The human nature. A nature restless, a nature that is never satisfied with what has been accomplished and keeps aiming higher setting new goals and achieving them through hard work. Never discouraged with the limited understanding of the world inhabited, the human curiosity has enabled people to think outside the box and come up with revolutionary ideas that made the world move forward. However we were unable to give sufficient answers concerning our own existence and the purpose of our life if there is any to be found. It was always religion’s work to provide all those answers but no proof was ever given to back up all those theories whereas philosophers have been providing their own versions for thousands of years based on their own understanding of the world but all conversations on those matters never provided any scientific proof, with the contenstants trying to outsmart the other participants.
Mathematicians are trying to comprehend the ways of the world using deterministic systems stating that for every reaction there is always an action that preceeeded it and is responsible for that reaction and what appears to be random, in fact it falls under a certain algorithm that dicatated its creation. Certain patterns have already been found in nature where the angles of the branches though not symmetrical to the human eye, are perfectly created following certain laws, even the structure of the human brain and the placement of nerve cells is far from random. In fact one could even state that every single reaction in this world is the result of a very complex equation and it can be predicted if all the variables are taken into account. However concepts like the butterfly effect (a butterfly’s wings can have an impact on the weather on the other side of the globe) can be effectively discouraging when trying to use determinism in order to predict a reaction in a system. So while mathematicians are looking for the algorithms that govern the physics of this world, ranging from interraction of inanimate objects to how life is developed, another group of scientists will soon have the ability to do research on a particular system that is considered chaotic with the aim to identify all the parameters involved and for the first time in human history, provide some proof in an attempt to answer the greatest questions in existense…changing the world forever.
Geneticists have been studying the laws of inheritence and have been identifying the characteristics that are inherited, including human talent and even preferrence on certain topics has been shown to be related to the types of genes that each individual carries. However even though there may be a genetic predisposition towards a certain characteristic, the expression of that trait can be heavily influenced by the environment and even though some disorders are solely determined by the genes, many phenotypes are determined by a combination of both the environment and the gentype of the individual. Psychologists are studying the effect of environmental impact on the psychosynthesis of individuals, ranging from repressed menories to peer pressure, firmly stating that past incidents may heavily affect one’s mentality sometimes with catastrohpic repercussions. So one of the biggest questions put forward is, apart from genes and environmental impact, are there any other factors that have an impact on one’s decisions throughout his life? Answering this question using scientific facts will be enough to end the current era in human history and start another one, where a higher understanding of this world would revolutionise our lives and what is real will be revealed, making all theories obsolete. Today I believe we stand at the gate of this revelation with the answers to all our questions waiting to be discovered.
One area of research that geneticists have been studying are twin studies. In particular studying monozygotic twins, individuals who share the same genetic composition has provided invaluable information concerning the impact on genes on certain disorders. However the so called “gold nuggets” are cases of monozygotic twins raised in different environments. In those cases the environmental impact can be assesed as well by researching on the differences between the two individuals. However such cases are rare and in many cases scientists are struggling to end up with results that are statistically significant. So instead of looking for “a needle in a haystack” a more aggressive approach can followed.
Ten individuals will be selected with criteria selected by geneticists in order for a broad spectrum of genes to be studied. Detailed information about the family history of the individuals will be stored along with the entire genotype of each individual. Once mamalian cloning techniques have been perfected, ten clones will be created of each individual with the babies given to a total of 100 different families, carefully selected by a consortium that will consist of geneticists psychologists and sociologists. The clones and their families will be closely monitored for a period of thirty years with the subsequent accumulation of vast amounts of data concerning all major and minor incidents that take place in the lives of those 100 individuals. Of course a bold attempt to control the environment will have to take place, with some clones having very similar stimuli throughout their childhood years, even going as far as creating traumatic experiences physically or mentally scarring them forever like selecting ten clones and executing their foster families while being present.
The benefits of such a long and expensive project are numerous. Geneticists and psychologsists will have the rare opportunity of selecting the characteristics they want to study beforehand and observe how genes and the environment affect people under controlled conditions. Since replicating the same environment is impossible unless virtual reality technology is used, thus eliminating all random elements (for instance a lottery ticket), attempting to replicate the environment will openly challenge theories like the butterfly effect and observe its effects. However the main goal of the experiment is to identify any significant variation among individuals with the same genetic composition and similar enviromental impact. Any answer to this question is equally terrifying. If the results are not significant wih very little variation observed, then there are only two factors affecting our lives and for the first time ever, science would prove that free will, what was taught for many centuries by religion throughout the world, does not exist. In this case it will be proven that humans are defined by their genes and their experience in life, no judgement can be made by any entity so heaven and hell was just a fabrication to restrict people from bahaving inapproprietly. If on the other hand the results are significant and diversity is observed, this will directly point to at least one more factor affecting our judgement and more research will be needed in order to identify and characterise them. Essentially we would be knocking on heaven’s door, slowly approaching the essence of what is called “soul”.
In both cases such information will have a tremendous impact on the population bringing us closer to the truth where humans are actively looking for the reason of their existence using scientific data to explain the new theory proposed. However that will come with a huge price. The scientists involved would have comitted the worst crimes ever possibly imagined and even if the information is revealed, the methods will be discredited and the scientists responsible will be prosecuted. It is possible that the world would be plunged into chaos since all the ethical barriers were violated and humans were cultured in order for the truth about our existence to be revealed. Then people will realise that moral values are more important than the actual research itself but it would be too late. Everyone’s life could be monitored and everyone could thern be used as a guinea pig. Science would have failed its fundamental purpose, to provide a better world for its people.
So where should science stop? Where will it be considered as too immoral for an experiment to take place? The answer to that question was never clear cut with a wide diversity of opinions expressed on that matter. Personally I believe that whenever there is a dispute over a certain topic, there is always a scale hidden behind and just like the answer to the hedgehog’s dilemma, both ends of the scale are never acceptable answers. People need to move along that morality scale and do their best to justify their opinion. The outcome of those “battles” will decide what needs to be done so we all need to be ready to contribute to those discussions. This is far from a perfect solution, but it is the closest one to perfection.
Nico Robin, a cursed woman, hunted by the government, she is the only one that can read ancient manuscripts called poneglyphs. In those texts lies information that it must never be read including the location of weapons of mass distruction. However one of those manuscripts, the Rio Poneglyph, contains the true history of the world that has the potential to mark a new era once it is revealed. In her quest to find more poneglyphs, she theatens to assasinate an individual who knows one of the manuscript’s whereabouts. “Why are you doing this? You endanger the whole world for an old story?” he asked with four guns being pointed at him. “I don’t care about any of this, I only care about history” she replied with a slightly trembling voice”. Raising his own without any fear he replied “but there will be no world for you to live in, not for you or anyone else” One Piece - Water 7
Author's Notes: First of all I would like to thank you for reading the entire post. This essay is not directly related to OP thus I decided to post it under the general discussion forum, however in my humble opinion, there are strong referrences of this topic in the Water 7 arc. The hardcore will quickly realise that this the last paragraph is a heavily edited version of what happened in episode 251 and the reason I did not elaborate was because this is for people who are completely unaware of what (again IMO) One Piece is all about.
In fact the entire CP9 saga is a huge tribute to ethical dilemmas with Tom's teachings "you got to do it with a DON", Iceburg's objections and the flashback climax with Cutty Flam's regrets and Tom's final lesson. The saga even extends to CP9's own leader's "dark justice" which is enough to initiate debates on sacrifices required for world stability.
Oh but the series "lessons" do not end here. You may think I read too much into it (and you got every right to believe that) but when you see Calgara and Wiper saying the same phrase, making the EXACT SAME MISTAKE "they are good people", then you realise that One Piece is just so much more than a good story and characters. The story of Shandra was passed down in generations with exery single detail, however history was NOT enough for Wiper to repeat Calgara's mistake. In fact I could write a whole essay based on history's assistance in our world.
But there is more. "A kingdom is its people" was the opening of movie 8 but the public bath schene was sadly omitted, where Nefertari Cobra bows in front of Luffy saying "power is something worn over clothing", which is (IMO) one of the greatest lesons One Piece is trying to put across. You know, it's even funny to debate OP's superiority to popular series like LOST, where everyone is looking to find out who each character is and what he/she has done before the accident. Oda throws all that juvenile NONSENSE out of the window when Luffy refuses to listen to Nami's past in the Arlong arc, showing that even the life of a thief is not enough to prevent him from accepting her as his nakama. Same rule applied to Robin where he knew who she was and se still accepted her coming on board, he made her a part of his crew and was prepared to die for her when needed.
Some of you may believe that this is just nonsense and I will respect your opinion. Some may feel that they wasted their time and I humbly apologise. However the reason this topic was post here, was to give the series the true value it deserves. I want to see more information of Cobra on wikipedia concerning his ideals, I would like to see someone comment on anything that the series may be trying to say to viewers and not just basic correlations like "the shandians resemble indians". This is not just another shounen anime and I honestly believe the script is more than meets the eye.
Thank you for your patience.
initially posted on www.anime.gr off topic section
CSP
 
