The Duplicate

It was all about endless food supplies and ending the constant need for resources when we were in the idealistic phase.  Once transformation was possible at a molecular level, we of course shifted quickly from the simple and shiny metals to the complex organic.  We'd do more than just dominate economies; we'd transform them.  We were going to change the world.

Our progress was so swift.  We were making saps, then juices, then seeds.  Eventually we were duplicating entire plants.  Making life from inorganic rocks.  Then they wanted to start with animals.  There were snails, then goldfish, then birds.  When we moved to mammals, some of us started getting really excited.  And by some of us, I sort of mean me.

Hey, I'm a confident guy, so I set out to duplicate myself.  I was an only child and I grew up in the country and, well, I've always felt a little alone in the world.  So not only was I solving all these worldwide problem, I was helping me out too.

How was I to know my duplicate would lack a soul?  (I didn't even believe in "souls".)  Even though I thought he was awesome at first, it turned out my duplicate was sort of fucking evil.  And then I was all, "If he doesn't have a soul and is pretty evil, does it make me a bad person if I kill him?"