I’ve learned many lessons in this long storm of life. I learned not to take the status quo for granted when the Great War took my father before I was a man. I learned that people will believe whatever helps them as I signed up well before eighteen. I learned that people are willing to do anything to win as the Great War turned into the Weird War. I learned that there are still good people when my leg was saved. I learned that everyone lies when the man I trusted to protect my sister disappeared with her. I learned that machines are a far greater curse than they are a blessing.
But more importantly? I learned that people don’t want to know the truth. My family was ruined for telling the truth. Called liars and cheats. The crazy man and his dime novel tales. I didn’t run from it. I faced the storm head on. That’s how I ended up in the Windy City. That’s why I trust my camera more than the lies people cling to. I won’t back down. I’ll make sure they see the truth, whether they like it or not. In the end? My family was right. I’m proud to be Irving Leyland Holt. And the shadows of the world are exposed with the flash of my camera.