An Army of One

In a setting where cloning and artificial aging are commonplace, it is possible for an individual to have dozens of replicas of herself at any one time. Of course, if a new clone can be grown and artificially aged within a matter of days or hours, the question arises as to why one would need to keep active clones at all.

Body Double: In the modern world, celebrities and VIPs often hire look-alike actors to take their places for brief public appearances, dangerous situations, and other situations where they do not have the inclination or time to appear themselves. The illusion is complete if the look-alike actor is a clone whose purpose in life is to stand in for her genetic original from time to time.

Disposable Workers: In societies where clones are not afforded the rights and protections given those born through procreation, genetic duplicates might be used as a disposable work force. Clones could be sent into the most dangerous situations, used to fill the ranks of the armed forces, and made to perform all manner of unpleasant activities. Depending on the setting, this might be an accepted fact of life or there could be a group or political party that opposes clone repression. (See the Clones’ Rights sidebar for further discussion.)

Workload Efficiency: In a society that places a higher value on clone life, the world’s rich and powerful might still create cadres of clones. In this case, though, they would clone those people who are especially good at a particular job or activity. They could fill entire companies with people ideally suited for their jobs and who work well together.

This scenario, however, requires the addition of one more advance in clone technology—identity transfer.