Veriken Theory of Situational Identity
The Cursed Ones: Veriken Chronicles, Book One – Finding Emory introduces the Veriken System, a fictional classification framework representing experiences of identity, perception, and survival.
The Veriken System is more than just a fictional device.
It is based on A.U.T.I.S.M (Adaptive Universal Textual Identity with Situational Manifestation)— and the real-world theory—Veriken Theory of Situational Identity—which I developed.
It frames Autism as a universally human way of being (not a disorder). It is an authentic method of reading the world, which results in using situationally adaptive, shifting identities, along with survival strategies like S.T.I.M.M. (Sensory Tactile Integrated Mundane Movement).
This theory is rooted in my lifelong experiences as an Autistic individual—and emerged as my way to understand the world, navigate sensory and social landscapes, and make sense of my place as a liminal being.
Autism as a word? I’m okay with it. It’s an honest term with historical and personal roots.
Neurodivergent as a concept? I reject it—because it implies deficiency, separation, and a sense of being other from a mythical "norm" that has never been proven.
Veriken? That’s my reclamation. It names what has always been: truth knowledge, a way of being, an authentic mode of human perception—
without being framed through a deficit model.
Key Concepts of the Veriken System in Finding Emory:
Veriken identity is not singular or stable, but shifting, sensory-driven, and situationally adaptive. It is a foundational part of the series’ worldbuilding and character development, framing the story’s exploration of trauma, resilience, and the layered, adaptive nature of human identity.
Veriken have a perpetual liminal identity that exists across and within thresholds, social categories, sensory experiences, relationships, and situational contexts —species (hybrid bloodlines), roles (leader, healer, hunter), selves (Emory as Therian, Dobharum, Heir, and survivor).
Often perceived as having, or utilizing, performative masks, their identity is not fragmented, incomplete, or deceptive, but “becoming”.
Veriken identity is a woven pattern, with numerous threads representing different aspects of self—situational, shifting, and layered.
They experience multiple, genuine selves, each distinct, valid, and authentic.
The loom is the social framework; the pattern is the unique shape of a person’s existence.
Veriken identity shifts are dependent on situation—private, public, special interests, social interactions—
not as performance, but as an anticipatory adaptive survival strategy: an inherently necessary response to the expectations of belonging.
Social expectations, sensory differences, trauma responses, special interests, and focused passions act as anchor points for identity states.
Social expectations, sensory differences, trauma responses, special interests, and focused passions act as anchor points for identity states.
This theory engages with and contributes to broader conversations in diversity, autism studies, disability theory, and trauma-informed frameworks.
Any academic work that builds upon the concept of autism as a liminal space, or references this system, must properly attribute it to the original theory:
Veriken Theory of Situational Identity; the author K. B. Durant; and the series The Cursed Ones: Veriken Chronicles.