Country (1)
“I think I know what witchcraft is all about now.” Mi sat down in the middle of the forest again. “The cooperation between witchcraft and human ancestors has created the humans we know today. With witchcraft, humans began to be completely different from animals.”
"That's not the case. What makes humans human is that they have learned to use rules."
"Isn't it because humans are more likely to kill?"
“The difference between early humans and animals was not obvious,” Al said. “Killing is not unique to humans; it is rooted in divinity. Early killing was for survival and reproduction. No matter which history book you open, no matter which tribe you visit, the side that kills more has more mates and children. That’s a fact. Now, the power of human nature in killing is stronger. The scale and methods of modern warfare are no longer something that gods can predict or control.”
Why do you say that?
“Simply divine nature is for survival and heredity. Animals only hunt when they are hungry, and only seek mates when the breeding season arrives. They compete with each other to attract mates, and plants also do everything they can to attract bees and butterflies. Animals also live in groups, and plants also form colonies. In the vast primeval forest, there is a mother tree every certain distance,” El said. “But both the population of animals and the sphere of influence of the mother trees are limited. Once they reach a certain number, they reach their limit.”
"Why did humanity break through this limitation?" Mi looked up. "Was it because of witchcraft?"
“It’s because of the rules,” El said. “When humans were still small tribes, it was very easy for the chief to lead the entire tribe. He could command every member of the tribe, thereby maximizing the tribe’s fighting power. Humans started as tribes, and at that time, there were three kinds of spoils: food, women, and children. These had only one purpose: to increase the population. At this time, human nature had already become the dominant force.”
"Huh? I don't understand."
“You know that reproduction is for the continuation of one’s genes. When animals conquer a group, the male leader will kill the cubs of the former leader so that the females can become pregnant and give birth to their own children.” El looked at Mi and nodded before continuing, “Humans are not like that. If you look at the history books of humankind, they want women and they want children. Humans are no longer obsessed with their own genes, and divinity no longer plays a dominant role. When a tribe absorbs more than just women, the population increases very rapidly.”
"Population increases, labor force increases, resources increase, combat power increases, and then the population increases again—this forms a closed loop."
“It’s not that simple.” El shook his head. “Since plundering is in the nature of humanity, even within the same tribe, there will still be fighting. But if there is fighting among tribes, the tribe will never be able to grow and thrive. At this point, someone will step forward to set rules to ensure stability and harmony within the tribe.”
What is the purpose of rules?
"The role of rules is to transform blind obedience into obedience. If humanity's initial departure was blind obedience, then small groups and cooperation emerged. These are the simplest examples. In order to prevent small groups from breaking apart, someone steps forward to coordinate and direct everything, and that's how rules are established."
Is this person a sorcerer?
“Not necessarily,” El shook his head. “You know humans are the best at learning, and their brains are better suited for learning after being trained. Humans will learn from their leaders and rebuild their tribes with the women and children they have taken.”
"What is this? The possession and exploitation of women and children has created the ruling class?"
“The ruling class? You’re quite right.” El nodded. “In animal groups, there are males, females, and children, and there’s only one leader. But humans are different. Tribes produce leaders of different ranks, forming a stable pyramid-like structure.”
"Is this the embryonic form of a nation?"
“The initial purpose of this stable structure was still expansion. The chieftain would pass on his orders to the junior chieftains, who would then pass on the orders to even smaller chieftains. The number of people one person could control was limited. Once such a hierarchical structure was formed, one person could command thousands of troops,” El said. “Only tribes with a stable structure can become larger and larger.”
"If a tribe develops further, it will become a country?" Mi thought for a moment. "Only with rules can there be stability. Those loose tribes without rules either declined, disbanded, or were wiped out."
“The state is a consequence of rules. At first, people fought for food, for their own survival and reproduction. After a while, people fought to acquire the population of others. When the population was large enough, various rules were needed. In order to maintain the rules, the ruling class you mentioned emerged,” El said. “The state is also a product of the combination of divinity and humanity.”
"That's how nations came about?" Mi Nan pondered. "Human wars started with the capture of women, then evolved into the capture of women and children, until finally the losing side was robbed of everything?"
"Yes, from the time rules were established and enforced, from the emergence of nations, humans had a stable supply of food, and human nature began to change. 'When people are well-fed and warm, they think of lust and desire' is a saying that humans themselves have. From this point on, humans broke through the boundaries of the reproductive season and could reproduce in all four seasons."
“Humans have food to replenish their energy and clothes to keep them warm, so reproduction no longer needs to be limited to springtime when flowers are in bloom and food is plentiful.” Mi thought for a moment, “Animals have estrus cycles, but humans do not. The emergence of these rules completely distinguishes human women from animals.”
"Yes, but do you know what that means?"
"Increased birth rate, increased population?" Mi thought for a moment and said, "Women can get pregnant at any time, and children can be born on any day."
“This means that the oppression of women will be stronger than ever before.” El suddenly stopped, her expression turning panicked. “That’s enough for today.” El almost staggered out of the center of the forest, while Joe’s figure hurriedly approached from afar.
“El, El,” Joe called out to El as he hugged her and kissed her.
Al slumped to the ground, staring blankly at Joe: "Joe, I want to go to the resting place."
“El, El, I’ll go with you.” Joe looked at El kneeling before him, tears welling in his eyes, his hands tightly clasped in El’s. “I’ll go wherever you want.” El, bewildered and helpless, leaned on Joe’s shoulder, his silver hair flying in the air. Joe embraced El, gently patting his back, and whispered in El’s ear, “El, don’t be afraid, I’ll go wherever you want!”
Seeing El's unprecedented disarray, Mi silently stepped aside. El quickly fell asleep in Joe's arms, her beautiful face filled with fear and struggle. Joe gently stroked El's back, kissed her cheeks, and softly called her name, and El slowly calmed down.
Mi walked over to El, wondering what help she could offer.
"Your name is Mi?"
“Yes, I chose the name myself. It means that as long as there’s rice, there’s food to eat.” Mi paused, then looked at El, who was wearing a mask of pain: “Won’t our talking disturb her?”
“No, El has shut himself off; he can’t hear us.” Joe looked at El in his arms with affection.
"What happened to El?"
“El remembered what happened when she was a human,” Joe said softly. “When El was eight years old, her father offered her to the chief. The chief used her and then gave her to his men as a reward. When El was eleven, El began to have children, one a year until she was thirteen. The last child was born in a difficult labor, and the chief cut open her stomach with a knife and took out the child. El watched herself being cut open…” Tears of blood streamed from Joe’s eyes.
"Yes, I'm sorry."
“What’s it to you?” Joe looked down at El. “Witches coexist with humans, so naturally they will treat a human’s life as their own. That is the fate of witches.”
"Are shamanic brainwaves not human brainwaves?"
“It wasn’t like that at first,” Joe said carefully. “You’ve seen silk threads, right? The human brain is connected by nerves that are similar to silk threads but millions of times finer. The shaman is like another moving silk thread covering it, strengthening the connection between the human brains. Just like how what was originally a narrow passage becomes a wide road with the addition of the shaman, the human brain becomes active, and humans develop to be superior to other species.”
"Is this a disaster brought about by a witch?"
“I don’t know,” Joe said, looking down. “Sometimes I think so.”
"Is that what you think, or is that what El told you?"
"What's the difference?"
"She just can't accept that a shaman is a human being. Because once she accepts it, she has to accept that she is a human being, and that a shaman is also a human being."
"Don't say that."
“She doesn’t understand that humanity isn’t a universal trait, but rather a characteristic. As human beings, we constantly seek companions because of loneliness, and she mistakenly takes those strongly grouped commonalities for humanity. Only by seeing specific individuals can you find people to walk and progress with, instead of carrying all of humanity onto a single, specific person.” Mi thought for a moment, “Humans have broken free from the constraints of estrus cycles, and women are like domesticated chickens, constantly laying eggs. You know, wild pheasants don’t lay eggs all year round, right?”
"you--"
“El thinks the witch caused all of this,” Mi now finally understood why El was so easily led astray by her. “The female goddess created childbirth, and invented pleasure to resist the pain of childbirth. In the end, it was all for reproduction. The witch’s appearance only made it easier for humans to reproduce. The witch’s appearance strengthened divinity, not humanity.”
“The shaman is the link between divinity and humanity.”
"And what is humanity?" Mi asked, looking at the anxious and worried Joe. Joe was stumped. She opened her mouth, she had so much to say, but she didn't know what to say. El said that human civilization was the result of humanity, but Mi said that all civilizations were built from piles of corpses.
"At first, humans lived in groups. After living in groups, they found that their ability to defend themselves against enemies had increased, their hunting harvests had increased, and they could easily get through the cold winter. Humans saw the benefits of living in groups and began to live in groups."
"Animals can also live in groups."
"Some animals live in groups to defend themselves from enemies, while others live in groups to hunt. However, animals stop eating once they are full and do not store food."
"What's the difference?"
“What’s the difference?” Mi raised his arm and waved it. “The witch expanded the channels of the human brain, enabling humans to think of ways to store food. From discovering that caves could keep out the cold, they also thought of ways to build houses. Clothes can cover the body and preserve food, so that people won’t freeze to death in the cold winter, won’t get wet in the rain, and won’t starve to death when food is scarce.”
"This is just for survival, this is just for a better survival."
“A better life, you said better, but what does better mean? Who brought about this better? And what has this better brought?” Mi smiled inexplicably. “Once there is a better, there is a difference between humans and animals. And once better exists, humans will no longer be satisfied with just being better than animals. They will feel that humans are superior, and that some people are better than others. Since the shaman created this difference, the shaman must bear the consequences. Humans are the consequences of the shaman, and everything about humanity is brought about by the shaman.”
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