Chameleon - Future Past — P.A. Seasholtz

clone noun ˈklōn  

plural clones  

   ² : one that is or appears to be a copy of an original     

The exact meaning doesn't need to apply for the conceptual concept to come into existence non-organically.  A pattern or an idea replicated and brought forward into time meets the definition, the purposeful replication used as a foundation for future growth.  The degree of control in that replication is where the line between a duplicate, or a mimic, blurs with a natural evolution.  We do this partially by recording history, but it becomes a more in depth exercise when life forms are part of the equation to propagate the history.  Once the pattern is set, replication of organic life forms then reverts back to more traditional definitions of a clone.