This was a neat cat-and-mouse type story, making me think a lot of Metroid Fusion, Alien, and Predator. The protagonist is clever enough when it comes to facing his opponent, and has a bit of a personality, which is nice. And I especially like how he uses the electricity to trap the alien at the risk of his limited bodies, as well as using the blood to tell when the defective clone is near.
At the same time, there were many times where I expected John to ask the AI a lot more and be a lot less trusting. He remembers who he is, but we don’t get much about this AI and why he would trust it so freely. And as a result, the twist of the AI being at least partially malicious wasn’t surprising. If anything, I was surprised John never suspected it.
The story is fairly tight. It doesn’t waste time. But it could have used a bit more time to show John reflected/reacting. When he shoots his leg off, you could have him note how he has limited bodies and has to make this count. And having him react to the pain of the wound would also be pretty important. And unfortunately the use of language is very repetitive. The first paragraph uses the word “light” three times, and the next couple use “pod” and “metal pod” frequently, with very little variation.
I was left a little confused at the end as to why John’s next clone was alive in the civilization in the end. I’m assuming that was part of the AI rewarding him. But at the same time, I’m left wanting to know more overall, and just by the description of the domed area with the pink-orange sky makes me interested in the setting. As for this as a travel/journey story… I don’t think I could categorize it as such. That isn’t a criticism of the quality of the story itself. But the only significant travel in the story is the final clone waking up in the civilization. The rest is kept to the space station in loops. Given how short this story is, I think you could absolutely put in more aspects before the deadline that make it feel more journey-based. Go nuts on lore-dumping. I want to know why the AI does what it does, what organization is being the space age tech, and more. These Live Die Repeat style stories are always a kick to follow.