A Ghost's Story: Prologue

Prologue:
The world has become a different place.
In the olden days, (here we speak of the age before ‘modern’ scientific thinking took the fore) when some one said they saw a ghost, they were taken at their word. Then ghosts became an outmoded idea, associated with superstition and ignorance; a ‘logical’ explanation could always be found.
But ghosts are real again.
No one knows how or why, but ghosts have made a comeback. In the past decade or so, there have been increased and increasingly reliable reports of – to be quite frank – supernatural activity; ghosts are manifesting. These are not just the ghosts of pseudo-psychic fame, nor are they, strangely enough, the ghosts of long ago. Nor do all people who die, even by violence, return (or, rather, remain) as ghosts. The criteria for who will and who will not become a ghost is agonizingly difficult to ascertain. Old men have passed away, peacefully, in their sleep, with no regrets, and have remained in ethereal form. Young people have been struck down by tragedy and malicious intent and have gone on to whatever comes next without lingering.
Various factions have responded with equally diverse reactions. At the extreme right of this spectrum are the leftover rationalist, scientists of the old order. They refuse to acknowledge the existence of ‘spectral citizens’, scoffing at any who claim to have seen, spoken to, or even be such a being. At the other extreme are the spiritual supremacist. These people believe that ghost-hood is the final state of evolution. Often non-mainstream religious fanatics as well, the spiritual supremacist are Zen-like (in a perverted sort of way) in their advocacy of transcendence – often to the point of committing homicide and suicide. Then there are the in-betweens…
Governments have developed departments to deal with supernatural phenomena – or, as the more p.c. would say, ‘post-vital or non-corporal persons’ – and political figures have been forced to take stances on the topic of ghosts. Currently, they may hold no public office, may own property only at their next of kin’s sufferance, and are generally considered the latest in second-class citizens. On the other hand, ghosts are not held accountable for any crimes they may commit and, at the same time, may stand as witnesses in cases surrounding their own deaths.