18 The Conception Of A Replicant

A long time ago, long ago, so long ago that no one can remember, far away in a hot country, where the dark forest met with mountains and rivers embraced the ocean, there was a small town, isolated from all big cities of its continent. This town was called Haven.

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In Haven, the color of skin or race had no importance. The residents lived in perfect harmony among themselves, nature, and its inhabitants as, in the name of God, they had learned what was love, truth, forgiveness, and joy. Absolute peace reigned over Haven and its surroundings.

All citizens shared one united bond which they referred to as 'The Children Of God', that tied them together as a big family. All of them except one young man whose name was Octavio Von Sixth, a young gentleman in his early 20's, born and raised by a family of migrants who had arrived in Haven when he was 5 years old.

The Von Sixth family had a long linage and their ancestors happened to be nobles from Europe. It did not take long for the head of the family to work his way up to the highest-ranking official position, otherwise known as 'mayor' of the town.

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From a young age, Octavio was considered a gifted child, his intelligence surpassing that of Einstein more than three-fold. By the age of 28, he realized that his knowledge in 'Human Science and Human Biology' had largely surpassed even the most renowned scientists to date and that he had reached a point where the only way to progress any further was to challenge himself.

Regardless of his achievements, the citizens of Haven had a divisive opinion about their young genius. In fact, even though some of his cellular researches in Human Biology had saved dozens of lives and his supporters' community grew in numbers every day, regrettably, the majority of the residents - his father included - had rejected his methods and preferred to rely on the traditional ways that were passed down through generations.

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On the day of Octavio's 29th birthday, his father had suddenly collapsed due to a heart attack. He was then brought to the hospital where he had been diagnosed with a 'Coronary Artery Disease'. After a heated argument between son and father about the treatment and who would do it, Octavio had insisted that he was capable of curing the disease if his father would let him. Unfortunately, his father did not share the same opinion and turned him down, preferring to entrust his life to a well-reputed expert.

disaccording response to their argument, Octavio had decided to permanently leave his home and establish himself in an old warehouse on the outskirts of town where he pursued his researches, isolated from his father's criticism about his career choice.

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Less than a month after these events, Octavio had learned that his father had sadly passed away. Out of grief, he slowly succumbed to alcohol. Some of his patients and close friends had tried to get in contact with him in order to help him, but, according to some people, Octavio had presented tremendous personality changes, becoming aggressive and untalkative. After multiple attacks on his guests, people stopped coming to see him, until there was no one left...

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Three years passed since the last day when Octavio had been seen in public. With time, people slowly forgot about him and moved on with their occupations. Time had never stopped for anyone, neither for Octavio nor his mother, who became a widow and continued living in their residence, waiting and hoping that, one day, her son would come back.

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As time went by, some strange rumors began to spread around the city. According to these, late at night, some people had witnessed dead corpses being delivered to the abandoned warehouse. Immediately after, local authorities began their investigations into the matter, but on the day of their intervention, the old warehouse caught fire causing the building to collapse, leaving nothing behind but ashes and dust. That same night, multiple witnesses - as well as one of the neighbors of the Von Sixth residence - affirmed that they saw the old mayor entering his house.

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The news about the deceased mayor, who had died three years ago, somehow coming back to life, spread like wildfire across the whole country. The most renowned television channels and their journalists rushed to Haven begging for an exclusive interview with what they called - 'The Miracle of God'.

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The town council announced that the old Mayor had been declared a revenant, which contradicted the essence of Haven's fundamental principle of 'The Children Of God' which referred to the 'Human Life Cycle'.

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The situation began to get out of hand as the population of Haven was divided into two parties: two-thirds of the population demanded that Sir Von Sixth return to the dead and also claimed that the Von Sixth family were heretics who disobeyed the teaching of God and who had no place in Haven. The rest of the population was convinced that Sir Von Sixth was a messiah whom they had to protect at all costs.

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The Von Sixth residence became a national point of interest. While all sorts of opinions and rumors began ruining their otherwise good reputation, the Von Sixth's kept their silence.

The tensions between both parties grew more violent each day. Both sides gained thousands of followers every day as the conflict attracted more attention. Manifestations and protests occurred on a quotidian basis; death threats were written all around the walls; Haven had changed from a peaceful town to an anarchy epicenter; not even local authorities could maintain their citizen's calm anymore. And so the chaos continued, until the day when a mysterious figure appeared behind the gates of Haven: that mysterious figure happened to be none other than Octavio Von Sixth himself.

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What Octavio revealed to the world was not the first step but the last and decisive correlation of the universal knowledge that he had used to create something that was capable of defying God himself. He had succeeded in creating a new 'Intelligent Lifeform', a new artificial being merged from human flesh and neuro-robotics.

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At the end of his speech, Octavio had called his deceased father, which he referred to as 'The Replicant', and shot a bullet straight through his head right in front of the cameras. The gunfire echoed off the stone walls across the residence. At that moment, everything stopped; the wind, the scent of the flowers, even the flowing of the river. A thin red liquid emerged from its forehead, slowly touching its lips, and then drizzled down on the stone path. The kneeling Replicant and his master gazed at each other in complete silence. A second or two later Octavio threw a napkin and told his creature to wipe the blood off its front and so it did. The old human-like man then stood up and looked at the public with its glowing purple eyes... The whole world was astounded.