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libraryofbabelYour correspondence partner is…
…well, you met her briefly when you passed through Chicago and checked in with the local chapter of the Ordo Dracul there1, and got in touch with her again when you read a journal article she’d published on early experimental possibilities in using the Chrysalis to overcome the instinctive divide between predator and prey—between vampire and human.2
Of course that’s research you’d want to help with! And she’s a dry wit as well as a pleasure to talk to, normally.3 You could say you had quite a bit in common—perhaps, starting with a deep dissatisfaction with the state of undeath. In her case, the trauma of her embrace keeps her separated from her similarly traumatized vampire sisters—and you sympathize, greatly.4
But you have to wonder if she’s really… stable, actually. Now and again you get letters—like this one—that are mostly rants about her hatred of this unlife and her desire for vengeance on people you’ve never met.5 For all that your poring over psychology articles together at a distance is meant to help stabilize the mind as well as put it back in the manner of a human—
…well. You worry.
But still. At least progress is forthcoming, and with any luck, it’ll mean the beginning of a new era—and the potential for vampires to have more room to learn and change.6
You’ll… table that response for now, and go on to writing a reply to Iris, who’s in Chile now,7 before going downstairs from the upper floor of your townhome to rouse Paula for what you call breakfast,8 even though it’s just past sunset.
You go to knock on her door, and a slightly bleary, dark-haired woman emerges,9 hair in the process of being tied up; you smile at her.
“Another busy day awaits,” you say. “Let’s get started.”
[1] The Ordo Dracul is an organization and secret society dedicated to research of and modifications to the vampiric condition. Yi found herself drawn to their work, in hope that vampires might be returned to a state of humanity—as well as due to her innate interest in understanding the workings of the world.
[2] It is notable that vampires generally read as slightly off or uncanny to humans, no matter how much of an effort they make. On the vampiric side, the longer one exists as a vampire, the more one is conditioned to think of humans as something apart, in the way humans distance themselves from what they eat.
[3] Yi found some friends among vampires, but found most of them truly dire to talk to for anything more than business.
[4] While Yi never found herself regretting her choice (see "Ethics in Opportunity Cost Tradeoffs, Late 19th Cen"), there were a great many things she missed about being human: the sun, meals in the style of her home, pastries, watching the way she would change from year to year.
[5] Her correspondence partner had lived a hard life, Yi knew, and she was sympathetic to the need to vent to someone, when one had precious few confidants. But in these moments, it was easy to see what kind of monster her friend could become.
[6] Yi, in her work, considered the ability to change to be a sort of component of free will, and therefore of paramount importance. To be able to change one's opinions and course in life—that was something she saw vampires losing, as they lost their connection to humanity.
[7] Yi had reluctantly consented to make Iris a vampire, at her request, once she was of an age to make such a decision. They traveled together for some time afterward, but parted ways in South America, where Iris joined a cell of the Sept there in their work against vampires supporting the fascist regime.
[8] A productive relationship with several Chinatown butchers supplied Yi with most of her food; she suspected that a few of them had an inkling that she wasn't normal, but didn't mind as long as she was good with her business.
[9] Paula would later be known, ironically, as "Grace," on Imeeji's Taisho Roman Revolution.
…well, you met her briefly when you passed through Chicago and checked in with the local chapter of the Ordo Dracul there1, and got in touch with her again when you read a journal article she’d published on early experimental possibilities in using the Chrysalis to overcome the instinctive divide between predator and prey—between vampire and human.2
Of course that’s research you’d want to help with! And she’s a dry wit as well as a pleasure to talk to, normally.3 You could say you had quite a bit in common—perhaps, starting with a deep dissatisfaction with the state of undeath. In her case, the trauma of her embrace keeps her separated from her similarly traumatized vampire sisters—and you sympathize, greatly.4
But you have to wonder if she’s really… stable, actually. Now and again you get letters—like this one—that are mostly rants about her hatred of this unlife and her desire for vengeance on people you’ve never met.5 For all that your poring over psychology articles together at a distance is meant to help stabilize the mind as well as put it back in the manner of a human—
…well. You worry.
But still. At least progress is forthcoming, and with any luck, it’ll mean the beginning of a new era—and the potential for vampires to have more room to learn and change.6
You’ll… table that response for now, and go on to writing a reply to Iris, who’s in Chile now,7 before going downstairs from the upper floor of your townhome to rouse Paula for what you call breakfast,8 even though it’s just past sunset.
You go to knock on her door, and a slightly bleary, dark-haired woman emerges,9 hair in the process of being tied up; you smile at her.
“Another busy day awaits,” you say. “Let’s get started.”
[1] The Ordo Dracul is an organization and secret society dedicated to research of and modifications to the vampiric condition. Yi found herself drawn to their work, in hope that vampires might be returned to a state of humanity—as well as due to her innate interest in understanding the workings of the world.
[2] It is notable that vampires generally read as slightly off or uncanny to humans, no matter how much of an effort they make. On the vampiric side, the longer one exists as a vampire, the more one is conditioned to think of humans as something apart, in the way humans distance themselves from what they eat.
[3] Yi found some friends among vampires, but found most of them truly dire to talk to for anything more than business.
[4] While Yi never found herself regretting her choice (see "Ethics in Opportunity Cost Tradeoffs, Late 19th Cen"), there were a great many things she missed about being human: the sun, meals in the style of her home, pastries, watching the way she would change from year to year.
[5] Her correspondence partner had lived a hard life, Yi knew, and she was sympathetic to the need to vent to someone, when one had precious few confidants. But in these moments, it was easy to see what kind of monster her friend could become.
[6] Yi, in her work, considered the ability to change to be a sort of component of free will, and therefore of paramount importance. To be able to change one's opinions and course in life—that was something she saw vampires losing, as they lost their connection to humanity.
[7] Yi had reluctantly consented to make Iris a vampire, at her request, once she was of an age to make such a decision. They traveled together for some time afterward, but parted ways in South America, where Iris joined a cell of the Sept there in their work against vampires supporting the fascist regime.
[8] A productive relationship with several Chinatown butchers supplied Yi with most of her food; she suspected that a few of them had an inkling that she wasn't normal, but didn't mind as long as she was good with her business.
[9] Paula would later be known, ironically, as "Grace," on Imeeji's Taisho Roman Revolution.