How little does humanity know of it's own abilities and importance in the universe. This is our greatest folly, yet our greatest form of defense against the untamed and unforgiving world. If I sound melodramatic and self important in proclaiming this, I profusely apologize. A lifetime of garnering the praise and recognition of the academic community has transformed me into an arrogant cynic. But you, my colleagues, have not come to listen to the rants of an old, embittered man against the organisation of which he has been a highly recognized member for forty seven winters. You have come, rather, to hear madman's ravings and personal account of his madness.. Despite my misgivings to this idea, I will begrudgingly oblige you.
As many of you are aware, my tenure as the professor of archeology at Arkham University was one of much success and honor. My studies into the forbidden tome known in the ventricular as The Necronomicon and it's relation to the rituals of ancient civilizations brought new light upon the tome of which many in our community consider in the same realm as dragons and Atlantis. There was, however, one issue that had vexed me for much of my time studying the book. Evidence for the effect that these rituals had on the civilizations of the past ages has unfathomably hard to gather, as the evidence has long been buried by sand and time for ages. Early in my career I had settled on the idea of performing the rituals on myself, to gather first had the vision that may have inspired the ancestors of the Egyptians and the Greeks. The prime issue in doing this was that the nature of the rites required either long extinct plants or forbidden actions. There was one, however, that stood out to me as easily performed. The words in the forbidden tome told that the ritual would "remove the veil of illusion that lies upon the world". The materials were rather easily acquired, but my professional duties prevented me from performing it until my recent retirement from my post. Over the last few weeks, I procured each ingredient. A bit of wolfsbane, blood from a rare species of serpent, and other likewise materials. Last Tuesday was when I began the rite. I insert my procured ingredients into a basin, lit a fire underneath it, and let the fumes fill the room I was in. The room reeked of death and decay for hours afterwards. Initially, I assumed nothing had happened. My mind was not filled with image of Osiris and Hermes as I had expected. Disappointed, I headed to my study, which also functioned as my bedroom in my humble abode.
The next morning, I performed my morning routine as usual, nothing out of place. Until, that is, I looked out the window. It was then the I first beheld the beings that the local newspapers have referred to as Arthur's imps. Imp is an improper term for these beings, as these creature resemble nothing that a human mind could fathom. Imagine millions of squirming snakes, concentrated in a pulsating orb of plastic, ebony shadow. I could spy no eyes or sort of sensory organ upon those beings. Yet they seemed highly aware and process a cool intelligent about them. What put the sense of dread that most of you have no doubt seen in me, is a damned by enlightening truth. Behind every human was one of these beings. Every motion made by the individual, from the slightest movement of the veins to the motion of their limbs, was controlled by the tendrils of these shadowy creatures. Even the words we speak are forced upon us by them. This lead me to a mind breaking realization. I was, perhaps, the only person in all of the world that possessed free will. I felt utterly small in the face of this monolithic fact, which caused me to fall into a deep melancholy. This truth lead to my period of solitude that my acquaintances have told you about. During that sixteen week period, I was out of my abode only three I did exit onto the streets, the beings seemed to note my presence. The creature seemed to realize that I could behold them. They respond to me with extreme malice. While I was never directly harmed by these creatures, they controlled their thralls in such a way to continually demine and assault me. Their unwitting slaves acted in an aggressive manner. Starring in a form akin to old legends of the evil eye. I was assaulted by thieves several times during the three hours I was out, most of those attacks resulted in multiple injuries. And all the while, those creature appeared content with the harm they inflicted upon my person. At the end of my period of isolation, I was a broken man, completely alone upon the face of this world. This resulted in the bout of insanity that was characterized by the brawls and attacks I made on the populace near my home. I will not detail this event here, as nothing I could add would aid in the understanding of my actions on that day.
And so this is where my tale intersects with the present. I doubt many of you will believe my story, as the monsters who control the human race watch on in this very room. They have enjoyed their plaything a great deal. However, just as a child out grows his toys, so to have these beings grown tired of me. I have no doubt my sentencing will be swift and just as brutal as my life has been since I first beheld the ebony beasts. Perhaps I will be put into an asylum, forced to live forever more bonded. Perhaps they will be done with me, and my death will mercifully quick. Or perhaps they will force you to do nothing, and imprison me in an abode of eternal solitude and fear for the rest of my days. I only know this, that they are watching my squirming and ranting. Those creatures are pleased and content in my suffering. I will not let them gain contentment from me anymore. Whatever their plans are for me, I will foil them. Perhaps when I am gone, they will choose one of you to take my place. You will have no say in any of it, just as it has been for the duration of your lives.