the record was nothing more than a hologram, a perfectly accurate depiction of something that happened a long long long time ago, before the perfected future had been achieved and so there were no complaints which could be made. still, it was important that it was preserved in its exact state upon when it was created. but nothing could be done for what was there. nothing. could. be. done. and here, here we were, looking, observers, rational, rational, rational. now, as we were then.
the vampire was a short petite female who appeared to be about 27 years old, although she was definitely much older. she was 152 cm and weighed 46 kg. she had olive skin, dark auburn curly hair, and dark brown eyes with flecks of hazel and green. her teeth were sharp and jagged, canines measuring much larger than human teeth, with slightly extra jaw space to accommodate, which must have changed that way after the transformation. her bite mark was still intact, a small scar on her neck. a full body scan of her was displayed on the hologram, although it was not a static image floating like a video game full body layout, her eyes and face and limbs still shook and moved, it was taken as a recording in real time.
then it zoomed out and showed her struggling body tied, chained, to a large spike in the middle of a darkly lit room. there were three of us there, with her. one of the people there, i regret to admit it, but it was me. there are countless holograms where i am there, playing this role. i was good at it and still am, and i am still here, doing my job, so i won't dwell on it for too long. i am just another body, another shape, but there i am in clothes, and she is not.
the words are not in english or italian or any language that might be posted to an archive ever, they are in a language unintelligible to anyone who hasn't been inside that room, so an artificial intelligence translates them into the preferred language of whoever is viewing. that way, everyone can understand.
"why does it keep struggling?"
"it hasn't got anything else to do. here." a whip made out of flexible silver strands and enchanted with a spell to destroy its mind. she crumpled to the floor, trying with no success to shield herself from the attack.
"it should stop now. it is important that it cooperates with the tests."
"why can't we just get rid of it?"
"the longer we can keep it, the more we will learn about these creatures, and the safer we will all be. although safety isn't the full priority here, if we wanted to be safe we would already be taken care of. what we really want is to research, to understand."
a fistful of her hair was taken in a hand, maybe it was mine a long time ago but i would like to forget, and water was poured down her throat. she coughed it up, choking. then garlic, a clove pushed into her mouth. she cried and struggled more. but eventually ate it. after that, she drank water.
"if i can make the ratios right, we could synthesize food for it, with a combination of water, garlic, and blood from animals or voluntary donors. but it would look and taste exactly like normal food."
no food looked or tasted like normal food. that was the secret. it all was something else by now. and it had been too long, far too long, for anyone to remember, much less care, anymore.
the vampire was crying, begging to be set free again. one of the people, maybe it was me, although i wish it wasn't, stroked her hair, and whispered soothing words to her. then, when she began to soften. the same one slapped her in the face. the three bodies left, but the software stayed on. there were days more, in real time, that i could sit and watch. no one else even knew the hologram existed.
