Leopold and Loeb aren’t especially well-remembered any more. Not that they should be, considering the reason for what fame they had. They had a quick reference in Annie Hall, although comprehending it would probably require a re-reading of Beyond the Pleasure Principle. “Rope” - one of the lost Hitchcocks that was made available for wide release in 1983 - was inspired by their story. One surprising thing is that they were Civics, the “good kids” of the Saeculum - stories of “bad kids” are usually about Reactives. Perhaps the significant distinction is that Reactives are the pragmatic ones, and so require an actual reason to consider killing someone else - more than, say, just to find out what it’s like, or to commit a perfect crime.
They are in mind, of course, because of the Slenderman stabbing. Again, here are Civics who engaged in activity contemptuous of human life, for no reason worthy of the name. Additional parallels are clear and easily found, if desired. Feel free to seek them out.
It’s certainly worth noting that killers are not specific to any generation, and murder happens in every turning. There's nothing special about Civics that makes this more likely. (One could point to the Heavenly Creatures murder, for example, even if the similarities there seem more superficial.)
Still, some echoes seem to have stronger returns than others.
(Heroes and Nomads were called Civics and Reactives when the theory was first proposed in the book Generations. That first term isn't well suited to a post such as this, though.)
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