A Hindu vampire who really hates Nazis

“I still do not understand. It is a religious letter?”

“Mate, the letter is no more religious than any other. It isn’t a letter at all, they just look similar. Wait, are you taking the piss? What planet did you say you’re from?”

“I do not take… piss. I am from Kezinar, planet of blood and storms, home of what you here on earth call vampires. I am simply saying that it is inconsistent. Why that shape, and not other religious ones?”

"Mental block. Like a placebo effect, except sometimes Jesus or some other deity actually backs up their worshippers with some holy light. But that’ll zap anything, not just us.

But, let’s get back to the vampire planet again. What the actual fuck are you on about? Why’ve I never heard of this?"

"It is great secret. When magic returned, the ripple went across the galaxy from earth. Those of us out there had thought earth dead, after magic left and we were all isolated on our own worlds. We come here, there is war among the gods, all stomping on this world. We watch. When war stops, we contact UN. They say you not ready for this, after war. Give it a decade or two.

Holy fire is bad, yes. But if little t not glowing, why you earth vampires act scares, like it burn?"

“Nah, nah, mate, you aren’t getting off that easy. Are you saying vampires came from space?”

“You answer mine, I answer yours, yes?”

“Fine, Rover, did you know any of this shit?” Tobias looked down to his rabishu companion.

“What? Space vamps? Of course. And the others. The infernal realm touches all of it. And I was around back when it first happened.”

“And you didn’t fucking tell me this?”

“You didn’t ask. You only ask me to scare people. You forget I am an ancient evil.”

“For fucks sake. Anyway, Count spaceula, fine, straight info trade. Vampires here all started as humans. Humans still think books and movies match reality until they find out otherwise. They get turned, see the cross, and they don’t bother to think about whether or not they actually feel anything. It’s a meme.”

"I think you think you insult me with this count name. I am reading Stoker. His imaginary vampire knew how to instill respect. A skill I may have to instill in you, infant. Like your demon puppy, I am an ancient power. Unlike it, I can shred you.

Here is respect. You answered me, I answer you now, peon Tobias. Vampires did not come from space. Humans went to space, find Kezinar. There, the blood power found them, the symbiote inside you and me. It like humans enough to bond with them. Is no evil, just power. Some of them travel back to earth, to make trade and bring back knowledge.

Now, tell me if other letters scare earth vampires same way."

"Sorry, mate, I get a bit mouthy when my mind is blown. No insult meant.

Yeah, sometimes other symbols will scare people after they turn, if their culture has the references. But nothing is as directly linked in public consciousness to the level of the cross. Fecking monotheists dominated the planet for a long time. Star of David in particular works, but the polytheists tend not to have single symbols that are tied into vampire lore.

But any time one god or another fires up a symbol, rumors get around, and new suckers think it’s the symbol itself, not the power behind it.

You’re telling me that humans went into space and became vampires? When the fuck was this?"

"I am not exact in my knowledge of history and years. It was before magic was damaged. That was long before I was born, long enough that our records are not well kept. I think in your years, it would be almost fifteen thousand? Perhaps more. Maybe as much as twenty thousand years. The journey was longer then than it is now. To reach Kezinar was said to take ten years if flown straight. Now it is perhaps a month in a trade vessel. Since magic has returned, improvements in faster than light travel have been made. The fastest ships may take only days.

Why do the humans here still fear this Jesus? He is god of peace and charity, yes?"

"Well, yeah, but e’s a bit of a temper on him. Peaceful, but don’t fuck about, right? There’s stories in the old book about him beating the shit out of people ripping the faithful off in temples or some such. He’ll give you the literal robe off his back, but if you step on the toes of his followers, well, he’s also one of the gods that beat the god of chaos and ended the god wars. He don’t fuck about. His new new testament is all flowers and love, but he’s still got drops of the old Testament in him, him and Yahweh both.

How many ‘others’ are there? Rover here said others."

"I am not supposed to say much, we are only now being allowed to come legally here. There are we Kezinarans, vampires. The ones you call weres, therianthropes, they too have a similar origin, though that planet is different in many ways from mine. The other races descended from humans prefer not to be known in detail yet, as none of them had any of their ancestors stranded here when magic crashed.

But there are four major human descended peoples, and branches of those beyond vampires and weres, and some smaller groups. There are species not of human origin as well, but they avoid our spaces unless they have great need. Only two of the human diaspora are interested in coming to earth again, aside from we and the weres.

You still have not said why the t is the symbol of this Jesus."

"Bloody hell, you don’t know that story? I thought you did and were just confused.

Look, about two thousand years ago, Jesus was just this guy, right? Kind of kooky, had his little cult, right? Well, he pisses off the wrong people and gets sentenced to death. The nation in charge liked to take two big sticks and nail people to them. It’s called a cross in english, because the big sticks, you know, cross. The letter looking the same is coincidence.

Anyway, ol’ Jesus is either the son of a deity, thinks he is, or has conned people into thinking that. So he gets nailed up on the sticks and dies, as one does.

A few days later, he supposedly comes back from the dead all zombie like. Shows off a bit, then fucks off to heaven, where his supposed da rules the universe. He downplays that story nowadays though.

Look, I gotta know, what’s your planet like?"

"To answer that will take many hours, and the sun rises soon. That is one difference. Our sun is gentle to us. Warm, yes. And the symbiote prefers not to be exposed too long, but it is not like the sun here that weakens and kills our little friends. Tomorrow, we will meet again and exchange knowledge.

Before then, think on this: your Jesus rose from the dead after three days. Zombies are raised by magic at any time. Does not his story match that of your own rebirth more than any other?"

“Ah, fuck, me. Rover?”

do any cultures exist that have no association to Christianity and use the Latin alphabet?

Funnily enough, this is part of Peter Watt’s Firefall series. Arguably a core detail tbh, which is actually pretty goddamn stupid if you think about the implications for the setting and plot he built too much.

chinese had vampires, a bunch asian ones likely had thier own.