Unreality

17. Left for Dead

Luther Weiss did not entirely approve of the term "sufferer" being used to describe those responsible for the phenomenon known as unreality. The way he saw it, this was a clear attempt to euphemize the reality of the situation, by implying the condition was akin to an accidental illness which any unfortunate soul might contract.

But unreality was no accident — it was, for all intents and purposes, a choice.

A choice between taking responsibility for yourself and facing your personal problems, or running from them until they overwhelm you into jeopardizing the well-being of the society which accommodates you and your needs.

Indeed, although unreality was no doubt a sickness to be eradicated, the so-called sufferers were no mere victims, for they invited such a sickness upon themselves when they succumbed to the urge to turn away from reality without concern for the lives of those less prone to such weakness of character.

Having witnessed this sickness up close and having had to fight off contamination himself, Luther was well aware of the magnitude of this threat, and had thus struggled to change the way Ethos and its subdivision of Anima viewed unreality, so as to make sure the so-called sufferers were properly suppressed and managed.

And yet, due to the still mysterious nature of the phenomenon, he had no choice but to rely on those same sufferers to accomplish his mission.

This conundrum was a source of considerable frustration for the man who had eventually managed to reach the position of Commander of Anima.

And so, being forced to work with former sufferers — now turned agents of his —, Luther made sure to imbue them with a proper understanding of the inherently destructive nature of unreality, so that they might not be dissuaded from doing what needs to be done out of pity for those who have, like them, succumbed to it.

Naturally, he was generally met with some resistance at first, but, in time, all agents of Anima came to accept his word and recognize unreality as an abominable condition, thus becoming considerably more committed and motivated towards preventing it from spreading any further.

All but one, that is.

For roughly two years now, Virgil York had shown nothing but disregard at best and disrespect at worst towards his Commander and Anima's views, demonstrating absolutely no shame or regret for his own past with unreality and refusing to condemn the kind of behavior which led to the very existence of the phenomenon.

And yet, in spite of the anathema Luther and Anima's views were sure to represent to him, Virgil continued to work diligently for them, all the while showing virtually no signs of relapse, as well as boasting a staggeringly high success rate in his missions.

Needless to say, this baffled Luther as much as it irritated him.

Just what drove this young man to continue to work for an organization he showed nothing but contempt for?

Luther was positive it was not due to any altruistic sense of personal duty or concern for fellow sufferers, seeing as, as soon as he settled a case, Virgil showed absolutely no interest in the future and prospects of rehabilitation of the sufferers.

So what was it all for?

This ardent desire to understand the workings of a subordinate he saw as a dangerous and subversive unknown had even led Luther to accept Ariadne Seymour as an agent of Anima, after having heard from Joshua that she had inspired an unusual amount of openness in Virgil during her own case of unreality.