
A plan was forming.

Custom clones were all the rage back on Earth. It had become so
easy to manufacture them that people had clones for all kinds of
things - attending meetings or parties you were too busy or lazy to
go to, taking care of your kids while you were at work, driving
your car for you, and, well, you get the idea. Of course, with all
those clones running around, people also started to get nervous
about all the kinds of accidents that could happen.

"Honeysuckle, you know what I do for a living?"

"Funny, I never even thought to ask!" she giggled. Back then, her
giggle was thrilling, later I realised it was all a simulation, she
already knew everything about me. Remembering it now, half of me
wants to fall into the arms of that giggle, the other half hears it
for what it was - the mechanical ticking of a time-bomb.

"I work in insurance."

"Wow, sounds complicated!"

"It depends on what kind of insurance you're in. I'm in the
uncomplicated kind." I rolled the ball down the lane. It veered off
course and knocked a single pin.

"Anyway, there's a new clause that's in a lot of life-insurance
contracts, especially tailored for people who use
cloning-technologies."

"Oh? What does this have to do with anything, my sweet
hummingbird?"

"Hummingbird? Where'd you get that name from?" I rolled the ball
again, I hit another handful of pins, but this was a game I'd
already lost. I made a mental note not to go bowling with an
android again.

"The clause is called 'Triple Indemnity'; If you're killed by your
clone, the insurance pays out three-fold."

She had picked up her ball and threw it as I spoke these last
words. The ball went straight to the gutter. My mouth opened. I
thought to myself that she was either a quick learner or had a dark
mind; she had understood perfectly what I was suggesting. Too
perfectly.

I should have followed the path of that bowling ball and veered off
course right then. I should've sensed what she was capable of and
ran the other way.

