In my book I have two types of people that take up 1/4 society population which are clones and slaves. There is large industries that make large profits off both markets. I'm trying to think of ways where why would common people or customers would choose clones over a slave, and how they could both stand out being different in their own unique ways, and how to seperate them from "Normal people". With slaves their mostly consisted of being either being born as one,kidnapped, captured criminals/pirates, war criminals, deserters, or just being unwanted by other familes. With Clones, I'm trying to make them stand out different than a slave, because in a sense a clone is a slave, and why someone would choose a clone than a slave? Best thing I can think of is there more treated as a common person in society because their designed to be obedient, and have no independent free thinking. Thing is what stops that clone from learning, and adopting when someone hints them to get them the idea to start questioning. With clone farming, I could make a clones more expensive to purchase for more specifications, with high regulations, and taxes. Also trying to seperate both slaves and clones purposes in services. With slaves it's pretty easy, men are usually used for fighting/killing, ones with no skills work in refinaries or pleasure. As for women is with more cleaning, prositution or personal pleasure, and having ability to produce more supply of slaves. Then with controlling supply from going overboard. With clones I can only think of people ordering their own personal clone for themselves could be any reason as if a family member died, implant their memories or just simple pleasures or as for men is military purposes producing mass quantity. Then comes the toucy sensitive topic- child slavery, and I'm really debating if I should leave that topic out, and let the reader come up with their own assumption or have a vague description like having higher & strict regulations, and laws what they can and can't do. Have corporations that could house them, making them proper slaves, and seperate care taking, and could only be used for minor services like cleaning then when they turn 18 then their sold on the market almost like cattle. Reading alot history on slavery in Rome I know slave elders looked after their own kids for minor services like cleaning or helping them prep food or their masters used as their own personal "Cupids" which was accecpted back then.
Okay, so to begin answering your first question (the differences between a clone and a slave) I must say that clones do not necessarily behave like a robot. The definition of clone simply means identical genetics, so that does not mean they don't have free thinking, and they will learn just as much as a unique human being (unless, of course, you want them to be robot-like, in which case you'll have to explain why this is so). Anyway, on with the answer. Perhaps the clones are stronger/more able to work, but they are more expensive to buy than slaves, or maybe it is just more prestigious and 'better' to have a clone than a slave, even if it's for social status only. Secondly (why people would use a clone), the first thing that came to my head was religious leaders, politicians, etc. using clones as a body double, as they look exactly alike. Your ideas are good as well. Thirdly (child slavery), you need to ask yourself what age-range your novel as for and how dark it is meant to be. Obviously if this is for young adults then I think you should write it, or at least only hint at it and not describe it graphically/in detail. However, if your novel is aimed at an older audience, and child slavery is integral to the plot or simply a way of getting readers to understand your world, why not? As long as you aren't gratuitous in your description, it shouldn't be a problem. But in the end it is up to you; if you are uncomfortable writing it then don't feel like you have to. Hope I helped.
I could make clones sorta clueless, weird like simple 'yes' people showing hardly little or no personality but more a desire to work. Compared to slaves who have their own unique personality, and passion for one another as any normal human being. I could use them as more of meat sheilds for powerful people which my setting of my book does take huge part in politics, and government. Also we all know clones will definatily be used as a living pleasure sex toys since the society I have is far beyond immoral indulging themselves in vices and lust. I'm sure if it was allowed today people will be ordering clones so much almost just as a printing press prints out paper. The setting of the society is pretty grahpic, dark and sinsister. The age-range I'm typically aiming for is audult teens like 17-18 to older adults. Most of the story involves alot of grahpic details war, and near almost death situations, romance, and passion of human beings fighting for ideal of freedom. The MC starts in the present or our time and ends up waking up 2k years realizing how screwed up the future is, and turned a 360 moral wise. Just want more of a simple way getting readers understanding and realizing how sinister the future can be. In reality we humans are animals, and having morals are a simple way to 'tame' us or one Roman Emperor said "true power is being above morals". There is no need to describe in detail since it's not part of the plot but more of a setting what they do children slavery. Also want to how people or readers view slaves or clones in their own perspective vision of them as well. Also trying to not make the government or society entirally depend on slaves for their labor, and conflict with employment with loyal citizens who pay taxes. Using slaves more of a luxary. Trying to explain how humanity doing space pioneer exploration fall back to slavery futuristic wise. The best solution I can come up with, after humanity expanded beyond earth so it's population exploded, and with so many wars, conflicts, and colonies revolting wanting to become independent. Factions becoming more tyranical, and since prisons couldn't keep up with supply, and locations where wide spread. Be more efficient, effective, and more profitable to just enslave them.
You say that the whole slave/clone thing is not part of the plot, but on the other hand, you say its a major tool to show the depravity of the future society. You need to decide. If it is a major tool, it is also a major part of the plot. If its a major part of the plot, and you want to include it using the "show, don't tell paradigm" without boring your readers with endless descriptions, you need to involve people from those parts of society. Once you start to flesh out those people and start to confine them in the limiting rules of society while they interact with the main characters, a lot of the rules and reasons will just come to you on their own. That said, your clones are artificial and can with advanced enough technology be designed without a lot of the inherent flaws that spring up in natural selection. So they could be, in a way, a kind of uber-slave, less prone to illnesses and cheaper to maintain. Just like you can make clones inherently unstable, e.g. due to accellerated growth and make the true human slaves superior. You can add religions that condemn artificial breeding and thus require their followers to fall back to slaves picked from regular human beings, or you can let the clones be status symbols that only the rich can afford - your possibilites are endless, and I'm sure the longer you think and the more input you get, the wider the range of possibilities. Again, to narrow them down, start with characters and their interactions, toy around with them in your head and see where they lead you.
It is part of the main plot, there is several characters that were slaves, and there is a side main character that is teenager slave which he accidently just tags along. I'm working on the rules of society such as kids under 18 more in a protective class of slaves, and have a higher chance for freedom because they are more like juveniles. I do have areas that there are no rules apply, especially under black markets or international space. I do have a superior religion that is under a tyrannical govt. I just have society broken down in classes based on their genetics, such as pure genetics, and of course there is resistance who are opposite believing in a open society such as condeming slavery, cloning, breeding etc... I guess I could make cloning more exclusive for the super rich. Another problem I'm having is the economy part regarding slaves and regular people. How can I have not have slaves conflict with employment with regular citizens? I know I can use them for minor services, or life threating jobs, entertainment value. I was thinking just having obedient slaves for the middle class- rich, and clones for the super rich. Clones I'm going to have them be emotionless, having a personality black/white.
I started to think a great movie from the eighties, Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. In the movie there were replicants, physically and mentally superior "clones" with a 4-year-lifespan. They rebelled against their human masters, and that's why they were exiled from Earth to the off-world colonies to do slave work. A retired Blade Runner (Harrison Ford) goes to "retire" few replicants who have returned to Earth. You should watch the movie if you haven't seen, but I doubt you haven't seen it.
These things you are talking about have nothing whatsoever to do with cloning. If you can genetically engineer a clone to be emotionless, you can do the same thing with a normal person. There is no need for clones is your story. Just take regular people and do to them whatever you would do with your clones.
Maybe the clones are all made from the same genetic material, one that could be superior. Stronger and thus able to do jobs a slave could not perhaps. If you want to make them emotionless perhaps you could have them brainwashed or something after they are created.
On a technical note, I think clone is the wrong word for what you are describing. Clones are basically a twin, they are born and grow exactly as a normal human would and have their own personality, motivations, etc. once you start genetically altering their brains they can't really be called true clones any more because they are not copies. I think you are going for more of a human drone or something... where they are physically fine but mentally sort of dead. Anyway, if you did that, (drones genetically designed to have no emotions or desires and just obey commands v human slaves) you'd have a perfect moral conflict. Some people think that the drones should be used because they cant be unhappy with their position, can't rebel or run away or anything. Other people think that genetically altering humans is wrong because you are killing their soul /playing god/something and its far better to use a real person even if they live a terrible life (look at the current debates on test tube babies, abortion, gmo's etc). You could also bring cost into it, drones are expensive, slaves are cheep.
Firstly I'd suggest you leave the child slavery topic for a future expansion of the story, or a later part. It definitely is a factor which will make the reader gasp and be interested in seeing it (and how it could be stopped for example). The concept of clones and slaves was intriguing for me, but the child part really felt like an addition after the reader gets used to the concept of the first part. The society you're describing feels futuristic (gone wrong lol but interesting none the less), so I personally wouldn't divide the male/female. I mean, if people are ordering clones for themselves for pleasure for example, the division according to gender doesn't really make much sense. Have both of 'em in the military, it's diverse and one less detail to worry about. Clones have always been an interesting topic for me. If someone told me I was a clone of someone, how would I react? There are so many good story lines for that. It would be really interesting to see a clone of an individual, 100% the same but with a purged mind that learns. And the individual can decide what to teach the clone. The plot twist can occur when the clone learns in an unexpected way. "I am you, we are the same. Why should I serve you?" or perhaps a scenario where a clone has a terrible owner but absorbs the information and becomes the exact opposite of the owner. Instead of being ruthless it becomes kind and forgiving because it thinks what the owner doing is wrong. Generally in psychology there are turning points in aging, where you can't really guide an individual down a path. For example with parenting, if the parent is abusive, the child will either grow up to be identical and abusive, or 100% the opposite. Cloning really gives that "What if" factor we can't see because we can't go back in time and see how we would react. Sort of like time travel. "I can't wait to see how this turns out!"
