This is off the FF7 wiki.
The
Sephiroth-clones (セフィロス・コピー, Sefirosu Kopii
?) are a group of test subjects used in the
Project S portion of the
Jenova Project in
Final Fantasy VII. The test subjects were injected with
Jenova's cells by
Professor Hojo to test Jenova's ability to recall her scattered cells into a "
Reunion", in what he called the "Jenova Reunion Theory". There are at least fourteen known test subjects, but Hojo rejected many as failures, leading the exact number of people mutilated by this experiment to be unknown.
In the original Japanese script, the clones are known as Sephiroth Copies. "Clone" is a misnomer; subjects were infected with Jenova cells to reproduce a similar effect to that of Sephiroth — who eventually exerts control of the subjects as his puppets — rather than being genetic copies.
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After the events of the
Nibelheim Incident, Professor Hojo rounded up the survivors of Sephiroth's rampage. He injected them with Jenova cells and exposed them to
Mako energy, similar, if not identical, to the creation of a
SOLDIER. Those people who were not the finest in physical and mental health, and thus could not retain their personalities, became shades of Jenova. Since Jenova was a puppet of Sephiroth, the Clones also became fanatics who would do anything for their master.
Those who turned into mindless slaves were engraved with a number somewhere on their body, but those who failed and kept some shred of their ego were left to die.
Cloud Strife's status, had
Zack Fair not intervened and rescued him from the
Shinra Manor, is debatable. Zack, also a Sephiroth Clone, was a complete failure: he was not mentally affected by the experiment due to previously being unaffected by the identical SOLDIER procedure.
The twelve successful Sephiroth Clones become the group of fanatics that follows Sephiroth around in
Final Fantasy VII. The Sephiroth Clones do not migrate to Jenova as Hojo has predicted, rather, the twelve head into
North Crater and hunt for the
Black Materia for Sephiroth. Jenova herself breaks out of the
Shinra Headquarters and moves towards Sephiroth in his form and under his complete control. Cloud is influenced by both the unconscious need for the Reunion, and his drive to avenge Nibelheim. After arriving at the North Crater, Sephiroth, using Jenova's body to shapeshift into his form, kills several of them before fighting Cloud and
AVALANCHE as
Jenova∙DEATH.
Only Cloud survives the journey to the North Crater, and thus becomes the only "success" of the Sephiroth Clone experiment; Cloud has his own mind and ego, but Sephiroth can still take control of him at will, although at times Cloud manages to resist Sephiroth's influence. At the North Crater, when Sephiroth reveals Cloud is a slave and claims his past is an illusion, Cloud breaks down and hands Sephiroth the Black Materia before falling into the Lifestream.