Genetic Memory: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
{{quote|''Ripley's genes are all right too: They allow her reconstituted form to retain all her old memories, as if cookie dough could remember what a gingerbread man looked like.''|'''[[Roger Ebert]]''''s review of ''[[Alien (
Genetics is a funny thing; we inherit all sorts of things from our parents while at times developing entirely different tastes, personality and abilities. In fiction land, you can pretty much [[You Fail Biology Forever|discard that sentence]]: with the likes of [[Superpowerful Genetics]], [[Lamarck Was Right]] and [[In the Blood]], there's no limit to just how much a parent can influence (or more commonly, screw over) their children.
# [[Designer Babies]] may have these skills thanks to [[Lamarck Was Right]] with some help from an [[Evilutionary Biologist]], seeking to make [[Ubermensch
# [[Cloning Blues|Clones]] and occasionally ''twins'' will outright get the original's knowledge, skills, powers, or what have you, sometimes without needing
# Enlightened characters or energy beings can sometimes unlock these memories either via channeling ancestors rather than past lives or reading their DNA like a book.
# Alien species or diseases might have this naturally, or use advanced [[Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke]] or telepathy to do this.
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* In the manga of ''Hades Project Zeorymer'', Masato Akitsu seems to possess memories of the Zeorymer's construction as well as how to use it. It later turns out that Masato and Miku are actually NOT {{spoiler|who you they think they are}}, but are in fact the original {{spoiler|creator of the Zeorymer and his lover having been reverted 14 years ago into an embryonic state}} in order to avoid being killed, with {{spoiler|Masato's old memories designed to re-activate upon contact with Zeorymer.}}
* Cell from ''[[Dragonball Z]]'' was created from the DNA of Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Frieza, and King Cold, and knows all of their fighting techniques.
** Taken to the ninth degree when Cell self-destructs and blows up King Kai's planet, also killing
* In the manga ''[[Dragon Quest]]: [[Dai no
* In the intro to ''[[Pokémon:
** In the ninth movie, the People of the Water have a genetic dream. After learning about it, Brock mentions "A memory written straight into your DNA? That's just... [[Rule of Cool|awesome...]]
* In the manga ''[[Akumetsu]]'', the protagonists inherit each others memories by way of machinery they use. This is a tool in the plot.
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== Comic Books ==
* Every single clone of ''[[Spider-Man]]'' ever made ([[Send in
** The Venom symbiote and its spawn seem to have the ability to selectively pass on memories of a past host to a new one. Most notably, Carnage's symbiote recognized - and hates - [[Silver Surfer]] due to his role in killing thousands of them when he was a Herald of [[Galactus]]▼
▲** The Venom symbiote and its spawn seem to have the ability to selectively pass on memories of a past host to a new one.
* [[Wolverine]] and Sabertooth are not related, but according to ''Wolverine: Origins'' (no, not the movie), both are part of a prehistoric race of wolfpeople who fought each other for millions of years because they have a different hair color, and this battle has been watched over since the beginning by someone who started out as an amino acid in the primordial ooze.
** May this never be spoken of again.
* An issue of ''[[Alien (
* Rosie in [[Elf Quest]]: The Rebels was created by mixing some human genes with genetic material pulled from a preserver corpse. She seems to retain the preserver memories.
* The 9-2010 issue of the Dutch version of [[Donald Duck]] magazine insists on "memory genes" passed on subconsciously by the parents. [[You Fail Biology Forever|Somewhere, a biology teacher is crying]].
== Film ==
* John Carpenter's ''[[The Thing (
** Questionable how much this counts, as the Thing was essentially one entity that split up into multiple bodies. As such, its memories could have merely been retained, not rebooted from its genes.
* The film version of ''[[Aeon Flux]]'' is centered around a futuristic society of clones whose DNA are stored in an archive. Whenever a clone dies, their replacement gets implanted into a pregnant woman and is reborn. It is implied that genetic memories of people's past lives are transmitted this way and that the accumulation of said memories is slowly driving humanity insane.
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* ''Altered States'' deals with this.
* The original cut of ''[[Superman IV]]'' featured this: Nuclear Man is actually a clone of a previous Nuclear Man, and his knowledge of Superman and infatuation with Lacy are both inherited from the first.
* As mentioned in the quote, Ripley in ''[[Alien (
** Also the Xenomorphs as a species. Ripley 8's genetic memory was somehow the result of the cloning process mingling her physiology with some of the traits of the Xenomorph queen her predecessor had died carrying.
* A variation of this exists with the immortals in the ''[[Underworld (
* In ''[[The Island]]'' Lincoln Six Echo and some of the other clones have inherited faint memories from their originals, the main significance being that he can copy Tom Lincoln's Scottish accent perfectly and the rest of his "generation" is almost incinerated as "flawed".
== Literature ==
* In ''[[The
** It wasn't just the name, though. The Krikkit preferred to throw spherical bombs by hitting them with sticks. The fact that humans turned it into a game was not received very well by the galactic community.
* In the novel ''[[Planet of the Apes]]'', the ape scientists in the Encephalic Section access the memory of several humans in an experiment on one woman.
* In the original ''[[
** Dougal Dixon gives a [[Shout-Out]] to this in ''Man After Man'', in which ''Homo mensproavodorum'' evolves
* In [[Arthur C. Clarke
** Turns out to be a case of Genetic Foreshadowing. The Overlords play a role in mankind's {{spoiler|ultimate extinction, an event so traumatic for the humans of the future}} that it somehow echoes back into the past.
* [[Wen Spencer]]'s Ukiah Oregon books involve an alien virus with this trait.
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* The Bene Gesserit Reverend Mothers of the ''[[Dune]]'' series are capable of calling upon their genetic memories with the aid of extensive training to control and be aware of their own metabolism, and the use of a highly potent awareness enhancing drug. They are somewhat limited, since the training of the Bene Gesserit leaves them with a mindset which prevents them from accessing the memories of their male ancestry, and the techniques (which were developed over the course of several centuries and take a lifetime to be taught) cannot be taught to men. The drug also kills anyone without the training to alter it within their body. The Bene Gesserit thus initiated a breeding program over ten thousand years to create a man who could access the full memories of his entire ancestry.
** Gholas, essentially the corpses of dead people brought back to life by Tleilaxu science, are memory-less but the Tleilaxu learn in ''Dune Messiah'' that a strong trauma can restore their memories. That's reasonable, but later this even works for clones, and reaches its ultimate heights in ''Heretics of Dune'' where a clone of Duncan Idaho manages to gain the memories of ''every other clone that's ever been made of Duncan Idaho''.
* The central character in [[Piers Anthony]]'s ''Orn'' is a large omnivorous flightless bird, which is less intelligent than a person but has
* Averted in Gillian Cross's ''[[The Demon Headmaster]]'' series of children's books. The genetics-themed entry in the series ends with the death of the villainous Headmaster, with a hint that a clone of him will be regrown. The fact that said clone does not have the original's memories is acknowledged in the following novel (the Internet-themed one).
* Headies (highly intelligent psychic dog-like aliens) in the [[Strugatsky Brothers|Noonverse]] have this naturally.
* Weird example from ''[[
* In "Mask of Circe", one of the Henry Kuttner's novels, the hero (who lived in XX century) had achieved the memories of his ancient ancestor - Jason (the mythologic character) through some kind of science experiment - and, although it's hilarious, it was used skilfully, and the novel is just great.
* A ''[[Doctor Who]]'' novelization had the whole idea of RNA being used for memory storage. Justified/[[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] when Martha points out that the theory has been discredited, and the Doctor replies that he's sort of generalizing, as the creature in question has [[Bizarre Alien Biology]] [[Timey-Wimey Ball|that transfers memories through a substance sorta-like RNA, only not]].
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** In ''[[The Call of the Wild]]'' Buck occasionally has dreams of primitive humans and there are several references to his ancestors telling him how to survive.
* In ''[[Jeff Long]]'''s ''[[Year Zero]]'', the clones produced from religious relics dated to around the time of Jesus's death all have intact memories of their life prior to death, as does a Neanderthal clone.
** In Long's other book ''[[The Descent (
* Frank Schätzing's ''The Swarm''/''[[
* Before the "RNA memory" theory was discredited, [[Larry Niven]] used it as a teaching device in his short story "Rammer" and its novel expansion, ''A World Out of Time''.
* In [[Stephen Hunt]]'s ''The Rise of the Iron Moon'', Purity dreams of a longago ancestor.
* The Tholians in the [[Star Trek Novel Verse]]. Encoded in their crystalline molecules is every memory of their people, dating back to the first moment of sapience. Many are buried deep, of course, not generally available to a given individual unless they're brought to the fore by powerful emotional or psychic triggers. Due to the short lifespan of members of many Tholian castes, memories and experience are often "uploaded" to the next generation from the pool of ancestral memories. This is one reason why Tholians hold grudges for an uncomfortably long time - the memories are fresh in their minds for generations.
* In [[The Host (novel)|The Host]], when the aliens (or "souls" what have you) reproduce, the mother allows herself to die to have a bunch of alien babies and they are said to retain the memories of the mother.
== Live Action TV ==
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** In "Prototype", a genetically-engineered human named Khalek is found in one of Anubis's secret labs. It turns out that Anubis combined the Harsesis concept with Nirrti's hok'tar research to create a host that would have Goa'uld genetic memories (and their [[Buffy-Speak|"evilness"]]) and have superhuman abilities such as telepathy and telekinesis. Interestingly, Neil Jackson, who played Khalek, would later go on to play another telekinetic in ''[[Push]]''.
* There's an episode of ''[[Andromeda]]'' with a race of people who have this, and later the [[Body Horror]] that hatches from them.
* On ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'', Phlox cloned Trip, and the clone had all of Trip's memories. Nowhere else in Star Trek were humans ever shown as having genetic memory.
** Because that wasn't a cloned human, that was some kind of a symbiotic life form what absorbs memories with the genes too.
*** While it is true that Sim was not a clone, Phlox explicitly mentions human genetic memory as the reason he had Trip's memories. This is probably why Sim couldn't access Trip's adult memories until he had aged appropriately.
** Though he at least has the decency to be ''surprised'' about it.
* In the ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' episode "Favorite Son", Harry Kim suddenly starts knowing things he shouldn't, such as that an alien ship is about to attack Voyager. It turns out he has the DNA of the alien Taresians, and his new knowledge comes from that DNA.
** {{spoiler|Except that it turned out that it was an elaborate trap by the Taresians to lure Harry (and any other male they could get their hands on) in, to steal their life force. Without their tampering, Harry had about as much genetic similarity to the Taresians as we do to lizards.}}
* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' serial ''The Invisible Enemy'', The Doctor creates clones of himself and Leela, who have the memories of their originals.
** K-9 and the Doctor do explain that these clones are really more like a biological photocopy than proper clones, hence their shortened lifespans
** In ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S21
** The Wirrrn from ''The Ark in Space'' have racial memories.
** By the late 20th century, humanity has genetic memories of Kronos, the being (or one of them) that destroyed Atlantis thousands of years ago. One of the scientists working on the Master's TOMTIT in ''The Time Monster'' recognised Kronos without ever seeing it before.
* ''[[
** For some reason, the Scarrans believe that they can extract wormhole knowledge from ''an embryo in Aeryn's womb''. The kid doesn't even have a brain yet. Give it a break.
* Subverted in ''Jekyll'', where the modern Mr. Hyde experiences a rush of memories from his alter ego, then unexpectedly {{spoiler|flashes back to the ORIGINAL Jekyll in Victorian times}} and [[Lampshade Hanging|verbalizes]] this to the observing scientists. "Genetic memory doesn't work like that." "Of course not, maybe he's got something else. Something better."
* Likely unintentional Subversion in ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]''. An early episode has Odo wondering about his people, feeling that his strong sense of justice is a racial memory, giving him an idea of the kind of people they are. His people are in fact a group of brutal oppressors who often engage in genocide. That being said, they do have the ability to transfer information through touch, but it applied to his sense of order, not justice.
** The episode where the crew finds an infant Jem'haddar includes the child spontaneously demonstrating complete language skills in a matter of hours. The doctor notes that it would be impossible for him to have learned that from simple observation, so it MUST be some kind of implanted genetic memory (the Jem'haddar were in fact created by genetic engineering). Apparently, in the Trek-verse, genetic memory is more feasible than advanced language learning.
* This is precisely the main plot of the episode ''Aubrey'' in the 2nd season of ''[[The X-Files]]''. {{spoiler|A female police officer that was adopted begins to remember and reproduce the slayings committed by a grandfather she never knew, who was a serial killer.}}
* Perhaps not a true example but an honorable mention: In the ''[[Star Trek:
** In the [[Expanded Universe]], the Federation even has the technology to use RNA therapy as a teaching tool. In ''Spock's World'', McCoy mentions having used RNA therapy to learn the Vulcan language (hence, he picks up certain nuances that Kirk, using the [[Universal Translator]], misses)
* ''[[Roswell]]'' also plays with this. {{spoiler|The four hybrids in the series are in fact the clones of their previous selves: the king, the queen, the king's sister and his second in command. The aliens' original plan was for them to fully remember who they were, and went back to free their people. Of course, it backfired, since the hybrids emerged too young and with no memory of their home planet, their purpose here, or even their powers. Through the series, they do remember brief aspects of who they were, but they rarely seem to embrace it, rather being afraid of what it meant to "be" somebody else.}}
* On ''[[The Invisible Man (TV series)|The Invisible Man]]'', human genetic memory is encoded in "memory RNA", but can only be accessed by someone with a Quicksilver gland in their head. This led to problems when Fawkes started to be affected by the memories of the gland's first owner.
== Tabletop Games ==
* In the ''[[Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game)]]'' adventure ''The Fungi From Yuggoth,'' both the archvillain and the player characters experience an awakening of ancient genetic memories stored in their DNA.
* ''[[Dungeons
** The underground sea-dwelling [[Eldritch Abomination]]s known as Aboleths exhibit this in ''[[Dungeons
*** Aboleths gain the memories of creatures they eat. And, like the Goa'uld, have genetic memory that reaches back ''eons''. They remember a time when they ''ruled the world''. They are understandably bitter about the current state of affairs.
**** They in fact can remember a time before gods came along and created the world.
** [[Multi-Armed and Dangerous]] insectoids Thri-Kreen ("mantis warriors") have racial memory which isn't readily available, but is awakened by some reminders, piece-by-piece. Includes necessary skills like their language (spoken and written), how to make construction material from saliva, typical designs based on this material (like throwing weapon) and other interesting things.
** Dragons basically are able to pass along edited instincts through their
** It is rumored this is true for the arcane (or mercane) a [[Proud Merchant Race]] who travel the multiverse selling their wares. While nobody knows for sure how it works, arcane always seem to know everything about a mortal's interactions with other members of their species. As a result, it's not a good idea to cheat, con, rob, or harm a group of arcane if you want to do business with ''any'' arcane in the future.
* In a rather [[
** Furthermore, each Space Marine is based on the genetic template of a Primarch, one of the first Space Marines. The Blood Angels chapter and their successors have a random chance of triggering the genetic memory of their Primarch's bloody death, which can drive them into an [[Unstoppable Rage]].
** Also, the [[Physical God]] Nightbringer had caused so much terror and death eons ago that it caused every single living thing since the to have a fear of death as part of its
** The Orks also have all of their knowledge of machinery and science preprogrammed into their genetic code. Most of this does not take hold until in the presence of other Orks, or Orkish "teknology," however.
* Werewolves from ''[[
** The Mokole (were-lizards who used to be were-dinosaurs) are specifically referred to as the "Memory of Gaia" and all of them have access to genetic memory dating back as far as the dinos (and their OLD other halves, a humanoid dino race that died out during the mass extinction). They can access the memories of either side of their lineage, regardless of whether those were the memories of Mokole individuals to begin with.
*** These guys REMEMBER their ancestors guiding the evolution of mammals to produce something humanoid in order to replace their extinct other form (their bestial dino-side forms just kept evolving with other lizards, but they never used the old humanoid form anymore out of respect and grief).
** [[Promethean: The Created
* The advantage Racial Memory in ''[[
* In the setting [[Arcana Unearthed]], being able to access one's genetic memory (called "akashic memory") is the stated skill of the rogue, and the akashic memory also plays a large role in the worldbuilding and flavor text.
== Video Games ==
* The premise of the ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' series is that human beings have genetic memories that can be unlocked and viewed via a device called an Animus. The modern-day [[Mega Corp]] that developed the device is using it to locate [[Lost Technology|powerful hidden artifacts]] by kidnapping people with important ancestors and forcing them to relive their past lives. The process has side-effects, however. Prolonged use causes a "bleeding effect" wherein users [[Upgrade Artifact|take on skills]] possessed by their ancestors and experience memories while not in the Animus, eventually resulting in insanity. It is later revealed that genetic memory was deliberately programmed into humans by [[Precursors|Those Who Came Before]] as part of a [[Plan]] allowing them to communicate across time with the modern-day descendants of the Assassins
** ''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' puts a twist on this: since Desmond Miles' ability to view Altaïr's genetic memories ends with his firstborn son, Altaïr's subsequent memories are viewed secondhand, by means of the Masyaf Keys that Ezio uncovers during the course of his adventure. So in this case it's a Genetic Memory of Ezio viewing the stored memories of Altaïr.
* In [[Metroid: Other M]], {{spoiler|the Ridley that appears in the game is a clone of the original}}, but it's extremely clear he knows EXACTLY who Samus is.
* In [[Record of Agarest War]] 2, all main characters after Weiss inherit Weiss lost memories followed by his nightmares. {{spoiler|Turns out, it's because they are all the same person right from the very beginning.}}
* Weird [[Inverted Trope|Inversion]] in [[Kingdom Hearts]]. {{spoiler|Xion is a clone made from Sora's memories essentially giving her Memory genetics.}}
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** There's also the Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah, who have a sort of racial memory, if one would believe what they say when you engage in dialogue with them with a Dnyarri on board.
** And the Mycon, although the accuracy of their memories seems to have been damaged in the hundreds of thousands of years [[Neglectful Precursors|their creators abandoned them]].
* The "ghosts" in ''[[
* In ''[[
* The Martians of [[wikipedia:Martian Dreams|Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams]] were a strikingly memorable example. In the first stage of life, their bodies grow as plants, and in the process they absorb knowledge of their dead ancestors through the common "ancestral soil". In fact, a Martian body grown elsewhere is more or less a (mental) vegetable.
** "Ancestral soil" here means compost made from the shed leaves of other martians, as well as dead bodies; some martians had as a profession to collect these for mulching. When the martians said they absorbed knowledge, they were speaking ''literally''.
* Hieda no Akyu from [[Touhou]] literally has this for her special ability, which she then uses to record the history of Gensokyo. She is the [[Lamarck Was Right|ninth child]] of a line that goes back for roughly 1200 years, so the only person that recognizes her in any way is the character that created Gensokyo, Yukari Yakumo.
* In ''[[Wild
* I'm not sure if it should be here or under [[Superpowerful Genetics]], but it's an explicit part of [[Pokémon]] that you can use
** [[Dragon Quest Monsters]] uses the same trope, though if you have Blazemost, you simply start out with Blaze. You actually have to meet statistical requirements.
* The homunculi Irisviel von Einsbern and her daughter Illyasviel in ''[[Fate/stay
* Averted in ''[[Tales of the Abyss]]''. {{spoiler|The main Character, Luke, is a clone who started out not even knowing how to walk or talk.}}
* In ''[[
** [[Sarcasm Mode|Because when you play Psychonauts, naturally]] [[Rule of Funny|classifying the inmates' issues accurately is the first thing you try to do]].
* It's theorized by some that Gnomes in [[
** Or it could just be regular knowledge passed on through the generations. Gnomes lost the knowledge of their origins as titanic creations, but that doesn't mean they ever lost all of their technology and had to reinvent it from scratch. Gnomes seem to be much more interested in gizmos than history, so likely their educational system doesn't emphasize the latter so much.
* In ''[[The Force Unleashed]] 2'', Darth Vader creates a series of clones of Starkiller, the protagonist of the first game. Vader becomes disappointed that he can't seem to make a clone that doesn't remember Starkiller's lover, Juno Eclipse, as the imprinted love causes them to rebel against Vader and [[The Dark Side]]. {{spoiler|The Dark Side ending reveals an evil clone that has Starkiller's memories, but has absolute contempt for everything Starkiller loved.}}
* In ''[[Mass Effect]]'', the queens of the Rachni, a species of sentient insectoids, inherit all memories of their mothers.
* In the lore of ''[[
* In ''[[Overblood]]'' {{spoiler|Milly (a clone) has all the memories of the original, justified because the husband of the original made her as a [[Replacement Goldfish]].}}
* The Tzhaar of [[
== Western Animation ==
* In ''[[WITCH (
* In ''[[
== Web Comics ==
* Amorphs in ''[[
* [[The Cyantian Chronicles]]: Neefla have genetic memories. Mostly. Sometimes a bloodline's memories won't get passed on to the next generation. Children born without the genetic memories are considered both a tragedy and a boone. While they lack years of knowledge, they have no preconceptions and are the greatest inventors and innovators of Neefla society.
** This is actually a subversion, as the knowledge imparted is imparted during the birthing process.
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== Web Original ==
* The [[Creepypasta]] "Genetic Memory" makes the claim that this is the reason humanity finds certain features like pale skin, dark, sunken eyes, elongated faces, and sharp teeth so
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