The Empirical Manifesto

“Watching John with the machine, it was suddenly so clear. The terminator wouldn’t stop, it would never leave him. It would never hurt him or shout at him or get drunk and hit him or say it was too busy to spend time with him. And it would die to protect him. Of all the would-be fathers that came over the years, this thing, this machine, was the only thing that measured up. In an insane world, it was the sanest choice.”

When you've finally fully resolved both the complex dynamics and difficult balance of having/being a clone, despite the unique perspectives gained from individual experiences it all comes down to sameness.

Much like the unique relationship John Connor had with Cameron Philips - a relationship no one understood nor trusted, so it is with your clone. Its impossible to hurt your clone's feelings, or to say the wrong things. If what you say to your clone could be taken two ways, one complimentary and the other derogatory, your clone automatically knows which you were trying to convey without hesitation. You'll never accidentally harm your clone, nor be harmed by your clone. There are no walking surfaces ever paved with eggshells where your clone is concerned, and you will never, ever tire of your clone.

drax0r and I were known far and wide for our outrageous and highly animated disagreements. Once, during a particularly terse period we had just settled in for a good one when he unexpectedly said, "You know how we go back and forth and back and forth but where this subject is concerned you always end up agreeing with me after I've endlessly explained how it works because I'm more well versed on it than you are?" I replied, "Yeah?" He continued, "For once, can we just skip to the part where you agree with me so we keep going on this project?" I said the only thing I could say, "Ok." Every would-be disagreement with my clone starts and ends like this, minus the part where we actually talk. No unnecessary words are ever spilled. No, this is not boring. Its the most exciting-yet-calming exchange which has ever taken place in the history of conversation.

Sameness, however isn't without its own hurdles. Given my well-documented introversion and all that surrounds it, most notably the requirement to disassociate, for a time, from people to spend time completely alone - the inclusion of my clone could be seen as a snub. The fact is, just like being with projections on a holodeck or shacking up with a terminator, spending time with your clone is being alone insofar as no resources are being drained and you're not forced to interact. While mirrors may reflect flaws we choose to ignore, clones reflect only that which we wish to see.