Personal Correspondence #6

This whole page is a list of information gathered off of the Twilight by Stephenie Meyer MySpace website.  Feel free to check out the site.  I asked the moderator if it was all right to post this here, and she said to go ahead.  These questions come from various members of the site.  Many thanks to them for their curiosity.

Q. Do Bella and Edward ever find out why Edward can’t read her mind, or will it always be a mystery?

A. It’s not exactly a mystery. It’s for the same reason that Edward can read everyone else’s minds and Alice can see the future–Bella was born that way. This will be touched on in future novels.

Q. Has Edward (and the rest of the Cullens and Hales for that matter) gone to college? More than once? What did he/they study?

A. Yes, they’ve all been through college several times, and they’ve studied a wide array of subjects. They don’t always finish a degree–it doesn’t take them four years to master a subject, so they usually learn what they want and then move on. Edward has studied many languages, and he’s been through medical school twice–this helps Carlisle keep current without having to neglect his practice.

Q. Can vampires have sex?

 

A. Yes. Don’t think I haven’t put a lot of thought into this one. I’m not going to get technical, but rest assured, it is entirely possible.

Q. I’m also really curious as to how no one so far has caught on to the fact that Carlisle, being a doctor (and most likely using the same name) is the same doctor from the early 1900’s. I mean, don’t you have to have medical credentials and degrees or can he just make it up?  Also, what about the IRS? How are they filing taxes and things like that? or are they using fake identities which would make them criminals…?

 

A. The Cullens are criminals. Extensive forgery is definitely a part of their lives. They have to have new birth certificates, driver’s licenses, diplomas, passports, etc., every few years. Carlisle has to keep changing the dates on his certificates. But he does return to school occasionally. The "kids, " too, go to medical school now and then to keep him current. Edward’s been twice, Rosalie once (summa cum laude from Columbia). They do pay taxes–the IRS doesn’t check your photograph, they just want your money. Every seventy years or so, they have to fake a death to make that right. It’s very, very complicated. Lucky for them, they’ve got lots and lots of free time with the no sleep thing. And as for being criminals, well, most of them have committed LOTS of murders…

Q. Okay, this wasn’t a question, but an observation: And I really kind of hope Bella doesn’t just get a personality trait enhanced or whatever. I think that’s sort of… I don’t know, weird. Rosalie brought her ‘tenacity’, which I think seems to be sort of a suckish gift to bring into your, um, vampire life. Or the ‘capacity to love’. That was Esme, right? Hmmm… can’t remember. But I’d much rather have like Alice or Edward’s ability.

A. Yes, there is a big difference in the potency (for lack of a better word) of the qualities that vampires bring into this second life. There seems to be some confusion about this from some of the things I’ve read. I’ll try to explain it coherently, but I’m a little punch drunk from the editing, so bear with me: Okay, there are levels. Some vampires just have their personalities intensified. Esme is very loving and motherly–she becomes more so. Some vampires are unique in that they had slightly elevated abilities when they were human. Like Edward, who was always very sensitive to what other people were thinking without realizing it. Or Jasper, who was really charismatic, and could always talk people into seeing his side of things. When someone "special" like that gets turned into a vampire, that personality trait takes on a new strength, becoming more like a superpower than a trait. Some peoples’ strongest characteristics are physical rather than mental–like Emmett and his physical strength. And Rosalie with her beauty. ("AH HA!!" you are all saying. "But you said that Rosalie’s strongest trait was tenacity in the book!" To which I say, "Sometimes Edward lies." He had a reason–that will be in his version of the story.) Emmett and Rosalie are perfect for each other because they are both such physical people. But some characteristics skirt the line between "strong trait" and "superpower." Carlisle’s compassion-motivated self-control is really so incredible that it almost crosses the line into "superpower."

Now, the number of vampires with extra-special abilities (who were "special" when they were human) is disproportionately large (there is a bigger percentage of "special vampires" amongst ALL vampires than there are "special humans" as a percentage of ALL humans). There’s a reason for that, too. When vampires are choosing companions, they are drawn to the most special and beautiful of humans.

Q:  How exactly to vampires die? (In more detail than just ripping them up and burning them.) Is there a type of vampire heaven?

A:  They (the Cullens) don’t know. They’ve only seen other vampires cease to exist–but is it dying, really? Is there any awareness afterwards? Are you forever tied to the ashes of your body, or is there nothing, or is there an afterlife? This is, obviously, an important question to the Cullens, but they don’t know the answers and they all believe different things. This will be discussed in New Moon.

Q:  Is it possible that a human could kill a vampire?

A:  Er, not really. A big enough bomb would probably be hot enough to burn a vampire, but the vampire would have to agree to hold still and let it hit him.