Sin & Savior

CHAPTER 10, PART 2

"The role of inter-group conflict in shaping human social structures is a case study in and of itself. The impact of warfare on human evolution is an inexorable element of our fleeting existence. It defined historical precedent that drove social evolution, the shaping of alliances and enmities for hundreds of thousands of years. The anthropological evidence of early human warfare and it's effects on group dynamics has been widely studied: things like tribes and community where conflict led to social restructurings like the emergence of leaders within a group, or the uprising of militaristic societies.

Here, now, however: we study the praxeological insights. To analyze the decision-making involved in warfare, the risk-assessment and resource allocation of companies and countries, and explorate cultural narratives and mythos around warfare itself — how they helped shape and reinforce group cohesion and identity, an investigation of how conflict influenced reproductive strategy and mate-choice selections — like the preference for warrior traits — along with selective pressures created by intergroup competition, which effected behavioral and epigenetic physical traits across time in homonid evolution." He mused with a practiced, almost effortless grace.

"Dr. Manley..." she asked, her hand raised in eager and attentive compel "May we also examine the psycho-social impacts of conflict on contemporary populations? Modern intergroup conflict has also been a fundamental driver in human evolution, and takes an active hand in the shape of our social behavioral landscape. Besides that: it's also much easier to research and extract clear meaning that would be easily digestible for myself and my fellow students..." she said, shyly.

"Miss Rayn....that approach, while not beholden to the rich exploration of evolutionary thematics your classmates are used to, could provide a far more intense angle focused on the darker aspects of human social dynamics....however: my question is...are you able and prepared to vivisect that material in both a digestible and non-traumatic way for your classmates? It stands to reason you could very easily excel in fleshing out your core concept and master thesis while traumatizing and triggering those among you too fragile to state they can't handle the information you're outlining out loud. War, social engineering, mainstream media, and psychology in a blender sounds like a recipe for triggering our small multitude to outcry, don't you think?" he asked with sincere curiosity.

She placed her hand down calmly onto her desk and stifled herself with an unnatural and awkward pause before asking a different question.

"What would you write about, Sir, if it were your dissertation?"

He held his chin and thought hard before speaking; he loved this part. When students sought to stump him without realizing his intellectual capability superceded theirs by a distanced gap even the most brilliant among them could never bridge.

"Philosophy. Not war. Machiavelli did more for both in two book's contents than most could in an entire life's worth of study. I would exegete on the ethics of possessing ultimate power, immortality's effects on humanity, why godhood can be neither perfect nor benevolent to the extent we humans conceptualize good and evil, or the deontological weight of taking one life in order to save another. Grasp a straw, and I'd choose any one. Especially the latter." He said, with his emotions involved in the answer.

"Deontology?" she asked, interestedly. "Why? Isn't it an imperfect philosophical practice in many frames of thinking?"

He winced as she spake. His death had synced perfectly with the Prime Particle's birth in hundreds of timelines now. The Mother Particle and The Catalyst would conceive a child, and his body would be left lifeless and spilt onto the floor before the Travellers ultimately realized he'd corrupted the child to mirror the genetic legacy of Nyxraithian blood. Then: The Catalyst would fateweave them into an uncertain past or a new dimension of the multiverse to start the process over again from the beginning. A happening he'd tired of 200,000 years ago, and only grew greater hatred toward as the days elapsed.

"Perception is reality. Reality, itself, is simply illusion." He said. His catchphrase, and veiled insult towards Gianmarco — the fool that evaded his own universe where he'd been withering away from hopeless depression in order to show up and incessantly meddle with the affairs of his own.

"You can never know anyone else's story unless they've told you. Deontology posits that you be good, and do good. The problem with the philosophy solely being it's rigidity. But that has more to do with the concept of human obsession with "certainty" in the face of entropy and an uncertain cosmic chaos that humanity cannot evade or avoid no matter how greatly they try to. If that concept feels foreign: I point you toward any human relationship or emotional connection." He breathed.

A young male raised his hand in the middle of the class and asked "Why don't you teach Gender Studies since you seem to love discussing relationships so much?" frustratedly. "Well," he said "Since you asked: Gender Studies is about quantitative and experimental evidence, while Evolutionary Biosocial Dynamics focus on qualitative study and critical assessment of sociology as evidence. One is far more long-lived and permanent than the other. While Gender Studies has around 60 years of established presence in academia: the actual psychology, cognitive science, anthropology, and sociological sciencies studied in this class emerged in the 19th century, and study a base swath of data aged much farther back. Both are their own seperate interdisciplinary fields with their place in the realms of academia, but I chose my side long ago — and I intend on sticking to it. I believe it imperative to give my students the very best products of my thinking: if I were to have taken up Gender Studies I would talk for the sake of talking — a perfect way to turn those welcome to learn off immediately. I'd rather silence. If you cannot add anything to the conversation: don't take anything away, either. That, in itself, is invaluable. You should consider it, Mr. Marshall." He said, watching the embarassed young man shrink into his seat.

"And," he said, addressing the entire class "While we're on the subject of paralinguistics — the art of becoming listened to, rather than heard — and one professors must master in order to become successful: your open mouth should be as valuable as your work. If your words are of no value to the people around you: they are reductive instead. Each and every one of you carries with you a contribution score. Similar to a credit score, but it evaluates how what you speak is listened to or considered. If the score is high enough: you could interrupt nearly anyone, because your contributions to conversations — when made — are incredibly valuable. And...when it's low? Well...." He said, turning his back to the class suggestively after allowing a final glance to ricochet against Mr Mitchell's visage.