Speakeasy

A note: The content that can be sensitive is hidden in a symbolic message. It is not directly stated and some readers will likely not even get the message.

There are mysterious things happening in this world. Most people are comfortable, but too many have suffered. There are powerful people enjoying their influential positions and they'll do whatever it takes to stay in power.

The people of this society are people of many things. They are voting, they are volunteering for duty, they are working to put food on the shelves, they are drunk, they are high, and they are sober. They do whatever they can to enjoy the passage of time, just like the people with the influence do. But there are things happening that they just can't speak of. There are things happening that many just cannot fathom are even truly occurring.

The people of this world are called the Mortallis and the ones who will be focused on, live within a proud society called Auxillia. This society doesn't have a specifically unifying religion, race, ethnicity, or even language. What really keeps these people together is their values. They have their differences from time to time, but for the most part, they find a way to come out on top and continue to be the winners of the world. They are a proud society, one that doesn't take no for an answer. A society where people will criticize, hate, and ignore one another, but it is a society that puts all of its efforts into something. That something is the exponential increase in creativity and innovation. Many of them argue that they have no cultural or historical significance compared to other societies and many on the other side take pride in their cultural and historical significance. The problem is, both sides are highly selective about what culture is and what dictates the significance of the way they spend their time doing things. If there are outliers in this society, they will be rewarded, but only to the point where people are satisfied with the sense of validation and self-actualization these individuals produce. When they step out of line, they are targeted by one narrative or another. When they conform, they are slapped with a label and can never break the grasp of the public eye.

The Auxillians are highly advanced technologically and they have high hopes for the future. That being said, they fuss and cry when they don't get their way, and this goes for both factions. There are many resilient people within this society. In fact, it can be argued that these people are the most resilient to have ever existed in the history of the Mortallis species. The generations alive right now have had the greatest impact in regards to physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, mathematics, civil rights, philosophy, government, economics, resource allocation, trade, space exploration, orbital protection, and things like privatization and commercialization of the most difficult ventures. Most importantly, they have by far, the most organic culture and economic systems to have ever existed. Empires from the past could not even fathom what people spend their time doing today, even the average life of an Auxillian individual eclipses the experiences of leaders of historical times on an astronomical level. 

The Auxillians are ruled by different types of Mortallis rulers. Some are vampires, some are Shapeshifters, some are cyborgs, and some are normal Mortallis people. Make no mistake, they are all of the same species, just some of them are… different. The issue is, it is difficult to decipher who is who and it is taboo to even bring up the similarities and differences of the people in charge. The Auxillians can squabble amongst one another, but they cannot talk about their rulers and the differences and similarities they have. The conversation is unsettling to many anyway. The Mortallis people don’t want to know that they need Vampires to call the shots sometimes in order to protect their interests from other, more hostile Vampires that reside in competing societies. Many Auxillians take for granted that they don’t have to deal with these external threats that are constantly on the prowl. These external threats aren’t just other Mortalis people and Vampires, they too have ambitions and exceptional cultural and economic systems that cooperate with those of the Auxillians. That being said, some of these other powerful Mortalis beings are unhappy with their state of affairs and some of them have a literal astronomical power, as do the people of Auxillia. These beings have the ability to move and manipulate celestial bodies in powerful ways. There is only a select few within all Mortallis societies that have the power to do this, but even just the slightest manipulations can make serious changes within the surrounding environment. This is another conversation that many choose not to take part in and if one isn’t careful they can disappear forever in a mysterious way. There are two ways to have these conversations, one is anonymously on a well-established, interconnected network of information. This is where the truth is usually conflated and dismissed by many. The other way can be used on this network, but does not necessarily need to be. This other method is through the guise of literature. 

There is a young, charismatic, ambitious, and careful Vampire and his name is Agent Motto. He is mostly tasked with keeping tabs on other Vampires, some cyborgs, and some Shapeshifters. He isn’t within the ranks of any of the significant rulers, but he is a factor. Many see him as a cog and, in reality, that’s what he is. He started off being tasked with ensuring the safety with many of the “unpredictable” Auxillians within their society and has made it clear he has no true loyalties to any specific rulers aside from the fact that he understands the current status quo must be preserved for the sake of the progression of the Mortalis species. He, along with everyone else, has a job to do. Determining whether he does it well or not isn’t up to him. 

Agent Motto has a fruitful relationship with another Vampire individual who goes by the name of Agent Ton. Agent Ton is opinionated, but he’s smart enough to keep matters to himself when he needs to. They haven’t worked together in a very long time, but they enjoy each other's company. And yes, they will have the conversations that many don’t wish to be part of. They argue on several issues and both have confident stances. They can convince almost anyone to reconsider things on how they are. They each have a skill that isn’t easily taught or trained, it is the gift of persuasion. They don’t fear one another, but they understand that if they are as good as they are at it then there are others who are much better at it then they. There is much to learn for these individuals and there are things they wish they didn’t learn about. Or rather, there are things they wish weren’t even possibilities in this world. 

For quite some time both of these Vampires kept quiet about the horrific doings of some of these rulers, but something has come up that cannot be kept in the shadows any longer. A handful of Vampires, Cyborgs, and Shapeshifters have been very swift in their abilities to keep the conversations out of the public rhetorical exchanges, until now. Now there are several issues coming to the forefront that they cannot hide any longer. Instead of weeding each other out, which is something they have threatened to do, they have decided to side with their pride and may the best Mortalis manipulators win. 

A recent development has come to light within the Auxillian community that has warranted mixed reactions. Even to the ruling class, the hearsay of these developments are now out of their control. Fortunately for these rulers, there is a whole department dedicated to prevaricationism. There has been a scramble for who will win the prevaricational battles and Agents Motto and Ton have been caught up in the chaos. Between having to uphold professionalism, uniqueness, and support for their jobs and having to keep level headed discussions and relatedness towards their families, these two characters have a lot cut out for them. 

The catalyst of this crisis is the exposure of something called the Druid Manufacturing Project. It was set in motion several years ago, but after a series of several events, it will likely come to a screeching halt as the Auxillian public is now aware and very angry. The issue is, they don’t know the actual truth and only the Shapeshifters have the power to truly expose everything. They have been carefully exposing each detail and are working with the Cyborgs to manipulate the information to show the harsh reality of the project in a different light. 

There is an Auxillian faction, they call themselves The Guardians. Most of them are powerful and protective, as the name suggests. There are Guardians who have genuine concerns and are honest Mortalis people, but they believe that their leaders are absolved from the crimes of this project. In their eyes, their leaders are pure and law abiding. They believe there is a conspiracy to destroy the very fabric of the society they live in. Not only this, but they believe that the Auxillian society is great only because of the Mortalis who think and do things like them. Their greatest flaw is that they think there are no Cyborgs or Shapeshifters within their leadership. There may be a Vampire or two, but that is to be expected when you want to get things done. They are dangerously mistaken and misled.

The other faction is almost as dangerous. They go by many names, usually names given to them by The Guardians. They take the ego-jabbing and divisive nicknames and will wear them with pride as a big ‘F you’ to The Guardians. Some of these Auxillians have a better grasp on the reality of the situation, but they live their lives in fear as opposed to living in confidence with themselves and holding everyone accountable who steps out of line. They like to prop up the misfortunate members of Auxillian society and will bring to light several occasions of oppression and misconduct, but they are too impressionable and the Shapeshifters take advantage of that right in front of their faces.

The harsh reality is that there are Cyborgs, Vampires, and Shapshifters all throughout these factions and they are winning their prevaricational endeavors. Agent Motto and Agent Ton have discussed their concerns and they have disagreements on how to handle the issue, but one thing they can agree on is that nobody, not a single Mortalis, should trust what these rulers say about the Druid Manufactories. 

The Druids are supposed to be supersoldiers, but it has become apparent that they are just victims. They are like the Cyborgs, except the process they endure in development is much more horrifying. The Cyborgs consent to the augmentations they acquire, the Druids do not. Not only this, but the Druids are taken in as children. They come from the poorest environments and are taken advantage of by the rulers. When the Auxillians affected by this speak up, they are threatened and sometimes will disappear. Leaders from both factions commit these atrocious acts and swiftly play it off as something that is disgusting for anyone to even bring up. This rule especially applies to the common Auxillian. It is disgusting what these Shapeshifters and Cyborgs are doing and the Auxillians are wasting their time and energy on targeting each other. The Vampires are taking blame and at some point the Vampires will snap back. 

The conversation is not only looked down upon, it is sought out by the most powerful beings within the Auxillian society as an existential threat. Some act out of fear and paranoia and try to “take matters into their own hands,” but this form of pragmatism is far too disastrous and accomplishes nothing. The ‘ends justify the means’ approach is unreasonable and dull-witted. The only way to truly convey the horrors in a manner that Agent Motto and Agent Ton can get away with, is to convey them through literature. These two characters do have their disagreements on how to convey the message. 

Agent Motto believes that the value of the content of a literary work is inherently determined by the reader: “Who will read this? How will it be received?” 

Agent Ton believes that the value of the content should be dictated by the writer: “How far is too far? If it’s too fictional will people understand or even care?”

The answers to these questions will be left to the readers of this memoir. 

Here’s a poem:

When the time comes just remember,

Too many people have faith in the Vember.

I do my job and I hope I do it well.

You picked me to protect in this hell.

Agent Ton will do his own thing, I will do mine.

I have challenged Shapeshifters and Cyborgs before and I do fine.

I am a Vampire and it should be known,

None of this will be overthrown.

If any of you threaten me again,

I will enjoy sinking my teeth in.

Think about that next time you scoff.

This is Agent Motto, signing off.