Twinmaker: Difference between revisions

Often involves [[Cloning Blues]]. [[Clone Jesus]] and [[You Cloned Hitler]] are related, but not subtropes.

 

{{examples}}

* The {{spoiler|Ayanami Rei}} we see in ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' is actually three different clones who each replaces their predecessor during the course of the show. This isn't known until [[The Reveal]].

** Furthermore, a [[Freeze-Frame Bonus]] reveals that the lower half of Lilith is actually {{spoiler|''[http://www.evacommentary.org/full-op/full-op_C237_comp.jpg Unit-01]''.}}

 

== Film ==

** {{spoiler|This troper thought it was clear that it was the copy that appeared some distance away, creating the appearance of teleportation - so the magician had actually repeatedly drowned versions of himself and been replaced with a clone}}

** The first time this happens, {{spoiler|the one who stayed in place shot the one who appeared at a distance, meaning the original Angier is dead either way}}. (Then again, the concept of [http://lesswrong.com/lw/r9/quantum_mechanics_and_personal_identity/ "the original"] isn't well-defined, given what we know about quantum physics.)

 

== Literature ==

{{quote|"I'm [[Humans by Any Other Name|embodied]], not deranged! If a copy of my mind experiences a few minutes' consciousness, then is lost, that's not the death of anyone. It's just amnesia."}}

** In ''Permutation City'', {{spoiler|after launching [[It Makes Sense in Context|Elysium]], the Paul left behind on Earth kills himself, apparently having only ever cared about his Elysian copy.<ref>[[Fridge Logic|You'd think]] that he'd expect to survive in the same way he survived his last [[It Makes Sense in Context|22 deaths]], but the messy gradual death of a brain [[Fan Wank|might work differently]] from the instantaneous deletion of a [[Brain Uploading|Copy]]; he might get pared down to a tiny thread of consciousness as he dies, and in the process [[Esoteric Happy Ending|forget all about]] [[Go Mad from the Revelation|dust theory]].)</ref> Meanwhile, Peer is [[Machine Worship|happy to]] [[Jumped At the Call|sign up]] to become two people, seeing it as a new way of breaking away from the "quintessentially human" experience.}}

* In James Patrick Kelly's novelette ''Think Like a Dinosaur'', reptilian aliens give us teleportation, but insist on "balancing the equation" (destroying the original afterward) or they'll cut us off from the network. Normally the original is unconscious, but one is revived after the teleport is mistakenly believed to have failed, invoking this trope in full.

* In the ''[[Star Trek]]'' [[Expanded Universe]] novel ''Federation'', when Zefram Cochrane is first transported aboard the ''Enterprise'', he immediately thinks he is a duplicate of the original, assuming transporters to work like replicators. Instead, a crew member calms him down, explaning that the process works on the quantum level, meaning he is still the original Cochrane.

* In ''[[The End of Eternity]]'', the eponymous organization considers replicators as undesirable as nuclear wars - because there can be no satisfactory solution to the problems caused by this trope.

 

* ''[[Farscape]]'' had a subplot of Crichton's twinning. Although in this case, neither one was a copy or original exactly. Crichton really was just duplicated/"twinned" into two identical Crichtons (they play rock-paper-scissors and draw some 100+ in a row).

** They even use this in the next episode to have one twin impersonate the other to "prove" Crichton was never at the scene of an explosion (since he is of course, completely unhurt).

** Like many devices introduced in the series, this Twinmaker is never mentioned again, even though it would have been very helpful in many other circumstances.

 

* ''[[Paranoia (game)|Paranoia]]'': Every player character is actually six identical clones, and [[Expendable Clone|when one dies, the next one is sent in to replace it]].

* In ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' Clone spell could be used to create copies of a creature, normally as a form of resurrection when the original is lost completely. [[Only One Me Allowed Right Now]] effects implied that it's more than just an identical body, though. Stasis Clone (unique spell from ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'') makes the revival of one stored copy upon death automatic and allows to "update" inactive clones.

* The "Immortality Through Cloning" version is used as a plot point and gameplay mechanic in ''[[Destroy All Humans!]]''. The reason the Furons are harvesting human brains is because it contains a strain of DNA vital to their cloning process, and every time you die in-game, your [[You Are Number Six|name increases by one digit]]. There's even a level about recovering your own remains.

* In the ''[[Star Trek Armada]]'' games, ''Nebula''-class ships have a special ability called the "Gemini Effect", which temporarily creates a duplicate of the target ship. With some quick thinking, this ability can be used to get free resources by duplicating a vessel and then scrapping the duplicate for parts. The game designers, apparently, did not think of this possibility.

 

== Web Comics ==

* In ''[[Freefall]]'' robots don't care much about backups. [http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff400/fv00383.htm Want to know why?]

** Similarly, later on {{spoiler|Schlock is killed off, and a new Schlock is created to replace him. The new Schlock thinks it's kind of cool, "but not cool enough to do twice."}}

 

== Web Original ==

* In the ''[[Mortasheen]]'' universe, [[Knight Templar|Wreathe]] uses portal technology, which preserves the teleported person intact but is incredibly inefficient. Meanwhile [[Crazy Awesome|Mortasheen]] utilizes teleportation that makes a twin of the user somewhere else and destroys the original. Mortasheen being [[Crapsack World|what it is]], no one there is bothered by this and the twin is considered and treated as the original. Wreathe, however, is revolted.

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* Canadian animator John Weldon's terrifying short, ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdxucpPq6Lc&feature=related To Be]'': In it, a scientist is demonstrating his new "Murdering Twinmaker"-style teleporter. The heroine claims that the machine is immoral, and to assure her that there's no need to worry, he agrees to delay the "murdering" part of the machine by a few minutes. The original and the clone come out and meet each other, they play a game of chess, and then each fights tooth and nail to push the other into the machine. She just grabs one of them and helps the other scientist push him in as he kicks and screams and begs for his life. They end up shutting him in with his arm slammed in the door and nuking him, causing his arm to visibly disintegrate. [[Stunned Silence|Then it gets quiet.]] The surviving scientist realizes the immorality of such a device and walks away, but the heroine feels guilty and decides that she has to atone for what she does, and enters the machine.

* In one ''[[Aeon Flux]]'' episode, the titular character's archenemy and lover creates a clone of her. The clone and the original meet and conspire against him. In the end, one of them gets gunned down in front of Trevor. {{spoiler|It wasn't the clone.}}

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Futuristic Tech Index]]

[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]

[[Category:Doppelgänger]]

[[Category:Teleportation Tropes]]

[[Category:Our Clones Are Identical]]