At the Twilight of Mankind

Part 9 - Chapter 2: (5/5) A Few Years Later, Planet Earth

THE BABEL GENE

More commonly known as the "survivor gene", the Babel gene was discovered by a South African professor of the same name a few years after climate change caused the destruction of three-quarters of natural resources, the extinction of thousands of animal species, and the death of several million people. Contrary to the alarmist propaganda of the 2020s, there was nothing apocalyptic or sudden about global warming. It arrived as expected before the colonisation of rich populations by artificial intelligence. Then, it completely disappeared from the surface of the planet during the fifteen years of colonisation, and finally resurfaced immediately after the liberation of the rich countries. At the time, no one sought to understand the inevitable physical, biological and psychological transformation that all of humanity had just undergone in the space of only twenty years. However, it became more and more obvious that man in the second half of the 21st century from one continent to another was no longer the same. Soon, Professor Babel found that individuals of African descent carried a gene that allowed them to better adapt to the harsh new conditions of the planet. More than the melanin or the pigmentation of their skin, the gene mutated completely to allow the individual to survive. The Caucasian and Asian peoples who had looked down upon melanin and its complexion shades within their own communities for several centuries were forced to accept the incontestable advantage they gave due to the new conditions of the planet. The black man, whose popularity had already begun to boom at the start of the 21st century with Pop culture, saw himself propelled almost overnight to the status of most desirable man on Earth. The Babel gene brought out the most primal instincts in women, as in so-called modern men. The veil of romanticism and its lies of pure, eternal and unconditional love fell like a carnival mask, revealing to each other, as well as to themselves, their true mortal face. The morals, tastes and romantic choices of the elite as well as those of ordinary people went from light to dark in a flash.

Since the discovery of the famous gene in the early 2060's, African countries have become particularly strict with regard to research on this gene. They suspect that this could yet become another door open to the exploitation of their population even when their past of misery and wars has now been well and truly behind them for fifty years. More solid and united than ever thanks to common organisations, Africa seems to make fun of the rest of the world with its economic success and its magic gene.

Prior to the recent events on Mars, African countries also briefly considered investing on the Red Planet and sending a colony there too. Unfortunately, according to his father-in-law, Mars no longer consists of an option given the tragic fate that now awaits the first colonies there. There really is no escape. Africans know now that if planet Earth dies, they will die too, like everyone else. The rest of the world which kept their drugs overpriced for several centuries may envy them today, it isn't genetic exclusivity that African countries want to protect, but their human uniqueness.

The discovery and news of the Babel gene transformed forever the demography of the populations on the planet. It is only much later that Professor Babel's successors made another important discovery about the survivor gene. Although men also carry the gene, only women can pass it on. Obviously, Mother Nature was having fun playing tricks on the human species who always seemed to believe they could do better than the former. Men thought they could fool nature, but it was once again nature that prevailed over mankind's ego. Since its discovery, men and their sciences have relentlessly tried to control the famous gene. Artificial birth, more particularly, constitutes a practice. Artificial birth is very common in the search for the Babel gene in an attempt to artificially recreate the gene and implant it in other human beings. Several scientists and philosophers have endavoured to explain in one way or another the essence of the Babel gene: why these people and why now? According to Tempéra, such questions no longer matter at this stage in time, because the genetic mutation represents an evolution of the human species, like that which occurred billions of years ago before that. According to the professor, the gene will sooner or later be shared by the entire human species on the planet. However, whether humanity will be patient enough to wait wisely until then is the real question. With the multiple requests from his clients around the world filling his calendar every year, Tempéra strongly doubts humanity will.