Sooner or Later
Okay, so previously, I put up my theory of why Freyda wanted Eric in particular. This is an update with some more support for this theory. CH is pretty good at giving some hints that I think support all of this well, as well as the release of the Companion, which gives more information. As I've discussed before, my premise is that Freyda wants
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I think that's a really good reason why they may have stuck to the borders of chattel, but I also think it would have been laws and regulations that kept them within those borders too. Even here, if I go to other states, there are different rules, and the US is so much worse. You couldn't build an empire of bars and just spread universally from Florida through to Utah, for example, because I *know* Utah has laws pertaining to liquor.
And I think now that they've established their empires, all they can see is the way to expand. They've had 5 years to do stuff how they want it while mainstreaming. And then what are they going to do with the rest of eternity? An ordinary human would look to settling down and having a family. A vampire doesn't have that. Looking at how Eric has *filled* his life with work, work and more work, I can't think of their alternative. If you're a business/politics type vampire, you'd be always looking at the next conquering horizon. Just like Bill looks to catalogue all the vampires in the US and then moves on to Peru. Now they don't have to worry about humans discovering the change in status, they can do what they like.
Lol - I couldn't tell you about the situ in New England. :D I know relatively little about the human inhabited New England, and CH is silent as to how it works.
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Your theory regarding the vampires filling their time however they can (political maneuvering being what comes naturally) is valid. I find it interesting, however, that while they can and do take the long view, their former humanity seems to have a significant influence on how they choose to view time. For instance, there is that trope among speculative fiction writers that immortal beings (or, perhaps more accurately, abnormally long-lived beings) end up sort of incredibly serene and have difficulty seeing events as anything more than a drop in the bucket (see the Ents for an extreme example), but Ms. Harris's vampires have more of a 'Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged'* attitude. Specifically, they get bored, and like Eric need to fill their lives with rapid-fire activity. Granted, this activity is often causing trouble in one form or another, but the point stands that they move at a human pace, even though they can expect to live well past any human lifespan. Of course, one could argue that this has less to do with the fact that they used to be human than that they must rely on humanity to continue their existence, and thus must keep pace. But that's wandering away from politics and getting into the philosophy of vampirism.
*I don't know if you've read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy**, but Wowbagger was an accidental immortal who took it very badly and eventually decided to insult everyone in the universe - alphabetically - in order to keep himself occupied.
**Trilogy being used incredibly loosely here to mean five books, plus one by Eoin Colfer that was commissioned by Mr. Adams's estate.
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So the difference is fundamental because they live lives of violence - often extreme violence, and emotional distress. Bill lived through a week of torture - at the very least. And the first thing he did when he got back was throw himself into work, and try to suppress everything. Eric goes to find his heart's desire, comes back a week later conflicted, and throws himself into work. Pam loses Miriam and throws herself into work.
That's what the vampires do in order to take their minds off the terrible things that happened to them - distract themselves with something else. Since they don't have family, or any of the things we all have, and since if you lie down and don't do anything for a bit, someone will stake you; your only alternative is to keep busy.
In order to view things in a long time span (which the human brain is not really made for and I doubt vampirism swells the cranium - or Sookie never mentions it :D) you'd have to jam pack 100 years of sexual servitude to Appius in there. I don't think that would be a good thing taking up brain space as something "long term" in that long term view. You'd be better off fuzzying it up and not seeing that all told, you've spent 200 years pleasing someone else in bed against your mental wants.
Your best coping mechanism would be to take every day as it comes. I don't think vampires should be too reflective if they want to survive - and the best ones don't tend to sit and examine their motivations. Eric doesn't do that - and I think it's for good reason - he pushes on, powers through and keeps going. Appius didn't seem the type to mull over and rethink decisions like Alexei either. Godfrey did that, and promptly forswore blood and killed himself.
And if we can wander onto Barbie movies, we can wander onto this. :D
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