Red Queen

Invader Zim Fanfiction By DrLovekill

Rated T+

What about human kind is worth saving? When Dib actually sits down and talks with Zim, he is faced with this question. All evolutionary tracks come to an end, and perhaps it is so for homo sapiens. Perhaps the Irkens really are the new dominant organism. Or are they? Slightly OOC for Zim and Dib. I didn't mean it at first, but Zim kind of sounds like Ian Malcom from Jurassic Park in this one. Based on actual biological theory! Huzzah! Read on for more Michael Crichton-like science rhetoric!

Chapter 1: The Beginning of a Revelation

Dib sat nervously on the plush, yet beat up sofa in Zim's house. He had long dreamed of gaining access to this place, yet now, the fourteen year old boy genius wished he were somewhere else. Okay, so years of pursuing the paranormal had led him to this point. So months of spying on Zim, harassing Zim, and plotting on Zim had finally led to him actually being invited here. Still, something didn't sit right with Dib. He felt as if he were about to be show something he'd rather NOT see.

"Dib-monkey," Zim had said earlier. "I realize now that you're just not going to stop. You've been a formidable enemy since I landed on this filthy ball of dookie. You've ruined every one of my ingenious plans so far."

"And I'll keep ruining them, Zim." Dib had replied confidently. "until you give up and leave Earth alone." Zim had sighed.

"Dib, I want you to come to my base tonight. I think it's time we call at least a temporary truce, and I show you the truth." He turned and began walking away. "Be there at seven."

"Truth?" Dib asked. "What truth? Zim?" But he had just kept walking.

Now Dib sat, waiting on Zim, and this mysterious truth. He didn't have to wait long, as Zim entered the room through a high tech lift that had been disguised as a section of floor. The child-sized green alien wore no disguise, and his red eyes shone in the light of the room. With those red eyes, he stared at dib studiously for a moment, as if trying to come to a decision. Finally, he spoke.

"I suppose you want to know the truth behind it all, huh?" Zim asked. Dib looked at him confoundedly. "About life, I mean. About the meaninglessness of placing emphasis on something as fleeting as a dominant specie." Dib though he understood now.

"Don't tell me you brought me here to try to justify your trying to take over the world, alien scum, 'cause it's not gonna work." Zim held up a hand, and Dib fell silent.

"Maybe," Dib thought, "I do wanna see where this is going."

"No, Dib." Zim said. "If you listen, I won't have to justify anything." He smiled slightly.

"What do you know about dinosaurs?"

"Well," Dib replied. "They were animals that were the dominant creatures on Earth for 140 million years. People thought they were cold blooded, like reptiles but new evidence says..."

"They were warm-blooded." Zim said matter-of-factly. "And they were the dominant specie. Do you know why they died?"

"The most famous theories say it was a meteor or a climate change."

"That's how. Do you know why?" Zim asked. Dib looked confused. Zim sighed. "Okay, the big ice-age was the gun that killed them. Who do you think pulled the trigger?"

"I guess it was nature."

"Right. Now why?"

"They couldn't adapt."

"Yes. Dinosaurs were the product of millions and millions of years of evolution. Because of that, they were adapted to their world. Specifically to their world. To be a dominant specie on any world, an organism must be better than all of the other organisms. Bigger, faster, stronger. It ends up being a genetic arms race between several groups of organisms as to who is going to be the king for a day."

"But how is that so bad?" Dib asked. "I mean Jeez, look around, Zim. Humans have been advancing for a million years or so, and look at how far we've gotten."

"But how far can you go?" Zim asked. "The dinosaurs were unchallanged for 140 million years. But being that specialized has drawbacks. Deadly ones."

"Like?"

"Bacteria were among the first organisms on your planet. Think of how simple they are. Little one celled things that live anywhere. Everywhere. They can live in almost any environment, from the depths of the oceans, to the inside of youe mouth, to a can of beans. They are simple. They are unspecific as to the type of environment they need, and the food they need to live. That's how they've been able to remain almost unchanged for hundreds of millions of years."

"You're saying the simpler an organism is, the better chance it has to survive, even though it may never be the dominant specie on a planet?" Dib asked.

"Uh-huh. The dinosaurs had it all. The right food, plenty of it, the right environment. It took an average global temperature drop of just ten degrees before they started dying off in mass numbers. And meanwhile, the bacteria that lived in the soil barely noticed this change."

"Okay, so the dinosaurs were over-evolved. What does this have to do with anything?" Dib demanded.

"I just wanted to make sure you understood that being big and mean and the best isn't always a good thing." Zim replied. "Now, I can let you in on the big, universal game nature plays on everything that lives. But you probably don't want to know."

"Know what?"

"You're all going to die."