Apparently, according to studies done, when it comes to cloning multiple generations of the same being, there's a strong deterioration that occurs the further on ( akin to copying a document based off its prior copy, theres deterioration ) . It gave me 2 ideas ; one which is more a general idea of Reploid DNA, and the second, the development of X6 and Gate's Reploids.
But then it evolved into the idea of deterioration. This is half - ramble, half just headcanon, all just personal world building.
This is going to get long and complicated, but I think this is neat.
I wonder if such a thing could apply to reploids ; models based off X's schematics more closely mirror him in early 21XX, than say, updated ones working off the updated base over and over again — so maybe that's why new generations, while physically stronger, have a more intense level of instability ( as seen in Lumine ) . I mean, copying a tape over and over causes it to eventually be unsable.
But still, it's a lose - lose scenario. Attempts to repair older reploids with modern technology cause incompatibility or further existing deterioration ( combined with instability of data preservation ) . And on the other side of that coin, physical abilities improve, but tweaking made over generations and generations of reploids trying to recrate that same level of limitless abilities fail to do so, leading to an internal collapse.
But this comes with another idea : approaching it through the scope of Zero, someone who has been cloned and had his DNA used without consent.
Zero has died a few times, and suffered extensive damage more than once, as the long running gag has gone. Yet, this does make me think of the implications of the X series, death, and the impact it has on the DNA data — though this is assuming it's comparable to a human's DNA, not in its helix structure, but rather how it deteriorates ( as an aside from it being comparable to some futuristic take on Python, C++, Compute Unified Device Architecture, but frankly my coding skills are limited and this is based off what I can gather from LLMs as an equivalent ) .
Really, I think reploid DNA is probably on par with existing code structures, and visual, like this, for example. But this is just to show differences between helix DNA and Reploid's code.
Visual codes with a combinations of ever evolving booleans expressions, conditional statements ( if, else if, else, switch ) , so on in an ever evolving learning structure that builds off lived experience. But that aside — it's just to give the idea that human DNA and reploid DNA are incomparable in a physical sense, but comparisons can be made in how it works in a reploid's biology.
But back to my main point : Zero's death and the various forms of decay that influence it.
The death of the body leads to the decay of DNA in organic creatures, but, the same applies to technology. Corrosion through moisture in the air can cause rusting and inrernal damage, fluids deteriorate and become unstable ( oil, fuel, hydraulic fluid, etc. ) , batteries die due to a lack of charge and can become dead / damaged beyond saving, and so on. Yet, that's not the only concequences of a increasingly unstable enviroment : bit rot exists.
In short : Reploids fall apart due to time. But why is this relevant ?
With the damage of the internal components responsible in memory, bits like 1s and 0s can flip, critical data can errode to the point of crashes and lost information, and overall, the DNA structure of a reploid begins to collapse as these errors build up — just as how a human body breaks down due to genetic limitations.
Back to that first study I mentioned about cloned generations, the mistakes in the DNA of the clone are carried on, over and over until the clone can't survive past a few days. But it's easier to tweak a machine than it is DNA, so there are changes made to avoid things like incompatibilities in updates, but nobody had the abilities of Dr. Light.
And with those adjustments made, and Gate being a far later reploid, combined with instability from the Sigma virus . . . You can see why things get damaged quickly.
Anyways, Zero dies. Gets rebuilt in X2, along with the first clone. He gets heavily damaged in X3 and gets repaired by Cain, who's the closest Light equivalent existing. Dies yet again in X5, and has to repair himself. That is a lot of constant deterioration, paired with him not being a reploid ( so his DNA Code is absolutely different to X ) .
Gate investigates the Eurasia Colony crash site and only finds fragments of Zero ; given Zero is in hiding due to damage, his full DNA structure can't be studied, yet, there are means of working with existing fragments ( as seen in, say, de - extinction efforts ) . This is far into the X series by now, efforts are created to pursue immunity ( as in X8 ) , changes to DNA are constant, and now, we have an incomplete genome combining with X's structures. There is so much potential for instability, and Alia absolutely recognizes it. With the failures of Iris and Colonel prior ( given they were one reploid split in 2 ) , jealousy on top of fear of the unknowable suddenly being known can cause so much destruction — and so, Gate's reploids were eliminated.
Even if Gate managed to figure things out, is it a case of the Ship of Theseus ? Every repair, update, change, and so on with Zero impacts how he works, so is the same reploid ? Or is it different, despite it being Zero still ? What about Gate's reploids ? Their memories made them traumatized, guilt ridden, paranoid, fearful wrecks.
Even then, Zero's DNA causes Gate to lose his mind through exposure, I wouldn't be surprised if these haphazard studies just ultimately destroy a lot of aspects that made Gate, well, Gate.
That doesn't even touch the Nightmare Virus' transformations, Zero to Sigma Virus shift, etc., but, I wonder : Newer Gens, with their ability to transform, all these changed in software / DNA, and no ethics testing ? Things felt doomed to fail.
There's more I could say, but it'd feel long and convoluted.
