"I'm your Cloone."

[Dude_Doc]

This topic continues from where "Clone baby supposed born" left. Well, not the religious things that were written later. Anyways, since they start to claim all these things about aliens and clones, I personally sent them some questions of mine, and they (ClonAid) actually replied. So, this is the questions and the answers:

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Q: If I am correct, you said that aliens "wanted" us to clone ourselves, so that we can live forever. The question is, why do the aliens want us to clone ourselves?

A: That is how things developed on their planet, so they could predict it would be the same on earth.

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Q: Why don't they provide the technology for us now, or why didn't they give us the technology when they created us?

A: They respect us as intelligent individuals. We can discover things with their help. What we need is to develop our consuisness so that we handle the science peacefully. To make our consiousness and love progress has been one of the missions of all the prophets. Their goals is to share their scintific knowledge, but they can only do tht when they are sure that we will not abuse it.

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Q: Why did they create us in the first place?

A: With love and curiosity, to see if it was possible. It the same as our scientists are now starting to create life in laboratories with genetic engineering.

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Q: Why are the aliens hiding from us?

A: They are not hiding, but goverments and militaries are hiding facts about UFO appearences. The "aliens" have to be carful, to show themselfs little by little, so that we slowly get used to the idea of life on other planets. They don't want to create chaos on earth or to be attacked by our military. The goal of the Raelian movement is to build the embassy so that the Extra terrestrials can (Elohim) can come here in peace and be met with respect.

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Q: Will people accept cloning?

A: They will when they get used to it and see that it's nothing dangerous.

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Q: What is the guarantees that I will still be me after I change body?

A: When science makes it possible to transfer the data into the brain of the clone, it will be you, but you will have a new, young body and can live one more lifespan, and continue to develop your personality.

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Q: The brain is a "database" where information is stored, but that information is just what I experience in this life. What about my soul?

A: There is no soul. The data (your personality) is in your brain. Without a brain you are dead...

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Q: Sure, it is arguable what a sole really is, but why not make machines instead? In that case we could transfer our brain, and with future technology, we can assure that the brain will be living past 500 years. With this I can really be sure that I will still be myself. I mean, we can copy our brain in the future, but that will just be a copy. It is very much like games, movies and books. They can all be copied. Is it only

this information that makes me the person I am?

A: Yes the information in our brain is like a computer program. We can copy it in many formats. You could upload it into a coomputer or into a new brain. It'll be your choice. And the program can continue to develop forever in a computer or in a biological body. Rael writes about this in his book 'Yes to Human Cloning', that you can order for 15$.

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Q: What about the fundamentalists? They will never accept cloning.

A: Fundamentalists and conservatists never want to accept change. That is no reason to stop change. If we would have done that, women would still not be allowed to vote. They will accept and they have no choice, since they can't stop the progress of science.

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My final meaning is that I too believe in intelligent life on other worlds. I respect all beliefs, but I find it hard to believe that an alien race would create us, without any reason.

-They had a reason: Love. And it's like a cycle of life in the universe. Our humanity will create a new humanity, that will create a new humanity, that will...

--- --- ---

Well, make it what you want out of it. I still, even with these questions answered, find it difficult to understand why any intelligent life would create us.

And please, stay on topic. Discuss about what you think of these claims. If you want to refer to your belief, please type "I believe that...", and not "GOD SAYS SO!", because that will lead us into another religious/"why don't you believe in this?"/"your belief is stupid" topic.

[Cyborg]

Because the human body seriously lack the ability to repair itself, we live only around 60-100(approximately).

However, if the human body got the ability to repair and regenerate itself, a human could live up to about 1200 years.

I would rather research a way to fix that than a way to copy my brain.

After around 800 years you would probably be tired of life anyway... ;)

[rogue1896]

well i don't intend to sound rude at all b/c i didn't read the previous one and i have no intention of reading this one either. but that stuff you said about aliens is ludicrious, IMO.

but then you'd say "How do you know aliens don't exist?"

then i'd say, "What makes you so damn sure they do?"

i believe in ONE myth as far as i can remember. the city of Atlantis. that's the only thing that i believe could have happened. i don't believe in Big Foot, the loch ness monster, the 'boogie man,' or Santa Claus. i do not, however, believe that the city of atlantis was some kind of super high tech wonderland. i believe it was a normal city that had some cataclysm affect it.

err, sorry for going off topic. i think you see my point.

[Apollyon]

you realise that those were questions he aske CloneAid? They arent apparently his own views =P.

[Anathema]

If we were immortal, we would have to give up having children, for obvious reasons. Besides that, we don't know nearly enough about the brain to duplicate all memories stored.

And about this whole cult, they're silly. Christianity, judaism and islam have been around for millenia, and a few decades ago a guy drops by and says "it's all bullshit, I am the one who is correct" ::)

[Dude_Doc]

Yes. And besides that I don't think they understand the human nature. I don't marry and get some children because it suits me or something, but because I want to have a family, I want to have a son I myself teach, well besides school of course, but you get my point. And yes, partly for my bloodline/generation to live on. But this child is special becasue it has genes of me and my wife (no I don't have my own family and don't know how it feels :P), and a clone of myself is not my "son", but only a copy of myself. And as you said, Cyborg, we would be tired of living forever. For me, I don't see the point of being alive for more than 100 years. I mean, sure, you could live "life a dosens time over in the same body", but what then? So what if we become immortal and can do whatever we please? There won't be any challenge at all! Mankind would die becasue of the emptiness.

When I wrote that letter I wanted to sound "reasonable" and "friendly" against them, so I said I believe in aliens. And well, I did, but now I doubt it. What if we really are alone? Only the future holds that answer. Hell, I used to think that people who answered "I don't know" on the question "Do you believe that aliens exist?" were kind of stupid, because they couldn't make up their own minds. I understand that now :).

[Acriku]

Well more than 50,000 people follow it, so it isn't that silly.

And our cells have a life clock, that has never changed in the course of humanity. We could rid ourselves of all diseases, and we would still die at our normal age. When we figure out what makes the cells "tick" we could start our way to the journey of immortality.

[Dude_Doc]

Well, mind that not does only Earth carry deseases, but other planets as well. Maybe we'll even encounter some hostile aliens or something, who knows (sometimes I like evil thoughts about our future :P). Anyways, the technology you're talking about is far away.

[ethan]

if you could live forever, there would be SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much crime, you couldnt walk outside, without losing your body (again)

[Dude_Doc]

Well obvoius, not everyone can clone, because not everyone knows how to clone. And so the technology would be restricted to specific scientists. First, I think ClonAid wants to gain something on whatever they're really doing. So every stupid person or people from their own society would donate money to make a clone right now. When ClonAid/Raelians get enough mmoney, it can only end in two ways:

BAD - ClonAid takes the money and dissapears. Everyone there lives out their lives with power and money. When asked, they deny any existance of ClonAid or the Raelian movement.

GOOD - They "fool" people now, so they get the money to do research. And so they proceed.

These two ways depend on if the Raelians really are a "religion", or if they are only out for the money.

Anyways, cloning from their perspective seems to end with one thing however: control. How? Well, if they really can achieve, or have achieved, what they claim, then they will probably not let any other scientists know. And so, only they can decide which person should be cloned, and which one should not. In the beggining, everyone is living happy and are cloned and etc. But later, people have gained so much during their "recreated"/re-lived lives, so they now depend on cloning themselves, because they don't want to die. And now ClonAid would be the world's largest and only cloning company. So now they can control people trough making them obey. If not, well, then they won't clone the non-obeyers. Pretty stuff, huh? Anyways, this is just plain fiction, and I am not afraid of any blackmail, because a clone is just a copy. So from my point of view, mankind will end up all like dead bodies with information that will be uppgraded each "life".

[Khan]

the information in our brain is like a computer program. We can copy it in many formats.

How exactly do these people plan to 'copy' our brains' information?

[Cyborg]

If people were immortal, I think they would be extremely afraid of loosing their lifes. And if they could be revived in another body, people would be very afraid of "loosing" their brain.

That's just my oppinion, though.

[Anathema]

Immortality

Good:

- You don't have to worry about dieing

- Err...nevermind

Bad:

- You'll get bored sooner or later

- Nobody can afford to get children anymore

It's clear for me. Nobody should be immortal.

[Cyborg]

To be immortal by age isn't to be completely immortal. You can still die by too much brain damage :P

[ethan]

you shouldnt live forever. it would just suck

[Cyborg]

I would like to maybe extend my life with a few years, but not milenniums...

[Acriku]

I would like to be immortal, with the option of dying at any moment.

[Edric O]

The goal of the Raelian movement is to build the embassy so that the Extra terrestrials can (Elohim) can come here in peace and be met with respect.

Elohim? ELOHIM?? >:(

"Elohim" is Hebrew for "the Lord" or "God". Every time you read one of those words in the Bible, it is "Elohim" in the original texts! The Raelians have NO RIGHT to use it!

Can't they even bother to make up their own name for their stupid little green men? ::)

(and Acriku, I have every right to ridicule their beliefs now, because I see that they are ridiculing mine)

[Anathema]

Sue them, I'd say.

[Edric O]

God should sue them for copyright infringement... but He's having a hard time trying to find a lawyer in heaven. ;D

[Anathema]

Ah, lawyers...do you think they all go to hell?

[rogue1896]

well duh ;)

*NOTE* no insult intended to anyone who might be a lawyer

EDIT - you know i really should start checking my posts b4 i post them. i make almost as many mistakes as dj.

[Dude_Doc]

The Raelians are even worse than this, not only do they steal names from other religions, but they claim that other religions are false, becasue they say that the aliens are called Elhoim, which is not true. And this is really low.

[Acriku]

Edric, actually you have all the right to redicule them, even if they didn't redicule you (which they don't, they just use the word Elohim to name the head alien or whatever). But you know, you should really stick by your philosophy that if everybody took an eye for an eye then we'd all be blind. And the tu quoque fallacy shows in your argument.

[Edric O]

But you know, you should really stick by your philosophy that if everybody took an eye for an eye then we'd all be blind.

I know... But venting some justified anger in sarcastic and/or derogatory comments is mostly harmless (at least in this case), so I can allow it to myself.

Earthnuker, you DO realize that lawyer comment was just a joke, right? :)