Say you’re someone like Han Solo and there’s a bounty on your head from Jabba. Would it be worthwhile to have the Kaminoans whip up a clone, then encase that sucker in carbonite and ship it over to Jabba? You could probably even collect your own bounty… just wear a Boushh disguise.
Does it cost a lot? The technology already exists, is it a matter of just slipping your DNA into one slot on a production line?
If it’s easy, why don’t we see a lot of clones besides Jango? I would think there’d be vanity clones ordered up from rich folk on Coruscant.
What happens if a force user makes a clone? Can the clone use the force? Or would they lack midichlorians… perhaps solve that by mixing some midichlorians into the growth matrix?
I got the impression that it was horribly expensive, without the economies of scale. Like, the initial process costs too much if you’re not amortizing it over tens of thousands of copies.
Wouldn’t the clone of Han Solo in your hypothetical case be born an infant and always remain decades younger than the original? That would make it tricky to pull the switcheroo on Jabba.
Admittedly I didn’t follow the prequels very closely, but I got the impression that the cloning of Jango had been a decades-long project, so I assumed they were generated as babies and aged naturally. Boba himself was one of Jango’s clones, wasn’t he? His apparent age would suggest there wasn’t any accelerated aging process involved.
Boba Fett was payment to Jango for using his material. He requested a clone that was not age accelerated, not made docile nor behavior modified for loyalty. This clone was Boba, so apparently people in the SW universe do like having vanity clone children.
Even if it takes a decade to develop the cloning tech, I’d think once the technology exists it should be able to clone anyone. Just use someone else’s DNA as input.
Just like in our world, once a blaster, an astromech droid or an antigrav landspeeder is invented, they show up everywhere.
I believe the clones destined to be StormTroopers, were put through some accelerated aging process, while Boba was not so he could grow up like a normal child.
True, but then I doubt Jango is the only person in the universe with a fertility issue. My point is that others might also desire having a genetic clone made of themselves.
Even better if sprinkling in some midichlorians made your kid a Force wunderkind.
I had the impression, (possibly from the Attack of the Clones novelization,) that the ‘accelerated aging process’ could only handle a two to one or three to one factor, something like that. They’d been working on the clone army for ten years when Obi-wan finds out about it, so even double-speed aging would allow for adult troopers.
LAMA SU: Oh yes, it’s essential. Otherwise, a mature clone would take a lifetime to grow. Now, we can do it in half the time. Those items you saw on the parade ground were started ten years ago, when Sifo-Dyas first placed the order, and they’re already mature.
In Jango’s case, I suspect the problem is more due to personality/lifestyle. He’s a bounty hunter, which in the Star Wars universe is basically on par with being a hired killer. Who the hell would want to have a relationship with him?
In the Thrawn books, it isn’t something that’s easy to do. You need a Spaarti cylinder, to begin with. Then you have to take great care in accelerating the clone, lest it go bonkers. That’s where the ysalamiri come in.
The Wookieepedia link says mental stability is the reason to grow clones slowly. (over years)
But if your goal is to encase your clone in carbonite to fool Jabba, it could be grown as quickly as a few weeks.
If you can clone force users, how come the Republic chose to clone Jango, a non-force user? It seems like a standard Jango clone is equal to perhaps 10 droid troopers, but a Jedi can take on a thousand droids, a few droideka and droid tanks too.
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There are ways to tell if a certain item is the real thing or the clone and it can be done quickly.
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Think about it, while Han can send a clone of his to Jabba, a Bounty Hunter could also simply get hold of some genetic material and clone Han Solo and get the reward rather then run the risks inherent in trying to capture what is an experienced and capable adversary.
ETA: In fact I would not be surprised if the EU dealt with that.
Actually, the cloning in Episode 2 is one of the most well-thought-out uses of the technology I’ve ever encountered. Most authors (and most writers for TV/movies) seem to imagine technology that lets you shit out a clone in a couple of days. A month or two at most. Which, if you think about it, is really stupid. You might as well have Harry Potter wave his wand and say creato clono. Lucas, to his credit, realized that even an accelerated aging process would still take years to complete, and if you want the clone to know something, you have to teach him.
As far as the EU goes, I’d expect the Spaarti clones from the Thrawn series to have very short lifespans. Probably no more than a couple of years. Things that grow quickly tend to die quickly.
Suppose the easiest way to tell is to talk to the clone. If it is clearly insane, then it’s probably a quick-grow clone. But people can fake insanity. If I’m captured for bounty and I want a quick death and to spite the bounty hunter out of the reward, I might want to act like a clone.
But the key in the Solo case is the carbonite delivery. You can’t interrogate the suspected clone without thawing and there goes the nice decoration. And maybe the carbonite process turned the guy insane?
I suppose there might be a way to lab test the age of the person using a cell sample. Radiocarbon dating won’t work – the clock starts upon death or from the date of encasement in carbonite. I suppose you could maybe drill a hole in the carbonite to take a cell sample?
Because the Republic didn’t choose Jango, the Sith did. It was Dooku/Tyrannus who hooked up Fett with the Kaminoans. The last thing the Sith want is MORE Jedi running around.
