Chapter 1 to the Conduit. It's a continuation of "Letter To The Reader"

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Chapter 1

As I wrote, “ A Letter To The Reader. “ I started my first interview with Joseph E Casey. In this chapter, he'll talk about his life before and after becoming a Luminary (vampire). As the reader, you'll find accounts of hardships that he faced along with how the Luminary came to be.

Joseph sits at a wooden table with an ashtray upon Joe's request. He's an old man in his eighties; it's been ten years since turned and now looks to be in his mid-twenties. Joe gently unrolls a pack of cigarettes from his short sleeve shirt and taps the bottom of the box slowly unwraps the cellophane. A strong pungent smell of tobacco fills the small interview room. He reaches down his jean pocket and pulls out a lighter. With one hand a spark appears lighting up the contours of his face. He places the lit cigarette between his lips then inhales swallowing the flavored smoke that the cigarette brings to him. A pleasant look of satisfaction shows on his face as he taps the ashes in the ashtray.

“So? What the hell do you want to know?” Said Joe.

Answer: Let's start with name and occupation.

Joe takes in another long soothing drag then lays it back down on the ashtray.

My name is Joseph E. Casey. And I've been homeless for the remainder of my life. Before I was turned. I was a Conduit and still am, but more so.”

Question: What do you mean “more so?”

Answer: Well for one thing I was seventy. Now look at me I'm in my what? Mid-twenties or something? I became blind due to diabetes in my sixties, now I can see. The thing that I've noticed is that...The one thing that I noticed is that... The Conduit side of you gets to be a bit stronger. You see. Me, as a Conduit, nearly killed me.

Joe takes another drag of his cigarette.

Question: How did being a Conduit nearly kill you?

Answer: I tried to commit suicide. I didn't want to hear things that nobody has the right to hear. When a person dies they should be remembered, then forgotten. I know that might sound a bit harsh, but it's the truth. You call yourself... What? Monk? Right? Okay, tell me something. Can you remember the last person that died? Then tell me everything that you know about them. I'm going to answer this one for you. You can't. That's the short answer. The long answer is this: time has a way of wiping out things that make a person a person.

That's not so with me. Not by a fucking long shot! Jesus! I should be eighty-years-old now...But, I'm not. Why? Because I got my throat torn open by a Luminary! My wife died due to my carelessness. I came home drunk and passed out on a couch. (raises a lit cigarette) I dropped this on shag carpeting and she burned to death in the fire. So yeah!

When I was eight-teen years old when I tried to hang myself. I couldn't take the voices. I took a noose and went to the basement. The rope went over the beam and I tied it off, placing my neck in the noose, and kicked the box over. I hung there like an asshole for a second. Then the rope broke. Yep, I felt like an ass for a while. It's a good thing too. I learned that I can control the voices or even block them from coming through. Now, I'm just an eighty-year-old mind with a twenty-five-year-old body.

Joe takes a long drag.

Question: What can you tell young Conduits that are thinking of suicide?

Answer: Joe blows out smoke from his mouth. I'm not the one that doesn't like to give out advice. But my advice is this. Don't! Don't do it. Look, I'm not going to sit here and say that life is worth living bullshit because it's a cesspool. But there are things worth living for. There are things worth fighting for. I now have a girlfriend and yeah we're talking about marriage. The sex is amazing by the way. Seriously, it does get better.

Question: Did you say that you see your departed wife?

Answer: Yeah, and I knew you were going to bring it up. Martha came to me when I was locked up in a mental hospital for several years. I thought it was the medication that they put me on at first. I wasn't insane. I couldn't handle the guilt of knowing what I did. Sometimes the innocent pay for the sins of the sinners. In this case, I was the sinner that came home drunk and set the house on fire. It was a mistake but actions have consequences. I had a nervous breakdown when my wife died. Martha came to me and took care of me through it all. When I became a Hybrid-Vampire and that I was okay, she said her last goodbyes to me. I will never forget all that she did for me.`

Question: Do you know where the usage of “Luminary” comes from? How did the word evolve?

Answer: I remember very little of when I turned. What I do remember is draining blood from a large man in the morgue where I found myself. The more I drank blood the more I regained my youth.

I did join the Luminary fold and everyone there didn't hide the fact that there were vampires. But the Luminary word was used during the ritual. They were ushering in a “god” of some sort. I think the name was Be- or wasn't it Bazel? I don't know. Whatever its name they called it The Great Luminary, the one that's going to bring this world from darkness. So, the vampires became disciples of the Great Luminary; they started to call themselves the Luminaries.

They'd also kidnap ordinary men without any Conduit abilities. It's part of the sex rituals. At the end of the sex ritual, the men were eaten alive! The female vampires would become pregnant and force the kids into prostitution or helping the higher Luminaries (vampires) to find more Conduits.

The vampires were building a perfect race of vampires. That's why they were turning Conduits. They wanted more and more power. That's what did them in. They got too greedy. Besides if they were able to usher “The Great Luminary.” Do you think for a second that a vampire god would share with the other vampires? I don't think so.

Note: I want to stop here and talk more about “The Great Luminary.” The Great Luminary can be traced down to Egypt. The Egyptians call the “Great Luminary,” “Ra” known as the “Sun God.” Could it be possible that the vampires concealed the “Ra” name by calling it “The Great Luminary?” Maybe or perhaps they were clueless about the connection. Some of the pagan gods have a list of different names but the meaning is the same, just another name for the same thing. To quote Shakespeare: “ A Rose by any other name is still a rose.”

“The Great Luminary” or “Ra” it's the same god.

The act of cannibalism by the Luminaries (vampires) is something new to the vampiric world. The practice didn't start during the “The Great Luminary” campaign. My humble opinion of this sex ritual is symbolic of the new life that's now growing inside of them. Eating the flesh of the men is symbolic of the two bodies becoming as, one. How did this sex ritual manifests itself to the vampires is unclear?

I decided to move forward with the interview by questioning how Joseph found the Clan.

Question: How did you meet the Clan?

Answer: Alexcia contacted me. I got my ass out of there. One thing that Luminaries didn't think of. We all have our minds. That's the bottom line. We all have our destiny. I made my mind up one day. I got out of there. I heard a faint calling in my head.

Question: What did you think it was?

Answer: Ha, you're going to like this. But I thought it was music coming from my teeth fillings. You know what Lucille Ball said in an interview. Seriously though. I didn't know what it was at first. It was like a transmitter in some ways. The further away from it. The quieter it got. The closer I got, the louder it became. She told me who she was and told me where to meet them. Alexcia isn't a woman that I would fuck with. Not by a long shot. She's also a conduit turned Luminary. Shit, they all are.

Question: Do you stay in contact with them?

Answer: Yeah, I do. Alexcia asked me if she could keep a little of herself in my head. I told her why not. She keeps to herself and I do the same. It's nice to know that someone is there close by.

Question: Is there anything that you would like to say before we take a break? I want to thank you for giving up your time to be interviewed in this manner. How does an hour break sound to you? That should give you time to eat or do whatever.

Joseph takes a drag then blows out. “It's my pleasure in helping you with this project that you got going, I respect that. That being said. I need to take a piss.

2.

I took the hour break going out for pizza and a cold beer. After all, monks were the ones that invented beer in the first place. I placed my headphones and started jotting down all that Joseph said in the interview. It surprised me how forthcoming he was.

It's surprised me because I read something in his eyes that stated he didn't want to be there. But he warmed up some as the interview continued.

Another thing that I've noticed is Joseph didn't merely live life. He had the years stamped on him. Of course, I'm speaking of the metaphysical not the physical. Although, I saw the manifestation on the surface as well.

It's also important to note: one can't live a life like Joseph and be untouched. One that reads this may find my statement to be a little lackadaisical which I would completely understand. I assure you that it's not. Consider for a moment that you live a life that Joseph had. It's marvelous how he handled it all in the later years of his life. That should be commended.

There was a thought that Joseph would stand me up on the interview, but I found him to be a man of his word. That's a rare quality these days.

As I mentioned earlier. This isn't a book that's going to blow the lid off of anything. This is for history’s sake. The history of who we are as Conduit or a hybrid-vampire. As I continue with my interview I wonder if I should call them vampires from now on? I'll let them decide for themselves.

Joseph sits back down with a fresh pack of cigarettes. He rolls them up in his short-sleeve shirt. The old pack is barely used

"It's better to stock up," said Joseph.

Question: How did the Clan get involved?

Answer: I bet you're talking about the showdown between the Luminaries and the hybrids. Some hybrids started calling themselves vampires or vampires 2.0 which I liked a lot. For me, call me a hybrid-vampire. Because that's what I am.

Question: Do you need blood to stay the way you are?

Answer: When I first came to. I remember feasting on an overweight man in the hospital's morgue. My memory is still fuzzy after ten years. He wasn't the only man that I had to drain. I crawled out from a venting system. I looked at my hands. They looked like dead man's hands. Then they started to turn youthful. The cravings were unbearable. The more I sank my fangs into the neck of a person the stronger and younger I looked. The only way that I can explain it to you is this. It's like driving a car. The light flashes or beeps, whatever cars do these days. You drive into a gas station and pump gas into a car. You know that you got enough gas, due to the kick-back from the pump. With me, it's the lack of cravings. After I drank blood, I never had that need to do it again. I eat like how everyone else does. But, no, to answer your question, I don't think I need to go back drinking blood.

Question: Do you have a theory as to why you don't need to drink blood?

Answer: Yeah, I think it has to do with me being a Conduit. There's a side of us that doesn't need it. When I was dead. I know this due to newspapers and the news on tv. It's a weird thing—seeing yourself on tv dead. I think my body was resetting itself. When I came to I was hungry. Somehow, blood healed my body. I'm not sure how. Once my body had its fill. I never had the cravings again.

Note: I would like to stop here and dig deeper into what Joseph said. It's been documented that Conduits when turned, need blood for the changes to take place. If there isn't any blood present, then the Conduit will die. It's been discovered that Conduits have been tortured in this matter by the Luminaries.

Note: A case comes to mind in the early ‘90s. A hitchhiker thumbing his way to his destination. A kind willing driver pulled over and gave him a ride. Hours later the hitchhiker was found dead on the side of the road.

I met the deceased Personally, during my travels. What the newspapers didn't know was that the hitchhiker was indeed a Conduit. The driver was a vampire. That's before they changed their name to Luminary. The poor hitchhiker was forced to thirst for blood, as the vampire watched. The Conduit screams out for blood! He died not from the bite marks on his neck, but from the lack of blood that would make his transformation possible.

In this book, I'll share with you interviews with the living and the dead. They both have a tale to tell, and I'm the one writing it.

Question: How much do you remember the “showdown” that you like to call it?

Answer: Not much. I'm sorry that I can't be of more help to you. When the lykings joined forces with the Clan. I became a fart in the wind, as they say. The showdown was mainly of those with greater gifts. The rest of us like myself were just on-lookers. I didn't see much. The good that came out of this is everybody knows more about the Conduits. The bad is, will our government use people like me as guinea pigs? That mains to be seen. For those that don't know much about us. I hope they give us a chance.

Question: Can I contact you later if needed?

Answer: Absolutely! Whatever you need, I'll help. I believe in what you are doing.

Question: Any last words before we go?

Answer: When we went on our hour break my girlfriend called me. She just found out that she's pregnant! She kept her morning sickness to herself. I'm going to be a fucking father! After the news, I asked her to marry me.

“Congrats on the baby! I'm deeply happy. When's the wedding?”

“We're not sure yet. Would you marry us? Since you're a monk and all?” Said, Joseph.

“Just tell me when and where.”

“Good deal! I'll keep you posted.”

This was the most exciting news that I've ever encountered in an interview. I hope this chapter strengthens your belief that good can come in the weirdest places. Joe was turned late in life. Blind, old, and homeless. If it wasn't for that Luminary turning Joe, then Joe wouldn't have his second chance at life.

Darkness fades as the true light breaks through. That should be a lesson here. In chapter two I'll be interviewing Alexica. She'll take us on a journey of what it was like for her growing up as a Conduit, and what she likes and hates being a hybrid. I'll also dig deeper into the war of hybrid vampires vs. the Luminaries that wanted to change our way of life forcefully.

Until then. I hope all is well on your journeys.

—Monk—

By Donte-highwater

From: United States