Found(36)
“Some valuable food cubes containing a rare delicacy—grieza worms all the way from Twin Moons.”
Xairn pulled them out of his pocket but Slk shook his head, his eyes blinking. “I agree that they are indeed tasty but I have grieza worm DNA in my stock—I can synthesize a batch of them whenever I desire. No, what I really want from you is something quite different, my friend.”
All three of his vertical eyes were fixed on Lauren as he spoke and she felt a cold shiver go down her spine. Immediately, Xairn pushed her behind him.
“You can’t have Lauren or any part of her. So forget it.”
Slk’s eyes opened wide. “Not even a single extra vial of her blood for seed cloning? For that is truly all I desire.”
Lauren frowned. “Seed cloning? What’s that?”
“Seed clones are mindless, expendable clones made mostly for pleasure or brief service,” Slk explained smoothly. “They live only a few days and are never fully cognizant of their surroundings.”
“So…sex dolls?” Lauren said, feeling a little sick. “You want to make a bunch of sex dolls that look like me?”
“Essentially, yes.” Slk nodded. “An exotic like yourself would make the most exceptional seed clones, I’m certain.”
“But…to make them just to use them,” Lauren protested. “That doesn’t seem right.”
“Seed clones are mindless, my dear. They can do and say only what they are programmed to and they do not experience pain or pleasure or emotion as we do.”
“Xairn?” She looked up at him for guidance.
“I don’t like it,” he growled, glaring at Slk. “But it will have to be your decision, Lauren. It is your DNA.”
“Why don’t you like it?” she asked, wanting to get a more in depth answer. “Do you think it’s morally wrong or—?”
“Xairn cannot bear the thought of you with another male. Not even a seed clone which only bears your appearance,” Slk answered before Xairn could speak.
Wow. Lauren looked up at the big warrior and saw a muscle clenching over and over in his jaw. This was turning out to be a most informative session!
“I know you are upset with me for stating your thoughts aloud,” Slk went on, addressing Xairn. “But my time is valuable. And I find that things go so much more quickly when everyone involved knows exactly where they stand.”
“I’ll do it,” Lauren said, making a decision. The thought of a bunch of living sex dolls that looked just like her creeped her our something fierce, but there didn’t seem to be any other way to get what they needed done. She dropped Xairn’s hand and held out her arm. “Go ahead and take our blood. How long will it take to get the, uh, alteration done?”
“Not long at all, my dear.” Slk was already bustling forward with an exotic looking blood collection kit in his many hands. “I have only to feed your data and genetic material into my instruments and manipulate the genes—that I do myself of course. It takes finesse and an artist’s skill to correctly mix DNA. Once I am finished I will inject you both with the finished product.”
“And will we see immediate results?” Lauren winced as the alien needle pierced the vein in the crook of her elbow. The vials of blood Slk was drawing seemed awfully large but she supposed she really couldn’t complain.
“No, the new sequence needs time to merge with your existing DNA. You will probably see the final results tomorrow morning. In fact…” He looked up at Lauren as he withdrew the needle. “I’ll be happy to offer you overnight accommodations. I have a guest suite for just this purpose.”
“And what will that cost us?” Xairn growled, holding out his arm as Slk finished with Lauren and moved on to him.
“No extra charge.” Slk’s three eyes blinked slowly. “I merely wish to keep you both close until your transformations are complete.”
“Why? Do you expect complications?” Lauren couldn’t quite keep the nervousness out of her voice.
“No, but it’s best to be prepared just in case,” Slk said smoothly. He finished with Xairn and withdrew the needle. “Now then, I will combine your respective DNAs in the way that will suit each of you best. I’ll only be a moment.”
Lauren frowned. A moment? He’s messing with our genes, making permanent changes in us and it’s only going to take a moment?
“You forget, my dear, I am a skilled artisan,” Slk said. Taking the vials of blood to one of the tables, he fed two of them into a slot on the side of a complicated looking machine and then peered at the attached screen. At once a series of colored blocks appeared. “And, not to insult you, but you both have extremely primitive DNA. I could do this alteration with my hands tied behind my back.”