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knowledge can blend with each other. In the next section, we will discuss the blending process of different cultures and how identities flow in the story. Different identities can shape who we are and what we value as human beings, that is, human nature.
Segregation and Cultural Blending
In Only Human, we can find that the characters are experiencing ambivalent identities and values because they hold different perspectives toward new
environments. These characters are sent into different times and spaces and most of them undergo “[c]ulture shock” and cultural blending (Only Human 31). Not being allowed to disturb the Neanderthals, Reddy breaks the rule by showing Rose the way to a Neanderthal tribe and meets his Neanderthal lover, Ka, who shows them a woman giving birth. Reddy feels sick while watching the delivery because the Osterbergers do not get pregnant and give birth in a natural way. They use genetic engineering and chemical drugs to make the process quick and painless (Only Human 111-12). Reddy intends to press a soothing code before Rose stops him by saying that it is the “[m]ost natural thing in the world” (Only Human 111). When looking at how normal and gentle these Neanderthals are, Rose feels “ashamed of being human” because she believes that it is humans who cause the extinction of Neanderthals (Only Human 116). Neanderthals and Homo sapiens are so hostile toward one another that they form their own tribes with their own kind. The wise woman (Nan) of the Homo sapiens describes Neanderthals as “devils” and regards them as “Them” who are abnormal (Only Human 129). Differences are often treated as “not normal” and the sense of alienation can easily cause conflicts within society (Only Human 129). It occurs to Rose that Homo sapiens’ biased perception toward Neanderthals is like “the casual racism of some of her own grandmother’s friends back home” (Only Human 129). After the Doctor suggests that the human tribe should take refuge in the cave,
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Nan says arrogantly: “We’re the hardest tribe for miles around… And we don’t take the word of an outsider. Anyone outside the Family is a liar” (Only Human 174). The distrust toward outsiders prevents humans from learning varied differences and perceptions.
However, the ability to lie turns out to be an important technique for humans to survive in the changing world. This ability helps humans to become more flexible in facing different situations. During evolution, people who have better communication skills may have a better chance to survive. The manipulation of language choices is very special to humans because we can put ourselves in others’ shoes and predict possible outcomes. If the genes that cause this skill fit well in current environments, they are most likely to be passed on to our descendants for generations. We will come back to the discussion on lying later in the next chapter. As previously discussed, Rose plays an important role as a merging agent and a witness between different tribes. She joins different groups accidently and purposely during her investigation and witnesses differences and exclusiveness among these groups. People tend to categorize and segregate others by using differences and partial understandings. Like Homo sapiens, Neanderthals call the Homo sapiens who hate them “Them from the Cave” (Only
Human 115). However, neither Neanderthals nor Homo sapiens can explain why they
hate one another (Only Human 115 & 129). The questions throw back to Rose who is confused about the alienation which is caused by not being able to provide mutual trust.Meanwhile, people from Osterberg call anyone who refuses to wear the control pack or to cooperate in Chantal’s project a “Refuser” (Only Human 66). Refusers are those who refuse to take the chemical drugs from the pack and want to get their
“wrong-feelings” back (Only Human 90). T. P. Quilley, who claims to be the only Refuser in Osterberg, is the one who reacts and feels naturally toward the
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environment (Only Human 65). When the Hy-Bractors emerge on the streets, Quilley asks a group of Osterbergers to follow him in order to survive the attack. The
Osterbergers refuse because they can feel the “wrong-feelings” which result from the lack of chemical drugs (Only Human 171-73). When the Hy-Bractors start to eat them, they just stand still and scream (Only Human 173). The uneasiness makes them to refuse and resist the changes within their bodies. Only Jacob and Lene decide to follow Quilley out of the city. The Osterbergers who remain on the street are killed because they cannot adapt and accept the changes. Roberts creates a selection process which is much like the natural selection during human evolution. According to natural selection, anyone who is unable to change or adapt to new environments will
eventually be eliminated through evolution. John Gurche says that evolution occurs with no sophisticated plan and purpose; “at any one point in time, evolution is only a here-and-now adaptation to local conditions” (Gurche xii). The characters who survive are the ones who can adapt to the changes and accept the differences. People may lose the opportunity to evolve and communicate due to their resistance toward varied perceptions. Although these people may sometimes be stubborn in dealing with differences, they show signs of change during their daily interactions with others.
Evolution (Evolutionary Biology) is random and it results from various
adaptations toward environmental changes. Facing the unpredictable nature, people possess different characteristics that may help them to become fitter. Those who happen to have the adaptable genes are most likely to survive during the changes. As the story goes in Only Human, some people gradually adapt to changes and
differences during their explorations toward the unknown. By preserving the past through writings and “made-things,” humans can revisit these historical traces and learn more about the idea of what makes us human. Quilley keeps a collection of artefacts from Rose’s time such as CDs, DVDs, a television, an old-fashioned
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computer and a washing machine in order to make him “feel at home” (Only Human 84). However, he knows little about his collection because the artefacts are from Rose’s time which are far beyond his knowledge. In order to know better of the past, Quilley dresses “in the manner of the past” and studies these historical artefacts which he barely understands (Only Human 84). According to Martinez Hewlett, unlike any other species, humans “have a kind of complete self-awareness, or self-consciousness, of our individual past, present, and future” (Hewlett 147). The mission of Osterberg is to “deliver value by researching human history in a vibrant world-class environment”
(Only Human 66). By traveling back in time, Chantal is collecting and examining these historical traces in order to envision possible futures. Due to information
overload, people can easily gain access to multiple information about our past, present and possible futures. By constant collecting and eliminating useful/useless traits and information, human nature is also in a flowing state.
Being a Refuser, Quilley is not refusing all the changes and drugs from the future. When Rose insists on going to the restroom, Quilley offers her a pill which
“absorbs and recycles the waste products” (Only Human 85). He refuses to put on a pack because those chemical drugs can block his feeling and mind. However, he chooses to accept the pill because it “[s]aves a lot of bodily unpleasantness but doesn’t cloud the mind” (Only Human 85). On the other hand, although Nan is defensive toward outsiders, she still joins the human tribe and lets her nails be
manicured by Rose. According to her observation, Nan concludes that Rose is sent for alliance between tribes and she wants her grandson Tillun to marry Rose. In order to escape from the tribe, Rose lies to Nan and makes up a “holy ritual” which should be completed outside and is necessary before marriage (Only Human 161). Nan believes that marriage can form alliance and make the tribe stronger (Only Human 135-36).
After seeing the potential and benefit of joining two tribes, Nan trusts Rose and lets
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In Only Human, some people show the fluidity and flexibility which results from constant adaptation. The interactions between different tribes which come from various times and backgrounds create a melting pot at the end of the story. People who are adaptive can learn from new environments and change with different
conditions. Adaptability can help people to adjust themselves in new surroundings and to develop proper behaviors. “Our designs and behaviors arise through and out of interaction with the environment” (Herzfeld 120-21). The interactions blur the
boundaries between self and other and make humans more flexible when dealing with differences. In her discussion about the aliens presented in Doctor Who, Priya Dixit notes how the show blurs the concept of what it means to be human. She says that
Doctor Who questions “the binary distinction of self (human)/other (alien)” (Dixit
291). As long as people accept the differences and are willing to communicate, they can create a vibrant world where the exchange of information is fluid and flexible.Human nature becomes fluid and changeable during the interaction between humans and the world. Everything is relative rather than absolute. The tribes can either be distant or close to each other as the result of interactions. The Doctor and Rose actually act as a merging agent to eliminate the segregations between the tribes. By showing the variety, Only Human presents a place where the meanings of human nature and identity are no longer fixed.
At the beginning of the story, Das is sent to a night club in modern Bromley where people dress up as different characters such as Roman soldiers, astronauts and cavemen (Only Human 3). A diverse world is presented through partygoers’
masquerade. Dean thinks that Das’s costume is very real and he does smells like a caveman (Only Human 4). However, people do not even realize that Das might be a real Neanderthal from the past until he is punched and sent to the hospital. Under the
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diverse appearances, human nature and identity are flowing. These people are exteriorly different but interiorly related to one another. They may share the same genetic origins and diverge into different ethnic groups as the result of the adaptation toward different environments. Everyone in the story represents people from different times and phases.14 At the end of the story, the “tribes” are united through marriages, compromises and understandings despite the differences. Das marries a modern woman in 2005 and the Osterbergers who survive the attack live with both
Neanderthals, Homo sapiens and even a Hy-Bractor. Quilley marries the wise woman (Nan) of the Homo sapiens while Reddy (an Osterberger) unites with Ka (a
Neanderthal) (Only Human 221). Although the otherness remains, the process of identification has become more fluid as the result of exchanging varied perceptions.
The experiences they share shape who they used to be, who they are at the moment and who they might become. The melting pot becomes a point where everything is balanced yet still changing. This renewed group shows the flowing definitions of what it is to be human and how humanity may evolve. At the end of the story, Quilley has a realization: “He couldn’t change history. But he could help to make this small part of it more civilized – more humane” (Only Human 222).
14 The Doctor is an alien with human body and humanity. Although he is not biologically human, he possesses human values which make him “human.” The combination of humanity and alienness makes the Doctor the embodiment of human fluidity.
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Chapter Five
Evolution and Manipulation:
Multi-directional Transformation and the Fluidity of Human Body
In the previous chapter, we have discussed that humans are deeply influenced by their surroundings and they have become more adaptive in order to survive. Evolution is a random process which distinguishes those who possess adaptive genes from those who do not. When some people possess genes which fit current environmental
changes, these genes have a better chance to be passed on to future generations. As long as the environment keeps changing, natural gene selections also change.
“[E]volution in a broad sense is descent with modification, and often with
diversification”
15 (Futuyma 4). Every generation has inherited with genes which are suitable for current environments and with some slight changes. When discussing about evolution, it usually refers to biological evolution and is different from social evolution. Jennifer Shakeel gives a brief definition of social evolution:Social Evolution is a theory that states that social traits are selected over time and gradually develop into behavioral or social norms. Social
Evolution is very similar to Evolution, often called Evolutionary Biology, in that particular traits are selected within individuals and over time patterns emerge. The primary difference between these two theories is that
Evolutionary Biology focuses on the physical traits where as Social Evolution focuses on behavioral or cultural traits. (Shakeel)
What Shakeel means by selecting traits must be clarified since it is often
15The phrases are originally in italics.
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misunderstood as choice with purpose. Social evolution may result from purposive choices; however, Evolution Biology is deeply related to the changing environments and it selects randomly toward fitter genes with no destined purpose. For example, people can agree on a social norm and change their behaviors while they cannot choose to alter genes and cause evolution. Different gene sequences among humans result in differentiations (body features such as heights and skin colors). These differentiations are the potential traits which may be selected according to environmental changes.
Some transhumanists regard their ideal version of evolution as the advancing process which shows the combination between humans and technology; however, evolution does not have a linear progression toward advancement and perfection. The advancement is in fact a modification which helps species to adapt to new
environments. In this chapter, we will focus on how genetic engineering, which is presented in Only Human, fails to function properly during evolution due to its inadaptability. When facing fast-changing environments, humans have naturally developed a survival mechanism which is adaptive to the changes. In Only Human, the Osterbergers and the Hy-Bractors present ambiguous bodies and minds which challenge our understanding of what it is to be human. The Osterbergers wear badges which can inject chemicals into their bodies and eliminate “wrong-feelings”. Genetic engineering has become a tool to select desired traits and outcomes which allows people to eliminate possible defects. The means toward transhuman outcomes is the reason why some critics oppose transhumanism because they believe that humans will eventually be replaced by machines. They fear that the transformations will result in loosing human nature or identity. However, without using advanced technology to assist the process, humans have evolved a capacity to control thoughts, emotions and behaviors due to social norms and survival needs. In order to survive, humans possess
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a mechanism which helps us to become more adaptive toward the changing world. We will see how survival mechanism functions during the path of social/biological
evolution and how it shows the fluidity toward changes.