#i tried to be as neutral as possible but i'm a lefty at heart so my bias probably shone through

[dailydemonspotlight]

Chemtrail - Day 28

Race: Fiend

Alignment: Neutral

April 29th, 2024

Most demons throughout the SMT series are mythological beings, cryptids, historical figures, or just plain demons, but sometimes, they like to experiment. Sometimes, they make demons like the subject of today's Demon Spotlight, Chemtrail- a demon not based upon a historical account nor a religious belief, but rather, based on a conspiracy theory.

The idea of chemtrails originates in 1996, particularly from a report published by the US army regarding the idea of weather modification being used in warfare- as the conspiracy goes, the trails of condensation left behind by jets, known as contrails, are actually lines of chemical agents sprayed all over the public for nefarious purposes by the world elites. Many of these conspiracies blame these so-called chemtrails for things like diseases, mental illnesses, or many deaths around the globe, or even mind control by the elites to keep a populace subservient to their overlords.

Later in the 2000’s, the report was revealed to be a hoax, though many were left unconvinced by that turn, and chemtrails are still a widely held belief in conspiracy-laden circles of the United States. Many debunks have come out to explain what the trails in the sky truly are, that being trails of condensation left behind as water vapor in the jet's engine combines with the dry ambient temperature of the sky, though many remain unconvinced. The belief in chemtrails is surprisingly common, even to this day, though I suppose that is to be expected. You give someone in the bible belt a reason to hate the way the world is without blaming capitalism, and they'll snatch it up like a fish does bait.

Commentary aside, the conspiracy of chemtrails still retains relevance in pop culture, commonly cited as a ridiculous example of the conspiratorial beliefs of many people. However, while I personally doubt the existence of chemtrails, as do many others, the idea does have some credence to it- crimes like Agent Orange have given real weight and truth to the idea of world governments spraying chemicals down onto countries. However, given that this is a literal war crime, I'd hope that the US doesn't do that to their own citizens? But I wouldn't put it above them. Sorry to get a bit political, but it's somewhat unavoidable with this topic.

Segwaying back to SMT, though, I'm more surprised by the fact of the matter that this demon exists. It really just goes to show that, throughout the series, anything can be a demon- whether it be folklore, history, mythology, or anything in between, Chemtrail really feels like an example of both the experimentation that took place during IV, as well as being a testament to how widespread the moniker of demon truly is throughout the series. Anything can be a demon, as long as people believe in it, and that's oddly touching.

I don't know why it's a fiend, though. The idea of chemtrails being a skeleton brings up more questions than answers.