III. RIESGOS DERIVADOS DE LOS ACTIVOS QUE RESPALDAN LA EMISIÓN . 12
3. ESTRUCTURA Y TESORERÍA
3.4. Explicación del flujo de fondos
Being a vampire is always, always a study of duality. We must hunt for what sustains us, but we in turn are hunted. The efforts of terrorist groups like Fear the Dark and the predations of the 162 ghoul gangs hardly build positive publicity for those of us who would prefer in- tegration. The horror of what we must do to survive means many are left with lost loved ones, and nothing inspires a hunter like that. Even the vampire Martin de Vries fights for such vengeance, and I can’t blame him. Many metroplexes offer bounties on Infected, and the price paid for a live specimen is worth it for those who won’t feel a twinge of guilt at the thought of the tortur- ous experiments that will be performed on them.
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Hmmm...>
Clockwork>
For once, we agree.>
Sticks>
Still sore about Chicago?>
Red>
Which time?>
Sticks>
I don’t suppose it would help if I said I was sorry, would it?>
RedCorporate security has gotten wise to us, as well. Our mist form can’t pass through ventilation systems that have UV filters or through doors that are air-tight. Wood particle sprays and high-power UV-A lighting are cheap and efficient. Wards provide another obstacle for us since we’re dual-natured, and medical and even ther- mographic scans can reveal our nature quickly, resulting in a very quick, very vicious escalation of security.
But it’s the everyday events that can cause the most inconvenience. Getting around by day becomes a dan- gerous proposition. Neighbors become aware of pecu- liarities that inspire them to call the cops, and friends are hard to hold on to when they know you consider them, even subconsciously, as food. Unlike those who had to cope with goblinization, we are potentially as bad as we are feared to be. And we have only the strength of our deeds to compensate against, or confirm, their hate.
GIVING IN
There comes a time when everyone falls to temptation. You lie, you cheat, you take a lady home and never tell your girlfriend or put one between the eyes of a ganger selling to kids. Sooner or later it happens. We all have our own flavors. For the Infected, that flavor is souls.
There is considerable debate about what precisely the Infected derive sustenance from. It might very well be the magical stuff of our souls, or simply the ener- gy that connects soul to body. It’s definitely got a cor- relation with the holistic health of the body and spirit. Whatever it is, to one degree or another, all Infected have this cannibalistic requirement. And there is every- thing in the world telling us it is right for us, including how wrong it is.
Think about it. How many times has forbidden fruit proven to be the sweetest of all? There are degrees of wrong, even in the worst crimes of all. For a vampire, there is no crime so sweet and natural as drinking free and deep, taking every drop and shred, and then let- ting the husk rise. As alien as the process may seem, the motivations are familiar to you. You don’t want to take that girl home to get her pregnant, do you? 99.99 percent of the time I’d say not. But you do want to get it on. All the biochemical triggers that make it feel so good are the ones meant to aid in reproduction. So it is with Infected. Feeding, especially to a death, feels insanely, intensely good.
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For both parties, I should add. It’s addictive, and it’s no joke. Many survivors of partial drains obsess over the experience, either seeking out another to finish what was started or beginning a new addiction to compensate.>
Butch>
There isn’t a lot of call for them, but Bite-Bytes, BTLs of the sensation of being drained, fetch a high price in the right markets, namely certain club scenes and body-bank groupies. Guess some folks wanna have their cake and not get eaten, too.>
2XL>
Snuff is snuff. Doesn’t matter which way the “star” goes down.>
Turbo BunnyOf course, you don’t want the competition for feed- ing, so many vampires who give in to their hunger usu- ally end up making sure the victim won’t get back up,
often via decapitation. A close-up shotgun full of dou- ble-ought buckshot is usually enough to destroy the brain and eliminate any evidence of feeding. For the many Awakened vampires, spells like Turn to Goo and Incinerate work well, too.
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Most Infected will avoid selling off the pieces to chop shops, since trace amounts of the infection can be spotted and lead to massive hunts. That being said, I’ve known a few ghouls who are happy to take the scraps off of a vampire’s hands. Seems that as much as a vampire might take, there’s still enough residual energy left in the body for a ghoul to make a meal of it.>
ButchFor us, the real damage is psychological. Again, there is some question of just what it is we feed on. Taking some doesn’t have to be the worst fate, certainly no worse than a nasty drug problem or cheap cyberlimbs. But what happens when we take it all? What happens to us? Do we still have souls? And how will they be judged
for what we’ve done? It’s no small wonder Infected cling to life so tenaciously.
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The rest of us are holding on pretty tight, too, pal.>
Baka Dabora>
The world is sufficiently shrouded in darkness that we are all damned, either by our sins or complacency.>
Man-of-Many-Names>
A number of wealthy Infected try to patronize seers to get a glimpse at their future, much like anyone with money to throw around. What’s surprising is how many want to know about the afterlife.>
AreteUltimately, every Infected has to wonder if they are who they were, or just the mask the virus uses to feed and propagate. Giving in to instinct, choosing to do what you are compelled to do, takes away doubt, if only for a moment. For some, that’s enough. Others justify the math of the situation: If they can avoid using any special abilities, just stay in their corner, only two people need to die a year to keep them going. Some of us kill more than that a month just to stay alive in the Barrens. If some people are going to die anyway, why not use their end to fuel immortality? It’s a very slippery slope from there.