| Sonmi-451 | |
| Novel | |
| Appears | Chapter 5 Chapter 7 |
| Referenced | Chapter 6 |
| Relationships | Hae-Joo Im, companion |
| Film | |
| |
| Appears | Sonmi's Orison |
| Referenced | Zachry's Crossing |
| Actor | Bae Doona |
| Relationships | Sonmi-351, sister Hae-Joo Chang, lover |
| Character | |
Sonmi-451 is a clone, originally built to be a server in a dinery. She is the subject matter for An Orison of Sonmi-451 - which consists of chapters 5 and 7.
Biography[]
Sonmi-451 is a type of clone known as a "fabricant", whom the reader meets as a dinery server. Later, Sonmi, unique to her kind, is able to "ascend," that is to gain a personality as well as acquire and retain knowledge. She becomes something of a novelty in the futuristic world of Nea So Copros and is taken to Taemosan University so that she might be studied. Her post-grad student is a lush and a slackard, and she has much time to increase her knowledge by reading. Sonmi-451 is "rescued" from her negligent, post-grad student by Professor Mephi and Hae-Joo Im, who encourage her learning and even enroll her in university classes. Hae-Joo Im takes to escorting her on weekends to meals (although fabricants don't eat as "pure-bloods" do) and even to a movie (ironically, "The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish" from "Timothy Cavendish" chapters). Sonmi-451 is whisked away from the university as the corporate "Judas" seize the professor. She and Hae-Joo Im race across the Nea So Copros countryside for weeks until she is persuaded to compose a fabricant "Bill of Rights." Within hours of handing over her document, she is seized by corporate operatives and imprisoned. She tells her story to an archivist (historian), who records it on an orison (a memory egg).
In the primitive world of the "Sloosh'a's Crossin'" chapter, Sonmi has become the society's god, the one to whom they pray for good crops, good fortune, and safety.
Quotes[]
- "Truth is singular. Its 'versions' are mistruths."
- —Sonmi-451
- "I believe death is only a door. One closes, and another opens. If I were to imagine heaven, I would imagine a door opening. And he would be waiting for me there."
- —Sonmi-451
- "Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future."
- —Sonmi-451
Film portrayal[]
In the film adaptation, Sonmi-451 is portrayed by actress Bae Doona.