Reading by the River ((open))

[Odin]

"It would be, but isn't that what mutation is? Adapting to better suit the environment?" ::Odin countered. Mentally, he began composing this, trying to fit it into what he had seen before, imagining how it would appear. Certainly as an aspect of mental abilities, a division of self, perhaps.::

[Aqua]

"Oh, certainly," Emily agreed. "Though it would be a rather narrow area of application of one's special powers. Do you, by any chance, know what defines whether mutant powers have a narrow range of use or a wider one?"

[Odin]

"Genetics," ::Odin's reply was simple. He saw how genes were coded in that way, as to how applicable their abilities would be. As to the actual determination of that, only mutant lineage could tell that.::

[Aqua]

"The next question would be, what influences genetics," Emily said, "but that, I guess, is a long way from being answered."

[Odin]

::Odin nodded in agreement, and lowered his ankle from his knee, switching legs to stave off prickles.:: "They're working towards an answer of course, but not quickly enough to reach wide audiences."

[Aqua]

"Unfortunately," Emily nodded. "Because I would so love to know what I am and why and what for."

[Odin]

"You're a mutant," ::Odin replied, a hint of pride in his voice associated with the term.:: "As for the other two, there are a few different answers for that, depending on whom you talk to. Some will say something about God's grand scheme, others about inheriting the earth, and still others say we're adrift in a sea of nothingness, an abyss of chaos before us that we should embrace with open arms."

[Aqua]

"What is your point of view?" Emily asked. To her, mutation seemed like a meaningless and random natural mechanism the purpose of which was merely inherent to the way natural laws worked, nothing more substantial than that.

[Odin]

::Odin hadn't completely thrown off the teachings of his childhood religion, which is what happened when one's religion was as liberal as his had been. At the same time, he'd been trained as a scientist. Added into that was his particular, and peculiar, relationship to mutant genes.:: "I believe that nature's taking its course, but there's far more resistance to it, thanks to sentience of the former dominant species."

[Aqua]

"I haven't taken that into account," Emily admitted. "But that's what makes the progress of mutation even more complicated, right?"

[Odin]

::Odin nodded in response to that. It served to further complicate nature's course, which was to be expected, although it affected him to see his people treated as they were.:: "It does, and why there's far more backlash to work through than when moths change colors."

[Aqua]

Emily nodded, with a less optimistic smile this time. She looked towards the river, then back at her book and newspaper, and then again at her companion. "It adds to the sense of insecurity when you think of yourself as being accidentally involved in a powerful, unstoppable current of evolution and you can't do nothing but watch yourself being dragged along," she said. "Funny I didn't have that feeling back when I still thought I was human."

[Odin]

"Not that I can claim to know your situation fully or explicitly," ::Odin began, folded his hands on his knee. He made eye contact with her, which was both a sign of respect and demonstrated that he had confidence in himself.:: "But when you thought you were human, the issue didn't affect you directly, not in the same way. We pay more attention to it, because we're mutants, and it's our livelihood at the center of discussion. For the humans, it's more abstract."

[Aqua]

"It's just that, technically, humans are mutants, too," Emily said. "Their existence is the result of a mutation just as well. Yet they seem to think theirs is the more rightful mutation."

[Odin]

"There are two explanations for that," ::Odin said. More, if you added in the religious fundamentalists that denied the existance of evolution and instead thought that mutation was the result of sin and demonic possession. However, he preferred to ignore their ravings completely.:: "The first is that mutants are a result of human mutation, and so they're the baseline, the beginning. Any former evolution is forgotten in light of our development. The second is this: when a person has a title for long enough, he clings to it. He'll do anything in his power to make sure he doesn't lose it. Humans pride themselves on being the greatest creatures to ever walk this earth. They don't like being proven wrong."