Free Clones vs. Aliens by M.E. Castle

and glasses at the table. Fisher knew the table was reaching its capacity. He had no choice. He would have to act fast. Soon, the arms would start missing, and plates—or bones—would start shattering.
    Fisher pulled a small plastic pellet out of his pocket and hurled it at the kitchen floor. Its thin plastic shell broke open, releasing a fine powder in a cloud that Fisher was just outside of, as per his exact calculations.
    Instantly, the kids stopped what they were doing, smiled, and sat down.
    Fisher nearly laughed out loud. It was working! He knew that right now each kid was recalling the experience of eating a favorite food in such exquisite detail that he would stay occupied for at least another half hour … when the serum wore off.
    But Fisher couldn’t relax yet. In the living room, Chance Barrows, the multisport star and glowing pinnacle of cool among seventh-grade boys, had just tripped over the release lever for the tank holding Mr. Bas’s collective-mind ants. The entire swarm shared a single mind, and it flowed out of the tank like a wave. Chance dove out of the way as the ants searched for food. The swarm moved in absolute unison, perfect coordination, taking sharp turns and twists as they headed for the kitchen.
    Chance crushed a few dozen as he clambered out of the way, but the hive continued on like nothing had happened. Fisher raced for the pantry, holding his breath as he passed through the kitchen, where some of the memory serum powder was no doubt still lingering in the air. Finally, he found the emergency ant containment device: a Dustbuster with “Emergency Ant Containment Device” written on it in black Sharpie.
    The ants preferred food but they didn’t mind consuming other things—much like the Gemini, Fisher thought. They’d already begun chewing up the living room carpet, and if left to their own devices would go straight through the hardwood floor. If they reached the outdoors, they could wreck the local environment.
    “Sweet party trick!” said a short boy Fisher didn’t know, his eyes following the ant swarm like it was a light show. Chance had hopped up onto the couch.
    NOTES ON
    MEMORY SERUM PELLETS

    PURPOSE: to distract FP
    FORMULA: variation on Memory Loop serum
    DELIVERY METHOD: PELLET
    OBSERVATIONS and SIDE EFFECTS:
    • need to program other foods for additional applications—not everyone likes popcorn as much as FP
    • blissful state potentially entertaining for bystanders, therein a new distraction?
    • too long-lasting, may dilute
    “Yeah, thanks!” Fisher squawked out as he desperately grabbed a plate full of donuts off the coffee table and hurled it on the carpet. As the ants swarmed over the food, Fisher hopped back and forth with the E.A.C.D. on full power. Working as fast as he could, he was able to suck up most of insects. He marched back to the tank, made sure the lever was reset to “closed,” opened a small chute at the top, and knocked the ants back into their proper home.
    “Master Fisher! Master Fisher!” came Burnside’s high voice from the kitchen, and Fisher ran to the aid of his loyal toaster and friend, once again keeping his hand cupped over his mouth as he passed the kitchen table.
    He pushed his way through a throng of students crowded around the counter, where he found Yang and Zoe gnawing on Lord Burnside’s cord like it was a piece of licorice. Around them was a pile of partly eaten plates and mugs with huge bites taken out of them. Clearly, when the Gemini ran out of food in the kitchen they decided to cut out the middle step and just eat the kitchen.
    “Hey!” Fisher said, yanking the toaster cord out of their hands. The two Gemini looked at him with mild confusion.
    “We were eating that!” Yang said.
    “We’re hungry,” Zoe said.
    “I’m sorry,” Fisher said, trying to sound pleasant and not one second away from a total breakdown. “This is a part of Lord Burnside.” He patted the toaster. “He … helps prepare