Page 27 - World of Darkness

changes in temperature and upset our understanding of the
physical world. Sometimes they resemble a deceased loved one, Unrecorded History
or a stranger whose identity is discovered later. Some of them
seem to act mindlessly, wandering without purpose or repeating Once we realize that things are not as we think, we
the same behavior over and over again. Others may act inevitably conclude that they’ve never been what we
deliberately or even maliciously. thought they were. History is a lie. If creatures that walk
and talk like people exist, how long have they been here?
Habitat
Ancient legends certainly seem to describe some of these
Careful observation of the data, and application of simple models of beings. Are the superstitious ravings of our ancestors true?
animal behavior, yields some interesting theories about these Maybe there really are such things as vampires, werewolves
cryptids. First of all, they seem very territorial. They’re usually
associated with a very specific location — a house, a certain stretch and sorcerors — and always have been. “
of road, a particular riverbank or cemetery. Outsiders do not seem to How much of what we’re told about history is actual
like crowds. They don’t seem to like mingling with humans, but they fact and how much is mere conjecture? Are there beings
do like to be where humans have been. I believe that’s the key to who actively work to falsify the evidence of the past, cov-
understanding them. ering their tracks from all records, written or otherwise?
Outsiders have an affiliation with human emotion. They tend Perhaps the facts are right but the reasons are wrong. Surely,
to turn up at places of emotional turmoil. Houses where Columbus did discover America, but maybe his purpose
murders took place, burial mounds that were once central to a wasn’t to seek the Indies to prove the Earth was round.
culture’s grieving process, even sites where opposing armies What if he was transporting something away from the Old
clashed and spilled blood. These places appeal to them, but World and into the New, a land he knew existed thanks
only after the action is over, sometimes centuries after. If to legends and map fragments? What if this something
human emotions leave behind some type of subtle energy or
vibration, perhaps these ephemeral creatures feed on them. If wasn’t a thing at all, but an immortal being who secretly
their choice of territory proves unlucky — the house is sold, influenced the mind of Columbus? Ridiculous, of course.
the old castle is refurbished — they rely on startling behavior Contemplating these sorts of wacko conspiracies helps us
to try to reclaim their areas. to imagine that all conspiracies are merely the result of
overactive imaginations.
Example: Cemetery of St. James, London, England
But what about less prominent events in history, those
Two years ago a friend of a friend described what seemed to me that are still shrouded in mystery? For instance, what
to be incidents of outsider activity. I was particularly intrigued caused the Tunguska Crater in Siberia? The official ex-
because the events occurred in a cemetery. To me, the possibil-
ity added credence to the idea that outsiders are not the souls planation is that it was a meteor. And yet, in the World of
of the restless dead. After all, nobody actually dies in a Darkness, nomadic hunters of the time reportedly swore
cemetery, and the deceased usually had no attachment to the to a French journalist that strange creatures were sighted
place during life. However, if you’re a creature that thrives on in the region. Peasants whispered for years that those who
extremes of emotion, the place is perfect. There are plenty of traveled too close to the crater at night would sleepwalk
visitors to provide sustenance, but no permanent residents to for months afterward. Rubbish, some people say. Clearly
intrude on your privacy. (Pause for laughter.)
it was ground zero for Nicolai Tesla’s Death Ray experi-
Long story short, we spend the night in the 30-acre Cemetery of St. ments. Case solved.
James, in the Highgate section of north London. Over 167,000 Viewing history through the lens of supernatural
people are buried there. Every so often a disinterred body is found, machination allows us to mine the past for stories. The
causing quite a stir. (Pause for laughter). There’s also a entire tapestry of history, from the invention of agricul-
longstanding rumor that a vampire has its tomb there. My associate
had connections that got us permission to remain on the grounds ture to the nuclear bomb, can be interpreted in a sinister
after dark. After the sun went down, the gravestones and monu- light, with warring forces of occult beings and secret soci-
ments seemed to take on different shapes in the corners of your eties using ignorant humans as pawns in their eternal
eyes. It’s remarkable how the wind through the foliage sounds like games.
whispering. Our night there passed uneventfully, and the sophisti- What could we achieve if only we could remove the
cated equipment we’d brought detected nothing unusual.
veil from our eyes and see things as they are? Human po- “
Or so we thought. After I’d returned home, I ran the field recordings tential is limitless, hampered only by our own unwilling-
I’d made through some analysis software. It turned out there was ness to question and deal with the ramifications of reality.
one anomaly recorded, at about 4 am, somewhere within two feet of Beware, however, to whom you address any questions, lest
the grave over which we’d been keeping vigil. Close examination you become enlisted into the armies of the night and wage
and amplification of the faint signal suggested that it was an
approximation of a human voice, repeating the following six words their wars instead of your own.
70 times and then going silent: “You pull and I shall push.” I’m still
Voice of the Angel
not sure what to make of that. Maybe some of you will figure it out.
(PAUSE FOR LAUGHTER.) (TAKE QUESTIONS IF TIME
From the Testament of Marco Singe, the so-called
PERMITS.)
“Pain Prophet” of New Delhi.

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Chapter 1- THE SECRET HISTORY