Clone Soldiers

> ***"Combat robots are built for battle; clones were thought at that time to be born for it-"***
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> **-Scholar of Warfare in the Second era, Nikolai Breznev-**
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## Overview

The Commonwealth Clone Soldier was the product of what was believed at the time to be a politically pragmatic precedent and the perceived effectiveness of a clone army over a natural one, that and the conflicts that incited the development of combat purpose clones of course. In domestic policy it was a highly desirable alternative to the risk of losing 'real' soldiers whom had family and relations as opposed to the solitary clone, as a combative unit the Clone was seen as an ideal replacement for high-risk operations or, as they became much more readily available, as fodder.

When the Clone Soldier premiered in frontline combat the military praised the combat effectiveness of these battle-bred soldiers; the reliable skill at arms, conduct, and discipline, made them the most highly demanded military commodity. However the saturation and reliance on Clone Soldiers over more logistically demanding corp compositions would see these units used for tasks widely unsuited to such a unproportionally infantry based army, the perceived expendable nature of the Clone and the preference of the Commonwealth Army to use them over dedicated tank, artillery, air, and artillery corps, also created severe vulnerabilities in the Army such as logistical monoculture and strategic shortcomings when faced against more well rounded opposition.

The Clone Solider also became a topic of division as the morality of these creations was called into question; the creation and indoctrination (by genetic design and mental encoding) of intelligent lifeforms for war was to many an abhorrent and cruel act of god-playing, as clones of 'real people' much outcry arose from the concern that as clones of fully intelligent people the use of a Clone Soldier was tantamount to brainwashing and conscripting a free-thinking lifeform.

Between growing public animosity towards the use of Clone Soldiers and the drastic reduction in Clone effectiveness, culminating in the disastrous Battle of Voice, the Clone Soldier was discontinued and though the Commonwealth emerged the final victor of every conflict that they'd seen use in they did so with a black reputation for compensating what they lacked in military skill with technological overdependence and sheer weight of industry; a reputation perhaps not quite earned but nonetheless what they got stuck with.

The end of the Clone Soldier as a military consideration would usher in ongoing military reforms that would see the rise of robotically 'automated warfare' and the 'Steel Rain Doctrine.'

Final Addendum: Before the inception of the Clone Soldier the Commonwealth already had vast deposits of DNA repositories; hospitals, law enforcement, microbiological research establishments, would all contain DNA repositories. The majority of Clone Soldiers were Human due to the already large quantity of available Human DNA from which they could sample. But all citizen species of the Commonwealth would see clone counterparts used in the military.

## Clone Creation

Clone Soldiers were a complicated creation, not only did the process of creating a clone have to be achieved but the produced specimen had to be produced within the constraints established by their intended function. A Clone could be anything and capable of nothing; a Clone Soldier had to be battle-ready, disciplined, combat-effective, cost-effective, and able to be 'manufactured' quickly and in large number. There was no use for soldiers who would never grow in time to see use in the war they were created for. These strenuous requirements created a highly streamlined lifeform that would be known as the Clone Soldier, an elegantly flawed creation.

### Stage 1: Genome Composition & Template Creation

Extensive periods of genome sample mapping and CRISPR based gene-editing would occur in laboratory conditions and the samples then 'spliced' or 'merged' together in attempts to create a functional genetic template for a Clone Soldier, the unedited samples taken from repositories of former soldiers or other exceptional profiles.

The methodology advanced as it was, was essentially a highly intellectual procedure of throwing everything at the wall until something stuck; hundreds of thousands of genetic templates created from hundreds of thousands of edited samples would be trialled. This sounds uncharacteristically mundane of the 'technocratic' Commonwealth, but 99% of science is in fact rather unglamourous and what set the Commonwealth apart others attempting the same thing was the speed and quantity of templates they were able to test.

Once a batch of successful templates had been created those 'Stage 1 Templates' would enter Stage 2

### Stage 2: Macroscopic Life Gauntlet

Batches of successful DNA Templates were only successful "in theory" and further filtering would be required before any template could be approved for mass-production & frontline service. Every Stage 1 Template would be cultivated in a biolab with the researching examining (among other things) the following variables.

* Growth Speed: The time between inception and frontline readiness was an important deciding factor.
* Prime Lifespan: Though their growth speed was vital, inversely clones would be unfit for purpose if they deteriorated from age too rapidly.
* Cognitive Imprint\* Ability: How easily a clone could be 'imprinted' or 'coded' with cognitive ability. A clone is no use if it can't learn its purpose.
* Cognitive Imprint\* Speed: High Scoring Aptitude Clones are no use if they're already nearing their end-life phase.
* Physical & Other Attributes: Strength, reflexes, the immune system, endurance. Clones had to perform as well or better than who they replaced.
* Biomass Return Efficiency: A stipulation of the Clone Soldier project was that the deceased clone bodies needed to be 'recyclable.'

*\*Imprinting as in the learning of information at a certain age or phase of life, not Lorenz style imprinting. The information imprinted included the CTMP\*\* \*\* CTMP ~ Clone Trooper Military Protocol*

The cultivation process involved the growth phase, imprinting phase, and physical test phase.

1. Copies of templates were designed to be split between two gametes (the male and female reproduction cells) and subject to artificial anisogamy.
2. The subject grew in a vat at the fastest speed their template and life-cultivation system, which once mature enough they would be attached to, would allow.
3. At the earlies possible time the infant clone would undergo the cognitive coding process or 'Imprinting.'
4. Once mature and imprinted to the standardised degree of ability (these did not always occur in the same order) the clone was released.
5. The clone undergoes physical and mental stress testing, heart failure / palpitation and catatonia is common at this stage.

This filter received the pseudo-name "Life Gauntlet." All grown samples that were objectively inferior on average or were radically lacking in any one variable were disposed of, their Stage 1 Templates ether scrapped or handed cycled through another editing process before resubmission to Stage 2.

Successful Stage 2 Templates then entered Stage 3.

### Stage 3: Simulations and Trials

Stage 3 Templates were grown in batches and once imprinted were released from their vats and run through physical tests designed to emulate their frontline activities. While Stage 2 physical tests were intrusive and much more brutal the Stage 3 tests were less about discovering the limits of the clone but rather the ability of the clone in practical use; running, climbing, swimming, marathons, and combat scenarios.

Throughout the trials clones were regularly monitored for mental deterioration of their aptitude, intellect, and psychological stability. Exercises included the exploration of how the clones would react to the death of other clones, and would be ordered to kill\* other clones as a means of testing their response.

*\*Clones were at this time not considered 'Sapient.' Genetic templates and imprinting sessions were designed to prevent the development of a 'sense of self' or of key psychological abilities such as empathy and actualisation. They were born and imprinted to live for their orders.*

Stage 3 success was based on the average best point performance, once again any clone template that largely underperformed in one category of scoring (but made up for it with a high score in another or with a general higher score in multiple) were terminated.

### Result: Batch 1

7 templates for every 10,000 trialled completed all stages of the cloning tests, once again the lowest band (20%) of performing templates were eliminated and sent back for re-editing. When the Clone Soldier project released its full results it presented 54 templates for mass bio-fabrication.

A large amount of templates had been required to fulfil the diverse roster of military roles which included:

* Infantry Roles: Support / Medic / Commando / Engineering / etc
* Pilot Roles: Fighter / Bomber / Heavy Transport / etc
* Vehicle Roles: Tank Crew / Artillery Personnel / Logistician / etc
* Other: ~

Of the 54 Batch 1 Templates

* 42 were Male / 12 Female
* 47 were Human [Of which 39 were Male / 8 Female]
* 7 were non-Human
* 30 were created for infantry roles [28 Male / 2 Female ~ 26 were Human]
* 24 were evenly distributed for the other roles
* Only 10 would be accepted for military use [8 of which for infantry roles]

The high cost of the clone creation process, even without the need for testing stages\* of approved templates, made clones undesirable for many roles; the military did not foresee a need for pilots or non-frontline personnel who could be expected to expire within years of their creation, non-frontline roles did not have a high turnover and believed combat simulations not adequate to entrust clones with highly technical and expensive mechanised or aerial equipment.

\*Once a Template had passed all three stages and was approved for military use and production there was no longer a need for the time consuming and costly testing periods used for vetting the clone that template produced, all clones from that template were the same after all. Military use clones would simply be grown and imprinted before running through a 1 week practical test and then shipping out to the frontline.

### Future Iterations

7 Batches\* of templates would be released before the use of the Clone Soldier fell spectacularly out of favour. Future batches would steadily reduce in size of released templates (Down from 54 Batch 1's to 21 Batch 7's) and after Batch 3 were entirely dedicated to infantry roles, each Batch released focusing on minor improves or side-grades to existing templates or on more specialised infantry roles.

*\*After Batch 1 the criteria for successful templates increasingly focused on cost reduction measures for the clone processing procedure and long term maintenance reductions to clone livelihood. High casualties of clones in war offset any successful cost reductions as production constantly shifted to increase the quantity of clones or adapt their templates for different climates.*

### Military Production

Templates approved for military production would be distributed out to industrial scale cloning facilities where they would simply be grown and imprinted with the Clone Trooper Military Protocol [CTMP] before reporting to a general quartermaster for its equipment and transport to the front. Clone Soldiers from these facilities would be grown to the quota of millions.

## Clone Soldiers: Expendable by Design

> *"Stronger, faster, they can do a full days work with 1 hour less sleep and 23% less caloric intake. A wonderful tool for any military that needs to justify its budget and piss it down the drain before it gets cut."*
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Clones were physically a moderately superior version of the contemporaries they were meant to replace, but could be relied upon to have the effective discipline and reliability of any hardened battlegroup from their first day to the last; though their production stage was expensive and would require well in excess of triple the daily nutritional intake\* the clone would require less compared to the standard soldier when on the frontline which eased supply constraints significantly (though this also became offset by the increasing number in which the clone was deployed.)

All clone iterations after Batch 1 were also modified to be especially suited for the unique climates they were expected to fight on. And all clones had further modification to remove the most egregious inferior qualities their species possessed such as the Human inability to sweat or their phobic-like reaction to the outdoors.

Clones could also be counted on to not experience psychological trauma, not because their imprinting made them immune to these things (though they were designed to reduce the likelihood significantly) but because of their short-term service, high casualty rate, and end-life biomass reclamation procedures (Dead clones, clones approaching deterioration phase, or clones no longer needed ether due to injury or the end of hostilities were broken down in bio-vats and their DNA stored or reused.)

Due to the expendable and recyclable nature of the clone many injured clones would simply be recycled rather than have expensive medical operations to save them, this and them having no end-of-service package or healthcare guarantees would also save the military on medical expenses and bed-space for other injured soldiers. The Clones had nullified pain senses to help them endure more battlefield injury and keep them combat effective after wounds that would typically incapacitate others, which most certainly contributed to their high death rates as clones would continue fighting well into the process of organ failure even in situations where medical intervention was possible.

As a result of their rapid growth clones had very short lifespans, though scientists would endeavour to prolong their effective mature age for as long as possible this meant that after 5-8 years (dependent on clone template) the clone would rapidly breakdown and become useless for its purpose, dying 6-10 months after the onset of deterioration. This was the worst possible outcome for a clone in practical sense as it was at this stage that the DNA within them would also become unviable for reclamation, it was much better to salvage DNA from a mature clone where it was much easier to extract the still healthy material, an old clone's DNA was riddled with deficiencies until it became cheaper to simply create more fresh DNA.

It is no wonder the clone was became such an expendable resource; by the nature of military requirements the clone needed to grow quickly, by the reality of warfare many infantry roles on the frontline had high casualties, by political design the clone was meant to shoulder the burden of death so that the volunteer-based military servicemen didn't have to, and domestically speaking the clone had no use once the conflict was over... the clone was created to fight, born to die, designed to suffer in others stead, and had no purpose besides fighting... what else was the clone good for other than to be used as a resource to clog the opposition with innumerable foes?

### Conclusion: A Task Failed Successfully

In brief conclusion: Though the clone was superior to the men and women they replaced their ineffective production cost was only offset by the political purpose they served and logistical issues they resolved for the Commonwealth and caused for its opponents, without any extensive healthcare provisioned for them and by design created to fight well into threshold of certain death the clone better served its purpose strategically in death then it did in life so that its DNA could be used to repeat the process all over again. With no use outside of war it became desirable to have high-casualty rates especially towards the end of expected conflicts, and became little more than highly expensive cannon fodder to throw into a fight... there was also much less paperwork as they had no bereaved relatives to inform, or long term injuries to treat when the war was most splendidly won.

*\*Multiplied by the accelerated growth: Growing a clone from inception to 20 years of age still required 20 years worth of energy and nutrition, effectively requiring 60 years when accounting for the tripled effective-daily-intake.*

## Ghosts In The Genome

Clone Templates were, shall we say, cosmopolitan; spliced together from a diverse assortment of genomes taken from a wide array of sources, this ensured that the best characteristics from each original genome could eventually find a fit into a drafted template eventually by mere law of volume (some DNA strands would not so easily combine with others without sacrificing their useful attributes, but by having thousands of 'pieces' to pick from the template puzzle would eventually be completed.)

But this and the myriad of other reasons why such a thing should not have been possible did not prevent the phenomenon known as 'Genome Ghosts' (More intellectually known as Genetic Memory) occurring.

During final screening tests approximately 1 in 27000 Clones displayed confusion at the circumstances they were in, and spoke of memories which the Clones could not have ever experienced. Extensive investigations into this effect initially were focused on finding the 'fault,' 'error,' and/or 'saboteur,' but when these checks concluded that there was nothing wrong with the cloning and imprinting process and that there was no industrial sabotage at play the scientists responsible for the project were left wanting for answers.

Professor Tanwar requisitioned 10 clones, 2 of which were 'abnormal,' for research into this phenomenon. The results of this personal research are unknown as her research and the phenomenon of the 'Ghost Clone' were never disclosed to the public.

All abnormal clones were purged from the program, their bodies broken back down and recycled. Requiring special equipment and chemicals, this practice was never uncovered; many of the project members themselves were never informed of this and inspections were ether non-existent of specially crafted and tailored to 'miss' the existence of these abnormal clones. As the practise of cloning in general would come under moral critique later this cover-up was likely vital to keeping the project running for as long as it did, successfully consigning millions more to a designed death.

## Historical Synopsis

Created from the DNA of previous Commonwealth soldiers and servicemen in the laboratories of the icy planet of Minerva, **Clone Troopers** were a common sight in the Commonwealth Army in the latter half of the 24th. Century, the Second Era. Composed mostly of Human and Kithri templates, clones are biologically engineered not only to fight, but do so in any condition, without any second thought of falling back or surrendering to their foe. Although not the fastest units to train and produce when compared to battle-droids or robots in general, clone soldiers proved their worth in the battlefield due to their abilities to follow orders down to the letter and executing them with extreme discipline and determination. As a result of their performance, clone armies tended to be the first to make landfall during planetary invasions, often suffering the most losses as they faced the core of the enemy forces.

Due to the unexpectedly high losses in New Sajar during the Aramathi liberation war, the Commonwealth's Armed Forces required a fresh and constant supply of manpower to fight the growing list of enemies threatening the nation's borders. Using DNA from those soldiers who had shown bravery and skill, the specialized laboratories built on the Northern Pole of the tundra planet of Minerva began to create Human and Kithri who would be naturally gifted to perform military duties. The process, hard at first, slowly became more and more standardized until, during the battles inFal'Kaboss, during the Great Southeastern War, millions of clones could be sent to the frontlines, already trained and equipped to deal with any foe who dared to stand before them.

Despite their clear effectiveness across the battlefields, the extremely high losses often suffered by clone troopers and the tactics that often threw them as the vanguard of the invading forces made the morality of said units a much debated topic among some less pragmatic circles in the Commonwealth. While clones are born and are able to think for themselves in some ways, training, indoctrination and changes to their biology had made it so their only purpose in life was to conduct war against the foes of the nation. Still, others argued that, with robots still not being able to perform battlefield duties as effectively as sentient, living beings, clone troopers were the only way to avoid massive conscription among the Commonwealth's population. Therefore, although the general population were many times spared from the carnage of industrial warfare, clone soldiers often had to shoulder such responsibilities.

Such debate later reared its head during the Battle of Voice, which signified the end in clone use within the army, when they proved unable to stem the tide of the evolving, overwhelming and encroaching hoards of the Biluan attacks, being then decommissioned in favour of other, cheaper, biological weaponry; such as the already infamous Minervan Spiders. This, in addition to the fact that many clones during the battle were equipped equivalently to the standard soldier of the era, lead to the end of clones being used in combat due to their price, low performance during the battle, losses and social controversy amongst the Commonwealth.

Following their deactivation, clone divisions were instead replaced by Battledroid ones, as per policy of the mass-mechanization of the Armed Forces after the slaughter at Voice. Cheaper, durable and managing to be assembled at an even greater scale, Raywater's Droids became the standard unit within the field of battle from then onwards. Proving what was starting to become mainstream at the later stages of the 2280s, the flesh was too weak to wage war on even terms; Even if it was raised, trained and taught all life for such a feat...