That and the Dune example is meant to at the very least allude to this trope. It's playing fast and loose with it, but it's there. Thanks. What do we do with all the examples that are just cloning?
edited 18th Nov '10 12:55:52 PM by shimaspawn
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. DickJust cloning? Well, the original idea of the trope is that you have a society that's based around "artificial" methods of reproduction. Cloning falls under that, if it's used in place of natural means of producing babies.
My personal vision is that the breakdown works as follows:
- Genetic Engineering: Super-Trope of Gattaca Babies, Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke, and LEGO Genetics.
- Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke: Tinkering with genes as a source of Stock Superpowers.
- Gattaca Babies: Zygotes are produced via artificial means - cloning, designer people, etc.
- LEGO Genetics: Genes work like childrens' blocks, allowing you to create Mix-and-Match Critters or dramatically alter the genome of a living, fully grown person (often overnight, if not near-instantly).
- Uterine Replicator: Babies are grown somewhere other than in a normal human female womb.
- Cloning Blues: Clones realize that they're clones and angst about it, confronting their multiple selves or the "original" person.
Addition: The only thing that makes this division a bit suspect is that, while you can have Gattaca Babies without using Uterine Replicators, you very rarely have Uterine Replicators without Gattaca Babies. After all, it makes little sense to have natural fertilization and then grow the resulting babies in a tank, although I'm sure someone's written about a Dystopia that tries it.
edited 18th Nov '10 1:13:22 PM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Actually, I've seen a fair bit of Uterine Replicators without Gattaca Babies. The Vorkosigian Saga and the Honorverse both have it. Babies are created via invitro fertilization and then just implanted in a replicator. There's no genetic engineering required. Just a sperm + an egg. You just stick it somewhere else to cook.
There's also the fact that a lot of times how they made the baby to stick in the tube will be completely glossed over. It's just there. Growing. It's more a Soft Sci Fi convention though.
edited 18th Nov '10 1:57:36 PM by shimaspawn
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick

Uterine Replicator would be any method of taking a zygote from fertilization to birth that does not involve an actual womb in an actual walking and talking female.
So, the Humanx Commonwealth example would not apply, since they used host mothers. Axolotl tanks in Dune would count, since the "females" are genetically modified and used solely for the purpose of growing fetuses.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"