Twinmaker: Difference between revisions

Second, the ethics of disposing of the original: If this matter is addressed at all in fiction, the [[Uniqueness Value]] and [[Cloning Blues]] tropes may well be invoked or played with as part of the story. A teleportation machine that worked in the manner of the short story ''To Be'' (see quotation above) would probably be regarded as a killing machine, but if there is any doubt about whether the stream-of-consciousness continues or not, the issue may well be sidestepped. If nothing in the device suggests anything sinister, it's generally treated as harmless. It's probably a straightforward [[Teleportation]].

 

 

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

 

 

* {{spoiler|Ayanami Rei}} in ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' actually appears as three different clones over 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]''.}}

 

* ''[[Alien]]: Resurrection'' is about scientists trying to do this to {{spoiler|Ripley}}, who dies in the third film.

* In ''[[The Prestige]]'', {{spoiler|a man owns a machine that creates a duplicate of whatever's put inside it, and either teleports the original away or creates the copy some distance away. It's revealed he had done this several times to himself for a magic trick, each time drowning whichever one remained in place.}}

 

* The trope namer is ''[[Resurrected Man]]'', where "Murdering Twinmaker" is both a nickname for the teleporter and the nickname for a serial killer who uses the data in the sending teleporter to create his own copies, which he murders for pleasure.

* [[Orson Scott Card]]'s short story "Fat Farm": People can be cloned and have their memories copied into the clone. The clone then replaces the original person.

 

 

* ''[[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).

* ''[[The Outer Limits]]'' made "Think Like a Dinosaur" (see Literature) section into an episode.

* In an episode of ''[[Earth: Final Conflict]]'', Liam is implanted with a tracking device by Sandoval at Zo'or's request, as they have grown suspicious of him. In order to allow them to continue their investigation and keep Sandoval and Zo'or in the dark, Street puts Liam into a mini-coma and uses a modified ID portal to create a quantum duplicate of him without the tracking device, although she claims that the universe will eventually erase him out of existence. The duplicate Liam is identical to the original in every way and doesn't seem to mind being the copy. At the end of the episode, he makes a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to save Renee. Just before the [[Earthshattering Kaboom]], he sends a message to Sandoval, which confuses the latter to no end, as he knows thanks to the tracking chip that Liam is nowhere near that location. He later questions the real Liam, who has no memories of these events, before dismissing the matter.

 

* ''[[Paranoia]]'': Every player character has six identical clones, and when one dies, the next one is sent in to replace it.

* In ''[[Dungeons and 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.

 

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

* While actual teleportation is possible in ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'', the wormgate network used for it prior to the invention of the teraport also created clones of those who used it without the traveler's knowledge. {{spoiler|This became a major plot point when it turned out the Gatekeepers were interrogating and executing the clones, and using the information gained to control the galaxy's wealth and suppress rival teleporter technology. The current Kevyn Andreyasn is a clone created in this manner shortly before the original made a [[Heroic Sacrifice]], who simply took over his original's life without a single care about the existential issues.}}

 

 

* 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.}}