History Main / GeneticMemory

* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'': The Forerunner Life-Shapers are eventually revealed to have had the ability to implant genetic memories of a sort that causes humans to act out certain behaviors and instincts even 100,000 years later. These are referred to as a "[[{{Geas}} geas]]", and when one is activated by certain triggers (usually contact with Forerunner technology), the human instinctively is moved toward taking certain actions. This was formally introduced in the ExpandedUniverse novels, but the games as of ''Halo 4'' have acknowledged it, and it provides a handy explanation for how humans are [[InstantExpert able to use Forerunner tech upon first picking it up]], which has been present since the original game.
* The Martians of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_Dreams Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams]] were a strikingly memorable example. In the first stage of life, their bodies grow as plants, and in the process they absorb knowledge of their dead ancestors through the common "ancestral soil". In fact, a Martian body grown elsewhere is more or less a (mental) vegetable.

* Hieda no Akyu from ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' literally has this for her special ability, which she then uses to record the history of Gensokyo. She is the [[LamarckWasRight ninth child]] of a line that goes back for roughly 1200 years, so the only person that recognizes her in any way is the character that created Gensokyo, Yukari Yakumo.

# {{Clon|ingBlues}}es and occasionally ''twins'' will outright get the original's knowledge, skills, powers, or what have you, sometimes without needing ''literally'' genetically-encoded memory (i.e. the genomic identicalness is a necessary link, but the DNA itself doesn't record the memory; a very strange form of TwinTelepathy or supernatural soul affinity). The process of getting this memories can be disorienting, so it's not unusual for the clone to experience ResurrectionSickness due to this.

** [[TabletopGame/PrometheanTheCreated Prometheans]] also have an abstract form of genetic memory in the form of the "Residual Memory" Merit. With it, they can draw upon skills favored by the body they occupy. 2e expands this out into "Azothic Memory," where every Promethean (except for the Extempore, who emerged from one-of-a-kind circumstances) can get glimpses of the memories of every Promethean who has ever completed [ToBecomeHuman the Pilgrimage]. It's mainly the reason why most Prometheans know the Pilgrimage is possible on a subconscious level, but with skill, it can be delved into for greater knowledge.

** [[TabletopGame/PrometheanTheCreated Prometheans]] also have an abstract form of genetic memory in the form of the "Residual Memory" Merit. With it, they can draw upon skills favored by the body they occupy.

* In ''Film/TheIsland2005'' Lincoln Six Echo and some of the other clones have inherited faint memories from their originals, the main significance being that he can copy Tom Lincoln's Scottish accent perfectly and the rest of his "generation" is almost incinerated as "flawed".

* In ''Film/TheIsland'' Lincoln Six Echo and some of the other clones have inherited faint memories from their originals, the main significance being that he can copy Tom Lincoln's Scottish accent perfectly and the rest of his "generation" is almost incinerated as "flawed".

* In Creator/StephenHunt's ''The Rise of the Iron Moon'', Purity dreams of a long ago ancestor.

* ''Literature/AdventureHunters'': Despite its NuclearWeaponsTaboo, Nicholi didn't want his knowledge of golem crafting to go to waste so he implanted it into the genetics of his family line. [[spoiler:Regina is the latest link in this chain.]]

** The Howlers also have a racial memory that allows them to remember every battle they ever won. Jake is able to access it when he morphs into a Howler, and [[spoiler:the Animorphs "infect" it with memories that threaten to give the whole species a HeelRealization, forcing [[CosmicHorror Crayak]] to eliminate the affected Howlers. Unfortunately for Crayak, the memory of Jake and Cassie kissing slips by him.]]

* In ''Literature/TheDescent'', a subterranean hominid species known as the Hadal are capable of inheriting genetic memories from previous generations. In one scene, a deceased Hadal also passes their consciousness and memories to a human's body through an electrical signal transmitted by touch. It is implied that this is how the ''BigBad'', Satan, has survived since the beginning of humanity.

* In the ''Literature/ArrivalsFromTheDark'' series, the [[HumanAliens Bino Faata]] and their HalfHumanHybrids occasionally experience vivid dreams that are based on the memories of their ancestors. They are able to move within the dream, but only to an extent that their ancestor has experienced (i.e. if the ancestor in question has not gone into a building, then his descendant can't go into that building in his dream).
* Creator/JackLondon:
** In the short novel ''Before Adam'' the protagonist tells us his dreams of the life of one of his distant ancestor, an early [[FrazettaMan hominid]]. He explains that these are genetic memories, and that the reason his are so clear and specific is he is a "freak". (He specifically denies they could be the result of reincarnation, and explains why.)
** In ''Literature/TheCallOfTheWild'' Buck occasionally has dreams of primitive humans and there are several references to his ancestors telling him how to survive.

* Dougal Dixon gives a ShoutOut to this in ''[[Literature/ManAfterManAnAnthropologyOfTheFuture Man After Man]]'', in which ''Homo mensproavodorum'' evolves genetic memory thousands of years after its ancestor, ''Homo sapiens sapiens'', has died out. Also a bit of a TakeThat, as reliance on hereditary memory does have its limitations in a changing world: the first hominid to possess this capability travels for hundreds of miles in search of a lush woodland she "remembers", only to find that it's been reduced to a forest of dead, leafless trunks; it's the wrong time of year, too. But the source of fresh, clean water is still there.

* {{Averted|Trope}} in Gillian Cross's ''Literature/TheDemonHeadmaster'' series of children's books. The genetics-themed entry in the series ends with the death of the villainous Headmaster, with a hint that a clone of him will be regrown. The fact that said clone does not have the original's memories is acknowledged in the following novel (the Internet-themed one).

** The ''Literature/NewSeriesAdventures'' novel ''Wetworld'' had the whole idea of RNA being used for memory storage. {{Justified}}/{{Lampshaded}} when Martha points out that the theory has been discredited, and the Doctor replies that he's sort of generalizing, as the creature in question has BizarreAlienBiology that transfers memories through a substance sorta-like RNA, only not.
** Race memory is a DiscussedTrope in the [[Literature/DoctorWhoNovelisations novelisation]] of ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E2DoctorWhoAndTheSilurians Doctor Who and the Silurians]]'', with some humans suffering a mental breakdown after confronting them.

* Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Literature/DoesABeeCare": A StarfishAlien has been left on Earth, and its ability to hide among the humans and "[[PsychicPowers inspire]]" them to [[ETGaveUsWiFi build a rocket to outer space]] works entirely by instinct. [[spoiler:Kane doesn't know how he even does this stuff, it just comes naturally to him. He even "remembers" where home is.]]

* The Bene Gesserit Reverend Mothers of the ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' series are capable of calling upon their genetic memories with the aid of extensive training to control and be aware of their own metabolism, and the use of a highly potent awareness enhancing drug. They are somewhat limited, since the training of the Bene Gesserit leaves them with a mindset which prevents them from accessing the memories of their male ancestry. The drug also kills anyone without the training to alter it within their body. The Bene Gesserit thus initiated a breeding program over ten thousand years to create a [[Literature/{{Dune}} man who could access the full memories of his entire ancestry]]. They succeeded in both Paul and [[Literature/ChildrenOfDune Leto II]], but things didn't go as they had planned.
** Gholas, essentially the corpses of dead people brought back to life by Tleilaxu science, are memory-less but the Tleilaxu learn in ''Literature/DuneMessiah'' that a strong trauma can restore their memories. That's reasonable, but later this even [[Literature/GodEmperorOfDune works for clones]], and reaches its ultimate heights in ''Literature/HereticsOfDune'' where a clone of Duncan Idaho gains the memories of ''every other clone that's ever been made of Duncan Idaho''. In ''Literature/ChapterhouseDune'' the Bene Gesserit gain the technology to make their own Gholas and bring back Miles Teg to lead their army, not only are his memories awakened, but so are the special abilities he gained in the previous installment.
** Even without being able to access them directly, all of humanity possesses a sub-conscious version of this. It was Leto II's goal to teach humanity "a lesson their bones would remember", essentially that the need to expand and seek frontiers would be built in through latent genetic memory.

* {{Inverted}} in ''Literature/GoodOmens,'' where it's suggested that [[TheCassandra Agnes Nutter]] could "remember" things that were going to happen to her descendants. This explains why her prophecies, though unfailingly accurate, tend to focus on things that affect her family, even if they don't really matter in the grand scheme of things. (She predicted a house collapsing in a small English town, but not the Kennedy assassination the same day.)

* ''Literature/LegacyOfTheDragokin'': When [[spoiler:Benji awakens his latent dragokin powers]] this is the explanation for why he immediately knows how to use them; his mom passed on skill as well.

* Headies (highly intelligent psychic dog-like aliens) in the [[Creator/StrugatskyBrothers Noonverse]] have this naturally.

* Even though they don't have DNA to pass on, demigods in the [[Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians Percy Jackson series]] often inherit phobias inspired by their divine parent's negative experiences; children of Ares [[AbsurdPhobia are afraid of jars]], children of Athena fear [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes spiders]], etc.
* In the novel ''Literature/PlanetOfTheApes'', the ape scientists in the Encephalic Section access the memory of several humans in an experiment on one woman.

* {{Averted|Trope}} around in the ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends''. Clones that go through the Spaarti treatment, going from nothing to a functioning adult in a year or less, are indoctrinated or given the prime clone's memories through some kind of pre-decanting process which is never really described, but it's definitely not genetic. At one point an [[Literature/TalesFromTheMosEisleyCantina Ithorian who killed someone]], a major taboo for his culture, felt guilty enough to make two clones, and when they appear briefly in a novel they're just that Ithorian's twin human sons, not at all like the {{Jerkass}} he killed. Clones are also not the same as the originals, [[ComicBook/DarkEmpire Palpatine]] with his BodySurf notwithstanding. Creator/TimothyZahn, a prominent writer, is on record saying that he might one day bring back a clone of Thrawn, but said clone will be fully aware that he ''isn't'' Thrawn, and might not have the same personality or genius. He'll also be aware of the crushing expectation everyone will have for him to live up to the original.
** The 'verse does hold that some fears and likes are genetic -- a couple of clones believe Jango was claustrophobic, for example, because ''they'' are, but that's a little less far fetched than full-fledged memories. This was actually done as a joke when Jango is introduced in the movies and he bonks his helmet on a door frame the same way Stormtroopers do in the original movie (although this ends up being more of a funny coincidence, since it is later firmly established that Stormtroopers are not clones of Fett but ordinary humans recruited / conscripted into the Empire).
** In ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear: Clones'' there is an impossibly quick method for producing clones and giving them the scanned memories of their templates (with the downside that, because they are so rushed, the clones are permanently in the emotional state the original was in at time of scanning, and cannot distinguish fantasy from reality). Darth Vader was scanned and a drop of his blood spilled, and the resulting Darth Vader clone, looking for minions, found old cell samples at an abandoned Rebel base. Since the clones produced from those didn't come with mind scans, they weren't at all useful to him.
* Frank Schätzing's ''The Swarm''/''Literature/DerSchwarm'' features a sea dwelling hive mind of single cell organisms known as the Yrr. It is suggested that the Yrr remember events from millions of years ago either by actively coding memories into their DNA or membranes/proteins or by acting somewhat like a huge brain i.e. defective cells within the neural network are constantly replaced with new cells which are given information from other neural network cells that have yet to be replaced in order to maintain memories.
* Creator/WenSpencer's Literature/UkiahOregon books involve an alien virus with this trait. The [[TheVirus Ontongard]] and the Pack are both created with a complete set of memories from every prior member of that lineage.

* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' has what is known as "the old blood", a phenomenon which results in people having their ancestors' memories and spontaneously shouting battle cries of ancient nations in a dead language. Mat Cauthon is has it particularly strongly. Some characters also obtain memories from their past lives or those of other people in ways unrelated to genetics.
* In ''JeffLong'''s ''YearZero'', the clones produced from religious relics dated to around the time of Jesus's death all have intact memories of their life prior to death, as does a Neanderthal clone.
** In Long's other book ''Literature/TheDescent'' (not to be confused with the 2005 movie), a subterranean hominid species known as the Hadal are capable of inheriting genetic memories from previous generations. In one scene, a deceased Hadal also passes their consciousness and memories to a human's body through an electrical signal transmitted by touch. It is implied that this is how the ''BigBad'', Satan, has survived since the beginning of humanity.
%%* ''Literature/RazorlandTrilogy'': Eventually it's revealed in that this is why the [[spoiler:Freaks]] hate the [[spoiler:humans]] so much. This is the [[spoiler:Freaks' shtick]], accounting for their antagonism. %%What is "this"?
* ''Literature/TheFlightOfDragons'' quotes a theory that dragons are based on race memory of dinosaurs, saying that it doesn't seem likely to project something so specific all the way back to the earliest mammals, but that if there were ''actual'' dragons in, say, the Bronze Age...

* Planarian flatworms were once thought to have genetic memory based on a certain experiment. One worm was taught to navigate a maze, then ground up and fed to a second worm. This second worm would then navigate the maze as well as the first with no practice. Though it ended up being Subverted, as later experiments proved that the second worm was following a scent trail placed by the first worm; when placed in an identical but unused maze it showed no sign of the supposed genetic memory.

** While theories about the inheritance of specific memories have been thoroughly disproven, some researchers have asserted that more general associations formed by previous generations can pass from generation to generation through the genome, with one famous study [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25156510 with mice]] showing that rodents trained to fear the smell of cherry blossoms passed on that fear to their descendants via epigenetic changes to their sperm. [[http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/21/study-of-holocaust-survivors-finds-trauma-passed-on-to-childrens-genes Another study]] [[http://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223%2815%2900652-6/abstract of Holocaust survivors]] reinforces this, displaying that more recent traumas can be transmitted through genes as well. [[Main/FridgeHorror Oh.]]
* Planarian flatworms were thought to have genetic memory based on a certain experiment. One worm was taught to navigate a maze, then ground up and fed to a second worm. This second worm would then navigate the maze as well as the first with no practice. Later experiments proved that the second worm was following a scent trail; when placed in an identical but unused maze it showed no sign of the supposed genetic memory.

* In some pseudo-scientific interpretations of Literature/TheBible (and many [[Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh other myths]]), the story of The Flood is believed to be a latent memory of life before evolution on land. It's more probable the Persian Gulf had a local flood which neighboring people passed down into folklore.
** It's generally considered to be either accounts of some sort of catastrophic flood (such as the birth of the Black Sea), or tales of actual regular floods (near flood plains), passed down generation by generation from prehistoric times.

* In the lore of ''VideoGame/EveOnline'', the Intaki supposedly have this, though details are vague. In a process derived from their religious practices, called "Rebirth", the personality of a dying adult is transfered to a newborn. Today it's done with technology, from which came a lot of cloning tech. Spiritual leaders called "Idama" apparently/supposedly still do it the old way, and with training can access past memories.
* The homunculi Irisviel von Einsbern and her daughter Illyasviel in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' and prequel ''LightNovel/FateZero'' share the memories and experiences of their 'blueprint' originator, Lizleihi Justizia von Einsbern, who lived over two hundred years ago; at times, this will manifest like an alternate personality ([[spoiler:e.g. when Zouken met Ilya, who started to talk like Justizia]]) and is a plot point in both works.

* A ''Series/DoctorWho'' novelization had the whole idea of RNA being used for memory storage. {{Justified}}/{{Lampshaded}} when Martha points out that the theory has been discredited, and the Doctor replies that he's sort of generalizing, as the creature in question has BizarreAlienBiology that transfers memories through a substance sorta-like RNA, only not. Race memory is a DiscussedTrope in the [[Literature/DoctorWhoNovelisations novelisation]] of ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E2DoctorWhoAndTheSilurians Doctor Who and the Silurians]]'', with some humans suffering a mental breakdown after confronting them.

* In ''Literature/LifeTheUniverseAndEverything'', Englishmen apparently created the game cricket out of [[FutureImperfect distorted]] racial memory of the Krikkit Wars. It wasn't just the name, either. The Krikkit preferred to throw spherical bombs by hitting them with sticks. While pretty much every race has this memory manifest somehow, the fact that humans turned it into a game was not received very well by the galactic community.

** "Ancestral soil" here means compost made from the shed leaves of other martians, as well as dead bodies; some martians had as a profession to collect these for mulching. When the martians said they absorbed knowledge, they were speaking ''literally''.
* In ''Franchise/MassEffect'', the queens of the Rachni, a species of sentient insectoids, inherit all memories of their mothers.

* In ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'', the X Parasites can access the memories of the hosts they consume, using this to inform their decision-making. In ''VideoGame/MetroidDread,'' [[spoiler:this may be the reason why the X copy of Quiet Robe [[HeroicSacrifice allows itself to be absorbed by Samus]] so she can escape the exploding ZDR. Since Quiet Robe obviously had strong memories of desiring to protect Samus, it may be that the X that consumed and copied him took on these sentiments.]]

** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsters'' uses the same trope, though if you have Blazemost/Kafrizzle, you simply start out with Blaze/Frizz. You have to meet statistical requirements.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Cubivore}}'' your cube is born with memories of a time when the wilderness spanned the world. And every time your cube goes to the mating grounds, [[DeathBySex he dies]] and you continue as one of his sons.

** In ''[[Recap/StargateSG1S9E9Prototype Prototype]], a genetically-engineered human named Khalek is found in one of Anubis's secret labs. It turns out that Anubis combined the Harsesis concept with Nirrti's hok'tar research to create a host that would have Goa'uld genetic memories (and their [[BuffySpeak "evilness"]]) and have superhuman abilities such as telepathy and telekinesis. The ultimate goal was to create an army that would be able to [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascend]] and kill the Ancients. Khalek however was intended as a way for Anubis himself to be [[PostMortemComeback resurrected]], as he implanted him with his own memories.

** The Goa'uld, a villainous species of parasitic worms, explicitly have this, and it is conscious: A Goa'uld queen chooses what memories she transmits to her children. In one episode where O'Neill learns of this, he asks if that includes remembering their conception, and then states that that's probably why all the Goa'uld are so pissed all the time. This is part of the reason why the Goa'uld are AlwaysChaoticEvil, since they aren't born BlankSlates and thus are not subject to ChildrenAreInnocent. The other reason is the sarcophagus, an AutoDoc the Goa'uld use to extend their lifespan but also drives them insane over repeated uses; [[ViciousCycle said insanity gets passed down in the genetic memory and then worsened by the offspring's own use of sarcophagi]].

** The Goa'uld, a villainous species of parasitic worms, explicitly have this, and it is conscious: A Goa'uld queen chooses what memories she transmits to her children. In one episode where O'Neill learns of this, he asks if that includes remembering their conception, and then states that that's probably why all the Goa'uld are so pissed all the time.

* This is precisely the main plot of the episode ''[[Recap/TheXFilesS02E12Aubrey Aubrey]]'' in the second season of ''Series/TheXFiles''. [[spoiler:A female police officer that was adopted begins to remember and reproduce the slayings committed by a grandfather she never knew, who was a serial killer.]]

* ''VisualNovel/TheFruitOfGrisaia'': Prior to the start of the story, Matsushima Michiru received a heart transplant and subsequently found that she was now sharing her body with her donor's consciousness. In-universe, the closest anybody comes to explaining the phenomena is "extreme case of genetic memory".

* A ''Series/DoctorWho'' novelization had the whole idea of RNA being used for memory storage. {{Justified}}/{{Lampshaded}} when Martha points out that the theory has been discredited, and the Doctor replies that he's sort of generalizing, as the creature in question has BizarreAlienBiology that transfers memories through a substance sorta-like RNA, only not. Race memory is a DiscussedTrope in the novelisation of ''Doctor Who and the Silurians'', with some humans suffering a mental breakdown after confronting them.

* Dougal Dixon gives a ShoutOut to this in ''Man After Man'', in which ''Homo mensproavodorum'' evolves genetic memory thousands of years after its ancestor, ''Homo sapiens sapiens'', has died out. Also a bit of a TakeThat, as reliance on hereditary memory does have its limitations in a changing world: the first hominid to possess this capability travels for hundreds of miles in search of a lush woodland she "remembers", only to find that it's been reduced to a forest of dead, leafless trunks; it's the wrong time of year, too. But the source of fresh, clean water is still there.

* In Creator/StephenHunt's ''The Rise of the Iron Moon'', Purity dreams of a longago ancestor.

** In "Prototype", a genetically-engineered human named Khalek is found in one of Anubis's secret labs. It turns out that Anubis combined the Harsesis concept with Nirrti's hok'tar research to create a host that would have Goa'uld genetic memories (and their [[BuffySpeak "evilness"]]) and have superhuman abilities such as telepathy and telekinesis. The ultimate goal was to create an army that would be able to [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascend]] and kill the Ancients. Khalek however was intended as a way for Anubis himself to be [[PostMortemComeback resurrected]], as he implanted him with his own memories.

** In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E24WellAlwaysHaveParis We'll Always Have Paris]]", Data and Geordi ''talk'' about the pseudo-scientific of this trope (specifically the believed role RNA plays in memory). It's possible most of the "scientific understanding" that allows this trope to prevail comes from this episode.

** In the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS3E20FavoriteSon Favorite Son]]", Harry Kim suddenly starts knowing things he shouldn't, such as that an alien ship is about to attack Voyager. It turns out he has the DNA of the alien Taresians, and his new knowledge comes from that DNA. [[spoiler:Except that it turned out that it was an elaborate trap by the Taresians to lure Harry (and any other male they could get their hands on) in, to steal their life force. Without their tampering, Harry had about as much genetic similarity to the Taresians as we do to lizards.]]
** Zigzagged on ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise''; Phlox cloned Trip, and the clone had all of Trip's memories but this was not, strictly speaking, a clone but a symbiotic life form that absorbs memories with the genes but Phlox explicitly mentions human genetic memory as the reason he had Trip's memories.
* This is precisely the main plot of the episode ''Aubrey'' in the second season of ''Series/TheXFiles''. [[spoiler:A female police officer that was adopted begins to remember and reproduce the slayings committed by a grandfather she never knew, who was a serial killer.]]

* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': When Mr.15 injected his blood into [[spoiler:Zettai]] she gained all his knowledge about Bladicraft. Then she lost it when Basilard expelled Mr.15's blood from her. Then he makes her gain Bladicraft knowledge through study and practice.]]

* Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Literature/DoesABeeCare": A StarfishAlien has been left on Earth, and its ability to hide amoung the humans and "[[PsychicPowers inspire]]" them to [[ETGaveUsWiFi build a rocket to outer space]] works entirely by instinct. [[spoiler:Kane doesn't know how he even does this stuff, it just comes naturally to him. He even "remembers" where home is.]]

* In the ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'' series, fire lizards (the genetic ancestors of dragons) have a way of remembering things that happened far, far in the past that defies any explanation other than this. Interestingly, groups of fire lizards can transfer entire sets of memories to each other psychically, and large groups of them can also communicate in a similar manner with humans.
** Not really the only plausible answer, as we later learn that firelizards don't age. They're also psychic with an implied hive mind, and can teleport through space-time... so yeah. There are three or four other canon options for how they do it.

* ''Film/AlteredStates'' deals with this.

** Dougal Dixon gives a ShoutOut to this in ''Man After Man'', in which ''Homo mensproavodorum'' evolves genetic memory thousands of years after its ancestor, ''Homo sapiens sapiens'', has died out. Also a bit of a TakeThat, as reliance on hereditary memory does have its limitations in a changing world: the first hominid to possess this capability travels for hundreds of miles in search of a lush woodland she "remembers", only to find that it's been reduced to a forest of dead, leafless trunks. She survives, but her mate doesn't make it.

* Common in ''Film/The6thDay''. When the villains die throughout the film, they are replaced with a clone, who retains their previous incarnation's memories up until the time of death, making it seem like a resurrection. The protagonist, Adam, is cloned while still alive, so that there are two Adams coexisting each with the exact same memories. [[spoiler:It's to the point that the Adam we're following throughout the film, who initially believes himself to be the original, turns out to be the clone.]]

# [[CloningBlues Clones]] and occasionally ''twins'' will outright get the original's knowledge, skills, powers, or what have you, sometimes without needing ''literally'' genetically-encoded memory (i.e. the genomic identicalness is a necessary link, but the DNA itself doesn't record the memory; a very strange form of TwinTelepathy or supernatural soul affinity). The process of getting this memories can be disorienting, so it's not unusual for the clone to experience ResurrectionSickness due to this.

* In ''Anime/{{Symphogear}}'', it turns out that [[spoiler: BigBad Fine/Phine will take over any of her descendants if they're exposed to a certain phonic wavelength. Like the head of the science division, Ryouko Sakurai.]]

** Xenilla straddles between this and PastLifeMemories, as he is a heavily altered clone of the deceased Heisei Godzilla Sr. He starts having nightmares comprised of some of his donor's memories, [[spoiler: which is very timely as the foe he sees Godzilla fighting in the past has recently reemerged.]]

* The film version of ''Film/AeonFlux'' is centered around a futuristic society of clones whose DNA are stored in an archive. Whenever a clone dies, their replacement gets implanted into a woman and is reborn. This is a stopgap solution to hide the fact everyone suffers from a SterilityPlague, while the elder Goodchild researches a cure. [[spoiler: This is eventually shown to be not as universal as thought, and women are increasingly getting naturally pregnant, but the younger Goodchild is kidnapping and killing them to maintain their way of life and his grip on power.]] It is implied that genetic memories of people's past lives are transmitted this way and that the accumulation of said memories is slowly driving humanity insane. Interestingly, this was not the case with the Goodchild brothers, whose memories were not genetic but simply communicated from their previous versions in surprising detail. To the Goodchilds, it did feel like they have lived those past lives.

* ''Film/{{Oblivion 2013}}'': [[spoiler:All clones of Jack Harper seem to have this about loving Julia (at the least). The 49th Tech clone of Harper goes as far as to [[HeroicSacrifice blow himself (and the Tet) up to keep her safe]], while the 52nd clone (who gets distracted by Julia during his fight with the 49th) goes looking for her some time after meeting her, finally finding her on the last scene of the film.]]

* ''Literature/AdventureHunters'': Despite its NuclearWeaponsTaboo, Nicholi didn't want his knowledge of golem crafting to go to waste so he implanted it into the genetics of his family line. [[spoiler: Regina is the latest link in this chain.]]

* ''Literature/ChildhoodsEnd'': The alien Overlords, when they reveal themselves, are the very model of [[spoiler: devils: leather wings, red skin, horns, tail.]] Everybody figures that they are in fact the source of [[spoiler:devil myths]], through some encounter back in mankind's history remembered through racial memory. It then turns out to be an inverted case of the trope. The Overlords play a role in mankind's [[spoiler:ultimate extinction, an event so traumatic for the humans of the future]] that the psychic backlash from it somehow echoes back into the past.

* A ''Series/DoctorWho'' novelization had the whole idea of RNA being used for memory storage. Justified/[[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when Martha points out that the theory has been discredited, and the Doctor replies that he's sort of generalizing, as the creature in question has BizarreAlienBiology that transfers memories through a substance sorta-like RNA, only not. Race memory is a DiscussedTrope in the novelisation of ''Doctor Who and the Silurians'', with some humans suffering a mental breakdown after confronting them.

* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': When Mr.15 injected his blood into [[spoiler: Zettai]] she gained all his knowledge about Bladicraft. Then she lost it when Basilard expelled Mr.15's blood from her. Then he makes her gain Bladicraft knowledge through study and practice.]]
* ''Literature/LegacyOfTheDragokin'': When [[spoiler: Benji awakens his latent dragokin powers]] this is the explanation for why he immediately knows how to use them; his mom passed on skill as well.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* Subverted in ''Series/{{Jekyll}}'', where the modern Mr. Hyde experiences a rush of memories from his alter ego, then unexpectedly [[spoiler: flashes back to the ORIGINAL Jekyll in Victorian times]] and [[LampshadeHanging verbalizes]] this to the observing scientists. "Genetic memory doesn't work like that." "Of course not, maybe he's got something else. Something better."
* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'': In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S3E3Regeneration Re-Generation]]", the clone of Justin Highfield (who was created from the original's brain and nerve cells) can remember the original's death. While in his mother Rebecca's womb, he communicates with her, including sending her the original Justin's last memories, through an additional bundle of nerve fibres in her umbilical cord. [[spoiler: The clone of Justin's father Graham likewise possesses the original memories while in Dr. Lucy Cole's womb.]]

* In a non-living example, ''VideoGame/BattleZone1998'' has the [[AppliedPhlebotinum Bio-Metal]], the "Bio" part was coined because it had the properties of DNA, allowing it to be stimulated to take on previous forms which justifies the RidiculouslyFastConstruction for vehicles and buildings.
* The "ghosts" in ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'' are explained as memories being passed around through ADAM. It started happening after the Little Sisters were deployed to collect loose ADAM from the dead. This becomes a much bigger plot point in the [[VideoGame/BioShock2 sequel]].

* In ''{{VideoGame/Overblood}}'', [[spoiler: Milly (a clone) has all the memories of the original, justified because the husband of the original made her as a ReplacementGoldfish.]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'', one of the patients in the abandoned insane asylum is Fred Bonaparte, the descendant of Napoleon, and currently [[NapoleonDelusion stuck with said ancestor as a split personality]]. At one point [[TheHero Raz]] refers to it as a "genetic memory."\\\

* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': Doc Scratch theorizes that unusual genetics are the reason the Signless had visions of a peaceful troll civilization -- [[spoiler: Kankri's memories of Beforus]] were apparently ''literally'' in his blood.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'', [[IntangibleMan Ghostfreak's]] race is capable of retaining memory within a single strand of DNA. As such, Ben always felt uneasy whenever he assumed his form, [[AndIMustScream since Ghostfreak was trapped inside him]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'', Altameres created by Nerissa [[spoiler: (of Yan Lin and Will)]] retain the memories of the people they were originally made from.