Orphan Black Classified Clone Reports Read online

  CONTENTS

  COVER

  Orphan Black: Classified Clone Reports

  COPYRIGHT

  ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

  -Cal’s research into the web of corporate Dyad

  -Did he know more than he let on before coming into the field?

  PROJECT LEDA

  If you are reading this, then you are about to learn a great deal about something that has been one of the most closely guarded secrets of this young century. Though in truth the secret goes back to the 19th century . . .

  Forgive me, but this is difficult to write. My name is Delphine Cormier, I’m an immunologist, but my job titles of late have ranged from interim CEO of the Dyad Institute to geneticist.

  Two years ago, I was hired as a Special Research Assistant to Dr. Aldous Leekie, whose name you might recognize as the author of the pop-science book Neolution: The New Science of Self-Directed Evolution. What you, theoretical reader of this material, likely do not know is that there is nothing “new” about Neolution. It was founded in the 19th century by a visionary named P.T. Westmorland, who first proposed self-directed evolution in his book On the Science of Neolution. That book, however, is known only to a few academics and fringe scientists, unlike Aldous’s tome, which brought the concept to the masses.

  However, Aldous’s movement and the Dyad Institute—which engages in cutting-edge, sometimes illegal genetic research—are only a small part of a much larger organization. The true face of Neolution.

  Most of the information I have collected herein relates to the most ambitious project undertaken by Neolution and the Dyad Institute: Cloning.

  Long assumed to be the realm of science fiction and Scottish sheep, human clones—or genetic identicals, as they’re less vulgarly called—have, in fact, been a reality for three decades, thanks to the work of Neolution in general, and the work of doctors Susan and Ethan Duncan in particular. Through Project Leda, they successfully implanted genetically identical fetuses in women around the world via fertility clinics all over the world. As a result, there are now dozens of women who look the same, have the same DNA, and the same voice, though they have been born and raised in different places throughout the globe.

  Those genetic identicals have been monitored by Dyad, originally supervised by Aldous, and his team of monitors. Aldous groomed one clone, Rachel Duncan, to be self-aware. She is one of the Leda clones, the only one who was intentionally self-aware, as she was raised by Susan and Ethan Duncan.

  One set of genetic identicals in Europe became self-aware in 2001, and they wound up being killed—on Rachel’s order, horrifyingly enough. There were 36 casualties, one survived, however, and Veera Suominen (also known as M.K.) reached out to another of her “sisters” in Canada a few years after that, a police detective named Beth Childs. Beth in turn reached out to Cosima Neihaus in the United States, Katja Obinger in Germany, and Alison Hendrix also in Canada.

  My own involvement began when I joined Dyad as Aldous’s Special Research Assistant, and he assigned me to be the monitor for Cosima. That put me in contact with other “sisters”—including two who had managed to be raised outside the purview of Project Leda, a grifter named Sarah Manning and an assassin named Helena. Helena, under the influence of the Proletheans, a rabid religious sect, murdered several of the Leda clones, including Katja, before realizing the error of her ways and finding her twin sister, Sarah.

  Soon, I became far more attached to Cosima than the monitor/subject relationship would normally permit. I also came to realize that there were many competing agendas that I needed to navigate—Aldous’s, Rachel’s, Dyad’s, the cabal that ran Topside’s, and ultimately Neolution’s, under the bizarre leadership of a man claiming to be P.T. Westmorland himself. After Aldous’s death, I was assigned to take his place, and after Rachel was incapacitated, I was promoted to interim CEO.

  But my relationship with the Leda clones has proven problematic. As have those competing agendas I mentioned, as well as difficulties caused by the Proletheans and the other cloning program, Project Castor, which created male genetic identicals, most of whom were raised in a more controlled military environment.

  In addition, all the genetic identicals faced a crisis, a disease ravaging them. Our race to find a cure was impeded by those who wished to destroy the work we have done.

  If this sounds confusing, you are not alone in believing that. I myself have had difficulty—which is why I began compiling the information contained herein. Attached are transcripts, files, reports, e-mails, articles, websites, excerpts, and so much more. I originally started to compile it in order to help keep track of the labyrinthine twists and turns that my life with Project Leda had become. I later came to view it as an important record of what we have all been through.

  To that end, I have gone so far as to include my own diary entries. Many of the conflicts that I and the Leda clones have navigated since we all became aware of the project have been due to its secrecy.

  For a time, I was forced to leave this in Cosima’s hands, as I was in fear for my life. In fact, I was shot, and left for dead, though I was rescued and taken to Revival, the Neolution “headquarters,” where they brought me back to health. After healing from my injuries, I became Revival’s “country doctor,” and eventually was reunited with Cosima, who continued to compile this documentation.

  Now it stands as a record of the extraordinary journey of Project Leda, of cloning, of Neolution, and of the lives of several sisters fighting for their lives.

  Whoever you are, dear reader, I hope that this material proves useful to you. I also hope that it convinces you. This is not fiction. I wish that it were.

  —Dr. Delphine Cormier

  EMPLOYEE PERSONNEL RECORD

  SECURITY LEVEL: Employment Suspended

  STATUS ❒ REGULAR ❒ PART TIME ❒ TEMPORARY

  Employment Status: Classified

  * * *

  Position: Head Immunology - Chief Executive Officer

  * * *

  Details:

  Place of Birth: Lille, France

  Date of Birth: 21/12/84

  Nationality: French

  Education: LMGM, Paris

  * * *

  From the diary of Dr. Delphine Cormier, University of Minnesota

  I have seen her. Walking across the courtyard from her first class this morning, her expression thoughtful, her book bag casually thrown over her shoulder. I had seen photographs, of course; I knew she wore clunky glasses and her hair in a youthful, dreadlock style, that her clothes would be dynamic and colorful. I knew she would be 1.63 meters tall, that she would weigh 50 kg. that she was coming away from a neurobiology class; I knew what to expect . . . But I was not prepared for her insouciant manner, the way she squinted and smiled up at the gathering rainclouds, aware of the gray weather in a way that the other students missed, immersed in their phones and conversations. I did not think she would kick at an early pile of leaves. She walks loosely, comfortable in her skin, her face as open and expressive as Ms. Hendrix’s is closed. It was a strange, exciting moment, seeing her for the first time—I am a spy, and here is my target!—but I am anxious, too.

  Until now, my focus has been so strained and scattered. Working with Aldous, getting close to him . . . I did not expect it to lead me here. Then the move, signing up for classes—the reams of files to read, to memorize. I tell myself I can do this, that I must do this, for Aldous, for myself. The magnitude, the importance of this experiment . . . how could I have said no? But when I saw her today, a real, living young woman laying bare all her eccentricities, hands thrust into the pockets of her red coat . . . The reality of what we are doing, what I am doing,
hit me for the first time.

  She is no longer Subject 324b21; she is no longer a string of designators on a page.

  She is Cosima Niehaus.

  She is real. This is all real.

  COSIMA NIEHAUS

  DYAD INSTITUTE

  CONFIDENTIAL

  NIEHAUS, Cosima

  PLGI #324b21

  PERSONNEL FILE

  DOB: 03-09-1984

  HEIGHT: 5’4”

  WEIGHT: 112 lbs. (prior to treatment for PL gynopathic pulmonary autoimmune disorder; weight reached adult low of 99 lbs. at last recorded medical check).

  OCCUPATION: Graduate student, evolutionary development. Specific family files reference Dyad Surrogate System (DSS).

  SEE ALSO: NiehausD, NiehausM, GoldmannL (maternal foster aunt).

  Besides an early adoption and exhibiting a focused, scientific mind from an early age, Cosima Niehaus’s childhood in the suburbs of San Francisco was unremarkable. Told that their child was exhibiting signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by a Dyad plant at Cosima’s two-year pediatric checkup, the scholarly adoptive couple willingly filled out form after form regarding their daughter’s emotional and educational development; a recommended scoliosis study when subject was four allowed for blood-typing samples and extensive X-ray films. No anomalies were found.

  After she was deemed “gifted” at age seven, a school counselor (Dyad plant) recommended Cosima for a new program serving exceptional students; the program’s administrator also worked for Dyad. Initial tests put her adjusted IQ at 147, with obvious peaks in memorization, reading comprehension, and logical application. Other than the loss of a beloved family dog in 1994 and a few isolated bullying incidents, subject was not exposed to any severe trauma. In addition to high intelligence, Cosima demonstrated standard Leda traits throughout puberty, including playful and occasionally impulsive behavior; she was caught vandalizing school property (subject decorated three school bathrooms with profane phrases in Latin), and records indicate that she was prone to argue points of fact with some of her teachers. Biological samples continued to be collected. Noted pre- and post-puberty that her romantic/sexual inclinations were toward other females (flexible sexual identity tendencies noted in eleven other documented PLGIs thus far). Besides nearly compulsive reading habits, subject enjoyed visiting the California Academy of Sciences and playing interactive games online, notably massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs).

  Subject began using marijuana recreationally in 1999, at age 15. GPA at 2002 graduation was 3.9. She traveled for a year through the EU and India before beginning part-time classes at the University of California, Berkeley, in 2005. Advisor/molecular biology professor CryanP and a coworker at a local bookstore, LopezA, served as interim monitors until a full-time observer could be placed.

  CheseretE served as subject’s monitor from 2010-13. Reports filed indicate that subject was passionate about her work—her focus had narrowed to molecular biochemistry—and she started carrying a full class load in 2011. A CT and MRIs of the brain and spine were performed over a three-week period in March 2011, after subject was administered 2-4 mg. doses of flunitrazepam in wine. No anomalies were found. Became self-aware following direct contact by PLGI Elizabeth Childs in 2013, after which she changed her major to experimental evolutionary biology and transferred to the University of Minnesota.

  —PROPERTY OF DYAD INSTITUTE—

  From the diary of Dr. Delphine Cormier, University or Minnesota

  We are in open lab together Thursday afternoons. She is friendly and laughs a lot, and has twice smiled at me, but only in acknowledgment that we share a class—not as a friend or even as a colleague, not yet. I have a plan, though. It is sournois—sneaky? I will try it tomorrow. I have practiced my “cover” story: I am Delphine Beraud, an immunologist studying host-parasite relationships, recently transplanted from Paris.

  It has been two weeks since I first saw her, but I’ve been kept busy. Dyad sends me work files, keeping me up to date on our somatic therapy projects . . . plus lab results for an unnamed patient exhibiting an unusual grouping of symptoms. I am not given any specifics on the pathogen, told only to theorize whether or not our current work might be effective in treating her. Whoever she is, she is getting worse. She is the same age as Cosima . . . Is it one of the Leda clones?

  Aldous says I need to “step up my game.” This is, faire des progres. We spoke last night, and he says he will be in town again this weekend. He seems . . . different. Il est stressé, agitated. He is concerned about Leda, but was evasive when I asked for more information. I am still waiting for personal notes from Cosima’s previous monitor, Emi Cheseret. Aldous says there have been “difficulties.”

  It is strange, how I feel about him now. I knew who he was before I started at Dyad; I saw him speak at university, read his papers. When I realized we would be working together directly I was, how is it, star-struck? He was so charismatic and focused and methodical. Arrogant, perhaps, but not entirely undeserved. He is one of those people . . . when you are with him, when he is focused on you, you are the only one in the room, in the world. I was so flattered when he invited me to work with him on a “private” company project. From then on it was a whirlwind, wine in the lab at three in the morning, impassioned conversations about the possibilities for the human race and the future of science. The intimacy was sudden and intense, passionné. Too fast. I still thought it might have been love, while I was signing non-disclosure agreements and packing to relocate. I was dizzy with excitement, with the secret hope that I would somehow become instrumental in humanity’s greatest genetic experiment.

  He comes to see me again next week but right now I am here, in my small student’s apartment; it is cold, I am alone, and he is not so compelling on a computer screen. His romance has come to seem il est de routine, that is . . . perfunctory. He wants information about Cosima, about what and who she knows, and beneath his sharp eyes and sultry words I see a growing desperation. Was the seduction only to get me involved in Leda? Am I being used?

  But then, what if I am? These women, they are miracles of science, the foundation on which Dyad can achieve great strides forward in humanity’s understanding of itself. Whatever happens between Aldous and me, he is doing the right thing, trying to find answers. Our deceit is a necessity.

  Tomorrow, I will linger at the desk by her station as the students wander away. She is always one of the last to leave. I will call a recorded line and have a tearful break-up with an ex-lover; I will weep and run, leaving something behind. A scarf? No, papers, important papers, something that will impress her. If she does not follow, I shall go back for them, apologize for the scene . . . I think she will come, though. I think she is too inquisitive and kind not to follow me. Our first direct engagement. Aldous will be pleased.

  DYAD INSTITUTE

  * * *

  MONITOR ASSESSMENT REPORT (AR-21)

  PTN LV 42

  DATE: 10-20-13

  TIME: 1505-1620

  AGENT: CormierD

  SUBJECT DESIGNATION: 324b21

  NAME: Cosima Niehaus

  LOCATION(S): Workhorse coffee shop/university grounds

  OBSERVED WITH: Alone; subject was studying

  INTERACTIONS/EVENTS OF NOTE: Cosima spoke with a departing student for a moment regarding class load. The tone was friendly. Wore headphones and listened to music while she read and wrote on her laptop. Drank two black coffees, ate one plain bagel. Spoke on a small pink phone for a few moments—not her regular phone. Kept her voice low.

  PUPIL GAUGE (mm)

  B = BRISK

  S = SLUGGISH

  HEALTH/APPEARANCE CHANGES: Subject appeared tired, slightly pale. Possible hangover?

  MONITOR-SUBJECT INTERACTION: None.

  EMOTIONAL STATE(S) OF NOTE: Focused, quiet.

  LIST ANY ATTITUDES, ACTIONS, OR BEHAVIORS THAT ARE ATYPICAL FOR THE SUBJECT: None observed.

  We hold in our hand the capacity to refine the very b
uilding blocks of life — thus it is the moral responsibility of visionaries like us to continue healing, feeding, and fueling the future of humanity.

  The Age of Biotechnology is upon us.

  DYAD INSTITUTE

  OFFICIAL MEMO

  * * *

  THIRTY-DAY EMPLOYEE EVALUATION

  EMPLOYEE: Scott Smith

  EMPLOYEE ID: 2045-8819-RND

  SUPERVISOR: Dr. Aldous Leekie

  POSITIVES

  Smith is a promising employee who was hired on the recommendations of Dr. Delphine Cormier and Cosima Niehaus, Project Leda 324b21. Smith’s area of expertise is gene sequencing, a science he understands with an impressive level of natural instinct. His thesis at the University of Minnesota was not yet complete, but I was able to obtain a copy of his current draft, and it was quite brilliant, if a bit too rife with typos—though one would hope that would be fixed by the time of his defense.

  Smith is continuing his graduate work with Dyad’s assistance, and we hope to have him defend his thesis and obtain his doctorate within a year’s time, if not sooner. It is our hope that his talent for sequencing will prove useful in curing the autoimmune disorder that has ravaged Project Leda.

  NEGATIVES

  We have another gamer in our midst. Worse, he’s an organized gamer, and he has taken to gathering his fellow nerds around a table and playing when they should be working.

  I am, perhaps, being unfair. After all, we all have our methods of blowing off steam, and none of the employees who are part of Smith’s little gaming group have been dilatory in their work. However, it has been my experience that hardcore gamers such as Smith and his cronies have an unfortunate tendency to let their leisure activities overtake the ones they’re actually paid to do, and this requires attention.