Henry shuddered as he realized that he was staring at himself. He did not notice Jonathan watching, carefully gauging his reaction. The others turned as Henry and Jonathan entered.
“Ah!” exclaimed one of the VP’s. “And this must be the original. Come over here. Let me see the two of you standing side by side. He walked the other Henry over to the first and stepped back to view the results.
“Amazing,” exclaimed the president. “You can’t tell them apart.”
“It’s more than skin deep,” Jonathan added, still not quite taking his eyes off of Henry. “They have the same talents, skill sets, memories, you name it.
“How can they have the same memories?” the second VP asked.
“Memories are formed by bundling synapses together in different configurations,” Jonathan explained. “We performed detailed scans of Henry’s brain and replicated them for #2. In the end, #2 woke up with the same memories as Henry has. Of course, the memories start to diverge once the cloning process has taken place. You can’t help that.”
“Cloning,” Henry thought about it for a moment. He was starting to understand the multiple stick figures that Jonathan had drawn on the dry erase board.
“But you realize that the implications of this are that you only have to train one person who is particularly talented, and then make a dozen or so clones,” continued the president. “Suddenly, you’ve got an entire team fully trained for the cost of just one. You don’t have to worry about people quitting, because you can replace them with themselves! How long did it take to grow this one?”
“We’ve got it down to two weeks,” Jonathan continued proudly. “We’re hoping to work it down to just a single week, but it’s hard to prevent mutations when accelerating cell division beyond fifty times its normal level.
“We can save that for the second generation of product,” one VP observed. “Two weeks is still immeasurably better than anything our competitors have managed to our knowledge. Most of them still cannot even create a clone, much less make one that efficiently.”
Henry did not say anything to anyone. He remained unnerved by the clone standing next to him, who simply smiled at everyone who was smiling at him. They did not speak to each other at all. The VP’s and Jonathan discussed business for several minutes, then the president turned to the two Henry’s. “Well now,” he said. “What happens next?”
Jonathan interceded. “#2 has already succeeded the original in handling his position in accounting,” he explained. Henry’s eyes widened, but Jonathan paid no mind. “The original Henry is helping out in inventory like he used to, but I think it’s taking a toll on his health. The techs are reporting to me that his blood pressure has been creeping up. Because of his importance, I’m going to recommend that he take a few days off to relax.
“Sounds good to me,” the president voiced. “Well gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me, I’m scheduled to have lunch with the governor. He’s rattling his saber about our tax breaks and I need to put him in his place.” The president smiled as he shook his fist, mimicking a saber in his hand. The VP’s all laughed knowingly.
Jonathan escorted the two Henry’s out. “#2,” Jonathan began. “Wait for me just a moment. Now Henry, I’m serious. Take the rest of the week off. I’m going to lock your badge so that you can’t come in, that’s how serious I am about you relaxing. You need to stay healthy.” His smile faded away. “And, of course, I needn’t remind you how utterly important it is that you do not talk to anyone about this. Now go on, get out of here. You did great just now!” Jonathan gave Henry a shove towards the elevator.
#2 spoke up for the first time. “Oh, and Henry,” he added. “Excellent choice in chairs.” He smiled. Henry did not recognize the smile. It was different than smiles he’d seen of himself from pictures taken at company parties, or holidays visiting his mother. This smile was different. It looked… malicious.
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