Today, because of computer lingo we refer to it as a “reboot,” but new beginnings is very much in line with Buddhist thought and the wisdom of Jedi Master Yoda, “You must unlearn what you have learned.”
Stories drawn from fantasy,
mythology, religion and science fiction are subject to constant
reinterpretation. Vampires went from strict elements of horror to become one of
the hottest selling themes of romance to date. The market is past saturation
with paranormal romances. And as someone who sees glittery nightcrawlers in the
same light as pedophiles, I had considered my own reboot of vampires before I
knew what Twilight was.
When I began Squad V I was
considering the realistic consequences of vampirism as a disease. Just how
would people respond if they knew there were addicts to hemoglobin who, at the
cellular level, take issue with sunlight? Chances are we would not classify
vampires in the same light as ethnic groups, religions or carriers of HIV. The
nature of immortality contingent on taking the life of others would
fundamentally shift the social dynamic for every human being on Earth.
Pathogenic Ribochondria Vector is the
way I could explain the insertion of hundreds of long and complex genes into
the human genome, thereby making the infection irreversible. Even the largest
viruses couldn’t do that. And because of the traits granted by this unique
disease vampirism, like sports, didn’t build a vampire’s character. No, it
reveals who people would become if the limits of mortality and society had been
lifted.
History is filled with once-great
civilizations that rose to become near-immortal empires. Upon achieving that
level of invulnerability from the outside such societies quickly became clouded
and the heart of their founding principles shadowed by twisted interpretations.
Classically, this took centuries to millennia. People don’t live that long.
Unless something allows them to.
Vampire immortality is invariably
imperfect. They usually require the blood or life force of a victim. Their
weakness or death under the light of the sun was added with the movies, though
literature include many other Achilles heels to their supernatural power. And
so there comes the selective pressure under which a vampire’s psyche evolves.
Decades and centuries of survival fixation, honed by the knowledge that if
they’re killed it will be by horrifically painful and destructive means.
What would you do, knowing that’s how
you would check out? And then you find there are people out there who dedicate
themselves to that purpose. Even without the power trip or hubris of
immortality, or the predatory lifestyle of vampires, these driving forces would
push otherwise moral people to extreme ends. Once that line is crossed their
character is forever changed by what they’ve done. Imagine how much easier the
second time is.
An entirely new way to look at
vampires both as a policy matter and in terms of military tactics and protocol.
With Squad V the goal was to forever change how readers see the vampire. To
quote George A. Romero’s 1990 reboot of Night
of the Living Dead, “They’re us and we’re them.”
The second book, Snowflake Girl was a
sharp break from the first novel’s look at vampires. For one, it’s from the
vampire’s point of view first and foremost. The central metaphor shifts toward
one of misfortune and coping with dark turns of events in one’s life. I started
on the premise that not all victims of violent sexual assaults become darlings
of the media, for whom a candle is lit and torch carried until the perpetrator
is brought to justice.
Instead, the main character survives
the attack, is accidentally infected for having defended herself, and now runs
the risk of being on Squad V’s strike order list. She has to flee from city to
city. Each time she has to find work, get a place to live and deal with all the
ordinary stresses of life along with staying off the radar of hardened covert
operators.
For me this required a new beginning
in thought. I’m a six foot, two inch tall man with two years martial arts
background, once in the U.S. Army, and with a shockingly high pain threshold.
So when I walk into an unlit parking lot I think nothing of it. But someone
else, say a five foot, five woman? What must go through her head?
I had an easier time working out the
psychology of alien civilizations than that of a woman in everyday life. I knew
that hero stories draw upon classic archetypes, and so drafted one of my own to
wrap the character around. Biology is one of the fields I’m strongest in, and
the resources for that opened up a broad range of options. When you read
Snowflake Girl you’re seeing the world through the eyes of a leopardess. With
it comes a dash of emotional reactions based on my own background as the victim
of physical assault on par with Abu-Ghraib. There are scenes written in Snowflake
Girl that had me in tears.
Thus was born the ideal duel use
title that allowed me to overlay psychological analysis onto the traditions of
indigenous peoples. The sole survivor believes he carries the ghosts of his
people, and so strives to ensure he isn’t discovered. If found he risks losing
the spirits of his nation to confinement in mental health facilities. A third
beginning for what vampirism means in the real world; imperialism
.
.
Cultures that are invaded and
defeated, one day find themselves in the shattered ruins of their own
traditions and the rubble of the empire that later collapses around them. They
then see a need to strengthen themselves, and rise from the grave of their
past. Except to do this they borrow the ideals and institutions of empire for
their security. A cycle of dysfunction is perpetuated into the next age. The
empire never dies, and instead is given a new start and freshly wiped
historical memory to rewrite as it sees fit.
The overarching theme of the Squad V
series addresses yet another issue for which vampires stand in. We’re a species
of more than seven billion medium sized omnivores. Predation, disease and our
own sociopathic- sometimes psychopathic behaviors don’t even begin to compare
to our birthrates. Yet nature always reacts to a new situation in ways that
often surprise us. The fusion of predator, disease and murderous impulses of
the mind meet their trivium, their three-way junction in the road with
vampires.
When I one day return to writing the
Squad V series there will be yet another reset of what the series means. Adaptation
is the key to survival in changing ecologies. The vampire genre must and will
evolve to fill new niches of audiences. As writers, we should challenge what
readers believe they understood, and hope they see the world anew.
True horror is showing the audience what lines they never thought
they would cross, and them convince them of the justification of doing
precisely that.
Author website: http://www.walkingotherworlds.com/index.html
Good Reads profile page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5238945.John_Steiner
FaceBook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/John-Steiner/132904696816162?sk=wall
Twitter: @JohnSteiner32
Blurbs for the Squad V series:
Squad V
In the decades following the second world war
the United States created new agencies and departments to address a wide range
of issues including intelligence, emergency response to disaster and disease as
well as covert warfare both abroad and domestically. These converge on
discovery of a new threat not only to the U.S. but to the fundamental nature of
human society and physiology.
Quincy Barns, a former U.S. Army Ranger and CIA paramilitary
operative, learns that not only are vampires real but there is a professional
combat force trained and equipped to face the threat they pose. Once recruited
into Squad Five Quincy faces enemies and inner dilemmas like nothing the
hardened veteran can imagine.
Lulu PDF ebook purchase link: http://www.payloadz.com/go?id=1500998
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Amazon purchase link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008G0MRPW
Barns & Noble purchase link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/squad-v-john-steiner/1111343420?ean=9781612354064
Snowflake Girl, book two of the Squad V series.
Snowflake Girl, book two of the Squad V series.
Life is tough for a single woman in a new city.
Find an apartment, pay bills, hunt for a job... and dodge paramilitary vampire
hunters. Cecilia Freeland didn't ask for vampirism. All she did was fight to
survive. But her life is forever changed. Alienated from society and the law
Cecilia has to stay ahead of Squad Five.
Lulu PDF ebook purchase link: https://www.payloadz.com/cart/default.asp
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Barns & Noble purchase link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/snowflake-girl-joh-steiner/1111121157?ean=9781612354194
Barer of the Ghost Nation, book three of the
Squad V series.
Wanniukaga is the last of his people. No one else carries on his
cultural traditions. It was the end of the world for the healer and spiritual
leader. He is four hundred years old, and he is not alone. Afflicted by
vampirism from those who slaughtered his nation, Wanniukaga is further burdened
with the spirits of his people inside his mind.
Shattered by hard economic times St. Louis lays atop an older city
whose people died out centuries ago, save for Wanniukaga who wanders its urban
decay to this day. Locked in a struggle to preserve his people’s traditions and
adapt to accelerating change the healer also must balance his many personalities.
Two homeless teenagers befriend and help Wanniukaga through difficult times
against other vampires responsible for the death of his people, religiously
motivated amateur vampire slayers and hard hearted Squad Five operator stepping
outside the rules of his unit.
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C84U4PC
Melange Books Author bio:
John Steiner earned his Associate of Biology at Salt Lake Community College, where he is currently working as a tutor in math and chemistry. He exercises an avid interest in history, science, philosophy, mythology, martial arts as well as military tactics and technology.
John Steiner earned his Associate of Biology at Salt Lake Community College, where he is currently working as a tutor in math and chemistry. He exercises an avid interest in history, science, philosophy, mythology, martial arts as well as military tactics and technology.
“Steadfast in the Red!”
”The living over the dead!”
”The living over the dead!”
-motto of Squad V
-John Steiner
P.S. Remember... Victor Night Walker is out
there! He’s always out there.
3 comments:
Some interesting thoughts about vampires. Good luck with your series!
I've not been a lover of vampire tales. I think my mom, who loved vampire movies, took me to see too many as a child. But your take sounds fascinating since it crosses over into a whole new style with thought provoking questions. Good luck, John!
Best of luck with your series. Unusual insight and a totally different angle.
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