Clem and Jody’s Schemes

This thread follows Clem and Jody through fraudulent trade and political sabotage, with every venture converting other people’s losses into their advantage.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Career in Outrage

Vaudeville Agents A practiced partnership Clem and Jody move through political settings as performers whose purpose is to make the United States appear in an unpopular light. Their theatrical manner gives their operations a comic surface. Opportunism underneath The pair’s humor does not soften the damage they cause. Each performance opens a route to profit, disruption, or both.

The Wheat Connection

A Poisoned Commodity A doubtful purchase Clem and Jody acquire wheat they claim came from a dead Finnish skipper’s cargo. They present the transaction as a fortunate deal even while the source and quality are suspicious. A banquet served They later serve couscous made from the wheat to influential guests. The meal turns their private speculation into a public hazard.

The Ergot Outbreak

A Republic Sickened The effects appear Guests become violently ill and many die over the following days. The text connects the poisoning to ergot, a fungus associated with gangrene and the loss of limbs. Profit without responsibility Clem and Jody treat the catastrophe as another outcome of foreign vice rather than a consequence of their own conduct. Their banter makes the human cost part of the scheme’s grotesque cover.

Condemned Parachutes

A Deadly Shipment Fraud in wartime goods The partners unload condemned parachutes on the Ecuadorian Air Force. Defective equipment becomes a profitable commodity because the buyers bear the risk. Consequences in the air During maneuvers, boys fall from the sky and die. Clem and Jody escape in a jet, leaving others to absorb the cost of their fraud.

The Unfinished Plot

No Common Cause A coalition of motives The partners participate in Islam Incorporated while pursuing their own interests, including plans to damage oil production and increase the value of their holdings. The organization supplies cover rather than unity. Schemes persist Their partnership survives through shared opportunism, not loyalty to a stable political cause. Each venture leaves room for the next betrayal or escape.

At their introduction in the Interzone material

During their account of the Hassan venture

The morning after the banquet

During their later military dealing

As the Islam Inc. objectives remain unclear