Another interesting idea came my way today. While I was suffering from an hangover, I dreamed up a world where civilization is intentionally cast aside every five generations. Three generation later civilization comes back together, and continues its progress.
The society that developed is obsessed with improving the human race, and uses a brutal form of natural selection to accomplish it. When the society reaches the fifth generation, all institutions are abolished, and everyone is forced to fend for themselves. What follows is three generations of brutal combat that culls the weak and allows the smartest and strongest to rise to the top.
When the third generation is born, all fighting ceases, and the old institutions are brought back. Within a week society is functioning as it did before, with the gene pool of humanity improved slightly.
Technology progresses much slower because some knowledge is invariable lost during the anarchy times, and must be rediscovered. The benefits of the system are many though. Cancer doesn't exist, life expectancy is over 180 years, eyesight is perfect, and no degenerative diseases exist.
The brutal nature of the system has created a sect of people who refuse to abandon civilization. The completely different viewpoint creates a lot of tension, which breaks out in war just before the next cycle is about to begin. The sect is hit, with the selectors worrying that when they abandon civilization, the sect will strike at them.
The story will address the nature of an extreme dog eat dog system, and what happens when two extreme points of view come into conflict.
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