Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 369 - 368: Bloodline Theories and Mediocrization

Chapter 369: Chapter 368: Bloodline Theories and Mediocrization

The cultural tradition of the Riley people was to attribute everything to divine beings.

Although this approach was easy and convenient since everything could be explained through religious scriptures, it made the Riley people refrain from pondering the meaning of life and spared them much confusion.

However, attributing the significance of their existence to the elusive "divine beings" undoubtedly reduced their subjective initiative.

"Their actions, although seemingly ridiculous, were not inherently foolish; rather, it was because the intelligence of the vast majority had not been fully developed. Even those naturally intelligent wasted their potential."

While talking about this, Zhang Yuan recalled some anecdotes he heard during his time on Earth. In certain areas, it was common for locals to rob foreigners, which seemed to be a cultural norm for them—they felt entitled to others’ belongings because they were poor.

In some other regions, begging had become a commonplace practice.

If someone showed great kindness by giving money to beggars, they would take it for granted without any gratitude. They believed that such giving was divinely guided. If it was directed by the divine, why be thankful?

However, if the method changed, like asking them to move a stone from the middle of the road to the side before giving them money, such readily achievable deeds were suddenly objectionable to them, even considered an insult...

This mindset certainly existed on Earth and was tough to change, predominantly in some remote, impoverished countries.

Thus, it was not surprising to see similar traits in the Riley people present.

"Therefore, the culture of a civilization is extremely important, including its cultural heritage and spiritual core, which are pillars for the advancement of a civilization. Our new civilization has reached its current state by absorbing the fine cultural elements of Earth Civilization."

Professor Yamamoto suddenly said, "I’ve realized a very important point... Kinship-based social structures are probably the most common in the universe. The ’Species Hierarchy Theory’ of the Riley people is actually a deep-rooted kinship theory. Some Riley people are born into nobility, while others are born lowly, and even... these lower-tier Riley people believe so themselves."

"Just like our Earth, many animal communities live together bound by kinship, like wolf packs, lion prides, and human tribes and clans."

"If we extrapolate to the universe... it is likely that gregarious biological species have a much higher probability of evolving into wisdom civilizations than solitary species do. Thus, the mediocrity of most civilizations might be greatly related to kinship theories."

There’s a proverb in Xia Country: "Dragons breed dragons, phoenixes breed phoenixes, and a rat’s son will dig holes," describing kinship theory.

Yet kinship theory, this naturally formed system, is only suitable for the early stages of civilization. During the middle and later stages, the class stratification it causes becomes a hidden impediment.

Even if every road leads to Rome, don’t forget, some are born in Rome. While others endure the scorching sun, and hunger, and travel tirelessly day and night, these born fortunate ones are comfortably lying in grand halls, eating grapes, enjoying the view, having already reached the destination.

In such an unfair situation, a civilization will inevitably struggle to fully unleash its potential. If there is an inherent potential of 100, perhaps only 1, or even 0.1 might be actualized before it is restrained by self-imposed limits, halting further progress.

"Yes, there is such an opinion in New Civilization History, the deeply rooted bloodline theory limits a vast array of civilizations. So, I have another question..."

Zhang Yuan asked, "Bloodline theory must rely on sexual reproduction, which should be an important part of the evolutionary theory. If reproduction were asexual, with everyone born from the same mother, everyone would be equal, and there would be no bloodline theory or class hierarchy. Why do most of the life forms we encounter reproduce sexually? Or rather, why is it usually biparental reproduction, and not triparental, quadriparental, or even quinqueparental?"

Humans have encountered quite a few alien species and have examined several different alien civilizations.

Humans and Glizerians both reproduce biparentally, including the biological species on these two planets, which are mostly biparental as well.

The Badit people, confined in virtual space, although capable of uniparental reproduction, can also reproduce biparentally. The etiquette when Badit people meet is to exchange reproductive cells, storing them in their own sacs. In most cases, they choose biparental reproduction over uniparental reproduction.

The recently encountered Riley Civilization seems to primarily use biparental reproduction as well...

This leads to a certain degree of uniformity among many different civilizations. Although everyone looks different and has different physical structures, from certain core aspects, there are similarities.

"Captain, the answer is quite simple."

Biologist Yamamoto Ichiro explained, "Because the mutative ability of asexual reproduction is weak and the evolutionary pace is extremely slow, facing environmental changes or the invasion of malignant bacteria and viruses can lead to the extinction of the entire population... Like one type of banana, the Big Mac Banana, which went extinct due to a virus. Unfortunately, the banana we eat now, called the Cavendish Banana, doesn’t produce seeds and also risks extinction."

There are also some asexual reproduction organisms on Earth, such as yeast and paramecia, which reproduce through division. Their reproduction rate is extremely fast, and so is their mutation rate, so they do not need to worry about the risk of extinction.

Some reptiles, insects, fish, and a type of mutant crayfish can reproduce without mating, known as parthenogenesis.

Speaking of a species called the American Dragon Pattern Zhe Shrimp, it’s also a curious case in biology. Discovered in 1995 by scientists, people found that all individuals globally had the same genes, the same set of chromosomes, as if each shrimp was cloned.

Yamamoto said, "This type of shrimp can lay eggs without mating, but if there’s a virus targeting this shrimp, it would easily lead to the extinction of the entire species, leaving none behind."

"Therefore, sexual reproduction can bring about genetic diversity and a stronger ability to adapt to the environment, making it easier to survive in complex environments."

"Among them, biparental reproduction is the best and most stable. In ancient times, when living conditions were harsh, how could three, four, or five individuals come together to reproduce? Perhaps historically there were species that reproduced with multiple individuals, but ultimately, they were eliminated."

Professor Yamamoto slapped his forehead and added, "Oh, right, bacteria in the Coccus family often reproduce multiparentally, reportedly having up to thirteen sexes. But these are just bacteria with strong reproductive capabilities, not multicellular organisms."

"We do not doubt that there are some multiparental reproducing civilizations in the universe, but from an evolutionary probability perspective, they are a rare occurrence... They may exist in the Milky Way, but it’s very difficult for us to encounter them."

"That makes sense, quite an enlightenment."

Zhang Yuan nodded and smiled, "I would actually love to see what a civilization with over a dozen sexes looks like... Perhaps they can’t even form a family system... The entire society must be vastly different from ours, right?"