Edward Young once wrote, “Like our shadows, our wishes lengthen as our sun declines.” An interesting quote — considering his surname.
Anyone watching the news or social feeds knows 2016 has begun with a loss of life, mostly due to disease. To be fair and without naming names, a number of these public figures were in their so-called declining years. They had lived good lives, touching the minds and hearts of those who knew them — but how long is enough?
I’m worried.
You know who we are. You know what we do here at Cedarcrest Sanctum. You know why we do it…but my mind is racing back to almost eight years ago. I asked our founder the first question that popped into my mind: “When are they allowed to die?”
Those welcomed into our family are given a rare and precious gift. No one has refused it until very recently, and all of you know the result. It was hard on all of us…
I’ll stop there. That isn’t what I’m here to talk about.
I need your opinions, any of them — ALL of them. Should the fountain of youth have limits? Must we impose a time limit on the extension of life? An arbitrary number — after 100 years, you take your chances afterward or give someone else a try? How long of a life is enough?
Yes, I am the source. But I refuse to believe this should be only my decision. Louisa left us no instructions for this or even her wishes should it come to pass.
Tell me your thoughts.
I warned all of you: important decisions are going to be made this year. We have fulfilled our founder’s original vision. A new set of rules will be needed going forward, but I will not make these decisions lightly nor alone.
Talk to me. Please.
I know you won’t let me down.
Keep each other safe.
~ Janiss
Addendum: some asked for the numbers. My question was about the emotional cost, but the resource management side is fair game. Cedarcrest maintains a base of sixty retirees humanely feeding one Vampire between two and three pints each day (don’t judge); in turn, the Vampire ghouls the residents and support staff every two days. Too many and one Vampire can’t keep up; too few and the Vampire won’t be fed.
Email janiss.connelly@cedarcrestsanctum.com
Twitter @JanissConnelly
Instagram @janiss.connelly
Cedarcrest Sanctum 
Don’t hold back. I really want to know…even if you think I’m being unfair.
LikeLike
If we are extending only the life of a non vampire (in this instance a vampire is considered neither mortal or immortal for conversation aspects) then said humans should have the right to choose how far they wish to extend their life. However, that is superseded by the necessity of the vampire to survive pending the available sources of food for the vampire and whether that source is limited or scarce.
I firmly believe the vampire comes first. That aside if a symbiosis between one or more humans can be established then both could
Sustain each other for a long time. If the human chooses to pass on then a new symbiosis is formed with the human’s living family. Think of it as the passing on of a family heirloom from one generation to the next. In a manner of speaking of course.
Without the symbiosis a vampire will need to feed by any means necessary and then it becomes a master/slave relationship. There can be civility, but only if all parties are agreeable. To note: in the generational passing on for feedings this is something the human would need to inform the selected family member(s) earlyy on to prepare them.
This is wishful thinking, but reality is likely much different.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Symbiosis we have; it’s how the facility has always run. But we’re not talking about the resident vampire; we’re talking about elderly residents who are living pain and disease free in the golden years…but only while they are guests of Cedarcrest. Some of the residents have no issue living forever, but others begin to feel a disconnection; the world is changing around them and society doesn’t accept their contributions to it. It isn’t fair.
LikeLike
awesome site
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, but I can’t take credit for it. Our operations manager, Timothy Harker, gets it all done for us.
LikeLike