Quote:
Originally Posted by Geri
Funny that you hate each other so much because you are similar in so many aspects.
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People can't stand seeing their own bad habits and dark side in others - it's like looking into a mirror that, "unfortunately", isn't crooked.
There's a Hungarian science fiction short novel dealing with this: Weinbrenner Rudolf: A kitüntetés (The award). In the future, scientists and artists are protected by the "Gene Bank" that stores their DNA and memory, the latter saved every few weeks. If something happens to them and they die, a clone is created and his or her memory restored from backup so that society doesn't lose them. An artist, without goals and tired of life, jumps into a volcano and is later resurrected. He manages to persuade one of the technicians to create another clone of him but, this time, as female. (Sex change, for the next incarnation, is a standard option in the "last" will of such people.) They, the same personality in two bodies, start to live together but, instead of recognizing the good in each "other", they rather get mad about the "other"'s bad habits, down to the smallest goddamn details. Also, how surreal can it be to have sex with (a copy of) yourself?! After many quarrels, they conclude that they cannot live like this. Besides committing suicide, they also blow up the local Gene Bank so that they cannot be resurrected ever again. As a result, the council responsible for this "award" of immortality understands that not everyone is ready for it - it's rather a psychological burden for some - and decides to continue to
offer the chance to great minds but not
force it upon them anymore. Quite edifying...
02-02-2012, 14:47
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