The Company Man, part 13

#2 did not like his title. #2 is a euphemism for someone taking a dump. He did not like the association. He was still a person. But he was far more that. He was a triumph of science and engineering.

He wasn’t even number two. He was number one. He was the first clone! The original didn’t count. He was just born. An old practice that had happened billions of times before. Nothing special.

But #2 was special. True, they’d already made another clone within just a few weeks, but he was the first. He’d be celebrated as the original triumph. He’d managed to pick up the job that Henry had worked for years, interact with his friends, and they were none the wiser. He had worked the magic that only he could do. He was special.

He had the original’s chair, but he wanted more.

For now he had to live in the dorms they’d built behind the research lab. They’d distract the original and after he parked and went into R&D, he’d come out and go into the accounting department. He saw the original’s new car and wanted to drive it, but he had to spend his evenings in the dorms for observation. He was more than the original now. He could see greater aspirations than a nice chair or car. The company needed him. And he would comply… for now.