WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Dr. Stone Chapter 228, by Boichi, Riichiro Inagaki, Caleb Cook and Steve Dutro.
The hit edutainment anime series Dr. Stone has a distinct name, and it's named after more than the new Stone Age setting in which the characters find themselves. One fateful day, all of humanity turned to stone, causing civilization to crumble, but the brilliant Ishigami Senku plans to revive the human race with the power of science.
Early in the series, the petrification phenomenon became "Dr. Stone" when a piece of stone saved Senku from certain death at the hands of his brutish rival Tsukasa, but soon, Senku harnessed the power of petrification for good, dubbing it Dr. Stone. Now, in light of Chapter 228's events, the concept of Dr. Stone takes on a whole new meaning according to the certification devices themselves.
The Symbiotic Relationship Of Why-Man & Humanity In Dr. Stone
Ishigami Senku recently arrived on the lunar surface without much fanfare, and despite this anticlimactic start, the mission soon became a historic moment as Senku, Stanley Snyder and Kohaku approached Why-Man's location. What they found was not a person but a large pile of the certification devices, all of which pool their AI processing power to become the hive-minded Why-Man. Senku has been fighting the certification devices this entire time, and these devices have a story to share.
In Chapter 228, the hive-minded Why-Man begins its lengthy explanation, describing how the certification devices created a symbiotic relationship with humanity as a whole. The devices need humanity to "feed" them with diamond crystals, and the devices have a strong survival instinct, as Senku deduces for himself during the lunar mission. As a reward for a steady diet of much-needed diamond batteries, Why-Man may provide humanity with scientific advancements, and more importantly, Why-Man uses the certification beams to help preserve and heal humans who are of great use.
Already, Dr. Stone has demonstrated the remarkable healing effect of the stone, such as when Senku used it on a critically wounded Tsukasa to heal him or when broken statues were re-assembled and revived without any problems. To Why-Man, petrifying humans is similar to putting leftover food into Tupperware containers and into the fridge to use again later. However, being a true shonen protagonist, Senku may not agree with this paradigm, even if Why-Man offers serious benefits in return.
How Why-Man Is A Shonen Villain
At first, Why-Man's symbiotic relationship with humanity seems benevolent, and it explores the concept of "Dr. Stone" in a whole new way. Based on what Why-Man has explained so far, they are a steward and healer of humanity, using their petrification beams to extend a human's natural life and heal their injuries in exchange for providing diamond batteries. Senku has seen this for himself, but given his values as a shonen protagonist, he will likely reject Why-Man's established system and even fight back. It's unlikely that Senku will submit to the petrification devices and agree to become a glorified pet.
Senku is a shonen hero, and that means he must save the day and do good with his own two hands, growing as a person in the process. Shonen heroes do rely on the power of friendship, and Senku has often done so, but he only accepted help from his fellow humans who all trust and respect him as a peer. A proud and noble scientist like Senku wouldn't like being the servant of a benevolent AI overlord, even if the petrification beams have healing powers intended for good. Heroes like Senku say that humanity must build its own future and succeed or fail on its own merits, and that sentiment has been echoed in other stories too, such as in the Mass Effect video games.
This symbiotic relationship with Why-Man is a crutch, and the benevolent "Dr. Stone" is weakening the human spirit. No longer should humanity rely on Why-Man, regardless of the new meaning of Dr. Stone -- Senku and his Kingdom of Science will build the future with human hands, not an AI's. Humanity must be free of this mechanical overlord once and for all.
