"Take a look at that Alpha Off!" Octavia giggled, watching as the boys settled down. "Looks like somebody moved up a couple spots on the list."
Weiss rolled her eyes. "It's just Cardin being an ass, as usual."
Octavia scowled at the girl, crossing her arms over her chest and huffing.
Blake hummed thoughtfully. "Most men wouldn't have stayed calm under that kind of pressure. Jaune deserves credit for that." She admitted, mentally shifting the blond human from 5th to 4th. If only he were like that all the time.
After the girls had finished, just like Ruby and Nora they had started to compare results. What was remarkable about them was that virtually everyone had the same top 5: Cardin, Jaune, Neptune, Ren and Sun. The order varied: Blake put Sun in 1st place while Weiss put him in 3rd, with Neptune it was vice versa, only Nora put Ren in 1st but he was a fairly popular 2nd place. Jaune was a wildcard: some girls thought he was a mysterious loner with a tragic past, while others remembered him as a cute but socially awkward boy. Depending on who you asked he was either the hottest outright or barely made the list. But looks counted for a lot: he was always there.
There were a few exceptions; sometimes Flynt, Sage and even Sky on one occasion had slipped in and knocked one of the others down to 6th or 7th place, but out of 100 classmates they all more or less agreed who the cute boys were.
"Are you kidding?" Octavia gushed. "I've never seen anyone pick a fight with Cardin like that."
Roksana Biały, who had gone back with the boys since pre-school, before even Ruby had met them, spoke up. "Actually, those two have never gotten along." She said. "Back when we were kids Cardin used to pick on… well, everyone , really, but Jaune was at the top of his shitlist. Mostly because he fought back."
Yang sighed. "The more things change, the more they stay the same."
Cardin had been one of the bigger personalities on the playground, but Jaune had always been his biggest rival, without even really trying. The Arc had a lot of things going for him popularity wise: he automatically won every 'My Dad could beat up your Dad' argument, his family threw cool parties, his sisters were cute and most of the girls thought he was cute too. Both boys emerged as natural leaders, but while Cardin was more attention grabbing Jaune was substantially less likely to throw sand in your face. His presence was more stable, his jokes were less mean-spirited and even when Cardin held court Jaune was enough of a genuinely nice kid that he was rarely on the outs for long; people liked him. If they didn't, that was fine. He had his sisters. He had Ruby. He had Yang.
The blonde zoned out as the giggling continued, with the girls from Oum Elementary telling stories to the newcomers, about the informal truce that had been negotiated in 4th grade, which had been broken the minute they stepped into middle school, the relentless prank war that had followed, the cessation of hostilities that had come with highschool.
"I guess they just had better things to do." Nebula shrugged. "It's a part of growing up."
Yang's head gave the slightest shake. Cardin hadn't changed at all. Jaune had.
Cardin wanted to be the top dog, and however he treated his friends he always had to have something over them. But he could never get his claws into Jaune. He had tried, in a weird, frenemies sort of way, until he gave Jaune the ultimatum: the weird new girls or him. Jaune chose them, and Cardin had never forgiven the slight.
When Jaune had been extroverted and happy and heir to the Arc fortune he was a genuine threat, but after he lost his family and stopped being the school golden boy he could be safely ignored.
Her eyes wandered over to the boy's side of the room. Jaune was still hovering on the edge of the group, but he seemed more relaxed than he had been in years. She saw him laugh at something Sun said, gently elbowing Ren in the ribs- the stoic boy uncharacteristically flustered.
If Jaune was getting better, did that mean Cardin would get back on his ass? Without Yang around to watch his six?
"All I'm saying is he has the worst sense of style out of the entire lot." Weiss said haughtily. "And that's saying something."
"He does not!" Ruby countered indignantly, for obvious reasons. Friendship aside, she and Jaune had virtually the same style; jeans and oversized hoodies that hid a lot of their goodies.
Octavia snickered. "Don't insult the girl's man, Ice Queen." She said derisively.
Ruby flushed. "I- uh- we aren't-"
"Oh, that's right." Octavia drawled. " Makes sense. He's way out of your league anyway."
Ruby wilted and looked down at her lap while Nora looked like she might break Octavia's leg.
'Get in line.' Yang thought savagely, eyes flickering crimson.
"Anyway," the cheerleader continued, unaware of the minefield she was dancing on. " if he's single, I might try him out." She grinned. " Take him out for a ride, you know?"
"Don't you already have a boytoy this week?" Cynthia said dryly.
"Oh, that's riiiiiight." Octavia said airily. "I guess I'll just pencil him in for next week, then. His eyes are so dreamy."
Yang just wanted this conversation to be over. She couldn't stand sitting here, listening to these airheads argue about whether her old friend was a hottie or a loser who happened to be cute when none of them even knew him-
Her rage cooled. Did she even know him anymore?
Blake seemed to sense something was off with her friend. "You're awfully quiet today" She said casually.
"Yeah!" Nora said. "You haven't shared anything from your list! Spill!"
Yang looked at the ginger with a wry smile, dangling her phone in front of the girl. "No… I don't think I will." She teased.
Nora snatched it up and stared in frustration at the locked screen. Then she passed it to Ruby. "You can unlock this, can't you?"
Her sister sighed.
Yang's grin grew even wider. Did Nora have any idea how much effort Yang had put into Ruby-proofing her phone?
"It's unhackable." Ruby said dryly. "I've tried."
Nora pouted. "Come on, Yang." She whined. "The rest of us have all gone."
Yang chuckled. "Everybody already knew Ren was your number one, that's hardly news."
Weiss's eyes widened, and she chimed in with a slightly mischievous grin. "Turnabout is fair play." She said insistently. "You aren't keeping secrets from us, are you?"
Octavia rolled her eyes. "Maybe she just can't decide- after all, a dick's a dick, right?"
Weiss's eyes narrowed. "What are you implying?" She asked sharply.
Octavia shrugged. "Oh, just that, aside from Neon, Xiao Long here is the biggest whore at Beacon."
Blake didn't bother looking up from her book. "That's rich, coming from you."
Octavia hummed. "At least I go for quality." She said haughtily. " I don't really care what Yang's rankings are- we all know she has terrible taste in men."
Yang fought her temper down as best she could. "So, quit talking about it, then." She said tersely.
"I mean-" Octavia continued. "You give it up for a nobody like Evan Potter, and then you turn around and ditch Neptune almost as soon as you got him."
Yang looked at Weiss briefly. "He wasn't my type." She said.
"You turned Cardin Winchester down flat!" Octavia said bitterly. "How? Why?!"
Yang chuckled darkly.
"Go out with me."
Yang blinked as she looked at her newest suitor. For the last year or so boys had become more and more brazen in their approach… most of them, anyway. Those who hadn't shot their shot and the girls who hadn't had their turn with the bruiser yet were lowering their heads in disappointment as the entire cafeteria watched the young jock fearlessly approach the babe table.
"Excuse me?" She asked dangerously.
"I said, go out with me." He repeated, confidence oozing from every word. He wasn't asking.
Frankly it had astonished most of their classmates that the relationship hadn't happened already- they seemed to be the school's natural power couple. Even as a freshman, Cardin had established himself as one of the starting players on the team, and Yang already had a reputation as one of the most beautiful girls in the school. Few people had missed the way he eyed her up- Yang was one of the last to notice. Naturally, Cardin had to have one of the most desired girls in school. Blake was a Faunus and Weiss, however beautiful, wasn't his type. Pyrrha checked most of his boxes but Cardin had decided the buxom blonde was the picture perfect partner for him. He'd had some appetizers, but now Cardin was ready to enjoy the main course.
"Why the hell would I ever do something like that?"
The cafeteria held their breath as Yang went off script. Aside from the fact that it was Cardin, Yang had her own reputation as being unusually approachable, despite her place in the pecking order. Most men who could muster the courage to ask her out could expect at least one date. Yang didn't like breaking hearts, even though she was a natural at it. Rejection stung, and it took a lot of courage to risk it. She knew that, so she tried to give most guys a chance, and even the ones she didn't she let down easily.
Cardin continued, swagger unabated. He said nothing, but pointed at himself and then traced her figure in the air, as if that answered everything.
Yang arched an eyebrow.
Cardin sighed. "Look, sugar tits." He said brazenly. "You're the hottest chick in this joint, and in case you haven't noticed, I'm the hottest guy."
Yang's eyes darted over to a distant table. "Well, that's awfully presumptuous of you."
"We have to hook up at some point." He said firmly. "It's science."
"...But I hate you." Yang said matter of factly.
Cardin chuckled. "Oh, I used to hate you too." He agreed. "But then you went and got that fucktastic body of yours." He chuckled. "Now that you're the perfect woman, everything else is water under the bridge."
Yang glowered. Water under the bridge? Did that include all the literal blood, sweat and tears he'd induced over the years? Without ever once giving her an apology, even as he tried getting into her pants? Did Cardin honestly think she would ever date the boy who thought it would be fun to cut off one of her pigtails, flush it down the toilet and spend the next 10 minutes giving her and her sister swirlies?
"Fuck. You." She said, gripping the table tightly to resist the 'punch Cardin in the face' reflex she'd honed over the years. Normally, someonewould step in around now and either hold her back or back her up, but hewas halfway across the room and not even looking at her anymore.
"We'll get to that." He said, cockily.
Pyrrha stood up. " I believe Yang's answer is no."
"Wait your turn." He said, before turning back to the blonde. "You'll have to drop martial arts for cheer, obviously- the uniform's way hotter and you can let me do the dirty work while you stand by and look pretty. Practice goes until 6 most nights so we won't be able to have any alone time until-"
'Must. Not. Murder.' Yang thought, biting her lip until she nearly drew blood.
Weiss had a more civilized way of dealing with things. She straightened up all 4 feet and 11 inches of herself and stared straight up at the jock, who already stood head and shoulders above most of their classmates. "You're making a scene. Leave."
Most of the crowd couldn't hear what was being said, but they'd gathered the star player hadn't gotten the warm reception they'd expected.
"I'll leave when I'm fucking ready, Ice Queen." Cardin said coldly. "You can-"
"You can watch your goddamn mouth." Blake cut in.
"Don't even get me started on you, mutt-"
Yang stood up, pokerfaced, and closed the distance between her and Cardin.
She smiled sweetly at him.
Then she punched him in the balls.
Hard.
She'd been suspended for a week. It was worth it.
Octavia continued on incessantly about Yang's inexplicable tastes - "-your dating standards are a roulette wheel!" - before Nebula finally stepped in.
"That's enough, Tay." She said.
Octavia looked at her, askance, before falling into line. "Whatever." she murmured.
"I-if we could wrap up group discussions, lecture is about to, b-b-begin." Miss Peach said anxiously. The class groaned, with some ignoring their teacher while the others (Weiss) jostled their classmates into silence.
"Hey." Blake whispered.
Yang looked over her shoulder. Her friend was looking at her with an inquisitive expression. "Who was your number one?"
Yang grinned. "Wouldn't you like to know?" She asked.
Blake frowned.
Yang turned back around and then felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. " If you have a secret crush on a guy… or a girl… that you're embarrassed about, you can tell me." Blake whispered.
She could. For all their differences Blake was her best friend. Incidentally, she was one of the only Faunus in the room. Sun's tail didn't do much for his hearing, but if Yang let out the softest whisper Blake could pick it up when no one else did.
For a moment, she seriously considered it. Then she saw Blake squirm, curiosity killing her.
"...Nah." She whispered playfully.
"Now, why do we have sex?"
Cardin, who had started off vaguely interested in the lecture, immediately soured on it. "That's a stupid question."
Peach looked devastated. "B-b-be that a-a-as it ma-may." She said. "It's a question that has puzzled biologists for decades."
"Because biologists are dumb." Cardin said dismissively.
The field of biology had a mixed reputation in Remnant. The study of anatomy and physiology and the groundbreaking medical advances it had brought forth had been revolutionary, but many of its more theoretical aspects were less universally acclaimed. While the theory of genetic heritability had held fast for most traits, it fell apart completely when the Faunus Factor (which couldn't be found anywhere in the genome and was sometimes randomized ) was taken into account, so at best it was considered an incomplete model. Applying it to explain origins of species and behavioral patterns was reserved for the most intrepid of minds. There was no consensus as to whether Remnant had been created more or less as it was ex nihilo or if it had slowly been shaped by the same immutable physical laws that operated within it today.
Weiss raised her hand and Miss Peach called on her while she composed herself. "Respectfully, isn't the purpose of sex fairly obvious? It's reproduction."
Peach nodded. "Yes, but it isn't the only way to reproduce, and it's remarkably inefficient." Her eyes were off in the distance now, and the stutter had disappeared from her voice. "Why would such a basic function require the participation of another organism, especially for many otherwise solitary species? If such couplings had to occur, why limit it so that only some members of the species were viable partners? Why not merely clone oneself, as most asexual organisms do? Some plants and even a few animals do retain the ability, but they don't always use it. Why do so few animals retain the ability, when movement can take them away from known habitats and partners? Especially since the reproduction of individual cells perfectly is well within the capacity of every organism on this planet. Why evolve meiosis at all when mitotic regeneration and splitting already exist?"
The class was silent. Half of them had vacant looks on their faces, and a few had the decency to look embarrassed.
"Um…" Sun said. "My what now?"
Miss Peach swallowed. " Mitosis and Meiosis." She said weakly. The vacant looks remained. "The two different replicative processes for somatic and sex cells? We… we covered them at the beginning of the year."
"Shit, that was important?"
Peach looked crestfallen.
"M-m-moving on." She said, on the verge of tears. "Why? Why bother doing any of this?"
"To spread helpful traits?" Ren said helpfully. "Speed up the rate of mutation and the spread of adaptation."
"The sharing of genes is useful." Miss Peach admitted. "But genetic exchange and reproduction can hypothetically be different processes- if good genes are useful why not incorporate them into yourself instead of just your offspring? This is not a mere theoretical concern- many bacteria have been observed to exchange packages of DNA called plasmids by connecting to one another through a tube in what might be called a form of sex- which often expedites the spread of dangerous traits such as antibiotic resistance, which we'll be covering in detail next month. But this pseudo-sexual act is completely divorced from reproduction, which such species perform asexually. Natural selection will cull the population until only the most advantageous traits remain. The life cycle of most asexual life is much faster than most sexual organisms: bacteria generations can be as short as 20 minutes whereas the human generational gap is typically 20 years.
"Gene exchange and mutation are separate issues as well. It is generally observed - practically a tautological cliche- that the phenomena which persist across time are those best at persisting across time. The genes which survive are those that are best at propagating themselves. A mutation is different from its predecessors, so over time the genes that are best at preventing themselves from mutating are the ones that survive. The genes that are best at reproducing themselves are the ones that propagate- that is as important as it is self evident.
"Considerable effort goes into preventing mutation, not only in the interest of specific genes but the organism as a whole. Most mutations cause outright failure of the traits they were meant to code for or are more harmful than helpful- part of the reason DNA is double stranded is that each strand acts as a backup for the other, so that if one is damaged the other remains intact. The rate of mutation in all cells is as low as they can manage, and evolution exists because despite their best efforts, they sometimes fail. The immune system targets and kills many mutated cells within the body, and cells have their own mechanisms for identifying and repairing damaged genes… mechanisms which are very similar to the ones seen in the creation of haploid gametes."
Miss Peach was looking at the screen, not her students, and her voice had dropped the stutter, replacing it with a mile a minute pace that could rival Doctor Oobleck after a triple expresso. It was one or the other with that woman- either she could barely talk or her students could barely understand her.
"You still following the plot, Nep?" Sun asked awkwardly.
The blunet angrily shushed him.
"-the hypothesis that sex was solely a means of gene repair in more complex organisms was entertained, but mathematical models show that the rate of return is very rarely sufficient compared to the immense cost associated with male specialization."
"Could you… put that in English, please?" Nebula asked hesitantly.
Miss Peach sighed. "Instead of…' why have sex?', we could ask 'why have men?"
"Excellent question." Roksana said, glaring at her most recent ex-boyfriend.
"In most organisms the female is considered the default, since they contain virtually all the raw material involved in producing viable offspring, while males provide only a small genetic contribution. Asexual cells are often referred to as the 'mother cell' and the 'daughter cell' for this reason. There are 'female' organisms who are capable of reproducing themselves without the contribution of a male- no male can reproduce without the aid of a female. Why then, would males evolve at all? What function do they serve?"
If there was a girl power moment to be had at Beacon, this was it. Some of the women in class were looking awfully smug at the boys and giggling amongst themselves.
Jaune's Shadow seethed. 'How 'bout I come over there and show you sluts just what a man good for.'
Jaune raised his hand. "That's interesting, but if men are useless, women seem to have not got that memo."
"Precisely!" Peach said enthusiastically. "That's what's so fascinating about science! No matter what explanation you come up with, the naked facts always remain, ready to blow your hypotheses into pieces, over and over. Sex continues to not only exist, but thrive! We could tell organisms that they were wasting a massive amount of effort, but they continued on just the same. Some of us thought that sex was merely an accident, some kind of cosmic joke, but accidents of that kind don't last long. The kind of costs sex imposes means that any adaptation away from it would be greatly rewarded, and species that eschewed the process entirely would outcompete the sexual species out of existence. Unless some benefit outweighed the obvious cost.
"For example, imagine a mutation where a mother only gives birth to daughters, identical clones of herself. These daughters are able to reproduce without securing a male, and in turn produce daughters of their own. Perhaps they could engage in sexual activity and retain a libido to elicit male support for their offspring, but if the trait saved them time and energy we would expect it to be favored. The female bears offspring, males do not, so the more females in a group the faster that group reproduces, so the all female tribe would reproduce more quickly than a balanced tribe, eventually overrunning them. And if the goal of reproduction is passing on your genes, why not pass all of them on to all of your offspring? Why only pass on half, with some of your genes never making it into the mixture? Why wouldn't you want all your children to be exactly like you?!"
She paused in satisfaction, waiting for the class eureka. The class stayed quiet.
"That's the real question." She said, eyes brimming with enthusiasm. "Why wouldn't you?"
"Because anything that could take you out could take them, too."
"Exactly, Miss Belladonna!" Peach said. "Precisely! The Evolutionary Hypothesis is often phrased in terms of 'progress' when really no such goal is in mind at all- organisms compete with one another and can become more or less 'advanced' as circumstances dictate. Traits are gained and lost sometimes regained. While our environment remains more or less constant, our predators, and, more importantly, our parasites do not.
"Do you know, before modern medicine emerged, how many children used to die before their 5th birthday?" She asked suddenly.
Ruby raised her hand hesitantly. "More than half." She said.
"And what was their leading killer?" Peach asked.
Ruby furrowed her brow in conversation and discomfort with the topic at hand. "Ummm…."
"Trick question, Miss Rose." Peach said, unable to contain herself. "There was no one killer but a series of killers, diseases that would burn through a population leaving some untouched, then fading into embers while a new flame ravaged the population. All organisms are at constant war with parasitic organisms which seek to hijack their cells and kill them- we've developed numerous countermeasures to fight back. Unfortunately, those measures often have trade offs- suppose the same protein shape that blocks influenza may make us more vulnerable to pneumonia, or that cholera resistance comes with increased vulnerability to tuberculosis. The more vulnerable hosts there are the more a disease flourishes… but the more it flourishes the more it pays to have immunity against it.
"If a population starts out with a population of 90% Gene A and 10% Gene B, which resist Diseases C and D respectively, initially plague D flourishes, because there are so many potential hosts. But as it infects and kills over the generations the figures reverse- Gene B is favored, and suddenly the split is 20-80 in its favor. But, as Plague D fades due to a lack of hosts, Plague C spreads like wildfire, and suddenly it pays to have Gene A again. So the cycle repeats, with the winners of one round losing the next, on and on in and endless ebb and flow.
"In this scenario, diversity pays. If all of your offspring are of one type, they could be wiped out in a single round. But, if a Female A mates with a Male B, approximately half their offspring will have each of their parents' immune trait- so some of them will survive whatever the plague may be. This justifies the monumental effort we take to secure sex, and the empirical literature is overwhelming- creatures are often attracted to other creatures with similar genes, but for the traits most involved in the immune systems heterozygous pairs are far more common, and virtually every cue of sexual attraction conveys information about a prospective partner's health.
"But, you may ask, why, if genetic exchange is so valuable, do we restrict ourselves to only partners of the opposite sex?"
"None of us asked that…" Nebula muttered, but Peach wasn't in the classroom any longer. She was in her own intellectual paradise, pontificating infront of a captivated (or captive) audience.
"Why the bifurcation between male and female at all? Why not have every other member of the species as a potential partner, as hermaphrodites, like many plants? Or, why not have tens of thousands of sexes, as many fungi do. The answer goes back to how we merge our cells."
An old slide from the beginning of the year was brought back in. "Sperm and egg. Two haploid cells, each with a single copy of a gene, combined to form a single, diploid cell, with a full set of chromosomes and a unique genetic code. This, at its essence, is what makes a male 'male' and a female' femal'e. Sperm and egg… all other behaviors, body plans, hormones, are mere strategies, tools optimized around the delivery mechanism of that particular gamete.
Another slide popped up. 'The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.'
"In addition to the DNA, a cell needs many organelles to survive, even at the most basic level. Some of these organelles have their own DNA, and may have been absorbed as separate cells in a symbiotic relationship with the host. Their DNA does not mix- in experiments where mitochondria with different DNA exist in the same cell, they compete with one another until only a few survivors of a single genetic set remain, badly damaging the cell in the process. Furthermore, the cytoplasm of the cell typically contains its own pathogens and parasites, which it can resist, but which may be deadly to a cell without that immunity- especially since many mild infections which are 'content' to linger flare up in the presence of competition. If a cell is doomed by another infection it pays to get what you can out of it in the short term. A cell needs organelles and cytoplasm to exist and function, but only one of the parent cells can provide them without wreaking havoc and risking death. So, the egg is defined as that cell, while the sperm goes without, allowing its mitochondrial DNA to perish. The egg is the largest cell in the human body, with almost all the necessary components to grow a new human being. Sperm is the smallest cell in the human body, more than 10,000 times smaller than the egg; it consists solely of a packet of chromosomes and a few tools necessary to deliver that packet to the egg. Females have large, expensive, comparatively stationary gametes, while males have small, cheap, and mobile gametes. Everything else stems from that.
"Other traits vary by situation. In very small creatures, such as insects, the sperm are much longer than in humans, in some cases many times longer than the insect's own body,because the longer the tail of the sperm the faster it swims, and the more likely a sperm is to fertilize an egg the more likely those traits get passed on to the next batch. In larger animals, however, the incentives change. As the female reproductive tract grows in size the likelihood that any individual sperm will even reach the egg declines precipitously; overwhelming numbers becomes the order of the day. A mature human male produces roughly 1500 sperm per second and can release 10s or 100s of millions in a single ejaculation, of which roughly a few hundred actually reach the egg, with only one fertilizing it. For this reason, even a man with a sperm count in the millions can be considered impotent."
At this point the conversation had drifted close enough to home that the students were snickering among themselves about weak cum. "A lot of losers are out there shooting blanks." Cardin said.
Miss Peach seemed pleased to have won her audience's approval back, and she continued on.
"Furthermore, even something as basic as size difference between the sexes varies. Men are generally larger than women for example, correct?"
"No shit."
"Roughly 10% taller and 20% more massive,on average, with as much 50% more upper body mass. Males tend to be larger than females in mammals and birds… but in many fish, insects and reptile species it is precisely the opposite? Why is that?"
Miss Peach stopped talking, waiting for an answer.
"I don't know," Octavia grumbled disinterestedly, "but I'm sure you're going to tell u-"
"Because larger females can produce more eggs. There are species where the female is thousands of times more massive than the male, because the overwhelming majority of her children are expected to die, so the greater the numerator the greater the final sum. In some species of ants the queen can lay up to 300,000 eggs per day , and they are much larger than their sterile worker daughters or the male drones. Size is favored as much as possible, because the bigger the ant the more eggs it can produce. But if a woman is 5'0 and 100lbs soaking wet or 7'0 and 300lbs, she will still almost always have a single child. Size provides no advantage."
"Why not?" Nora asked.
She got a few strange looks.
"What?" She said. "There better be a damn good reason I can't reach the top shelf."
"Well, human babies require a lot more care than insects." Peach said. "Some animals are more or less able to function the moment they hatch, but for mammals and birds this is rarely the case. Almost all birds depend on flight, which has to be learned well after they hatch, and parents need to care for and feed their children in the meantime. Mammals don't lay eggs; their development has to take place within the mother's body, until they can no longer be accommodated, which typically means fewer offspring which require some support. The Kingdom Mammalia is named after the mammary glands, because taxonomists considered the production of milk for young to be the most distinctive feature of that class of organism."
"What did I tell you?" Cardin said in a stage whisper. "Tits."
"The more support a parent has to put into rearing a child, the fewer she can feasibly make. There isn't a woman in this room that could raise 300,000 babies." A few of them visibly shuddered at the thought. "And the more investment a child costs, the pickier the parent has to be.
"Females are almost always choosier than males, because eggs are so much more expensive than sperm. Most plants have male and female parts- but while they spread pollen everywhere their seeds are protected, and only a small fraction of available pollen makes it through- we see the pattern of eager males and coy females manifesting in the same organism!
"Animals are mobile, and tend to specialize their body plan around male or female- plants may be isolated and need to fertilize themselves, where an animal can migrate to find a mate. There are male killer genes in some plants, which cause the shriveling up of the male genitalia to funnel more resources to the female seed, but natural pressure limits their spread."
Ruby blinked in confusion. "Why- why would the plant do that?"
"Why would the gene?" Peach explained. "Because some genes are only carried down the female line. Mitochondrial genes, for example, find only a dead end in sperm, so if they can funnel resources to eggs they increase their own chances of being passed on, even at the cost of the organism as a whole. Why, many creatures inevitably die in the process of reproduction: saltwater fish who must spawn in freshwater, spiders who offer themselves up as meals to their mates, male rodents whose hormones destroy their bodies during mating season in a self destructive sexual frenzy."
Jaune felt a cold chill run up his spine.
Now the silver eyed girl looked deeply disturbed. "But, isn't the purpose survival-"
"Of the gene." Peach said. "Not the individual. As far as genes are concerned our bodies are mere vehicles to secure resources and transport them into the next are other kinds of genes that behave similarly, and part of the function of meiosis may be to prevent groups of genes from 'ganging up'. If, for example, one gene codes for immunity to a toxin while the other produces that toxin, the surrounding sperm of not carrying those genes could be killed while it survives unharmed. However, by perpetually recombining genes, the toxin and cure are separated and die out. Within not just society but our own bodies, which are in effect complex societies of genes, the conflict between individual gain and collective harm is real and many mechanisms exist to punish those who harm the rest of the group."
Miss Peach blinked. "Of course, all this is metaphorical. Genes do not 'want' anything, but those who are best at reproducing are the ones that get reproduced, so they almost behave as if they want to reproduce, because those that did not behave in such a way did not survive.
"In any case, genes promoting specialization of sex, which prove fatal if widespread in plants, become perfectly functional in animals. Animals can happily specialize as females and dedicate all their resources to that strategy while seeking out a co-operative male… but under that framework suddenly male parts are at a premium, because they allow reproduction with multiple females and many more offspring, so mutations favoring male gametes over female gametes are selected for until an animal population reaches an equilibrium of pure males and pure females.
"The parent that invests more in the creation and rearing of children will be the pickier mater, and because of the nature of sperm and egg that is nearly always the female. Every insemination of a female is a potential win for a male- every egg can only be fertilized once, however, and in a given period the opportunity cost of mating with a less fit male and tying your genes to less fit genes can be quite high. But even an unsuccessful female has a reasonably good chance of reproducing- males have a high risk, high reward strategy. A male who successfully seduces many females benefits from all their reproductive efforts at little cost to himself. A male who fails does not reproduce at all- and the greater one male's success the fewer opportunities there are for the others.
"Thus, males are often in fierce competition for mates, and the choosier the females the worse this competition gets."
The screen changed to show two giant lumps of flesh clashing into each other on a beach. "These are male elephant seals. A bull elephant seal will attempt to control a beach during mating season, often killing other males for the privilege. A single male can monopolize more than 50 females, so competition is violent, and only the largest and strongest males reproduce. Sexual dimorphism is extreme, with males being more than 10 times bigger than the females. This extreme is reflected in many other species- the more females are won by combat, the larger the males tend to be."
The screen changed again, showing many different kinds of animals: birds, dogs, lions, horses, foxes, and many kinds of ape.
"There are, of course, many different variables that influence the collection of behaviors generally described as a 'mating system', such as habitat, distribution, hypothesized lineal history, but one of the largest clues is sexual dimorphism: the more the bodies of a male and female differ, the more sexual pressure is being exerted as a selection factor. Broadly speaking, mating can happen one of three ways: a male and a female can form a monogamous pair, or a male can mate with many females in various kinds of polygyny, or otherwise males and females both have many non-exclusive partners in a system of general promiscuity.
"True monogamy is rare, but is most common in species where individuals are too far apart to seek out multiple mates, and cooperate to raise the young, or where a dominant breeding pair monopolizes mating within a given territory, with most foxes and wolves respectively following that trend. In monogamous species, the male and female are often difficult to distinguish- mate choice is limited so beyond the genitalia there is little reason for difference.
"Polygyny is by far the most common. When creatures live in large populations or gather together for mating season, either the females disproportionately select from a small pool of mates, as is the case for the peacock and various songbirds, or else the males drive one another off violently. Sometimes groups may only have a single male or a small coalition of related males, such as lions, gorillas, horses, and said male or males kills any intruders into his territory. In those situations, male and female bodies look very different from one another.
"Look at the peahen, for example. Drab in color, easy to miss in foliage, very sensible. The Peacock, on the other hand, is bright and eye-catching- with a large tail that can be spotted by predators as easily as mates. And that's the secret- while arbitrary selection of pre-existing aesthetics is possible, the most informative displays are impossible to fake. That bright, vibrant coat of feathers will display dirt or sickness very quickly, so only healthy males and with the spare energy to keep themselves clean will manage it. To be honest, a fitness signal must be difficult to fake, so creatures that can maintain and select honest signals have a massive advantage."
Ren raised his hand respectfully. Miss Peach was so caught off guard by someone following proper protocol that she stopped in her tracks. "M...Mister Ren?" She asked awkwardly.
"Isn't there a massive drawback, though?" Ren said. " A creature that is easier to spot is more likely to be killed by predators before it ever mates, and any sons who inherit that vulnerability are more likely to do the same. Doesn't that make them bad choices for mates?"
"Yes, but that's the honesty of the signal." She said, back in lecture mode. "Suppose you agreed to play me in a game of basketball- with one hand tied behind your back. The only way you could possibly beat me is if you are much better than I am- so flourishing in spite of an obvious handicap is a massive sign of fitness- and if a creature tries to fake it they lose. This may well be why dangerous stunts and the consumption of unhealthy substances such as alcohol or cigarettes are considered 'manly' in so many different cultures: being able to survive in spite of such stupidity is impressive. And if other females think that way too, their sons are more likely to have many mates, and make many children, passing the mother's genes onto many more grandchildren than females or lower status males, so it pays to follow the signal.
"Take another signal, physical size. A larger body is a stronger body, to be sure, but it is more likely to starve, and takes more energy to build and maintain. Muscle tissue in particular burns energy like mad- the only way to put on mass is to maintain good health and consume more calories. Not only does a stronger build help a male drive off rivals in combat, and predators in the wild, but it also demonstrates that he's successful enough to have a food surplus, to possibly share some of it with a mate, and to sire offspring who could have the same. Height and muscle mass are nearly universally attractive to human females, and understandably so, and in many species the males reach an equilibrium, growing in size until the cost of maintaining their body outweighs the potential reproductive benefits of the signal."
Jaune blinked, mind racing. He stood head and shoulders above almost everyone in the room, and he was a lot bulkier… but he ate even more than made sense. He might be twice the size of an average woman, but he wasn't bigger than Ren, Ruby and Nora combined… but his appetite was.
'Could… could my aura burn more energy? No… Cinder doesn't eat like I do. Is it… is it my Blessing?'
He and his father were both built like tanks. Maybe that wasn't just genes. Maybe… maybe their semblance made them that way. He'd always been fairly tall, sure, but he hadn't really shot up until after he'd turned… 15.
'Oh, fuck.'
"Our closest analogue species can be found among the apes." Peach said eagerly. "We share over 98% of our genetic code with them, yet they run the whole spectrum of mating systems, from pure monogamy to full promiscuity. By analyzing their behavior and bodies we can more finely classify Human mating systems in comparison."
"Hold it." Cardin said suddenly. Peach stopped. "It doesn't matter what apes do, we're nothing like them. We're not fucking animals. Most of us, anyway." He said, eyes lingering on Blake and Sun.
Blake glowered at him while Sun chuckled. "I'm a monkey, not an ape." He said cheekily. "Thank you very much."
"A-a-actually, you're, umh, that is to say… b-both." Peach said.
"...Apes don't have tails." Sun deadpanned, flexing the organ in the teacher's face.
"Yes, but… Humans… taxonomically speaking… we, uh…"
" We're apes." Nora supplied, looking at some of her classmates with a cheshire grin. "That explains a lot. "
"Watch it, short stack." Cardin said.
Weiss sighed. "Sharing DNA doesn't make things identical. We share 50% of our genes with bananas ."
"...I'm a cannibal." Sun said dramatically, clutching his stomach and drawing raucous laughter from many of his classmates and an amused smile from Blake.
Cardin remained unamused. "Even if we were apes." He said, gritting his teeth. " Faunus aren't us."
"Human and Faunus genomes are virtually identical." Blake said, in the tone of someone who had recited that point countless times, to countless bigots like Cardin.
"Genes ain't shit." He said.
Miss Peach had a reflexive protest that died in her throat. "C-conventionally, there are two ways we define a species, b-biologically speaking. As a community of organisms able to create v-v-viable offspring, or of the same physiological type." She said, raising her hands to placate the redhead. "Horses and Donkeys, for example, are not the same species, both because of their physical differences and because when they breed, they produce a sterile mule. Dogs and Wolves are considered different species, despite producing viable offspring, because their behavior patterns are so distinct, though dog breeds also differ wildly from one another. Humans and Faunus… produce… viable offspring… so, in that sense, at least… we are… that is to say…" She choked on her words, caught between the basic fact and the boy's disapproval. After several paragraphs of evasions she finally forced out "the same species."
Sensing the boy was about to explode, she corrected herself.
"B-b-but the ob-obvious differences in the Faunus trait mean that morphologically speaking, we're very, very different!"
Jaune shook his head. It was obvious that Humans and Faunus shared the same basic body plan- and if an extra set of ears differentiated Velvet from a Human, how would a Cat like Blake be classified as the same species as a Deer Faunus like Evan or a Monkey Faunus like Sun? If a Fish Faunus and a Bird Faunus were the same species , how could Humans not be as well, when each were more like Humans than each other?
Peach knew that, and she was lying through her teeth to get Cardin to shut up.
It seemed to satisfy the brute, for now.
"Whatever."
"A-as I was saying." She continued nervously. "G-gibbons, that is to say, the lesser apes, are sexually monogamous, and live in isolated pairs. The male and female are very similar in build, and sexual dimorphism is low. Orangutans and Gorillas are more densely populated… in Orangutans females typically live alone with their children and occasional visits from their mate, who patrols the territories of 2-3 females and scares off rival males. Gorillas live in larger harems, where the females have their own hierarchy and a single, powerful male, a silverback, monopolizes the entire troop. In each of these situations the female and male are instantly recognizable, and a sexually mature male is roughly twice as large as a female.
"Chimps, on the other hand, are promiscuous. Their populations are so dense that it isn't feasible for a male or even a small group of males to drive their rivals out. Gorillas live in troops typically ranging from 1-2 dozen members; Chimps live in tribes of 20 to 150. In these tribes, fertile females will typically mate with every male in the tribe. Dominant males might limit access and mate more often, but the female chimps aren't selective at all- while male chimps are somewhat heavier than females, dimorphism is comparatively mild."
Octavia looked wickedly at Yang. 'Guess we figured out what you are.' She mouthed. Yang caught it, and gave her a look that could kill. Octavia laughed. 'What's the matter, gonna chimp out on me?' She asked.
"Why would they do that?" Ren asked. " If females are normally selective, why throw away their limited resources on less than optimal mates?"
"Because they don't want their babies to get killed."
The room went deathly quiet.
"In most species, the male provides relatively little parental care. But he very often sticks around, at least when social groups stick together. A nursing female isn't very fertile… but if her baby dies… she becomes available to mate again. The male and the female stick together because if another male comes around someone needs to fight him off and protect their shared investment. The chief role of fathers in most species is preventing their offspring's murder.
"Of course, a common pastime among bachelors is the killing of husbands and young children- males fight to the death for control of territory and females. They don't waste the time they have before their own death- infanticide has been observed as a matter of course for gorillas, lions, and countless other harem species. If the males can't be driven off… the best way to protect your offspring is to make every murderer a potential father. Male Chimpanzees routinely kill infants outside of their own tribe, but not with females they've mated with. They also regularly attack nearby tribes to conquer their territory and female chimps. Not choosing the father is a worthwhile trade if the baby gets to live.
"Of course, Chimp physiology reflects this. Chimps have much larger testicles than gorillas and produce higher volumes of semen as a result of increased sperm competition."
"Wait, what?" Nora asked
"If a female has only one mate, then only the sperm necessary to reach the egg is required. If a female mates with multiple males, however, it becomes a numbers game. The more sperm, the better your odds. The shape of the penis in many species is speculated to facilitate the scraping of competitor's sperm out of the female's birth canal, and such competition is thought to drive much of the variation in male genitalia."
"Are we really talking about monkey dick in class?" Dove muttered incredulously.
"But Humans don't fit neatly into any of these groups." Peach continued. "We live in large groups, larger than even the chimps, but have pair bonds, like the gibbons. Our males are more dimorphic than gibbons or chimps, but much less so than harem masters like gorillas… on average."
Jaune looked at Cardin, Cardin at Jaune. If they had been a harem species, it would have come down to a fight to the death between them for the girls.
'Good thing we're not, right?' Persona noted weakly.
"-the ratio of testicles to body size is much greater than the gorillas, implying a level of sperm competition, but less so than the chimps, implying a lesser pressure, perhaps as the result of choosier females. Human reproduction is incredibly odd… but there is an analogue system. One that shares many of our peculiar features."
The slide shifted again, to a colony of swallows.
"Birds."
"How the hell did we turn into birds?" Yang asked incredulously.
"I can't turn into a bird, can you?"
In two different corners of Remnant, two siblings sneezed simultaneously.
"Is that a Vacuan Swallow or a South Atlesian Swallow?"
Jaune cut through the noise and raised his hand. "Um…. how?" He asked, incredibly articulately.
"Similar social systems!" Miss Peach said. "Social birds gather in large groups. Both males and females raise the young, for a comparatively long time, and in socially monogamous pairs. Monogamy is rare, but sometimes, a child is so hard to raise that a mother can't do it alone. A male therefore, has a choice. He can pursue multiple matings, or he can settle down and raise one group of offspring. Females also have a choice- they can choose a polygamist and increase their chances of having a sexy son who will himself become a polygamist, or they can settle down with a loyal husband, and increase their entire brood's chance of survival. A pair bonded male can also dissuade other males from attacking his children, focusing his attention on one mate rather than many, as a harem master would. So, when the costs of rearing children are sufficiently high, monogamy can re-emerge.
"Most eggs must be incubated for weeks on end, and even after the chicks hatch they must be fed, and guarded, and taught to fly, in a process that can last many months. The mother cannot do this all by herself, so having a father do some of the work makes it possible. Likewise, human females bear an absurdly high cost from each child: 9 months of pregnancy, weeks of weakness after that, 2 years of breastfeeding without formula- 4-5 years before a child can begin to walk alongside adults in a nomadic group. Human males are among the most maternal of all species- hardly any other male takes such an active role in the rearing of offspring- hardly any species has more expensive offspring."
"So, Humans pair up into boyfriend-girlfriend, husband-wife pairs." Weiss said matter of factly. "That's hardly surprising. We're a monogamous species."
"We're socially monogamous." Miss Peach corrected. "There's a big difference between that and sexual monogamy."
Weiss rolled her eyes at her teacher's pedantism. "Like what?"
"We cheat."
Once again the class was gobsmacked. Weiss looked at her, aghast. "Well, maybe you do, but-"
But Peach once again was looking at the slides, not her students, which allowed her to go on without missing a step.
"The cost of raising children is so high that males and females have to work together… but if the cost is so high, isn't it worth your while to get the best genes you can? Males and females typically sort themselves into pairs of roughly equal status, but a high status male is more than willing to mate with lower status females, if he can offload the raising of those children to a cuckold. The females are happy to get his genes so long as they get support from their 'mate'. It's a win for all parties involved… save for the cuckold. The very word 'cuckold' comes from cuckoo birds, who lay their eggs in the nests of other species and trick their victims into raising them, but within species the same phenomena occurs. While 'extra-couple pairings' are rarely observed, genetic tests suggest that as many as ⅓ of all hatchlings are not the children of the male in their nest.
"Human data is more variable- depending on time period, location, social and economic strata, you may find a data set with a rate of paternity fraud as low as 0.5% and as high as 30%. Male testes are much larger than we would expect if females were perfectly faithful- sperm competition seems to be in play- which means infidelity is at play."
Ruby raised her hand again, quivering with indignation. Miss Peach hesitated for a moment, but called on her, all the same. "Miss Rose."
"But most women would never cheat!" She said.
"Not on the right man." Peach said. "For him, they would."
Many of the students looked at her in shock.
"Male bodies aren't the only ones influenced by sex. Men are larger than women, more muscular, more aggressive- if you have a child in your womb or arms the cost of violence is very high, and the reward very low. Women faced selective pressure to avoid physical violence wherever possible, so their aggression tends to manifest socially, or verbally- ostracism, destruction of reputation, etc. But the shape of our bodies is meant to win mates as well."
Miss Peach went to the board and scribbled an hourglass in chalk. "How many creatures have torsos that look anything like this?" She asked.
Weiss raised her hand hesitantly. "Humans?" She guessed.
"Female Humans. Fertile female humans." Miss Peach looked at every girl in the room, encouraging them to examine their own forms. " In some primates the breasts or buttocks swell during heat, driving nearby males crazy, only to fade away for most of the female's life. Only in female human beings, from the late stages of puberty through the early stages of menopause does the body passively employ those signals of fertility continuously. Wide hips, as wide as they can be without hindering movement, allow for greater survivability bearing large brained young. Deep bosoms produce more milk to feed those young. Narrow waists visually exaggerate both features, and while women need to store some fat to support offspring, women of childbearing age have unique hormonal profiles that deposit that fat in the hips, thighs and breast to exaggerate the hourglass shape even further, as a constant advertisement of fertility. And because men commit to women, more than usual, they're pickier than usual males; if they have to pick one they want the best possible mate they can get. " She said. "The female figure is designed to enchant, to arouse, to seduce, just as surely as the male's, maybe even moreso."
Jaune felt his cock stiffen and his mouth go dry. That was a sentiment he could get behind. 'This bitch is going to be the fucking death of me.'
"Why just us, then?" Yang asked.
Miss Peach hummed. "Well, unlike most other species, our ovulation is concealed, so the precise moment of fertility is always in question. If you need a male to stick around, having the possibility of cheating on the table could force him to guard you- if you might be fertile at any time he can scarcely afford to leave you alone for someone else, and if you're triggering arousal cues at all times he's more likely to stick around as well."
"So, the threat of cheating is only a deterrent to paternal abandonment." Ren said.
Miss Peach shook her head. "No. Ovulation is visibly concealed from the male… but the female modulates her behavior depending on where she is in her cycle. It's subconscious, but ovulating females are more likely to cheat with dominant males, while non-fertile periods are reserved for their social partner. Laboratory tests show women who are fertile are most likely to report interest in other men, most likely to dress provocatively and act provocatively, and both self report data and brain imaging show higher attraction towards traditionally masculine features when fertility is high- from the pitch of a man's voice to the shape of his jaw to the smell of his sweat.
"Men benefit from mating as much as possible, either exclusively or via cheating. They monopolize their mates to the best of their ability, and have formed harems when they could- periods of vast economic and social inequity often result in a small number of royals or nobles with formal or informal harems- there's an entire subset of history dedicated to analyzing ancient civilizations with an evolutionary lens. The Emperor of Mistral, for example, openly had a harem of over 1000 women, guarded by eunuchs and with a death penalty for any other man that dared to sleep with one. Vale, with its history of comparative liberalism and egalitarianism, was legally monogamous, though castles were noted for an inordinately high number of servant girls, many of whom 'became with child' out of wedlock. But where males have roughly equal political and social power, they have not tolerated open harems- because every one man with 10 women means 9 men with none. Wherever males have been roughly equal in political power polygyny has been outlawed, but cuckoldry has remained and persistent problem. Marriage vows, esteem on female chastity and virginity, taboos on adultery, perhaps even spoken language itself, all came about as checks to limit this behavior and ensure the paternity of children, but evolutionary calculus is a powerful thing."
"So you're saying all women are sluts." Blake said coldly.
Miss Peach. "I-I'm not saying that at all!" She sputtered. "Part of the reason 'sluts' are held in such low esteem, while male 'studs' are admired, is because men who sleep with many women can father many children, but a woman who sleeps with many men makes it harder to identify their children's father, and a woman who sleeps with low value men is likely to have low value children. Female promiscuity is a liability, not an asset, and most women respond accordingly. All I'm trying to say is women have a set of incentives- to reproduce and secure the best possible genes and the best possible resources for their children. Whether those genes and resources come from the same male is… optional."
Jaune felt something resonate in his soul. Lust was mere instinct- it didn't define a person and it could be resisted, just like hunger. But every person had a limit. Put a loaf of bread in front of a starving man and eventually he'd go for a bite. Modern science had even crafted highly addictive foods rich in sugar, fat, salts, and other scarce natural resources to create temptations nature could never match.
That was him.
That's what his Blessing was- pure, unadulterated studliness, not the result of gradual refinement or compromise but the careful crafting of a Human mind. An Arc's genes would mix with the whole population, regressing to the mean, but the Arc semblance… the semblance made him bigger, stronger, faster, healthier, and far more potent than any unaided male could ever hope to be. Maybe it even targeted the female directly… he always seemed to know what to do to drive them crazy- his very touch seemed to drive his lovers mad.
The reason Jaune was so dangerous was because he was deliberately crafted to play on primordial instinct- his greatest ally was a woman's own body. Her mind, her morals, her sense of self, all might not want him, but that little bit of jelly knew he was the ideal mate, an unrivaled alpha male, and a woman would have to fight her own powerful desires, not just his, Caught between their anvil and his mighty hammer, he could pound away at even the strongest will, bending and shaping it to his own desire-
"That's not right!" Ruby shouted.
Jaune woke from his reverie to see his best friend flushed and indignant.
"We're not just unthinking automatons! We're more than that." She said. " I don't care what instinct tells me to do. Murdering babies is wrong! Cheating and lying are wrong! And the good people who make this world possible don't do it!I'm not a slut, and I'll never be a slut. I've never even wanted to be one! And if you think being a good person isn't human, you're wrong! "
Miss Peach looked at the normally sweet girl seething at her as if she was some sort of monster. She opened her mouth, then closed it, nervously biting her own tongue.
Weiss decided to step in and try and cool the situation down. "Miss Peach never said all women cheat- even in the highest estimate it's only ever a minority. That means most women and most men are faithful partners."
"...because the costs outweigh the benefits in most situations." Peach mumbled.
Weiss looked at her. "Explain." She ordered coolly.
Peach took a steadying breath. "Well… a woman needs her partner's support , and… if… a man suspects… he … isn't… a child's father… then he'll probably leave her and the baby!" She rushed out. "Most men aren't of high enough value to justify cheating with, so most don't even get the option- a lot of them barely manage as husbands, let alone lovers. And if the reward outweighs the risk, of course a woman isn't going to take the chance."
"But aren't there more important things than making babies?" Ruby insisted. "What about love, and honesty, and kindness?"
"All very helpful in certain circumstances." Miss Peach said. "At increasing trust and cooperation to rear children."
"But we don't just pop out babies!" Ruby said. "Isn't it obvious we're motivated by other things? Why doesn't every woman in Vale have 20 kids? Most people don't spend all their money making babies!"
"Actually, there's substantial evidence that men are willing to take harder and riskier careers precisely because status and resources make them more desirable mates, with women taking safer jobs with more flexible hours precisely to free up more time for children." Miss Peach continued. "And for most of Remnant's history, most women spent nearly all of their child bearing years pregnant, or trying to get pregnant, because most of their children would either die in infancy or before they reproduced themselves. In most societies as well, young children could be used as cheap labor to support the family rather than costing it money- modern women may well moderate their behavior because they can replace themselves with fewer children, and children cost more. Higher status offspring are more likely to be successful and now take even more resources to raise, so changes in fertility patterns could be a rational response to changing conditions, not an abandonment of the reproductive impulse. Saying that Humans have an intelligible pattern of behavior is no different than saying water flows downhill."
"But you're still treating us like cogs in a machine. Like objects!" Ruby said. "You're acting like we can't think! Like we can't choose! Like we don't have any free will!"
"We can choose some things." Peach said. "But we can't choose our own nature."
Jaune didn't feel like he was watching other people talk anymore. He felt Ruby, channeling Persona, defending the highest ideals he had, while Peach merely echoed the inescapable force of the Shadow. "Human beings need certain things to survive. We need air, water, food, sleep, and if we are to keep our genes going we need to reproduce. Anything that advanced our survival survived, anything that got in its way died out. Our very ability to reflect, think and choose, may be the product of sexual selection- another way to seduce and entrance mates, navigate complex social networks, spot deception… and opportunity. Our reproductive system is no more arbitrary than our digestive system- and while culture may shape the kinds of food we eat or the marriage rituals we practice, all humans need carbohydrates, protein and fat or they die, children with poor genes and economic support die . And those who survived have done whatever it took to get them."
"So, 'slut' and 'woman' are synonyms." Blake said caustically. "Just like 'man' and 'murderer'?"
"I don't think that's what she's saying." Ren cut in.
Blake looked at him askance. "What is she saying, then?"
"That under the right circumstances, almost all of us would kill to live... and the few who wouldn't would not survive long." Ren sighed heavily. "And, perhaps, if the situation were sufficiently bleak… we'd turn to… other things."
"Not all women want to cheat." Peach said quietly.
Ruby looked victorious while Nora shouted "Thank you."
"Data shows an exception that proves the rule; women already bonded to highly attractive men are much less likely to stray. If a woman already has a top quality mate, there's simply no person they'd want to cheat with."
Ruby's smile faded. Something in that hit her. Hard. "No…" she said hesitantly. "It can't be just that. It has to be more than that!"
"Does it?" Peach asked softly. "We're all here today because our ancestors did whatever they could to survive. Every part of you is refined to take the best opportunities available to survive and pass your genes on, no matter what anyone else tells you, and any part that hesitates or fights that gets winnowed out. Sterility is the only trait that's never inherited, and if you do have a different incentive it will be burned away, like kindling on a flame."
"Ahem." A voice coughed, dangerously politely.
Miss Peach turned to the door with a look of dread.
"I'm sorry to interrupt." Miss Goodwitch said, voice suggesting she was anything but. "I had some spare time and I wanted to ask if we could consult one another on our curriculums for a moment. Co-ordinate concepts across scientific disciplines for our students." As the two lead science teachers it should have been a regular discussion… which meant it should not be happening now, in the middle of class.
Peach looked like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "But… you … the seniors…"
"My 6th and 7th periods have an exam, which is currently being proctored by Coach Mulberry." She said simply. " I have some important business to attend to, and if I could have 5 minutes of your time, I'd appreciate it. I have a busy schedule."
Jaune knew Glynda's body language well. She looked strong, controlled and fierce, but her control was strained. This was not her normal 'I'm in charge so don't fuck with me' posture. This was full blown 'I am restraining my rage to prevent a scene but I am absolutely fucking livid ' Glynda; it was as beautiful as it was terrifying.
Miss Peach looked desperate to refuse but completely lacked the backbone to do so.
"I… 5 minutes." she whispered. She turned hesitantly to the class. "Please… discuss the material we've covered so far."
Glynda's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, letting Jaune know her exact thoughts on that 'material.'
As Peach walked by the students, several of the boys chuckled , openly ogling both the teachers and the girls, no doubt emboldened by the same 'material'. None were more emboldened than Cardin, though, who took the opportunity to swat Miss Peach on the ass in front of everyone.
Most of the room was shocked at his brazenness, but Jaune noticed something different. The flush on her cheeks, the high pitched little 'eep' that held the beginnings of a moan… that look of shame and joy in her eyes.
His Shadow was sure of it now. 'He's either fucking her now or he's about to.'
Miss Goodwitch was decidedly less amused.
"Have you lost your mind, Mister Winchester?" She said acidly, looming over him like an avenging angel. Cardin leaned back, unrepentant but not foolish enough to lay on the finger on her. "You are to-
"-Go to the back of the room and stay behind after class." Miss Peach ordered.
Glynda spared her a look but stopped talking. Like it or not, it was still Thumbelina's class, and it would undermine her authority to countermand a punishment in front of everyone. Even if it was a slap on the wrist for Cardin and a slap in the face for Glynda. It took all of her self control not to dress her colleague down immediately. Then, with characteristic dignity and grace, she stormed out of the room, and meek biology teacher in tow.
Cardin practically strutted to the back of the room, and even though he was supposed to be in time out his goons followed him. "That was amazing, dude." "How the fuck did you manage that?" "Cardin, you maniac!"
Jaune could have started a conversation with Ruby, or even Ren and Nora, but he was lost in his thoughts and they seemed lost in their own. None of them were looking at each other.
He decided it would be more interesting to listen in on the teachers, and drowned the chatter around him out- channeling his aura and focusing on the faint hint of their voices. Further enhancing his senses was a neat trick Cinder taught him.
For almost a minute all he could hear was their breathing. Peach was the first to break the silence, though the impatient tapping of Glynda's heel certainly drove her to it.
"How much did you hear?"
Jaune heard Glynda pull her phone out of her pocket. "Enough to figure out what this was doing on the school survey system."
He could practically see the blood drain from Peach's face. "I-it was an assignment."
"An assignment." Glynda repeated. "An assignment where students objectified their classmates to prepare them for a lecture where they were all told they were nothing more than a bunch of mindless sluts."
The scientist in Peach protested briefly. "Mindless!? The pressures of sexual selection may well be origin of all advanced cognition-" but she must have seen the look on Glynda's face because she stopped dead in her tracks.
"What part of you thought any of this was even remotely acceptable?"
Jaune chuckled to himself at Glynda's tone.
Then he realized Blake was looking at him strangely, ears twitching.
He gulped nervously. A few other people looked at him funny because he had laughed for seemingly no reason… but Blake had naturally enhanced hearing. If she could hear the teachers too… and saw him react…
"Can you hear me?" she breathed.
'Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.'
Jaune did his best to look clueless- a natural talent, thankfully.
"Jaune?" Blake whispered, the sound barely leaving her mouth. "How could you possibly hear me?"
Jaune twiddled his thumbs and ignored her. Blake was asking questions he didn't have good answers for… not answers he could trust her with, anyway."Yo, Blakey." Yang cut in. "What's up?"
Yang hadn't heard her friend but she could see her saying something.
Blake shook her head. "It's nothing." She said. "I must be seeing things."
Jaune fought hard not to let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully the return of the teachers served as a fair distraction.
Glynda glared at the boys at the back of the room.
"Mister Winchester was meant to be left alone, wasn't he?" She nodded.
Miss Goodwitch turned on them all. "Each of you is getting detention for directly disobeying a teacher's instructions. And Mister Winchester," she said icily. "Be thankful your punishment is in the hands of Miss Peach, because if I ever catch you doing anything like that ever again , I will push for your immediate expulsion . Are we clear?"
Cardin smirked. He didn't take Glynda's class and was as a rule out of her sight. "Crystal, ma'am."
She sighed, unable to do anything else. "...Mr. Arc." She said. "You're coming with me."
"But, I didn't-" Jaune sputtered.
"You aren't in trouble." Glynda said. "But the Headmaster would like to speak with you. It's important." She passed Peach a note from the office… slickly covering up another note, with the outlines of a speech. Miss Peach looked both over. "Mister Arc is excused from class until the meeting is finished. Carry on."
Jaune rose to follow Glynda out, listening to Peach resume her lecture, sufficiently cowed. Her voice sounded like something out of a hostage video.
"While the urges and emotions we've discussed thus far are a fundamental part of the human experience, it is important to remember that we must channel them in a productive and responsible manner. We live in a civilized society, and whatever our passions an impulse is not an excuse."