Faith means more than you think, Khalid (In Nomine)

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Mary Reba “Miss Velvet” Pleasant, currently known as Lord Griffith

When Mary Reba Pleasant went to the Library shortly after her death, it took some cross-referencing among the many books there to figure out why her Destiny was a darkly sensual, percussion-heavy theme, richly resonant and ornately delicate.  There was only a single report that mentioned her, and the mercurian who wrote it interpeted this melody as a Destiny to be a successful high-class professional dominatrix.  The Black graduate student followed that thread of research into the lives of her clients and came to the conclusion that she had spread selfless concern for intersectional liberation among powerful business executives.  Until the tragic car crash that claimed her life in 2007, her career involved ordering the wealthy white men who patronized her (sometimes in both meanings of the word) to read the writings of Black feminist and socialist theorists.  At least three non-profits sprung from this work, founded by men who had seen her, amidst innumerable shifts in corporate policy and lobbying goals.

As a Bodhisattva, Mary Reba dallied long in the Halls of Creation and the Glade, and even made some surprisingly regular trips over to the Church of the Sword, whiling away the Paradisiacal days chatting philosophy amongst the throngs in its halls as well as in more individual assgnations amongst its many rooms.  Much like Laurence’s Church, the Catacombs received her often, and she acted much the same there, too.  Those blessed, community-minded souls who explore the practice of selfless gossip probably shouldn’t have been as shocked as they were when Mary Reba submitted a saintly petition to an Archangel named something other than Eli or David.

Khalid smiled when she asked him if she could do his work on Earth, according to the angels Habib and Artiya’il who were in attendance at the time.  “But though you are mubarak, neither are you Muslim nor are you even paricularly invested in any other Faith.”

“Wali malak, what you say is true.  My Faith has always been invested in people and in politics, but that is the very crux of why I did approach thee with my petition.  I do believe that I have come to a realization concerning the nature of your Word that by need must be shared with one you have also had.”

Khalid chuckled, Habib and Artiya’il say, and that was his sole response.

“Faith is not a thing limited in direction to the upward-pointed eyes.  Trust in another is a type of Faith.  Vulnerability is a type of Faith.  Willingness to be led is a type of Faith.”

“Knowing your history, do you presume to the hubristic blasphemy that you can be the object of this Faith?”

“I am ever naught but a vessel for whatever Divinity casts ths light within which we are meeting.  I have been led to believe that the Qu’ran describes humans as Allah’s successor on Earth.  Humbly, that is all the work I wish to do in the corporeal realm.”

Khalid granted Reba’s request, and now Lord Griffith travels throughout the world, teaching those who wish to submit how to do so in the face of their greatest fears and long practice holding to their Will white-knuckled as the only force steering them through the world.

Corporeal  2 // Strength  4 Agility  4 // Body  16
Ethereal  2 // Intelligence 3 Precision 5 // Mind 6
Celestial  3 // Will  6/12* Perception  6 // Soul 18

Vessel/2, Status/2, Charisma/1 (general good looks) + Charisma/1 (nurturing dominance)

Skills:  Area Knowledge (Atlanta/3), Detect Lies/3, Driving/1, Emote/3, Escape/1, Fighting/1, Knowledge (Pro Domme/3, Black Feminist Socialist Theory/1), Languages (Arabic/3, English/3N), Medicine/1, Seduction/1, Small Weapon (Cane/2), Swimming/1
Advantages:  Blessed
Songs:  Nightmares (Ethereal/2), Opening (Celestial/2)
Rites:  Inspire faith in something holy; Instill true faith in a faithless person

*  Mary Reba’s Will is doubled for purposes of resisting any resonance, attunement, or Song that can be resisted, as well as Fast-Talk and Seduction attempts. (This does not apply to powers resisted by characteristics other than Will, but it does apply to resisting orders if Mary Reba becomes a servant!)

Mary Reba Pleasant is created according to the rules for a starting player character Saint in the Corporeal Player’s Guide.  She is also inspired by Mistress Velvet and Reba Maybury, both dominatrices using their Dominance for social change.

The other half of the equation: Traumas (Design Domingo #6)

In addition, your character has five Traumas, each of which has a Hardened score from 0-10 and a Failed score from 0-5. These measure how close you are to going crazy, freaking out, freezing like a frightened deer, falling on your sword, or running into the night howling like a wolf. These things happen when you start talking with demons, melting your face to win friends, and exorcising the supernatural resonance of a sex crime. It’s tough stuff, and the medieval world offers little to stand between you and going completely gonzo batshit. But why go crazy if you already live there? If you’ve had some heavy trauma in your life (which is depressingly common), you can go ahead and put up to three points, total, into any of your character’s Failed Traumas. For each one you add, you can also put a point in a Hardened Trauma as well. They don’t have to be in the same Traumas ~ if you’re going to be crazy, be your own special kind of crazy. And if you want more than three of each, talk to your GM. Remember to wear clothes.

You’re going to face a lot of threats and do a lot of things out there, and not all of them are physical. You’re going to be exposed to stresses that are beyond the normal, experiences that challenge your mind’s ability to fit them into your view of how the world works. These stresses are measured by the Traumas. As mentioned before, there are five scores that measure how resilient or susceptible you are to different mental stress: Violence, the Unnatural, Helplessness, Isolation, and Self. It’s quite possible to be very casual about, say, Violence, while being a basket case when it comes to the Unnatural.

Each Trauma has two scores. Hardened Traumas represent stresses you’ve endured, and they are scored 1–10. Failed Traumas represent stresses that have broken you even just a little bit, and they are numbered 1–5. It’s common to have nonzero scores in both versions of a single Trauma. Someone who’s deep in both directions on Isolation probably has a highly ambivalent attitude towards being alone, which is perfectly in character for people who have been repeatedly exposed to that mental stress. Someone with the same situation for Violence feels little or nothing when exposed to most forms of bloodshed, but when something is so shocking that it gets through the hardened barrier, the result is devastating.

Remember that the following descriptions include examples of rolls that each Trauma is often used to make, but that these are suggestions and indicators of frequency. Once again, a character’s reasons and emotional realities determine which trait is used for any given roll; talent, ability, training, and more esoteric things in that category are described with skill ranks and feats.

Violence Trauma
You have an instinctive revulsion towards actual violence. It’s stressful to hurt others, to watch others get hurt, and to get hurt. This Trauma also covers the fear of death that everyone suffers from in varying degrees.

Though it is relatively easy to imagine situations for every Trauma to contribute to any given kind of roll, both Hardened and Failed Violence are probably the most common to use when making attack rolls. They are both often used to make Perception and Knowledge (dungeoneering) rolls and also Craft rolls that produce arms, armor, and the like. Like Valorous/Cowardly, both are also often used to make Climb, Swim, and Sense Motive rolls. Failed Violence is involved in calculating your character’s Armor Class (AC) whereas Hardened Violence is involved in calculating hit points. Hardened Violence also adds to damage rolls, like Cruel and Vengeful and is also often used to make Appraise rolls to appraise arms, armor, and the like. It’s sometimes used to make Will, Heal, Survival, and Intimidate rolls.

The Effects of Various Levels of Failed Violence (FV) Trauma on Personality
1 ~ At this level, you’re superficially fine. Perhaps you’re a little edgy whenever a knife in the room happens to be pointing your direction.
2 ~ You are very aware of violence, both as it exists and as it is depicted. It strikes you as somewhat odd that so many people don’t realize that the violence in the stories and songs of troubadours is very different from real violence.
3 ~ You get alert or uneasy every time you see blood, even badly faked blood in a play (or even a puppet show) or when someone cuts a rare steak. Sometimes you have nightmares about violence you’ve witnessed.
4 ~ You instinctively take a defensive posture whenever there’s a loud noise or raised voice nearby. Your nightmares are frequent, and you have a hard time looking at anyone without imagining (if briefly) what you would do at that moment if they attacked you.

The Effects of Various Levels of Hardened Violence (HV) Trauma on Personality
1–3 ~ Superficially, you’re much like everyone else.
4–5 ~ Your attitude towards violence shows on your face when the subject comes up in conversation, unless you work to keep it hidden. It might be intensity, or nervousness, or just a grim silence, depending on how you cope.
6–7 ~ Violence is a common feature of your mental landscape. Unlike less-hardened people, you show little reaction at all when it is discussed or depicted in fiction.
8–9 ~ Your callousness shows in your every word and expression unless you make a continuous effort to suppress it. Again, the exact tone is up to you: it could be bitter and harsh, feverish and vehement, or icy cold.
10 ~ It’s not hard for people to realize that the deepest horrors of torture and brutality have become commonplace to you, unless you work very, very hard to keep it hidden—which means you come off as tense and guarded all the time. The death of others, or yourself, has no intrinsic significance. You might prefer to stay alive, but it’s only a matter of personal taste. Life, in the abstract, doesn’t mean anything.

Santa Claus as Post-Scarcity Memeweapon

I'd wanted to get this idea for Eclipse Phase out earlier, but I've a new Dominant and she's been needing ALL the service, so I've been busy!

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You might think that the Jovian Republic, as the seat of the Jovian Catholic Church, largest of the three primary successors to the pre-Fall Catholic church* would be a wonderful place to be come December 25 on the pre-Fall Earth calendar (which happens eleven, or rarely twelve, times a Jovian year). You could be forgiven for expecting a festive atmosphere, decoration, feasting, and celebrations throughout Jupiter's system.

And, in fact, these things all exist in some fashion. The uniquely Jovian blend of Christianity, fascism, bioconservatism, and nanotech refusalism has had its mark on the flavor of the holiday. Institutional Christmas trees stand hyper-Brutalist and stark, adorned with images of a militant Christ-child in service to the state. With any gathering of twenty or more quickly dispersed by the Civil Defense Corps, this imposing symbol of governmental authority isn't even softened by crowds of people enjoying themselves by doing such things as ice-skating at its base, as was common for decades in pre-Fall New York City, for example; a few scattered tables attempt weakly to do the same as small clusters of up to five share a warm beverage and a small meal which bravely struggles against governmental nutritional regulations to provide sweetness and comfort. Meanwhile, individual Christmas trees are scarce, items of tastefully private conspicuous consumption by the Jovian military higher-ups, senators, Security Councilmembers, the rare few Jovian hyperelite, and Jovian Catholic archbishops, cardinals, and pope; the farms beneath Liberty City can barely produce enough food to meet the demands of a population allowed a feast of 15% more calories for Christmas Day, with the 2% per day ramp-up leading up to it, without giving precious space over to putting a decorative tree in every dwelling!

Jovian habitats are enlivened with decorations during the season, however ~ foil, plastic, and even paper are cheap enough to mass-produce after all, even eschewing nanofabrication. Every Jovian civilian is given a small allotment of money by the Republic every Christmas with which to purchase these decorations from vendors vetted and approved by governmental and church censors. Citizens receive a little bit more, enough to fund a few twinkling decorative lights if they take care to budget the cost of the power outlay. The Masses provided by the Church via simulspace (with added XP undertones), however, are even more airy, grand, beautiful, and full of colored light than usual, and most Jovians find themselves drawn to greater attendance during the season, if only to enjoy these magna opera of Church simulspace artisans. Movies, XPs, and simulspace games flood the Jovian mesh with their hybrid of military propaganda, religious themes, and Christmas movie. In years when the Junta and the Planetary Consortium are experiencing political friction, the old movie Santa Claus Conquers the Martians tends to come into popularity (after suitable editing by governmental and Church censors).

Don't think the bleakness of fascist spectacle and VR escapism define the day for Jovians. Many fully enjoy the season, throwing themselves into decorating and family gatherings that sometimes risk edging over the CDC's limit on assemblies. Many Jovians even express gratitude for the restraints placed upon them by their government, claiming that it compels them toward greater intimacy and reminds them to return to more family-focused celebrations. Fond memories of warm celebrations are almost as powerful an escapism as Mass, and creative ways found to get around the nutritional limits. Stories abound in Jovian media and the memories of the people concerning acts of kindness and are brought to life as Jovians pull together to make everyone's lives brighter for the twelve days leading up to the birth of their savior. Caroling is just possible, if the chorus is kept small. Gift-giving even persists as a tradition, with handmade gifts cobbled together with hoarded scraps being the rule. This is as much due to the JCC absorbing elements of American Protestantism vehemently opposed to the commercialization of Christmas as it is due to their resistance to post-scarcity technologies.

It's also where Christophie Odinskind and his team come in.

Born in a Titanian hulder morph well before the Fall to two proud papas, a life consciously modeled after that of old American West cowboys, and an Asatru family tradition, Christophie became a dedicated nanarcho-democrat and member of A-Bloc while attending Titan Autonomous University. Co returned to the peaceful life of a caribouherd after graduation, cor political beliefs disconnected from any action stronger than a presence on the @-list and a voting record in the Plurality. An idle conversation with cor ariel friend Rudolf Morin, a baptized and confirmed member of the Anarchic Roman Catholic Church-in-Exile changed that.

Sitting around taking potshots at ice pebbles, the two began mocking the Jovian Republic, a common enough time-wasting conversation among Titanians and among these two in particular. This time, however, Rudolf began ranting about the JCC, as he often did, and their heretical beliefs around Christmas. Anarchic Roman Catholics have a tendency to describe everything about the JCC as heretical.

Christmas gifts and Santa Claus came up in their conversation, and a spark of inspiration began its quest to fill Christophie's mind with, as they say, An Idea. What better way to undermine Jovian fascism, spread nanarcho-democratic ideals, and have a few yucks than bringing Santa to the beleaguered masses memewashed into scarcity worship?

The two Titanians burned a lot of @-rep and built a decent amount of g-rep only to burn it in order to finance their operation. One EVA sled, a modified olympian morph, a handful of modified ring flyers, and a very visible desktop cornucopia machine later, and they made their first run into Liberty City. It was a modest success, but it was fun and it was enough to attract significant attention from the Jovians, the @-list, the Plurality, and media across the system. That was AF 7; they've continued ever since.

The idea is basic memetic warfare. By leveraging imagery inherent to the Republic's memetic landscape in such a way as to showcase the CM, “Santa” works to inspire the Jovians toward developing a desire, and then a demand, for nanofabrication. Though Christophie believes that this taste for post-scarcity will naturally lead to breakdowns of the fascist regime and an upswelling of nanarcho-democracy, co purchased two griefers after that first run, smuggled them into Liberty City, and began an art/propaganda campaign to ensure that result.

The team has grown, now including 4 transhumans other than Christophie and Rudolf:

* a Titanian journo and hacker covering this daring and artistic effort to undermine the Junta (and hoping to get on MRGCNN in the process) who goes by the name “Goodness's Sake” when embedded as one of Santa's elfs,

* Eetu Laakso, a surya child born after the Fall who won an @-list contest to get a place as an elf last year,

* an AGI from the Jovian moonlet Carpo who loves Christmas as only a virtual Victorian who's lived its life almost entirely in simulspace can and goes by the name Florence Beechworth, and

* Batch Quanta, a scum bot jammer who's one of the Lost, who both serve “Santa” as reindeer


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* In 1 AF, the Council of Liberty was held on Ganymede. There, the Jovian Catholic Church was founded and almost immediately experienced their first schism. Shortly after the appointment of the Exilic Pope, a large number of delegates stormed out, railing about the Line of Peter, apostolic succession, and the mass murder of the College of Cardinals by the TITANs. These priests quickly began to build what they called the Anarchic Roman Catholic Church-in-Exile, founded upon the theological claim that God had ushered in a new period of the Church in which it had to find His grace without the protection and guiding hand of Peter. Ironically, the ARCCiE both enabled the hardline bioconservatist elements within the JCC to embed their beliefs in doctrine and theology and also represents the closest theology (if not liturgy) to that of pre-Fall Catholicism, as the JCC has incorporated a few elements of American Protestantism (including Mormonism), Russian Orthodoxy, and Chinese Patriotic Catholicism into what does still remain a Roman Catholic framework.

The third largest post-Fall Catholic denomination is a small but rapidly growing group within the ARCCiE. They call themselves the Anarchist Catholic Church of the Enduring and New Third Scripture (ACCENTS). Building a new theology out of combining anarchist political theory with Catholicism, they have begun to compile a new Scripture or Testament from the texts of Christian anarchist and communist writers. Thus, it includes the Books of Francis, the Book of Petr Chelčický, the Books of the Diggers, the Hopedale Book, the Books of William Greene, the Book of the Kingdom of God, the Book of David Lipscomb, the Book of the Heavenly Discourse, the Book of Thomas Hagerty, the Books of Nikolai Berdyaev, the Revelation of Precarity, the Book of Ammon, the Books of Dorothy Day, the Book of Peter Maurin, the Books of Ernst Bloch, the Book of Jacques Ellul, the Books of the Berrigan Brothers, the Book of Ivan Illich, the Book of Diane Drufenbrock, the Book of Camilo Restrepo, the Book of Vernard Eller, and the Books of Alexandre Christoyannopoulos.