by T5 and GoozX
"Shouldn't we help him, father?"
"No, dear. He needs this time to heal and find his purpose in life. And besides, you're not fit for any field operations, my little Crasher."
The ancient man smiled and turned the screen showing Eurostar and Turner in the canoe.
Turner opened his eyes once again; they were almost ashore. Using most of his strength, he pulled himself upward, leaning on the side of the canoe. He picked up the two extra oars and put them into place, helping Edulcore Cicciotto to move toward their destination, wherever that might be. Edulcore didn't tell him to stop and relax, knowing in advance that the ex-agent would not.
"So, do you have a first name?" Edulcore asked, unsure if he would even get a response.
"Once I did." Much to Edulcore's surprise he got an answer. "But it was nothing but an illusion."
"Yeah? It seems like the last two years have only been an illusion, or a bad trip."
"Ironically, that's about my age."
"You're TWO years old?" Edulcore could not contain his surprise.
"Two. Three. Maybe four or five."
"If you don't mind my asking..."
"I'm a clone."
Both men were silent for a moment.
"Ehy? ... Knell?"
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry."
"Not your fault."
"So."
"Eddie. You love him, don't you?"
"As if he were my son."
"But he is nothing but a clone. Made in a lab by a psychopath."
"He might be a clone, made from my genetic material," said Edulcore thoughtfully. "But when I look into his eyes, I see much more. He lives and breathes. He is not I, but his own person. He does have a soul."
"God did not make him. Man did."
"If God did not want him made, he would not exist."
Turner snorted. "You hold so much faith in something that seems so false."
"Much like Eddie, you too have a soul. Is that your fear? That you should not exist?"
"I have no fears. I was MADE that way. My powers -- unnatural. I should not exist."
"Yet you do. If God wanted it any other way, that's how it would be."
The melodrama of it all suddenly got to Turner, and he could only laugh. After a few seconds, Edulcore joined in the laughter.
Finally, they reached land. Getting out of the canoe, Turner paused for a moment, then left his fedora behind.