2084: Slavery Resurgent

“Banning human cloning reflects our humanity. It is the right thing to do.” - Bill Clinton

The Director’s Office was 30 yards down the corridor from the Food Court. When she opened the oaken door, Congressman Udall was struck by the spaciousness of the room, nearly four times as large as his own office in Washington, D.C. The walls were painted flamingo rose which was intensified by overhead LED lighting. On the walls were portraits of Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Sojourner Truth, Sacagawea, Oprah Winfrey, and Joan of Arc that surrounded and seemingly overwhelmed the photograph of the current President, Ebenezer Snodgrass, that hung in a speckled frame on the wall behind the Director’s mahogany desk. On her desk were brass framed photographs of her two daughters. Prominently missing was a photo of Ed, her spouse, from whom she was recently divorced.

After they were both seated, her in a leather armchair and him in an unyielding facsimile Shaker wooden chair, she began the conversation, “GLAD requires additional funding to reinstitute the Supreme Soldier program. I am certain you are aware that crime continues to drop while the demand for automatons has skyrocketed. Consequently, we are almost out of career felons to transform into automatons. In a Top Secret Executive Order the President authorized GLAD to substitute rapid growing, gene-altered clones for criminal applicants. They can be mass produced at considerably less expense, clones aren’t as liable to have defects, the supply is unlimited, and the Administration has promised the public to pay off the National Debt in twenty years though the sale of automatons.”

“That’s idiotic,” protested Representative Udall. “The public will not permit us to clone human beings. Churches will urge their congregations to impeach the President. This has the potential to bring down the government. Worse yet, my constituents will vote me out of office.”

“You misunderstand me. We aren’t cloning human beings, we are cloning automatons. With newly developed gene alteration techniques, no two clones will ever be identical. The Supreme Court has ruled that automatons are chattel. Chattel does not have rights under law and/or religion,” countered the Director.

“I want to see this for myself,” Congressman Udall demanded.

“Of course, as soon as we have finished our conversation, the tour can resume. You have already seen all of Level One and now you will see all of Level Two,” replied the Director.

“That’s fine. However, I want to see the entire complex which I understand includes a large cavern beneath Level Two where the cloning process takes place and the Crematorium at North Groom Lake where biological wastes, deficient clones, and the residue from genetic experimentation are reduced to ashes. I demand to see what you and GLAD have been hiding from the American public,” ordered Congressman Udall.

“Despite this being a Top Secret facility, we’ve nothing to hide from the American people,” claimed the Director. “Less than a half hour ago I disclosed to Mr. Pierce and you that GLAD has been making up the difference between the supply of convicts and the demand for automatons through rapid growth cloning. The cavern where this occurs isn’t part of the tour because we are experiencing difficulties with the security guards there. We were ordered to get the cloning process up and running in six months. One way we cut corners was to have the Army supply us security personnel for the cavern. Sight unseen, the military furnished us with disgruntled cyborgs from a decommissioned Special Forces unit. Ever since then, they’ve been a problem. It seems their mechanical parts need constant service or they breakdown. Plus, they want as much downtime as they had in the Special Forces. A scanner in the cavern recorded a group of them talking about holding me hostage until GLAD met their demands. I’m scared. Holding a Congressman hostage would give them even more leverage. No sense walking into a trap. I imagine that what you are referring to as a Crematorium is the rubbish heap that we occasionally burn to get rid of our waste. I’m an ethnic Jew; no way would I tolerate an Auschwitz.”

“I was a tunnel rat in the Moroccan conflict in ’63. One thing I learned about terrorists is that they can smell fear – the vermin thrive on it. “Qui acceperint gladium, gladio peribunt” (All those who take up the sword, will die by the sword). Jesus said that in Matthew 26:52. I believe it is true,” professed Congressman Udall. “Do not worry about them taking me hostage. I can take care of myself.” Seeing a look of alarm on the Director’s face, the Congressman took a .45 caliber semi-automatic Colt pistol from his vest pocket and placed it on the Director’s desk.

“How did you sneak that weapon in here?,” asked the Director, leaning forward in her chair to better stare into his eyes.

“It’s composed of non-metallic materials, so it doesn’t set off a metal detector. You would do well to have your security guard do a pat down on everyone entering this facility. You are lucky it is me with a non-metallic weapon rather than some terrorist. Can’t be too careful,” Congressman Udall admonished.

“Let’s make a deal,” offered the Director. “You leave your gun here with me and I will order the Assistant Director to expand the tour to include the cavern and the sanitary disposal site at North Groom Lake. There’s a difference between talking about taking a hostage and actually doing it. Cyborgs are not stupid. Surely, they must realize that the guards on the first two levels have access to pulse energy weapons in an emergency and they don’t. Any cyborg insurrection would be instantly crushed and the ringleaders executed. Besides, brandishing a weapon might provoke them,” the Director reasoned as she placed the Congressman’s pistol in a desk drawer. “You got it right when you said, ‘can’t be too careful.’ You’ll get your gun back when you leave this facility.”