Chapter 28: Evolutionary
"An interesting point, Mr. Rose," the teacher conceded, "I suppose you are correct in your analysis, though I might add that we do not know entirely in how Grimms operate. It could be that their ability to sense humans is limited by distance. Those far out in the wild might struggle to find themselves some humans."
"Then how do you explain the giant Nevermore and the huge Beringel and King Taijitu in the initiation? Its like they just appeared out of nowhere." Jin spoke out and he pressed on.
"Or the Grimms in the Emerald Forest at all? Unless I missed it, we have not been invaded by the Grimms this morning, nor yesterday, or any day at all – and the whole forest is filled to brim with them. Beacon is so near to the forest, that the Grimms living in their should've sensed us and attacked already. Sure, Beacon can fend them off if they ever attack, but the other Grimms, like that ancient Death Stalker in the initiation, has clearly lived there for ages and hasn't attacked students until that day."
Prepared to answer his question, Oobleck adjusted his glasses yet again, giving him the impression of a confident intellectual individual.
"Grimms have a more reckless and aggressive nature during their youth, but the older Grimms who have managed to survive their battles against humans have the tendency to learn from their experiences. While sometimes requiring several or even hundreds of years, the older Grimm's accumulated experiences over the course of surviving their battles with man can cause them to begin exercising caution, thus they do not openly attack the school as they know that repeated attacks on humans can only result in their vain deaths. Furthermore, the longer a Grimm lives, the larger and stronger it becomes, hence the reason why fighting older Grimms can prove to be alot more difficult."
Jin shrugged, "Well, I get it, but are we sure they're pure evil? They may have other kinds of purposes; like they may attack humans to...evolve. By killing and devouring humans, they can grow and gain strength faster than the normal. These kinds of actions may signify that they have some animal-like desire to grow. And these kind of desire and actions from them, can't really be called evil from the evolutionary perspective."
More mutters from the watching students can be heard again, and some these were even followed up by a 'wow' and 'what the heck?'. The words that the silver-eyed teen was interesting, and in the same time, quite scary.
The Professor just nodded in acknowledgement at the Elite Student's words, before saying his own stuff, "I can freely admit that the definition of Grimm as an unrelenting evil might be…fanciful at times. Some villages – while not co-existing with Grimms – are able to exist in locations with them, often without being wiped out. Although not daily, but they still experience Grimm attacks on a regular basis. And, on the other hand, might be wiped out entirely if there were ever a huge conflict among the people living in the settlement. But the desire of 'evolution' from Grimms are yet to be proven true."
And with that, Oobleck didn't miss the chance on giving some facts to his students, "Remember students, Grimms are always attracted to generally negative feelings such as sadness, hostility, anger and fear. Specially in congregated areas at that, and some long since abandoned areas can still hold residual traces of these feelings. This trait from Grimms can and will lead to them to join in on an attack if the humans being attacked ever begin to panic or release more and more negativity."
Jin nodded to the Professor, "Well, I guess that's true. It just seems weird to me that so many people claim that Grimms are mindless creatures and are just unrelenting tides of evil."
"Evil is subjective, and that is a point we should all seek to remember. In this case, I believe the Grimms are labelled that because they lack a reasonable motive for their destruction, or they may just have an unclear and unknown reasons for killing." Oobleck pointed out.
"We humans kill animals for meat and resource materials, but at least we have reasons for doing so. But depending on what you said on Grimms attacking humans to feed in order for them to 'evolve' then...They may really gain sustenance from those they kill, and such actions may be considered as.....reasonable." Oobleck ended before pausing and thinking about the idea, to which the class used the time to have some gossips and make some murmurs.
Now that he really thought about it, where did this young man get this kind of idea from?
"Then maybe the desire for a faster and better improvement is really one of their motive. Aside from their unknown source of drive to hunt humans down, they may also have a reason to do so. Not to confuse anyone, but those two things are quite different you see. Its like comparing a man who kills for fun and a man who kills because its his job." Jin said while twirling a pen.
Hearing this, Doctor Oobleck here seemed to be almost excited, and seems to be more than willing to entertain him.
"Oh?" he asked, "You seem to be adamant on making that point, Mr. Rose. Are you perhaps challenging the very established concept of the Grimms being mindless in their drive, and that they have another purpose for killing? That is an intriguing hypothesis, Mr. Rose. I hope you have some evidence to back it up."
Oobleck then pointed a finger up, "In fact, how and when did you get your idea of this 'evolutionary desire' from Grimms."
Hearing his demands, Jin couldn't help but put on a helpless smile. He just got that idea from comparing Grimms and some fictional/evolutionary/magical beasts in certain novels, about their desires and the reasons why they kill.
And also because of that Werewolf. The Werewolf, that he encountered in the Emerald Forest, made it clear that he would 'devour' Jin after he kills him.
This made Jin have some ideas on why the Werewolf attacked him in the first place.
Either the Grimm likes the taste of strong humans, or it just liked to consume him for the purpose of getting stronger; like absorbing his essence or something, or possibly, even his Aura or Soul like some certain beasts in a particular franchise.
'Hmmm...If I say it right, then maybe I can dodge the last question...or maybe salvage some stuff to make it right.'
"Well, remember on how they learn from experience and how they gain intelligence if they've been around long enough? It seems to be impossible that they are 'mindless' and can be absolutely lacking in a brain for years, then suddenly – poof – a mind and sudden intellect capable of reasoning, thought, and strategy appearing out of nowhere. Something has to have existed before then, even if it's only a limited intellect, and they must have a proper reason on why they kill. They do consume humans afterall." Jin said.
"True, true…I might add that researchers have tried to conduct skull analysis on Grimms to see if there is a cranial cavity that might contain a mind, but as you know, Grimm carcass does dissolve on death. Capturing one live for testing? A difficult task indeed. On the other hand, because we have no ability to test them, that means we can't rule out illogical – or even theoretically impossible – things like gaining intelligence out of nowhere."
'I think the capturing part isn't so difficult for someone...' Jaune thought as he listened on to the two's discussion.
"Well, thats cool I guess." Jin said and received an acknowledging nod from the man.
"Even so, isn't the fact that Grimms can move about, fight, show aggression, and learn in the first place proof that they already have some small intellect? Even from their youths. I mean sure, young Grimms can be considered as initially 'mindless' and heedless of risk, and this leads them to simply attack any humans on sight. But the older Grimms has developed self-restraint due to the experiences they have learned in fighting humanity, and this already shows that they have intelligence."
"Do you mean as to their ability to function at all?" Oobleck offered. "If so, then yes, I can agree – the definition of being mindless as in `having no possession of cognitive thought` is perhaps incorrect. After all, Beowolves know to dodge and an Ursa will often use its prodigious strength and bulk to smash, showing at least some awareness as to their own surroundings and physiology. That said there is perhaps a difference between sentience and animalistic instinct."
The teacher then removed his glasses and cleaned them with a cloth, smiling all the while, "It's important to note, and I believe the entire class could benefit to take note of this, that much of what we know of the Grimm is assumed fact, rather than established."
He then seemed to speak much slower now, and he extended his gaze across the entire room, "We cannot test them, nor can we ask or understand them. Some of our information on them might be wrong, and some might also be considered propaganda to have Grimms be killed on sight, them being 'mindless killers` is one of them."
"But despite their ability to learn, their instinctual hostility still remains, as observed by their preference to patrol the borders of human settlements for any weaknesses they might someday exploit. They are always waiting for an opportunity for them to finally strike on their prey, and they can attack at anytime they want. Grimms are still savage in nature and that cannot go away even with experiences and with the things that they have learned. This demonstrates that for all their apparent intelligence, Grimms simply uses it as a means to become more effective in their singular drive and purpose of killing - and this kind of actions, can still be considered as 'evil'." He added.
"That's good, I guess." Jin crossed his arms, "And as I've known so far; Grimms, both young and old, may and can have a strange form of self-preservation, and this interest leads those certain Grimms to exhibit restraint and the patience to avoid taking unnecessary casualties in unwinnable battles, so of course they can't be all wild and mindless...So now, the more powerful Grimms may also have some kind of limited control over the 'lesser' Grimms regardless of their species, but their controlling ability is stronger if used on their respective species. They may kill humans, not only because of their drive to kill us, but its also for the sake of their growth. They creatures that are just in the wrong path in the pursuit for power."
With that, Jin then did a shrug, "But who would blame them, right? In the end, they are beasts, and they only have a limited intellect, so of course they would do the 'beastial' way of things. And they also don't have a good mommy and daddy to give them the stick if they do something bad, so course they'll get carried away and their actions will be considered as evil."
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