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Anime & Manga
"Tears... tears. Why am I crying? What... did this mean to me?"
— Rei Ayanami, Neon Genesis Evangelion
"If I die, I can be replaced."
— Rei Ayanami, Neon Genesis Evangelion
Imitation life is just that. An imitation.
— Precia Testarossa, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The MOVIE First
Oh well, even if we all died tomorrow, there's still another batch of clones to take our place. C'est la vie...
— floating robot head thingy, Dead Leaves
Fan Works
She had become friends with them, but did she even have the right to, when they didn't actually know her but only her predecessor? Wasn't she just a stolen soul in a stolen body with stolen memories and emotions? They seemed to know, but they didn't seem to mind. Did they not understand? Were they in denial? Or could it be that she was the same Rei Ayanami they had known after all? Could she actually be not just a replacement, but herself?
If she had her former self's soul, her former self's memories, her former self's emotions, could she be the same?
Rei felt confused.
And she hated that feeling.
If she had her former self's soul, her former self's memories, her former self's emotions, could she be the same?
Rei felt confused.
And she hated that feeling.
Literature
Han Solo: So what's it like being a clone?
Carib: About as you'd expect. It's the sort of secret that gets heavier with time and age.
Han Solo: Yeah. I can imagine.
Carib: Excuse me, Solo, but you can't possibly imagine it. Every time one of us leaves this valley it's with the knowledge that every outside contact puts our lives and those of our families at risk. The knowledge that all it will take will be one person suddenly looking at us with new eyes, and the whole carefully created soap bubble of the ever-so-close Devist family will collapse into the fire of hatred and rage and murder.
Carib: About as you'd expect. It's the sort of secret that gets heavier with time and age.
Han Solo: Yeah. I can imagine.
Carib: Excuse me, Solo, but you can't possibly imagine it. Every time one of us leaves this valley it's with the knowledge that every outside contact puts our lives and those of our families at risk. The knowledge that all it will take will be one person suddenly looking at us with new eyes, and the whole carefully created soap bubble of the ever-so-close Devist family will collapse into the fire of hatred and rage and murder.
Live-Action TV
My name is Jennifer Lucas. I'm not a factory part. I had toast for my breakfast. I wrote a letter to my mum. [...] I am Jennifer Lucas! I remember everything that happened in her entire life! Every birthday, every childhood illness. I feel everything she has ever felt, and more! I'm not a monster. I am me! Me! Me! Me! ME!
— Jennifer Lucas' Ganger, Doctor Who
You, Joe, Wally, Cisco...you all shunned me because I wasn't the true Barry Allen. I was an aberration...a disposable hero!
—Savitar, The Flash (2014)
"If we outlaw cloning, then only outlaws will have clones."
— Sifl, The Sifl and Olly Show
Music
Isn't it strange?
Feels like I'm lookin' in the mirror
What would people say?
If only they knew that I was
Part of some geneticist's plan (plan-plan-plan)
Born to be a carbon copy man (man-man-man)
There in a petri dish late one night
They took a donor's body cell and fertilized a human egg and so I say
Feels like I'm lookin' in the mirror
What would people say?
If only they knew that I was
Part of some geneticist's plan (plan-plan-plan)
Born to be a carbon copy man (man-man-man)
There in a petri dish late one night
They took a donor's body cell and fertilized a human egg and so I say
I think I'm a clone now
There's always two of me just a-hangin' around
I think I'm a clone now
'Cause every pair of genes is a hand-me-down
There's always two of me just a-hangin' around
I think I'm a clone now
'Cause every pair of genes is a hand-me-down
— "Weird Al" Yankovic, "I Think I'm a Clone Now"
Everything I know is what I need to know,
everything I do has been done before.
Every sentence in my head
Someone else has said.
— John Entwistle, "905"
Podcasts
Nasdra Magrody: While the loss of material is extremely taxing, as well as the many navy crews who have lost their lives.
Lyrax Pentigure: Not to mention our clone troops.
Nasdra Magrody: As I said, material, yes.
Lyrax Pentigure: Not to mention our clone troops.
Nasdra Magrody: As I said, material, yes.
Tabletop Games
Today I slew my twin brothers seven times and nearly died four times at the hands of my twins. What kind of war is this that we replicate ourselves time and again, only to waste our own lives on axe blades dulled by endless internecine fighting? Which one of us represents the hopes and dreams of our shared parents? Is it truly death if I am reborn time and again?
Am I more worthy of living or is my twin? Might we not ally ourselves—the Spawned—against the Firsts who recline on golden thrones, stirring themselves only to order us into fratricide?
...
Perhaps we are no longer even dwarves. When a work of art is copied, and that copy is copied again and again, the results become gross parodies of the original.
I fear that I am but a pale imitation of the First I once was, willingly killing myself in an absurd parody of narcissism.
— A record of the dwarven Spawn Wars, Grand History of the Realms
Video Games
"I've known from the moment of my birth that I'm just a replica of you. How could you ever understand my feelings?"
— Li'l Judd, Splatoon 2
"I'm me", he says. It must be nice, being real. A fake like me could never get away with saying that. That's right, I'm a phony! The way I look, the way I feel, everything! I thought by finding some new strength I could be someone, someone who's not you! But nothing changes... I'm still just empty! Everything about me is borrowed. As long as you're around, I'll never be anything better than a shadow!
—Riku-Replica, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
"Are you kidding? Military clones? This is why nobody takes us seriously!"
— Spen Jankowski, First Encounter Assault Recon
Pit: Are you with the Underworld Army? Is that why you have it out for me?
Dark Pit: Don't be ridiculous! I just don't like the idea of someone copying my act!
Pit: WHAT? But you're a copy of me!
Dark Pit: Come on, now, think about it! If I was a copy, why would I kick my own butt?
Dark Pit: Don't be ridiculous! I just don't like the idea of someone copying my act!
Pit: WHAT? But you're a copy of me!
Dark Pit: Come on, now, think about it! If I was a copy, why would I kick my own butt?
We shall take only the greatest minds, the finest soldiers, the most faithful servants. We shall multiply them a thousandfold and release them to usher in a new era of glory.
— Col. Corazon Santiago - "The Council of War", Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri
Riku: Who are you?
Riku Replica: I am you.
Riku: I am me.
Riku Replica: Does not compute. Does not compute. System shutdown.
Riku Replica: I am you.
Riku: I am me.
Riku Replica: Does not compute. Does not compute. System shutdown.
Look at you! What makes you so damned special? Why you and not me?!
— Clone of Commander Shepard, Mass Effect 3: Citadel
Asch: Only one of us can leave this room. The stronger one will destroy Van! This isn’t about hyperresonance or who is or isn’t a replica… As two of Van’s pupils, we’re going to find out who’s stronger… who the real ‘Luke’ is. This is a fight to settle who we are.
Luke: We’re both real! You and I are two different people!
Asch: Shut up! This isn’t about logic! You can’t possibly understand how I feel! You stole my past and my future! Now is all the time I have!
As long as you're around, I'll be nothing more than a mere shadow!
Webcomics
You look in the mirror, but someone else looks back. You remember a life you never had, one that cannot be yours. You are the piece that does not fit, you don't belong in this game. The board has been knocked over, you shall be swept away...
Tagon: Kevyn and, um... Kevyn, do you have any suggestions for how I handle paying you? I mean, there are two of you now.
Timeclone!Kevyn: No. There is one of me, and one of him.
There's lots of him. Who'd miss this one?
Golly: But... Molly and I are of like flesh. If this is the world that molded her... I do not wish to become her.
Molly: Who-wha? But that's dumb! Nobody wants you to be me! I'm already me! And you're you! An' it's like totally mete that you should remain you! I pinky-swear that everybody here'd treat the integrity of your self-identity as superdy-duper, profoundly inviolable and stuff and junk! Word!! Do you savvy?
Golly: Yes, exactly! I'm afraid that if I stay here, I'll start talking like that!
Western Animation
"These people you're copying are already superfluous. You're trafficking in excess."
"The issue is not excess but access. Others take away reproductive rights, I grant them!"
"The issue is not excess but access. Others take away reproductive rights, I grant them!"
— Æon Flux and Trevor Goodchild.
Dani: Stop fighting. I know you're too weak to beat me!
Danny: I'm not going to fight you! Every time I fight a clone they turn to goo!
(Dani looks down and sees she's starting to melt)
Danny: But you're not mindless, like the other clones. I don't want to fight you!
Dani: Then let my father have your morph DNA! So he can save me!
Danny: He's not going to save you! He's using you! You're nothing but a mess he's not gonna clean up!
Dani: You're LYING! (blasts him)
— Danny Phantom to his cousin/clone Danielle, "Kindred Spirits"
We're clones, Sir. We're meant to be expendable.
— Clone Sergeant Sinker - Rising Malevolence, Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Black Canary: Roy, you used to treat your body like a temple. But now...
Red Arrow: My body's no temple. It's a cheap knock-off. A clone.
— Young Justice, "Salvage"
