So, I don't think I felt the way I do now prior to reading the Quantum Thief novels, in which characters are copied and modified with reckless abandon and don't seem to get too bent out of shape about it. It has a remarkable effect on your psyche to observe other people (even if those people are fictional characters) dealing with a situation without having existential meltdowns. Those novels allowed me to think through my own policy on copying and modification, as an entertaining diversion.