18

First, stop saying 'destroyed' in public. It's a Masquerade violation, and—" a little louder now "—we can't let anyone know we're vampires! Second, I don't raise my hand against any creature, living or dead, except in judgment of their sins. Because I'm trying to live righteously, Krarr, unlike some of us I could name. Unlike, for example, Jasper Knowles."

Julian leans against his Fisker, then says, "You should know the truth. I killed that Usurper."

Well, you and I have a complicated relationship to 'crimes,' don't we, Krarr? But yes, I suppose so. I may not be much of a vampire, but I'm still a Child of Haqim, and our work is to judge the unrighteous."

There's that strange gleam in Julian's eyes again. Some nights it seems like Julian Sim couldn't be a worse representative of his religion, or of the larger cultural complex that surrounds and sustains Clan Banu Haqim. And some nights your old friend looks like the Angel of Death.

Well, you weren't able to get me St. Basil's Hospital or access to Camp Scheffler's data on the blood trade," Julian says. "Nonetheless, I've had to forge my own path. I retrieved copies of Camp Scheffler's data for my own use, and I've taken over a few smaller hospitals."

"But why?" you ask.

"Because I'm going to replace the Masquerade with something else, piece by piece, so slowly that no one notices until it's happened," Julian says. "The old ways of hiding, before the first Inquisition, prevented mortals from understanding. The Masquerade prevents them from knowing. I'll prevent them from caring."

"No, you don't understand—I'm not going to change human nature. I think I'm the only person who really understands it. Look, the first time I saw the US as a real place—not just a film set on the other side of my TV—was the Rodney King riots. I barely spoke English then, but like, wasn't that amazing? People saw what was happening right in front of them—cops beating the shit out of some guy—and they didn't believe. Did you understand the power of that, when it happened? The revelation it represented?"

Before you can answer, Julian bangs on the hood of his Fisker and says, "All people want is a fucking story, Krarr! Not the truth, not an ideology. They want to know who the main character is. TV told us that as kids—cops, doctors, the rich. Those are the people who matter. Even if they're 'bad,' they're the ones with the point of view. If you control the point of view, you matter. And that's it."

"That wasn't me just screwing around, Krarr," Julian says. "I was testing the waters. And it worked, until that fool who used to run Tucson stopped me! I was shaping how people understood us, without them even knowing we were real. Look, here's what I mean—you turn on the TV, and there's a show on about rich assholes and they're terrible people, but it's about them, right? The story is about them. So the world, the real world, starts to become about them. We need to make the story of the world about us. Through influence and manipulation and art and a bit of good old-fashioned mind control, we need to make a new point of view. A new 'I' through which mortals view the world. They can't understand it's us at first, but eventually they'll understand. And they'll love us, because the 'I' through which they see the world…it's us!

"But to even begin this project, I need three things—data, influence, and an experimental subject. Well, four things. Data, influence, an experimental subject, and no sorcerers conducting unholy experiments using research I need."

For a moment he burns with an aura of righteousness. But then Julian turns back into the code rat you know, as he digs the toe of his sneaker into the ground and glances uncomfortably at you.

"But there's another reason I got rid of Jasper Knowles," the Banu Haqim says uncomfortably. "He knew Aila."

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