A PRISONER OF THE NATION

Jonathon focused. How long had he been out? Not long, maybe a few hours. He could do that. He could detatch himself from events around him and drift off into a snug, balmy state. Many vampires had that ability. I suppose it comes from the long years spend entombed 'alive' suffered by many of the breed. A kind of life-eater hibernation. He was completely bare and susspended within a magnetic field. The room was dark. He could not see the walls, but 'felt' the space to be very large. A beam of weak, tenuous, watery illumination coming from above bathed him in a milky glow. He could feel the tingly hum of the electric field as it danced through him.And he listened and he waited. There were others in the room. Their whispering voices came through to him - Is it dangerous? Will it hurt him?......No, that doesn't have any effect on him. His cells aren't alive. Relax. It's better this way......What do we need all this for? I don't get it. I don't get it......Well, you want him to break free? You know a lot of 'em can pass through almost anything. 'Sublimate' I think they call it. But they need something solid to push against or push on. And this brand new piece of technology doesn't provide him with that......Look at him. He just floats there, like, like a fly in amber.......Exactly. and hopefully he's stuck there just as tight.......How old is he?.......Well, from visual examinations, surface indications, the docs say he's about eightteen to twentytwo.......No, no, I mean how long do you think he's been a vampire?.......We're not sure. Now they did notice that little tattoo he has on the inside of his left wrist. Somme good luck symbol, an old one. Wait, let me bring it up (tap, tap, tap) Says it was popular around the Mediterranean Sea approximately one thousand years ago and, here's the kicker, hasn't been seen since. Contemporary historians know of it from recentlly discovered, mummified corpses found in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa...........Shit! So you're tellin' me that Antonio Banderas looking dude is over a thousand years old!?..........Well, I think he's more like that kid from Entourage, but yeah, I am. And not only that, we think he's from Spain.........How do you know?.........Look at his skin tone. Not too dark. Generally Eiropean. Probably a Muslim or a Jew...... Come on, how do you know that!?........ Jesus Christ! Take a look at him! The guy is 'cut' for God's sake. Ain't no Christians doing that one thousand years ago. Christ!!......So where does this all lead?........What do you mean? We learn from them. They had a couple a few years back out west.............Where? You mean Area 51?............No, Elizabeth Taylor's house! Where do you think I mean? They learn from them. They learn. We got some information on severe weather hibernation techniques. We got other stuff. We'll get some from him too........And then what? What do we do with him? What, keep him like an exhibit or something?..........Yeah, exhibit. We could show him to all the big contributors. Man, that would be some ticket. Wouldn't it?....Do they do that?...........No, you dim wit. They don't. The last ones, the ones at 'Elizabeth Taylor's house,' they burnt 'em. They incinerated them........Why?..........I don't know. Who cares? It was just a hobby.......................And Jonathon heard the whole thing.