In media, there are sometimes stories where a person is cloned/duplicated (usually with identical memories) and the clone is murderous towards the original. Usually it’s something like “I knew there could be only one of us, and you would do the same”. Sometimes, they’re able to work things out and can share a single public identity, or duplication gives one copy a chance to do go off and live a new life that they always wanted.
How would you and your duplicate get along? Assume you are living like you do today, in a society where duplication is unheard of and has no legal precedent.
So I’ve been thinking about this and I think it mostly depends on if my wife was also duplicated. If so, I could see the 4 of us living together and pooling resources. Possibly even working out some shenanigans to double dip or get out of some things. However, I can’t see my wife or myself being cool with an arrangement where a duplicate and I share my wife. I don’t know if I’d kill The other me over it but, I could see us coming to blows over it.
No actually we would probably be really sweet to each other and understanding. I am not naturally very competitive or hostile.
This post and the numerous replies affirming our clones wouldn’t try to kill us makes me wonder, what is the basis for this trope? Is it just the assumption that any doppelganger must be evil? I wonder what the cultural origins are, would it be European fae?
Anyway, I’m pretty sure my clone would still try to kill me, but it’d be doing so out of kindness. I’ve always wanted to die on my feet in combat, and I’ve never wanted to live, so we’d kinda be fighting over who gets the privilege of death. Whichever one of us wins has to keep going, while the other gets released.
I always felt like murderous clones are a bit different from evil twins.
From a sci-fi perspective, I’ve noticed that murderous clone stories tend to explore the following themes:
- Whose life is more valid? Does an original have any more right to life than the clone? What aspects of life can never be split between two people with equal claim?
- Would the murder ever matter, in the grand scheme of things? As far as society can tell, the world is exactly the same before you are cloned and after one of you kills the other.
- Could the survivor ever be brought to justice? If the clone tried to kill you because they knew you would try to kill them, does that make it self defence or premeditated murder? Would any punishment would be a net loss for society, when compared before the clone appeared?
- Could this “self destructive” impulse hide deeply inside even the nicest person? How much does a person love themselves? Can self-love even apply when the “self” is also external?
I also would bang the clone.
Is it narcissistic to think that having a clone would be awesome as hell?
A friend who thinks exactly the same as I do and can get excited at the same ideas? Hell yeah, we’d be inseparable. I have so many projects that would be much easier done with two people. Also, free gym buddy/trainer. My partner would be into it as well for a multitude of reasons. The only trouble would be living space.
I can’t think of anything worthwhile we can do as a single legal entity so first thing we’d do is probably acquire a new legal identity so we can legally work and be taxed separately and just generally participate in society. It would be pretty easy to prove that we’re genetically identical and therefore are identical twins born at the same time at the same place to the same parents. Everything else can be chalked up to clerical error. The people in charge of this aren’t paid enough to care and dig any further than that.
She and I would definitely be fucking tbh.
Other than that, finally, enough time in the day to work on hobbies. One clone works, the other hobbys, and alternate every now and again.
But… you don’t need a clone to do that. Just find anyone who wants to live with you and work 50%.
The likelihood of me waking up with a clone is higher than the likelihood of me finding someone I want to live with
I think my duplicate and I would take turns working versus staying at home to get things done, like putting together that cat tower/rope-bridge I’ve (we’ve) been holding off on
I’d finally have a reliable coop gaming partner. Neither of us would squander that truly priceless gift.
Also, you can just work either double the time or half each.
Oh god, two of me! 😂
I think she’d keep telling me dumb jokes while trying to compete with me in drawing, and late at night she’d send me goofy memes that I’d laugh at.
I’m pretty nice. I think it’d take some more intense circumstances like in Dark Matter before I or a copy of me wanted to kill anyone. I wonder if I’d be ok with taking turns for time with loved ones.
No, we would work together on tasks. I would walk to work while Other Me would take my car and get errands done. Or to change things up a little, Other Me could walk to work and I would run errands.
Hell, Other Me could play my online games and make progress while I’m at work. I’ve been meaning to level up my Black Mage in FFXIV, but life has kept me busy.
In the evenings, we would have to clearly explain to each other what we did that day and who we interacted with. Otherwise we risk diverging into two different people.
hell no, we’d start an onlyfans.
I’d give him the keys, the passwords, and wish him good luck with my life. BUH BEYE!
If he’s you and you want to be free of your life and wish it could be someone else’s problem then your duplicate is just going to run a mile and thank their lucky stars for this break.
I’m one of the copies and I’m more charming than the original that I killed.
