EVE Fiction

I recently got a new computer and therefore watched the intro movie for the first time in years. It includes a section where the capsuleer's consciousness is transferred from the original body, which dies. In EVE Source, this is also mentioned as one of the final steps in capsuleer training.

However, I'm curious as to where this came in. This was something mentioned off and on as part of their history by RP players, but until recently I don't recall it being part of canon.

In fact, it stands as a contradiction to prior fiction. The last series of Amarr heirs were all capsuleers, yet their Godflesh doctrine wouldn't allow the clone-transfer stage. In The Empyrean Age, it's mentioned that Korvin Lears was disoriented after his first combat death, when his new body lacked the scars and marks of his original. It also doesn't seem likely that Jacus Roden or Alexander Noir were ever subject to this sort of procedure.

Is this something that is being retroactively applied, or a procedure that is relatively new in New Eden (i.e., since the development of Templar tech)?

Thank you. I'm just getting back into exploring the fiction and trying to figure out what's new and what's retconned. I'll have to find those dev responses.

I knew the capsule tech pre-dated the cloning procedures (see: Jovian Wetgrave) but wasn't sure at what point in time the euthanization protocol came into play. The oldest capsuleers would obviously pre-date it, but as of Empyrean Age it still didn't seem to be standard/commonplace.

Yup, the euthanization and transfer of consciousness is a new thing within the last 15 years that is indeed an academic "appreciation" of the process for the purpose of education.

That said, there's a few things to remember. For instance, if a capsuleer really wants to hold on to scars or other non-natural bodily features, such as tattoos and mods, then they're of course perfectly capable of doing so by requesting their cloning contractor ensures their clones are correctly developed. This is why some of our older NPCs such as Roden, Noir, Yanala Gariushi and many others bear tattoos, scars and other such marks.

Realistically, there's nothing stopping a capsuleer from having quite literally a PERFECT physical replica of their original meatbag that they can walk around in, scars, tattoos, knocked out teeth or whatever.

The capsule has been around for a long time, as has cloning. They were only successfully tied together back in YC104, so there was a long period before then where the tech was experimental. During this stage of the development of the capsule and the clone, the process was far longer, far more involved and included a lot of surgery for implant integration to be able to jack in to the capsule's systems.

This is why some of our NPCs are pretty old. They're in positions of power where they're well protected and are still in their original form. That said, some can also just choose to be old, I suppose.

The euthanization thing has been around since the first commercially licensed capsuleers were cut loose into the wild - YC105, the year after the capsule and clone were mated and the process was vastly simplified, becoming orders of magnitude more reliable.

Of course, as Samira has pointed out, there are certain, incredibly rare exceptions (such as an Imperial Heir or Heiress) where capsuleers may be permitted to opt for the surgery instead of euthanization. These are one in a million cases, however.

In addition to this, there are also player characters who could of course have gone through the old training before the clone was married to the pod, and had the surgery to install implants. Being already certified and ready, they'd still be in their original skin and would just need a pilot's license from their chosen university, so for players, both avenues to become an egger are perfectly possible.

I suppose we've just never really talked about it until we released EVE: Source, given that the technical background on the capsule and the clone was so light. The article on the clone and capsule tech that's in Source is actually a pretty heavily abridged version of the full text due to space saving constraints, but there's a lot more fleshed out behind the scenes that goes further into depth that Delegate Zero and I co-wrote.

I'll look to see if we can release it in upcoming backstory projects that we're looking to put together :)

Cloning
Here very interesting, "scientific paper" about the cloning. In the article there are about the the transference of consciousness. Storing clone. And of course, profit.
Article old but interesting.
Who are interested about how it all began advise to read.
Is another good "scientific article" The Capsule and the Clone

How about....Eve Online codices? One codex for every faction? Just like what Games Workshop did?