CRUCIBLE
*Field notes from the desk of Doctor Nemesis*:
A curious neocultural phenomenon, presenting as an ersatz
gladiatorial contest. In reality, it owes more to traditions of honorable death than performative combat.
Petitioners (who must select their own slayers) are generally victims of the so-called Decimation event, in which he unstable reality warper Wanda Maximoff stripped the X-gene from the majority of mutants.
In death, these individuals earn the right to RESURRECTION and,
hence, a restoration of their mutant powers. Cruciblle is there ore billed as offering a measure of dlgrnity to one who seeks death and reincarnation.
Fascinatingly, behind all this gung ho pseudoculltural codswallop lies some intriguing hierarchical/evolutionary ramifications.
For instance, we're told the backlog of dead mutants awaiting resurrection is long and regulations regarding exceptions and priorities are naturally being codified. (A clear example of genetic curation by those in power.)
By unspoken agreement, individuals who died well in Crucible are expedited in this manner. In the irrational terminology of the
hoi polloi, a swift return Is a just reward for a courageous death.
But in practice? This clearly predisposes the resurrection catalog toward an emphasis on strength. warlike nature and the capacity to endure pain (not to mention a certain recklessness with one's physical self). Those who are reborn first, after all, have more opportunity to reproduce than those who're still waiting to Not Be Dead Any More.
In other woirds, we are seeing a new evolutionary mechanism at work. Selection by means of prejudicial resurrection. Frankly, I'd be impressed if it weren't so thoughtessly macho.
One cannot help but wonder what other transformatiive traditions might yet develop -- and who might best serve as their author.