Chapter 3

Author's note: This story may not please everyone as it is not the usual fluffy Christmas story. The scenes depicted in this story may be offensive and objectionable to some readers for their explicit violence and gore. This story deviates from my usual writing. Emphases are in italics and titles of books &ca are underlined. Some readers may find my characterisation OOC, but I assure you, this is how I see them in the dark distant future. I assume that Dumbledore's death in Book 6 was staged and that's why he's still alive in this story.

Christmas Presents Undisguised

Chapter 3

The investigators were not the least surprised to discover that the other seven murder sites looked rather like the first in that they were in derelict lots, in abandoned buildings, in the dingiest and grimiest of the alleyways and so on. Examinations of the scenes of the crimes (as Severus and Hermione surmised) were all very well, but not quite as effective examining the bodies would have been. However, as the bodies were already either buried or cremated, they could not be exhumed as wizarding custom forbade the disturbance of cadavers who had suffered in life. This custom had its premise in the belief that a person who had died in a violent manner had suffered a great deal during his or her final moments and as such, should be allowed to rest in peace for eternity to compensate for the sudden brutal end the deceased had met.

Ron, the Deputy Commissioner of the Aurory, was kind enough to point out to the investigator the things he noted at the various scenes of the murder and the little that he recalled about each victim. As they arrived at the last murder site he was so moved by his own beneficence in protecting them from the undesirable elements in the wizarding London slums that he made so free as to give them his notebook to further their search for the deranged killer.

In their full tour of the murder sites, Severus and Hermione learned that the second victim was Susan Bones on June 27th; her body was cut up and nearly beheaded, very much like the first body of Marietta Edgecome. She was a clerk in one of the fashion houses for a Witches' magazine. Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Auror, was killed on August 24th; his body was severely mutilated and his head was left lying in-between his legs in a pool of his own blood. It was speculated that he was killed because he had uncovered the identity of the murderer. Dean Thomas's death on September 21st marked the first of the disembowelments. He was a banking officer with Gringotts and was most brutally hacked apart; the photographs looked almost as if he had been eviscerated from the inside out. Nymphadora Tonks, the Auror, followed on September 27th. October 4th marked the death of Colin Creevey, photographer for the Daily Prophet; Zacharias Smith, who was training to be a preceptor of ancient wizarding customs, was next on October 21st. He was followed by old Mrs Longbottom, who was the last victim thus far. She was killed on November 17th in a disused shed by the river facing the Chardobis district north of the Knockturn Alley. Her killing was the most brutal of all the killings. In addition to the decapitation and disembowelment, she was also sexually assaulted with the items found in the disused shed, such as cutters, harpoons, and a mop. She was not only disembowelled; her internal organs were also finely diced and laid out in neat piles around her body. Her head and heart were found mutilated and placed on display outside the shed, mounted on a broomstick and mop stick respectively.

'Interesting case, isn't it?' Hermione addressed Severus on learning the details. She had to keep talking to prevent her stomach from revolting on her and as if sensing her moment of temporary illness, Severus quietly linked arms with her and told her to eat one of Weasley's confounded toffees and be silent.

After obliging his friend with his packet of toffees, Ron asked the investigators, 'What kind of a monster you think did this? A demon?'

'No, possibly a devil,' mocked Severus with a stern look of disapproval at the Deputy Commissioner's superstitious imagination.

Hermione laughed weakly at their exchange and playfully added, 'Professor Snape should know, he has so many demons within himself that he is one. Trust me, Ron, demons become misanthropes. They have too much honour in them and too great a sense of justice to want to embark on a meaningless killing spree.'

Affronted by her all-too-accurate reading of his character, Severus glowered at her in what he considered to be his most intimidating manner and contemplated flinging her arm off. However, a second look at her pallor from the exertions and shocks of the day as well as her grave eyes during her comment made him change his mind. She was trying to tell him something, he felt, and after a moment's reflection, he hit on the exact meaning of her words.

'Demon or devil,' he slowly began, eyeing Ron contemptuously. 'Only man – both wizard and Muggle commit such horrors. Everyday the newspapers will invariably publish a crime in which somebody is killed. You stated it so yourself, Mr Deputy Commissioner of the Aurory – there are deaths occurring daily in the areas of Discedes, Alkane and Morosia. There is death everywhere, everyday, and it is reflected in the way we live and the way the newspapers, vulgar inventions of man, lap it all up. The whole history of man is associated with death and violence. Why can't we stop this? Because we cannot possibly stop human beings from killing one another. Why is this? Because people fear death, people fear dying a violent death. This informs us that there is something fundamentally frightening about human beings.'

Noting Ron's look of utter befuddlement on his face and observing that his lips were slightly parted for a retort that was most likely going to be rude, Hermione quickly interposed, 'You have to understand, Ron dear, that Professor Snape is saying that we cannot eradicate evil from the world because it is, like it or not, a part of modern human existence.'

The redheaded Auror snorted and harrumphed at the two academics' theory. 'How did you get that idea, 'Mione? From your book learning? There are good things in this world. Harry's done a lot of good! He's defeated Voldemort; brought all those Death Eater swine to justice, re-imposed the death penalty; established law and order.'

'And yet the murders we are investigating continue,' sighed Hermione in exasperation, as she tightened her grip on Severus's supporting arm lest she should be tempted to reach out and throttle her friend or vomit over him – whichever urge was stronger. 'My poor friend, you have fallen into the modern trap. You have become a happy slave. Has it even occurred to you that Harry's a politician and there are many things in our very midst that are disturbing?'

'Leave him be, Dr Granger. Do not waste your breath,' counselled Severus with a cold look at their redheaded guide. 'If he does not see that modern life has become a masque of fraud, deception and evil, which ordinary members of society adopted from politicians, let him be happy in his ignorance.'

'Sounds like something the realist wizarding philosopher Hans Morgenthau would say, "The end of Machiavellianism is not just around the corner, it is not of this world at all. If it were, salvation from evil itself would be of this world." It is most depressing that our current investigations seem to evince this unhappy truth,' Hermione said wistfully, patting Ron's arm in a conciliatory gesture with her free hand.

Severus could not resist curling a corner of his lips into something akin of a smile. He was quietly impressed with Dr Granger's knowledge of realist wizarding philosophy, and owned himself pleasantly surprised by her diplomatic skills. He could not resist watching her pat and soothe the ignorant Ronald Weasley to his former grand notion of himself and his simple understanding of the world, with a raised brow of thoughtful amusement. He now understood why Dumbledore had assigned them on this investigation. Yet, something she said earlier in their initial meeting on this new assignment puzzled him. She had said something to the effect that they both stood to gain certain freedoms when they completed their collaborative efforts in the investigation. Just what did she stand to gain – that was what he wanted to know. He shook his head to dispel all notions of such idle thoughts. His first and foremost mission was to complete this rampaging killer case, everything else could follow later.

With that thought and his newfound respect for her in his mind, Severus turned to Hermione with a question as to their investigation. 'Since we are agreed on the nature of this devil or demon being in human skin, a problem now presents itself – what does the fellow gain by doing all this? Robbery is not his motive, for all the victims' valuables were near their corpses.'

'That's the thing that the Aurory's trying to figure out too,' interjected Ron enthusiastically.

'And on that note, Mr Weasley, our collaboration must end. Dr Granger and I must proceed on the rest of this fearsome journey without your protection,' Severus purred with false civility.

Ron stared incredulously at Severus before looking to Hermione and back to Severus again. He laughed uneasily, 'I thought I misheard you. I thought you said you were going to manage on your own hereon.'

'You did, Captain. Your duty is to ensure safety in our fair community. The duty that has been imposed on Dr Granger and I is to catch this villain. Do you understand me? Please do not let us keep you from you job as law enforcer. I would be loathe to keep you from your assigned duties,' Severus silkily drawled, much to amusement of Hermione.

After violently protesting the matter and informing them that Dumbledore's warrant would not ensure their safety in this most dangerous of wizarding London without Auror protection, Hermione assured Ron that they were armed with wands and fully capable of dealing any footpad mad enough to want to rob them. With a sigh, Ron had little choice but to allow the two best Unspeakable Unspeakables to be on their way. Before they parted ways however, Hermione instructed her friend to arrange with her landlady's house-elf to forward to Spinner's End all the information on the victims he had sent to her flat. At this command, Ron baulked and glared at Severus, saying something to the effect that the Alchemist was too selfish to protect Hermione should this demon select her as its next victim. The investigators laughed at his notion and informed him that he had to only secure any future murder scenes of a similar nature and send for them immediately when he encountered one.

Before he could protest further, Severus and Hermione apparated back to the second murder scene to comb the area for any further clues. Once there, they both felt a multitude of eyes watching their every move. While Severus was accustomed to this on account of his days as a Death Eater, Hermione was discomfited by the thoughts of these observers' intents.

To diminish the fearful part of her brain, Hermione called on her training in analytical Arithmancy to focus the task at hand. 'Do you find it odd that Mrs Longbottom was so brutally slain, more so than the rest?' she asked Severus.

'What strikes me is how they were lured away from the main roads and killed, when it is such a short walk to the thoroughfare. Surely someone must have seen – no, given the persistent smog here – I would say that someone must have at least heard something,' murmured Severus.

'Whether the witnesses who have allegedly heard the screams and cries for help are reliable is another matter altogether, Professor Snape. I hope you realise people are going to treat us very shabbily when we start interrogating them about the crimes,' she ventured to comment with a dour look on her face.

'Ah, but when they interfere with us, they will have to deal with the force of the Ministry and the Aurory breathing down their necks,' purred Severus in a dark tone, hinting of his previous acquaintance with all that was ignoble.

They soon found a squib who claimed to be a witness to the third murder, but it turned out to be a drunk whose imagination may have once guaranteed him a livelihood as a journalist with the Daily Prophet. However, the site of the fifth murder scene proved to be more promising. The body of Kingsley Shacklebolt was found in an alleyway opposite the main door of a pub called 'The Septicemic Plague'. On Hermione's mention of the existing alcohol-vagrancy law, namely, once it was past the hour of two in the morn, stragglers in places that purveyed and vended alcohol were to stay the night in the pub, Severus thought it expedient for them to take their line of questioning into 'The Septicemic Plague'. Immediately on stepping foot in that pub, the investigators were greeted by the sight of an old man in sackcloth who appeared to have lost his legs. His hands, which trembled so severely that most of his drink spilled on himself appeared to be useless to him as well. Severus stood behind him and realised that from this old fool's vantage point, he could look directly out the window to the left of the door, where the murder was committed. Hermione tried speaking to the old wrinkled man who was really nothing more than skin and bones and all he would spout was gibberish. However, she noticed that whenever she and Severus mentioned the murder that occurred outside the pub, the old man would scrunch up his face into a contorted display of fear, roughly shape the words 'back' or 'hack' or 'lack' and rattle the iron tankard tied to his wrist as if it were talisman for warding off evil spirits. Severus and Hermione exchanged knowing looks when the old man did it for the fourth time and came to the conclusion that they had at least one reliable witness to the killings even if he did not form words and was in no condition to express himself fully.

Taking pity on the man, even if he did seem happy drinking himself stupid with blue ruin, Hermione slipped a knut into his cup and very gently asked him if he would be so kind as to tell them about what he saw in the shadows that so frightened him. Hearing her question, the wrinkled old man renewed his efforts in rattling his tankard and making 'ack' sounds.

Severus, who had little patience for idiots of whatever nature and age, narrowed his eyes and questioned the man in a dangerously quiet voice. 'Tell us what you saw.' He tried the same in question in Gaelic, Welsh and other languages, which only succeeded in frightening the man into banging his cup on the table furiously. Ignoring the din he was creating, Severus pursued his line of questioning, 'Did you see anything? Did you see someone choke to death?'

'"Ack, Ack",' went the old man, much to Severus's annoyance. If it were not for Hermione's timely intervention with a well-placed hand on his elbow, he would have knocked the helpless cripple to the ground. It was just as well that Severus did not strike the old man for a younger man which similar features as the cripple entered the pub and glared at that. Though his eyes were bloodshot and his face horrendously scarred, he showed no sign of surprise or fear at seeing the two investigators.

The new arrival narrowed his beady eyes and scratched his under arms as he approached them. 'Have the members of the Order of the Phoenix sunk so low as to resort to harassing squibs?' he asked, slurring a little on his vowels.

Instead of being affrighted by this vulgar-looking individual whom most civilised members of the wizarding community would peg as a ruffian, the two academics-turned-Unspeakable-Unspeakables looked carelessly at him with feigned disinterest. The petite Arithmancer perched herself on the table at which the old man with the tankard held his solo court. She coolly crossed her legs under her robes and heavy cloak and appeared to be intently examining the tankard. The alchemist, in contrast, was leaning a little on the table, with one gloved hand (unconsciously) balanced on the lady's shoulder and the other on the old man's head. From these studied poses, it became clear even to the illiterate and crippled old man that these people were somehow acquainted with each other. Severus, who had stiffened and drawn himself up to his full height on hearing that familiar crass voice of the newcomer, curled his lips in scorn. 'Mundungus,' he greeted coldly. 'You're still alive I see.'

'As are you,' cackled Mundungus Fletcher, stepping forward. 'What are you doing to my brother?'

'We gave him a little money,' said Hermione, incurably honest.

'Well, I guess you have some semblance of decency after all,' laughed Mundungus coarsely. 'So, what brings you to my neck of the woods?'

'All this is yours?' choked Hermione as she stifled a laugh, while waving around the pub.

Mundungus grinned slyly at the two investigators. 'Right you are, Miss 'Mione. The war has been kind to me. There's money to be made in death, you see.'

'Leave your business pursuits aside, you oaf. Speaking of making money in death, I wonder whether you might have some information for us,' Severus coldly intoned while gesturing for him to sit with them.

The crass newcomer plodded to them and sat down beside Hermione with a wink, before swinging his large sack up the table. 'This here is my haul for the day. I do not get very much from it. The municipality is getting tight-fisted these days.'

'We will pay you for the information,' added Severus nonchalantly.

It was a remark that encouraged the worst traits in Mundungus to manifest themselves. His eyes abruptly glittered and danced with renewed interest at his former compatriots. 'Will you really pay for it?'

'Naturally,' said Hermione in a conspiratorial manner.

'Good!' shouted the ruffian, rubbing his hands avariciously. 'What do you want to know?'

'We have been trying to coax your brother to speak on the murder of Kingsley Shacklebolt. We have reason to believe that he is a witness,' explained Severus impatiently, as he moved away from the distracting influence of the Mundungus's idiot brother's cries of 'ack, 'ack.

Mundungus narrowed his eyes in misgiving. 'Who are you to ask questions? Shouldn't the Aurors do this kind of thing? Just who or what are you two?'

'Investigators with the British Wizarding Criminal Prosecution Ministry,' Hermione quickly said when she saw Severus withdraw his wand. 'This warrant,' she continued, showing Mundungus the parchment, 'gives us the authority to take any line of enquiry into the murders of respectable members of the wizarding community in this part of town. Now,' she paused, pocketing the warrant carefully, 'that you know we are charged with apprehending the murderer of these horridly excessive citizens, perhaps you would deem it worth your while to cooperate with us?'

Momentarily, blinking hard few times in disbelief, Mundungus soon chortled aloud and slapped his thigh in mirth. 'You two catch the goddamn demon? You know you should know that this creature has a power far greater than even Albus Dumbledore's.'

'Active and wanton destruction of human life is not a display of power, it is one of fear,' declared Severus indignantly, folding his arms. 'Superstition only breeds fear and that is exactly what this murderous villain is doing. It is unjust, impious and base. It breeds slavishness in men.'

'All your fine words are lost me, Snape,' cackled Mundungus dismissively. 'A demon is responsible for this I say – only a demon will lurk in the shadows and take joy in its killing. It's an evil one that comes and goes and it pleases – almost like you, Snape, but this one takes joy in its dark deeds.'

'It must be quite an intelligent one then,' said Hermione in neatly clipped accents. While she was clearly weary of this roundabout conversation, she was determined not to give up her line of questioning. 'It has evolved in its methods. The first victim was merely stabbed in the throat and body. How did this form of killing become so perverse as to include decapitation, disembowelment and the dicing of internal organs? It was the work of man, 'Dung. Think about it,' she reasoned in a mildly pleading voice, impulsively deciding to use his superstitious belief against him. 'If this were truly a demon on a rampage, it would only demand blood. Once it was satiated, it would depart. There would be no need to play with the body and ensure that all the internal organs are diced to such precise measurements.'

'You're wasting your efforts, Dr Granger,' Severus said brusquely. Then turning sharply so that his face was only mere centimetres away from Mundungus's, he growled, 'Enough of this tomfoolery, oaf! Demon or no, this creature kills within metres of a place full of witnesses. Tell me what you know about it or I'll hex you to oblivion.'

'All right, all right. Don't get your knickers in a twist,' the ruffian cried with his hands outstretched and eyes mocking his questioners. 'No one has ever seen its face, only a shadow. People say they hear screams in the dead of the night, and the next thing you know, the shadow flees and a dead body appears.'

'Dr Granger, if you please, kindly enjoin him to take a swig of this Veritaserum,' purred Severus.

With the lady's wand pointing directly at his throat, Mundungus had little choice but to comply. After the usual questions on his identity to verify the working status of the truth serum, Severus continued his interrogation. 'If it has a shadow, it must be human. Describe this shadow.'

'I don't know. Some people say it's tall, some say it's short and fat. But we all know that our side of the river is not the only stalking ground of this shadow. It has killed across the river in the heart of wizarding London's semi-respectable areas as well.'

Hermione raised an enquiring brow and interrupted Severus's questions with one of her own. 'Where are these murders committed?'

Severus nodded to her in acknowledgment that she had anticipated his query. 'Well?' he snapped at Mundungus. 'Is it at Knockturn Alley?'

'Yes and a little beyond its neighbouring northern district of Chardobis. But everything is hush-hush there and it's getting more savage by the day. The rumours say that the five constituencies of Chardobis are where it prowls in the respectable area of wizarding London.'

As Mundungus collapsed soon after that answer, the investigators left for Spinner's End. Hermione broke the pregnant silence between them by asking, 'Do you think this murder is killing for the sake of killing or is there a method to the madness?'

Severus traced his lips in thought. 'There is always a method to everything, madness and sanity, Dr Granger. It's a matter of finding the method. I presume you know what we must do now?

'Well, Professor Granger, I'll write to the upper two constituencies of Chardobis and its various Aurory divisions there and obtain Weasley's reports on violent deaths in those areas. You'll write to the lower three constituencies and see whether those districts yield anything suspicious,' continued Severus as he opened the doors to his house.

'The replies are not going to be very forthcoming for the reams of letters we would have to write! Our next move may be delayed by at least a fortnight. The old goat is not going to be pleased,' cautioned Hermione gravely, as she locked the door behind her and following her colleague to his study.

Hermione waved her hand dismissively in the air at the same time that Severus tossed a pouch of coins onto his desk. 'It's our case now, not his,' he said firmly, 'hence it is out of his jurisdiction. He gave it to us and we'll jolly well do what we think is right! Two weeks of information gathering is perfectly worthwhile if we ultimately catch out man!'

Footnotes:

The title of this tale is a pun. 'Presents' is a double entendre. It means (1) gifts and (2) shows. If you take its latter meaning and dissect it, you will realise that I could mean it as a masque or pageant (in the 17th century understanding of the term). Think about it. I'll leave you to figure out how it fits with the story. 'Presents' could also mean 'current' – which would be another pun for Christmas now under the Potter Administration and Christmas then, under the Voldemort administration.

The 'enjoin' reference may leave many readers confused as most here are American speakers. There are 2 meanings to this word.

(A) In American English (usually from published works such as articles in journals such as American Political Science Review and Political Theory, as well as other books I own published by American publishing houses) 'enjoin' means to prohibit.

(B) In British (Queen's) English, 'enjoin' means to 'urge', 'strongly request', 'command' or 'give an order for'.

I write in British English as I was educated in it. I was brought up and taught in my reading to take 'enjoin' as (B). This is the meaning that is intended in the text.

It was not until I was forced to study for TOEFL (due to the unfortunate circumstance of my country's national language being Malay rather than English – never mind that the latter is the administrative and educational language of the state) for graduate school application in the Americas that I realised British and American English uses 'enjoin' differently. It also explains a slight misunderstanding that I had with an American friend over my usage of this term when he visited me several years ago. I enjoined him to sup with me and he stormed off in a miff – now I know why. So readers, if you ever use this term in company, please specify whether you are using the British meaning or the American.

From Severus's lines of "There is death everywhere, everyday, and it is reflected in the way we live and the way the newspapers...." (at Paragraph 9) to Hermione's "...'The end of Machiavellianism is not just around the corner, it is not of this world at all. If it were, salvation from evil itself would be of this world" (Paragraph 14), is taken from the Machiavelli and Hans Morgenthau's reading of the modern world. The words expressed in the above highlighted sentences are adapted from my lecture on Western Political Thought: Machiavelli to Nietzsche. Hans Morgenthau is the father of modern realism – students of International Relations or IR will be familiar with him. Niccolo Machiavelli is the father of modern political philosopher – modern because his writings mark the end of the medieval age of political philosophy. This marks a mini-lecture. You have been warned.

Many readers will object to my classification of human nature = evil as part of the modern condition. This is because your reading of humanity is based on the Confucian notion of man, i.e., man = good; the Rousseauian premise that man = ignorant happy savage, or the erroneous Machiavellian premise that man = bad. Let me stress that Machiavelli says human nature = bad, NOT man = bad. He says that evil is a part of man in the modern world, and this is completely different from the notion that man (since the beginning of time to the present) is and always be evil.

In all their major works, Machiavelli and Morgenthau hold that it is modern living which highlights man (as in humanity) as evil. This stems from their view of 'natural man' and the 'state of nature'. This means that the man that existed before civilisation came was 'natural man'. The 'state of nature' is the state where there are no societies, no families, nothing. In the state of nature, man is solitary. He feeds himself, fends for himself etc. If he has the urge to mate, he does so with the first female he comes across. Sex is brief and as soon as he is done, he leaves. Natural man is exactly like a wild animal. He does not have foresight. All natural man knows is to preserve his life, which to him means getting something to eat and drink and not being killed by the other wild animals out there in the state of nature. This self-preservation in the state of nature is not predicated on a need to be better than others or to lead others, or to show one's strength. As natural man has no foresight, he does not care for these things. He looks on others in the state of nature as beings he can leave alone when he is not threatened, bothered or hungry. Think about it.

Do you watch documentaries? Animals do not kill because they have a vendetta against someone. They only kill to (1) defend themselves or their home, or (2) eat. Cheetahs do not kill because they have something against the antelope. Cheetahs kill because they are hungry and want food – which they see in the antelope. A full Cheetah can walk past a herd of antelope and ignore every single hoofed creature there because it is no longer hungry. However, should one mad antelope come charging at it, the cheetah would kill it to protect itself. The same goes for natural man in the state of nature. The state of nature is a state of plenty, which means there is enough food etc for every creature in it. In this state, natural man is always sated. He has no other needs that he cannot fulfil himself. He does not actively seek to acquire things like modern man.

Modern man is man outside the state of nature. This is man who desires things like property. The Natural man who wants to stop wandering in the forests, cuts down trees (even though he does not need to), fences off a part of the land that is common to all in the state of nature and says, "This part of the state of nature is mine and mine alone" is no longer natural man. He has become modern man because he has now the active desire to acquire. The desire to acquire is a modern one and not part of the natural ways of natural man. Natural man does not hoard. He takes what is enough for himself in the state of nature and leaves it at that. He does not seek to take all the apples from the tree and keep it. He only eats two because eating two makes him full. Understand? Modern man is never satisfied. He wants more and more. He no longer has needs; instead, he has wants. Want is linked to acquisition (because you want to have things), and acquisition is in turn linked to competition. When you want things, you have to have things that are better than your neighbours', right? This leads to competition. So, modern man is acquisitive and competitive. This acquisitiveness and competitiveness renders man greedy; greedy leads man to kill. That's why Machiavelli and Morgenthau say modern man is evil. That's why Machiavelli and Morgenthau say evil in man is a modern condition. This is most apparent in Machiavelli's The Prince and Florentine Histories, as well as Morgenthau's Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace (all editions – each edition is different by the bye). When you read The Prince, you will note that Machiavelli will say some very shocking things as to what are the necessary things one ought to do in politics. Political realists like to take the view that there cannot be perfect justice in the world because we cannot eradicate evil from the world; and so long as evil is part of politics, politics is intimately associated with the presence of evil – this then is part of the modern condition we are in and unable to escape.

Consider your modern condition and combine it with what I have said here – and you will notice that it is true. What is modernity? What is it to be modern? Modernity is this obsession with change and we're experiencing it now with this period of radical change – in the economy, in our way of life, in the way we live, in the way we work. And these changes are happening at an extremely rapid rate. It's hardly what we inherited; it's hardly what we desire. What do we desire? New things. We shop all the time. Why do we shop? Because we're a society and culture of shoppers. And what do you shop for? New things. All of you dress pretty fashionably, two years down the road; you might not be wearing the same clothes because they are out of fashion. So life is like that – it's constantly new because it's changing all the time. And in the midst of this fast paced "progress", some of us feel disorientated and slightly out of place because our individual and personal values and beliefs do not coincide with mainstream society. But even those of us who are disorientated and misplaced realise that this is precisely what modernity is about – it's about desiring new things. How far will you go to get your new things? You would kill for it. it doesn't matter if we're living in Singapore, Hong Kong or the United States, Paris, Milan etc. – all citizens of first world countries have the same kind of anxieties and same kind of desires. Why anxieties? Because they, like us, are worried about their jobs. Why are they worried about their jobs? Because it's very expensive to live a modern life. Why is it expensive to live a modern life? Because we have this great desire to accumulate. And this is evident because modern things are not built to last; they go obsolete very fast. This is a very restless world; it is a world designed for people with a keen sense of adventure, but there is one catch. This adventure doesn't end. Why doesn't it end? Because we shop till the day we die. And one of the problems of life today as that we don't die when we retire from our jobs. Why? Because modern science, technology and medicine have made it possible for us to live longer. To be able to live longer means we have more time; it means we have more time to fill out. And we fill out that time with shopping and buying. And to buy things, we need money. And on top of that, you have to ensure that you have enough money by the time that you are 70 or 75, you can still afford to buy things. And you WILL NEED TO buy things. What are the most important things you need to buy when you are 70? You won't be going for clothes. Drugs, Healthcare, Medicine – things to stay alive, and medicine has to be prescribed for every ailment of your body. And these drugs aren't designed to cure you, but to deal with the symptoms. Why? Because if you get cured, you don't need the drug anymore, you won't buy them anymore. This is a capitalist culture, you have to acquire and buy to live for the rest of your life. This desire to go on acquiring for the rest of your life gives you this violent streak that marks you as a modern person and hence dangerous.