http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17365736
Giants engender a sympathy of poignancy as much as one of awe.
Isn't it poignant to imagine a great beast, capable in it's enormity of
utterly crushing you or I at any time, yet this beast doesn't destroy
us. Rather they remain, like obedient servants to a greater power of
nature or God, insular and avoidant of any confrontation.
So we have two giants, the sperm whale and the giant squid, neither
looking to start anything but by their very nature antagonistic toward each other. Who's to say which of these giants is in the right? Maybe
neither is more correct than the other. One, the giant squid, a
protector of the deep, the other, the sperm whale, a traveler whose
travels evidence an adventurousness without any malicious forethought.
Apparently, when they encounter each other, it's like two poles of
similar magnetism. Each repels the other. Who knows why. Maybe, like
Cain, " , . . . if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto
thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." Genesis 4:7 They then face off, each, unknowingly, protecting a sinful nature which has been exacerbated by the presence of the other.
Sometimes the sperm whale wins, sometimes the giant squid wins. The
winner returning to a life of solitude, except for their own kind, no
less humble than before winning. Yet, now the loser has suffered.
In anthropomorphizing these creatures, as I've done, they take on
qualities of men. Strength, quietude, purpose, etc. rather than simply
biological qualities like hunger, territoriality, etc. Choosing of this
dichotomous nature isn't to deny the existence of the other. Neither
creature is without a peaceful existence at times; a peacefulness which
is a staple of nature's grandeur and can be anthropomorphized. Belying this peacefulness are the
necessities of survival. But the sperm whale and giant squid survive
without hunting each other as their main food source. So why should
their meeting seem to lead, inevitably, to battle?
There is no logical, biological, reason for their confrontation. Just
an unexplained acrimony toward each other which elevates each to an
anthropomorphic level of idiocy and, at the same time, mocks any
biological explanations of the necessities of nature's food chain. It's
as if their enormity were an award recognizing their humility and
peaceful countenance, only to have the two, once backstage together at
the awards show, engage in some sort of catfight. This is why I hope
never to see a battle between a sperm whale and a giant squid.