“And this is where the magic happens,” explained Bosak as the party paraded down the corridor of offices towards the barracks. “3.7 trillion dollars of the GDP begins and ends with VirCorp in the United States alone.”

“That’s incredible, Hank. All along I thought you were just the guys who supplied us with the vehicles and munitions.”

“Oh, far from it,” Highet answered. “Contrary to popular opinion, we own 90% of all domestic manufacturing and 70% of the nation’s service economy through our subsidiaries.”

“Really?” asked the General, intrigued but still glancing out of the corner of his eye at Omega.

“It’s true,” Osprey replied. “And just last year we merged with PT Wentworth. More than half of the country’s finances now pass through VirCorp’s hands at one point or another. We’re not quite as big overseas yet, but thanks to Hank’s diplomatic skills we’ve undertaken building a new Pacific HQ in Australia.”

Bosak smiled and laughed. “While anti-American sentiment is still high in Oz, it’s not high enough to warrant declining all the money we’ve been channeling into the country.”

Montesque paused, lost in thought. Something ached for attention in the back of his mind, a nagging doubt. Finally he found it. “What about all the anti-trust laws in this country.”

“We comply with every single regulation, Ralph,” Omega chimed in, batting her eyelashes. “Have we been to court before? Time and time again. But our practices are always within bounds and the judges have viewed them just so. We are a law-abiding entity, after all.”

“Forgive an older man’s incredulity, my dear lady.

“It is already forgiven and forgotten, Ralph.”

“And here we are,” said Bosak, stopping before the barracks’ entrance. The security detail stepped aside and the door slid open. “What you are about to witness is strictly confidential. No one outside of the company has yet laid eyes on this yet. Until now.”

“You make it sound ominous, Hank. Maybe I should hold Mademoiselle’s hand?” He winked at the VP and held out his hand. She took it delicately and led the General into the interior.

“General Montesque,” Bosak nodded politely, “Major Skaggs. I present to you: the JONs.”

The brethren sat at ease on their beds, making light conversation when they noticed they had company. Remembering their chat from the previous night, they quietly fell in line at the foot of their beds and stood at attention.

The general let go of Omega’s hand and puffed out his chest, ambling down the row. He studied each man’s face, shocked at the identical features, finally stopping mid-stride. “What new devilry is this, Hank?”

“Their names are JON One through Twenty-five. While they aren’t exactly military material, the original was a security guard who consented to the copying of his person for the purpose of this demonstration.”

Omega caught up to the General and linked her arm with his. “Biologically, each man is the same as the original. Granted, we’ve eliminated some of the more undesirable genes—genes that predispose one to, how you say, undesirable behaviors.”

“I see. Can they fight?” Several of the brethren shuddered at the comment. Not missing a beat, Omega continued.

“They can be trained to fight. Given these men’s existing programming, it would take a while. It is a case of nurture not nature, you see. For your ideal scenario, we would take a prime soldier, sample his DNA, refine it and be able to make as many rough-and-tough copies as you wish. Perhaps, someone as robust, dedicated and handsome as yourself, Ralph?”

“You can really do that? I mean, take any person and clone them?”

“Oui. Thanks to our team of scientists, we have finally made that breakthrough.”

“It doesn’t seem right to me.”

“I agree, sir!” Skaggs cut in nervously. “It’s an affront to God!”

“Stow it, Major. I’m talking to the lady, not God.” Skaggs sunk down in his uniform and took a few steps back, bumping into Six. Six winked at him and jabbed him playfully in ribs. Skaggs let out a yelp of repulsion and stepped back into the group. Bosak picked up the pitch.

“We are very concerned with that issue, Ralph. We’ve consulted endless theologians and ethics advisors. I won’t lie to you, some have said what we are doing walks a sketchy line in playing God, but it does not violate any prime directive. We even received a communiqué from His Holiness, the Pope.”

“Really,” the General raised an eyebrow. “What did he have to say?”

“He said that life, no matter how it was created, is still precious. He thought it perfectly acceptable so long as all clones are baptized and confirmed into the Church.”

The General laughed. “You’re having me on.”

“Non,” Omega pouted. “I would not jest about such a serious matter, Ralph.”

“Indeed you wouldn’t, dear lady. So, do they speak?”

“With my special training program, they will be fluent in the languages of your choosing. For now, they speak English.”

“That’s impressive! May I talk to them?”

“Of course, Ralph. Take your pick.” Omega waved invitingly to the brethren. The General walked up the line and stopped in front of Three.

“What’s your name, son?”

“Three, sir.”

“I am General Montesque, member of the Joint-Chiefs of Staff. Do you know what that means?”

Three gulped, then recalled what he had learned. “You are the highest ranking General of the United States Army. And,” Three wracked his brain. “A top advisor to the President.”

“Very good, son. I am impressed!” The General slapped him on the back and turned back to Omega. “Educated, too?”

“As much or as little as you would like.”

“Absolutely fascinating,” he leaned in and studied Three’s face. Three stared straight ahead. “Don’t mind me, Three. I’m just amazed. What motivates you, son?”

“Working for VirCorp, sir. That is motivation enough.”

“Don’t you want anything for yourself?”

“Well, I’d like a job.”

“Really? What would you like to do for a living?”

“I…” Three looked to Bosak for help. Bosak gave him the go-to nod. “I would like to be a scientist, sir.”

“Wow, a scientist.” Montesque indicated the assembly. “Do they…all want to be scientists?”

“Why don’t we ask them, General?” Bosak stepped over to Five. “What career would you like to have?”

Five leaned his head forward sheepishly. “A-Architect, sir.”

Bosak smiled and stepped over to Seven. “And you?”

“I’d like to work in advertising, sir.”

“How about you, Six, isn’t it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What would you like to be?”

“You want the truth?”

“The truth, please.”

“I want to be a porn star.”

Bosak turned beet red and cleared his throat, suppressing both his amusement and embarrassment. “Moving right along! How about you, Eight?”

Eight was grinning, but ventured “Security guard.”

“And you, Ten?”

“I want to learn about the Force and become a Jedi like my father.”

“What?”

“Sorry, sir.” Ten blushed. “We watched an old movie last night.”

Bosak laughed politely, and turned to look at the General. He was grinning too.

“It’s OK,” said Montesque. “I appreciate a good sense of humor. What would you like to do—that is, if you couldn’t become a Jedi?”

“I suppose I’d like to be a computer programmer.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. Thank you, son.”

Ten blushed even more and took a step back.

“As you can see,” Bosak gestured down the line, “we have quite a lot of variety. This batch hasn’t been trained for any particular job yet. But as you can see, their loyalty is unquestionable. Their imagination and cognitive abilities unmarred.”

“I must confess I am very, very impressed, Hank. And you say they can be molded to fit any job?”

“With proper screening and training, absolutely. What we don’t have is your leadership, sir.”

“What’re you trying to say?”

Bosak put his arm around the General and began leading him to the exit. “Just think about it. With your support and your top officers training the next batch, the sky’s the limit. An elite force, totally loyal to the United States.”

“Meaning?”

“A partnership, between the United States Armed Forces and VirCorp. We continue to provide you all the equipment you need plus the raw recruits. We understand the Draft is fast becoming a hot issue. So, you supply the officers and we supply the grunts. Bingo, there’s no need for a Draft! The military is no longer vilified for its recruitment practices. Granted, we must mutually exercise discretion about the actual source of the new manpower, but it’s a winning solution. Take the very best soldiers you currently have. Let us copy them, as many as you like. We could start small with a platoon and build from there.“

“That actually sounds reasonable.”

“As an added bonus,” Omega cut in with a smile, “these will be men without histories that the public can exploit.”

“Alright, you’ve convinced me. Where do I sign?”

Bosak smiled, Osprey shot him a wink. Highet was grinning ear-to-ear.

“Why don’t we head back to my office and continue this over lunch? Afterwards, and I hope I’m not being pushy, you can call the President on our secure line.”

“Alright, Hank. I agree on one condition, and one condition only.”

“What’s that?”

“I get to sit with Mademoiselle.”

Bosak laughed and patted Montesque on the back, looking up for her reaction. She winked back. “I’m sure that will be just fine.”