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~3rd Person Perspective~
It was in the fifth host that
something akin to an ego emerged in it.
At first, it couldn’t even
recognize its own existence. The parasite can copy and store the memory and
abilities of the host’s brain. The initial host was a cockroach, so it couldn’t
hope for higher thinking.
It perceived the world through
the cockroach’s eyes, through its sense of touch, and through all its sensory
functions. However, since the host’s principle of action was based almost
solely on instinct, it could not know the meaning of each and every thing in
the world. Until the end of the host’s life, it simply continued to idly watch
the waves of information passing by at high speed.
The parasite could transfer to
another creature that preyed on the host, or to another creature near the
host’s carcass. The ability to do so was, so to speak, an instinctive module
that required no thought or logic. Everything was handled that way
automatically by instinct.
The fifth host was a wolf.
With a host of incomparable brain sizes to the previous ones, the parasite’s
ego finally saw the light of day.
Even though it had not yet
attained linguistic thought, the awareness of its own existence helped it
understand the boundaries that separated it from the world and grasp the
contours of the things that populate the world seen through the eyes of the
wolf.
Food, water, natural enemies,
comrades, children, dens and territories, plants, burrows, the darkness, the
hard ground.
Now it could realize the
meaning of its own sensations and emotions—hunger, anger, joy, thirst, fear,
frustration, pain, sounds, smells, tastes, and so on.
The parasite could not yet
control the actions, thoughts, etc. of its host. It had no power, no intention,
no will. It was merely a shadow reliving the host’s life.
But – one day the host saw
something that led to the explosive growth of the parasite’s ego.
It was a creature of another
species. They wore the same fur as themselves, but had no body hair, resembled
an ape, and ran on two legs. The host observed it with bated breath.
The chasing red and blue ones
were the natural enemies of its host, the wolf, and they killed and were killed
by each other. The hairless ape stopped and faced the enemy. It seemed poised to
fight.
The hairless ape was about to
be knocked down and crushed by a huge white-haired ape that appeared before
long. As is so often the case in this world, the host only wondered if it would
get to eat the leftovers from the carcass.
The hairless ape’s death was
palpable.
The difference in strength was
so obvious that it would not even be able to escape.
But the hairless ape resisted.
Desperately, he fought for his life.
Even when its head was almost
crushed, it blew off its arms and pushed itself away.
Even when its back was
pierced, it retaliated by sticking its hand in its opponent’s mouth.
Eventually, it ran away.
Dragging its battered body behind.
The white-haired ones left
behind did not have mortal wounds, and even in that state, they remained a
threat to the parasite’s host. With no more reason to stay there, it silenced
its footsteps and left the place.
One clear emotion was lit
among the parasite.
—So beautiful.
It thought the ape’s way of
life, as intense as a dazzling star, was beautiful.
Even though its host
eventually died and moved on to another host.
In the parasite’s memory, the
image of the hairless ape struggling even as it nears death’s door remained.
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