Deleted: Experimenting with Style, posting times, and updating my writing for this post.
The Updated version is here: https://steemit.com/story/@caincallen/story-ideas-1-in-100-years-we-clone-elon-musk-and-adolf-hitler-for-entertainment-and-science-version-2
Original Post Below:
Down
Down
Down
Down
So
So
SO
So
So
Down.
I wish I could make this -------> face down
All the way down.
--
--
--
--
--
->
So now I have to do it that way (arrow facing up pointing at all those dashes that turn into bullet points when you use only one, and I don't even know what the greater-than sign did in auto-formatting, but had to add a dash to make it stay, but now it's smaller than all the dashes and none of this is right.)
And it looks so ugly.
Size.
(Ok, wrote size but was thinking sighs.)
So many sighs.
I don't know anymore.
Creative whims....
Just Whims of Consciousness.
And just one more down.
Are you?
Down?
The Story:
The story idea from the last post goes like this:
In the future, an advanced version of humanity begins to clone highly influential historical figures from the distant past, and they introduce these clones into present-day society. These clones of famous people live like celebrities, as they were introduced as a novelty, meant to entertain a civilization bored by traditional television and media.
You can read Version 1 of how this story takes place here: https://steemit.com/story/@caincallen/news-flash-the-clones-of-marilyn-monroe-and-adolf-hitler-have-a-baby-free-story-idea-from-successful-ghostwriter
In this post, we'll explore the second version.
Version 2:
As part of a long-term study on the age-old question of "Nature vs Nurture," a group of scientists run a secret, long-term experiment.
In this experiment, the scientists compile a list of 100 famous people from the distant past, whose DNA they have found, collected, and confirmed, and they create 100 clones of each historical person on the list. This way they have a large sample size: 10,000 total clones.
Unlike the first version, the general public is not aware of these clones, and the scientists go to great lengths to introduce these clones into society without the public's knowledge.
The 100 Greats
One key question the scientists are wrestling with is the implication of "greatness." The 100 historical figures they choose were all movers and shakers, people who changed the world in obvious and unarguable ways, whether in science or art, war or peace.
This list would probably include: Alexander the Great, Goethe, Albert Einstein, Sappho (somehow), William Shakespeare, Ghandi, Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci, Napoleon, Marie Curie, Dostoevsky, Aristotle, and Genghis Khan (assuming they find his tomb).
The Experiment
Now that they have 100 clones of each historical figure, they have to account for various circumstances and variables, so they create a list of 10 different types of living conditions.
A traditional middle-class nuclear family.
A lower class, at-risk household.
An orphanage.
A wealthy family.
And so on.
They then place ten clones of Genghis Khan in condition #1, ten clones in #2, all the way through #10. They do the same with the clones of the other ninety-nine figures on the list.
But Here's the Catch:
To make it so that the clones don't recognize each other as clones later in life, the scientists tweak their facial features ever so slightly. Just enough to make the clones look alike, perhaps recognizable as siblings, but not as clones. This will help you avoid the pitfalls of such an experiment that was explored in Orphan Black.
Who Are the Clones, Really?
Now that the scientists have their clone sets, it's time to study how they turn out.
Do they develop wildly different personalities, with certain traits that remain constant?
Do the clones of Genghis Khan who grew up in loving and neutral households turn out normal, while the clones who grew up in challenging living conditions grow up to be great leaders? What does this say about the DNA of certain types of leaders? Do they need hardship and trying times for their talents to emerge?
Does not one of the clones of Albert Einstein grow up to be a famous scientist? Instead, most of the Clone Einsteins grow up to be very imaginative writers and inventors?
What if one of Ghandi's clones, who was raised in a situation similar to how Adolf Hitler was raised, became an instrument of war, instead of peace? That Ghandi clone, who was verbally and physically abused, tried to create a movement similar to the Nazi party, before the scientists put a stop to it? Is this how the news of the famous clone experiment is leaked?
** Ghandi Clone Hosts a Neo-Nazi House Party **
Meanwhile, a Hitler clone wins the Nobel Peace Prize
Do the Ghandi and Hitler Clones clash in an epic role reversal?
What are all the interesting things that the clones of Leonardo da Vinci come up with? Can you imagine all the amazing things that such a brain, five hundred years in the future, might dream up? Can you imagine all the different minds that such a brain could become, growing up in different environments, different conditions, focusing on different inborn strengths?
These da Vincis are all growing up in a time of everyday things that would appear magical to us today. Would those da Vincis then take those everyday things and create future magic? Would they make things that appear magical even to the people of the future?
Do the da Vinci clones who grew up in terrible living conditions become good or bad? Do they create new ways of seeing the world? What happens when two da Vinci clones meet up, by chance, in real life? It's likely that'd they'd attend prestigious universities or workplaces together. Might they figure out the clone experiment?
Details:
How will you write this? From the perspective of a scientist, following the clones through hidden cameras? Studying their entire lives, from birth to death? Perhaps each set of clones has a group of scientists devoted to that set, to that single historical figure, and then each group of scientists get together and discuss similarities and differences in their research findings. Perhaps they put all their data into an AI, which finds meaningful answers to the questions they've been asking.
Or would you write this from multiple perspectives? A third person omniscient narrator who shares the details of the experiment, and then zoom into a few individual characters, first person, exploring their lives and the personal worlds they live in?
Conclusion:
Ultimately, the scientists are curious about the DNA of great humans. Was Genghis Khan a product of his time and age, or would he be a great leader in this time as well? Was it his unique life experience in medieval Asia that made him who he was, or would he be great in whatever time period he lives in?
How do these clones change the world? Is it a giant flop, and most of them do nothing? Or do all these clones of great men, born all at one time, rise up and create a new and unimaginable world?
And how do you make these clones human? What are the little things that make us see not only the clones, but the original great men themselves, as people with loves and heartbreaks, ambitions and failures?
It's up to you to explore this. I can't wait to read your ideas, and one day read this book, or even watch this show!
P.S. In the next post, I'll share Version 3, which is a combination of the first two versions.
**Sharing ideas for business, products, inventions, stories and more. As followers grow, I'll share bigger and bigger ideas, just so the big ideas aren't lost and forgotten.
**Read why I'm giving away all my ideas here: https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@caincallen/hey-steemians-inventor-and-ghostwriter-here-sharing-why-i-have-to-give-away-all-my-ideas