History Main / CreatingLifeIsBad

* Urtho, Mage of Silence (from the MercedesLackey book ''[[HeraldsOfValdemar The Black Gryphon]]'') actually does this quite well; his creations love him, and honor him long past his death.

* ''{{Geneforge}}'' is all over this, since your {{Mons}} come from genetic engineering. The relationship between [[SlaveRace serviles]] and humans is repeatedly paralleled to institutionalizes slavery in America (albeit with an open race war starting in the third game.) This can even work its way into gameplay--you might [[VideoGameCaringPotential find yourself unwilling]] to make a [[OlympusMons drakon]] if the MP requirement means you'll have to dissolve that [[MascotMook Fyora]] you've been keeping around for ten levels.
* In ReturnToKrondor, [[spoiler: The necromancers encountered throughout the game turn out to be doing this. The sewer monsters were humans that were transformed into green beasts with poisoned claws that could make eggs if a male one and female one came together. It is possible to transform one of them back to a human via an alchemical catalyst. Also, in the middle of the game, it is possible to encounter a two-headed red beast that seems to be similar to an Air Elemental but this one can inflict fire damage. Jazhara comments that that thing was an abomination. That creature may have been one of the experiments conducted by Sidi's necromancers.]]

* In ''TheSimpsons'' episode "HOMR", the scientists say they can't play God with Homer's intelligence.

* In BaldursGate II, the PC wakes up in the dungeon of the wizard Irenicus and has to fight his way out. Some of the things he encounters suggest that Irenicus was trying to create life in that dungeon. Most prominently, one can stumble upon a clone of an elven lady, apparently abandoned and gone crazy there. When you find out ''who'' othe original is, that abandonement serves to underline just how lacking in empathy Irenicus has become: [[spoiler: she was the love of his life, who turned against him when he tried to grab power]]. Several pods are said to hold other clones... though not all pods hold ''created'' life: one who begs you to let him die states that he was a servant who was put in there until Irenicus could get around to healing him.

* Music/{{Blutengel}}'s song "The Oxidizing Angel" twists the Frankenstein myth a bit: The created woman is exquisitely beautiful, and unlike Frankenstein her creator doesn't abandon her. However, she have a mind without having a soul, and this is utterly traumatic for her. Her creator, being selfishly in love with her, refuse her plea to kill her. And thus she end up killing him instead.

* The [[OurHomunculiAreDifferent Homunculi]] created by Father in the ''FullMetalAlchemist'' manga. [[spoiler: He's some form of homunculus himself, but it isn't clear who created him.]]
** [[spoiler: We know that it was Hohenheim's master.]] What the HELL he was doing making something like this, the world will never know.
*** It is hinted that main reason for Father's creation was so that he could reveal the secret of immortality to their king.
** [[spoiler:Tucker]] attempts to create life in the first anime as a way to circumvent [[AllDeathsFinal the normal problems with using alchemy for resurrections]]. [[spoiler:It ends up creating a SoullessShell of his deceased daughter Nina, but Tucker has gone too insane at the time to realize it's a failure.]]
*** On a larger note, every alchemist who tries human transmutation, creating life, as a way of resurrecting the dead suffer this in the first anime [[spoiler:as it is these attempts that create homonculi in that continuity. Greed implies that Team Evil has had several of them up through the ages, with himself and Envy being the oldest at the moment.]]

In many lores and settings, humans creating life (especially [[ArtificialHuman intelligent life]]) are not [[CreatingLifeIsAwesome awesome]], and the act of creation does most certainly ''not'' make them [[DeityOfHumanOrigin valid Gods]]. On the contrary, the act is considered to be a foul act of hubris, often referred to as PlayingGod. Even if the character doesn't [[AGodAmI claim to be (like) one]].

* It isn't exactly the moral, but this seems to be the gist that ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' gives off. The episode "Too Young" focused on the kingdom being taken over by Princess Bubblegum's first failed experiment- Lemongrab, a [[TheMentallyDisturbed mentally disturbed]] manchild. The second was Goliad. Although Goliad was made properly, she was corrupted after getting the wrong idea about power, and she went completely batshit and tried to kill everyone.

In many settings, humans creating life (especially intelligent life) are not [[CreatingLifeIsAwesome awesome]], and the act of creation does most certainly ''not'' make them [[DeityOfHumanOrigin valid Gods]]. On the contrary, the act is considered to be a foul act of hubris, often referred to as PlayingGod. Even if the character doesn't [[AGodAmI claim to be (like) one]].

The creation of autonomous, independent, and above all ''intelligent'' life has long been the exclusive purvey of the divine. Just about every creation myth has the creation of animal and then sapient life forms as the second or third thing done; right after space/time but before waffles. Even assuming there is no god, the odds of it happening are such that it is a secular miracle not to be taken lightly. Thus this trope, where CreatingLifeIsBad.

* FrankensteinsMonster was not beautiful, though he was meant to be so:

* Explored in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' PastDoctorAdventures novel ''Heritage'', in which a scientist who has become obsessed with becoming the first to produce a perfect human clone has resorted to murder to further his ends, including causing the death of one of the Doctor's old companions. When the Doctor confronts the scientist, he reveals that the scientist actually ''isn't'' the first to discover human cloning -- but the secret has always been forgotten. ''Not'', interestingly enough, because cloning is somehow 'unnatural', but because in trying to create life artificially the people involved forget how precious life is, no matter how it is created, and end up treating it as a disposable commodity -- just as the scientist has done. Upon being confronted with both the futility of his life's work and precisely what a monster he's ultimately let himself become, [[VillainousBreakdown the scientist doesn't react well]].

Subtrope of CreatingLife. Contrast it's other subtropes: CreatingLifeIsAwesome, CreatingLifeIsUnforeseen, InstantAiJustAddWater and DeityOfHumanOrigin.

* In ''DragonBall'', Dr. Gero/[[spoiler:Android 20]] creates Androids 16, 17, 18, and Cell. Androids 17 and 18 [[spoiler: rebel and kill him]], while Cell [[spoiler: reaches his perfect form, threatens to destroy the universe, and ultimately kills Goku in a case of GoneHorriblyRight]]

* Urtho, Mage of Silence (from the MercedesLackey book The Black Gryphon) actually does this quite well; his creations love him, and honor him long past his death.

* ''Inhuman'' has this in its backstory. A company that until then created equivalents of the [[StarWars droid army]] had the bright idea of creating the equivalent of the ''clone'' army for theocratic clients. Furious, they had the whole company exterminated, from CEO to janitor. The protagonist's parents worked there.

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* It isn't exactly the moral, but this seems to be the gist that ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' gives off. The episode "Too Young" focused on the kingdom being taken over by her first failed experiment- Lemongrab, a [[TheMentallyDisturbed mentally disturbed]] manchild. The second was Goliad. Although Goliad was made properly, she was corrupted after getting the wrong idea about power, and she went completely batshit and tried to kill everyone.

* The immortal Flint in ''StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' created an android who went on to achieve proper sentience...and then died as she couldn't deal with her newfound emotions. He doesn't revel in the fact that he created new life, which is impressive all by itself. Bear in mind this is about 75 years before Data was created and you'll appreciate why this is slightly unrealistic.

* In StarTrekDeepSpaceNine, the evil overlords known as The Founders created the Vorta and the Jem'Hadar.

* Arguably ''JurassicPark,'' though there is also the interpretation that it wasn't Hammond returning the dinosaurs to life that was the problem, but his belief they could be controlled.

* In ''{{Dragon Ball}}'', Dr. Gero/[[spoiler:Android 20]] creates Androids 16, 17, 18, and Cell. Androids 17 and 18 [[spoiler: rebel and kill him]], while Cell [[spoiler: reaches his perfect form, threatens to destroy the universe, and ultimately kills Goku in a case of GoneHorriblyRight]]

* [[FrankensteinsMonster Frankenstein's Monster]] was not beautiful, though he was meant to be so:

* In EdgarRiceBurroughs's ''Literature/TheMonsterMen'', what Professor Maxon is up to. In the opening, he is disposing of one that died, and goes on a long ocean voyage to repair his nerves. Alas, it works, and he decides to try again, and even marry off his daughter to one.

* The second episode of the first season of {{Fringe}} is all about immoral attempts to create humans in labs. One such created human is active, and [[OurVampiresAreDifferent needs to consume parts of human brains to stay young]]. The episode ends with AnAesop where the main scientist guy babbles about how we scientists must always remember the boundary between our domain and God´s, no matter how easy it is to forget.

* A MadScientist in ''{{Cyanide and Happiness}}'' demonstrates [[http://www.explosm.net/comics/1841/ the right approach to the life]].

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* [[BattlestarGalactica The Cylons were created by man...]]

->''He created an angel just for himself, he gave her beauty he gave her life, but she couldn't live without a soul...''

*** It is hinted that main reason for father's creation was so that he could reveal the secret of immortality to their king.

Subtrope of CreatingLife. Contrast it's other subtropes: CreatingLifeIsAwesome, CreatingLifeIsUnforseen, InstantAiJustAddWater and DeityOfHumanOrigin.

[[quoteright:173:[[FantasticFour http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/472713230_222993a97a_2857.jpg]]]]
[-[[caption-width-right:173:Reed really should talk to [[Comicbook/TheAvengers Hank Pym]] about this whole "[[AIIsACrapshoot when]] to [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters stop]]" [[GoneHorriblyWrong thing]].]]-]

->''"Look! It's moving. It's alive. It's alive... It's alive, it's moving, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, ''it's alive, It's alive!''''"
--> -- '''Henry Frankenstein''', ''[[{{Frankenstein1931}} Frankenstein]]''

%% One quote is sufficient. Please place additional entries on the quotes tab.

Which is probably why every MadScientist worth his blood-stained labcoat will have this on their to-do list. The creation of life by humans is pretty much [[TheDarkArts universally considered]] a ''[[ScienceIsBad very]]'' bad thing in fiction -- it's even a cardinal sin on the ScaleOfScientificSins! The reasoning basically boils down to genesis being the exclusive domain of the divine. Not only is it {{pride}}ful in the extreme to even attempt it, but it is almost surely doomed to go HorriblyWrong as the god(s) look down scornfully upon the mad scientist. While they will also [[TheyCalledMeMad call them mad]] for it, few objectors ever bring up any other arguments than the above, which will get shot down by the Mad Scientist who has a very "[[HollywoodAtheist secular]]" view on the matter (when he isn't screaming "AGodAmI", that is). Namely, he will believe that if it is within man's power to do so, it must be done. [[LaymansTerms Translation:]] ForScience!

This usually sets off all kinds of warning bells because their logic basically boils down to The Ends Justify The Means where PotentialApplications abound. Oh, and because the delivery of the above usually has a lot of {{Evil Laugh}}ing, [[DramaticThunder lightning going off in the background]], or a [[CreepyMonotone deadly intensity]].

The artificial life can be of any nature and can vary a great deal between works. It may or may not be sapient, [[CloneDegeneration stable]], or have a {{soul}}. A favorite are genetically engineered designer organisms as well as [[CloningBlues clones]], but Artificial Intelligences also count, likewise a race of intelligent robots. Reanimating human corpses (without resurrecting the original owner) is of course the classical example. Expect these beings to be extremely dangerous and usually ugly. Usually the creature is a wild, uncontrollable beast that immediately (or eventually) kills its maker. If it has intelligence, then AIIsACrapshoot as it goes haywire and decides to [[CrushKillDestroy kill all humans]] by some unfathomable logic. Sometimes, it won't malfunction or rebel at all, but turn out to have GoneHorriblyRight as it dangerously exceeds its programming or purpose.

However, the creatures so made can be endowed with an unusually sympathetic air. They may be a [[BlankSlate Tabula Rasa]] that is completely innocent, but their creator quickly decides to [[TykeBomb make them into a weapon]], treats them as a ReplacementGoldfish, or (in the unlikely event their creator is mostly sane and kind) has [[HumansAreBastards exposure to the rest of humanity]] [[KillAllHumans quickly color its perceptions towards the homicidal]]. It's not common, but at times the creature gets a chance to develop, learn, and even become accepted among humanity. But usually, it's time to break out the TorchesAndPitchforks.

In terms of WhatMeasureIsANonHuman, expect them to rate about the same as clones, lower if they're ugly. On equal levels of people or grayly vague, one ends up with an ArtificialHuman.

See also/compare OurHomunculiAreDifferent and CameBackWrong. For works that portray scientists creating life in a more positive light, see instead CreatingLifeIsAwesome.

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