Last and Best Creature

Once upon a time, in a distant corner of the universe, there was a planet overflowing with different kinds of creatures. From tall ones to short ones, from colorful ones to single colored ones, there was nothing that you could imagine but could not find there. These plants and animals lived there since unknown times in an order, and not a single one of them tried to dominate over the entire planet. Rather, each kind chose a king among themselves, and those kings did not see themselves superior to another creature or another king. One day, though, with the arrival of the last creature, things changed never to be the same ever again!

The last creature carried properties of various species. So, it could not really belong to a single kind. This meant that they were not within the bounds that protected the other creatures. This also meant that they were free to act. At first, the last creature increased in number slowly and they preferred to stay as secret as possible. During this time of hiding, they discovered that they could learn from other creatures. Thus, the last creature came out to day light in forms that were similar to but distinguishable from other creatures. They also developed tools to meet their needs. All these were just watched in curiosity by the other creatures until one day!

The ability to learn from other creatures and the talent to devise new tools could be interesting; but when they were practiced in total freedom, which was the case with the last creature, they threatened the well-being of the entire ecosystem. Of course, this threat was not welcomed by the rest of the planet that had lived there under an order for so long. Little by little, clashes sparked between members of the last species and others. Most of such clashed were, though, hostilities that were initiated by the other species who were scared of what the last creatures were doing. It was their fear of the unknown at work. However, those other creatures were not alone in having the sense of fear!

The last creatures had fear, too. So, they continuously developed better ways to imitate other creatures and more ingenious tools to defend themselves. What they came up with was unseen ever before. What the other creatures felt in the face of such miracles was awe! Some of them fearfully felt awe, and others were simply attracted by that awe.

One day, when a member of one species was going to become prey in the hands of another species, instead of taking refuge near their king, it was helped by a member of the last creatures. This unexpected help involved the use of those fascinating tools, of course. The story of this event spread around in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, other creatures started to think again about their prejudices about the last creatures. Maybe they were not as evil as they thought! Maybe all of the creatures could live happily on the planet!

But what about the order? Would these last creatures go under a common order like the one that was present outside them? Or would they try to establish a system that would make them the prime owner and ruler of the planet? Looking at the events of the past, the answer was not clear cut. So, the kings of the other species decided to talk with the last creatures.

The problem was that the last creatures did not have a single king. The freedom and the ability to imitate had led to the formation of several groups, imitating the presence of many species outside the last creatures; and so, each of those groups had a king. The kings of the other species were perplexed at which one to talk to first. So, they decided to send envoys to the kings of the last creatures and invite them all for a talk.

The gathering of all of the kings was initiated by the talk of the oldest member in the group. It simply gave a summary of the life and order before the coming of the last creatures; and then, voiced their concerns and wishes about the last creatures:

We wish to have a happy life all together in a common order that binds us all. We want to be assured that not any one among us is going to try to dominate over the entire planet.

The talk of the oldest member of the group was welcomed by all of the kings except the kings of the last creatures. There was a divide between them. Some of them did not want to go under an order, and insisted that freedom is essential to their existence. They said:

We are the best and most superior creatures of all. We have the finest qualities to develop things unseen ever before. This innovative spirit lives on freedom. Any restriction to that freedom is an act of murder in our view.

The other part of the last creatures suggested a willful abstinence from practicing unbounded freedom in order not to destroy the very ground, on which everybody subsisted:

We agree that we can potentially be the best of the creatures, but this superiority requires a price to come real. That price is that we must choose a self-restricted but permanent freedom over an unbounded but temporary freedom.

Having heard these comments, kings of the other creatures were bewildered by the last creatures’ supposition of being the “best creature”. Why would they be the best creature if they are enslaving the rest of the creatures for the sake of their selfish dominion over the planet? Why would they be the most superior creature if their progress meant the recession of diversity in life? Nevertheless, they were happy that at least there was a group of the last creatures who wanted to share a happy life without necessarily dominating the planet.

The gathering of the kings ended without a clear agreement. The only success was that everybody had a chance to learn about each other first-hand. Could this tiny step be enough to start an avalanche for attaining a planet-wise peace? On that, the creatures were divided. Some were totally pessimistic about these arrogant last creatures who thought they were the ultimate ones, and they said: “How can you trust a creature that imagines an innate and unconditional superiority?” Others were optimistic, thinking that the seeds of peace would sprout sooner or later. The times that followed this meeting witnessed cues that would confirm both sides.

The last creatures who supported the “self-restricted but permanent freedom” studied the order among the other creatures, and took into consideration the basic rights of every creature by virtue of being part of the life on the planet. These last creatures wanted to spread the message of peaceful coexistence to everybody. They naively thought that understanding this message is essential to establishing peace.

However, the unbounded freedom group did not like the actions of the others. They considered the spreading of “so-called peace message” as a Trojan horse, because it meant the theft of their innate freedom. Such insidious crime had to be stopped. Thus started the assaults of one group of last creatures onto the other. Victims of these assaults were not only the members of the last creatures but also other creatures who just happened to be at the spot. Bloodshed in the name of superiority and freedom brought an age of darkness to a planet that once used to shine with life.

The number and kinds of other creatures decreased. For them, witnessing the murder of their fellows was painful but not unforeseen. The order would take care of that sooner or later. However, the magnitude of destructions was so immense that the order itself was in danger, they thought! Though, other creatures had thought that it was the order that had fostered the immergence of the last creatures, and so, the order would encompass the last creatures, too! But then why! Why were all these happening? Were the last creatures even stronger than the order?

The same questions were mirrored among the last creatures. The unbounded-freedom group was thinking that the order was simply what they, themselves, wanted to execute. The self-restricted freedom group was suggesting that the subtleness of the order was not something to be tested, because once disturbed, the consequences could be grave for everyone on the planet. Despite these discussions, the assaults of the unbounded-freedom group increased in number and magnitude, affecting many of the last and other creatures.

The other creatures and the humble group of the last creatures gathered to discuss what to do. They consulted the books of wisdom to figure out what to think and how to take action in such times of trouble. The recommendation was simple: “survive”. From that day on, the suggestions of creatures to each other was to survive, because it was the greatest weapon that had come to this planet. As simple as it sounded, how to survive was a completely other job! But it did not take too much time to understand.

Survival was not a fight against the committers of the crimes, because if you did so, you would prove yourself to be the same as the criminals. Starting with this same initial premise, the creatures took different paths. For the other creatures, survival was not something you did. It just happened. If you survived, that is because you could not be killed. If you survived, that is because you had strengths that are chosen to be passed onto the coming generations.

The message of survival was grasped slightly differently by the self-restricted freedom group of the last creatures. For them, survival did not just happen! Being the creatures that are capable changing, they could imitate the properties of those who survived. So they actively performed an analysis of the survivors, and recommended each other to embrace them.

This subtle point was, nevertheless, could not be grasped by the unbounded-freedom group of the last creatures. They thought that it was them who decided the survivors. But in fact, by doing so, they contributed to the raising of the perfect selection of creatures that are strong enough not to be killed that easily and powerful enough to defeat the destroyers of the order.

With the happiness of the victory and peace among creatures, it did not take long for the planet to shine again with life. Everybody, including the last creatures, learned well that the order gave respite but did not neglect; and the order was all-encompassing.