HOMINIDS: TWO REALITIES ONE WORLD

By:  Allan Kalashi Pour


Nations brought to chaos, people unsure and undecided, this is all the doing of one Neanderthal, Ponter Boddit. The book Hominids by Robert J Sawyer shows that if a country produces new development, that country will be plagued with envy, fear, and hatred by other countries which causes corruption, suspicion and threats. This has always been the case throughout history, no matter what year or era there will always be one nation that carries something another nation envys. In this case the country that’s carrying this new development is Canada and practically every other country wants their hands on what they’ve got.

Near the middle of the book Hominids when Ponter Boddit is well recognised and thought of as a star is when the government truly starts to take notice, including the citizens. The citizens of Canada are actually the first to take notice of Ponter, unlike the government of Canada who only takes real interest later on. The Canadian citizens carry mixed feeling towards Ponter, for instance some think of him as a religious symbol “A religious sect in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is hailing the arrival of the Neanderthal in Canada as the second coming of Christ”(166). Of course that is just a few, but there is of course fear shown by the people of Canada and that is proven when multiple threat letters had been sent to Ponter “...Sudbury police and the RCMP have recorded only thirteen threats against his life.”(166). As you can tell the Citizens of Canada carry mixed feelings towards Ponter, now let’s move away from how the citizens think of Ponter and move onto the Canadian government and other countries. When the Canadian government finally acknowledged Ponter’s existence as a real Neanderthal not much was actually done other than moving Ponter to a new location “Where should we take him?” Asked Reuben. “That I do not know,” Replied Singh, “But if he is well, he does not belong in a hospital” Reuben nodded “All right we’ll take him with us when we leave. Is there a way to sneak him out without the press knowing?”(152). The Canadian government doesn’t actually carry any concern for Ponter; they are actually excited to have Ponter that they give him a Canadian citizenship right away. Of course not everybody agrees with the Canadian governments, for instance some immigrants that want entry into Canada “Did Ponter Boddit gain legal entry into Canada? That question continues to bother immigration experts at home and abroad.”(224). This as you can see is a form of envy and anger towards Ponter by those that wanted entry into Canada, the immigrants that want entry in Canada are angry because Ponter’s been given special treatment. This isn’t the only sign of displeasure of giving Ponter full citizenship, as seen by France when saying that Ponter does not belong to them and that he should be given a French citizenship instead, “A coalition of scientists in France has issued a statement saying that although Ponter Boddit’s arrival on earth did take place on Canadian soil, he clearly was not born in the nation, and no Neanderthal lived in North America. His citizenship, they contend, should therefore be French since the youngest Neanderthal fossils were found in that country”(249). This is another sign of envy towards Canada, since Canada has a new discovery and if placed as a Canadian citizen by law no other country has the right to actually touch or experiment on Ponter, which many country want Ponter for themselves. As you can see many people envy the Canadian government since they have Ponter Boddit a new discovery in which everyone wants.

Fear is a common thing to experience, especially between countries when one carries something that could be a potential threat. Fear is shown many times within the book, but one major scene that shows what fear can cause is when Russia pointed their missiles towards Canada out of fear. Russia had pointed their missiles at Canada out of fear because Ponter had caught a sickness and they had to put him in quarantine so Russia thought they might have a new plague on their hands. So they thought it would be best to be prepared in case a plague did break out, “Unconfirmed rumors today that Russia has targeted Northern Ontario with ICBMs carrying nuclear weapons. ‘If a plague has entered our world somebody needs to stand ready to sterilize the infected area, for the greater good of all mankind,’ said a person signing himself as Yuri A. Petrov in an internet newsgroup devoted to cross border health”(350-351). As you can see fear is possibly the worst thing that could happen between two countries, for it could cause unnecessary problems and strain relationships.

The book Hominids by Robert J Sawyer shows that if a country produces new development, that country will be plagued with envy, fear, and hatred by other countries which causes corruption, suspicion and threats. Once a country gains a new development that other countries want is causes all sorts of issues outside and within the country.

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