Life Recycling Act

The Life Recycling Act, also known as the Life Recycling Law is a law in the Xenosaga series. It was drafted in T.C. 4590 by the Galaxy Federation and approved in T.C. 4591. The term "Life Recycling Variant" describes anyone who had their biological components modified as a result of this law. Due to the many controversies surrounding it, it was eventually repealed in T.C. 4754. The Species Preservation Act was later enacted to counter its harmful effects.

History

Enactment

The Life Recycling Law was initially proposed as a bill in T.C. 4590 as a counter-effort to the dwindling of human resources; one that detailed the process of recycling the bodies of the dead. However, after the law was put into effect in T.C. 4591, it wasn't long before it gave way to a plethora of controversies. The law itself went on to expand, condoning experimental procedures involving the human body that were previously illegal. In actuality, the law was put forth by none other than Dmitri Yuriev in order to legalize his otherwise covert creation of genetically modified humans with the ability to counter the Immigrant Fleet's use of the Zohar.

Drawbacks

As a direct result of the Life Recycling Law, various facilities like that of Jacob Medical Imprinting began popping up in the 47th century T.C.; facilities that allowed for parents to hand-pick the DNA of their children through the use of artificial placentas. Yuriev, while not having been born from one of these facilities, endorsed the creation of more Designer Children (also known as Salvators). His ease of control over Federation government is most likely made possible by the sheer number of Salvator Faction-aligned politicians born from said facilities. Yuriev's own research organization, aptly named the Yuriev Institute, was founded around this time in the T.C. 4660s. Yuriev went on to use this organization to create the U.R.T.V.s and, subsequently, the U.R.T.V. Pods as weapons to use against the Immigrant Fleet and U-DO.

As was planned, companies like Ziggurat Industries were now in the business of recycling the remains of body donors to create Cyborgs. Jan Sauer, a police officer who took his own life in T.C. 4667, was one of these donors. Although he was brought back to life, he was now legally designated as Galaxy Federation property with no human rights. Jan was a special case, as he worked in Federation law enforcement in his previous life. Body donors who bore no such background were similarly treated as second-class citizens. However, their work often varied between harsh manual labor and dangerous terraforming activities. Other Cyborgs were subject to menial labor like housekeeping.

In T.C. 4730, the Zoar Incident broke out and, thanks to the Life Recycling Law, a multitude of biologically altered super-soldiers were created to fight in the conflict. Andrew Cherenkov was one of these soldiers, and was created via artificial insemination only a year after the incident broke out. However, after the incident concluded, he and many others failed to integrate into society with the way they were biologically altered. Cherenkov in particular went on to commit multiple homicides, resulting in him being subject to Personality Reconditioning.

Repealment and countermeasures

The human race was beginning to become increasingly biologically fragile. People like Cherenkov, who had been created to exist in specific environments, were unable to have their needs met in their current living spaces. As a result, many of these genetically modified humans began to engage in land disputes over planets that could support their unique genetic makeup. The casualties resulting from these disputes prompted the Federation government to repeal the Life Recycling Law in T.C. 4754. In its place, the Species Preservation Act was put forth to repair the damage caused by life recycling.

In T.C. 4755, The Kukai Foundation was created by the Second Miltian autonomous state in direct response to the Miltian Conflict. Over time, much of its membership came to be composed of victims of the Life Recycling Law. This could be in part due to the Foundation's efforts in rescuing and offering livelihoods to said victims. Most notable are the Foundation's representative trustees, Gaignun Kukai and Gaignun Kukai Jr., both of which are U.R.T.V.s created by the Yuriev Institute. Also notable are the Foundation's First Strategy Division Chief Mary Godwin and Gaignun Kukai's secretary Shelley Godwin, both of which are Überhumans. The Kukai Foundation continues to help affected parties of the Life Recycling Law to present day (T.C. 4767-4768).

Database

Episode I

Life Recycling Act

Introduced as a bill in T.C. 4590, it passed with unusual speed and was voted into law the following year, in 4591.

In the age when cyborg technology was at its peak, human resources were dwindling and this law was intended for "effective utilization" of these resources.

However, with time the interpretation of the law expanded to condone human cloning, genetic and neural engineering, and other procedures formerly considered to be off-limits.

Various corporate interests are suspected to be behind this development.

This law remained in effect for 160 years, until it was revoked in T.C. 4754.

Life Recycling Variant

A term which encompasses individuals or their descendants who have had their DNA, neural structure, or other biological components heavily modified. Some may display extraordinary physical abilities or superhuman powers depending on the level of modification, but on the other hand many suffer from adverse mental effects.

In the case of Cherenkov, he was part of a Super Soldier program developed by a "certain branch of the military." He was created via artificial insemination, and equipped with several modifications before being sent off to battle.

Episode III

Life Recycling Law

A bill to put the bodies of the dead to good use.

Introduced as a proposal in T.C. 4590, this bill was approved and implemented in '91. Its aim was to recycle the bodies of the dead.

Those who had registered as donors while alive had their bodies transformed into cyborgs after their deaths, but they were used as mere tools, with no human rights. Furthermore, the notion of "recycling" was interpreted as extending to the effective utilization of genes, and the bill was seen as including human clones and genetic and/or cranial nerve modification. This brought with it such benefits as broader living spaces and safety.

However, with an increase in the number of mentally-imbalanced individuals, people like Ziggy becoming Federation government equipment, and humanoid weapons like URTVs experiencing issues of societal standing, the Act was repealed in T.C. 4754.

Another reason for repealing the act was that, due to genetic modification, more and more people could adapt only to certain environments, and the human race was becoming biologically fragile.

The number-one reason the Life Recycling Act was repealed, though, was that the victims of genetic modification were fighting over planets with environments that could support them, resulting in a large number of casualties.

Xenosaga I & II

ライフリサイクル法

T.C.4590に法案として議会に提出され翌年に可決・施行された、死者の肉体を再利用する、といった内容の法律。
生前に献体登録をした者は、死後その肉体をサイボーグ化されるが、そこに人権はなく道具として利用される。
さらに、「リサイクル」という概念から、遺伝子の有効活用という拡大解釈にもなり、人のクローン化、遺伝子や脳神経の改変なども含まれるようになった。
また、それにより生活圏の拡大や安全などの恩恵が得られた。
しかし、精神不安定者の増加、ジギーのように献体として連邦政府の備品となる者、U.R.T.V.のような人型生体兵器の社会的立場における問題などにより、T.C.4754に廃止となる。
また、遺伝子の改変によって、限られた環境にしか適応ができなくなった者が増加し、人類が生物学的に脆弱になってしまったことも廃止となった理由の一つである。
だが、このライフリサイクル法が廃止となった一番のきっかけは、その遺伝子改変の犠牲者達が、自分たちが適応可能な環境の惑星を奪い合い、その結果多くの犠牲者を出してしまったことである。

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In other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
English	Life Recycling Law / Life Recycling Act	—
Japanese	ライフリサイクル法 (ホウ)	Life Recycling Law

See also

• Cyborg
• Designer Child
  • Überhuman
  • U.R.T.V.