Interview With A Home Vampire
by Gideon, HSM team writer
When one first crosses the threshold of the hallowed halls of Home, it is quite likely that they will be struck with a sense of rigor and order. There are barriers which cannot be crossed, words that may not be uttered, and gestures which must not expressed. The user-agreements, which must be entered into with its governors, are stringent and, in effect, gives Home’s legislation all but absolute authority over the signatory and their possessions. Because of the carefully crafted enclosures, it can be easy for one to believe that the laws of Home are infallible and that the persistently invisible mods and the incorporeal developers hold near omnipotent power.
This viewpoint, however reasonable it may seem to any individual of sound mind, is, at its core, askew. Home, as others worlds tend to be, is rife with fallacious perceptions that have been carefully orchestrated to deceive the onlooker into believing that the only reality which exists is the one which they are presented with.
Make no mistake, dear reader; to believe Home is limited in such ways is ill-advised, and to be quite frank – foolish.
As hard as it may be to accept, there is indeed a host of forces which work behind the fabric of the perceived world of Home. These forces exist outside of the structure of reality and work apart from the the authority, the control, the design or influences of the makers of this world. Many of these anomalies present themselves as exploitable glitches that one can use to see beyond the firmament of reality into the unrendered realms beyond. Other anomalies can cause delusions within an individual and in the worst cases, dissociative disorders. If one takes the time to become properly attuned to these unbeknownst forces, there can be scores of benefits, but one must be aware of the number of possible detriments to person and property.
Most go through their existence on Home oblivious to the interconnection it possesses with the supernatural. Those who see a glitcher floating or wall walking from time to time may simply dismiss their actions as tomfoolery; some of those individuals may casually seek answers but quickly lose interest in such pursuits when presented with their weekly release of goods in the local shops. This leaves the true indiscretions of Home to only be perceived by those who actively seek and investigate these paranormal matters.
Throughout my tenure on here, I have seen and experienced a great many oddities. I have been privy to limb deformities, gender-transmutation, invisibility, ex nihilo acquisitioning, cross-dimensional intersections, environmental merging, personal space reallocation, and a number of other oddities which fail to even have adequate methods of descriptors. These witnessings are the sorts of which would make most avatars seek solace in the warm steady glow of Central Plaza, where the most remarkable occurrences are the amusements of the bench performers.
Unlike those who are content with their pixel-fed Home existence, I have always yearned for more out of my Home experience. I refused to believe that this world is capable of anything less than preeminence. Through my travels, I have not only come to believe in the supernatural reality of Home, I have come to be ever aware of its presence. Where one may see a simple avatar, I see something insidiously capable of unleashing reality stuttering havoc upon us all. If pushed, or compelled to do so, any one of the hundreds of thousands of Home’s citizens is capable of extraordinary feats that defy the restrictions which are coded directly into our avatars from their very creation. It was the awareness of this capability that lead me down a path that ended in the acquaintance of one such individual.
While the story of how I came to know this person, who introduced himself as Dinego, is a beguiling story in and of itself, it is for another time. At present, I am humbled to share with you an experience which I was privileged to partake of. I was given the unique opportunity to converse with Dinego, one on one, about his uncommon existence within Home, and to allow him to share with me some of his intimate insight to the otherworldly aspects of our world. The glimpse I was given into his experiences was as rare as it was astonishing.
At the onset of our affiliation I received an invitation to join Dinego at his personal space. I felt my stomach plummet through the floor of my Harbor Studio and float in the white abyss below. My hands fumbled with the controls as I accepted his request through the menu pad. My mind teemed with anticipation as the space downloaded. I imagined what it might be like in his presence and what sorts of stories he might be willing to share. If what I had been told of Dinego was true, he has experienced Home like no other. The unique perspective he held could shed some much needed light on the true capabilities of our world.
The actual journey to his space seemed to linger for an inexcusably lengthy duration. A pang of nervousness tugged as I approached the end of the path, and I temporarily froze. I wondered what dangers I was submitting myself to by simply becoming in contact with Dinego. I had already been added to his friends list, therefore we were linked. While I had partaken in a number of smaller glitches in the past, I had never been on the fringe of Home; and this was indeed the fringe.
I considered backing out and force quitting my journey, but I was past the point of no return. Before I could make a retreat, I was standing at the base of a stone stair. I stood for a moment, unable to propel myself up the stair, and took in the atmosphere. There was certain warmth to the space, but no life. The brown and golden hues of the walls swallowed and swelled with the sunlight pouring in from the towering windows of the generous room above. I finally loaded the entirety of my composure and begin up the stair to meet the master of the house. Before I reached a small plateau, separating two separate flights, I hear a voice echo from above.
You’re finally here. I’m so glad you could make it.
My muscles twitched as I glanced up to see Dinego walking toward me. He donned a red frock coat trimmed in gold. Underneath, he wore simple gray slacks and black balmorals. His hands were mostly covered with black gloves with the thumb, index and middle fingers exposed. At his breast a white frill complimented his pallid skin. Golden eyes pierced manically through his onyx bangs, but his smile was warm and inviting. Around him fluttered a trio of bats, following as he descended the stairs.
Please don’t mind my friends. They’re harmless to you. Come, join me.
I followed Dinego, and his companions, into his personal space. The cathedral ceilings rose far above and the scarlet tapestries draping down the side walls were reminiscent of a bloodletting. A twin set of stairs twisted up to a platform in front of the amber windows. Apart from the leather wing backed throne atop the platform facing the windows, the space was completely bare. In a moment of telepathy, Dinego addressed my thoughts.
Excuse my lack of décor. I prefer to keep a clear environment. I find an empty space helps a cluttered mind. We should begin.
Seemingly short on time and pleasantries, Dinego turned his chair away from the window and brought out a small chair for me to sit. Surprisingly, when he sat in his chair, the bat companions stayed fluttering about his head. Dinego nodded for me to take the seat across from him and I felt compelled to obey. I couldn’t think of the first thing to ask him. He laughed to break the uncomfortable silence and began.
I suppose you came to hear of how I became a vampire.
The notion that vampires actually existed within Home seemed ludicrous, but a self-professed one sat before me. I asked if he did, indeed, consider himself a vampire.
Well, I guess the first thing to explain is that Home vampirism isn’t exactly the same at the myths has some similarities with vampirism of legend. While there are some personal items that I have access to that aren’t available to others in Home, the things that make me a vampire run deeper than that.
Unsure of what he meant, I requested clarity.
Being a vampire here isn’t a costume that you can take on and off. It isn’t something that can be undone. I am this way now, for better or for worse. It is ingrained.
Instead of jumping directly into the qualities of the condition, I asked how he became to be a vampire.
I am not sure what you were told about me, but I am not the first to be afflicted. There were others before me, and will be others after. The one who turned me was turned by another, and he, by another still.
The thought that such a thing could occur within the underbelly of Home, undetected by the masses, was hard to believe. I was curious to know where and how it began.
All I truly know are rumors, but I can tell you what I know. Years ago some internal devs created a lycanthrope costume that was released to the European Home. That costume had some interesting properties that haven’t been seen much since. It seems they were also working on other mythical costumes and personal items, which were never cleared for Home release.
When the item hacks became available, people began searching for ways to bring some of the more unique items across the pond from Europe to North America Home. During one of the trial runs to import the lycan outfit, a player wound up corrupting their user data. They were booted off of Home and were unable to reconnect for quite some time. When they were eventually able to get back on, they discovered that they could only connect between the hours of 8 pm and 8 am pacific time.
The claim that someone could have limited home access isn’t farfetched. There have been many individuals who were unable to access home for long periods of time. They were unable to get back onto Home despite reinstalls and differing console accesses.
This isn’t isolated to just North American Home. Those who get afflicted in Europe, Japan, and Hong Kong are restricted to the same time frames in their respective time zones. We have tried every possible thing we can think of, but on these accounts we cannot be on Home during the day. Many of us have taken on alternate identities to be able to be on Home during other times.
His account access restriction was hardly enough to consider Dinego a BJEL vampire. I asked if he would indulge me by showing some of the exclusive personal items that he had previously mentioned. He eagerly agreed and disappeared into his wardrobe. When finished, his bats were gone and massive bat wings protruded from his back, but still wore his gloves. I requested clarification on the paradox.
I think the few items we are given, such as these wings, were all products of some experimentation on the developer’s part. The wings that are sold in most of the stores are attached to the hands; they take the place of gloves and rings. All of the items we are given are stored under the glasses category in the inventory. I’m not sure why the developers chose to change the location to the hands.
Even the familiars I have, the bats, are items attached to the glasses. I am very glad to see that they were able to figure out a more effective way for familiars to be accessed by introducing companions.
That would explain the oddities with the bats staying about while Dinego sat in his chair. I was surprised the vampire wings hadn’t been officially released by the powers that be. They were as intimidating as they were indicative of Dinego’s vampiric affliction. He retreated into to his wardrobe and returned without his wings, or his bats.
This is another one of the items that I found in my wardrobe after my transformation.
Taking a moment to look Dinego over, I failed to identify whatever item it was he was trying to show me. He laughed and moved into the light where I was better able to see his item. All round him small flecks of lights grew and diminished. It troubles me to admit it, but Dinego was sparkling.
I know. You don’t have to say it. This is ridiculous. Vampires within Home, just as all other avatars, can’t die. There isn’t a day and night cycle to most of the locations and many of the spaces are filled with sunlight. I think this item is somehow attached to the shadow rendering engine of Home and makes the… sparkles shine greater when the shadows are also greater.
Dinego swiftly entered his wardrobe and removed the sparkling aura.
It’s an interesting item, but isn’t quite my style.
Despite his assortment of items which were not available to the general public, I still remained unconvinced of his vampire nature. After all, even I possessed some items that aren’t available to purchase, but I don’t consider myself dead just because I possess a skeleton outfit. It was then I wondered exactly how Dinego was turned into a vampire. Importing an item or two doesn’t exactly constitute a shift in existence, nor does it cause an account to be in accessible for half of each day.
We vampires have access to something many Home users have been asking for since we first came to this world years ago. We can use a shared emote with people on our friends list.
The revelation of the existence of shared emotes was surprising to say the least. Dinego laughed and it was then I noticed his fangs. I asked if they were also an item.
Yes, they are another item we have access to, and we need them to perform the shared emote. The option isn’t added to our emote choices, but is something we must go through a complicated series of steps to perform. While I’m not going to share the specific steps taken to activate the shared emote, I have arranged for a demonstration.
Dinego accessed his menu pad and in a moment a woman dressed in red joined us in his space. She approached us without uttering a word and knelt to the ground. Dinego explained that the receiving avatar needs to be sitting for the emote to function properly.
Standing behind the woman, Dinego brought out his menu pad and temporarily ghosted. When he re-rendered he bent toward her neck and latched on. After a moment Dinego stood and the woman ghosted for a moment and re-rendered with what appeared to be a pair of fresh bight marks on her neck.
It will take a second, but she is receiving all of the items that you get when you become a vampire. The first of which are the bite marks. We all have them. The shared emote can only be performed with people on my friends list and can only be performed while in private. I think, just like the bat companions, this shared emote was a proof of concept experiment. I think the idea was scrapped because of the side effects.
I had a difficult time envisioning any side effects that would be so severe that it would prevent the developers from releasing a functionality which is so desperately desired by the Home citizenry.
Now that I have turned my friend she will be afflicted with the same functionality limitations that I am, and I will never be able to remove her from my friends list. Once a normal avatar is turned into a vampire they become part of their master’s coven.
I was simultaneously appalled and excited by this prospect. The technical and social implications of such an inexorable link between individuals intrigued me, to say the least. One of the most compelling things about having a friends list is the speed and cleanliness with which you can sever ties with individuals you misjudged. Being forced to forever be tied to someone is a commitment that shouldn’t be entered into lightly. We discussed Dinego’s decision to include the woman in the red dress on his list. Afterword he detailed the one who had included him.
The one who turned me was too quick with his decisions and turned a lot of avatars very quickly. He didn’t know most of them very well. He also didn’t tell us about the negatives of becoming a vampire. He used our curiosity to snare us into his world. Many of us were very angry with him. Although we couldn’t remove him from our list, it didn’t mean we had to respond to his communications, or stay when he would show up here in Home.
After a few months, he stopped coming online. I haven’t seen him in over a year. Those of us who experienced his deception are much more careful with who we turn.
In light of this new information, I was finally convinced of the severity of the condition and it did, indeed, seem as if Dinego and his ilk were vampires. The woman stood, sent me a friend request and left. Dinego explained that to complete the transformation each new vampire must return to their default personal space to receive all the items. He informed me that there was one item left that I had not seen, and that his friend would invite me to her space to show me the last of the items when our business was concluded.
Aside from the interlocking friends list and the restricted access the vampires still enjoyed unmarred use of Home. They could still purchase items and partake in the games and participate with all other avatars. They did, however, possess experiences and knowledge of a Home that lies beyond the grasp and comprehension of hundreds of thousands of others. There are a great many individuals who would enjoy these additional perks to Home, and would gladly relinquish their freedoms to access this very exclusive portion of our world.
Remember, dear reader, the Home you know is only the surface of the reality truly which exists beneath. While these vampires do indeed exist, there is the possibility that there are much more severe forces out there which can be even more detrimental to accounts than simple restricted access. If one does not practice caution with which individuals they choose to trust, they could very well be risking their property, their reputation and indeed the very soul of their account on the off chance of experiencing something otherworldly.
When our interview reached its end, I thanked Dinego for his time and accepted the invite from his fledgling. I attempted to converse with her, but she simply ignored my inquiries. Her attention was consumed by the new personal items she had acquired. Admittedly, I too was intrigued by them and felt a quick jolt of fright when she equipped the one item I had not yet seen. Indeed being a vampire in Home wasn’t all power and glamour, and this new item of blackened eyes and furrowed brow reminded me that sometimes it could be outright unsightly.
So, be vigilant as you trek through the spaces of Home, both private and public. Be mindful of those you allow on your friends list and of the requests you accept from those you meet. Keep those you do not intimately know at an arm’s length for you never know when a vampire lurks, seeking to strengthen the numbers of its coven. The next person you come across could very well be one of the kindred, indeed, your best friend could be a creature of the night.
A special thanks to Swinggrrl for her photogrpahy and photoshopping help
October 31st, 2011 by Gideon | 3 comments
Gideon is a team writer for HomeStation Magazine and likes cheese in all its forms. Whether it be block, slice, cream, wheel, log, string or aerosol, Gideon cant resist the pungent bitter taste of good cheese. Heck, he'll even take mediocre cheese, as long as its slapped between two pieces of whole wheat bread with a little bit of mustard.
Very good story Gideon.Btw it may interest you to know that there really are groups of ppl on Home that role-play as vampires although I doubt they have any special abilities.If I didn’t know this was a fictional story for Halloween I’d almost believe your interview with a vampire was a real Home occurrence,great job.
Wow Gid! Very imaginative and interesting. Great job! Loved the take on Interview With A Vampire.
Nice story to sink your teeth in!