On 'The Eight'

''The Eight were as much a mystery to me decades ago as they are to this day. I do know more than I did when I saw their forces for the first time in Austria, and it has been invaluable in understanding what has happened since their first appearance in Europe. The details that concern this story are not important yet, but other things must be addressed.''

'' The octet of individuals who called themselves the Eight were so unknown at the time of their primary operations, they mayn’t have been real at all. In the beginning I thought they were the ghosts of paranoia—things manifested in the minds of mankind during times of uncertainty and change. This is not the case, as will be revealed soon, but a younger me did not believe eight individuals were capable of changing the world uncontested.''

'' After the events that unfolded at Hainburg, it was not difficult to figure out that one or more of the Eight was in Berlin. It would seem reasonable, even now, because the philosophical movement of the age had begun under Frederick the Great, and Berlin was the cradle of this philosophy. The Enlightenment sparked a change in European thought, and this change drove scholars in many different directions. Scientists began to question what had never been questioned. Methods and customs were attacked, adjusted, even discarded by the minds that opened to possibility and shut their eyes to the past. In some circumstances, this age improved greatly upon society’s stumbling blocks and transgressions against itself, but it also fostered fervor in some that burned aggressively for opportunity and change. This would result in a sense of reason so callous and purist in nature that progress would mean hostile neglect for, or violence against, anything deemed “backward” or “illogical.”''

'' One important item in the list of things “illogical” was fear of immortals. Suddenly, man discovered that things once unquestioned are only frightening when not properly understood. This realization led to the assumption that knowledge was an antidote for fear, and since fear was looked upon as an obstacle between science and progress, it was assaulted headlong in every literal sense. The Eight, whoever they are or were, no doubt were strong believers in progress at whatever cost to those who weren’t as interested as they. I should also acknowledge that, though their agenda appears simple, the depths of the Eight themselves are difficult to fathom. I say this because the Eight’s modus operandi strove to benefit human kind, but at least two of the Eight, if not more, were immortal.

Geoffrey Mylus, July 11, 1833''