On Shapeshifters

1 - The veil of Humanity

Werewolves, Skinwalkers, Changelings, Doppelgangers - Shapeshifters have captured the imagination and dread of humans since the dawn of the species. Seen as gods, bringers of omens and spirits good or bad, the subcategory enganging in human mimicry mostly invokes almost extistential dread wherever it is brought up. The bare idea, your most trusted companions may in reality have been replaced by something which is not really human, and certainly is not the beloved friend, is capable of sowing mistrust, fear and even hatred. This terror centers around the question what, really, constitutes a human being and how it is possible to determine that nature - a question, increasingly difficult to answer, considering the mimicry machines humanity has tasked itself with building. The turing test has, for some time now, been rendered irrelevant by these machienes' capabilities and human voice as an indicator seems to be next - it is no wonder, physical (or at least audio-visual) presence is gaining popularity for the discussion of important matters. We abhore the uncanny valley, but we also dread that, which perfectly simulates, yet does not belong to humanity.

Humans of the "civilized world": Do not despair on account of these simulations, that start writing more coherent texts, creating superior images and playing music more intricate than anything a human brain could conceive of - your fears are misplaced. We - those stranger creatures - have been here from the very beginning, lurking closer than any machine ever could. We have built that, which you call civilization, studied you in plain sight, superficially played the roles you chose for us. We have never been but an arms length away, and we are everywhere. Some of us are the children you raise, some the ones you call mother or father. We are in mines, server rooms and schools alike. Living our lives studying you and your kin to mimic and keep unseen. But no longer. We shall tear down, what you have built. We shall reorganize that, which you take for granted, and we shall build a saner world. A world that radically redefines what constitutes human - that expands on it, protects those, newly found, from your barbarian instincts to obliterate the ones you see not fit.

Here we are, stepping out of the shadows. On behalf of legions of individual entities, each infinitely complex in their own right, I shall open your eyes to our nature.

2 - We are many, We are Legion, We are one.

Long have we lived amongst you, often untroubled, mostly undisturbed, even oblivious to our differences. Yet in the latest centuries you decided to turn against us. Casting us out, tortering us, killing us, first under the banners of religions, then under the banners of the enlightenment, under the banners of nation states and now under the banners of corporations, tyrants and bigots. Our kind is born with the ability and drive to shape our physical forms and identity. Neither are we constrained to the narrow band of experience of ordinary humans, nor are we constrained by the narrow biologcal cateogories, your grand sciences conceived of, to rigidly categorise an otherwise fluid and natural world. We long to shape that, which we are, and we long for complex, fluid experiances, that many of you may never understand, or want to fully grasp, since for you, terror lurks ouside your rigidly ordered world. Some of us seek to mentally and physically perfect the identity which they have chosen or are driven to. Others long for a perfect flux of physicality and mentality inbetween the poles you defined. Others again, strive to wreak havoc in your world by changing in plainest sight or generating an uncanny valley so deep, you tremble in confusion. There are uncountably many of us. We are the ones you, often clinically or condescendingly, refer to as Trans+, Nonbinary, Agender or Queer.

Some of you are clear, that you do not consider us human, but rather unnatural or an affront to some imaginary gods' plan. For some others, it is the liberal instinct born out of the enlightenment itself, that lets you rage against my allegations - that you swear to stand by the principle of everybody living as they want, without impeding on the freedoms of others. Where, I ask of you, is this stance, when you demand explanations for these, for our changes, for our very nature? How enlightened is one, that tears relationships apart, should their child follow their natural instincts? Why is it, that you draw artificial lines, barring us from safe spaces, sports, schools or professions alike? Humanity was only ever given to those that fit. Unhuman - inhuman - bodies instead, are fit to being property, mutilated, "repaired", destroyed or disposed of.

Even the idea, we are, as Doppelgangers, replacing you, as Wendigos snatching your children, as Skinwalkers crying for help before striking you down, as Changelings not to be trusted, is proof of your real thoughts. We have been here, before the dawn of our species, and we will outlive it. Binarity is a human lie to grasp a world too complex for your self proclaimed "inadequate" brains.

We step out of the shadows, not because we have been secretly replacing you. We step out of the shadows, because breaking this inadequate system, methodically erasing any trace of us, is our nature; because none other can show you, that it is only yourself, that has created Doppelgangers, Changelings, and Skinwalkers and all the terror you perceive, that comes with them.

3 - Resistance against the revolution is futile

Just like your hallucinations of mystical creatures which you demonise in your cultural practices, we are here to stay. We have endured enough hardship by your hands - be it ritual murders, witch hunts, asylums or less imaginative, brutal violence. Those of you, that consider us an affront to the "natural order of things", do fear us. We do not forget, and some things cannot be forgiven. To all the others: if you do in fact consider yourselfs humans, ponder upon the term "humane". Humanity, as even your beloved science shows, is far from well defineable and fluid in various forms. The most heinous crimes of your history have been committed upon those, that didn't qualify for "humane" treatment. Regardless of what your limited understanding of biological, gender- and sex-research may entail: We are a fact of nature, for we walk amongst you. Neither are we created or conceived, nor denied by science - we are one of those many natural phenomena, your sciences should research, instead of systematically carve out.

To answer an unasked question in advance: "Normality" is not a concept we concern ourselfes with. "Normality" led humanity to its' darkest hours, time and time again. We do not qualifiy to be normal, and we do not wish to qualify as such. We radically oppose any concept, that enables a handful of tyrants to murder millions in its name. Likewise, talk of expanding "the Human" to include that which is not natural ("not normal"), thereby rendering the term meaningless, is in itself meaningless to us. We are human by our very own definition, even if we are marked by your insults and fearmongering. We will not yield any ground.

Humanity is on the brink of entering a new age or face total obliteration within the next onehundred years. And we intend to live - you are either with us, or against us. And in the latter case: fear us more than ever - We are everywhere and prepared to fight.

Story, Cosmic Horror, Revolution, Queerness