Dreamed that Congress passed a broadly-worded law in 2000 that forbade stem cell research or any project or product thereof from receiving any Federal funding. Times changed, law was forgotten, research proceeded apace. I dreamed of my grandchild, or second self, in 2050, getting letters back from places he'd applied for college scholarships:
Mr. Parsons,
We regret to inform you that due to your
genetic makeup (specifically your status as a
"clone") we are unable to offer you any
Federally- funded scholarship. To do so would
violate USC 33.4.12 blah blah blah and place our
august institution in jeopardy yadda yadda.
Blah blah excellent candidate, reminiscent of
some of our finer applicants blah blah high
percentage of Federal funding at this institution
blah blah cannot offer you a meal plan, student
housing, or any form of scholarship at this time.
Our offer of admission remains open and we
look forward to hearing from you on the matter
of your method for rendering payment.
Sincerely,
D. Rotten Scoundrel
Director of Scholarships
He stood there reading and re-reading the letter, confused about how this could happen, and I wondered, after I woke up, if he had been cloned from me -- and if he had, was I experiencing life in the middle of this century (vicariously) through my clone? In cloning me, had my heirs sent a scout into the future for me?
It was all so unjust. His sense of frustration was still bringing a mild flush to my cheeks for the first hour I was at work. No ROTC scholarship, no Social Security, no welfare, no tax refunds... it just seemed absurd.