I'm sure that title alone has you all just WIGGLING with excitement.
Anyway...who's ready for One Piece Book Club?! Where we read books together that Oda references to see if we can't learn something about the future of One Piece!
This time, I'm going to be reading "The Black Destroyer" by A.E. Van Vogt! So, you don't have to!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Destroyer
http://johnrozum.blogspot.com/2011/10/31-days-of-halloween-day-14.html
(But, I actually would suggest that you do, because it's actually a pretty fun pulp sci-fi story. Even if it was written in 1939, it's still pretty readable. And it's only 20 or 30 pages long, so it's pretty short. It's out there, if you look. Go and find it!)
Before we start, let's talk about what Coeurl is, because it's likely you've never heard of that name before. In the latest chapter, Imu possesses Gunko and casts a magic spell that invoked a "Coeurl".
A more common name you may have heard for this fictional creature is a "Displacer Beast" from Dungeons and Dragons.
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Displacer_beast
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Displacer_beast
reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/9wf3bb/ocart_displacer_beast_cub/
Dungeons and Dragons basically just stole the idea for this creature from this classic pulp sci-fi story. Like they did with a lot of their classic monsters. In D&D, a Displacer Beast is a six legged panther with squid like tentacles on it's back, and the ability to "displace" or bend light like a mirror or prism so that it appears to be farther away than it actually is. It's often from another world or dimension. It's a classic and well-loved monster among D&D fans.
Anyway, onto the actual short story. I'm going to give a very brief summary in the spoilers before talking about what it could mean for One Piece. Again, I recommend reading the story for yourself, if you can. If you like classic Star Trek, I think you'll like this.
So, what can we take away from this?
Well, a few things.
This story actually does explore the concept of "Void Centuries" in real life history, which is interesting. The rise and fall of different civilizations on Earth. Which I find interesting. Some of the social commentary even hits a little close to home, nowadays.
The Coeurl being a immortal survivor of a lost civilization with "godlike" powers that can manipulate molecular bonds draws parallels to Imu, certainly.
The Coeurl's weakness to atomic energy feels like it could foreshadow Imu's weakness to the Mother Flame.
The Coeurl being a natural predator to snake-like creatures feels like it could foreshadow some similar old vendetta between Imu and the Dragons.
The Coeurl no longer needing sleep seems like a interesting parallel with Blackbeard. And I wonder what the connection could be.
The Coerul locking himself in the engine room is similar to how Imu locks themselves away in Mariejois. And I do wonder if Imu could be building a spaceship, too, in order to escape the One Piece World.
And, of course, the Coeurl is a alien. Making me wonder if Imu could be a "alien" of a sort, too. Though, possibly in a different way.
The various scientists using their specialties to ultimately defeat the Coerul feels like a direct parallel to the Strawhats. They all have their roles on the crew. And they're all necessary in order to work together to form a plan to defeat this creature. Defeating the Coerul with "history" also feels like a direct parallel with how the Strawhats will eventually defeat Imu or Blackbeard.
The Coeurl is also a bit of a sympathetic character in this. Sure, he's a murderer. But, he's also starving. And his memories are either gone or fragmented from his long life. I wonder how similar Imu will turn out to be? I...doubt that Imu will meet the same end though, since that's a little dark for this manga.
There's one other famous "Coeurl" in fiction that I want to bring up. One that Oda might actually be pretty familiar with. And that is the alien pet from the light novel turned anime Dirty Pair.
The Dirty Pair are space mercenaries with a pet Displacer Beast. He actually helps copilot the ship and helps the girls out of all the misadventures they get into. Part of me kind of wonders if Imu will have a pair of girls that they're fond of, too. A pair of girls that Imu keeps as "pets", reversing the situation, perhaps?
And this "pet"s name is...Mughi.
Let me emphasize that...MU-ghi!
https://dirtypair.fandom.com/wiki/Mughi
That CAN'T be a coincidence! The name is actually a acronym, standing for "Military Unit of Genetic Higher Intelligence". So, I have to wonder if Imu's name could actually turn out to be a acronym, too.
Also, Mughi gets pretty heavily altered in the anime version of the story. Mughi becomes a lot more of a lovable furball in Dirty Pair, compared to other depictions of the Displacer Beast. So, we have a former "horror" story creature that eventually becomes comic relief...which feels like it may parallel nicely with Nika being a force of nature in the First World eventually evolving in our lovable goofball Luffy in the present day. It's possible that ALL the Gods have softened and become more comedic over the centuries. Maybe.
There's also a "fix-up" version of "The Black Destroyer" that combines the story with a few others to create a anthology story. There we see starving bird people (like Lunarians), a serpent like being who existed before the Big Bang, and a galaxy-spanning consciousness that encourages the creation of jungle worlds so that it can feast on them later. But, maybe we can talk about that one, later.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Voyage_of_the_Space_Beagle
So, yeah, this was a interesting little diversion. We'll have to see how much it plays into the story, going forward. I doubt that Imu will literally turn out to be a catgirl. But, you never know with One Piece!
Anyway...who's ready for One Piece Book Club?! Where we read books together that Oda references to see if we can't learn something about the future of One Piece!
This time, I'm going to be reading "The Black Destroyer" by A.E. Van Vogt! So, you don't have to!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Destroyer
http://johnrozum.blogspot.com/2011/10/31-days-of-halloween-day-14.html
(But, I actually would suggest that you do, because it's actually a pretty fun pulp sci-fi story. Even if it was written in 1939, it's still pretty readable. And it's only 20 or 30 pages long, so it's pretty short. It's out there, if you look. Go and find it!)
Before we start, let's talk about what Coeurl is, because it's likely you've never heard of that name before. In the latest chapter, Imu possesses Gunko and casts a magic spell that invoked a "Coeurl".
A more common name you may have heard for this fictional creature is a "Displacer Beast" from Dungeons and Dragons.
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Displacer_beast
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Displacer_beast
reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/9wf3bb/ocart_displacer_beast_cub/
Dungeons and Dragons basically just stole the idea for this creature from this classic pulp sci-fi story. Like they did with a lot of their classic monsters. In D&D, a Displacer Beast is a six legged panther with squid like tentacles on it's back, and the ability to "displace" or bend light like a mirror or prism so that it appears to be farther away than it actually is. It's often from another world or dimension. It's a classic and well-loved monster among D&D fans.
Anyway, onto the actual short story. I'm going to give a very brief summary in the spoilers before talking about what it could mean for One Piece. Again, I recommend reading the story for yourself, if you can. If you like classic Star Trek, I think you'll like this.
On a alien world, a Coeurl is trying to find prey to eat. Using it's tentacles to search the environment for bio-electric signals, it attempts to find snake-like Id-Creatures to feast upon. But, the Coeurl has hunted his food source to near-extinction. There are nearly no Id-Creatures left to eat and the Coeurl may starve.
Then a rocket lands on the Coeurl's world, in the middle of the ruins of a once-great city. The Coeurl goes to examine this strange, new object and notes the creatures within emit the same Id-Vibrations that it's prey does. The Coeurl hesitates to get closer, remembering how his own kind and their guns that destroyed their society, cursing future generations to revert back to a more primal state. But, the Coeurl realizes that these are scientists, not soldiers, and reveals itself.
The human scientists wish to study this new creature. And the Coeurl attempts to communicate with them, but the Coeurl communicates through radio waves, requiring a translator. The Coeurl attempts to enter the human's spaceship, and the scientists find that he can endure the atmosphere inside the ship. The scientists explain that most life in the galaxy has evolved to either use chlorine or oxygen, the two elements that support combustion, but not both. The Coeurl can breathe both, and is thus unique in the galaxy. The Coeurl plays docile, but secretly plans to hijack the spacecraft back to these human's homeworld in order to find itself unlimited new prey.
The Coeurl hungers, but he bides his time, studying how the humans use their machinery for his own uses later. The humans discover that the Coeurl's race used atomic power in order to develop a new science based on the wheel. The Coeurl's world is the only planet orbiting it's red sun, there's no other planet or moon for hundreds of light years, explaining why the Coeurl's race never attempted space travel. There was no way they could "practice" going from planet to planet, like Earthlings going to Mars, then Jupiter, and so on.
No longer able to endure his hunger, the Coeurl attacks and kills a scientist who had went off exploring the ruined city on his own. Devouring the Id that is inside his bones, but leaving the rest.
The scientists find the dead body, and suspect the Coeurl. The scientists admire the ruined city's architecture. And speculate that this world's civilization experienced a rapid period of advancement, before it destroyed itself. Like many civilizations on Earth. The State of Shin in China, the Hyksos century of Egypt, the Oieronea, the Gracchi, Actium. But, humans have solved the problem, recently, allowing for a interstellar society to flourish.
"There is no record of a culture entering abruptly into the period of contending states. It is always a slow development; and the first step is a merciless questioning of all that was once held sacred. Inner certainties cease to exist, are dissolved before the ruthless probings of scientific and analytic minds. The skeptic becomes the highest type of being. I say that this culture ended abruptly in its most flourishing age. The sociological effects of such a catastrophe would be a sudden vanishing of morals, a reversion to almost bestial criminality, unleavened by any sense of ideal, a callous indifference to death."
The scientists argue about whether they should kill the Coeurl or not. But, they decide not to, due to believing that the Coeurl would not be able to figure out that they suspect that he killed one of them. They'll just be on guard from now on. But, one of the scientists is determined to prove the Coeurl was actually the murderer.
The scientists discover that what the Coeurl eats is actually phosphorus. The Coeurl realizes the scientist is trying to trick him and attack the scientist when he tries to feed him. The scientist who tried to trick the Coeurl is punished for his actions.
"My God, isn’t there a man here who can see the horror of the situation? ... What kind of men are we—fools, cynics, ghouls— or is it that our civilization is so steeped in reason that we can contemplate a murderer sympathetically?”
But, the situation changes when the scientists realize that their weapons don't even harm the Coeurl. They decide to lock the Coeurl up in a cage on the ship. The scientists study him, as the Coeurl slowly recalls that his race no longer needs sleep and is immortal. He's been alive since the fall of this alien civilization. The Coeurl is able to use his powers to match the frequency of the cage's electronics and frees himself.
Along with these newly uncovered memories, the Coeurl feels a new sense of loneliness for his extinct race he didn't feel before. The Coeurl kills several men onboard the ship, a new bloodlust and sense of competition and desire for conquest reignited in his mind. But, he is discovered by watchmen aboard the ship. He kills most of them, and locks himself back up in his cage, hoping they won't know it was him.
The scientists wonder if the crew actually started killing themselves due to "space madness". But, finally, the scientists suspect that the Coeurl used it's ability to control all "vibrations" to mess with the energy of the locks, just like it did with the gun, earlier. They think about electrocuting him, but the power on the ship suddenly mysteriously cuts out. The scientists get ready to attack him, but then the ship suddenly starts taking off. They find a hole in the cage. The Coeurl has locked himself in the engine room and is in control of the ship!
The scientists take time to examine the hole, and discover the Coeurl used it's electric powers to affect the molecular bonds of the metal, turning it to dust. The Coeurl is able to make metal weaker or stronger by affecting it's molecular bonds. The scientists reason that the only type of energy this creature can't control is atomic power. The scientists use their different specialties to form a plan. A mechanic who knows machines, a communications officer who knows the science of vibrations, a pilot who understands the importance of timing, an archaeologist who understand psychology, and their fearless leader.
The Coeurl has been busy in the engine room building himself a escape rocket. He starts panicking and tries to make a getaway before the scientists can get in. He thinks he's heading back towards his homeworld, but he actually ends up going the opposite direction, back towards the spaceship he just escaped and their atomic weapons.
(Yes, there IS artwork of this cat piloting the rocket. And it is DELIGHTFUL!)
Rather than be killed by them, he uses his powers to take his own life. The scientists explain that they used the Coeurl's lack of understanding of physics to trick him into thinking he was going the wrong way. And the scientists pat themselves on the back and swear to kill every single cat on this planet.
“That should be simple. They are but primitives; and we have merely to sit down, and they will come to us, cunningly expecting to delude us.”
“Exactly, my dear Smith, except that he reacted according to the biological impulses of his type. His defeat was already foreshadowed when we unerringly analyzed him as a criminal from a certain era of his civilization."
“It was history, honorable Mr. Smith, our knowledge of history that defeated him!”
Then a rocket lands on the Coeurl's world, in the middle of the ruins of a once-great city. The Coeurl goes to examine this strange, new object and notes the creatures within emit the same Id-Vibrations that it's prey does. The Coeurl hesitates to get closer, remembering how his own kind and their guns that destroyed their society, cursing future generations to revert back to a more primal state. But, the Coeurl realizes that these are scientists, not soldiers, and reveals itself.
The human scientists wish to study this new creature. And the Coeurl attempts to communicate with them, but the Coeurl communicates through radio waves, requiring a translator. The Coeurl attempts to enter the human's spaceship, and the scientists find that he can endure the atmosphere inside the ship. The scientists explain that most life in the galaxy has evolved to either use chlorine or oxygen, the two elements that support combustion, but not both. The Coeurl can breathe both, and is thus unique in the galaxy. The Coeurl plays docile, but secretly plans to hijack the spacecraft back to these human's homeworld in order to find itself unlimited new prey.
The Coeurl hungers, but he bides his time, studying how the humans use their machinery for his own uses later. The humans discover that the Coeurl's race used atomic power in order to develop a new science based on the wheel. The Coeurl's world is the only planet orbiting it's red sun, there's no other planet or moon for hundreds of light years, explaining why the Coeurl's race never attempted space travel. There was no way they could "practice" going from planet to planet, like Earthlings going to Mars, then Jupiter, and so on.
No longer able to endure his hunger, the Coeurl attacks and kills a scientist who had went off exploring the ruined city on his own. Devouring the Id that is inside his bones, but leaving the rest.
The scientists find the dead body, and suspect the Coeurl. The scientists admire the ruined city's architecture. And speculate that this world's civilization experienced a rapid period of advancement, before it destroyed itself. Like many civilizations on Earth. The State of Shin in China, the Hyksos century of Egypt, the Oieronea, the Gracchi, Actium. But, humans have solved the problem, recently, allowing for a interstellar society to flourish.
"There is no record of a culture entering abruptly into the period of contending states. It is always a slow development; and the first step is a merciless questioning of all that was once held sacred. Inner certainties cease to exist, are dissolved before the ruthless probings of scientific and analytic minds. The skeptic becomes the highest type of being. I say that this culture ended abruptly in its most flourishing age. The sociological effects of such a catastrophe would be a sudden vanishing of morals, a reversion to almost bestial criminality, unleavened by any sense of ideal, a callous indifference to death."
The scientists argue about whether they should kill the Coeurl or not. But, they decide not to, due to believing that the Coeurl would not be able to figure out that they suspect that he killed one of them. They'll just be on guard from now on. But, one of the scientists is determined to prove the Coeurl was actually the murderer.
The scientists discover that what the Coeurl eats is actually phosphorus. The Coeurl realizes the scientist is trying to trick him and attack the scientist when he tries to feed him. The scientist who tried to trick the Coeurl is punished for his actions.
"My God, isn’t there a man here who can see the horror of the situation? ... What kind of men are we—fools, cynics, ghouls— or is it that our civilization is so steeped in reason that we can contemplate a murderer sympathetically?”
But, the situation changes when the scientists realize that their weapons don't even harm the Coeurl. They decide to lock the Coeurl up in a cage on the ship. The scientists study him, as the Coeurl slowly recalls that his race no longer needs sleep and is immortal. He's been alive since the fall of this alien civilization. The Coeurl is able to use his powers to match the frequency of the cage's electronics and frees himself.
Along with these newly uncovered memories, the Coeurl feels a new sense of loneliness for his extinct race he didn't feel before. The Coeurl kills several men onboard the ship, a new bloodlust and sense of competition and desire for conquest reignited in his mind. But, he is discovered by watchmen aboard the ship. He kills most of them, and locks himself back up in his cage, hoping they won't know it was him.
The scientists wonder if the crew actually started killing themselves due to "space madness". But, finally, the scientists suspect that the Coeurl used it's ability to control all "vibrations" to mess with the energy of the locks, just like it did with the gun, earlier. They think about electrocuting him, but the power on the ship suddenly mysteriously cuts out. The scientists get ready to attack him, but then the ship suddenly starts taking off. They find a hole in the cage. The Coeurl has locked himself in the engine room and is in control of the ship!
The scientists take time to examine the hole, and discover the Coeurl used it's electric powers to affect the molecular bonds of the metal, turning it to dust. The Coeurl is able to make metal weaker or stronger by affecting it's molecular bonds. The scientists reason that the only type of energy this creature can't control is atomic power. The scientists use their different specialties to form a plan. A mechanic who knows machines, a communications officer who knows the science of vibrations, a pilot who understands the importance of timing, an archaeologist who understand psychology, and their fearless leader.
The Coeurl has been busy in the engine room building himself a escape rocket. He starts panicking and tries to make a getaway before the scientists can get in. He thinks he's heading back towards his homeworld, but he actually ends up going the opposite direction, back towards the spaceship he just escaped and their atomic weapons.
(Yes, there IS artwork of this cat piloting the rocket. And it is DELIGHTFUL!)
Rather than be killed by them, he uses his powers to take his own life. The scientists explain that they used the Coeurl's lack of understanding of physics to trick him into thinking he was going the wrong way. And the scientists pat themselves on the back and swear to kill every single cat on this planet.
“That should be simple. They are but primitives; and we have merely to sit down, and they will come to us, cunningly expecting to delude us.”
“Exactly, my dear Smith, except that he reacted according to the biological impulses of his type. His defeat was already foreshadowed when we unerringly analyzed him as a criminal from a certain era of his civilization."
“It was history, honorable Mr. Smith, our knowledge of history that defeated him!”
So, what can we take away from this?
Well, a few things.
This story actually does explore the concept of "Void Centuries" in real life history, which is interesting. The rise and fall of different civilizations on Earth. Which I find interesting. Some of the social commentary even hits a little close to home, nowadays.
The Coeurl being a immortal survivor of a lost civilization with "godlike" powers that can manipulate molecular bonds draws parallels to Imu, certainly.
The Coeurl's weakness to atomic energy feels like it could foreshadow Imu's weakness to the Mother Flame.
The Coeurl being a natural predator to snake-like creatures feels like it could foreshadow some similar old vendetta between Imu and the Dragons.
The Coeurl no longer needing sleep seems like a interesting parallel with Blackbeard. And I wonder what the connection could be.
The Coerul locking himself in the engine room is similar to how Imu locks themselves away in Mariejois. And I do wonder if Imu could be building a spaceship, too, in order to escape the One Piece World.
And, of course, the Coeurl is a alien. Making me wonder if Imu could be a "alien" of a sort, too. Though, possibly in a different way.
The various scientists using their specialties to ultimately defeat the Coerul feels like a direct parallel to the Strawhats. They all have their roles on the crew. And they're all necessary in order to work together to form a plan to defeat this creature. Defeating the Coerul with "history" also feels like a direct parallel with how the Strawhats will eventually defeat Imu or Blackbeard.
The Coeurl is also a bit of a sympathetic character in this. Sure, he's a murderer. But, he's also starving. And his memories are either gone or fragmented from his long life. I wonder how similar Imu will turn out to be? I...doubt that Imu will meet the same end though, since that's a little dark for this manga.
There's one other famous "Coeurl" in fiction that I want to bring up. One that Oda might actually be pretty familiar with. And that is the alien pet from the light novel turned anime Dirty Pair.
The Dirty Pair are space mercenaries with a pet Displacer Beast. He actually helps copilot the ship and helps the girls out of all the misadventures they get into. Part of me kind of wonders if Imu will have a pair of girls that they're fond of, too. A pair of girls that Imu keeps as "pets", reversing the situation, perhaps?
And this "pet"s name is...Mughi.
Let me emphasize that...MU-ghi!
https://dirtypair.fandom.com/wiki/Mughi
That CAN'T be a coincidence! The name is actually a acronym, standing for "Military Unit of Genetic Higher Intelligence". So, I have to wonder if Imu's name could actually turn out to be a acronym, too.
Also, Mughi gets pretty heavily altered in the anime version of the story. Mughi becomes a lot more of a lovable furball in Dirty Pair, compared to other depictions of the Displacer Beast. So, we have a former "horror" story creature that eventually becomes comic relief...which feels like it may parallel nicely with Nika being a force of nature in the First World eventually evolving in our lovable goofball Luffy in the present day. It's possible that ALL the Gods have softened and become more comedic over the centuries. Maybe.
There's also a "fix-up" version of "The Black Destroyer" that combines the story with a few others to create a anthology story. There we see starving bird people (like Lunarians), a serpent like being who existed before the Big Bang, and a galaxy-spanning consciousness that encourages the creation of jungle worlds so that it can feast on them later. But, maybe we can talk about that one, later.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Voyage_of_the_Space_Beagle
So, yeah, this was a interesting little diversion. We'll have to see how much it plays into the story, going forward. I doubt that Imu will literally turn out to be a catgirl. But, you never know with One Piece!
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