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    a mbition: their ultimate goal is to reproduce--and in the process, to

    overrun this world.

    Despite the opinions of Montaigne, Rousseau, and their

    contemporary followers, modern civilization is not the generator of

    violence.  Nor is brutality limited to the "patriarchal" male.  The creator

    of human savagery is nature, who works her ways through brain

    segments bequeathed to both men and women by our animal

    ancestors.  Ironically, it is female aggression that gives the greatest clue

    as to why nature has found conflict so indispensable.  Creatures of

    every species fight for the privilege of procreation.  They battle to

    immortalize the replicators at their core.

    No wonder the wives of ancient emperors and high-ranking

    ladies of the gorilla clan have been out to corner the world for their

    children.  No wonder Greek heroes, Yanomamo warriors, and

    rampaging Romans have risked their lives in the hunt for new wombs

    to sow.  Every time a sperm and egg spew a fresh creature into the

    world, the victor is a gene.

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