Clone Degeneration: Difference between revisions

Line 4:

{{quote|''"Like a bad photocopy, each one is a little darker than the last."''|'''Batman''', referring to the Everywhere Man, ''[[The Batman (Animation)|The Batman]]''}}

When dealing with fiction that [[Cloning Blues|clones]] things, the assumption is often made that clones must, after time, decay. That is, with each copy you make whatever [[Applied Phlebotinum]] you are using to create the clones will either decrease in effectiveness, or the clones themselves become less coherent since eventually everything is just a copy of a copy. This goes double for dead clones, who [[Everything Fades|tend to dissolve]] because they're "[[What Measure Is a Non Human|less than human]]" rather than leave a proper corpse.

When dealing with fiction that [[Cloning Blues|clones]] things, the assumption is often made that clones must, after time, decay. That is, with each copy you make whatever [[Applied Phlebotinum]] you are using to create the clones will either decrease in effectiveness, or the clones themselves become less coherent since eventually everything is just a copy of a copy. This goes double for dead clones, who [[Everything Fades|tend to dissolve]] because they're "[[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|less than human]]" rather than leave a proper corpse.

When dealing with a character who has the ability to [[Respawning Enemies|create clones apparently out of thin air]], this weakness is usually the only thing holding them back from whatever it is they're trying to do.

Line 17:

Note, this is not the same as a [[Evil Knockoff|Degenerate Clone]].

== Anime and Manga ==

* In ''[[Ah My Goddess (Manga)|Ah My Goddess]]'':

* In ''[[Ah! My Goddess (Manga)|Ah My Goddess]]'':

** In the "Adeventures of the Mini-Goddesses'' manga, one of the goddesses is able to make a duplicate of herself, which can make a duplicate of herself, etc, each of which is a bit shorter and squishier than its parent. In the main series, goddesses and demons can also divide themselves into avatars -- smaller, less powerful versions of themselves. Before leaving, Hild splits off a 1/1000 avatar of herself in the form of a child to keep track of things on Earth. In chapter 248, her 1/1000 avatar then splits off a 1/1000 avatar which takes the form of a small crystal.

** The main manga and series feature a clone of Urd. The Urd clone can use all the same magic as Urd, but her inferior body can't handle the stress.

Line 41:

{{quote| '''Dying Mamo clone:''' The transfer of the chromosomal data is never accomplished with complete fidelity. There are anomalies, infectiously small in each case, with accumulative effect of such chaotic pollution, can be observed after only a dozen or so generations and what you see before you is a 130th generation facsimile. I am but a faint, distorted echo of myself.<br />

'''Lupin:''' But you are always distorted by your obsession.<br />

'''Dying Mamo clone:''' [[Who Wants to Live Forever|But is it not... everyone's obsession]]? }}

'''Dying Mamo clone:''' [[Who Wants to Live Forever?|But is it not... everyone's obsession]]? }}

== Comics ==

Line 70:

* In Suzanne Weyn's ''The Bar Code Rebellion'', several clones are made of a single woman, each one with more and more bird DNA added to them. The first few are somewhat normal, though with notable strange behaviors and abilities. Once we reach the fifth clone, KM-5, it's become quite clear that the more bird DNA they possess, the crazier they are. The final clone, KM-6, is extremely weak, thin, and pale, and speaks only in bursts of birdlike noise.

* Though technically not because of being a clone, (and not actually being a "clone" in the strictest sense) Bean of the Ender's Shadow series is this because of {{spoiler|Anton's Gene being activated}} in him, which makes him smarter because his {{spoiler|brain and body never stop growing}} at the cost of becoming {{spoiler|a giant and eventual death}}

* ''[[Who Censored Roger Rabbit]]'': Toons can make duplicates of themselves for doing stunts, but the duplicates are very short-lived.

* ''[[Who Censored Roger Rabbit? (Literature)]]'': Toons can make duplicates of themselves for doing stunts, but the duplicates are very short-lived.

* The novel ''[[Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang]]'' centers around this, in a way. A post-apocalyptic society rendered sterile by disease discovers that, though clones do display [[Clone Degeneration]] in the form of sterility after a few generations, they actually reverse the trend after a few more. The society uses this to attempt to set up a sustaining population of fertile humans.

** The clones display a form of [[Clone Degeneration]] in another way, as well. After deciding that cloning is superior to sexual reproduction and building a society based around the health of the group and the destruction of the individual, they find that the younger clone generations lose the ability for abstract thought, to the point where the youngest generations are incapable of drawing maps or devising solutions for problems.

Line 82:

** Also note that in the case of O'Neill's clone, the degeneration is a case of having [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness]] literally encoded in his genes. In fact, he's overcome with pain within ''minutes'' of being recovered by Loki.

** Kull Warriors are created in nonliving form and animated via Ancient technology They live for several days or weeks, though they're [[Super Soldier|extremely hard to kill]] before their time.

** There is a bit of [[Fridge Logic]] there, as the Asgard should've anticipated that their clones would degrade after millennia of copying copies. Apparently, in a case of [[No Plans No Prototype No Backup]], they did not keep an original DNA somewhere. This is actually a plot point in a later episode, where they recover an original Asgard and try to gain his DNA. {{spoiler|This fails spectacularly.}}

** There is a bit of [[Fridge Logic]] there, as the Asgard should've anticipated that their clones would degrade after millennia of copying copies. Apparently, in a case of [[No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup]], they did not keep an original DNA somewhere. This is actually a plot point in a later episode, where they recover an original Asgard and try to gain his DNA. {{spoiler|This fails spectacularly.}}

* The single-clone degeneration is addressed but ultimately averted in ''[[Farscape (TV)|Farscape]]''. When Crichton is "twinned" during season three, the [[Mad Scientist]] Kaarvok claims that the resulting duplicates are "equal and original," with no defects or imperfections. However, in a later episode, one of the two Crichtons experiences spontaneous bleeding and blackouts, leading him to believe that [[Clone Degeneration]] is at work: fortunately, it's just the [[Villain of the Week]] causing chaos across Moya. As {{spoiler|one of the Crichtons has died in a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] and the other has suffered no ill effects}} it can be assumed that Kaarvok was correct. However, the multiple-clone degeneration is used in the episode Kaarvok was introduced in, specifically in the form of the feral, degenerate remains of the crew of the ship he'd been imprisoned aboard. Apparently after "twinning" the twin of a twin and so on a certain amount of error did emerge.

* In an episode of the ''[[Honey I Shrunk the Kids (TV)|Honey I Shrunk the Kids]]'' TV series that seems to have been losely based on ''Multiplicity'', Wayne creates a molecular duplication machine that has the side effect of making the target's molecules unstable, causing them to create more duplicates whenever they are bumped hard against something or jolted. This results in a good number of extra Waynes, nearly all of which are a bit dense. "Why are my clones such ''dorks''?"

Line 90:

* The fetches of ''[[Changeling: The Lost (Tabletop Game)|Changeling: the Lost]]'' are ''always'' missing something of the personality they were meant to replace. It could be a negative trait (quickness to anger) or a positive trait (dedication to a task), but there's always going to be something missing.

* ''[[Paranoia (Tabletop Game)|Paranoia]] XP'' has this as a mechanic in order to convince characters to try not to get killed ''quite'' as much (if the GM is letting the [[Player Character|PCs]] buy clones rather than simply going through a 6-pack and then handing out new sheets.) After the first seven or so, things start to go south in a hurry, with extra fingers, hideous deformity, and (worst of all in Alpha Complex) colour blindness. Luckily, BLUE-clearance PCs can pay to have the template cleaned up. Others have to depend upon secret societies and underhanded business that may well result in termination for treason.

** The reason that bit about colour blindness isn't potholed to [[Arson Murder and Jaywalking]]? In Alpha Complexing, social rank is [[Colour Coded for Your Convenience]]. Social rank is also taken ''very'' seriously - if you're Red clearance and step into an Orange-rank area, that's treason.

** The reason that bit about colour blindness isn't potholed to [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]? In Alpha Complexing, social rank is [[Colour-Coded for Your Convenience]]. Social rank is also taken ''very'' seriously - if you're Red clearance and step into an Orange-rank area, that's treason.

Line 114:

* Justified in the usual manner in ''[[Dystopia (Video Game)|Dystopia]]'', where clones are given a maximum life span of about 20 minutes, and their bodies decay very rapidly. This prevents enemies from finding any of the technology hidden in their bodies or any information hidden in their brains. In addition, combat clones are hastily assembled from cheap materials in about 15 seconds; and normal clones can take a few weeks to build but are intended for use by soldiers after they shed their combat clone bodies. At least, that's what they're promised by their [[Mega Corp|employers]].

* ''[[Final Fantasy VII]] [[Crisis Core]]'' is a prequel, giving us background on stuff like why Sephiroth went crazy and destroyed Cloud's hometown. A huge part of it turns out to be the emotional blows he suffered when losing his two closest friends to [[Mistreatment Induced Betrayal]] against [[Mega Corp|Shinra]]; the primary mistreatment in this case being that Shinra had created them via genetic hacking and then, at some point in their thirties, their bodies started to break down. And that was when they found out they weren't just naturally talented best friends from Banora, where the scientist running the project apparently retired after Hojo got all the funding in order to make [[Super Prototype|Sephiroth]].

** Genesis, the one who actually went [[Ax Crazy]], may have minded that Sephiroth was perfect and the project that wasn't abandoned as much as the dying part. Never mind that Project G being mostly-canceled meant ''he'' got a ''childhood''; he had a [[Green Eyed Monster]] problem.

** Genesis, the one who actually went [[Ax Crazy]], may have minded that Sephiroth was perfect and the project that wasn't abandoned as much as the dying part. Never mind that Project G being mostly-canceled meant ''he'' got a ''childhood''; he had a [[Green-Eyed Monster]] problem.

** The degeneration condition is like this, but Angeal and Genesis aren't actually clones, as such. Angeal may even be his mother's natural son, she just messed with her own body so much to get the cells to make Genesis that he came out weird. Or not. (Incidentally, this means Angeal and Genesis are at least 1/3 brothers, which is not a fraction that's possible in nature and which also makes the fact that they're a popular ship a lot [[Squick|squickier]].)