Not too long ago I wrote an essay for university about memory and how it influences the formation of identity. This got me thinking about cloning and how clones, memory and identity are handled by various science fiction television series.
After looking over the obvious candidates (Star Trek and Stargate universes) I couldn’t help but find it odd how clones and who they are perceived to be can differ from series to series but also differ within the same series.
All right, differing opinions and treatments of a subject from series to series isn’t that odd. In fact it’s downright normal. If all science fiction treated all topics and issues the same way then the genre would be a horrible boring lump and it would eventually die.
However the different treatments of clones within a series struck me as strange. At times the clones are treated as extensions of the original, at others they are dismissed as mere copies and therefore inferior. Sometimes if the clones have been genetically created and are not from an original donor, then the treatment changes again.
Examples that came to mind were Kahless in Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Vorta species of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Carson Beckett in Stargate: Atlantis and the younger O’Neill from Stargate: SG-1.
In the Stargate universe we can see two very different treatments of clones. When Beckett was killed both fans and characters mourned the loss and both apparently rejoiced when his clone was found. This clone was treated, both within the series and within the fandom, as an extension of the original. People carried on as if Beckett was never killed and talk to the clone the same way they would speak to the original Beckett.
In contrast when a younger version of O’Neill is found in the episode “Fragile Balance”, although at first he is treated the same as O’Neill, when it is discovered he is a clone he is treated as a separate character. At the end of the episode the young O’Neill leaves to make his own way in the world.
Both of these reactions can be seen in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Rightful Heir” when the fabled Klingon leader Kahless apparently comes back from the dead. At first his return is heralded as a miracle and Kahless is treated as a revered figure. However once it is revealed he is a clone attitudes towards him change. He is seen as inferior, although he is eventually given a position of power with the Klingon Empire.
“They grew you in a test tube… like some kind of fungus… then programmed you like a machine.” – Worf to Kahless.
Within the same universe the Vorta exist, an entirely cloned species. The Vorta are different to other clones seen and receive follow both of the ‘treatments’: they are seen both as individuals and continuations of the original.
If that seems contradictory and confusing to you, fear not. It is. However somehow the Vorta mange to pull it off.
Each Vorta is given the memories of the previous clone in their line. For example Weyoun 6 had all the memories of Weyouns 1 through 5, as did Weyoun 7. However they also refer to previous clone as their predecessors, suggesting that although each clone continues the line they are viewed (or created) as individuals.
These examples are not an exhaustive list of all clones in science fiction, far from it in fact, but they are the ones I’m most familiar with. When I think of how clones are viewed within science fiction television I am suprised at how in can vary so much, even within the same franchise.
The answer is, of course, an obvious one. Plot.
The treatment of the clones changes depending on what the plot of that particular episode requires. However that’s a rather boring answer.
What isn’t boring though is thinking about how clones link into the subject of memory and how memory links in with identity.
If we take each of the examples and look at them in terms of their memories then how they are treated starts to make a little more sense.
Beckett – The original Beckett is dead so when the new clone is found his memories are the same with only a small amount of variance. The memories of the clone do not contradict the original Beckett’s so the clone-Beckett is treated as a continuation.
Young O’Neill – Although he shares some memories with the original O’Neill as the episode progresses he makes his own memories and because of his age his actions differ. Therefore his treatment as an individual is understandable.
Kahless – It is the faults in his memory which reveal him to be a clone and because of that he is seen as an inferior copy. He is given the token position of Emperor but is not seen as a continuation of the original. Nor is he really seen as an individual as he has the memories of Kahless without him actually being Kahless. Clone-Kahless exists in a nether world of identity because of his memories.
Vorta – The memories are passed down along the line so each clone is treated as a continuation of the next.
By looking at the treatments of clones through their memories, it becomes easier to make sense of the various ways of handling of the subject within science fiction.
Memories are an important part of identity. If a person’s memories were put into another body, would that person still be the same or would a new individual be created? Kahless is good example of this.
He has the body and memories of Kahless however at the same time he can never be Kahless. He is a new entity. Created by Klingon monks and perhaps doomed to never achieve a new full identity.
However that is a completely separate essay, which will have to wait for another day. 😉
SJ Simpson 