Clone Degeneration: Difference between revisions
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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.
Uses very similar logic to [[Super Prototype]] and [[Conservation of Ninjutsu]]. The [[Super Prototype]], when it is a one-of-a-kind machine, is awesome and unstoppable. Clones, likewise, seem really great at
In some instances it may be a [[Justified Trope]]: the creator may "program" a shortened lifespan into the clone to protect their property from getting away. Relatedly, the degeneration may be because the process used to make the clone resulted in a [[Flawed Prototype]], making all the clones a form of [[Keystone Army]] that will croak on some future date or circumstance. If the hero has [[Expendable Clone|qualms about killing clones]], their degeneration lays them to rest. Whether out of being a [[Mercy Kill]] or making them seem ''less real'' varies.
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== Anime and Manga ==
* In ''[[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
** 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.
* Clones in ''[[Gundam Seed]]'' tend to have physical or mental problems. Case in Point: {{spoiler|Rau Le Cruset}}.
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== Literature ==
* In David Brin's novel, ''Kiln People'', humans are able to create duplicates of themselves that are fashioned from a type of clay. The duplicates, called golems or "dittoes", possess the memories of their original from the time of their creation, but degrade after a day. Before this happens, golems are able to reintegrate their accumulated memories with their original using a special device.
* Invoked in F.M. Busby's ''Rissa Kerguelen'' series. The Hulzein clan learns through painful experience that they have to alternate cloned generations with ones produced the normal way, or else they wind up with mentally unstable
* In [[William Sleator]]'s ''[[The Duplicate]]'', the duplicates are less sane the farther they are from the original. They also get black markings on their hands shortly before they die, but they tend to go crazy and get themselves killed before that step occurs.
* 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? (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
** The clones display a form of
* The Styx Drones from ''[[Colony]]'' are this. Each batch suffers from further deterioration of intelligence, leaving the present batch [[Too Dumb to Live]].
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** 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.}}
* The single-clone degeneration is addressed but ultimately averted in ''[[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
* In an episode of the ''[[Honey I Shrunk the Kids (TV series)|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''?"
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* ''[[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.
** 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 [[
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* Drakken tried this in ''[[Kim Possible]]'' making "clones" (the show admits it isn't really cloning but called that for simplicity) of Kim, Ron, Rufus and Bonnie and modifying them to be [[Evil Knockoff|mindless attack drones]]. It works till its revealed they're [[Weaksauce Weakness|weak against soda]], dissolving into green puddles when its sprayed on them.
* In ''[[The Flintstones]]'', Fred was cloned by an alien in one episode. The clones were very much like real people, and are never seen physically degenerating, but were little more than mindless mooks, incapable of anything other than following their creator's orders, causing trouble and saying Fred's catchphrase in a very monotonous fashion.
* A very [[Squick
** Later, Stewie makes a perfect clone of himself- but this one is [[Evil Knockoff|immensely more evil]] [[Gone Horribly Right|than him]]- complete with [[Slasher Smile]].
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