... Lots of memories, lots of friends. Then I saw us. P'nyssa, Aaden, and myself, leaning against the wall in storage and maintenance cubicles. I walked up to my duplicate and looked it in the face. Its eyes were closed, but otherwise it was a pretty good image. A little disconcerting; I was used to seeing my face in the mirror, as a reverse image. This thing looked like I was supposed to look, the face I presented to the world. I ran my hand along the chin; it was cold, but there was a slight stubble there, too. I laughed. Correct in every detail. P'nyssa's and Aaden's 'droids were even more disconcerting. As far as I knew, that may just as well have been my coimelin there, but for the lack of breathing. No, that wasn't entirely true. Aaden, all 184 centimeters of him, rested against the wall with his muscular arms crossed. His tail hung low, indicating a relaxed pose, but otherwise this was the same anthropomorphic skunk I'd been living with for the past four and half centuries. Same short muzzle, same triangular chin with the sudden blunt terminus, same black nose. The fur was just as thick as on the real one; it was something of an effort to not reach out and stroke it, or to stroke down over it's pants and find out if the 'droid was accurate in absolutely every detail or not. Other than the lack of breathing, the only giveaway that this was not my true love was that the real Aaden, standing to my left and most definitely breathing, was wearing his 'indoor' clothing of silk blouse pants and a vest with many pockets, whereas the 'droid was wearing denim cutoff shorts and a tank-top. |