It’s been a day for lots of updates here at the Lexicon. First up is the summary of Chapter 3: Phenomenon ~ Edward’s rescue of Bella from Tyler’s truck. The Vampire Mythology section has also been updated with a look at deviations from vampire legend in the ‘Twilight’ world.

Stephenie has posted a short extract from ‘New Moon’ on the new pages on her website, which is under a lot of discussion on the message boards. She left us all this note about it:

“The excerpt on my website is the quote that will be used on the back of the New Moon jacket. The description underneath is from the inside flap of the jacket. Some of the copy might be tweaked before the final printing, so don’t be surprised if a few words or phrases change.

Something more to keep in mind–I didn’t write the flap copy or choose the quote on the back. Those are decisions made by the publisher. “

Hope you enjoy all the new stuff.

Imogen 🙂

Vampires have existed in a variety of cultures almost since the dawn of time. Until the 19th century, they were believed to be monsters, rather than the stereotype of a more aristocratic being who could infiltrate the world around us, as popularised by Bram Stoker. Legend has developed since, with pop culture shows such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", which tackles concepts such as a vampire with a soul and possible redemption for a creature previously believed to have had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Bella lists her observations when she is researching on the internet: "Speed, strength, beauty, pale skin, eyes that shift colour; and then Jacob’s criteria: blood drinkers, enemies of the werewolf, cold-skinned and immortal." (TW7) An excellent summary of vampire legend can be found on Wikipedia.

Our Twilight vampires are different yet again, and there are frequent divergences from the vampires of legend, although some features remain the same. As Stephenie Meyer explains, "Almost all of the superstitions about vampire limitations are entirely false in my world. Vampires don’t really have any limits, other than the self-imposed guideline to keep their existence a secret. No unconscious periods, no problem with sunlight, crosses, garlic, holy water, wooden stakes, etc… These are all myths–deliberately placed in earlier centuries to mislead impressionable humans and make them feel safe." (PC8)

1. Vampires are cold to the touch This is definitely true in Twilight. From the very first time Bella encounters Edward’s skin we discover that "his fingers were ice-cold" (TW2) The other Cullens seem to have similarly icy skin: Carlisle has "cool fingers" (TW3), Esme has a "cold stone grasp" (TW15), and so on.

2. As they are dead, vampires do not need oxygen for survival. Again, this is true. Bella notices from her first encounter with Edward that "he continued to sit so still it looked like he wasn’t breathing." (TW1). He explains this in more depth to Bella later in the novel when she asks how long he can go without breathing: "Indefinitely, I suppose. I don’t know. It gets a bit uncomfortable, being without a sense of smell." (TW16).

3. Vampires have pale skin and fangs. All of the Cullens have very pale skin, "Paler than me, the albino" (TW1); skin that is regularly described as "marble" (TW13) in both its colour and perfection. The skin is also remarkable because of the "purplish bruiselike shadows" beneath the eyes indicative of a lack of sleep. However, the Twilight vampires, "Do not have fangs. Their teeth are so sharp and strong that fangs are hardly necessary (they could bite through steel, if so inclined, a human neck is like butter)" (PC1) In many ways, Meyer’s vampires are much more violent than the vampires of legend, as their drinking of blood involves much more savaging of flesh than two tidy fang holes in a neck.

4. Vampires can shift shape and even fly (sometimes in the form of a bat) Bella asks about this when Edward offers to show her how he travels through the forest: "Will you turn into a bat?" I asked warily. He laughed, louder than I had ever heard. "Like I haven’t heard that one before." (TW13) It’s fair to assume from Edward’s response that this stereotypical expectation is so far from true that it is laughable. Instead of flight, Stephenie Meyer’s vampires have the skill of extreme speed and fast reflexes. Their running is the equivalent of flying. The five-mile hike to the meadow is done on the return journey "in a matter of minutes" (TW13), and Edward’s driving is similarly fast, but very safe due to his speedy reflexes: "I’ve never been in an accident." (TW9) Any flight, however, has to be done in an aeroplane, such as Edward "catching the first flight out of Seattle" (TW21) to be with Bella!

5. Vampires don’t have reflections in a mirror In Twilight  vampires do have a reflection. On the flight from James, Bella notes Edward’s hesitation when "I saw his expression in the mirror," (TW18) of the car. In PC4, Stephenie Meyer dismisses this part of vampire lore, saying it will be addressed in New Moon, but her vampires definitely do have reflections.

6. A vampire can only enter a house if he is invited in. "Vampires need no invitation to enter any house." (PC8). We see Edward retrieving Bella’s truck keys from her house without any invitation, and he is is capable of watching her at night without her knowledge.

7. Sunlight may burn or kill vampires. Bella had heard of this myth herself: "Vampires couldn’t come out in the daytime, the sun would burn them to a cinder." (TW7) Although none of the Cullens attend school when it is sunny, this is not because the sun hurts them, because "it doesn’t," but because they "can’t go out in the sunlight" at least, not where anyone can see," (TW9) because of the dazzling diamond-like glittering in the skin. Sunlight marks vampires out for what they are, but does not harm them in any way.

8. Vampires cannot eat human food. Their sustenance comes from blood alone. This feature of vampires is seen right from the very first chapter when Alice throws away her, "unopened soda, unbitten apple" (TW1). Bella gets curious enough to ask Edward what would happen if he actually did eat something, and Edward "deliberately bit off a mouthful [of pizza], chewed quickly and then swallowed." (TW10), thereby proving that it is possible for vampires to physically eat. However, we are also told that due to the physical changes inherent in becoming a vampire, "He’d have to cough it up later to get rid of it. Not the most pleasant thing, which is why the vampires only eat food when they absolutely have to in order to blend in." (PC7)

9. Crosses, garlic, holy water and similar items ward off vampires. Stephenie Meyer sums this up best: "Bunch of garbage."(PC4) The Cullens are so unaffected by this that they even have an old wooden cross hanging in their home, which used to belong to Carlisle’s father. Edward laughs and admits, "It is sort of ironic." (TW15)

10. Vampires can be killed by decapitation, a wooden stake or a consecrated bullet through the heart. Vampires can be killed, although only other vampires are strong enough to do it. Emmett and Jasper "took care" of James (TW24) and it is likely that they followed the known way to end a vampires existence, namely, "to tear him to shreds and then burn the pieces."  (TW19) It is impossible for a human to kill a vampire by any means because they are too strong to be susceptible to humans or human weapons: "You try shoving wood through granite." (PC4)

11. Vampires sleep in coffins. Again, this is something that Bella remembers about vampires when she is first investigating them: "They slept in coffins all day and only came out at night." (TW7). This is obviously highly unlikely as the Cullens are usually at school, or at work during the day, and is something that Bella and Edward joke about later when Bella is visiting the Cullen home. "No coffins?"  (TW15) Apart from anything else, in the Twilight world, vampires don’t sleep. "I can’t sleep" (TW9), so coffins would be entirely redundant anyway!

Chapter Number:  Three

Chapter Name:  Phenomenon

Page Numbers:  53-67 (Hardcover)

Date of Chapter:  January 25, 2005

Summary:  When Bella gets up to go to school she discovers that the temperature has dropped overnight, and now the rain slicked environment has turned into an ice covered one. She’s grateful and touched that Charlie thought to plan ahead. He put chains on her tires so she could drive to school safely. She muses that she’s not used to people taking care of her like that.

No sooner than Bella parks her truck next to a tan car in the school parking lot she notices two things: 1) the all the Cullen and Hale students are standing across the parking lot, in particular Edward is staring at her in dismay, 2) Tyler Crowley has lost control of his van and it is careening toward her faster than she can get away.

The next thing Bella knows, Edward knocks her to the ground, out of the way of the Tyler’s van. She is under the impression that he physically pushed the van off her not once, but twice.

At the hospital Tyler can’t stop apologizing to both Bella and Edward. He seems more beat up than Bella, who only has a bump on her head, and Edward, who doesn’t have a scratch on him.  Dr. Carlisle Cullen treats them all and releases Bella to Charlie’s custody.

Before Bella goes home with Charlie, she confronts Edward about what happened. Despite his insistence that he was standing next to her when the accident happened, Bella knows he was standing across the parking lot and he should not have been able to reach her in time. She also insists that Edward used superhuman strength to keep the van from crushing them. Edward refuses to confirm or deny what Bella claims. He stalks off frustrated and angry when she won’t just let the incident drop.

At home, Charlie is concerned, but gives Bella her space. Bella has to deal with an hysterical phone call from Renee who demands that Bella return to Phoenix. Bella tells Renee she is staying in Forks. When Bella goes to sleep, she dreams about Edward for the first time.

Characters Involved:  Bella Swan, Tyler Crowley, Edward Cullen, Charlie Swan, Carlisle Cullen

Characters Mentioned: Mr. Varner, Coach Clapp, Mike Newton, Eric Yorkie, EMT’s/hospital staff, Rosalie Hale, Jasper Hale, Emmett Cullen, Alice Cullen, Renee Dwyer

Places Visited: The Swan Home, Forks High School, County Hospital

Memorable Quotes:
“No blood, no foul .” 
~ Edward to Tyler telling him not to worry about the accident.

 “Actually most of the school seems to be in the waiting room.”  
~ Carlisle correcting Edward’s assessment on informing people.

“I saved your life–I don’t owe you anything…You think I lifted a van off you?…I hope you enjoy your disappointment.”
~Edward’s various responses to Bella’s demands for an explanation regarding the accident.

“I don’t like to lie–so there better be a good reason why I’m doing it.”
~ Bella explaining to Edward why she can’t, “just drop it.”

“That was the first night I dreamed of Edward Cullen.”  
~ last line of the chapter.

Important Information Learned:
Edward has lightning fast reflexes and superhuman strength.

Edward is completely uninjured in the accident.

Carlisle seems to be aware of Edward’s talents and is uncomfortable that Bella realizes them too.

Edward’s siblings’ reactions to the accident range from “disapproval to fury”.

Renee tends to overreact to things.

GO LOOK NOW!!!!

There is even an excerpt from the book.  AGH!  WONDERFUL!!!  Let the speculation begin!!

Alphie

This is for the various bits of info that Stephenie is kindly sending us for the write ups in the different sections. It will be added to again as we get more info!

Q: If someone’s bitten with loads of venom right by the heart, how quick is the conversion and is it more painful than a regular conversion? Were some of the Cullen’s transformations worse than others?

A: About the conversion process… If there is a lot of venom in the human’s system, the pain is more intense to begin with. Like fire, the venom burns through the body. So, with fire in more places, there is more pain at the outset. When Bella was bitten by James, the fire was only in her hand. Painful enough, but not as bad as if she had several bites. Of course, this is only at the outset. If James’ venom had been allowed to spread through Bella, it would have over time made its way through her whole system, and the pain eventually would have been just as intense as if she’d been deliberately infected with multiple, well-placed bites (jugular, wrists, ankles, etc.). So, all that early pain as the venom wound through her system is extra–an added portion of pain that doesn’t in anyway cut down the time or the intensity of the greater pain. The greatest pain begins when the venom is all the way through the body, through the heart, and it starts meeting itself in the veins again and then burning them dry. It moves slower than blood because it’s thicker. Each beat of the heart can only push it so far. The changing/burning process is slow. The venom has to leak through to every cell before it ends. It took Carlisle a little more than three days because his bites were not deliberate or well-placed. It can be as short as two.

Q: Do your vampires have any restrictions, like traditional vampires can’t enter a house without being invited in?

A: Almost all–well, I think ALL, actually, but I’ll play it safe–of the superstitions about vampire limitations are entirely false in my world. Vampires don’t really have any limits, other than the self-imposed guideline to keep their existance a secret. No unconscious periods, no problem with sunlight, crosses, garlic, holy water, wooden stakes, etc… These are all myths–deliberately placed in earlier centuries to mislead impressionable humans and make them feel safe. Vampires need no invitation to enter any house.

Q: Is there any more information you can give us about the Cullen house?

A: Something to remember, these rooms are ginormous. This is a really BIG house. Also, there’s a lot of unaccounted for space on the third floor euphemistically dubbed the “library.” This is where they do things that are technically illegal–like document forgery and computer hackery and all kinds of other shady stuff. There’s also a basement where they keep illicit things. It’s hard to get to, if you’re not a vampire.

It’s not a large window on the South wall–the South wall IS a window. It’s glass from bottom to top, all three stories.

Jasper and Alice do sort of share a room, but since Alice’s personality is stamped all over that room, and Jasper has his study, everyone thinks of it as Alice’s. Since no one sleeps anywhere, the room thing is a little vague.

In the living room, there is a gigantic flat screen television on the wall between the living room and kitchen/dining area. A grouping of couches/chairs faces the tv, and then there are other clusters of seats for conversation scattered throughout. There are a couple of computers along the wall that curls around the dining room to separate it from the living room.

We’ve uploaded the first batch of official buttons and icons and avatars for everyone to choose from.  They can be found in the links section of the site.  There are two sets, so make sure you use the correct item for whichever purpose you are wanting them for. 

The first set is for actually linking back to the lexicon from your own website or LJ or whatever.  These all use the official lexicon picture of Edward and/or Bella and cannot be used as a personal icon or avatar by anyone but the staff of the lexicon. 

The second set of pics is up for grabs by anyone who should desire to use them for any purpose they see fit.  Use them in siggies or as avatars or however else you want to show off your support for the lexicon.

Many thanks go to rgfawkes for putting them together for us.

Alphie

As the vast majority of you have pointed out, the cover for New Moon has been released and you can view it over at Amazon.com.  I would like to make it clear that the release date listed at Amazon is not an official confirmed date.  I spoke with Stephenie about it and the book is not set to be released until October.  Now, consider that this release isn’t going to be something like you might be used to with the Harry Potter books.  Some bookstores will have them out on shelves before others.  There is no midnight opening and selling of the books.  So it is possible that Amazon might start shipping the books out in September, but don’t hold your breath.  I think the important thing here is that we can all ohh and ahh over the picture and let the discussion begin over how well you like or dislike what you see.

Alphie

Chapter two discussion is now posted.  You can join in with the discussion over at the message boards.

Alphie

Chapter Number: Two

Chapter Name: Open  Book

Page Numbers:  29-52 (Hardcover)

Date of Chapter: January 19 – 24, 2005

Summary: It’s Bella’s second day at her new school and while it is a better day in some ways, in others it is much worse.

Mike continues to be very friendly, much to Eric’s displeasure, which Bella finds flattering, however, she is not interested in Mike and realises she will have to do something about his over-friendly behaviour.

Bella is also feeling more confident because she recognises more faces and people are looking at her less than the day before – something that, for Bella, is very important.

Her day gets worse when she gives the wrong answer in Trig and has to play Volley-ball ending up hitting her team mate on the head with the ball – giving us further proof of her clumsy nature.

However, the worst part of this second day is that Edward Cullen is not in school and for some reason Bella can’t stop thinking about him and his behaviour of the previous day. She feels nervous and uncomfortable, waiting to see if he is in school. Bella feels as if his lack of presence is her fault, despite common sense trying to tell her otherwise. At the end of the day, as she is leaving school, Bella notices the car belonging to the Cullens and Hales, and their clothes. She realises that they look wealthy. Their car is expensive and well looked after and their clothes are particularly fine. Showing a high degree of insight and perception, Bella decides that the Cullens must live in Forks because they desire isolation.

After school, Bella goes shopping so she can start cooking Charlie proper meals after having discovered his inability to cook anything other than fried eggs and bacon. Once again Bella is playing a maternal role in her relationship with one of her parents, in this case her father rather than her mother.

After shopping, Bella checks her emails, discovering a series from her mother who appears to be a nervous character, worrying for little reason. Once again, Bella is forced to play the calm and mature adult, allaying her mother’s fears, and offering maternal advice to calm her mother down.

When Charlie gets home he is initially cautious Bella’s cooking. This shows how little he knows his daughter as he remembers her mother’s cooking and is concerned that Bella may take after her. His fears are proved needless.

After dinner they discuss the Cullens. Charlie likes them and obviously has little time for those in the community who are suspicious of them. It is a long speech for Charlie and reveals strong views on the subject.

While the rest of the week passes quietly for Bella, there is still no sign of Edward in school. She is still concerned that she may be the reason Edward is not there.

Bella spends the weekend cleaning, doing homework and sending her mother emails that say she’s happy even though she isn’t really. Bella also went to the library but is so disappointed in their selection that she decides to go to Olympia or Seattle later.

Back in school on the Monday it snows – much to Bella’s horror as she hates snow.

At lunch Bella realises there are five people on the table in the corner – Edward is back at school; Bella immediately feels unaccountably self-conscious and nervous.

In biology Bella is given as shock when Edward talks to her and they continue to converse throughout the lab they are working on, although his initial smile had made Bella incapable of speech, mesmerizing her like the faces of the Cullens and the Hales.. When working on the slides they have to identify their hands accidentally touch and Bella receives an electric shock that makes them both jump. Bella also notices that Edward’s eyes have changed colour, although he says he doesn’t have contacts. Bella find herself telling Edward all about her mum and Phil and why she’s moved to Forks. She doesn’t understand why she has done this.

At the end of the lesson Edward leaves the classroom as quickly as he had the last time. Out in the parking lot, Bella sees him staring at her. In frustration she reverses out of her parking space without looking and nearly reverses into another car. She sees Edward laughing at her.

Characters involved: Bella Swan, Mike Newton, Eric Yorkie, Jessica Stanley, Mr. Varner, Renee Dwyer, Charlie Swan, Mr. Banner

Characters Mentioned: Dr. Carlisle Cullen, Jasper Hale, Emmet Cullen, Alice Cullen, Rosalie Hale, Phil Dwyer

Places visited: The Swan home, Forks High School, the Thriftway, Forks Library.

Memorable quotes:
“I’d been too mesmerized by their faces.”  
~ Bella explains why she never noticed the Cullens and Hales appeared rich.

“Did you get contacts?” 
~ Bella notices that Edwards eyes have changed color.

"On the contrary, I find you very difficult to read." 
~ Edward contradicting Bella’s suggestion that she has a face like an open book.

Important Information Learned:
Bella was so preoccupied by the Cullens’ and the Hales’ faces that she initially failed to notice their expensive clothes and car.

Bella’s never seen snow apart from on television.

Edward’s touch gives Bella an electric shock.

Edward’s eyes seem to change color.

Edward’s eyes are now ochre.

Two new additions to the Lexicon today, both in the Vampire Mythology section.

Read about the vampire diet of blood, or discover how to become a vampire in the Twilight World.

Imogen 🙂