An online gamer tells the story of Sean Smith, an American diplomat killed in Libya yesterday, who used the Internet handle “Vile Rat.” It’s chilling and eerie–and heartfelt.

“So: Vile Rat, Sean Smith, my friend for over six years, both in real life and in internet spaceships, was the ‘State Department Official’ killed in Benghazi by a mob of religious lunatics, who had been incited to violence on this September 11th by a movie that was apparently made sometime in July,” Smith’s friend writes. “Obviously, given the combined attacks in Egypt and in Libya, this was a coordinated act designed for maximum media exposure; rile up a mob, point them at an embassy or consulate on 9/11 in particular, aim for the press. Many were injured in these pointless, reprehensible acts, and one of my closest friends was killed as a result.”