EXPIRATION DATE

"What do I know about him?" he thought. "He is a clone. He is the perfect soldier. His expiration date is five years. He knows he will die. He knows his life is just a countdown to death. But he did not give up. He fights. He loves. He lives."

Elias stopped at an intersection. Beside him stood an old lamppost, flickering, casting dim light on the wet asphalt. He leaned against the lamppost and closed his eyes. Kane-39's face appeared before him - the one he had seen on the screen. Harsh, muscular, with a tattoo on his chest. But in his eyes there was pain. The same pain Elias felt every day.

"He is like me," he thought. "He also suffers. He also fears. But he does not give up. He fights. He is human. Even if the system says he is just a weapon."

He opened his eyes and looked at the sky. There, beyond the layers of smog, stars were hidden. He had not seen them for years, but he knew they were there. Somewhere out there, beyond this gray veil, was freedom. Somewhere out there was life.

"I will find you, Kane-39," he thought. "I will find you and Iris Vos. I will help you. I will do everything so you can be free. Because if you can be free, then I can too. Then we all have a chance."

He pushed off from the lamppost and walked on. His steps became more confident. He knew a long road lay ahead. Knew it would be difficult. But he was ready. Ready to fight. Ready to be human.

Elias walked through the dark streets, and his thoughts continued to circle around Kane-39. He remembered everything he had heard in the bar. Every detail, every word, every hint - all of it came together in a picture that captured his imagination.

"The perfect clone-soldier," he thought. "What does that mean? It means he was created to kill. To be ruthless. To feel no pain, fear, compassion. But he feels. He feels love. He feels pain. He feels fear. He is human."

Elias remembered his own heart. Mechanical, humming, with that cursed sound that haunted him every second. But Kane-39, perhaps, had a real heart. Or at least he felt as strongly as a person with a real heart.

"Thirty-eight attempts," he continued thinking. "Thirty-eight clones died. Thirty-eight lives wasted. And he - the thirty-ninth - survived. He became perfect. But he did not become obedient. He did not become a weapon. He became human."

Elias stopped before a large building on whose wall hung a hologram advertising Genesis. "Genesis - your life in our hands," the slogan read. Elias looked at these words and felt anger rise in his chest.

"They created him," he thought. "They created him to use. To kill. To be a weapon. But he escaped. He showed them he is not just a weapon. He is human. And they are afraid of this. They are afraid other clones will also escape. They are afraid the system will collapse."

He clenched his fists. His nails dug into his palms, but he barely felt the pain. He felt only anger and determination.

"I will help you, Kane-39," he thought. "I will help you be free. I will help you fight. I will help you prove you are human. Even if it costs me my life."

He walked on. In his head, a plan was already beginning to form. He had to find Kane-39 and Iris Vos. He had to help them. He had to become part of their fight. He had to be human.

Elias continued walking through the night city, and his thoughts shifted to Iris Vos. She was the granddaughter of the corporation head. She had everything - money, power, privileges. She lived in the green zone. She ate real food. She breathed real air. She had a real heart. And she risked everything for a clone.

"Why?" he thought. "Why did she do it? She had everything I can only dream of. She had freedom. She had life. And she risked everything for love. For a man the system calls a weapon."

He remembered her face on the screen. Red hair, green eyes, wide smile. She looked like a person who knew what she was doing. Like someone who was not afraid of consequences. Like someone ready to die for her love.

"She is stronger than me," he thought. "She is stronger than I am. She did what I cannot do. She chose love. She chose freedom. She chose to be human."

He stopped on a bridge over a canal of dark water. The water was dirty, with an oily film on the surface. But he looked at it and imagined it was a clean river. That he stood on the bank and breathed real air. That he was free.

"Iris Vos," he thought. "You are an example for all of us. You showed that even in this world you can love. That even in this world you can be human. You gave us hope. You showed the system is not all-powerful."

He gripped the bridge railing and looked ahead. The city stretched before him - gray, cold, lifeless. But he was no longer part of this city. He was free. He was human.

"I will find you, Iris Vos," he thought. "I will find you and Kane-39. I will help you. I will do everything so you can be free. Because if you can be free, then I can too. Then we all have a chance."

Elias continued walking through the city, but now his thoughts were occupied with the love of Kane-39 and Iris Vos. They were in love. A clone and a human. This violated all the rules. This violated the Purity Coefficient. This was impossible. But it was true.

"They love each other," he thought. "They risked everything for that love. They disabled the system for five minutes to kiss. Five minutes that changed their lives. Five minutes that made them traitors. Five minutes that made them free."

He stopped before an old building on whose wall someone had painted a graffiti - a heart pierced by an arrow. Elias looked at this heart and felt his own heart beat faster.

"Love," he thought. "I forgot what it was. I forgot what it was like to love. I forgot what it was like to be loved. But they reminded me. They showed that even in this world you can love. That even in this world you can be human."

He ran his finger over the graffiti, feeling the rough surface of the wall. The paint was old, cracked, but the heart was still visible. It was a symbol of hope. A symbol of freedom. A symbol of love.

"I want to love," he thought. "I want to feel. I want to be human. And I will prove it. I will find them. I will help them. I will become part of their fight. I will become human."

He pulled his hand from the wall and walked on. His steps were confident, firm. He knew what lay ahead. Knew it would be difficult. But he was ready. Ready to fight. Ready to love. Ready to be human.

Elias approached the city center, where holograms were brighter and drones more numerous. Here hung huge screens broadcasting news. On one screen he saw the face of Marcus Vos - the head of Genesis, Iris's grandfather. His face was cold, ruthless, as always.

"Dear users," Marcus said. "Today I want to talk to you about betrayal. About how one person can destroy everything we have built. My granddaughter, Iris Vos, chose the path of betrayal. She helped a fugitive clone escape. She betrayed her family, her corporation, her values. But we will find her. We will find them both. And they will pay for their crimes."

Elias looked at the screen and felt his hands clench into fists. He hated this man. Hated his cold eyes, his mechanical smile, his words that sounded like a sentence.

"You won't find them," he thought. "I won't let you find them. I will protect them. I will do everything to keep them free."

The screen switched to other news, but Elias continued staring at where Marcus's face had been. He felt anger and determination battle in his soul.

"They've put a bounty on them," he thought. "Fifty thousand credits for Kane-39's head. Ten million for Iris Vos. They want to catch them. They want to destroy them. But I won't let them. I will protect them. I will do everything to keep them free."

He turned and walked on. He knew he had to be careful. Knew he was also being sought. Knew his lowered PC made him vulnerable. But he was not afraid. He was ready to fight.

"I will do it," he thought. "I will find them. I will help them. I will prove I am human. And I will die knowing I made the right choice."

Elias stopped at a small terminal built into the wall of a building. He entered his access code and opened the news feed. There was an announcement about the reward for capturing Kane-39. He read it several times, feeling his heart beat faster.

"For information on Kane-39's whereabouts - 50,000 credits," the announcement read. "For assistance in capture - 100,000 credits. For assistance in elimination - 150,000 credits. Remember: traitors deserve no mercy."

Elias looked at these numbers and felt his stomach clench. Fifty thousand credits. An amount that could change his life. He could buy a new heart. Raise his PC. Move to the green zone. Be free. But he knew he would never do it.

"I won't betray them," he thought. "I won't sell them out. I won't be like everyone else. I will be human. I will help them. I will do everything to keep them free."

He closed the terminal and stepped away from the wall. He felt his determination strengthen. Knew what lay ahead. Knew it would be difficult. But he was ready. Ready to fight. Ready to be human.

"I will find them," he thought. "I will help them. And I will prove that even in this world you can be human. This is my path. This is my fate. I am ready."

Elias slowly wandered along the corridor of his residential block. His legs ached, his back hurt, but he barely felt the physical fatigue. His thoughts were far away - where Kane-39 and Iris Vos fought for freedom. Where love defeated the system. Where hope still existed.

He stopped before his door - as white as all the others. It opened at the signal of his neural interface, letting him into the tiny capsule-apartment. White walls, white floor, white ceiling. The sleep capsule in the corner, a table, a mirror. Everything the same as in the morning. Everything the same as yesterday. Everything the same as always.

Elias entered and closed the door. He felt silence descend upon him, heavy, pressing, almost tangible. Here, in this tiny room, he was alone. Absolutely alone. Only his breathing and the quiet hum of his artificial heart could be heard. Vzh-vzh-vzh. The sound he hated. But now it sounded like a reminder that he was alive. That he breathed. That he could still change something.

He took off his jumpsuit and hung it on the back of a chair. The jumpsuit was wet with sweat that had broken out on his skin after the long day. He smelled the synthesized air that had seeped into his hair, his skin, his clothes. The smell of the corporation. The smell of the cage.

He walked to the small window and looked at the night city. Corporate holograms shone on building walls, reflecting in skyscraper windows. Locust drones patrolled the streets, their red lights flickering in the darkness like predators' eyes scanning for prey. Below, on the endless levels of the city, people hurried home - assets like him. They did not look up. Did not look at each other. They just walked, heads down, following their protocols.

"I am no longer one of you," he thought. "I can't be one of you. I must go my own way. I must fight. I must be human."

He turned from the window and walked to the sleep capsule. He wanted to lie down and close his eyes. Wanted to forget. Wanted to wake up and find the whole day was a nightmare. But he knew it was impossible. Knew his life was reality. And he had to accept it.

He sat on the edge of the capsule and lowered his head. Tears rose to his eyes, but he did not let them fall. He had to be strong. Had to fight. Had to be human.

"I will find you, Iris Vos," he thought. "I will find you and Kane-39. I will help you. I will do everything so you can be free. This is my mission. This is my fate. I am ready."

But in that moment, as he was about to lie down, he heard a sound. Quiet, barely perceptible, but distinct. Footsteps. In his capsule-apartment. Someone was here. He jumped to his feet and looked around.

In the corner of the room, on his only chair, sat a girl. She wore a bright red cloak that stood out against the white walls. Her hair was red as flame, and her eyes - green as the grass in the green zones he had never seen. She looked at him without fear. Only determination. Only hope.

Are you Elias Hall? - she asked. Her voice was quiet but firm.

Elias froze. He could not move. Could not speak. He just looked at her and felt his heart beat faster. Vzh-vzh-vzh. The sound he hated. But now it sounded like a warning. Like a reminder that he was in danger.

Who are you? - he asked, his voice trembling.

The girl stood. The red cloak billowed behind her like a banner. She walked to him and stopped at arm's length.