The Pedigree of All Creations

The Pedigree of All Creations
Dalian holds The Pedigree of All Creations.
Original Name	万物の血統の書
Romanized Name	Banbutsu no Kettō no Sho
Author	Unknown
Debut	Chapter 2 (light novel 1); Chapter 1 (manga)
Powers	It contains the knowledge of advanced crossbreeding.
User	Boyd Hurston
Status	Inside the Labyrinth Library

The Pedigree of All Creations is a Phantom Book containing knowledge related to crossbreeding. It was read by Boyd Hurston, who became capable of creating exceptional beings, including his grandsons Roy and, especially, Chez. It's present in the Pedigree story.

It’s an ancient book with a binding decorated with gold and a worn out leather cover engraved with the title.

Background

The Pedigree of All Creations was originally sealed by Boyd’s ancestors in the distant past, probably because of the ethical issues it causes. It’s probably maintained inside the Labyrinth Library. The Hurstons have an agreement with the Black Biblioprincess. Dalian shows the Phantom Book every time the new head of the family is named. This person has only one opportunity to read The Pedigree of All Creations.

Boyd used the knowledge of The Pedigree of All Creations to amass his fortune. The exceptional dogs he raised were even purchased by the royal family, including combat dogs for battlefields. Thanks to the Phantom Book, Boyd was also capable of creating roses with blue pigments and artificial humans with superior characteristics.

Powers

The Phantom Book covers which lineages to pair in order to produce excellent descendants. Knowing the results of mating pairs in advance is a dream for people living from breeding, those who continuously work in artificial selection and reproduction to obtain better individuals such as crops, garden plants, dogs, pets and racehorses. Normally, there is no way to ensure the compatibility of a couple and the inheritance of superior skills. The Pedigree of All Creations may require a laboratory to practice the crossbreeding and perform its secret ceremonies. For instance, Boyd Hurston has an underground room filled with test tubes, experimental utensils and bottles with chemicals.

Ethical issues come from applying the knowledge of The Pedigree of All Creations. It can destroy tribes with weaknesses and moreover, it deals with living beings, classing them as successes and failures. Its user can create a perfect individual, which otherwise would be impossible to achieve naturally.

The Phantom Book made possible the birth of exceptional dogs and plants. There is no technology available to obtain the blue roses at Boyd’s garden. The blue pigment in roses cannot be seen whatever the combinations between species one experiments. The artificial plants were born from the recombination of genes and use of characteristics of another plant.

Boyd also used The Pedigree of All Creations to bring fourth artificial humans with superior qualities. Roy and Chez’s parents were the first generation Boyd created after examining the genes of thousands of countrymen. Their genes were revised to produce even superior beings, Roy and Chez. The latter is the perfect soldier Boyd was aiming for, a man capable of transforming into a wolf-like beast.

The Beast of Ashwell and Roy Hurston, creations of Boyd, user of the Phantom Book.

Plot

One of the Hurstons' dogs, probably raised by applying the knowledge of The Pedigree of All Creations.

Hugh and Dalian have an appointment with Boyd Hurston. Following an old contract, Dalian will show The Pedigree of All Creations to the new head of the family. The inheritance would be conducted before midnight at the old man’s workroom. Waiting in the garden of the Hurston estate, Hugh and Dalian have a conversation with Roy. Boyd had applied the knowledge of the Phantom Book to bring forth Roy and Chez. It was also used to breed dogs and bring fortune to the family. Soon after, Dalian examines some blue roses in a flower bed, something only achievable with the forbidden knowledge of The Pedigree of All Creations. As she discusses with Hugh, if Boyd could give blue pigment to roses, he may be able to create the Beast of Ashwell, the creature who supposedly killed Leonard and his family.

Dalian brings The Pedigree of All Creations to Boyd’s workroom. He tries to touch it, but remembers he isn’t the owner of the Phantom Book anymore. If he reached it, the world would be distorted by its powers. The old man reveals his secret laboratory where he created Roy and Chez. Boyd was motivated to artificially create the perfect soldier for the country after knowing about the Queen’s grief for the lives lost in war. He eventually names Chez as the new head of the family, a man with the superior skills he was looking for. However, Chez refuses the Phantom Book as inheritance along with the responsibility to lead the family. After all, he disapproves how his grandfather used forbidden knowledge to play with life and death.

The petals with blue pigment.

A faint light shines through the closed Phantom Book. The Pedigree of All Creations was emitting magical power, probably reacting to the bad intentions of Roy Hurston, who, frustrated for being considered a failure, kills his grandfather. He eventually kills himself after he’s revealed as the responsible for the Ashwell massacre. Chez leaves with his body after transforming into a beast. Dalian offers him the Phantom Book to return his body to normal. However, Chez disappears without answering. Dalian drops the Phantom Book while enveloped by blue petals. The next day, Hugh suggests Chez would return someday to accept the book. The former decorates a vase with a flower bud ready to bloom with blue petals.

Trivia

• It’s the first Phantom Book shown in the manga, appearing in the first page.
• As Dalian explains, roses with blue pigments should be impossible to exist. In real life, there is indeed a genetic limitation that prevent these plants of producing a blue pigment. Only in 2004 scientists managed to obtain a blue rose by genetic engineering of a white one. As discussed in the Pedigree story, blue roses symbolize mystery and longing to attain the impossible.
• The term "eugenics" refers to the practice that aims at improving the genetic quality of the human population. As suggested throughout the chapter, it's a controversial subject. In 2015, Chinese researchers become pioneers after genetically engineering human embryos.