Cloneland

                                              ‘CLONELAND’

The smash hit reality TV program ‘Cloneland’ is the success story of summer 2074. It has generated massive interest on the program’s video-web and several viewers have asked the director, Liam Isaac, to provide some background to the story including in particular the Clones’ history, the recent political controversy surrounding their leader, Clovis and the events that lead to this year’s show. Here is his response in an exclusive to the Global Gazette:
Director’s Blog:
The first humans were cloned about sixty years ago as part of the Dundis Project and while their numbers remained small they were not seen as any kind of threat to humanity. Several decades later when clones numbered in tens of thousands across the globe this view began to change. What altered people’s opinion for good though was a remark made by Clovis, their leader, at a press conference in which clones were criticized for being less efficient and productive than they were designed to be. Clovis gave a long and well-argued defense of the Clone race and ended by pointing out that if the original Dundis scientists had made clones superior in body and even mind instead of ‘merely human’ then there would be no cause for complaint now but that didn’t happen and under the Genetics Directive it was unlikely to.
         
This remark caused instant uproar. People were annoyed and angry that Clovis had made a remark so dismissive and disparaging of human beings especially since humans had tried to make the lot of clones a good one through promoting their integration into society and giving them assistance whenever they required it, notably medical help. However, it now became increasingly obvious that a sizeable majority were not happy with the evolution of clones and where this might be leading society. Many of these regarded clones as a bit freakish and ‘screwed up’ anyway. A popular cartoon ran in the papers which gave the two views of conception. One of these labeled ‘Human’ showed an eager sperm and an egg and some notion of a soul represented by a halo. The other picture labeled ‘Clone’ showed a photograph with some text above and below. The text above was the science bit and said ‘DNA from an adult human cell is injected into a denucleated egg and a mild electrical stimulus is applied to simulate fertilization. Cell division then commences…’  The startling photograph showed a battered hen’s egg (denucleated egg) smeared with a swab of saliva (the DNA) which was then hooked up to a 12V battery (the electrical stimulus). Although very crude, this caption got across to the public in stark, simple terms what a clone was. Below this was a picture of a cartoon farmer complete with cap and pipe and saying, in a bubble: “ ‘Tain’t natural by no manner or means – all seems a bit ‘Frankensteinish’ to me …! ”. This newspaper cartoon was widely discussed in the media and also in homes everywhere.
         
When Clovis saw it however he was livid, and in a rage killed the doctor who was giving him his weekly injection to prevent accelerated ageing. He was soon captured by the authorities and it was decided he would be executed both for killing an innocent human and to make an example of him to other clones. It was also decided that no biological trace of him must remain lest another second-generation clone be created with his negative traits reinforced. To this end, a specially commissioned radiation chamber about the size of a large telephone booth was created into which he would be placed and vapourised. It was soon dubbed the ‘mirowave’ by the public. This was done shortly afterwards in public and the chamber was then put into storage. However, in the ensuing weeks more than a few physicists conjectured that some form of consciousness might yet exist inside the chamber in a kind of ‘suspended quantum state’. The psychologists argued that this was impossible to which the theologians replied that he should never have been created in the first place. What to do? At a meeting of the UN Sub-Committee on Science and Ethics it was decided that, rather than let the  ‘genie out of the bottle’ so to speak, the ‘chamber-consciousness’ would be taken into orbit and then sent on its merry way into deep space. The Chinese and Russians were not totally satisfied with this but reluctantly went along with it.
         
The radiation chamber was placed in the cargo bay of NASA’s Phoenix 5 Shuttle and launched into space a week later. When Phoenix 5 was on the far side of the moon it ejected the chamber and its ghostly inhabitant from the hold and set it on a trajectory that would take it outside the solar system and onto God-knows-where. However it did not get very far into oblivion because, unknown to the Americans, the Russians had simultaneously launched the ‘Sakharov’. It was now bearing down on the hapless spinning chamber with its trapped microwave-consciousness which was just then formulating its first thoughts – all questions. The Russian ship powered up the ‘Prometheus’, its new prototype Pulse Laser Canon, and fired, obliterating the chamber in one blast. End of Clovis. This was what the Russians and Chinese wanted – complete closure, no wondering if Clovis would one day return at the head of an alien army – something the other Security Council members could neither concur with nor dismiss – it was just too weird to think about and keep a straight face and yet, who knew….?
         
Both ships docked at the Atlantis, the new International Space Station and the crews greeted each other warmly. Beers were handed out and Captain Baker and Commander Dimitriev discussed the day’s events and the future while the rest of the crew proceeded to get slowly twisted in zero-gravity.
         
Meanwhile, back on earth Clones everywhere feared for their lives. The world had become a very hostile and dangerous place for them. It was decided by the UN Sub Committee on Social Policy that, for their own sake and for peace in general, the 110,000 or so clones scattered around the world would be gathered together and sent to live on a colony on a small island in the Arctic located some way off Northern Greenland. It would be protected but the clones would be forbidden to leave it. This was to be their new home, their new world. The clones knew only too well what had happened to Clovis and were therefore very grateful for this fighting chance at life and, in any case, Clones are notoriously hardy and tough. The three clones who represented their kind at the UN profusely thanked the Council. When they left the hall though there was some laughter among the assembled delegates. One science advisor quipped, “Only micro-organisms and very big fish can survive in that damn place! Even the seals and polar bears won’t go near it!” This was greeted by an outburst of laughter and even the Secretary-General seemed visibly amused.
         
Soon after, when the decision was announced in the news, one web personality said that this situation of the clones and an Island was reminiscent of a movie from when his dad was a teen called ‘The Island’ which starred Scarlet Johansson when she was a rising, young Hollywood star, not the eccentric recluse she later became. Also in the news that day was a report from the Science Council, specifically the Psychology Society, which detailed new findings concerning the Clones. Apparently clones in the mature stages of their life span started to deteriorate mentally and develop sociopathic behaviors. Normally clones were dead by 45 so these were rarely observed. Interestingly Clovis, because of his privileged life, lived to 57 and consequently was at a more mature stage and he also dabbled in narcotics so he was even more likely to deteriorate in mind and body.
         
An unexpected development that happened when news got out about the colony was that it was suggested that an observer station be built on the southern tip of the island to monitor and study the clones. This was given the green light and soon applications were flooding in from anthropology departments all over the world seeking one of the small number of places available on the station. A popular cartoon was syndicated among the tabloids which asked, ‘Which of the two groups is the more weird?’ and there was some funny speculation about fascinated boffins and frustrated clones freezing together on a small island deep inside the Arctic Circle.
         
In another development, TV Networks got together and sought permission to set up a reality TV Show called ‘Cloneland’ and their request was granted. Unlike other Reality Shows the participants were totally unaware they were being watched so it was even more ‘real’. Programmers could also make small, subtle changes to their environment designed to provoke or confuse the Clones but these engineered situations were not intended to be cruel - they were still, however, amusing for the viewers of the Show.
         
A major spin-off of this Show was the Cloneland Lotto and Quiz. Every two weeks a lottery was held as a live web cast to determine who would appear on the Quiz the following week. There were five places on the Quiz and only those over 17 could compete. Contestants were asked questions to assess their knowledge of the Show and the winner won a trip to the observer station for a week starting that very night. In a time obsessed with celebrity culture the chance to spend a week behind the scenes of the biggest show on earth was the ultimate experience. Some experts worried about this media circus and at 10 credits per lotto ticket this thrill was well beyond the poor in society who didn’t even have the basics. They could well do with an all expenses paid, worry-about-nothing holiday and, more importantly, if they didn’t fancy this trip to the Arctic and all the exposure that went with it they could sell their prize for a high figure and substantially improve their lives.
This would have been a first and a story in its own right, perhaps a better one.
         
Returning to the Show for now and leaving aside these important social questions it must be remembered that ‘Cloneland’ brings joy and entertainment to millions around the world who love this combination of Reality TV, Soap Opera and a certain voyeurism about a race that are like us but yet not us. The current episode sees the Clones getting annoyed because one of their generators keeps cutting out. They are at a loss because they are doing everything the manual says. They don’t know that instructions 2 and 7 were taken out of the book and bookies are taking bets about how long it will take the clones to figure out how to operate the generator and/or that some instructions are missing. Most say weeks.
         
Interestingly, a strange group behaviour has emerged on the island of late and could best be described as a ‘Cult of Clovis’. They talk about him a lot, have a symbol for him and a ritual where they ‘call’ or apparently seek to communicate with him. They seem to think of their dead leader as a kind of messiah who will one day return to establish a Clone World. It is this that gets them through these rough times, it is thought, and makes them so doggedly determined. They have also discovered the observers although they think of them as ‘aliens’ because some observers have taken to going around in creatively designed body suits making them look strange. In last week’s episode the Clones have decided to attack these unwelcome strangers but they don’t have much in the way of weapons and can just about make fire. The observers on the other hand have automatic weapons just in case and are therefore in no immediate danger.
         
About a billion viewers are waiting to see what the clones will do next …