#like ouch

So we know that canon Fidds used the memory gun on Ford. Multiple times.

Using the gun on Stan to empty out his brain? Doesnt work, he tried.

Making a clone of Stanley together with his wife and using the memory gun on Ford? Works.

In short: Fidds, Ford and Emma-May are college buddies. Emma-May as a gifted doctor/bio engineer tried to find a cure for Fords brother and couldnt. But she and Fidds are very involvent in taking care of him.

So maybe, Emma-May did some dubious experiments. Found out, a Stanley clone could grow up in the lab and dont be affected with the brain melt for a while.

Maybe she and Fidds decided it would be the best for Ford to replace his brother. Erased Fords memorys to a certain degree. And whenever Stan gets worse, they make a new one.

Or maybe the original Stan died. They had no other choice, right? Right???

OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW?!!?! OW?? My heart? You just came into my house and ripped my heart out???!!?? You guys love just upping the angst factor here! Is Stan's brain melting not enough? You need to stomp my heart to pieces?? Why the extra casualties!?

This is like. Brain Melt bad end. Fords blissfully unaware his brother is either still dying or already dead, and this is a whole other person they keep replacing over and over, just have Stan's DNA on ice and a backlog of his memories. Maybe Ford thinks Emma-May moved up to be Stan's main doctor, and has no idea Stan's 'check ups' are just her making sure his memories are up to date and to check on his state of being. Gives Stan sugar pills she tells them is keeping him stable, but he'll still have 'rough patches' where he'll need to rest and recover (they need to replace him).

Its one of those things they tell themselves they'll just do once, just to figure out how to save the real Stan without Ford working himself to death, but then they keep doing it over and over until its just a habit. Those Stan clones aren't people, they're a band aid to keep Ford stable, because the last thing they want is the super genius with tons of arcane and scientific knowledge to have a break down!

This is an Emma-May and Fiddleford villain origin story. Like, this is the kinda thing that the protagonists at first blames Ford for (look at this famous scientist! How evil of him to keep replacing his own brother!), go to confront him, and then watch Ford get horrified, go to confront Fiddleford about it, then watch Ford get brain wiped right in front of them. Whats to stop them from erasing other things? Whats to stop them from using Ford as a puppet leader to take the flack for theirs less morally acceptable experiments? Make Ford the figure head (he's always wanted to be famous after all, just let him), give him a new Stan whenever the last one breaks down, maybe upgrade the clone and make it a cyborg so they can spy on Ford and make sure he doesn't learn anything he's not supposed to, and then hey! Why not edit the Stan back up! Just tweak it here and there to give Ford suggestions so he does what they want, or at least stays out of the way of the 'real' work.

Meanwhile the real Stan's either on ice forgotten, or six feet under in an unmarked grave.

In the hypothetical sci fi story where another party comes in to bust Fords evil scientist organization, it would end with Ford finding his brother in whatever fate he's in and hating the McGuckets. He either lost his brother forever and has a bunch of puppet people stringing him along, or wasted years of time he could have spent working to save him.