C L O N E D L O V E

They lived their lives on the side of the road, often sleeping under the stars and in the rain while following the great party of their footloose generation. They witnessed and participated in many of the great events of their time and were among the fringe passing jugs and drugs with extraordinary people. Sex and drugs and Rock & Roll, was more than a slogan to their crowd; it was their calling. Though at times they bathed in streams and front yards under hoses—when they could—rifled dumpsters for food and clothing, dealt and hustled, nomadically wandered about without a fixed address, suffered the slings and arrows of ridicule hurled at them by those who had outrageous fortunes and viewed them as toe jam, they were rich in spirit and enriched by their experiences. Thus they never bemoaned what they did not have, for they were too busy reveling in the depths of their love and lifestyle. They dedicated their lives to commemorating the moments of each day. They ritualized dawn and sunset like sacred holidays and despite their never-ending struggle just to get by they gave thanks to the cosmos for each other—the only commodity they could not live without. Though all lifelong relationships are worn by friction and eroding passion, there were no regrets, or sorrow over sacrifice, or built up animosities between them. Their love conquered all and stood the test of time.

The road of life often turns and twists in ways mysterious and ironic, for the very low-life lifestyle that had been looked down upon by the outside world and deemed worthless, brought them unimaginable wealth and notoriety when it was read by the outside world and considered priceless. The simple, unvarnished story of their adventurous lives, written by him, with her help, ultimately became a national best seller.

No longer would they squat on the poverty-ridden communes of others; they would build a veritable luxury commune for the unwashed masses—a Utopia for themselves and all who sought it. Their sudden wealth did not change their lifestyle, it merely enhanced it for themselves and all their brothers and sisters who wanted to live an unrestricted life freed from complications and stress, and filled with contemplation and merriment.

But something happened on the way to blissfully residing on the summit together happily ever after —mortality.

The sentiment; Flare-con-Sunny Forever, encased in a heart, was more than just the tattoo Flare put on his arm and Sunny put on her ass; it was their credo for forty-plus years. Yet as the end drew near it was suddenly not enough. They wanted to love on and on . . . It was then that these throwbacks—who had clung to a bygone generation’s way of life for so long that it became de rigueur again in their lifetime—looked to the cutting edge of high tech, sci-fi technology for a way to extend their love beyond the mortal plane. In the end, love, like life, is fated to be finite, for time intervenes and death takes us all. Yet as we have seen technology has become the breath of life and the ray of hope to a brighter future for humanity. Often, societal issues create government wrangling and the flow of technology is impeded, because the legislation and safeguards needed to protect humanity from being exploited by brilliant technological advances must be implemented. Believing that enlightenment would one day prevail, they left behind the necessary genetic material to be cloned, so they could be reunited in another time and place and fulfill their tontine of a never-ending romance.

But would the clones be of the same heart and mind as those two long dead lovers? Despite the scientific analysis and philosophical debates, they were sentient of their individuality and committed to their own destiny. But what of those . . . what were they . . . could they be memories of another era of their lives? Perhaps they were just visions from the subconscious . . . But whose? Who did they see in the mirror; who was it they saw in each other’s eyes?

They would live to love again . . . but would they?

In society, the age-old struggle has been people crusading for the right not to be told what choices they can make for themselves by sovereign and elected regimes. No one can lawfully be allowed to make a personal choice that risks the well being of another, and yet abortions were legalized because it was decreed that the woman’s right to choose was greater than the baby’s right to life. Science picks up where God leaves off as advancements prolong, sustain and even restore life. Today, the Immaculate Conception can be brought about in a laboratory with eyedroppers and test tubes. But, what about scientifically bringing about reincarnation through the process of cloning? Why shouldn’t a person have the right to have their cells and genetic matter regenerated in an artificial womb or host carrier for a chance to live on? It’s only procreation of a different kind; creating a being more like you than even your own child would be. Medical procedures enable doctors to create life, maintain life, terminate life and save life; now they sought to resurrect it . . .

Unfortunately wherever there is a market there is exploitation. There was a very real fear that these fellow human beings would be regarded as a species of spare parts, without the right to decide what was done to them, and would become indentured servants that were adjudged inferior and sentenced to a life without rights.

Where there is legislation, there is activism; where there is activism, there is impasse and issues reach no decisions, which creates outrage that demands mandates that force ever-vacillating politicians to take a stand.

All the while Flare and Sunny’s frozen genetic material languished in scientific and legal limbo awaiting their rebirth, so they could continue on with the love affair they had lived for.

In the early 21st century the experimentations began in other countries, but remained illegal in the United States— particularly after there had been so many tragic mishaps abroad. Finally, after generations of disagreement, they and thousands of other little tubes of humanity were given the right to live when The Clone Act of 2038 was voted into law and cloning became legal in America under strictly regulated guidelines that became euphemistically known as The Clonestitution or the Ten Clonemandments.

1. A cloned human being is a sentient human being asexually conceived from the cells of another human being and is considered to be an autonomous member of society, equally responsible and protected under the law.

2. A cloned human being cannot be bred for the purpose of harvesting body parts, organs, semen, cells, marrow, tissue, blood or any other genetic material from their person, nor are they to be subjected against their will to any research or medical procedure, sublime or invasive, whatsoever, that is not directly related to the medical ailment with which they are afflicted.

3. A cloned, minor human being must be cared for by legal guardians, in a properly maintained domicile until they reach the legal age of consent proscribed by their state of residence. It is unlawful for a minor, cloned human being to be raised in a non-residential domicile, such as, but not limited to, medical facilities, laboratories, work camps, research agencies, or detention centers, without a court order, which can only be issued if, after due process, the court decrees that the cloned human being has violated a law, or is an imminent threat to do harm to their person or that of another, as per the equally applied standard of justice set forth in the cannons of the legal code.

4. The cloning process cannot be performed on any decedent that has not left behind a legal instrument detailing their intention to have their genetic material extrapolated for the purpose of cloning.

5. No spouse, relative, third party, proxy or court has the legal right to order that the cloning procedure be performed on the behalf of a decedent that has not recorded a legal instrument to this purpose.

6. No human genetic material may be cloned that has not been preserved at the request of the host provider for the purpose of cloning, and must then meet the standard set forth in the regulatory statutes proscribed by law and medical science.

7. No genetic mutation can be implemented into the process of cloning, such as, but not limited to, changing of gender, mixing cells from different donors, nor any other procedure that is deemed experimental by the standard set forth in the regulatory statutes proscribed by law and medical science.

8. Exhumation of human remains for the purpose of cloning recovered cells is strictly forbidden.

9. Cloned human beings are in no way impeded as to matters of procreation, even if it is their intention to procreate with another cloned human being, as persuasive medical evidence shows that the risk of severe, long term physical and mental dysfunctions, deformity and mortality in the offspring of a cloned human being, even a parental coupling of cloned human beings, is no greater than normal.

10. No cloned human being may be cloned, as persuasive medical evidence indicates that the third generation degradation of cells would almost certainly result in severe, long term physical and mental dysfunctions, deformity and mortality in the offspring at a greater than normal rate.

*Any violation of these statutes is a federal offense, punishable by a fine of $50,000.00 and a mandatory term of incarceration of one year and one day for each offense, permanent loss of medical license and lifetime banishment from employment in the field of medicine and science.

BACK TO THE FRONT

In CLONED LOVE I tell the tale of a couple who lived life tooling along the highways and byways on motorcycle-back for forty years. Their lives were dedicated to commune hopping and being on the scene—Haight-Ashbury, Monterey, Woodstock, Altamont, Kent State. Their lives became an epic saga that was worthy of fable; their love inspired odes and ballads. When they weren’t clinched in the throes of passion, entangled in a loving embrace, or nuzzling and making out, they were penning their treatise for the ages, in prose, verse, sketches, and diary entries.