"Who hasn't?" One of the students replied with a friendly chuckle.
"That's right, they've been always really popular, and even more so when archaeologists found out that the semi-mythical accounts that mentioned them turned out to be true!" Ms. Coleman said "A tribe of fearsome warriors originating from the vast Asian steppes, they terrorized much of the Ancient world. It's widely believed that they were also the so-called sea-peoples described by ancient Egyptian accounts that brought about the collapse of the Bronze Age"
As she spoke, she showed various slides depicting Amazons from fictional works and then paintings and illustrations from the Renaissance, from Medieval times and then contemporary ones, followed by pictures of battle-hardened Asian steppe female warriors, an artist's recreation of what the Amazons actually were supposed to look like in contrast with the pop-culture perception of them.
"All accounts consistently depict them as the tallest and strongest people to have ever lived, easily reaching 7 feet height on average, the shortest ones being around 6'6" at the very least. Hardy beyond belief, they were used to living in some of the most hostile and inhospitable environments of their time, plus their diet appears to have been entirely carnivorous to sustain their metabolism. Recent finds have shown us that they had many unique mutations that didn't occur anywhere else" Ms. Coleman explained, showing another set of pictures where an Amazon warrior could be seen standing next to a contemporary Greek lady for size and muscular comparison.
"Holy hell! She kinda looks like Blaise's sister" Veronica whispered. Monique was a little surprised but when she looked at the picture again, she saw what Veronica was talking about and nodded. While they didn't have too many interactions with her, they'd seen her pass by, as Ariadne had been a former student of this very same school and appeared to still be good friends with Lulu and Coach Amber.
"The most powerful warriors of their time, even the most disciplined Spartan soldiers feared their sheer might, and even the early Roman Republic struggled to consolidate its power when Amazon warbands raided their border areas" Ms. Coleman said "But then... they simply disappeared... almost as if they simply poofed out of existence one day, and they were never seen again..."
"What happened to them?" Monique asked, but she could tell Veronica would've asked the same thing if she hadn't beat her to it.
"That's what I'm getting at" Ms. Coleman smiled "The Fall of the Amazons has been a matter of intense study, and the results we've found have been very telling" She pushed up her glasses before she resumed speaking "There are many factors that contributed to their final demise, one was that as they relied on their physical superiority, their technological development stagnated, and as the surrounding nations developed better tactics and refined their techniques to make equipment, they began closing the gap. It was one thing to defeat bronze age armies when they had been pioneers in forging iron, and it was a completely different one to face iron age armies with increasingly better weapons, armor, more discipline and better tactics. Muscular strength can only get you so far, and it was a lesson that they only learned far too late, as we have accounts of the early Roman Legions defeating them in battle after battle"
Ms.Coleman showed some more slides where such battles were depicted, but then she took a deep breath and paused for a few seconds.
"Remember what I said before? That disobeying the laws of Nature costs dearly?" She said "Most of archaeological finds point that the true main cause behind their downfall wasn't just military stagnation, the Amazons squandered their gifted genetics..."
"How?" Another student asked.
"This is one of the things that Hollywood and mainstream comics got right about the Amazons... they were heavily misandristic, they viewed micros as pests whose only valid use was reproduction. They were one of the few societies that really went out of their way to treat them the worst, and even in the best case scenarios they were careless and apathetic towards them" Ms. Coleman then sighed "Some of their societal views also made things worse, as micros born to them often perished before reaching adulthood and this was seen as a form of a rite of passage, that only those who could endure the incredibly harsh life they had for them were worthy of being used for their 'sole duty' as they called it, and usually died shortly after... But there were even worse things, way worse..."
Ms.Coleman showed an illustration of what appeared to be an Amazon banquet, and it took the students a few seconds to realize what was wrong in that painting.
"Yep. Several historians from various countries and from different time periods have given consistent accounts that Amazons apparently considered micros a sort of 'delicacy', and it was said to be a better use for them than breeding" Ms. Coleman, Monique, Veronica and a bunch of other students all shuddered at once.
"Wait, micros can survive digestion though..." A student said.
"Under most circumstances, yeah, but these micros were at their absolute weakest, starved, suffering hyper or hypothermia and usually beaten very badly to ensure that their bodies wouldn't resist digestion" Ms. Coleman explained "And that is for those who were consumed alive, because they also cooked them on occasion"
"Whoah, that's horrible" Veronica muttered.
"So, the thing is that they did this to both their native male population and to nearly any micros they acquired as spoils of war. In fact, many of their raids were solely to obtain them, initially for consumption and slave labor" Ms. Coleman said "And in doing that, they kept weakening their own people, as they forgot that they're the other half needed to create new life, and with one parent always in increasingly worse shape, it was no wonder that the Amazons' famed might gradually eroded over the subsequent generations. It looks like they only realized their mistake when it was far too late, and their later raids were more of a desperate effort to acquire micros for reproductive purposes, but the damage was already done... they eventually went extinct, like the mighty beasts of the ice age, or the dinosaurs before them"
"Wow..." There was a collective gasp as pretty much nobody in the classroom knew about this.
"They really mistreated their way to extinction" Ms. Coleman said solemnly "And still, there was a bit more to it. They were very detached from their micro partners because they viewed displays of affection or care as weakness, but once again they were really shooting themselves in the foot. I'm not so much of a science expert, but I've come to understand that when a woman's body is in close proximity to a micro, as in skin-to-skin contact, it actually helps both, it makes them healthier" Monique once again perked up upon hearing the teacher, intrigued as this was the first time she heard about this, but then again she hadn't paid the most attention in science class before...
"I don't know the details, you can probably ask a science teacher like Lulu about the specifics, but in a nutshell, it makes a woman's body work extra hard to remain in peak condition to protect the precious life in its care as well as its own, and this was something the Amazons chose to completely forgo. Historical reports indicate that a great plague broke out, likely some variant of the infamous black death, which finished off the already weakened remnants of the Amazons. Other nations fared better, with the Greeks and Romans being the least affected due to their protective attachment to micros"
"This is why I'm telling you guys not to make the same mistake. I know there are some wild movements out there that blame micros for problems they couldn't possibly cause, and it saddens me that History repeats itself when there's ignorance of the past. You don't have to be an absolute lover of micros either, but if you at least help in treating them like people I think we'll be good. They and us hold each a half of the key needed to create life, never forget that" She said solemnly, and some girls, among which Veronica was included, applauded her for her speech and the class, which made the often clumsy teacher smile sincerely.
"As you guys know, this wasn't exactly the topic intended for class today, but I was asked to explain this as our school has gotten a little bit of a reputation on mistreatment and negligence to micros, and I think it's best to understand the reasoning for something rather than just tell you to do or not to do any given thing. I know that I'd hate it if someone told me 'do this' or 'don't do this' without explaining me why..." She chuckled "Well, I think that sums it up, and that's gonna be it for today. As for the class assignment, I want you to make some questions about anything related to micros and do a little investigation about it so you can show us what you've found"
The "bell" that indicated the class' end then chimed and Ms.Coleman smiled and gave an acknowledging nod "I hope that after this you can view our micro counterparts in a better light. We'll learn more about them tomorrow, we're gonna focus on their own contributions to society..."
"Extra points if you hug a micro today! But with their consent!" Ms. Coleman then giggled "Just kidding" She quickly added to avoid any misunderstandings. With that, the class was dismissed. Unknown to everyone else, Monique did heed her advice and lightly clenched her cheeks as her way of giving you a hug. She definitely had become a whole lot more interested on learning about micros and how they could synergize with female bodies.
'Will I lose weight if I keep him back there? Hah, that'd be amazing! And I'm sure Blaise would appreciate' She thought with a smile as she walked out of the classroom with Veronica.
"That's right, they've been always really popular, and even more so when archaeologists found out that the semi-mythical accounts that mentioned them turned out to be true!" Ms. Coleman said "A tribe of fearsome warriors originating from the vast Asian steppes, they terrorized much of the Ancient world. It's widely believed that they were also the so-called sea-peoples described by ancient Egyptian accounts that brought about the collapse of the Bronze Age"
As she spoke, she showed various slides depicting Amazons from fictional works and then paintings and illustrations from the Renaissance, from Medieval times and then contemporary ones, followed by pictures of battle-hardened Asian steppe female warriors, an artist's recreation of what the Amazons actually were supposed to look like in contrast with the pop-culture perception of them.
"All accounts consistently depict them as the tallest and strongest people to have ever lived, easily reaching 7 feet height on average, the shortest ones being around 6'6" at the very least. Hardy beyond belief, they were used to living in some of the most hostile and inhospitable environments of their time, plus their diet appears to have been entirely carnivorous to sustain their metabolism. Recent finds have shown us that they had many unique mutations that didn't occur anywhere else" Ms. Coleman explained, showing another set of pictures where an Amazon warrior could be seen standing next to a contemporary Greek lady for size and muscular comparison.
"Holy hell! She kinda looks like Blaise's sister" Veronica whispered. Monique was a little surprised but when she looked at the picture again, she saw what Veronica was talking about and nodded. While they didn't have too many interactions with her, they'd seen her pass by, as Ariadne had been a former student of this very same school and appeared to still be good friends with Lulu and Coach Amber.
"The most powerful warriors of their time, even the most disciplined Spartan soldiers feared their sheer might, and even the early Roman Republic struggled to consolidate its power when Amazon warbands raided their border areas" Ms. Coleman said "But then... they simply disappeared... almost as if they simply poofed out of existence one day, and they were never seen again..."
"What happened to them?" Monique asked, but she could tell Veronica would've asked the same thing if she hadn't beat her to it.
"That's what I'm getting at" Ms. Coleman smiled "The Fall of the Amazons has been a matter of intense study, and the results we've found have been very telling" She pushed up her glasses before she resumed speaking "There are many factors that contributed to their final demise, one was that as they relied on their physical superiority, their technological development stagnated, and as the surrounding nations developed better tactics and refined their techniques to make equipment, they began closing the gap. It was one thing to defeat bronze age armies when they had been pioneers in forging iron, and it was a completely different one to face iron age armies with increasingly better weapons, armor, more discipline and better tactics. Muscular strength can only get you so far, and it was a lesson that they only learned far too late, as we have accounts of the early Roman Legions defeating them in battle after battle"
Ms.Coleman showed some more slides where such battles were depicted, but then she took a deep breath and paused for a few seconds.
"Remember what I said before? That disobeying the laws of Nature costs dearly?" She said "Most of archaeological finds point that the true main cause behind their downfall wasn't just military stagnation, the Amazons squandered their gifted genetics..."
"How?" Another student asked.
"This is one of the things that Hollywood and mainstream comics got right about the Amazons... they were heavily misandristic, they viewed micros as pests whose only valid use was reproduction. They were one of the few societies that really went out of their way to treat them the worst, and even in the best case scenarios they were careless and apathetic towards them" Ms. Coleman then sighed "Some of their societal views also made things worse, as micros born to them often perished before reaching adulthood and this was seen as a form of a rite of passage, that only those who could endure the incredibly harsh life they had for them were worthy of being used for their 'sole duty' as they called it, and usually died shortly after... But there were even worse things, way worse..."
Ms.Coleman showed an illustration of what appeared to be an Amazon banquet, and it took the students a few seconds to realize what was wrong in that painting.
"Yep. Several historians from various countries and from different time periods have given consistent accounts that Amazons apparently considered micros a sort of 'delicacy', and it was said to be a better use for them than breeding" Ms. Coleman, Monique, Veronica and a bunch of other students all shuddered at once.
"Wait, micros can survive digestion though..." A student said.
"Under most circumstances, yeah, but these micros were at their absolute weakest, starved, suffering hyper or hypothermia and usually beaten very badly to ensure that their bodies wouldn't resist digestion" Ms. Coleman explained "And that is for those who were consumed alive, because they also cooked them on occasion"
"Whoah, that's horrible" Veronica muttered.
"So, the thing is that they did this to both their native male population and to nearly any micros they acquired as spoils of war. In fact, many of their raids were solely to obtain them, initially for consumption and slave labor" Ms. Coleman said "And in doing that, they kept weakening their own people, as they forgot that they're the other half needed to create new life, and with one parent always in increasingly worse shape, it was no wonder that the Amazons' famed might gradually eroded over the subsequent generations. It looks like they only realized their mistake when it was far too late, and their later raids were more of a desperate effort to acquire micros for reproductive purposes, but the damage was already done... they eventually went extinct, like the mighty beasts of the ice age, or the dinosaurs before them"
"Wow..." There was a collective gasp as pretty much nobody in the classroom knew about this.
"They really mistreated their way to extinction" Ms. Coleman said solemnly "And still, there was a bit more to it. They were very detached from their micro partners because they viewed displays of affection or care as weakness, but once again they were really shooting themselves in the foot. I'm not so much of a science expert, but I've come to understand that when a woman's body is in close proximity to a micro, as in skin-to-skin contact, it actually helps both, it makes them healthier" Monique once again perked up upon hearing the teacher, intrigued as this was the first time she heard about this, but then again she hadn't paid the most attention in science class before...
"I don't know the details, you can probably ask a science teacher like Lulu about the specifics, but in a nutshell, it makes a woman's body work extra hard to remain in peak condition to protect the precious life in its care as well as its own, and this was something the Amazons chose to completely forgo. Historical reports indicate that a great plague broke out, likely some variant of the infamous black death, which finished off the already weakened remnants of the Amazons. Other nations fared better, with the Greeks and Romans being the least affected due to their protective attachment to micros"
"This is why I'm telling you guys not to make the same mistake. I know there are some wild movements out there that blame micros for problems they couldn't possibly cause, and it saddens me that History repeats itself when there's ignorance of the past. You don't have to be an absolute lover of micros either, but if you at least help in treating them like people I think we'll be good. They and us hold each a half of the key needed to create life, never forget that" She said solemnly, and some girls, among which Veronica was included, applauded her for her speech and the class, which made the often clumsy teacher smile sincerely.
"As you guys know, this wasn't exactly the topic intended for class today, but I was asked to explain this as our school has gotten a little bit of a reputation on mistreatment and negligence to micros, and I think it's best to understand the reasoning for something rather than just tell you to do or not to do any given thing. I know that I'd hate it if someone told me 'do this' or 'don't do this' without explaining me why..." She chuckled "Well, I think that sums it up, and that's gonna be it for today. As for the class assignment, I want you to make some questions about anything related to micros and do a little investigation about it so you can show us what you've found"
The "bell" that indicated the class' end then chimed and Ms.Coleman smiled and gave an acknowledging nod "I hope that after this you can view our micro counterparts in a better light. We'll learn more about them tomorrow, we're gonna focus on their own contributions to society..."
"Extra points if you hug a micro today! But with their consent!" Ms. Coleman then giggled "Just kidding" She quickly added to avoid any misunderstandings. With that, the class was dismissed. Unknown to everyone else, Monique did heed her advice and lightly clenched her cheeks as her way of giving you a hug. She definitely had become a whole lot more interested on learning about micros and how they could synergize with female bodies.
'Will I lose weight if I keep him back there? Hah, that'd be amazing! And I'm sure Blaise would appreciate' She thought with a smile as she walked out of the classroom with Veronica.
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May 12, 2023
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