KYTHERAverse lore questions?

Because I've resumed work on the comic (albeit slowly), I've also received some questions regarding the setting, characters and so on. However, these questions and answers (if any) are all scattered throughout the web, I thought it'd be convenient for fans and myself to get things organised in one location.

For now, this will be the central place to ask and read answers, but gradually I'll compile everything into a document with index points for easy navigation.

DISCLAIMER:
Some answers could contain spoilers, may partially or simply not be answerable.

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Q: Do aliens exist in the KYTHERAverse?
A: So far the only official releases have been traces of RNA and simple bacterial findings. However, due to the vast expanse of humanity in space, whatever has been found is kept in deep secret by the countless factions. For instance, w̵i̶t̶h̶i̴n̷ t̵̝̳̺̪̾͛̈́͑͝h̷̲͓̿e̶͕̱̳̫̎͜ c̷͙̑͂͘o̷̹̺̒n̸̼̊͑f̵̜̀́̒ị̷̂ņ̷͂̒ẻ̶͉͐s̸̗͕̑̾ͅ不̵͔̰̟̝̒͌̈明̸̣̥̥͍̽̍͐ͅꀷꊿꏳꌈꂵꑀꃔꋖ ꂵ꒐ꈜꈜ꒐ꃔꁅⓡ𝐄ѕтⓡเɕт𝐄∂ เ几𝕗𝕆ⓡ𝐌ⓐтเ𝕆几

Q: Does a star map exist?
A: So far there have been no complete documented star maps made. In the future there might be a possibility one will be created, but will always be a work in progress.

Q: What other mega corporations exist in the setting?
A: Plenty of mega corporations exist in the KYTHERAverse, though not many are defined as of yet. Chemsok happens to be one of the top rated companies. A plethora of mega corporations exist, some as co-existing, some as hostile rivalries. Depending on the location, they either control or heavily influence the local governments, or function as the governments themselves.

Q: Are mercenaries represented/vetted by some kind of collective?
A: There are many collectives that organise mercenaries for hire, but also individuals that climb the ladder through their actions and success. For example: Jilly is a solo merc like that who simply follows the objective and delivers, and has built up a small network though her reputation.

Q: How do you tell if someone is a natural human?
A: Clones have human recognition senses built in by design and would confirm vocally if a human stands in front of them. An example of this is the encounter of the K4RNs in the 2nd KYTHERA book on page 6.

Q: Is it possible in the setting for clones to be custom ordered?
A: Absolutely, but due to their design, maintaining said drones would be more complicated, as a reset would need to have them reload non-standard settings for their own grooming and other needs. Differences in uniforms is the more common and far cheaper solution to have uniqueness.

Q: Are there dedicated clones or brands for extreme environments and planets?
A: Yes. Extreme environments, like planets in terraforming process, engine rooms, mining and other industrial settings, need personnel that is specialised. These not only require knowledge of the machinery and equipment, but also need to endure the environment and garment.

Q: How does a clone reset work?
A: A clone reset is basically a reset to factory standard with a removal of memories and experiences by a sort of neurological washing. This is a technology specifically developed for clones and made more efficient and effective with each generation. Each clone type and company has different techniques, all kept secret very very tightly, like the clones that are in a resetting procedure.

Q: Are the clones copies of actual people, and if they are, what happened to the originals?
A: In general the initial development of a clone series is the building upon a certain persons' existing donor DNA with improvements over the original, but they can also be built upon the development of previous series. The administrative clone types from Chemsok, for example, are a downgrade of the K4RN medical clones. What happened to the original 'donors' varies wildly, from becoming celebrities promoting the new products, or kept in deep secret by the respective companies.

Q: What would happen if a regular human (non clone) was given a reprogramming or reset?
A: This wouldn't work, as the reset programs are designed specifically for certain types of clones and affects DNA directly. If it's incompatible, the programs simply don't work.

Q: Is this a different take than the old old old comics with Jilly and just one Karen?
A: The inital "To The Power of Two" comicswas set in the World of Aiers. KYTHERA is set in a standalone universe with a different history and technology.

Q: What if Kythera but we add cyberpunk. (Why is there a lack cybernetics in KYTHERA?)
A: There have been considerations of major adaptations of cybernetics by corporations in the KYTHERAverse, and they have been implemented to a certain extent. However, the prevailing choice for physical enhancement is organic replacements of organs and limbs, instead of mechanical ones. The main reason for a rejection of major adaptation is being not being able to maintain and repair the cybernetics without the proper factory tools and expertise. This is in contrast where organic enhancements are able to be repaired with only medical expertise or simply by themselves, which is more viable with already widely available medical pods, medical aids, and of course medical clones (all of various quality).

Q: With all these unarmed ships all over the place, why aren't pirates a serious problem?
A: Pirates are a serious problem outside of uncontrolled (no or low corporation presence) space, but are dealt with harshly in controlled space. The flipside is that ships in controlled space are usually not allowed to have mounted weapons to ensure the power vacuum of the authorities that control that space.

NEW! (08-07-2025)

Q.: How do companies handle defective clones? If they decide to dispose them, how would they do it?
A: Companies like Chemsok operate with customers/clients on contracts to fix defective clones with resetting procedures (explained above). If the clone is non-salvageable, the company decides on their own discretion what to do with the defective clone and provides a replacement or other compensation for the customer/client.

Q: The older clones tend to be more dominant - is that all of them or just Jilly's line?
A: The J1 Series assault type clones are the most dominant, as they were engineered to be assertive. As Chemsok gradually pushed their development towards more human oriented service clones, the dominant feature was gradually pushed out. As seen by their behaviour, K4RN clones are very docile and keen to serve.
Note: this is is a Chemsok only example.