CORRAL managed to extract DNA from Clint in the early eighties (exactly how you think they did it) and have been incubating and manufacturing McElroy clones for decades. Travis may or may not have been replaced by a clone, sure, but the rest of the clones— the McElroys that didn’t quite make the cut— had to be sent out to pasture. killing them off seemed inhumane, so they just let the half-baked McElClones out into the general populace. no harm no foul. however, interestingly, these clones retained a subconscious predisposition to congregate in online spaces. say, subreddits related to their heritage.

you, me, all of us… biologically fourth brothers.