There's lots in the news recently, about biolabs and their purpose, and whether "gain of function" is a euphemism for "weaponize" and of course we have to do whatever the bad guys might be doing, to make sure we out do the bad guys. That's bad guy as well as good guy thinking, if "goodies vs baddies" is your thing.
The cartoons had a good model for a plot. Our heroes stumble upon a Dr. Evil type, off the deep end in planning nefarious WMDs or whatever. The kids outwit the dude and bring him to justice, medals all around.
However, per Prouty et al, a dispiriting Malthusianism still pervades, leading some religious types to think they're doing god's (or gods') work in serving a Dr. Evil type, i.e. it's minions that we need to stay nervous about. If it weren't for minions, the Dr. Evil types would be turned in, or at least outed, and we'd all get on with our lives, glad we're not all on the same page as cultist dupes.
That's what the news sources are saying too: the "don't snitch" ethos is inhibiting the whistle-blower reflex as it seems Dr. Evil might have an argument, and if he's right then being a minion might be the safer path. If we buy that sane people might invest heavily in death-dealing technology, then we're likely to fall prey to "the complex" (the mental illness) we were warned about by president Eisenhower.
I think we've learned, from the movies if not from real experience, that minions are a "nice to have" and are actually essential for anything that's supposed to scale. The Dr. Evil type has to have a recruitment kit, a pump and dump scenario, whereby the minions see a path to riches if not glory. A lot of "number two" types need to step forward, to whom Dr. Evil might delegate important responsibilities.
In Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, B. Fuller starts encoding this pattern in terms of Great Pirates, staying somewhat neutral as to whether said recruiters were monsters or worthy of loyalty, and/or capable of withstanding peer review (by other pirates). Sailing ships need sailors, no doubt about it. Venture capitalist enterprises need investors willing to invest their agency, not just their funds.
A question is whether we want to open the door to the possibility of a Dr. Good. Actually, that door was opened long ago, in fiction, science fiction and even in science, as psychology does not preclude Healthy Pirate Syndrome (HPS). One may have an ego without being an egomaniac. At least in principle. Dr. Dolittle comes to mind, good with animals.
Dr. B. Fuller got to walk the line, twixt heaven and hell, utopia and oblivion, and remark on its arcing nature. The neck and neck suspense arises from how close we go to the abyss sometimes, flirting with disaster. He called it "touch and go".
