Object duplication ...with vertex variation.

Blender 2.55
Primary Question.

Can a curve which is animated by hooks frame by frame on vertices be …
duplicated multiple times per frame… with each duplicated curve having the hooks further animated.
Is there some common technique of getting a little random variation on
duplicated curves vertices? (not just translate rotate scale of gross object)
which can later transformed??

----------optional reading …
Lets say their are 50 copies of the original curve … which is animated.
I need all 50 copies to be a little different.
With my current knowledge
If I do not share the curve data I do not get the results I want … just separate objects that will easily loose all similarity.
When I share the curve data and use different hooks … either hook changes 2 visualizations of the curve.
I need something like

  1. change frame
  2. update animate distinguished master curve as usual
  3. copy master curve data to 50 copies.
  4. slightly modify the 50 copies.
  5. render all 51 copies
  6. change frame.

I was hoping the each hook copied and worked with the static curve data producing a runtime curve. But it appears I was wrong. I do not understand the sequence of events in blender.

There are shape keys … but it appears shape keys …override dominate supersede… hook manipulation. I could not get that approach to work.

Further optional reading.

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I would like to duplicated the components of an multipart visual object with variation.
The variation probably needs to come from
variation of hooks which control curve vertices.

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//Success so far
For example let the object be a flower with say 09 similar petals … which respond to some imaginary wind.
I do need to place the flowers with stems in particular places.
The flower head has petals … each petal is a result of a …mesh …armature … spline ik constraint … curve hooked to second armature …
The array modifier is used to rotate each petal 40* 9 = 360 degress for a boring flower.
The array modifier was fine to produce

  1. radial symmetry
  2. The typical object transformation of translation, scaling, and rotation

//Failure so far
Now I would like the petals be quite similar in formation and scale.

Yet I would like to create subtle variations of the curve used for the spline ik constraint
The petals are animated in time so they move in response to imaginary wind.
So I need to vary the hooks which control curve vertices.
Of course I want to use a work scale-able time efficient technique.
I do not want model each of 9 petals for each flower.
I want to model 1 petal for each flower.
I want to animate one petal and the others are desired to be close … but not exact copies…
they have just a little noticeable variation or randomness

I want to introduce random variation to each petal before it reaches the array modifier.
So I do not see how the array modifier can receive extra information to do this.

Another thread mentioned (I place a marker comment on that thread)
Particles which apparently do not precisely place an object.
Duplication on vertices. (dupliverts???)
Sharing of meshes.
Would some fancy python script be useful?
F-Curve modifier?

Just to repeat I believe I want to produces variation on hooks which modify points of vertices on a curve.

Of course please inform me of any inefficient beliefs I have.
Thanks in advance.

The array modifier for

Suppose I have a flower like object.