I'm not bad. I'm just cloned that way.
The world of Thunder Force V featured severeal technological advantages thanks to Vasteel Technology, one of them is Circulate-Death or C-D, which takes cloning to a whole new level. Cenes Crawford and the other six RVR-01 pilots of Thunder Force 222 are Circulate-Death members.
But, hey, only two bucket-kickings at the age of 32 - I know pilots with twice the deaths in half the flight time, not to cut myself too much slack.
And there was a benefit to croaking: I was reborn in an 18-year-old body, my reflexes at their peak, my wits lightning-fast.
Thunder Force V: Perfect System - Cenes Crawford Report
How "Circulate-Death" works[]
Each member of the program has his/her DNA sampled, and the contents of his cranium (brain) constantly archived. If the pilot is killed in action, the DNA is used to cultivate a clone, which (with the considerable help of genetic manipulation) takes roughly two weeks to grow from fetus to a young adult.
The memory archive is essentially stuffed into the clone's brain, and after a 48-hour adjustment period, the pilot walks out of the lab, good as new, no, better than new.
Circulate-Death is also suggested to be treated as a badge of honor for pilots, as the resources involved cannot be wasted on an average pilot and the implication is that it is for pilots whose skills are so vital that their deaths in battle absolutely cannot be allowed for any reason.
Benefits and Possible Drawbacks[]
I didn't hesitate to join, didn't even think about the consequences. Besides, I was 18 at the time.
When you're that age, immortality is reality, not fantasy, anyway.
Thunder Force V: Perfect System - Cenes Crawford Report
Circulate-Death appears to be a major overall advantage for the personnel cloned in the program. In addition to the obvious resurrection after death, which allows C-D members to use their skills to their fullest extent and take the greatest risks in combat, with the only obvious strategic drawback being a period of two to three weeks out of service upon death, which a savvy enemy commander might use in order to execute battle plans with the other side's strongest assets off of the field. As long as the C-D labs themselves are not attacked, the pilots in the program are allowed to take as many chances as they like. According to Cenes' report, even she with two deaths in her record is an anomaly; even the "best of the best" can have death records statistically as high as four times that in the same time in the program.
Physically, a pilot is brought back online after being cloned when their body is developed to the stage of a young adult, both to deploy them as soon as they are fully-grown and to erase any signs of fatigue from aging. In essence, killing a C-D pilot, even one long in the tooth, is only guaranteed to bring them back angry and healthy enough to exact revenge in a later battle.
Psychologically it appears that pilots are ambiguous on the implications of such a system upon joining the program, but quickly warm up to functional immortality, treating death (as long as an installation is active) as a frustrating inconvenience and a mark of dishonor. While C-D pilots retain all their memories, including the feelings experienced during their deaths, using Cenes' glib mentions of her last two deaths it is likely that either their psychological profiles keep them from feeling most of the effects of the trauma or they are hardened combatants who accept the chances of death in warfare, especially in their unique position as elite aviators who are presumably expected to be pivotal in battle plans due to their exceptional skills.