John Lennon was gunned down 34 years ago. If still alive, he would be 74 years old. In 2011, one of Lennon's former housekeepers sold one of Lennon's teeth at an auction in England. The winning bid belonged to Dr. Michael Zuk, a Canadian dentist. Zuk is making headlines this week by admitting plans to have Lennon cloned from DNA remaining in the tooth and raising the resulting child as his own. It brings up many questions, including the morality of cloning someone famous and who owns your DNA once you pass on.

In fantasy fiction, witches can use stolen or cast aside parts of you to cast spells specific to your person. Hair, blood and nail clippings all offer a link back to the owner, creating a magical connection to transmit curses, read thoughts or find you. Careful characters, wary of their opposition resorting to these methods, will burn these items to ash so they cannot be used. If Lennon is cloned, whether openly or via black market scientists, could we see a future where we must be this careful of our DNA?

Science fiction is full of cloned humans. In the Star Wars universe, the Clone Troopers are clones of Jango Fett to create a controlled and capable army. Duncan Idaho is the only character to appear in every Dune novel, continually revived or cloned. In Star Trek: Nemesis, Shinzon is a clone of Captain Picard, created to take his place in Starfleet as a spy. More recently, in the British series Orphan Black, Sarah watches a clone of herself commit suicide and, upon taking over her identify, discovers there are many more of her.

Dolly the cloned sheep proved cloning is viable, if risky. Subsequent attempts have proven some species do not clone well and that many cloned embryos do not develop normally, with a low success rate. Still, it is possible and likely the process will be perfected in the next few decades. If this is possible, how might it impact society?

Here are a few reasons for making a clone:

• A valuable trait: For John Lennon, a clone might have his creativity and musicianship. In Uzbekistan, there are plans to use genetic research to match an athlete with their best Olympic sport to save money. If cloning services became safe and affordable, a county might attempt this to raise their chances of success. Individuals might choose this as an attempt to cash in on a prodigy.
• Resurrecting loved ones: Grief can push us in many directions, especially when a loved one dies. Services to clone dogs already exist, though the price is $100,000 - a stiff price to pay for a pet. What would someone pay for a clone of a child who died too soon? I suspect some would pay millions, especially if they are now unable to conceive.
• Medical services: Aging bodies need replacement parts. Clone yourself and keep the body in a coma. Harvest what you need as your organs fail, ligaments tear or skin needs grafting.
• Sex slaves and other disturbing trends: Consider this scene - A beautiful actress exits a a Manhattan bar with her friends. Someone pushes past and she feels a sharp pain on her cheek. Raising her hand, she feels blood from a shallow cut. The figure turns and runs to the end of the block, jumping into a car that races off. A year later, a child is born from the stolen DNA.

I have little doubt the process of cloning will happen, will be safe, and will be affordable sometime in my lifetime. Perhaps this is how we achieve immortality, by dumping our minds or transferring portions of our brains into younger bodies as often as we can afford - the same way Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine manages in Star Wars. Though the risks to an average person should remain low, those with fame or at least valuable traits may need extra security to protect from immoral use of their DNA.

If given a vote, would you vote for or against cloning people? Are you okay with cloning pets or livestock?