Mickey 17
Things aren’t going well for Mickey on Earth, so he signs up for the expendable program. Now his spaceship has a lab rat. A test dummy to venture into danger so the rest don’t have to. Mickey’s work will benefit everyone. It’s finally a chance for him to be somebody.
Only Mickey isn’t treated with the respect he deserves for putting himself in harm’s way. Between horrible deaths, he’s overlooked, teased, and exploited. His best friend achieves a higher-class position and starts looking down on him, literally. Mickey finds solace in the arms of Nasha, who sees him for what he truly is, a human being worthy of basic dignity.
Nasha isn’t indoctrinated by the charismatic oligarch, nor the religious sense of superiority prevalent on board. She’s the only one to practice empathy and the first to understand that the “creepers” of this new planet are not hostile. She defies orders to save a baby creeper and return it to the fold. Her caring diplomatic nature hints she’s destined for a leadership role.
Things get complicated when a second Mickey is mistakenly printed. Number 18 is very aggressive and Nasha labels him “Habañero Mickey.” At first 18 tries to kill 17, but they eventually agree to work together. Sharing a room with a more confident copy of himself, Mickey wrestles with his own identity and wonders if he’ll ever discover his purpose.
We haven’t quite cracked the miracle of human cloning, which inevitably raises a thousand ethical questions. But we may feel expendable in the eyes of our company or social status. We may even view ourselves as worthless as we plow on through a mundane, under-appreciated existence.
Recent events have shown us there’s not always a reward in store for hard workers, especially not in the entertainment industry. Nobody is guaranteed to move up or even make it at all. It’s not just those at the top keeping us down. We dehumanize each other by treating every relationship like a transaction. We might feel like multiples of the same person, all fighting for the same few jobs and opportunities, because we know the more aggressive ones will likely win out.
Every man for himself won’t work in the long term. To see people and really listen, to empathize, to be of service–this is what sets us apart from the crowd. We find our identity in how we respond to difficult situations. We find our purpose in what we can do for others. Maintaining integrity in the unseen moments will give us inner peace and qualify us for bigger responsibilities down the road.