Episode Fifteen — Part V (Chapters three to seven) -- Final Episode!

After they move Shute, Helena and Max have an ethical discussionabout kidnapping, medical malpractice, and branding. The mediaconference is more like a circus, as the media isn’t exactly on itsbest behavior. And then Rob gets to watch while the Ghosts have theirrevenge. In the end, they all live, happily, and ever after. ThoughNick still has something to say through his lovely Titania3000.

An excerpt from Dr. Tundra and Helena’s discussion of branding:

“Seriously. You like scotch, right? So say you buy acer-tain brand and we know that there’s this other brand that is justas good, but less expensive. We can help you find that other brand,”Helena said

“Hmm. Single malt kind of defies the brand concept, I think,” Max replied.

“No, not at all. In fact, single malt is a great example of thepower of the brand. We all know that Glenfiddich is a good scotch, butthere are lots of other single malts that are better. But everyoneknows Glenfiddich — even people who don’t like single malt scotch —because of the strength of its brand. It’s not just the actual product,it’s about the feelings you have for the product. And that’s becausethey were branding their scotch before people even knew what brandingwas.”

“So what is Gargantuan’s brand?”

“That’s the problem I have with Shute.”

“That’s your problem? Not the fact that he’s just messed with Nick’sDNA?” Max said. He looked at Shute contemptuously, and for a momentHelena thought he might kick the partially conscious man.

“Well, that too, but he’s not building the Gargantuan brand.”

“You’ve helped kidnap him because of branding?”

“Oh, no, I have other reasons too, but that is my corporate reason for doing so.”