NationStates Jolt Archive

Here's an idea, I wonder if anyone else has already done it. If cloning is legal, perhaps advances in cloning technology (or genetics) allow the development of large numbers of fully mature clones in a short amount of time. So why not use this technology to increase the size of the military?

What effects (other than increased defense and science spending) would this have on a nation? What other options would there be?

Well, cloning raises all kinds of legal and ethical issues. If one of your cloned soldiers rapes someone and they get DNA evidence from semen or blood left behind, how are they going to know who really did it? "We've got 3,000 clones with that exact same DNA, your Honor!"

Also, should clones have full citizenship rights? After all, most countries require you to be a citizen before you can join their armed forces. But if they're full citizens, free to do whatever they want, what will stop them from quitting the army when their term of enlistment ends? And if they're not citizens, then they're basically slaves. Would an ethical nation want to engage in legal slavery?

Finally, would you genetically engineer them to be better soldiers, or just make straight copies of your best "real" soldiers? Is it ethical to manipulate their genes for such violent purposes? What if the genetic modifications cause nasty unexpected side effects? Perhaps the effect of choosing a genetic engineering option could be "Half the soldiers in your army now have an extra foot growing out of their left leg..." :lol:

There are plenty of other issues, but this post is long enough already... 8)

Stupid double post

Here's an idea, I wonder if anyone else has already done it. If cloning is legal, perhaps advances in cloning technology (or genetics) allow the development of large numbers of fully mature clones in a short amount of time. So why not use this technology to increase the size of the military?

What effects (other than increased defense and science spending) would this have on a nation? What other options would there be?

It's got too many positive effects. If it increases the size of the military, the choice is simple -- most of the issues Max Barry himself wrote involve a tradeoff of some sort.

For example, the police issue with the option of secuirity cameras -- it possibly allows for you to reduce crime a great deal, but also infringe on the citizen's civil rights.

Unfortunately, I can't think of a negative effect for an issue dealing with cloning in the military.

No...you just write a downside in - i.e., the process involved also creates a higher chance of birth defects. Thus your health level would be reduced, and perhaps military effectiveness(not sure how to fit that into the game, though).