One post I read a while back and found pretty interesting hypothesizes how Nanika's

ability works and how it might affect dimensions, and that got me thinking more
about the nature of Nanika's ability. I highly recommend reading that post before
my own because it's a very interesting read and I'll probably refer to it once or
twice in my own thoughts, but if you need a very rough tl;dr it's basically that
Nanika has control over the dimensions of space and time (you can read that post +
discussion here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/HunterXHunter/comments/3gcdkp/allukas_somethings_ability_c
ould_work_like_this/?st=jichi4lb&sh=6d9c3732).

If I'm correct, the host inhabited by Nanika can grant the wishes of any person,
but consequentially asks for a certain number of requests to be fulfilled; if these
requests aren't fulfilled, the user and some number of people related to the user
in some way end up dead. The host (Alluka) is barred from any repercussions, at
least to our knowledge so far. The only exception to the "user fulfilling requests
made by Alluka" is Killua, who can make wishes without Alluka making requests. The
important things to make note of here are:

Throughout the show we've basically seen how Nen works with mortal entities. You
have 6 classes of users, and a person/creature has varying affinities for these
classes (100% potential in one, 80%+ potential in the surrounding two classes and
then minimal potential in the rest). You don't have to be a human to fall into this
categorization; the Chimera Ants, those with human genes and those without (like
Youpi), are still bounded by these categories and the restrictions of Nen.

Of the 6 classes, the Specialist class is the most unique. Some Specialists'
powers, like Chrollo's or Kurapika's, have stringent conditions placed on them and
operate under the same expected 'trade-offs' we see in Nen. Chrollo, for example,
can only steal abilities if a certain number of conditions are met; Kurapika's
amazing Scarlet Eyes abilities are balanced by him losing a portion of his lifespan
when they're activated.

Other Specialists, however, seem to be able to accomplish profound things without

much repercussion at all. Neon is the prime example that comes to mind; she does
something as amazing as foreseeing the future without bringing any risk to herself.
If we look closer to her ability, we find that Neon actually acts as a 'conduit' or
'medium' through which she can take in a user's request and provide some sort of
answer. I think that provides a pretty big similarity, at least fundamentally, to
how Nanika within Alluka works as well. There are two ways to define this:

- Alluka makes a request Nanika is a conduit through which Alluka can grant the
requests of others, or

There's a clear difference between Neon and Nanika though. Neon is a person, a
mortal entity. I believe her status as a human, or rather all Specialists' statuses
as humans/mortal entities, is what provides an upper bound on their power. It seems
Neon can do something as mystical as 'observing' the affects of space and time; she
can foresee a person's future and fate after all. However, since she is a human,
she can do no more than act as an 'observer'; she cannot manipulate these
dimensions, she can only observe their effects on the lives of others. I think this
comes from the fact that every human can only work with the set amount of energy
within themselves; they cannot generate more than what they have, and they
certainly aren't the source of all energy in the world. In fact, I'd go so far as
to say energy isn't something that exists in the Hunter world just because humans
(or living beings as a whole) came along; I think it's an omnipresent, always-
existing concept/'thing' that predated mankind. Humans were just able to find it
exists and control and manipulate it.
And this got me thinking of things in the sense of yin-yang. Energy itself isn't
something with any defining aspect of its own; if you think about it abstractly,
it's just something to be used, something present in the universe. But when humans
became able to manipulate it to their 'will', does that mean they redefined energy
to give it a sense of purpose or something it shouldn't have? If enough humans
'unbalance' the world by redefining something as pure as energy to work for their
own intentions and their own goals, might the universe 'bite-back' by introducing
an opposing force in the form of energy? Might that be where the Great Calamities
come from?

Going off this idea of will, is 'Nanika' the opposite of the concept of 'will'? If
humanity for years have used Nen to create Hatsus, each of which implicitly carry
that user's own personas and intentions in its nature, might the opposing force to
this something devoid of desire, something that doesn't act for itself but rather
exists as an entity that can merely take away or is only defined when it connects
to someone else? I think this might explain why Alluka can grant wishes through
Nanika; Nanika has no will of its own, but through Alluka it adopts Alluka's
intentions and aspirations and can define an ability to meet those goals.

Also, Nanika itself wouldn't be able to be anything BUT a conduit, and so it might
exhibit abilities similar to Neon; being a conduit, it can directly observe space
and time. However, since Nanika is something broader and more potent than a mortal
being, it can go further and can INFLUENCE space and time.

This might be pretty long so bear with me.

I think the CAA in its entirety is trying to paint a picture of coexistence between
good and evil, or more specifically benevolence and malice. In short, Togashi used
the CAA, its characters, its story, the war, etc to paint this picture of what it
truly means to 'be a human' or to 'be an animal'. I actually believe Togashi plays
on our initial depictions of humanity and animals to twist expectations. At the
start, when you think of a human and an animal, you think of a cultured specimen vs
a savage, uncultured beast; there is an inherent bias for benevolence and civility
on the human side, and malice and unfiltered savagery on the side of the beast. But
throughout the arc, we see humans act benevolent as well as rabid, and we also see
ants act malicious a well as civil and kind. All for the purpose of portraying this
notion of coexistence of separate entities.

On the surface level, the CAA is a clear depiction of the nature of humans vs the
nature of animals. There is the obvious outside conflict with the battle between
Chimera Ants and the human Hunters. Interesting to note, both sides have their own
biased depictions on the other. For example, Meruem considers humans a selfish,
individualistic race that allows for the problems of the world; on the other side,
we have people like Netero saying the ants understand nothing of the world, or
people like Gon who hate the Ants because they're savages that personally hurt him
(Pitou killing Kite). So I think from the get-go there isn't a clear bad side or
good side; both have good reasons for fighting and both call out the other on their
shortcomings. There isn't even a pure divide between both sides, as ants come to
work together with humans and vice versa (Meruem with Komugi, the hunters with
Ikalgo, Meleoron, Welfin).

The narrator does say that we are worse than the ants, but I think this is a pretty
surface-level claim. He isn't saying the ants aren't evil or aren't malicious.
Humans have just been on this world for so much longer, and have used their time
here to discover methods to kill, destroy and deform that not even the Ants can
begin to fathom. After all, the Rose surpassed the greatest efforts of one of
humanity's strongest; it really shows how dangerous and how destructive we are,
that not even the strongest of the Ants can hope to stand up against what humanity
has achieved.

Togashi also explores he conflict of the nature of humanity vs the nature of

animals within his characters, whether they be an ant or a human. The most obvious
examples are Meruem and Gon. Meruem undergoes a transition from a savage beast to a
human; Gon goes the opposite direction, from a human to a savage beast. From here
we see that the best of humanity can fall, and the worst of animals can rise; once
again, this aligns with Togashi's intent to blend the lines between good and evil
(or benevolence and malice) and show that there is great potential for good in
great evil, and there is a great potential for evil where great good is found. They
aren't black and white entities; they enable the other.

There's also the interplay of malice and benevolence within humanity. Togashi
explores humanity's potential for malice and destruction, an example being Netero's
use of the Rose on Meruem. Where individual human effort fails, the combined effort
of humanity will succeed; Meruem, an insurmountable obstacle, was put down by
humanity's efforts. We can essentially overcome anything through our determination,
our ability to adapt and change, and our malice.

But Togashi also shows us that this is not enough to effect TRUE change. Meruem
still lives, and even though the Rose will eventually kill him, he basically
reverted back to being the beast he once was. What truly changes him is Komugi, a
human who shows him love and empathy. While the malice of humanity ends the war,
the altruism and the benevolence of humanity is really what changed who Meruem was
and what he stood for. It's a beautiful interplay of natures that blends the
boundary between good and evil, showing us what change humanity can foster when it
harnesses its destructive capabilities or relies on compassion and care.

In the Chimera Ant arc, we see the transformation of a beast into a human. We see
the devolution of a pure human into a savage beast. We see how these
transformations affect those around them and change the dynamic of war between two
conflicting yet complementary sides; and these sides of 'humanity' and 'animal' are
present not only as distinct entities in the war but within the characters as well.
Togashi gave his take on a war between animal and man and how it changes the
participants. He explores each side and their philosophies: how they change
throughout, and how each side influences the others. Underneath all of this is a
theme of coexistence: how malice can exist with benevolence, how animal can exist
with human both within a character and between characters. If there is a moral of
the story, I'd take it to be an appreciation of this notion of coexistence and the
implications that stem from it throughout the arc. Of course, there are many other
simpler sorts of lessons we can take away, but I think they all fit under the
umbrella of coexistence and the interplay between benevolence and malice.

Dang that was longer than I expected. But I hope this can explain at least my
interpretation of what the CAA stands for.