Ethereal

Prologue

Prologue

          There came a time in the not too distant future when the living found that the reality of death was far worse than anything else in their existence. This may have always been true of humans in general since the dawn of man, the only difference being that at this particular time, something horrifying and remarkable was created as a result of their fear.

          It came in the form of a small vial of liquid magic, and within it held the end of death itself.

          The scientists that created the medicine coined it the Pluto Vaccine, or PV, an ironic jab to the Greek God of death. The vaccine contained bio-engineered viruses which induced genetic modifications in stem cells. When wars ravaged the earth, the government used the vaccine to provide miraculous healing of even the worst wounds or diseases for soldiers in combat, causing cells to regenerate faster than they mutated or died.

          It wasn't until several years of experimentation and trials that government scientists realized that PV could be used for so much more.

          At first, the vaccine offered a cure to the clinically ill and trauma victims. Scientists found that the Pluto Vaccine not only healed the body indefinitely, but also added one sweet benefit: the recipient would never age.

          The vaccination itself involved a six month-long procedure in which the patient would receive eight injections of the PV. However, these death-curing procedures were expensive that it made them unattainable to the vast majority of the population. Only the elites of society, fabulously rich economic titans, politicians, or well-connected scientists and lawyers could obtain the vaccine.

          Celebrities posted videos of themselves and their children being injected with PV, politicians and business men and women alike were no stranger to the select medical facilities that carried the vaccines. A year after the PV was released to the public, any man, woman, or child with the sufficient amount of funds had already taken the vaccine and had been deemed immortal. The unvaccinated, mortal population continued on with their lives, waiting for the day they would eventually die.

          It wasn't until several years later, that, ironically, the same patients who had received the PV were now returning to the same medical facilities that had once treated them. They sat on their exam tables with their children in tow, describing symptoms of increased aggression towards others, having a disinterest in social interactions, and experiencing an overall lack of empathy.

          Tests were run, experiments conducted, millions of tax dollars were spent in an effort to reveal the cause behind these sudden changes in thought and behavior. For several months, there was nothing.

          And then, seemingly out of the blue, a reporter came forward with a story no one could ignore.

        After having infiltrated a medical facility in Arizona, the reporter, posing as a new receptionist, discovered medical files that belonged to several high-profile public figures. Ranging from policy makers in DC to social media influencers, all experiencing symptoms closely related to people experiencing psychopathic tendencies.

          With the article now in circulation, and the public demanding answers, the truth was finally revealed.

          The Pluto Vaccine was a miracle cure that eradicated disease, reversed old age, and quite simply delayed death inevitably. There was, unfortunately, an unseen side effect that was irreversible. Whoever received the vaccine would suffer irreparable damage to the emotional centers of the brain, including the amygdala and the neocortex of the prefrontal lobe. The areas responsible for registering fear, anger, sadness, happiness, and love. But most of all, the vaccine left recipients lacking empathy. In short, the miracle cure that had defeated death also worked to erase the emotion out of the brain, stripping people of their humanity.

          The news came as a shock to the world, but people were surprised when they heard nothing from the PV community. Those who had received the ultimate cure from death and the horrifying consequence that came with it did not come forward with their tales of woe. The celebrities that people knew had taken the Pluto Vaccine did not accept interviews or answer questions about their new lives. Politicians and titans of industry continued their roles as though nothing had happened.

          To put it quite simply, the people who received the vaccine didn't think anything of it. Their new state of mind was now their reality, and instead of life becoming more difficult as a consequence, it became clearer, more focused, with more purpose. Dilemmas that were deeply entrapped in the murky grays of life suddenly became black and white, their choices became easy without their morals weighing heavily on their minds.

         Doctors couldn't reverse the side effects, but none of the PV recipients would have undergone the treatment regardless. They believed their new state of thinking made life better.

          What the rest of the world did not know, however, was to what extent the PV recipients experienced their psychopathic tendencies. As the years unfolded, the PV's found that while having no emotions or morals helped them amass more power and wealth, they experienced a gap in their psyche, a hole which needed to be filled. Many found that pleasure could still be experienced, but only in a dark and deviant manner. Pleasure could only be felt through inflicting pain onto others. And so they did, in ever more elaborate and creative ways.

          After years of concealing and filming their acts of terror in back alleys, abandoned warehouses, or rural farms, the efforts of the immortals to feel were getting old, and couldn't satisfy their emotional needs. They needed more. They needed constant and varied entertainment. They turned their eyes to the masses of unsuspecting people, the mortals, those with their fragile and unpredictable emotions still intact. The Plutonians had all the power. Secrecy was no longer needed.

          They found a new way to satisfy their ever-increasing hunger.