VINCENT: HE WAS ALL ALONE

Electra says of Vincent, "That man has been all alone since he was born... No one ever loved him." Indeed, if any one word can be used to describe Vincent, it's "lonely." Only someone totally cut off from friendship, love, and normal human interaction could devise and implement his plans of biological genocide. But Vincent's alienation isn't entirely his fault: like Gren (from the series), he was a victim of experimentation during the wars on Titan. When Dr. Mendel developed a deadly nanomachine for purposes of biological warfare, Vincent (then a soldier in Team 7 of the M.A. Special Operations Forces) was injected with an "anti-nanomachine" to protect him from the effects of the microscopic protein-based weapon. Vincent survived when his friends and enemies died, but the plan backfired--his long-term memory gone and his humanity fading along with it, Vincent became a greater threat than the weapon itself. Because he had no memories or lasting connections with the human world, and because his sanity was affected by his perpetual nanomachine-induced visions of butterflies, he felt a growing desire to use his invulnerability to the nanomachine to hurt others.

How can one further understand Vincent's position? I'm not a psychologist, so I can't provide a relevant case study, but I can draw a literary/pop culture parallel that rings true to me. I'm speaking on a purely symbolic level, but Vincent really seems like a vampire. (Since there are so many different versions of the vampire out there, I'm thinking of the type of vampire found in Bram Stoker's Dracula or in Anne Rice's Interview With the Vampire and the movie based on that particular book.)

Allow me to make my case with the following side-by-side comparisons:

Vampires

Vincent
Immortal with limitations (can be killed by sunlight, chopping off head and stuffing with garlic, etc.). Immortal in the context of the nanomachine; in the case of a widespread outbreak, everyone else will die while he lives on.
Can transfer immortality by sharing blood orally with others. Can transfer immortality by sharing blood orally with others.
Preys on the blood of others. While he doesn't drink others' blood, he does seem to enjoy killing. Oh yeah, and Spike did say he smelled like blood.
Former humans who have lost their souls. Still arguably human but seems also to have lost his soul.
Often forced to become vampires. Forced to become "immortal."
Wanders the earth alone, alienated from non-vampire social contact. Wanders multiple planets alone, alienated from those who don't share his burden.
Can see things mortal humans can't. Can see butterflies non-infected people can't.
Vampiric practices often take a sexual tone. His transmission of the anti-nanomachine with Faye and Electra were very sexual in nature.
Tend to dress in dark clothing, sometimes with capes and/or hats. Dresses in dark cape-like coats, cloaks, and wears a witch hat.
Pale-skinned. Pale-skinned.
Considered the living dead, or the undead. Considered "already dead" several times during the movie.

If this isn't enough to make you think of Vincent as a vampire, there's always the fact that the movie focuses on Halloween, a traditional day for supernatural monsters and the occult, and the fact that other popular vampire names often start with a V: examples of this include Vlad the Impaler, the historical basis for Dracula, as well as the vampire also named "Vincent" in the game Final Fantasy VII. This could all be a coincidence, but considering the Cowboy Bebop creators' understanding and use of Western popular culture icons/elements in the series, and their very accurate descriptions of the original meaning of Halloween in Knockin' on Heaven's Door, the symbolic similarities are more likely intentional.