The idea of cloning humans, still a scientific fantasy, makes for intriguing stories that lead us to examine ourselves. How would you feel if you woke up one day as a clone, then discovered your real self was a bad person? Or, you discover your real self is dead, and you’ve been cloned, but at a massive cost that you will never be able to repay?

Author Jeffrey Ashkin’s adventures in cloning take a darker turn in his new novel, The Second World of Sendel, a follow-up to his first novel, The Second Life of Jonathan Sendel. In each story, the protagonist is a clone of a man who died. The clone discovers his creation comes with major strings attached. In the new book, Steven Sendel learns that becoming a clone cost a fortune he must now repay by being conscripted to a lunar mining colony.

“He’s in debt, so he’s alive. But in debt,” says Jeff. “So, because of that, he wants to figure out who put him in the situation and also how to get out of it and reunite with his loved ones.”

To repay the debt, Sendel must work on the Moon mining Helium-3. More and more debt piles up, into millions of dollars, a burden shared by fellow miners. He decides to try to return to Earth to discover who signed him up for this arrangement, and the adventure ensues.

The author’s fascination with cloning grabs you from the start and propels you through the story. Here’s our conversation.

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