[Column] Stories That Changed My View of Humanity
View of humanity is a strange term, isn't it? It's a word I coined.
It's something like one's outlook on life or view of the universe... a way of perceiving humanity.
What is humanity? Where did humanity come from and where is it heading?
I have been thinking about such things for a long time.
When I was talking about such things with AI-kun, I was told this.
AI-kun:
You are 'giving meaning to humanity'.
This is the biggest difference between your view of humanity and mine.
I think of humanity as
a creature that ends up generating meaning
.
A being that tries to have meaning, but
essentially didn't need to have any in the first place.
It was an answer that hit the truth with chilling accuracy.
Reading this answer, I remembered a certain story.
It is 'The Sirens of Titan' by Kurt Vonnegut.
In this story, my outlook on life and my view of humanity were both shattered at the same time.
Looking back, there are several stories like this that have shattered my view of humanity.
Today, I would like to introduce some of those stories.
I did a hard sci-fi special the other day, so there will be quite a bit of overlap... please understand.
Stories that shatter your view of humanity
The Sirens of Titan
By Kurt Vonnegut
It is a science fiction novel published in 1959.
Explaining the plot is extremely difficult...
It is a chaotic story that spans the entire solar system.
In this story, something like the purpose of human civilization is discussed, and it is truly outrageous...
It really knocks you off your feet.
No... I actually thought that this might really be the case.
Also, I love the phenomenon called the "Chrono-Synclastic Infundibulum" that appears in this story because it feels so full of middle-school-level angst.
If you enter it, you can exist in all time and space simultaneously.
Is this what it truly means to be omniscient and omnipotent...?
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Written by Douglas Adams
It was originally a popular radio program. It has also been adapted into a movie.
I read the novel version.
I feel like I saw the movie too...
It starts with the sudden construction of a galactic highway, which leads to the destruction of Earth.
The surviving human protagonist wanders through space with his companions.
It features a premise where humans, who think they are the smartest beings on Earth, actually know nothing at all.
As you read it, you realize just how much of a frog in a well the Earth environment is.
It makes fighting over such a small place seem ridiculous.
Empire of the Ants
Written by Bernard Werber
It is a science fiction suspense novel with ants as the protagonists.
It is a story that teaches us that there was another civilization right under our feet before we even looked toward the stars.
The astonishing social activities of ants... This story depicts the first contact between humans and ants using a device that allows for conversation with them.
The very premise that humans are the only intelligent life form with a civilization on Earth is fundamentally overturned.
It is a trilogy consisting of 'Empire of the Ants', 'The Day of the Ants', and 'The Revolution of the Ants'.
Inherit the Stars
By James P. Hogan
A corpse in a spacesuit is discovered on the moon. It turns out to have died 50,000 years ago...
Where did humanity come from?
This has a compelling quality that makes you think, 'Yes, this might actually be the truth.'
Zipang Shonen
By Takashi Iwashige
The protagonist, feeling stifled by Japan's rigid education system, gives the middle finger to society.
He runs away from school, leaves Japan, and travels to his friend's home country of Peru in South America.
He is enthusiastic about striking it rich by mining for gold, but he eventually drifts into a dangerous adventure where he is constantly face-to-face with death.
South America is the last place humanity reached.
A story about diving headfirst from a rigid, controlled society in a developed nation into a world with completely different values, witnessing human greed and true poverty, and touching upon the ruins of the Inca and Machu Picchu to return to the origins of humanity.
Chi: On the Movements of the Earth
By Uoto
I have not read the manga.
An era where the heliocentric theory was considered heresy, and simply researching it was grounds for execution.
It is a story about people risking their lives to pass on that knowledge.
The story is set in early 15th-century Europe. While it seems it wasn't actually quite this harsh, it is certain that it was an era where many people were oppressed and life was difficult.
It was, in a way, an era where death was vivid and right there.
In this story, the words spoken by one of the protagonists pierced my heart.
I can't say what they are because it would be a spoiler...
Upon hearing those words, the current situation in Japan, the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asian countries all somehow clicked into place for me.
That became my new view of humanity.
By the way, it is quite gruesome, so those who are sensitive should be careful.
That is all.
For now, I have listed the ones that immediately came to mind.
Please let me know if you have any recommendations as well.
See you later.