elimination

Bump Nose clears his throat, “The 19th century was a time of significant division between the classes.” I yawn and pull my coat up higher over my neck, One somehow sees me through the back of her head and turns around for a fragment of a second to shoot me a bone chilling smile. How on earth does she know about the mutation? Bump Nose drones on about how the 19th century was the golden age of the middle class, which was strengthened by the Industrial Revolution. He praises a greater sense of discipline and stronger societal standards while condemning the ever present weakness seen in enduring ties to the church. From there he jumps.

“The discovery of bacteria can be credited to Louis Pasteur, who developed the notion that living organisms cause disease while studying fermentation in beer. Though alcohol is perhaps the most egregious example of human weakness, Pasteur’s discovery ushered forth a bacterial revolution. Following this discovery, vaccines began to be developed primarily through the efforts of German scientists. In addition, for the first time comprehensive urban sanitation efforts were made. In 1834, Edwin Chadwick began gathering data on disease and poverty in England and identified a definite link.”

“In 1848 with the help of a Cholera epidemic, Britain’s first public health law was passed. Prior to the 1850s urban conditions had been filthy and overcrowded. Excrement was simply dumped in the streets. Disease spread incessantly and the death rate in turn was ridiculously high. Additionally, Joseph Lister developed the antiseptic principle and began the practice of sterilization in surgery. Though these discoveries and their implementations were undoubtedly examples of human achievement, in the grand interpretation they worked both in accordance with and contrary to The Greater Purpose.” I raise my eyebrows. How does saving lives and improving the condition of life not correspond to “The Greater Purpose For All?” I scowl and look up at the ceiling. I wonder what we’re doing today in Practical Training. Probably throwing excrement at each other in appreciation of modern sanitation.

“This new disease conscious attitude catalyzed the decline of the death rate, resulting in fewer population controls, and was a first step in the process of undermining the process of natural selection for humanity. With the increasing improvement of medical practices over the course of the following centuries this issue was further intensified. Individuals who shouldn’t have been able to survive were kept alive due to extreme motive for affiliation and went on to procreate and pass their unsavory traits onto the next generation. As a result, a general progression of weakness set in, leading, among several other factors, to the tipping point of the 21st century.” I try to focus on what Bump Nose is saying, but I can still feel One staring at me from across the room. Her eyes make my neck burn and I pull my coat up higher once again.

“Now class pay attention, the next topic I shall be discussing is integral to an understanding of both the past and the modern day. You are all thoroughly familiar with the work of Charles Darwin: “The Origin of The Species.” Darwin proposed that with various genetic variations passed from parents to offspring, some variations would be superior to others, based on the organism’s environment. The offspring with those superior genetic variations would survive to pass on their superior traits to their offspring. Over the course of several generations, the beneficial traits would become constant for all members of the population. Darwin’s findings, though logical, were rejected my many of the esteemed ignoramuses of the time, who believed in the fictitious religious view of creationism. This is yet another classic example of human weakness triumphing when humanity is faced with the responsibility of accepting the inevitability of our own uneventful mortality. While Darwin was creating the foundations of Evolutionary Biology, his contemporary Gregor Mendel was creating the foundation of genetics.” Does he really have to teach us this again? The entire education of my youth can be summed up by the names Darwin and Mendel. I roll my eyes and pull my coat up over my neck.

“As you have learned in the past, Mendel studied pea plants in order to determine patterns of inheritance. Had Darwin been able to use Mendel’s results, his theories would have been accepted far sooner. Following the work of Mendel, genetics was further explored throughout the 20th century with the notable discovery by Watson, Crick and Rosalind Franklin of the structure of DNA in the 1950s. Though you have already learned about evolution and genetics in your Science courses, you shall be given a history of the vast implications of this knowledge in this class upon a later date.”

I pull my coat up over my neck and begin to read: “Herbert Spencer and the Foundations of Social Darwinism.”