Relical (Æon Flux)
The Relical is a device that features in the movie Æon Flux.
History
The Relical was created after a period of strife that was inflicted on mankind as a result of an industrial disease. This event occurred in the year 2011 where the virus killed 99% of the world population. Human scientists were ultimately able to find a cure for the plague but it had the side effect of causing sterility in mankind. As a result, this cost left only a single generation of humanity left as no one was able to procreate and have offspring. Thus, the leading scientists in humanity sought an alternative means and decided to make use of cloning technology. Initially, this line of research previously had no success but the scientists involved were able to solve the dilemma and use it to save their species. The true nature of this project was kept a secret from the populace and this secrecy was maintained by the construction of the Relical. Once made, it functioned by using the genetic material of dead individuals that was recycled to create clones. The chief architects of this society was Chairman Trevor Goodchild and Adjutant Chairman Oren Goodchild. This creation of this civilization was not meant to be permanent but instead a temporary measure Chairman Trevor Goodchild sought to repair the sterility problem. However, several of his colleagues such as Oren Goodchild came to accept this new dynamic as a form of permanent immortality. Thus, they sought to ensure any attempts at stopping the cloning process ended in failure. This method of reproduction remained in effect for seven generations with no child being born in 400 years. Thus, the population remained static where dead citizens had their genetic material recycled where the Keeper would find a suitable couple to be the parents of a child. Through the use of food additives, they induced a chemical pregnancy in a couple who went for an exam and it was during this time that the clone embryo was implanted in the woman. The parents were thus completely unaware that the child born was simply a dead citizen that was reborn. This new civilization became based at the last city on Earth called Bregna and consisted of five million survivors who were informed that the Relical was simply a memorial to remind them of the disaster that they had survived.
One figure that Oren Goodchild sought to eliminate was Trevor's wife Catherine where he claimed that her genetic material was lost when in actual fact it was intact. He passed the dead body of Catherine to the Keeper and tasked him with destroying the sample. However, the Keeper did not and ensured that she would be reborn in the clone society. This was because the Keeper saw hope within Catherine who was reborn as Aeon Flux. The figure had grown tired of how the society had developed and desired it to end where he hoped that Flux would accomplish this task by showing this fact to Trevor. A success in Goodchild's research came when he managed to induce a natural pregnancy in Una Flux. However, Oren Goodchild saw this as a threat to his cloned immortality and sabotaged the experiment by killing the test subject along with covering up the findings. At the same time, the Monican resistance had dispatched Aeon Flux with the goal of eliminating Chairman Trevor Goodchild. Ultimately, Trevor revealed the true nature of their society to Aeon Flux who became determined in destroying the Relical as she felt that the cloning process had made them little more than ghosts. Whilst initially reluctantly, the deposed Trevor Goodchild agreed though they faced opposition from Oren Goodchild who had taken the position of Chairman and intended to ensure that the cloned society remained in place forever.
Overview
This structure served the dual purpose of storing DNA and concealing the cloning process. It was actually a vehicle that floated in the sky and resembled a dirigible. The machine contained a database of DNA material of all the inhabitants of society and also had information on the fate of various citizens. A figure known as the Keeper who was one of the former scientists who had been allocated the task of sifting through the dead populace and placing the genetic material in suitable couples.
Appearances
- Æon Flux: (2005)
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