Smoke and Wishes (Best Wishes #1)(26)

Until the early 20th century, various supernatural species avoided the Homo sapien, humans, preferring to live in species-specific seclusion groups such as shifter packs or witch covens. However, by the early 20th century, most supernatural species did eventually assimilate into the human population while masquerading as full human. In the year 1931, vampire Henry Marion’s actions ultimately lead to the humans’ revelation of the existence of all supernatural species. Between 1919-1931, Marion left a trail of exsanguinated corpses across most of the United States. It was between 1930 and 1931 that Marion was at his most prolific, killing 18 total victims. Although Marion wasn’t caught until 1932, once captured he was convicted of 34 counts of first-degree murder and eventually sentenced to death.

These events were the impetus that eventually forced the supernatural community to reveal their existence. Immediately after the event, which came to be known as “The Exposure”, leaders from each supernatural group assembled in an effort to strategize about the best way to transition into a peaceful coexistence with humans. This meeting established the position of Supernatural Ambassador; a post that was intended to create open communication and understanding between the two species.

After more than 5 years of intense debate and unrest, the decision to integrate all supernatural species into human society was finalized. This integration included equality for all supernatural species regardless of their specific supernatural type or supernatural powers. Using modern genetics, each supernatural species has been identified using unique markers to define their “race,” thus avoiding the establishment of a caste system. The Supreme Court ruling of Terriano vs. The State of Texas stated that while those of supernatural origin are considered human, with their extra abilities the need to institute a separate legal system of judgment would be necessary within the parameters of criminal proceedings, legislation, and incarceration when the human courts were unable to.





So essentially, everything is the same for supernaturals as humans, just a separate, more equipped legal system to handle things “as needed”. I continued to read and started to take notes. The book then went on to cover the other changes to the government in America, supernatural specific seats were added within Congress in both the House of Representatives and the Senate to make sure representation of supernaturals were included. A Supernatural Ambassador position was added to the Presidential Cabinet, and a Supernatural Special Operations division was added to the military. Although the division wasn’t tied to one specific branch over the other, it was there as a precautionary basis.

Another significant change to the government and legal structure was that a supernatural jail/prison hybrid was created, structured to handle all types of supernaturals including those held for trial after an arrest, minimum security all the way up to a supermax wing of the prison. Finally, the last addition was a supernatural equivalent to the FBI known as the Federal Supernatural Investigation Division, or FSID for short. They handled cases that looked to be supernatural that the human police couldn’t solve. That sounds like a quite a bit of changes for them to be treated “just like humans”, though I wouldn’t doubt that they helped bridge any gaps between supes and norms.

I continued to study and take notes, bouncing from my Supe Society book to my Supernatural Creatures 101: Types and Powers textbook.

Within the range of taxonomic ranks, the most specific classification is the species. The species of man has many subspecies that includes the generic modern human form of Homo sapiens, meaning wise man. The revelation of the supernatural community established a new subspecies of man of the now dubbed, Homo supernaturalis, meaning supernatural man. Each of these species was further divided into subspecies, but a slang term that is commonly used to describe all supernatural humans is the moniker “supes.” Within this subspecies, there have also been different forms of Homo supernaturalis defined by their unique genetic markers. These include: Magick Users, the Otherworldly, Shifters, Fae, and Vampires.

Some examples of each form:

Alukah: Vampires

Magicae: Witch, Warlock, Necromancer, Alchemists

Aetherius: Daemons, Angels, Incubi, Succubi, Demi-Gods/Goddesses

Transmuto: Wolves, Lions, Griffins, Kitsune

Alfus: Nymphs, Fae, Sprites, Sirens, Elves





The book continued to talk about the different categories of powers and various examples of them; like mental powers such as shielding, telepathy, dream walking. There were multiple types of manipulation; energy, element, and reality being a few examples. Apparently one of my powers, reality warping, falls under that last one. I spent the next couple of hours reading through the rest of my various textbooks. Debate this last week didn’t have any homework or readings yet. The professor said we’d split into debate teams and select topics this upcoming Tuesday.

I was just starting to take notes from my mental defenses textbook when the Bitch Crew walked into the library, led by the Gucci bitch from Friday. Ugh, I really don’t want to deal with them. They sat in some of the leather chairs that were set into a cluster not too far from me. Thankfully, they didn’t notice me as they started to gossip. I attempted to ignore them, but couldn’t help but eavesdrop when I heard Dante and Hudson’s names.

“So, how was it, Khloe? Were they good?” The redhead with a southern accent directed the question towards a blonde and another brunette.