Cloud Atlas

Content Warning: This section depicts slavery and discusses death by suicide.

In a future version of Korea, a person known as the Archivist interrogates a clone named Sonmi~451. The transcript of the interrogation suggests that this is the final conversation in a series. Sonmi describes her previous life working at a fast food restaurant named Papa Song’s. Each day, her life follows the exact same routine, and—after her shift—she and her coworkers eat Soap, a food substance that immediately put them to sleep. Workers serve in Papa Song’s for “twelve working years” (187), earning a star for each year of service. At the end of these 12 years, they’re permitted to retire in Hawaii.

The Archivist wants to talk about the “notorious” Yoona~939. In Sonmi’s recollections, Yoona is also a fabricant (the word used for cloned humans). However, Yoona begins developing skills at a far more advanced level than the other fabricants. She shows Sonmi how their boss, Seer Rhee, drinks heavily and introduces her to unfamiliar objects like flashlights and children’s books. She also teaches Sonmi words, including “secret.” The two both dream of being anywhere but Papa Song’s. One day, Yoona abducts a “kindergarten boy in a sailor suit” (201).