by Andy Maslen
Keratin: fingernails and toenails are extendible – a variant on the mechanism used to erect the fangs.
Skin pigmentation: Homo sapiens lamia has extremely pale, though not pure albino, skin pigmentation.
Body’s ability to repair itself: multiplied exponentially through unknown metabolic and cell regeneration mechanism.
Reproduction: The mutation has rendered the lamia sterile. They do not reproduce sexually, as explained below.
How has the infection changed human cognition and consciousness?
Lamia are hyper-predatory. They do not see Homo sapiens as creatures worthy of consideration in emotional terms and they do not experience empathy for human victims.
Their senses of smell, hearing and vision are all heightened, possibly as a result of the predatory impulse. Taste is blunted, touch is unchanged.
Death and injury
Homo sapiens lamia are affected by both salicylic acid, found in willow wood and bark, and wild garlic oil. The biochemical effects of both substances, especially in combination, cause catastrophic damage to blood cells, and the cells of the circulatory system itself. The effect has been likened by observers to an “explosion of blood”. Even hard tissues such as teeth, bones and talons contain enough of the affected cells to be obliterated.
Attacking the heart is the most effective method of killing, for obvious reasons, though any major blood vessel is effective in a very short space of time.
Exposure to direct sunlight is also an effective way of killing lamia. The UV radiation destroys cell membranes throughout the body, resulting in a similar effect to that of the bioactive agents described above.
Owing to the fast, self-repairing nature of lamia body tissues, assault by conventional means, whether armed or unarmed, results in slight and extremely temporary damage, if any.
Reproduction
In common with other closed societies that, for reasons of culture or biology, do not practise sexual reproduction, the lamia recruit new members of their “families”. They do this through a less intense feeding strategy than that used purely for replenishing energy.
The victim is bitten and their blood is consumed, during which time the parasites migrate into their bloodstream in the manner previously described. But the lamia stops feeding before the victim dies from blood loss, allowing them to recover and the parasite to multiply inside the new host. The process takes anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, during which time the parasite inserts copies of its DNA into the host’s cell nuclei and begins anew the process of reengineering the host’s DNA to alter its structure and expression.
Cultural and mythological references in literature and art
There are widespread representations of Homo sapiens lamia in art and literature, from the Sumerian and early Semitic cultures onwards. In Latin America, a god, Ixctal, was usually depicted as a snake-headed human with a gaping mouth crowded with long pointed teeth. The Aztec and Mayan traditions of removing still-beating hearts from sacrificial victims is now thought to be a direct connection to the hematophagy of the lamia.
In African cultures, particularly those of sub-Saharan Africa, we find repeated references in stories and artworks to the damu mnywaji (Swahili for “blood drinker”).
For more background on vampire folklore by region, this Wikipedia entry is helpful. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_folklore_by_region
Of most relevance to current research is the long tradition in Eastern Europe of stories concerning vampires. Named strigoi, they led directly to the canon of western literature concerning blood-drinking undead monsters. Two western vampire stories have achieved global significance: Dracula, by Bram Stoker; and Carmilla by J Sheridan Le Fanu.
It hardly needs adding that the 21st Century has spawned a thriving vampire industry that has led to, among other things, a cult of “real vampires” – a loosely federated network of city-based clubs whose members believe themselves to be actual vampires.
Acknowledgments
To Abraham “Bram” Stoker: your magnum opus, Dracula, was the inspiration for this humble homage.
To Christopher Lee, Bela Lugosi and Max Schreck: the vampires of my youth.
To Peter Cushing: you were always Van Helsing.
To Ingrid Pitt, Madeleine Smith and Valerie Leon: nobody bit or got bitten more beautifully.
To those who stay up late reading: you are the true “children of the night”.
To my Sniper-Spotters: your eyes are as sharp as vampires’ teeth.
To my first readers, Claire Quarm and Sandy Wallace: thank you for your insightful comments on the text.
Thank you all, from every chamber of my heart.
Copyright
© 2018 Sunfish Ltd
Published by Tyton Press, an imprint of Sunfish Ltd, PO Box 2107, Salisbury SP2 2BW T: 0844 502 2061
The right of Andy Maslen to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Requests for permission should be addressed to the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living, dead or undead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
About the Author
Andy Maslen was born in Nottingham, England, home of legendary bowman Robin Hood. Andy once won a medal for archery, although he has never been locked up by the sheriff.
He has worked in a record shop, as a barman, as a door-to-door DIY products salesman and a cook in an Italian restaurant. He eventually landed a job in marketing, writing mailshots to sell business management reports. He spent ten years in the corporate world before launching a business writing agency, Sunfish, where he writes for clients including The Economist, Christie’s and World Vision.
As well as his novels, Andy has published five works of non-fiction, on copywriting and freelancing, with Marshall Cavendish and Kogan Page. They are all available online and in bookshops.
Andy lives in Wiltshire and can be seen during daylight hours, although he keeps to the shady side of the street.
Also by Andy Maslen
The Gabriel Wolfe series
Trigger Point
Reversal of Fortune (short story)
Blind Impact
Condor
First Casualty
Fury
Rattlesnake
The DI Stella Cole series
Hit and Run
Hit Back Harder
Hit and Done
Non-fiction
Write to Sell
100 Great Copywriting Ideas
The Copywriting Sourcebook
Write Copy, Make Money
Persuasive Copywriting
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