|
WHAT IS A VAMPIRE?
For all practical purposes, real vampires are people who - for whatever
reason - have some sort of undetermined deficiency that is best resolved
with regular intake of either life energy or blood (or both.) Such individuals
may have varying degrees of psychic/psi abilities in addition to vampirism.
Without feeding, vampires tend to feel "under the weather",
cranky, and/or have physical side effects that only resolve after feeding.
The "what is" question is a particularly thorny question
within the community because it's quite common for people to take the
approach that vampirism, as THEY experience it, "is the only true
vampirism" out there and that everyone else is just pulling stuff
out of their arse.
We are in all walks of life: A real vampire may be your teacher, your
mechanic, your club's DJ, your doctor, your nurse, your next-door neighbor,
the help desk person walking you through your computer problems for
the umpteenth time, even the person sitting next to you in the pews
at church or temple!
Some of us are also goths (and thus have a tendency to wear a lot of
black) but many ARE NOT - and can be found in business suits, casual
clothing, or even wearing fashionable designs!
ARE YOU PEOPLE ALL VAMPIRES?
Many of the staff and some of the regulars are vampires, but there
are plenty more who are not, who just come to hang out for conversation
with friends. It is important to remember this, as not everyone has
the personal experience to answer some vampire-related questions.
DO YOU HAVE TO KILL PEOPLE TO FEED?
Good gracious, no! We don't need that much in a single feeding - up
to a few teaspoons is commonly mentioned - anyone who's killing is several
cards shy of a full deck and is of questionable sanity.
HOW DO I KEEP PEOPLE FROM FINDING OUT?
Play it cool, man... Seriously, don't be nervous about it. If you're
nervous, people are going to start wondering what's up, and start pestering
you to find out why you're acting weird. If you're relaxed about it,
they're not going to give it a second thought.
IS VAMPIRISM A RELIGION?
Vampirism itself is not a religion, no.
There are, however, people who do incorporate vampiric concepts into
their spiritual practices, but this is NOT representative of the vampire
population as a whole. You will actually find a variety of spiritual
practices ranging from Christianity, to Wicca / Paganism (which seems
to be common, but not a requirement), Muslim, Judaism, even as far away
(religiously speaking) as atheism.
IS THERE A CONNECTION BETWEEN CANNIBALISM AND
VAMPIRISM?
Definitely not! It is no more cannibalism than oral sex, breast feeding,
or swapping spit. Cannibalism involves eating the flesh, which is something
not required by vampires.
(Accusations of this nature are typically made by heavily relgious
anti-occult types or so-called "occult researchers" that spread
more fearmongering than valid information. You'll have to excuse anyone
in channel who gets a bit peeved at that - these are the same types
of people that lump real vampires in with psychos and serial killers.)
CAN SOMEONE BE TURNED INTO A VAMPIRE? / WILL
YOU TURN ME?
No, and no. Sorry. Can't be done no matter how much you beg, plead,
or offer money.
THEN HOW DID YOU PEOPLE GET TO BE VAMPIRES?
We were born this way. No, we *don't* know why. And while there are
enough
theories to make your head spin, there's nothing concrete as even
a *potential* cause at this time. (It's one of the reasons we encourage
people to explore medical research as a career option...we want to know
just as much as you do!)
WHAT ABOUT THE V5 OR K-17/RVK-17 VIRUSES?
The "V5 virus" was promotional material for a BBC-4 series
called "Ultraviolet"
back in 1998. (No, this is NOT the recent American movie.) You can read
the wayback machine's archive of the developer's
website (circa 2003), or the IMDB
entry if you are having doubts. It actually was NOT a virus in the
show! Just a means to identiy vampiric persons - it was referred to
as "Code 5" when spoken in dialogue, but displayed as "V5"
when written on things. If you can find it, it is highly recommended
as being worth the time to watch. View the plot synopsis
and details.
The "K17 / RV-K17" virus was promotional material for an
Australian movie called "Reign
in Darkness", in 2001. You an see the Wayback machine's archive
for the character pages of
Michael Dorn, Gage,
Dr.
Swift, and Lance
as well as the plot
summary and the movie's fictional
theory. You should note the name of "RapidFire Productions
Pty Ltd" at the bottom of the plot summary and theory pages - that
is an Australian movie
company
(also known as "Cascade Films Pty Ltd").
CAN YOU TELL ME IF I'M A VAMPIRE?
Not over the internet for a variety of reasons, not the least of which
is that it's hard to rule out all mundane causes of symptoms just from
an internet conversation.
There's a reason we recommend everyone get checked out by their doctors
- it's to be certain there aren't any mundane causes - i.e., diabetes,
lupus, etc. You also need to investigate the side effects of any and
ALL drugs (prescription OR recreational) you're taking to be certain
they're not causing any problems either - don't depend on your doctor,
because 99 times out of 100 they like are NOT going to be familiar with
every little side effect, especially the rare ones (Dilantin's photosensitivity,
for example), or they may chalk up the known side effects that you're
experiencing to "it's all in your head" (the joint pain, inflammation,
headaches, general malaise, etc. from Statin drugs is a prime example
of symptoms often being blown off by doctors.)
Minimum testing recommended: "CBC
with differential",
"Chem20"/"Complete
(or Comprehensive) Metabolic", FULL thyroid panel (Free
T4, Free
T3, TRH, TSH,
Reverse T3, thyroid
antibodies, etc.), Anemia testing (Ferritin,
Folate,
Iron,
TIBC,
Transferrin
Saturation, B12,
clotting
factors), and Autoimmune testing (ANA,
CRP,
ESR/Sedimentation
Rate, Fibrinogen,
HLA-B27,
Homocysteine,
Rheumatoid
Factor, Tumor Necrosis factor, Uric
Acid). Most of these will be covered under insurance, if your primary
care doctor writes out the form. Explain that you want a "*complete*
baseline set of tests" to compare changes to as you get older.
That generally works, though I've had to check off the additional boxes
as needed on occasion if the doctor pulled a "just smile and nod"
routine. (I'm a firm believer in as much information as possible at
one shot. I mean, as long as they've got a needle in you anyway for
tests, might as well get them all done at the same time...:) )
Get copies of your bloodwork results - fight with your doctor if you
have to! - and look them up yourself on LabTestsOnline
(all the links above come from there). The site doesn't have the suitable
ranges, but if you have your paperwork, you HAVE the ranges right on
there, and the paperwork will tell you what's out of range and how extensively
- the website will tell you whether being out of range is an issue.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN, MY MEDICATIONS MIGHT AFFECT
ME?
Any prescription - or non-prescription - medical (or recreational pharmaceuticals,
shall we say...) has effects on the body besides the one(s) it's intended
for. You need to be aware of the side effects of ALL medications you
may be taking, whether occasionally or daily, so that you can account
for any and all possible influences on what you're experiencing.
Just one example, some pain medications - or even antidepressents -
can cause photosensitivity...or an upset / painful stomach when you
don't eat regularly. Topical ointments can even cause photosensitivity!
(This is by no means a complete list of any possible side effects -
most drugs have a laundry list of at least 20-50 side effects you need
to be aware of before blaming something else for your troubles.)
Living on fast food and junk food can cause a LOT of malnutrition issues
that most conventional doctors will treat by medication, rather than
educating you on what you shouldn't be eating. Malnutrition issues WILL
aggravate any side effects issues, simply because your body doesn't
have the proper fuel with which to counter the negative effects of the
medications.
You can check out the information and side effects of your prescription
medications here at RXList
- just type in the drug name (generic names will work too) and it'll
spit back the results - click "Side Effects" in the left hand
column (and enable Javascript) and you'll see all the potential problems.
Chances are likely you'll have the generic form in your medicine cabinet,
so just compare the version name of generic listed on your pill bottle
with the results on the website.
BUT REALLY, I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT I AM!
Sorry, we still can't tell you. Same reasons as were just stated. Asking
in IRC despite this won't get us to make exceptions for you.
OTHER FAQ LINKS FOR MORE DETAILS:
SphynxCatVP
FAQ pages
Sanguinarius FAQ
pages
Lono676767's
FAQ
Sarasvati's
FAQ
Vyrdolak's FAQ
|
