Over the next five days, I listened carefully, eating little, sleeping even less, slowly recovering from my close encounter with death. In Scipio's stories, I was rediscovering a reality that had only been carried to my ears by distorted rumors and shameless lies.
Tact was never one of his qualities. In less than five minutes, the word was out: I, like him, was a demon and there was nothing I could do about it. From the dawn of history, we had been hunted by humans, not because we were evil in nature, not because we feasted on their flesh and blood but because we were different. As I learned that day, demons were only genetic variants of the human family and most of the negative behaviors associated with our kind were only legend.
"You see, Scipio explained, for a certain time all who did not present the characteristic traits of the hegemonic caucasian breed were classified as demonic. Until recently, african and asian people were also considered as malevolent beings, only their differences to the master breed was too tenuous for the segreggation to last. But the most crying example remains that of the Neanderthals. Although they had bred the Sapiens and protected them in their earliest and most fragile moments, although the two species interbred and lived side by side for a certain time, there came a moment when their differences became too obvious to satisfy the acrimonious eye of the newcomers. Neanderthals were bluntly exterminated by their progeny. Of course this abject paricide was surgically removed from the collective mind of the Sapiens. You know how good they are at forgetting their own mistakes, do you?
- I have a notion of that, indeed.
- Well, even with the proof of their forfeit being brought up by modern science they still try to cover it up, their churches marching in the front trow.
- Why are you so mad at them, I mean the clergy?
- They have created, maintained and nurtured this fantasy that everything that didn't look like them was to be rejected. According to their belief system, humans are supposed to be the chosen ones, created to rule the Earth. The mere existence of equally or sometimes more intelligent kinds negates this dogma, renders it obsolete. So they decided to anchor their argument in the most subjective and most primitive of human behaviours.
- Faith?
- Fear!
- Fear?
- When you think about it, there is no more powerful motivator. If you dare not to think like me, you'll burn for eternity in an inferno of flames. How compassionate and tolerant is that? And this is the same fear they used to make us all demons outcasts. Did you know that the original ancient word for demon didn't have that negative meaning it has today. For the greek philosophers, everyone had a demon, and it was either good or bad. Only the religions and especially those of the book didn't see it that way so they made sure that a straight line was drawn between us and the rest of the world. Now, if you listen to them, we are all bad and they are all good and when a Sapiens misbehaves, he has certainly been influenced by a demon. We have become an excuse for every wrong deed they accomplish - this alone drives me nuts - but in reality there are no more bad demons than there are bad Sapiens.
- So what does really make the difference between us and them.
- Genetics. We are all variants of the same human species. In most cases, we can interbreed and our progeny will be fertile. We're just like dogs you see, except that Retrievers won't blame all other breeds for not being as fluffy and energetic as they are. Sapiens are a whole other story.
There was a moment of silence as Melanie and Scipio both considered that last statement. It was the young girl who finally broke their meditation.
- How come you know so much about all this?
- Well, one truth about demons that have made humans jealous for a long time is that our life expectancy far exceeds theirs. I've been around for a while now and I guess it qualifies me to be slightly more knowledgeable than the average.
- May I ask you how old you are?
- You may, but it doesn't mean that I'll answer.
Tact was never one of his qualities. In less than five minutes, the word was out: I, like him, was a demon and there was nothing I could do about it. From the dawn of history, we had been hunted by humans, not because we were evil in nature, not because we feasted on their flesh and blood but because we were different. As I learned that day, demons were only genetic variants of the human family and most of the negative behaviors associated with our kind were only legend.
"You see, Scipio explained, for a certain time all who did not present the characteristic traits of the hegemonic caucasian breed were classified as demonic. Until recently, african and asian people were also considered as malevolent beings, only their differences to the master breed was too tenuous for the segreggation to last. But the most crying example remains that of the Neanderthals. Although they had bred the Sapiens and protected them in their earliest and most fragile moments, although the two species interbred and lived side by side for a certain time, there came a moment when their differences became too obvious to satisfy the acrimonious eye of the newcomers. Neanderthals were bluntly exterminated by their progeny. Of course this abject paricide was surgically removed from the collective mind of the Sapiens. You know how good they are at forgetting their own mistakes, do you?
- I have a notion of that, indeed.
- Well, even with the proof of their forfeit being brought up by modern science they still try to cover it up, their churches marching in the front trow.
- Why are you so mad at them, I mean the clergy?
- They have created, maintained and nurtured this fantasy that everything that didn't look like them was to be rejected. According to their belief system, humans are supposed to be the chosen ones, created to rule the Earth. The mere existence of equally or sometimes more intelligent kinds negates this dogma, renders it obsolete. So they decided to anchor their argument in the most subjective and most primitive of human behaviours.
- Faith?
- Fear!
- Fear?
- When you think about it, there is no more powerful motivator. If you dare not to think like me, you'll burn for eternity in an inferno of flames. How compassionate and tolerant is that? And this is the same fear they used to make us all demons outcasts. Did you know that the original ancient word for demon didn't have that negative meaning it has today. For the greek philosophers, everyone had a demon, and it was either good or bad. Only the religions and especially those of the book didn't see it that way so they made sure that a straight line was drawn between us and the rest of the world. Now, if you listen to them, we are all bad and they are all good and when a Sapiens misbehaves, he has certainly been influenced by a demon. We have become an excuse for every wrong deed they accomplish - this alone drives me nuts - but in reality there are no more bad demons than there are bad Sapiens.
- So what does really make the difference between us and them.
- Genetics. We are all variants of the same human species. In most cases, we can interbreed and our progeny will be fertile. We're just like dogs you see, except that Retrievers won't blame all other breeds for not being as fluffy and energetic as they are. Sapiens are a whole other story.
There was a moment of silence as Melanie and Scipio both considered that last statement. It was the young girl who finally broke their meditation.
- How come you know so much about all this?
- Well, one truth about demons that have made humans jealous for a long time is that our life expectancy far exceeds theirs. I've been around for a while now and I guess it qualifies me to be slightly more knowledgeable than the average.
- May I ask you how old you are?
- You may, but it doesn't mean that I'll answer.
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