Summary:Dr. Morbius reports her findings in the wake of her first…feeding. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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A click as the audio recorder activates.
A husky female voice, the cultured tones roughened by some unknown factor, introducing a hollowness to the words.
"Journal Entry 1. New Private Journal. My name is Dr. Michelle…formerly Mikaela…Alythea Morbius. I was born in Athens, Greece. Until 24 hours ago, I suffered from ALAD-deficiency porphyria. One of the rarer strains. One month ago, I realized my symptoms were accelerating, and had to refine an experimental treatment I had devised to repair my genetic code and hopefully cure me of my condition…"
A pause of five seconds. "I…eschewed further testing in light of my ailment's…aggressive progress. I feared that, by the time full testing had been completed, I would be too far gone for it to help me. So…I treated myself. I followed the protocol from start to finish. I took all precautions that I could. Initial tests had been encouraging. And…I freely admit…I was desperate."
Another pause. Longer this time.
"All right.. At first, the results were…encouraging. The cellular degradation had halted. The cells were even…regenerating. The nausea, the disorientation…even the visible skin lesions. However, 18 hours after the completion of the protocol, I began experiencing…hmm. Okay, Focus. I began experiencing…lassitude, weakness of the limbs, and a growing hunger. However, what little food I kept in my lab proved unpalatable, undesired. I waited for the feelings to pass, but they only intensified. I soon felt I would need to seek out medical attention, as distasteful as it felt to do so."
Another pause.
"That was when I encountered someone else on my way to my Land Rover. He seemed initially helpful, but…I discovered that he was trying to steal from me. My perceptions were obscured by a new awareness. In hindsight, I can see it objectively, but at the time…God, how do I describe this…? It was a powerful desire. I was consciously aware of the mugger's pulse, his heartbeat…and a powerful thirst for blood. His blood. It was then that one of the local…what the news media refers to as 'superheroes'…appeared, and distracted the mugger. And then…yes, they're still there. Must remain objective. Fangs…actual fangs…grew in my mouth. My fingernails became claws. And I…I tore the man's throat, above the carotid. And…how can I describe this experience? It was more powerful that any sexual experience, even when I took medical morphine during one of my treatments. It was…ECSTASY. God help me. I think that if the superhero…heroine, right, it was a woman…had not been there, I think I would have drank every last drop of blood."
Another longer pause. "I retreated while the heroine tried to stem the flow. The news report said that he is alive, but in critical condition. I…feel no sense of regret, especially when i found out how LOATHSOME the man is. A mugger, yes, but a sexual predator as well."
A shorter pause. "Mental state later. Physical effects. After I returned to my lab, I felt the ill effects I had felt before were gone. In fact, I felt…stronger. Physical reaction time, strength, awareness…they seem to have increased. I risked another test by requisitioning the blood stores from storage. Four pints of blood, chilled and with additives to preserve the integrity of the blood. The experience of drinking this blood was…not as visceral, not as intense. But after four pints, my skin tone had returned to its normal color. As did my eyes, which had become a bright red. The fangs have receded almost completely. It is like the difference between dinner at Gregorio's and hospital food. Functioning as fuel, but there is no…savor to it. I find this very uncomfortable, these mood swings. I have to maintain control of myself."
A deep sigh.
"All right. Let us address the…how do you say? The 800-kilogram gorilla in the room? A creature that drinks blood to survive. Vampire. Except…it is different. I do not feel aversions to holy symbols. I had even chanced a visit to a nearby church. For the sunrise service, as they called it. No bursting into flames after crossing the threshold. Sunlight does not char my flesh, but it makes my skin itch and my eyes sting and water. I had experienced similar effects when afflicted with porphyria, but this new condition makes it more intense. I will have to see if polarized lenses for sunglasses might alleviate this issue. No other weaknesses manifest. Garlic does not bother me in the slightest. Running water poses no issue for me…which is good, considering I am on an island. Whatever new evolution of my prior condition this is, it seems to be an affliction with a purpose. I will need to conduct further tests for…what should I call this condition? Bio-vampirism? Yes…let us call it that until a better term can be used."
Another deep sigh. "I shall have to keep my condition a secret…for now. The scientific community would consider me a test subject at worst, an unethical scientist at best. Although I suppose the loss of my Nobel is the least of my worries now. I will also need to study my condition with unique intensity. I need to know what I need and what I can do. I will need a supply of blood. Plasma is insufficient. It has to be red blood cells." Another sigh. "I am trying to reconcile the sensation of attacking a human being and…feeding on them. Various fictional stories speak of a definite pleasure experienced by a blood-drinking vampire and the pleasure also felt by its victim. I must honestly attest to the truth of the former. I must control myself while I find out what went wrong with the treatment and try to cure myself of this new condition. I cannot give up."
Another sigh. "End Journal Entry One."