God is the gene
God is the ancestor of all things. Is this the beginning of a discussion about the origin of species? According to the history of Earth's development, carbon-based life did indeed originate from the same cell, and that cell is God?
“Wait,” Mi interrupted El again, “Are you talking about creationism? God created this world.”
"It's not what you think. God is the ancestor of all life. You can also think of it as a gene shared by all living things, which is the origin of species."
“I have no more questions, because I don’t understand what you’re talking about at all.” Mi stood up and spread her hands. “I guess I can’t be a witch.” Mi resumed her habit of wandering in the forest.
"El, what should we do?" Joe looked at Mil's dejected figure.
“I don’t know either. Earth’s technology is very advanced, but it’s not advanced enough to separate the human body from the mind.” El also looked at Mi. “She’s driving herself into a dead end by equating humans with all species. She’s confusing the god I’m talking about with the god in legends.”
Mi came to the center of the forest again. Holding the small stone, she asked El, "Do I have to keep holding this small stone? Can you make it stop following me?"
"When you are reshaping the witch's body, the guiding stone will merge with the witch's headband and become part of your body."
“Now—” Mi stammered before asking, “Can I go back to my previous form? Like an endless net.”
El nodded: "Yes, once you and the Guiding Stone become one, you will be able to control your body and become anything you want."
"Ha, then wouldn't I be a god?"
"You are a witch."
“Let’s not argue about this anymore.” Mi stared at the sky for a while, then looked at El. “I can only leave here by becoming a witch.” El nodded.
How do I become a witch?
"Wait until you reshape your witch body."
"So, it's about becoming one with this little stone?"
You can understand it that way.
“Okay, let’s continue learning.” Mi gritted her teeth and decided that no matter what strange theories El came up with, she would no longer refute them and would continue learning even if it meant memorizing them by rote.
"God needs to reproduce so that genes can be preserved."
“Oh, so that’s a reproductive monster.” Mi said with a hint of disgust.
"You must understand that there is no God, nor is there any man. God is the ancestor of all things."
"God is a man, right?" Mi chuckled twice.
“Gods have no gender. The men and women you see now are just different physical transformations of the gods. If you have to distinguish them, you can only say they are ‘male gods’ and ‘female gods’,” El thought for a moment. “Gods have a very strong desire to reproduce, but female gods are more intelligent. Only the bodies created by female gods have the function of reproduction.”
“Impossible! Do you know the pain of childbirth?” Mi retorted sharply. “A smarter woman created the ability to give birth for herself? There is no more absurd lie in the world.”
“Don’t worry, child,” Al gently comforted Mi. “This is just what my guide told me. You don’t need to believe it or deny it. Just think of it as me telling you a story.”
"On your blue planet, everything begins with a single cell, and there is no distinction between male and female."
"right."
"Individual cells die quickly. To survive, cells learn to cooperate with other cells, and gradually different life forms are formed."
"right."
“These lives will still perish; they have learned to reproduce,” El said gently. “You can think of these different creatures as the first gods; reproduction is a mission etched into the genes of the first gods.”
"Is this what you mean by God having no gender?"
"Yes, the reason why gods have gender distinctions is because different reproductive methods lead to different names."
"It's like a monkey is just a monkey, and it's only when it's determined whether it will get pregnant and give birth that it's classified as a male or female monkey?"
“You’re not entirely wrong,” El continued. “Initially, a group of the first gods created the reproductive system, and we call these gods the female gods. But the process of reproduction is difficult, and they can only reproduce on their own. This means that only they participate in the entire process of reproduction. It appears that a new female god is born, but in reality, the old female god disappears when the new god is born. You can understand it this way: the female god gives birth to herself again and again, the old goes and the new comes.”
Mi found the images El described unbearable to watch, yet some parts seemed quite plausible. She even felt she'd seen the story somewhere before, perfectly conforming to the law of conservation of energy—except for the wasted pain of childbirth, nothing had changed. Mi began to lose control of herself, as gray mist drifted up to the treetops.
The sky above the treetops remained a hazy gray. Mi looked up at the sky: "Who...who are you? I don't care about the origins of humanity, and I don't believe in gods. I just want to know what you want?" After a while, Mi began searching her memory, trying to recall where she had seen this trick of self-creation. Mi knew for sure that she had seen this story before. Mi began to hate her pitiful intelligence and her memory, which was beginning to grow accustomed to forgetting. All of this made it difficult for Mi to properly refute Al. If she couldn't refute him effectively, if she couldn't find loopholes in Al's words, Al wouldn't reveal his true colors, which was crucial to whether she could find the mad scientist who controlled the dome through Al.
"What's wrong with her?" Joe strung together a small green bracelet, a delicate ring made of slender grass leaves, with interlocking patterns like Chinese knots, and dotted with tiny white flowers. The bracelet was exquisite and delicate, and Joe put it on El's wrist.
“She’s disgusted by what she’s thinking.” El examined the wreath on her wrist, smiled, and kissed Joe on the corner of his lips. “It’s beautiful. I like it.”
“I knew you’d like it,” Qiao raised an eyebrow smugly, then looked at Mi, who seemed lost in thought, above her: “What’s she thinking about?”
“I told her about the first birth of the female goddess.”
“So what? Female gods can’t reproduce before they master cooperation. Doesn’t she understand that men and women need to cooperate to create new life?” Joe asked, puzzled. “Is she very young? She seems to know nothing and keeps asking questions.”
“In her world, cloning exists, which means using one’s own genes to create a copy of oneself,” El chuckled. “She probably thought that female gods originally kept replicating themselves.”
“The female goddess is truly great,” Joe exclaimed. “How did she come up with the idea of partial inheritance? That’s why there are so many people in the world, and why the divine inheritance hasn’t been cut off.”
“After many failures, one will naturally think of other ways; female gods are indeed smarter.” El nodded in agreement.
When Mi floated down again, El and Joe both smiled at her. Mi hesitated for a moment, looking around. "Is there something wrong with me?"
“No,” El smiled. “Divinity, or rather, God, is a very singular being. It may seem very savage and incredible to you, but you will soon gain a great deal of insight.”
“I foresaw it.” Mi shrugged and sat down. “Come on, continue.”
"The female goddess's repeated failures to give birth led her to a period of slumber. During this time, another group of gods watched from the sidelines; we call this group the male gods. The male gods both envied the female goddess's ability to give birth and mocked her useless reproduction. The male gods even learned from the female goddess and created their own reproductive system."
Were there many gods in the past?
“Well, how should I put it? In the beginning, there was only a single cell. Different combinations of that single cell resulted in the first gods. There are as many kinds of gods as there are species, or rather, there are more first gods than you can see of any species, because many species have disappeared into the long river of history.” El explained, “Indeed, some gods here have achieved hermaphroditism and developed the ability to reproduce themselves.”
You mean seahorses?
“Seahorses? No, earthworms could be considered, but only if they can reproduce on their own. There are more plants, like corn, rice, wheat…” El thought for a moment, “God has really made great efforts and attempts in reproducing his own genes.”
“God is not merely a human being?” Mi interrupted El.
“Gods are not human. According to your Blue Star's genetics, humans evolved from ancient apes.” El raised her hand, trying to project an image into Mi's mind, but had to give up when she realized Mi had no physical form. She continued, “How to describe the form of gods? Gods are combinations of different cells, and their appearances are incredibly diverse. Their sole purpose is reproduction, trying every possible way to pass on their genes. According to Blue Star's history, the ancestors of all living species are gods—plants, animals, including humans and various microorganisms.”
Why is God so determined to perpetuate the gene pool? Is it out of fear of death? Mi thought of all the creatures she knew, every single one striving to reproduce, some even at the cost of their lives. Why is that?
“You can think of it as instinct,” Al said. “Biobiology started with single-celled organisms. At first, they combined in various ways just to survive, creating different life forms. Every life form wants to live; only by living can there be life.”
"It started with a single god, and then a combination created a new god?"
“Your understanding is not wrong, but it’s not just one. Gods also tend to converge. There can be several similar gods. Human ancestors also diverged from one into several, but there won’t be too many,” El laughed. “Let’s continue. After observing the first failure of the female god, the male god came up with a completely different way. The male god began to divide himself. Through division, the male god cut himself into many pieces.”
"Sliced?" Mi was speechless. Could this story be any more perfunctory?
"Yes, the male god also came up with a method of heredity and tried to put it into practice, but the biggest problem with these fragmented beings is that they cannot grow. A god that cannot grow is no different from one that has not reproduced. The female god produces a complete self, while the male god divides himself into different small pieces. In terms of total quantity, the god has not changed at all. When the female god wakes up from his slumber, he sees that the male god has gone mad and cut himself into pieces."
“Hahahaha,” Mi suddenly burst into laughter, “This scene is so funny.”
After El and Mi finished laughing, they continued, "The female god was not only intelligent but also gentle and compassionate. She couldn't bear to see her kind become like this, so she gathered them together. In the process of gathering them together, some tiny fragments of male gods inevitably fell into the female god's reproductive system. The female god pitied them and fed them with her own flesh and blood. The female god did not expect that such a good deed would produce the first collection of gods, which can also be considered the first generation of genetic material."
"Are you talking about pollination? That's a method of plant reproduction."
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