Social Themes in The Legacy of Sorrow

The Legacy of Sorrow contains a series of concepts and motifs that range from social theories to philosophical concepts and metaphysical debates, each with a mix of contextual and subtextual reference within each of its four books. Most prominently, the main plot circumnavigates the concept of humanity's entropy and its path toward a general good or a general evil. This is exemplified in Schillinger's endeavors and his definition of various evils. While the texts are not allegorical, they are meant to be thought-provoking and instigate conversation on the topics it addresses. Conversely, other notions (i.e., sexuality) are addressed passively, and intended to be normalized within the atmosphere of the text without the intent of making a statement.

## Schillinger's Concept of Evils

Near the end of the series, more of Schillinger's intent and process of thought is uncovered and briefly explored by a group of characters. This included his "Concept of Evils" or "Duality of Evils," which include his definitions of Requisite Evil and Entropic Evil. Above all else, Schillinger's desire was the complete and total eradication of all evil, through every means necessary, by the creation of a race unaffected by evil itself. His plan was infinitely convoluted, and as he explained to Kara, is something that many would never understand without his perception of enlightenment toward existence.

### **Requisite Evil:**

Requisite evil is a concept that is covered heavily throughout the series and is more commonly known as "necessary evils." The ideology of Schillinger's master plot hinges on the predetermined course of requisite evil's existence, and his perception of this includes the inherent selfishness of the human mind, the drive of humans to survive at all costs, the struggle between mind and body, and the limited span of life that organic beings possess. To Schillinger, each of these notions is a prohibitive factor to the enlightenment of the human (or Vampyre) race, as they detract from the overall goal of understanding the universe as a whole and the reality it created. While his actions mirrored that of a tyrant, a dictator, and a murderer, his intent was to refine organic life faster than through natural processes in order to overcome base desires, distractions from science and discovery, and an incompatible system of beliefs among societies. His **definition** of requisite evil was a force inherent in the life of an organic being that initiated a motivation for overcoming the force itself, with any degree of controllability or fluidity.

These requisite evils are something that he strives to overcome, but finds it necessary to utilize them in order to do so. For example, his use of force to create the Pyrates was requisite to driving Kara's creation of Aerael, which ultimately proved to be a net positive in the scope of the world's stability. He utilized requisite evils, knowing that they cannot be avoided in the natural process of existence, to leverage greater goods from the desire of justice to overcome evils as a whole. He knew that by raping Kara, he would strip away her humanity, but force the ultimate drive to end the existence of the evils that pervaded life around her, caused by his hand, and would therefore follow in the footsteps of his terrible creations. By doing so, he structured the world and its components into an orderly process through which Kara and those around her would overcome to yield an 'ultimate good' to overcome a majority of the requisite evils in the world.

With *very* few exceptions, each stage of each obstacle along the path of the protagonists followed the precise conditions in which Schillinger desired them. Even after his death, the adoption of the mentality's brute force through Legacy increased the motivation of the heroes in a way that gave them a broader scope of what they were trying to save. With each 'loss' he suffered, Schillinger was accomplishing a task counter to what the protagonists perceived of his plan. (i.e., through his death, Kara would have the relief and inclination to bear a child with Jalix. Through the research he and Shift Company conducted to infect the United States - most notably the Seraphim mutation - , Allison was able to develop a cure and allow for the Vampyre race to progress in an orderly fashion, etc). His concept of requisite evil dominated the playing field and provided the highest level of reinforcement for the forces of good that could have existed, all while he tempered his efforts to stay within the constraints of a defeatable opponent.

As an aside, this concept stems from the same motivation that a parent places upon their child through the provision of guidance. The responsibility of a parent is to ensure that the life their child encounters is one that is manageable, and that they are prepared to overcome the mental, physical, and social barriers they may encounter. These experiences can be reinforced through challenging situations, competitive activities, and other methods through which the child suffers difficulty, hardship, and defeat, all within a controlled environment. While it may seem to the child that a parent is cruel for their actions, it is done to produce a greater good with the immediate sacrifice of being disliked and misunderstood for their actions. That preparation leads them to become a functional and productive adult with the motivation and internal drive to overcome hardship, and in the best of cases, aid in others' efforts of overcoming their own hardships.

### **Entropic Evil:**

Entropic evil is the obverse of requisite evil, in that its inherent instability and unpredictability continue to pervade organic life in spite of any effort made against it. Schillinger considered disease, natural disaster, genetic disorder and disability, and the universe as a whole to be entropic evils. While some of these are likely obvious, he would go so far as to consider existence itself as an entropic evil so long as it met his conditions for the **definition**: a force, created by nature or as a product of environment, that cannot be prevented through simple means and prohibits the advancement of society toward total enlightenment. Schillinger himself hated entropic evils, and utilized the concept of requisite evils to drive society toward order, which would in turn be capable of turning the tide against entropic evils through enlightenment.

Schillinger believed that the goal of organic life was to transcend itself, changing form into something immutable that entropic evils had no effect on. This effort required all life to strive for an infinite existence, and was something that was kept at bay by way of personal desire, war, etc. These concepts were largely human by design, as neither Kara's civilization in Aerael nor his army of Pyrates suffered from these effects under *normal* conditions. Until entropic evils or man-made tragedies were applied, their civilizations followed the sense of order he believed could overcome the entropy, or natural descent into chaos until extinction, of the human race.

This is the very reason he makes it clear to Kara that he would rather have her join him than oppose him. No matter which path she would have chosen, the ending would have remained the same: she would have continued to act in the defiance of the evils of the world in order to create a longer-lasting sense of peace through the creation of a civilization that rose above it. His necessity for order, whether through forced control, obedience via fear, or the natural amicability of a species, was critical to accomplishing the defeat of entropic evil. Legacy's creation of the Tortured was not his own idea, stealing from Schillinger's memories during its inception as he left the train of thought specifically for Legacy to use later in his path. This proved to the protagonists, the world as a whole, and particularly the Counsel, that an amplified version of humanity (uncontrolled desires, selfishness, violence, addiction, greed, and lust for power) was inherently created and affected by entropic evil. This provides the motivation for Amy, the intended inheritor of the free world, to see the horrors humanity would have inflicted should it have been allowed to continue.

## "Human Nature"

Although nihilistic at times, *The Legacy of Sorrow* attempts to paint a true-to-life narrative of the human race (in this case, a generalization also pertaining to most Vampyres) through a thorough showcasing of weakness, loss, trauma, and struggle. In many examples, such as the individual struggles of Counsel members, the supernatural shroud that propels their narrative through external conflict proves to be of little or no use in helping defeat internal strife, and at times can be a detriment in the attempt at recovering from significant setbacks (such as Kara's PTSD or Krystal's addiction).

In other scenarios, the concept of human nature is posed in the context of mass behavior, as posed by Schillinger's charity in *Sorrow*. Although he sided with Syndicomp in providing a surplus of vaccines to African communities in need, he noted this as an exception to human behavior and indicated that the biopharmaceutical realm still largely belonged to the private sector and was bound to a sense of financial slavery. While this was only one example of painting human behavior as an overall detriment to peaceful society, the use of the Global War on Terror in *Affliction* and *Sorrow* (as well as flashbacks to Nazi activity during World War II), the sexual assault on Alice in *Desolation* or the brutalization of Vanaheim and its citizens by the Tortured in *Despair,* the worst aspects of human crime, conflict, and activity was brought to bear and exerted a terrible burden on members of the Counsel and the people they had vowed to protect.

This concept is addressed repeatedly throughout the series, and remains entirely apolitical in spite of some recurring themes. Some crimes, including those of a sexual nature, were often depicted as having the harshest impact on the characters, but even in the mist of war, murder (such as Krystal's killing of Kilkovf's innocent girlfriend in *Affliction* and the reaction Alice had to Jalix killing Smith as a noncombatant within a hospital), addiction, traumatic loss, lies, and more "moral crimes" impacted even the strongest within the story, proving that within a society painted as "perfect" by either side (Kara or Schillinger/Legacy), flaws exist at its core due to the inherent free will in the people within those cultures (this can be seen as the human element within Schillinger's concept of *Entropic Evil*).