The Top of The Ecosystem
"So, what are we gonna do, Shūhei? Are we really fighting against Kazuhiro's team?"
Shōta and I were walking aimlessly down the third floor hallway.
"If it comes to all-out war, that's exactly what the mastermind wants. But everyone is in a situation like this, so we can't make calm decisions. No one listens to me…"
"Yes, indeed. With such a pile of dead bodies here and there, our nerves keep sharpening with fear day and night. No time to rest. Although only been a day, I'm sure everyone is already out of their minds. No one works for others anymore, just keep working to survive yourself."
I got surprised.
"You, you've gotten smarter in the last day or two. You seem a totally different person. Is it because you died once?"
"Really? Ha, maybe I got crazy. But if that's what makes my brain so clear, what an unfortunate guy I am. I can't believe my true power is only available at a time like this."
Shōta let out a faint smile, as if belittling himself.
"No, I guess that is an instinct of an animal."
I came up with a theory.
"What do you mean?"
"So I thought that when we are in a crisis situation, we are so desperate that we take action without any hesitation and act based on our emotions. But actually, we are more cautious than usual, and in a split second, our brains are thinking logically to choose which is more appropriate."
"But, then why are we fighting each other? If we were on the right path, this wouldn't be happening."
Shōta's point is perfectly valid, but I had already come up with my own answer to it.
"It’s probably because of this environment…"
"What?"
I thought Shōta's voice had become a little heavier.
"Right now in this world, humanity is at the top of the so-called ecosystem. We must have made a number of sacrifices to become the top of that ecosystem. In other words, in the past, all animals and plants were equal, but the disparity between animals and plants was created by those who lost and those who won in food and habitat conflicts. Then, among the victorious animals, we entered an era of the survival of the fittest, and those with the most power became the winners. And at some point, humans became the king of the animal kingdom, using a wisdom as a weapon. At this point, we developed an overconfidence that we were smarter and stronger than any other animals in the world. It made us self-centered about everything and created and modified an environment that suited us.
Now we started kicking each other down to become the king of the human world. In such a situation, jealousy was born. Jealousy was born out of our lamentation and regret over our own powerlessness when we were informed that the other person's talents were greater than our own. In good times, they recognize each other and hone their skills to even greater heights. In bad cases, we deceives and kicks the other party down. And worst of all, jealousy becomes resentment, evil thoughts, and hatred, and kills the other person.
But that’s not the end. The family members of the murdered person or someone else who was closed to the victim will now take revenge on the suspect. And now the person involved with the avenged one….Thus, despair continues to infect person to person, and the light of desire for a future of peace, freedom, and equality is quickly swallowed up by the darkness in our hearts."
Shōta looked like a deer in headlights
"What happened to you? Are you pretending to be a philosopher? No, maybe a detective? Or politician?"
"Well, just listen a little longer. Thus, as our hearts continued to be consumed by darkness, our unity shattered and we grew fragile, consumed by suspicion and doubt. Suddenly at this moment, AI and clones arrived to seize the throne. We are naturally united at first to defend the throne desperately, but we soon turn on each other. And now we have to face clones and human beings at the same time. But the clones have no feelings. They don't despair, nor get jealous, so they never hurt each other unlike foolish humans. The clones will quickly pull the humans down from the top and become the new leader. And as long as the clones have no feelings, we cannot return to the throne, and we will live under them for the rest of our lives, or until the end of the earth."
I sighed.
"What an irony. How can we ourselves be defeated by something we have created? Wisdom, our first and most powerful weapon, has turned against us. We will never see the view from heaven again."
I looked at Shōta's face. He had a goofy look on his face as if he was complaining that he didn't know what on earth I was talking about.
"Ha, So I want to say here is that, we are in the similar situation right now. The clones and humans are playing a game of cooperation now. But I can guarantee that it will eventually develop into a mutual struggle. And we are going to fall. Maybe it’s better that way. Because then everyone would lose all power and we would all be equal, which is what humanity has been longing for. Then we can start all over again, this time making the right choices."
"Oh come on, but this time the clones and humans are being divided into two separate teams. We all have to deal with the clones and the humans."
"Yes, but that would just turn into a war of attrition where everyone dies. Even if one group survives, they will fight each other anyway, and even if one person manages to survive, that person will not last long because he or she is disintegrated both physically and mentally. Ha, that should be the best to restart humans’ lives. However, in this game we have a mastermind. There is a person looking at us from above. So unless we kill him, the world will never change. The same thing will just happen again some day. We need to do everything we can to defeat him before the last one runs out of breath!"
"What, you act like a samurai now? You have such multiple personalities, don't you?"
Shōta was laughing, but his eyes were alive with hope, perhaps inspired by my words.
