sawyl | Avernus on human nature

Heres the old gene wizard Avernus — a character who dominates the narrative of Paul McAuley's The Quiet War, largely through her absence — finally speaking out, talking about what it means to her to be human and how her dreams of peace and cooperation have been shattered by war:

In the Outer System we have long believed in the perfectibility of the human mind, that goodness is worth trying, and that happiness is not only beneficial but constructive. In the past hundred years we have built a plenitude of societies founded on the principles of tolerance, mutualism, scientific rationalism, and attempts at true democracy. And on Earth people have united in common cause to heal the great wounds inflicted by the Overturn, climate change, and two centuries of unchecked capitalism. I hoped to see these two worthy and hopeful strands of human history unite and go forward together as equals rather than rivals, sharing unselfishly the best of each other's abilities and achievements. But instead we have war, and I must rethink everything. I must return to the most basic questions about the human condition.

Perhaps the reductionists are right. Minds selected to solve problems that challenged groups of hunter-gatherers roaming the plains of Africa two hundred thousand years ago cannot cope with the difficulties and stresses of the civilisation they later created. We are doomed by the failure of our phylogeny to keep pace with our inventiveness. Or perhaps there is some deeper flaw, something that is useful for the survival of our genes but inimical to civilisation and individual happiness. Perhaps we go to war because we cannot help being other than what we are, because the behaviour of the of the mob is closer to our true nature than the aspirations of the individual. Because we fear and mistrust the motives and promises of our neighbours. Because we cannot help coveting what we do not have. Because we are unable to forget old grievances, or are unable to overcome patterns and forces set running in the long ago. Do wicked or foolish leaders like Marisa Bassi lead innocent populations to disaster, or do populations choose leaders whose qualities mirror their desires? Or are all of us, good and bad alike, no more than foam carried on the crest of a wave, helpless to stop or direct it? Perhaps human history is the history of the mob, and the stories of old in which heroes change or save the world are no more than stories. Lies told to children.

McAuley, P., (2008), The Quiet War, Gollancz, pp. 432–433