Djinnology: The Djinn Universe
In Mythology
The Djinn are beings of conflicting nature. Although historically, they have been romanticized as Genies (I.E. Disney's Aladdin), their origins have been recorded in religious texts such as the Quran. The Islamic texts mention that these entities are not distinctly evil or good, but can choose their own will. Alongside Humans and Angels, they were the three intelligent creations of God. They were created from smokeless fire while humans were supposedly made from clay. Just like Humans, when judgment is cast, they would earn their place in either Heaven or Hell. One of the most famous of the Djinn was Iblis, which is the Islamic equivalent of Christianity's Satan.
In the Djinn Universe
Taking a generalized concept, the Djinn are a group of individuals who discovered various ways to escape traditional mortality. They each carry their own strengths, as well as weaknesses. As they age, their strength, intelligence, and memory improves, although the ages have a way of driving them to levels of apathy completely unachievable during the relatively short Human lives.
Each Djinn starts off as Human. What differentiates them from others during a normal life is a gene passed down through the ages. This gene, one that originated within the ancient race of the Magi, and without this gene residing within the carrier's DNA, it impossible to ascend into the Djinn ranks without the assistance of the elder Djinn, also known as the Protogenoi, or the Primordial Gods.
Use of Mythological Names
Each person that ascends into the Djinn ranks are provided a name by their peers. Some of these names are temporary, while others are permanent, depending on the personality. It is typically not up to the individual who had been given the Djinn name. Almost all Djinn names have been allocated from the various mythologies around the world. Most of these names are pulled directly from the region the person derived from or what religious group the person used in their daily life. On certain occasions, the new inductee was just given a name to hold onto until something else could be better provided.
Two groups transcend the typical names and had been provided names based on their elemental qualities. The New Gods and the Old Gods. The New Gods still interact with civilization for the most part and influence the ways of man. The Old Gods have withdrawn themselves into other forms of existence and for the most part do not concern themselves with the ways of Humanity. And the oldest Djinn, the Protogenoi, were provided their names from the younger Djinn, all who had decided to name them based on their attributes, and the Pre-Olympian and Titan Greek hierarchy was the source of these titles, hence the Protogenoi were provided.
Why Are the Djinn Important?
The younger Djinn have affected Humanity's history for as long as any written log has recorded. The Djinn enjoy participating in the major events as a form of entertainment, or as a method to control what happens in the future. Some Djinn have taken it upon themselves to act as the custodians to Humanity, removing the garbage that had littered the gene pool due to the lack of a superior predator. Others have turned to not caring what happens. The extended life of a Djinn is a curse, and apathy is a side-effect. Some Djinn battle this apathy by continually reinventing themselves in each new generation, while others enjoy the power of authority. What a Djinn does is completely up to them.
Why Don't We See the Protogenoi?
The Old Gods have learned of alternate ways to cope. Many spend their time in the Lifestream, the Djinn Universe equivalent of Heaven. Others rule their own domain, such as Tartarus, which is the Djinn Universe equivalent of Hell. Eons have driven their apathy so far into the unknown that they have no real concept of the events unfolding everyday. They just don't have the ability to care anymore. That was until Humanity unwittingly designed a method of waking them out of their trance, Cyberspace.
The Etherealm:
In between the realms resides a region of space that is completely unseen by human eyes. The Etherealm is the barrier that keeps the realms from meshing together. It is also the area that Cyberspace has utilized to transmit the messages around the world. No one could have possibly known that this relatively knew development in technology would be the cause of the Protogenoi's awakening from their eternal slumbers. What does this mean for Humanity? The Protogenoi do not wish to be disturbed. The Protogenoi are also unaware of the greatest catastrophe the world has ever seen unfolding in Reality, Overpopulation. With no natural predators, Humanity has grown beyond nature's ability to regenerate. In addition, there is no end in sight, and as the generations continue, and the billions of souls continue to escalate, the stress on the planet will soon reach a breaking point.
What's This Mean for the Future?
It is uncertain. As each sequential Protogenoi wakes, expect massive "natural" disasters to escalate. The New Gods are working on combating the Overpopulation puzzle, but Humanity is repopulating far quicker than even the greatest war ever conceived, short of global nuclear holocaust, could curtail. The New Gods do not wish to see Humanity fail, and they do not wish to see billions of lives eliminated. They do not want to live in a post-apocalyptic would where their entertainment disappears. No one wants to live forever with nothing to do. But without a proper method of population control, it seems inevitable that the Old Gods will be driven to cast their judgment and possibly lay waste to the masses.
Is There Anything We Can Do?
Anything short of a miracle, it's hard to say. The world is resilient, and will rebound long after we're gone. The real question is, can we fix this within our lifetime instead of pushing it off on future generations like the previous generations did to us? Can we get away from our short-termed profit-driven ideology? Can we stop burning fossil fuels and start utilizing renewable resources? Can we find less destructive ways of producing food and stop overfishing the oceans? Can we provide better ways of contraception to the regions repopulating the fastest?
These are not the only questions to be had, but each one of those problems has such massive ramifications that it would take a miracle to achieve. Humanity has an impossible task of rooting out the profit-driven system that we live in. Just the mere mention of cutting gas consumption causes lobbyists running towards their closest senator to sway them away from doing a good thing. It's a shame too, because our future generations are really going to hate seeing what the Old Gods are going to do to them, all because we couldn't fix what is happening now.
My Stance,
I live in a world where so much greatness and so many terrible things occur simultaneously. I live in a world that has seen technology grow leaps and bounds every year, and changing the way we do things every day. I have seen in my hands what was projected in science fiction only a few short years previous. I have witnessed an incredible social gathering on a global scale through Twitter where strangers talk to each other from continents far and away as if they were next door.
I also live in a world where an inconceivable amount of food is wasted in certain regions where the population is in decline, while other regions of people are starving themselves to death from a lack of food, yet they are still growing uncontrollably. How does this happen? I don't get it. And I really, REALLY hope that the Djinn find a real solution soon. Humanity is a mess.
And who am I to critique the world? I am just some random guy who hopes that the Djinn will come through with solutions to an incredibly difficult nightmare the world is enduring. I want to see our world transcend the petty greediness of individuals to work as a whole. I want to see poverty ended. I want to witness the end of human trafficking and poaching. I want to see a completely unnecessary prison system dismantled because people stopped harming each other. I want unrealistic goals, but they give me hope. And hopefully the Djinn can help.
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