Self-Enslavement

First off, I’m against racism. Not because it’s morally wrong, but because biologically, racism among Homo sapiens makes no sense whatsoever.

To begin with, “race” itself isn’t a biological category—it’s a social one. Homo sapiens have such a narrow gene pool that we’re all the same species, yet people lose their minds over minor phenotypic differences.

Anyone who claims “Black people and white people are vastly different” should go look at how different dogs and cats look while wandering the same neighborhood.

Homo sapiens really do have a tiny gene pool. There are tall races, short races, fast races, strong races—of course those exist. I’m not denying that. But is the difference as great as it is between dogs?

Some dogs weigh five kilograms; others exceed a hundred. Biologically, they’re all just wolves with slightly altered appearances. Same species. Even with differences that extreme, racism remains meaningless.

So, setting everything else aside, I consider anyone among Homo sapiens who practices racism simply ignorant. What possible biological advantage could there be in disparaging such close relatives…?

“Well, in Biin-nim’s homeland, racial discrimination among humans was quite severe.”

“It was a massive problem, yes.”

That said, once we enter the realm of fantasy, things get peculiar. Fantasy genres feature elves, dwarves, orcs, and the like…

They’re probably different species that share a common ancestor biologically? The original author likely never set it up that way, but later reinterpretations suggest otherwise.

Anyway, if two groups cannot interbreed at all, or if their offspring are sterile, making them feel like entirely different species, then racism might not be an “evil act” so much as… something that could even be elevated to the level of a “virtue.”

It’s purely biological logic. Rather than living alongside creatures with whom you cannot produce offspring, it’s biologically rational to favor closer relatives and siblings, and to compete against other species over the same territory.

“That may well be true.”

So let’s examine how racism functions in my Dessert Desert. Unlike the clone that resolved the [Evil] disaster, this one faces an extremely awkward situation regarding racism.

──My consciousness shifts to another clone.

I also adjust my time perception to better align with the clone’s sensory experience.

──I am the clone in charge of resolving [Racism]. I have come to the Dessert Desert to deliberately provoke racial conflict.

Upon surveying the situation in my Dessert Desert, I discover something truly bizarre.

“What is it?”

“All the Sugar Lumps think of one another as the same kin?”

“Well, they are the same species, aren’t they?”

“No, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I mean even the Martial Sugar Lumps and Magic Sugar Lumps consider themselves the same kin.”

“Excuse me?”

This is not what I expected. Even though they’ve diverged so far within the same species, I never imagined they would still regard one another as the same race.

The racial conflict I had envisioned was between groups that had diverged into entirely different species—Martial Sugar Lumps whose habitats differed and who had received different evolutionary blessings (just as in the beginning, whenever a particularly clever “religious” individual among them requested evolution, I would alter their bodies bit by bit).

Yet here they are. No matter how different their appearances, Martial Sugar Lumps clearly maintain a sense of kinship with one another.

One has shrunk below sixty centimeters while hunting small creatures, while another has grown over two meters and developed a bear-like frame, yet they still recognize each other as kin, share prey and tools, and engage in the most peaceful exchanges possible.

“But when I look at groups of Sugar Lumps fighting each other, it doesn’t seem that way.”

“No, it’s different. Did white Europeans wage war because they thought other races weren’t the same species? Did the Warring States period happen because people believed their opponents weren’t human?”

It isn’t racial conflict at all—purely territorial disputes, or in other words, conflicts driven by survival and profit. Even with a sense of kinship, one’s own family remains more precious.

The same holds for Martial Sugar Lumps and Magic Sugar Lumps. Though their appearances and diets differ, they seem to recognize that they share the same roots—or perhaps the trait I chose simply binds all Sugar Lumps together…

They merely regard one another as somewhat differently shaped members of the same race, not as entirely different races.

“Then has the [Racism] disaster been resolved as well?”

“Not quite.”

The thing is… [Racism] is currently operating in a rather strange manner.

The Sugar Lumps perceive their entire group as a single race. And Sugar Lumps are one of the dominant species in the Dessert Desert’s ecosystem, living everywhere.

However, they are not the only species in my ecosystem that possesses points.

“Ah…!”

First: Caramel Camels. Significant speciation has occurred among them as well. Since caramelization is possible for all similar herbivorous species, Ogolraeot’s bison have become Caramel Bison, and other artiodactyls introduced from different ecosystems have all been lumped together as Caramel Deer, Caramel Sheep, Caramel Gazelles—basically any large grazing animal has been grouped into the Caramel race.

And whether bison, camels, or sheep… they’re famous for forming herds. Because they’ve learned similar techniques and their diets don’t overlap much between species, they’ve begun moving together and developed a kind of kinship consciousness.

Second: Pudding types. After some Puddings began hunting in packs, large carnivorous variants with lion-like social structures have emerged.

Yet because the Dessert Desert is such a harsh place and different sizes of Pudding target different prey, small and large Puddings now cooperate to hunt the same quarry, sometimes even teaming up with non-Pudding species to share kills.

Third: Shuc-rimmurath’s Bread Legion. They live entirely within Creamland and maintain an ecology that is thoroughly exclusive toward other species. The hermit crabs cooperate with them, sharing resources and expanding their territory.

Fourth: Rice Cakes. They cooperate even with the metal-based Breads, but having specialized more in physical abilities, they’ve developed their own social structures, moving in groups, hunting, and sharing food.

Fifth: Candies. They retain their ecology as social herd animals. Even with almost no intelligence, they still possess a sense of kinship.

Sixth: Gum types… These troublesome amphibians have grown more cunning and vicious by cooperating among themselves, seizing enemy wetlands and so on.

“There are so many.”

“That’s not even half of them.”

“What…?”

“Because I actively encouraged speciation and drove so much evolution, an enormous number of bizarre groups have appeared—social Gamchi, reptiles introduced from outside, collaborative creatures living in Mitomok’s cities—creatures that belong to different species yet still possess a sense of kinship.”

And racism operates on the scale of these large groups.

For example, among the creatures Mitomok created, there are snakes that eat frogs. These snakes stealthily pursue frogs, and the foxes, badgers, and owls that Mitomok created to cooperate with the snakes move in tandem, hunting together.

They never attack one another, yet they harbor intense hostility toward every member of the Dessert Legion except themselves.

The same goes for Jellies and Rice Cakes. They don’t fight among themselves, but they fight everyone else. Even without organizing around the Legion Commanders, my ecosystem has already become an arena where these “different races” clash.

“How interesting. So does that mean [Racism], like the [Evil] disaster, has become a bonus rather than a penalty?”

“Not entirely a bonus. Because the creatures that should have been united under the name of the Dessert Legion have instead been bound together by race.”

In other words, both Yogur-tosoth and Nyaltartep command Magic Sugar Lumps as subordinates.

Yet instead of remaining loyal to their respective Legion Commanders, they feel loyalty to their race and go around saying things like “Oh, you’re one of us~” “Yeah yeah, we’re buddies~” without fighting each other.

The only ones fighting to the death are Sesaisa’s Kogogi. The Sugar Lumps feel no kinship with them.

“And as a separate issue, as sociality develops and kinship consciousness awakens, the of each race is showing dramatic improvement. After all, to advocate racism, one must be able to distinguish between other races and one’s own, and hold such beliefs.”

“Hmm. Normally that would be considered a good thing, though.”

No. It’s bad. The development of intelligence leads to the development of civilization, which slows biological competition and evolution.

Because [Racism] has taken hold, the Sugar Lumps have stopped fighting among themselves.

They’ve developed sociality and now hunt other Jellies together, while other Caramel species, Puddings, and Rice Cakes focus on hunting different races in groups rather than engaging in cannibalism.

With no single dominant race and all of them possessing moderate , the entire population of beasts moves as though they have become intelligent humans.

“I mean, it doesn’t seem all that bad…?”

Of course you’d think that—you’re the one who keeps urging me to build a civilization even in a Dessert Desert that’s reached this state.

But intelligence isn’t free. Sociality isn’t free either. To acquire them, the brain must develop, and when the brain develops, more combat-oriented organs like muscles and bones inevitably weaken.

“Humanity built superior technology, stable societies—in other words, civilization—through exactly that process. It’s not truly a bad thing. If you think of it as a unique form of multi-species civilization, there’s nothing wrong with it.”

Once we reach the point of building such a civilization, it will be overflowing with “real” racism, hatred, conflict, unnecessary animosity, and systemic contradictions.

I chose the anti-intellectualism build precisely because I didn’t want to see that mess, yet even here a civilization is being constructed?

I looked toward a certain point in the Dessert Desert.

I saw several Sugar Lumps cutting down a Gumi Tree and forming teams of six to hurriedly carry it into the Nectar basin.

Even though a Sugar Lump’s digestive system shouldn’t be able to process ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠solid Gumi Trees. Of course, Gumi Trees are rich in Nectar and other nutrients, but only something with the digestive power of a camel can eat them.

Yet contrary to my expectations, the Sugar Lumps were carefully offering the tough, living, writhing Gumi Trees to a nearby herd of Caramel Camels.

The Caramel Camels chewed them up and then regurgitated something from their mouths. The Sugar Lumps happily divided it and each popped a piece into their own mouths, chewing contentedly.

Upon closer inspection, it was half-digested gum. The camels had dissolved the minerals and about half the nutrients, then passed the rest to the Sugar Lumps instead of digesting it themselves. Apparently the Sugar Lumps can digest it…

“How should I put it… They’re already engaging in primitive economic activity. One could even say the Sugar Lumps have domesticated the Caramel Camels.”

Is this a biological instinct like the symbiosis between ants and aphids, or can it be called genuine economic activity?

I’m starting to grow suspicious. Just how far are these Sugar Lumps capable of going? Have they simply “not yet” built a civilization? Or are they intelligent creatures that will never build one?

“You seem to keep forgetting, so I’ll say it again—Sugar Lumps were originally humans… You regressed them, Biin-nim.”

I watched the various interspecies economic—and perhaps even diplomatic—activities unfolding in the Dessert Desert.

I needed to determine whether a civilization of low-intelligence beings that transcended common sense had been born, or whether it was merely a sophisticated ecology created by the convergence of instincts.

“Is there a difference between the two?”

Who knows…

Things are already far too different from the game. In Panwol, no matter what the animals did, they never built civilizations.

Yet when I think about it, the degree of freedom in this god game is far higher than in Panwol, and the interactions are unbelievably realistic.

So perhaps a truly bizarre and strange civilization that Earth’s crude CPU could never simulate has actually been born…

“In the end, every ecosystem might converge on something like this once it reaches its conclusion. Still, Biin-nim, it’s a magnificent world. We never imagined for a moment that a civilization of this nature could emerge…”

The Angel smiled brightly, revealing her love of civilization.

I silently accelerated time. I wanted to see just how far these creatures would develop “naturally.”

“Soon they’ll build proper houses, pottery will appear, stone tools, clothing, all sorts of implements, right? Reaching the Stone Age only at the tenth collision is tear-inducing, but it’s still better than nothing appearing at all…”

Time continues to flow. The races quarrel, fight, and adjust, causing this bizarre multi-species ecosystem to converge into a specific form.

Low-intelligence, non-social beasts are served by high-intelligence, social creatures who feed on the scraps.

In other words, the beasts have succeeded in domesticating humanity.

“Wait, does this even make sense?!”

“Serving a stronger lifeform and feeding on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠its scraps is a natural survival strategy.”

“Intelligent beings aren’t supposed to do that! Did horses and cows become livestock because they’re weaker than humans???”

Exactly. I also find this direction quite peculiar.

Perhaps I should examine it a little more closely.