Les Enfants Terribles

A French term translated in English as "The Terrible Children" that depicts a fictional genetic experiment which originates from the popular Sony Playstation game "Metal Gear Solid."

The experiment consisted of using genetic alteration and cloning from the cells of a late soldier known as Big Boss, whose genes were identified as the "ultimate soldiering genes." The project brought forth the creation of the game's protagonist, Solid Snake, as well as two antagonists, Liquid and Solidus Snake by injecting Big Boss' sperm cells into a surrogate mother and producing non-identical octuplets, all eight clones receiving different pedigrees. In addition to these figures, the experiment also brought forth the Genome Army many years later, who were regular soldiers injected with Big Boss' soldiering genes in order to alter their own to become more efficient. The Genome Army would later be dubbed as a failed experiment, as it was later discovered that all Genome Soldiers were slowly dying due to gene instability from the alteration of their own genes.

The term was dubbed as "The Terrible Children" due to both the social immorality in which it represented and the extremely high mortality rate in which the clones faced. 60% of the clones faced death with Solid, Solidus and Liquid Snake being the sole survivors of an original octuplet series, with five others intentionally aborted in order to enhance the growth of the remaining three fetuses.

While playing Metal Gear Solid I was completely baffled by the explanation of "Les Enfants Terribles."

Les Enfants Terribles by Arnie on Ice March 16, 2008

Les Enfants Terribles

Root: "The Les Enfants Terribles Project" referenced in the Metal Gear Solid video games. It used Gene Therapy to create the Genome Army as well as both Sold Snake and Liquid Snake through the analysis and cloning of Big Boss's genes.

It means literally "the terrible children" in French, which makes sense because all the clones/sons of Big Boss are trained killers.

Solid Snake was created in the "Les Enfants Terribles" Project.

Les Enfants Terribles by Steve March 2, 2005