“So,” Jeremiah began tentatively. “You’re an asshole.”

Brent rolled his eyes. “Sticks and stones,” he said, and leaned back on the couch. “You’ll have to do better than that.”

“Too much pressure,” Jeremiah told him. “I can’t argue on command.”

“Let’s just talk, then. You know, you never really told me how you got involved in any of this. What made you agree to have yourself cloned?”

“I don’t know,” Jeremiah said thoughtfully. “A lot of things, I guess. I needed a change. Something different. I think I was stuck, you know? Nothing was exciting to me anymore. I wasn’t going anywhere. Too many problems. Too many headaches. Then there was the $10 million, of course. That didn’t hurt.”

“So, they bought you right out of your life?”

“Yeah. For $10 million, they did.”

“And look where it’s got you,” Brent said with a smile that looked more like a sneer. “Your job is on the line, your kid is a punk and your wife is gone. Your life is in ruins. You’re worse off now than you ever were. And now, after all this, now you won’t even get the money. Kind of sucks, doesn’t it? Everything was for nothing.”

“None of that was my fault,” he said, real defensiveness creeping into his voice. “I didn’t do any of that. It just happened.”

“It just happened? That’s a lame excuse. Of course it’s your fault. You’re the one who walked out on your life, left it in the hands of some copy, a facsimile. This is all on you.” Brent reached for the bottle, poured himself another shot and threw it back.

“That’s not fair. The other day you were all, It’s not your fault. Besides, what happened to changing the future, all your spouting off about bettering mankind, saving the world? What happened to the power of your precious science? That’s why you signed on, isn’t it? Isn’t that what you’re doing here?”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t walk out on my life and my family. Nobody bought me. And I actually am a scientist, remember? This is actually my job.”

“Fuck you, Brent.”

“You ever wonder why they picked you for this?” he asked, unrelenting. Jeremiah felt the back of his neck grow hot. “You ever ask yourself that?”

“Because they knew I could handle myself, I suppose. Because I’m levelheaded. Careful. Probably not a concept you would understand.”

“Because you’re easy,” Brent said, moving forward on the couch to make his point. “Because you’re a pushover and you let the whole world just walk all over you. Because you don’t have a backbone. You have no balls. You’re a wimp.”

Jeremiah stood up and glared down at him.

“Look at yourself!” Brent said, not threatened in the slightest bit. “Look at your life. I’ve seen it. I’ve watched that clone day in and day out for six months. And that’s you up there. You know that, right? You just do what you’re told, what’s expected. You just go along with it. The people you work with don’t give a crap about you. Your son basically ignores you. Your wife could barely look you in the eyes. And you just pretend it’s all hunky-dory. You’re weak. You’re hollow.”