. "I'm checking the memory logs now." He lost himself in the keyboard.

Tajlon looked to each of his fathers. They were identical except for the clothing worn. The first one must be the one he spoke to in the hallway as he was in civilian clothes The second still wore the flight suit from the transport trip earlier that day. Would that be the one who forced him to go back to the Sora?

"Where were you last night?" Tajlon asked the first one.

"Having dinner with you, Tajlon."

"Then it was you who went to Kalara with us," Tajlon said pointing to the second.

"Yes."

"Who forced me to get back on the transport instead of staying on the Solar Wave?" Tajlon asked.

"I did," the first Jejliard admitted.

"Where did you sleep?"Tajlon asked the second Jejliard.

"I wasn't tired, so I went to the library to read for a while and worked on through the night. I grabbed an early breakfast before returning to our quarters to rest this morning."

"And I was up early, so we missed one another," the first Jejliard surmised.

Tajlon had to sit down. His head was spinning. "For the record, neither of you are acting normally."

Widhbo looked up from his console. "The Jejliard who went to Kalara is the imposter."

"I'm not an imposter!" the second Jeliard shouted.

"Sorry, I meant to say the unauthorized copy," Widhbo replied.

"So, what do we do now?" Tajlon asked. "We can't have two of you walking around the ship."

"I could teleport the duplicate to the prison cell I made for Colberton. It's really quite comfy."

"Let's hear another option," the second Jejliard said.

"I suppose you could take turns leaving your quarters. Delicate, but it might work," Widhbo said.

"That wouldn't help me very much," Tajlon said.

"Hmm. You'd get used to it eventually," Widhbo mused. "But the ancients really won't like this. They simply don't permit it."

The two Jejliards were sizing one another up.

"I don't see any ancients around. Why don't we just forget about them?" Tajlon said.

"Oh, dear boy," Widhbo said condescendingly, "We all have to answer to them if we break their laws. They'll find out eventually. I suppose I'm already in a lot of trouble."

"There has to be a solution," the first Jeliard said. "What's to prevent the ship from making more copies of us? Any one of us?"

"I just fixed that," Widhbo said. "It had to be your chip Jejliard. The ship was confused. It thought you were really a program. When you were sleeping and not available to carry out the mission to Kalara, it felt obligated to fill in with another program to get the job done. A copy obviously."

"But identical to my father," Tajlon said looking closely at the two men.

"Yes," Widhbo said. "They should differ only in individual experiences from the moment the new Jejliard was created."

"So the longer we coexist, the more we will diverge?" the first Jejliard asked.

"Correct. You will eventually be the equivalent of twin brothers with identical pasts."

Tajlon sighed heavily. "I wish the ship would have made two of me instead. Then one of me could have stayed with Soshe." He looked to Widhbo with a new light in his eyes. "Could you do that?"

"Sorry, Tajlon. I just told you it's against the rules." Widhbo turned back to the console and began tapping commands into the keyboard.

"The ship has already broken the rule. What would it matter now?" Tajlon asked.

"The ship created a second Jejliard without my knowledge and I repaired the program as soon as I discovered the mistake. There would be no plausible deniability if I purposely made another Tajlon."

"I can't believe you're pretending to be so principled after all the harm you've done, Widhbo," Tajlon said.

"I have no idea what you're alluding to, Tajlon. I've always acted in an exemplary manner."

"Perhaps Jejliard and Jejliard would be interested to know about your connection to Agartoon."

Widhbo protested. "Are you trying to blackmail me?"

"Starting withIn this ship, the one you stole?" Tajlon pressured him in return.

"Stop it," the first Jejliard said. "This isn't accomplishing anything."

"What about leaking nurclear secrets to the Theopians ten years ago?" Tajlon asked.

"Now you've done it," Widhbo said. "I spoke in confidence, and you've betrayed me."

"I think he... they, deserve to know the whole truth."

Widhbo turned to face him with an angry look. "You disappoint me, Tajlon. Tell them whatever you like. I'm going to check on Greyla." With that he teleported from the room.

What happened in Kalara Tajlon?" the first Jejliard asked. "I wasn't there."

"You weren't acting normally. You were harsh with everyone," Tajlon said. "I knew something was off."

"We accomplished the mission," the second Jejliard said. "When you're under attack there is no time to spare feelings."

"And then you," Tajlon said pointing toward the first Jejliard, "Strong armed me to force me back on the transport."

"What was that all about?" the second Jejliard asked.

"I decided to go with the Solar Wave to the cave. I could have uploaded like the others and stayed to help my grandmother, Soshe, and the others," Tajlon said. "But you stopped me."

The second Jejliard had maneuvered closer to Tajlon while he was engrossed in the conversation. Without warning he grabbed Tajlon and pinned both arms behind his back. "Like this?"

"Hey!" the first Jejliard said. "There's no reason for that. Let him go."

"I disagree," the second Jejliard replied. He pulled a knife from his belt and held it against Tajlon's ribs. "Move over there, in front of the control panel.

"Don't do it, Dad," Tajlon protested. "Don't get near the grid." The man pressed the knife point into Tajlon's flesh, causing him to wince in pain.

"Alright. Calm down, I'll do it," the first Jejliard said and began edging toward the grid as directed.

"No!" Tajlon yelled. He lifted one leg and stomped as hard as he could on his attacker's foot.

The second Jejliard yelped in pain and lost his hold. Tajlon pulled free just as the first Jejliard rushed the other man and slammed him into the corner of the desk.

Tajlon grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it to make him drop the knife. It clattered to the floor, but the second man spotted a hammer lying on the desk and struck the other one in the head.

He hurled the unconscious Jejliard in front of the console, onto the formation grid, and hit a control button on the console before Tajlon could stop him.

Tajlon watched in horror as thick fog formed over the limp figure of his father and the body disintegrated before his eyes. Tajlon could see layers of bone and muscle exposed. Blood flowed around the tissues and was absorbed into the floor.

"You won't get away with this," Tajlon shouted. "You can't just erase someone like that."

"You heard what Widhbo said. There can only be one of us, Tajlon," the second Jejliard said. "I did what had to be done for the benefit of all concerned."

"You killed my father."

"I am your father."

"No. You aren't. He would have never done that," Tajlon said

"You're upset. I understand how you must feel."

"Understand this," Taljon said. He rushed the man and plunged the knife into his chest. The imposter stumbled back and fell to the grid.

It was then Tajlon saw the shiny metallic chip lying there, all that was left after the ship had absorbed the real Jejliard. He grabbed the chip, then pushed the disintegrate button to destroy the man who had killed his real father. As the fog began to form again, Tajlon unbolted the door and ran from the room without looking back. He couldn't bear to watch the process again. Even knowing it was the imposter, it looked exactly like his father. He knew he would have to face this creature pretending to be Jejliard again.

* * *

Tajlon was pale and breathless as he ran to sick bay. Hal was there with Greyla and fussing at Widhbo for uploading her so soon after her injury.

"Whose stupid idea was it to black out the girl who just woke up from a concussion?" Hal demanded.

"She'll be fine. It's not the same thing..."

"Widhbo, we need to talk," Tajlon said bursting into the room.

Widhbo cocked his head to one side feigning confusion. "Permission to continue."

"In private please."

"Hal seems inclined to keep secrets," Widhbo said. " Anything you say in confidence will be safe with him. You're the little blackmailer."

Tajlon fell to his knees. He was nauseated and couldn't speak for a moment.

Hal hurried to his side and helped him up. "Looks like you could use a little time in sick bay yourself, buddy. What's wrong, Tajlon?"

"Hal, there were two of him. the imposter killed my father and I stabbed him. The ship took them both."

Widhbo puffed up and stretched out his wings to their full span, reaching half-way across the room. "Tell me exactly what happened. Oh, never mind."

Widhbo made a quick sweep of Tajlon's tortured thoughts and reviewed the short-term memory where he was able to see everything which had transpired.

Hal pressed for more information. "Let me get this straight. You killed someone?"

"I stabbed the imposter."

"It was an unauthorized duplicate copy of Jejliard," Widhbo explained.

"He's a murderer. He knocked Dad out, threw him on the grid, and caused the ship to absorb his body. It was horrible."

Hal studied Tajlon's face then reached down, pulled back a sleeve and ran his finger over a scraped area.

"What are you doing?" Tajlon asked.

"You got a scratch when we pulled you through the door on the transport," Hal said. He pulled up a sleeve revealing a long red mark down Tajlon's forearm. "I had to know it it's really you."

"I don't blame you," Tajon replied. "How can any of us be sure who we're dealing with?"

"This isn't good," Widhbo said. "The ship isn't authorized to disintegrate living organisms."

"So the ship can just suck us in like?" Hal asked. Tajlon was leaning more heavily on him for support near passing out. "Come on. You need to lie down and get some blood to your head."

Hal helped Tajlon to a gurney.

Widhbo handed Hal an intravenous set. "He needs medicating."

Hal had the line in by the time Widbho returned with a couple of vials.

"What are you giving me?" Tajlon asked.

"One is for nausea and the other's a little something to calm your homicidal tendencies," Widhbo said. "Or I could simply adjust your recent memory to forget all about this if you prefer."

"I can't afford to forget," Tajlon said. "You know he'll be back for me."

"You don't know that," Hal said. "Jejliard would forgive you."

"I'll see what I can do with the program," Widhbo said and teleported away.

"Hal, I'm scared. This thing isn't a duplicate of my father. It's nothing like him."

"We need to figure out a way to tell them apart," Hal said. "Of course, if the ship has them both, what one knows, the other will too."

"We may never see Dad again, Hal. Just the devil who's taken his place.