The Topic of Clones

Duncan's injuries had mostly healed over the past three days; the wounds had just scabbed over, and he was already able to walk around.

His armor and bionic robots had also been completed through overtime work. He hadn't returned immediately because he wanted to build a rapport with Alice, lest she start favoring others over him.

Once Alice finished her advanced training with the Avengers, she would follow him around every day carrying two briefcases. She would wear black sunglasses and stare coldly at their surroundings, yet at night, she could take off those glasses, and the knife-like eyes she had during the day would soften into those of a little kitten.

It was certain that things would go wrong on the Umbrella side; if he didn't let things get chaotic over there, it would be difficult for him to see who was targeting him.

Finally, on the fourth day after the attack, Alice returned to Stark Tower, and the two of them held a small party on the top floor with the members of the Avengers.

At a booth, Duncan smiled and greeted Alice as she walked over slowly in a silk dress, "How have you been lately?"

"Not bad. Are you hurt?" As soon as she got close, Alice relied on her keen sense of smell to detect the scent of medicine on Duncan, and she immediately frowned.

Duncan smiled and explained the situation to Alice.

After hearing the account, Alice expressed her anger toward the attackers.

Although they hadn't known each other for long, their relationship was better than that of old classmates who had known each other for years.

Carrying the gratitude of being pulled out of a cage by Duncan, and the shared identity of being "the same kind," her level of trust and concern for Duncan was higher than anyone else's.

"Do you want me to go back?"

Upon learning that Duncan had been attacked and injured, Alice had the thought of returning to protect him.

Duncan refused, "No need. You should continue your studies here. Tony made me armor and bionic robots, so I'll just hide in The Hive and let the bionic robots act in my place. There won't be any safety issues."

After chatting with Alice for a while, Steve, Natasha, Banner, and Tony sat down with them, joined this time by Barton.

Once the Avengers gathered together, it was inevitable that they would tell their guests about some of their missions.

Over the past few months, the Avengers had cleared out quite a few Hydra strongholds. Some of the smaller outposts that caught wind of them had evacuated and hidden early on, and the task of capturing the Hydra members scattered across the world would be left to individual nations.

This group of people with extraordinary abilities mainly focused on attacking the strongholds.

Duncan nodded repeatedly, an air of righteous indignation appearing on him as he said, "Don't waste the strongholds you've broken! If you capture Hydra scientists, you can preserve the body tissues they've harvested. Don't waste these people's brains! They can use new, controllable bodies to contribute to all of humanity!"

Clones—this was a relatively complex issue that people avoided at all costs.

The sharp conflict in ethics and morality would always make cloning a technology difficult for humanity to accept.

Steve and Natasha realized what Duncan was trying to do when they heard him ask for the body tissues of those Hydra scientists, and they found it hard to judge whether this was good or bad.

The forbidden gates of Umbrella had long been opened, and facts had proven that cloning technology could greatly promote human progress... of course, if not controlled properly, it could also give rise to countless tragedies.

The evil scientists of Hydra were very talented, and their research capabilities were definitely worth acknowledging; the Strategic Scientific Reserve, the predecessor of S.H.I.E.L.D., had also once absorbed Hydra scientists.

To put it mildly, Duncan's proposal was the reuse of prisoners of war.

Steve and Natasha were silent now, not because they thought doing this was wrong, but because the concept of clones itself made them feel uncomfortable.

What if one day they suddenly saw someone who looked exactly like them? How would they face it?

Tony rubbed the rim of his glass, his brows deeply furrowed, his eyes staring blankly at the table. He was the most deeply engaged in thought, and he was also the first to react. He raised his hand and said, "Seconded! It is a waste of human development to keep people with significant value locked in prison. It's good! I think it's quite good!"

The others looked at Tony as if he were a ghost.

"Don't... don't touch this kind of forbidden research. Clones of clones—this kind of anti-moral, anti-human rights thing should not exist!"

Banner, who had participated in the development of the Super Soldier Serum, was actually quite conservative on this matter. While others were still silent, he had already begun to object.

After noticing that everyone was looking at him, his slightly agitated emotions slowly returned to that of an honest man.

"I'm sorry, I was a bit agitated. But I oppose this kind of thing. Clones are still people; people should not be treated as commodities or slaves..."

Steve and Natasha looked silently at Duncan and Alice.

Duncan didn't feel much, but Alice agreed with Banner's point of view. Cloning technology really shouldn't be touched; she and Duncan were the direct victims of that technology.

"No! Cloning technology is a great invention capable of advancing human civilization. Technology should not have its value shackled by morality!" For some reason, Tony actually refuted Banner.

He put down his crossed legs, his entire demeanor changed abruptly, and he said with a serious expression, "Cloning technology is just a variation of reproductive technology. When test-tube babies first appeared, they were also criticized, but now society has accepted them, and many infertile couples have obtained the fruits of their love.

In my opinion, cloning technology is the same. It only requires strict supervision, and by granting clones a complete identity, they are no longer a commodity, but a person! Walking down the street, no one would know they are a 'fake'!"

Steve crossed his arms, puffing out his massive chest, and asked, "Who can supervise it?"

"Tony, no, clones are different from cloning technology. Clones should not exist!" Banner's voice rose slightly.

Tony seemed to have fallen into thought again, his gaze not even on Banner. He tapped the table while saying, "The application of cloning technology can be well-regulated. This is a major breakthrough in the field of biology. Don't be like an old church man, Banner."

"No..." Banner was already looking at Tony with disappointment.

Clones involved every aspect of human nature. He didn't want to see a "triangular trade" route emerge that would be even harder to break. The profits provided by clones would be enough to squeeze the conscience out of many people.

Imagining the scene where clones were treated like livestock in a slaughterhouse, chosen at will, and having their organs removed before their useless corpses were thrown into a processing machine to be shredded, Banner shuddered and wanted even less to see such a scene appear.

The ignored Steve asked gloomily again, "Who can supervise it?"

Natasha looked at Banner somewhat nervously and said, "Guys, maybe we should have a few more drinks."

Duncan couldn't help but laugh at this farce, "You're all overthinking it. I'm cloning war criminals; they should use their knowledge to turn over a new leaf. Real criminals get punished, and the cloned individuals are there so that their knowledge isn't wasted. As for the ethical issues involved with clones..."

Clap!

Clapping his hands, Duncan leaned back and said, "This is nothing more than a matter of trust! Just because you can reject the interview of cloning technology doesn't mean no one will research it and carry it forward in the future. Resistance is like a spring; when humanity truly needs this technology, the rebounding bullet will pierce through order! What we should do most is establish relevant regulations and rules in advance!"

"Yes! That's it!" Tony also smiled and said, "As for the supervision, we can leave it to an artificial intelligence. It will be the best law enforcer!"