To Gloria. The reason I mentioned Kentucky was to show how evil The Centre was. I could have mentioned that they were sterilizing African Americans, but Willie being an African American prevented that. Don't be too uptight. Do you think The Centre was all good and benevolent? Of course, they'd have it for people who they considered beneath them. By the way, I also mentioned Nebraska as a place that not even the Pretenders who were prisoners wanted to stay at. They ran away back to The Centre. No one complained about that. And I mentioned Las Vegas and the Centre staff there getting their Pretender to gamble. Gambling – taking money out of your family, the ones you have to pay bills with, remember? No one complained. You have to read the story in context. This political correctness is getting out of hand. Now you're not supposed to write to show that a certain organization is so bad that it doesn't care about people in a certain state. Political correctness means fear. Lecture over.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The incinerator at the Centre was working overtime. Not only that, but the Centre in London, England were also hard at work disposing of the information about Walstaff. He like that boy Jarod2 was now a non person. All evidence of their existence and also of their families had been wiped out.

Jarod2 was no problem. His family had lived in a trailer down in South Carolina, and after they had recruited Jarod2, The Centre had sent some sweepers down to kill them. No one missed them, nor did anyone miss the records at the local courthouse pertaining to their existence. The Centre destroyed them too. Since Jarod2's family were poor white trash, there was no recollection they ever existed.

However getting rid of Walstaff's relations and kin was another deal. First they had to find the right Walstaff and not kill some other family with the same name. Second, they had to locate all the Walstaffs related to Theodore, no matter who they were plus their friends and acquaintances. It would do no good for someone who worked at the Stage to suddenly show up and say, "I remember Theodore, he played Hamlet Act IV SceneV."

They had to be destroyed as well.

The Centre made sure to get rid of all of Theodore's acquaintances and employers, including those of the London Centre branch. An underground explosion took care of them. Poison took Theodore's stage manager, a car accident another, a natural death one more and so The Centre continued until not only was Theodore Walstaff's name not known by his relatives or acquaintances, there were no relatives or acquaintances who knew that there was a second rate actor called Theodore Walstaff.

It took an epidemic conceived by The Centre to wipe out the village where Walstaff grew up, an epidemic thought about by Jarod years ago — although he had no idea of its purpose. He believed they wanted him to create a disease that would cancel out the effects of the Bubonic plague still a danger in parts of Africa and Asia.

Miss Parker knew nothing of this sim. It was hidden in Raines' office someplace where not even Broots could find it. Besides, now with Jarod in their custody and Miss Parker in an insane asylum, the work of cleanup went on with no trouble.

"How's Lyle coming along with Jarod?" he asked Willie.

"Fine sir. Jarod seems a little less cooperative, but after a few more sessions, his cooperation will be ensued."

"Good. You know what we must do. I am sure my brother will approve."

Ever since the shooting, Mr. Parker had disappeared. There was no trace of a travel itinerary in his office and no trace of where he went. This made Raines annoyed. He had wanted his brother's body on full display in the Centre lobby so everyone knew that the Triumvirate was now in charge.

"Yes sir."

Raines smiled. "Well Jarod will now go to Africa and you know what happens to Pretenders there."

"I believe so, sir but enlighten me."

"Have you heard of the collar and chain method?"

"It reminds me of the tales my grand father told me back about slavery."

"They chain the Pretender by a collar to a post and tell him to do something distasteful. If he doesn't, they beat him."

"Distasteful?"

"Oh eat dog food, kill a man something Jarod would never do. Then they graduate from that to killing a woman and then to a child. If he doesn't obey, they tighten the collar and withhold food. They also beat him. When he obeys, they tell him that he has to kill himself and give him a knife. If he doesn't make a move towards the knife, they beat him again and tighten the collar. Of course a sharp shooter aims for the knife and Jarod will never get a chance to."

Willie smiled. "Very effective."

"Yes, but first we have to wipe out our memory and I don't want to see a valuable employee of the Centre killed. Have you set the charges?"

"In the renewal room, yes, but your brother."

Raines smiled. "I thought of that contingency. Before we left to pursue Jarod, my brother went for his usual checkup. Of course, he still only can produce blanks but I convinced him that with some pills and an injection, his fertility could be ensued."

"But he is weak."

"True, he doesn't have that ruthlessness needed to rule The Centre, so I took precautions. The pills and injection put him under just long enough for the doctor to remove his memory of Walstaff and Jarod2 and replace them with appropriate memories. The doctor is waiting in the Renewal Wing. Oh and have you set the charges?"

"After the treatment is over."

"Good, I don't want to lose a valuable employee."

And so the memory of Walstaff and Jarod2 were removed. The only one who knew anything was Jarod and in a lesser instance, Sydney, Broots, and Miss Parker. However, none of them knew that the boy was not Jarod. And when Jarod escaped and checked the boy on the DSAs he believed he was that boy and yet a small voice started cropping up in his mind.

What if your reflection was a lie?

THE END