"Cannon fodder"

when you heard that word, what popped into your mind? let me make a guess

"Guys meant to be beaten up by the main character", "those extra characters that only appear once or twice in the story to interact with the lead", "supporting cast that is needed to make the story interesting"

or something along those lines, unless you are someone who reads a lot of manga. then it would probably be some thing like " The Mangaka never puts effort in there character design, at least change there eyes a little bit! Author-san!"

something like that 

Humans are creatures that possess intelligence. they use that intelligence in many different ways 

working, committing crimes, socializing and what not but to be honest except for the 'committing crimes' part animals do all those other activities as well

I am not trying to say that animals are better than humans or anything. well, that may be true in some aspects

but it's a fact that our tendency to 'work' does not make us any better than the others. every being 'works' to survive

though in case of livestock it's more like forced labor, but the point is we are no better than other animals in terms of physical strength is what I am trying to say.

and if I be so bold as to say that humans are on the weaker side of the food chain in terms of physical strength alone, but before being offended just be honest with yourselves

if a tiger suddenly popped up in front of you what would you do? exactly, what would you do?

and the answer is, nothing. You'd be completely helpless while your life depends on the mercy of the Tiger. at that point it would be up to the Tiger, what would he do to you? would be the question being asked

I understand that taking a Tiger of all things as an example is a bit to much. Then what about a little snake? but then again the snake is stronger because it has venom

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

then what about a dog? well a dog is stronger because it has fangs. then what about a little oyster, well there is no way an oyster is stronger than a human, I mean I myself eat oyster regularly

but did you know even that tiny little sea creature can cause a deadly disease called Vibro vulnifcus. 1 out of 5 people suffering from that disease end up knocking on hell's front door.

Oyster no.4321 returns with it's ultimate weapon! coming this Saturday in your nearest cinema hall "The revenge of the Oyster"!

*ahem* now that you have been notified about my hatred for oysters lets proceed back to topic.

now some of you guys might be wondering, how would humans who are weaker compared to other races stand on top of the food chain

and the smarter bunch would've already realized the answer. 

as I said earlier humans are no different from animals when it comes to their tendency to 'work', what is different about them is their tendency to 'think'

and I am not saying that humans are the smartest animals out there. an average human can use up to 10% of what it's brain has to offer where as a Dolphins can use up to 20%

but still we are superior to Dolphins and that's because our limbs are differentiated into hands and feet, we walk using only two feet

we can craft things with our hands, things that a Dolphin can't do, If I believed in God, I would've said something like "God made humans for the purpose of ruling over other races."

but since I believe in Darwin more than I believe in God, I would say it's simply just a coincidence, natural selection, a phenomena of evolution.

and since we have the tendency to 'think' we tend to be unsatisfied if we don't have a means of entertainment

and that's why I can confidently say that there isn't even a single person who hasn't heard of the term "cannon fodder"

we all might have different definition for the term but what ever your explanation is, it's wrong, and as someone who has read hundreds of thousands of lightnovels 

let me tell you something, in a story everyone who is not one of the main characters is a cannon fodder and this might seem harsh but it's the truth

and even in the democratic world we live in, most of us are still just living as cannon fodder. even if the differences are not so clear cut, they are still there

even a world where everyone is considered as 'equal' regardless of gender, race or religion there are still things like 'Protagonist', 'villain' and 'cannon fodder' unfair isn't it?

and if this world seems unfair to you then just imagine in a world where your life is in the hands of 'viewers'. if you are not strong enough or entertaining enough, you are regarded as a lost cause and you should start counting your days

in the genre called 'post apocalypse' where one would gladly betray there most trusted comrades for a few thousand coins from the constellations

a 'cannon fodder' could never survive