Jonah determined that the president of Privex had suddenly decided to leave the country and head to Columbia for a summit meeting with his angel investors. “Bad move,” Jonah commented to Henry as they drank coffee. “They’re not going to be too happy that he spent so much of their money now have nothing to show for it. He thinks his skills are so valuable that they’ll give him a different job in their outfit, but that kind of money lost is unforgiveable. He’s gonna die a very painful death.”
Henry put down his coffee. He didn’t like that kind of imagery Jonah was putting in his head. “Did you ever find Jonathan?” he asked, trying to change the subject.
“Just his car,” Jonah conceded. “I’m starting to think that guy really is a ghost, just like you said. He’s very good at disappearing.”
With the the discovery of the clones, Privex was declared lost. Its assets were sold and the money used to setup identities for the clones determined to have not actually committed any crimes. They were moved to different cities and states, with restraining orders to not contact one another. The original Henry was permitted to keep his apartment, though he had to give up his car, and now took the bus. Jonah got him a job in the accounting department of the local FBI office. They were having lunch in the cafeteria on the second floor.
“Henry?” Jonah asked. “What did you think of those guys in inventory that got killed?”
Henry didn’t like to talk about it, but he trusted Jonah. “I never especially liked them,” Henry confessed, but then added, “But I never hated them! I still respected them. Why?”
Jonah stared up at the ceiling. “I was reading through Jonathan’s notes,” he explained. “He makes mention of a monoculture. It’s an environment where everyone has the same or view similar views on things, with no differing opinions. In that kind of situation, soft opinions get reinforced, making them stronger. Over time, they become strong opinions, even fanatical ones, except that members of the monoculture don’t see it as such because everyone agrees with them. I’m guessing you had at least some infatuation with that weather girl too?”
“She is very pretty,” Henry smiled.
“And that got reinforced into a dangerous obsession among the clones. There are subtler examples of this in companies where the president is very controlling. All of the people that report to him just agree all the time, giving the president a perception that he can do no wrong, and ultimately drives the company into the ground. In a sense, the experiment Privex performed demonstrated why cloning for labor is not a good idea.”
“Cloning for labor?”
“The drug cartels wanted a cheap source of labor,” Jonah explained, “Which in progressive economy’s is increasingly hard to find. Places like China are on the upswing. With labor prices and job opportunities increasing, it’s hard to find people to process drugs for little to nothing in compensation. Columbia has less of a problem, but they can see which way the wind is blowing. It makes sense that they would invest in a program like this. What’s sad is that they found an American company willing to do the dirty work. I don’t know what the board was thinking.”
“Maybe they had one of those mono-culturey things,” Henry suggested. “If that were the case, they wouldn’t be able to see the problems posed.”
Jonah smiled. “You’re smarter than you think you are Henry,” he stated, then switched topics suddenly. “Found any new hobbies?”
“I found a group near my apartment that does a lot of stuff with RC planes and helicopters. I bought a kit and have started building my own. The girl working at the hobby store is really cute, and has helped me out a lot.”
Jonah smiled. His next report on Henry would be a good one.
THE END
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