Delivery

I have delivered the crates to the Imperial Navy research complex in Sanctified Vidette. With its many stations and shipyards it looks as impressive as always, and the security is intense. The Indagatrix was continuously scanned and was searched both before and after the cargo was taken out of the hold.

This time (as a 'thank you' in stead of loyalty points) I got a short tour inside the Nexus Research Facility, where Drifter technology is taken apart and studied. While everything here is under strict security measures, as typical for scientists and academics among each other there is some pride in showing at least part of your research, I guess.

I have been asked to monitor the wormholes and keep key statistics during a specific time window (to be announced just minutes in advance). My guess is that they will perform an experiment then. 

From what I could make out from enthusiast scientists is that there are some ideas about how the Drifters can manipulate or emulate Talocan technology that has an impact on the presence of wormholes. There is an underlying mechanic giving rise to such a large number of wormholes in one system, no doubt related to the presence of Talocan artefacts in Thera, and to the Nexus device in Drifter systems.

Mission

Mr. Firth has already another mission for me. The Ministry appears to be aware of my expertise in wormhole scanning in Sanctified Vidette, and is in need of my services.

I wanted to object and point out that the goal of a political officer on a ship is not to set the course or determine the mission, but rather it is to guide the pilot in always acting in the best interests of the Empire. The choice of mission remains the pilot's prerogative. A political officer works in the background, much like a conscience that assists the mind's decisions.

But then, at the same time, I am due obedience to the Ministry of Internal Order. 

Also, I am actually curious as to what that mission could be. 

For now I must however work on a "need to know" basis. The first task was to pick up cargo at Hedion University, which has been brought to the Court Chamberlain bureau in Hedion. The cargo, in sealed containers, is using nearly all the space in the Indagatrix's cargo hold. Whatever is in there is affecting the ship's systems, it seems to have more trouble getting into warp.

Now, I am looking for a convenient entrance wormhole.

Quirinus at the Gate

At last we met, mr. Quirinus and I ! 

Yesterday evening I found him in the New Eden system. Unfortunately his shuttle had been destroyed earlier. He returned and reshipped to an Anathema-class hull, a wise choice.

The system was still very busy with pilots touring for Gallente election canvassing.

I formed a fleet with mr. Quirinus and we flew towards the Gate, meditating and praying in its mesmerizing light. We were not disturbed - the many pilots jumping in and out of the system were focusing on moving as fast as possible.

We talked about his sin, and with a bit of my help mr. Quirinus came to understand the fundamental nature of his errors, and he showed contrition. The details of our conversation of course fall under the Seal of Confession, but I am confident that the conditions were met to absolve him. He also accepted to do penance.

I am glad he has returned to the fold, and hope that he will remain watchful now. I will keep tabs on him, he usually resides in Amarr. Hopefully we can meet again soon to discuss his spiritual progress and well-being. 

Epikouria Chronicles X

Finally, a sign of life from Mr. Quirinus. He has embarked on his pilgrimage to Eve Gate and is already underway. So, I will go back out in hopes to finally meet him.

There was also a sign of life from brother Hugo: another letter from the wormhole colony of Epikouria. 

Following the intercultural fair where he learned about the history of "Origin", he has been in contact with like-minded individuals amongst the Originals. 

The Originals are definitely not a uniform bloc. 

There are some among them who long back to the time that Amarrian law and order was present in the colony. These folks are a very tiny minority and consist of some early settlers, who used to be land owners, aspiring Holders, and overseers from back in the days that the planets in Epikouria were slave colonies. They call themselves the White Paladins, and have been recruiting support among disgruntled (human) youth among the new settlers in "Origin". 

The founders of the White Paladins were were disenfranchised after the slaves were set free more than a decade ago by the new powers that chased out the Amarr militiamen, who up to then had been in control of the system. They viewed the takeover by the Alexylva Paradox as a hostile invasion, and rejected the new government's liberal stance on transhumanism, in agreement with brother Hugo's conviction that the non-human sentients are abominations. 

The Origin Colonial Authority - that is the current ruling class of the Originals - treats them as extremists that have to be curbed and educated, but they do not really persecute the White Paladins. They are given -like many other groups- their freedom of expression and thought as long as they do not harm others. 

The Starborn (Publius' space-station dwelling colonists) do not care or meddle with groups like the White Paladins or any other political faction of the Originals. Their only concern is good neighborship and access to planetary mining resources. But the White Paladins are elated to have found brother Hugo and his companions, and they treat him as a lifeline back to the old ways and the Empire. 

I think it flatters brother Hugo's ego, but I am afraid they will use him for their own designs.

Links to keep track of the letters of Brother Hugo:
I. First Contact
II. Diplomatic Talks 
III. Refugee crisis
IV. Setting up a new home station
V. Epikouria under siege
VI. Prince Seraghis visit

VII. A suspicion of heresy

VIII. Pop-up church

IX. Intercultural fair

Marriage at the Chapel

Baptisms and marriages are always a pleasure to officiate. A chapel full of happy people, looking forward with hope and joy and full of good resolve!

It was no different this time, for the marriage of lady Echo Ashland to Jade Blackwind. They kept the ceremony modest, limited to close friends. Capsuleer marriages always draw crowds of curious onlookers though, and the non-capsuleer congregation of Gottin's Lamp Chapel had come out. Some outsiders were also in attendance, including a journalist. Not from Amarr Certified News but from some Gallente magazine I heard.

Ms. Blackwind, now lady Jade, kept us waiting...  I could feel that there was some tension rising, and people were thinking that this could be a runaway bride situation. I have never had that happen, and luckily this time it was also not the case. 

There was one unusual custom at this ceremony - in stead of exchanging rings, or reading personal vows, or releasing Achuran songbirds, lady Ashland adorned a necklace. A slaver tooth necklace! That is not usually a symbol associated with the bond of holy matrimony, but apparently it symbolized the hunter pledging to take care of the family. 

I understand that there are many different traditions in our vast Empire, but this, honestly, had me quite surprised and I did not know very well how to react. To me - and to many - these necklaces represent something more insidious: slave abduction raids by rebels. I just continued with the ceremony after that strange moment, and there were no other, let us say, irregularities.

I hope lady Ashland will not be the subject of slander or gossip for this... 

Hope for humanity's epiphany

Today as I started on my way back, for a few moments I thought I witnessed a divine miracle.

New Eden constellation has been very quiet while I was here, but not today! A steady trickle of pilgrims began to show, in shuttles mostly, and in yachts for the richer ones. The trickle grew to a stream, with at any time at least five or six pilots entering or leaving through the underused jump gates. There were jump delays, the gate operator crew here is not used to heavy traffic.

So many pilgrimages, so many people coming to witness the splendor of the Mouth of God and meditate on life, I was elated, and offered prayers of thanks that the world finally has come to its senses and everyone is doing some very necessary introspection. 

It struck me that these pilots did not belong to White Sky, nor to Sedition. No, they were from all around the cluster! And not just Amarrians, also barbarians from the Initiative, Fraternity and even the fallen Horde, rebels from the Republic, lost souls from the Federation, all sorts of corporations and alliances I had never heard about. Is cluster-wide peace finally at hand through God's miraculous intervention as He has opened the eyes of humankind? 

My joy did not last very long. My psalms of joy were overheard by pilots, and a certain Zenoxii Boirelle struck up conversation and explained to me that these were not pilgrims at all. In stead, this is part of the Gallente election!

I will never understand these things.

Apparently, in order to rally support, candidates go on a tour of the lands to present their program and garner "votes", meaning that their presence makes people choose them above the candidates that are at a larger distance. It must be a Federation thing. Now, they are hiring capsuleers to do the campaign tour for them, since that also results in "votes". 

The election campaign trail is going through the New Eden constellation, that is all.

I got confirmation that universal peace was not at hand when I spotted a White Sky Ares-class interceptor trying in vain to grab the passing shuttles. 

Sad and cloaked, I watched it for a while, feeling at least some relief seeing pilots scoot by unhindered by its clumsy failed attempts to catch and kill. 

I made my way back to Mehatoor to be in time for the wedding.

Return from New Eden

I am finishing my stay out in the New Eden constellation, as I have not heard back from mr. Aeonyx Quirinus. He was intending to come here for a pilgrimage and work on his redemption, and I was planning to help him with it. He seems to have disappeared, the last message I received from him is about setting up a new corporation to deal with his aspirations. 

That was back in Amarr, and when I did not find him in the Emperor Family Academy, I ventured out to New Eden on my own, hoping to see him there - perhaps he was already on his way towards Eve gate. 

I have to return today though, with Quirinus' disappearance still a mystery - tomorrow I have a pleasant task to perform at the Chapel, a noble wedding!

I have gathered data on the pirate structures and hauling routes and schedules. Mr. Firth seems happy enough with what we have, and considers the mission complete. Nevertheless, I am thinking of returning after the wedding ceremony for perhaps a last attempt to search for Quirinus.

Central Point

Explorers charting new territory get the privilege to name the places they map out. Some tend to be poetic. Some are vain, giving their own name, or nostalgic, naming a landmark to a place back home.

The explorer of this constellation was none of the above, as is evident from the name "Central Point".

It is quite literally the central point of the cruciform Eve constellation. The system next to it is Dead End, which is also to be taken literally. 

I wonder if there was never a brief moment of mischievous thought, an instant of capricious rebellion against the dignity of the office of geographer, when our first explorer considered to name the central point Dead End and the dead end Central Point. Such a prank would certainly have gone well with the name of the other dead end system next to Central Point: Canard. 

Anyway, Central Point. Being central, I was not surprised to see that both White Sky and Shadow Cartel have an Astrahus in the system. The White Sky one has defensive modules fitted, almost in an identical way as the station in New Eden. The Shadow Cartel station next to it does not. Both have a cloning center, so I take it that the pirates stage from Central Point - for obvious reasons. 

Another flurry of Metenox drills disfigure the moons, while planetary customs offices are owned by a corporation called the Milkmen. No doubt this is a dairy corporation - piracy must be taxing on the bones, requiring supplemental calcium intake. However, why these milkmen choose to let their cattle graze on gas giants remains a mystery. I cannot imagine it being efficient when one needs to levitate cows to prevent them from falling straight down to the high-pressure zone of the gas giants.

No longer a promised land

Today I scouted Promised Land, the neighboring system to the New Eden (dead-end) system where Eve gate is.

During my last survey I saw the first few of these Metenox moon drills appearing here. Brand new types of structures back then. To me these are a source of concern, as they hinder proper colonization and may be abused to exploit the weak and the poor. 

Sadly, Upwell's revolution has now taken over all the space industry here. 

Where I only saw a dozen of these Metenox abominations in the entire constellation, now there are more than a dozen in this system alone. The industrialization has become fully automated, there is not a single athanor space station left. 

Not that anyone of pious and right mind will miss "McRumble's Mud-Wrestling Mansion" athanor station that used to be here, but you understand what I mean.

In stead there are two small control towers - one with laser batteries and other defenses, used as a mining safe, the other seemingly undefended. Shadow Cartel, White Sky and Sedition seem to share this space, with the cartel doing most of the automated moon mining and planetary industry, and Sedition's friends "Kacote Dungeon" (part of "Churn and Burn") doing I guess ore belts.

For capsuleers, Promised Land has become nothing more than an ore extraction hinterland, rarely visited except for hauling industrial resources, and mostly benefiting criminal capsuleer organisations...

New Eden scouting

I completed the survey of the New Eden system. It looks easy, since there is just one planet. But people here tend to make deep safes and put structures there. The Black Chapel was an example. So, I dutifully scanned a larger area.

There was nothing out of the ordinary.

The Eve Gate is as beautiful as ever, as seen here from the research stations in orbit above New Eden's line planet. A Sisters of Eve structure side by side with the Kor-Azor research station. Eve Gate from time to time seems to pulse a bit more strongly, but then there's a running joke that each time you see the gate you see it pulse strangely.

The pirate presence was light. There's a single astrahus, at the Promised Land jump gate, belonging to a member corporation of the "Churn and Burn" alliance. I scanned down its defenses for the Ministry. 

My combat probes and station hacking and scanning cause a bit of a scare, I think. There was a single pirate in system, but after my scanning the pilots in the station were rudely awaken from their sleep, I could see the number of pilots increase. Just two came out, one cadet posted at the jump gate, and one buzzard scanning around for the enemy. They scanned in vain.

The route to New Eden

With no news from mr. Quirinus, I decided to set out for New Eden myself. 

I was considering to bring the Ratakh Hubrau, an Astero-class ship. I learned that these types of ship are less scary to the outer-worlders than Amarr exploration vessels. Especially mining fleets fear the Anathema-class ships way more than the inferior Astero. The Anathema can fit much more advanced modules, as it has much more CPU. It can also fit covert cynosural field generators, and that strongly contributes to the fear that our Amarr ship instills in the barbarians.

I do not want to appear as a threat, but unfortunately the Astero has some difficulty fitting expanded probe launchers without compromising other systems' efficiency. For a good survey mission one needs to be able to scan down structures as well as ships, using combat probes. So, I will be using the Indagatrix anyway.

The way over to New Eden is rather scenic. There are interesting sights at the various jump gates on the way, such as a massive hollow asteroid at the Antem gate in Djimane. On the other side, the Djimane gate in Antem, a strange abandoned station can be seen looming mysteriously over the gate.

The way was also very quiet tonight. No gatecamp in Fensi, for a change. And reassuringly, there was a massive Imperial Navy fleet in Promised land at the New Eden gate. 

Their presence is warranted: the constellation is still plagued by the presence of a mix of various low-class nozems. Thugs from White Sky share space with Shadow Cartel miscreants. But, to my delight, the "Black Chapel" pirate haven in New Eden appears to have been dismantled. 

I guess my letters to the Imperial Navy have been taken seriously after all.

Waiting

Still no sign of mr. Quirinus. So, I took a day off and visited Dam-Torsad today. It was splendid weather for a walk in the streets. I toured the grand cathedrals  in the old center, doing my prayers in each of them. I went for a long walk to visit one of my favorite libraries, the library of the Imperial History Museum.

When I came back, I again consulted the capsuleer guest list, but I not find trace of mr. Quirinus - perhaps he already left for New Eden? 

To help me find out, I decided to contact Nurveh, a friend who used to work in space-lane traffic control in Kor-Azor prime. It appears that Nurveh has made promotion and is now doing important work for shipping logistics for House Kor-Azor. It did not take him long to confirm that mr. Quirinus has not left the Amarr system. 

Most likely he is off-grid in the Emperor Family Academy station in orbit of Oris. I really do not like that busy station with its hustlers and scam artists, its loud and raucous atmosphere. I do not want to go look around in the drinking dens and other places of degeneracy. In stead, I will simply stay for a bit longer in the hopes of finding him, and then I will head out to New Eden on my own. 

I mean, it is likely that the Ministry of Internal Order beat me to be the first to offer mr. Quirinus the opportunity to do penance, in which case I should not expect him to re-appear soon anyway.

Scouting mission

I have had some delays to join mr. Quirinus on a pilgrimage. I had to get permission from my political officer and his initial reaction was that mr. Quirinus would be better helped by a visit to the cleansing pits than a visit to Eve gate. 

I have been arguing for the contrary, pointing to the fact that mr. Quirinus is showing contrition in the Good Word.

Mr. Firth warmed to the idea after a while, in particular since a fresh review of the capsuleer structures in New Eden and in the Eve constellation in general would be useful for the Ministry of Internal Order. Perhaps part of mr. Quirinus' penance could consist in helping to scout every uninhabited planet, moon and asteroid belt in this far frontier.

It has been a well over a year since my last visit, when I also provided this service. I wonder if the 'Black Chapel', the athanor of evil, is still present in New Eden. It is a pirate haven used by the hoodlums of White Sky and I have been (uncessfully) petitioning the Amarr Navy for its permanent removal.

But first, I will head to Amarr, to see if Aeonyx Quirinus is still there or whether he already left for his pilgrimage. 

On madness

In some more remote corners of our glorious Empire, a belief persists among doctors and medical professionals that false religious ideas can cause such strong emotional responses that they damage the body, and that the physical injuries inflicted on the body and the brain in turn result in madness. These false ideas make it very difficult to treat the disease, once the afflicted is convinced that to doubt them is blasphemy.

I have never been an adherent to this particular theory of madness, and in better medical circles it has been discarded and treated as outdated and wrong. 

But sometimes, a particular case might seem to fit the bill. The false idea of Sedevacantism is so harmful that it seems to have affected a regular on "The Good Word" channel to a degree that seems to border on insanity. Indeed, it looks as if poor Quirinus has started to think that he might be the promised emperor that the arch-heretic is clamoring for.

There are delicate threads of reason still keeping his soul from damnation. He speaks of building a church, and of pilgrimage. I do not think he has yet reached out to a priest for spiritual counseling, or to a medical center of the Ministry for physical treatment (even though these are free of cost!) 

I am feeling a pang of compassion. A pilgrimage could indeed help to cleanse the mind of heresy, but if he walks that path alone his troubled thoughts will bounce back and forth in self-reflection on the mind's mirrors, amplifying only themselves in the absence of outside input. This may end up reinforcing his madness. But if I were to join him, even for a bit of the way, I may have a chance at bringing back this lost wanderer on the right path through prayer and by administering the rite of confession...

Misgivings

Something foul is afoot again in Mehatoor, I can sense it. And I can hear it: the arch-heretic's minions are about again in the 24th Imperial Crusade station, being noisy and annoying.  

I do not think it is the Promissae Matris cult again, I did not see any Yun-Hee Yubari altars and piles of ridiculous gifts, although this may simply be due to a more strict and rapid enforcing of peace by the Ministry. It is also not a band of slaves puppetted around with transcranial microcontrollers forcing them to put up ridiculous Sedevacantist posters - by now the station security knows how to deal with that sort of nonsense. 

No, these folks coming from the arch-heretic's hangar are just hanging around being nasty, and they seem a very diverse group.

I thank God it's not the yak herd that broke out. 

But something is definitely going on.

Living Saints

Saints are persons that are an example and inspiration to the faithful. They are not perfect, which distinguishes them from the Sefrim. They are human, like you and me, and have most of the time also lived sinfully for part of their lives. But at some point, they have turned to God and done things that can inspire us all, be it acts of mercy, intercessions or even miracles. To make them more relatable to us, we can contemplate their relics - seeing their remains is a powerful reminder of their human nature, and a call to us that living a saintly life is within reach of all.

I have been asked a very strange question today, namely whether a living person can be a Saint. That is not normally the case: people can be living a saintly life, but they are canonized after death and after performing miracles from the hereafter. That being said, there are rare exceptions that have been historically known, as some Emperors were declared Saint by popular acclamation even before their death. And sometimes, well, if venerable persons return from death such as Saint Jamyl, they are recognized as instruments of God during their (second) life.

The procedure is that one or more bishops petition the Theology Council to have someone that is deemed worthy of veneration as Saint recognized officially. Before the official recognition, it is allowed that the faithful of that bishopric already venerate the candidate-saint. Very often this is a local folk-saint that is already a local "hero" to the faithful, and their bishop wants to make the cult of that folk-saint officially recognized (with the added economic benefit of pilgrims being drawn to the shrine of the saint).

It is not written explicitly that the candidate-saint should be deceased when the petition is submitted to the Theology Council, though I imagine that a petition for a living person would probably be rejected at the end of the long process. And it is only when the process of verification and canonization is complete, that the saint will be recognized throughout the Empire. Up until that time, the faithful outside of the petitioning bishopric have to follow their own conscience whether or not to consider the candidate-saint a true saint.

New best seller book

The Amarrians date back to the far past, our true origins lost in the mist of times. The first historical records - over fifteen thousand years old!- tell the tale of our first prophet, Dano Gheinok, and how he rallied fellow believers around him to follow the path of God, in a society that had turned its back on religion and on hope. The disbelievers and atheists drove the prophet and his followers out, and after a long migration they settled in Amarr island.

Scriptures contain two very different accounts of that struggle to reach Amarr island. One account is symbolic, reflective, theological, and puts emphasis on spiritual meaning rather than chronological detail. And a second account is more a chronicle, with more factual detail, and strikes a more instructional tone. In some way there is also a shadow of this dichotomy in the Book of Gheinok the First, relating the wisdom and prophecies of Gheinok. 

As far as we can go back, there has always been a lot of debate as to why there are these two accounts.

Many modern scholars see the differences between the two accounts not as contradictions, but as reflections of different communities, theological aims, and literary traditions within early Amarr. Additionally, theologians of all ages have argued that these two accounts are actually meant to interact, and to reinforce each other rather than contradict each other. From that point of view, all contraditions are merely apparent paradoxes, actually meant as exercises for the faithful. Indeed, their resolution has generated new insights and deepened our theological understanding.

Anyway, this is the stuff that has my academic heart pounding! 

So, I was very happy to read in the news the other day that Arim Ardishapur has published a book of interpretations on the scriptures of Gheinok the First! A fresh burst of ideas and insight on our foundational prophet has been long overdue, certainly from such an eminent source. I am very excited and cannot wait to get my hand on a copy.

I will make sure we get enough copies for the library. And on August 5, where we celebrate Gheinok and foundation day, we must have readings of this new book. Maybe I could invite some member or representative of the Ardishapur court to come to the library - how thrilling it would be if the invitation was accepted!

Epikouria Chronicles IX

It has been a while since I received a letter from Brother Hugo, but he made up for the delay by sending me a long letter. 

Along with his companions, he has been busy running the pop-up church that serves as a pavilion showcasing the Amarr faith during the intercultural fair. This fair celebrates the cooperation between the Originals, living on the planets of Epikouria, and the Starborn, the space-dwelling colonists led by Publius. Brother Hugo writes that the pop-up church was shunned by most Originals.

Talking to those that did visit, he found out why. The Originals have not always been autonomous. The settlement actually started as slave colonies under the control of Amarr militia and a corporation called Far Eastern WormHoles. Back then, it was following Amarr law and peace ruled. When outsiders ousted the Amarr loyal forces, rebellion broke out, slaves no longer obeyed their masters. The population turned away from the true faith, and started to follow the path of darkness. 

In this rebellious era, space lanes came under the control of new rulers, the Alexylva Paradox, who allowed all sorts of heresy. This drew a lot of new colonists to Epikouria's settlements, and the planet's cities experienced a period of strong growth. The permissive atmosphere attracted, according to Brother Hugo's hyperbole "all the worst of the heretic scum of the galaxy, including Sani Sabik, abolitionists, and forbidden sentient AI". If true, this is indeed very worrisome news, and a danger for brave Publius' soul. 

After spending a few more pages fulminating against the heresies that he witnessed among the Originals, Brother Hugo goes on to describe the intercultural fair itself. It appears that there was a great mutual interest in each other's technology. 

The Originals possess advanced cloning and biotechnology (Brother Hugo writes "and you know that these sciences were also favored by the Takmahl!"). The Originals use a device called a "Riordan-Nilanth Gravitational Resonance Imager" to make clone backups available to even the most humble member of their population. 

In turn, the Originals were very interested in the technology that was developed during the period after the Alexylva Paradox left Epikouria. In particular the Upwell technology that allows transfers of consciousness to Upwell workforce clone bodies, and the technology behind breacher pods. They were also interested in the Triglavian mutaplasmids. And a particular subculture of the Originals, called the conjoiners, are interested in the Sansha technology that Publius' colonists have been using somewhat too enthusiastically. Brother Hugo says that they are small-size hive minds, one of many types of deviants. 

So, from the point of view of the Originals and of the Starborn, this exchange seems to have been mutually quite benificial. But, for Brother Hugo, it has only confirmed his worst fears.

Links to keep track of the letters of Brother Hugo:
I. First Contact
II. Diplomatic Talks 
III. Refugee crisis
IV. Setting up a new home station
V. Epikouria under siege
VI. Prince Seraghis visit

VII. A suspicion of heresy

VIII. Pop-up church

Fear of the Molok

I am happy that Yun-Hee is showing an interest in our Amarr customs and religion. But I am just a little bit concerned with her interest in the story of Molok the Deceiver. She wants to know all about this personification of evil - how to recognise his deception, how to ward him off. That impulse of course is all right, and perhaps I am too inclined to always worry.

Some facts are known about Molok the historical figure. We do know that he was the enemy of emperor Amash-Akura, and coveted the Ametat and Avetat for himself. He tempted the faithful with money and power and could sway some to his side. He became evil incarnate and used sorcery. He was ultimately defeated by Amash-Akura at the Battle of Edras, and put to death. But even though his body was vanquished, his evil spirit remained in this world since it was refused entry in the hereafter. Many believe that this evil spirit still can manifest itself in order to tempt people into sin and make bad things happen.

Yun-Hee seemed somewhat scared about this possibility, and to reassure her I gave her a medallion of Saint Amash-Akura, which traditionally is believe to ward off the Molok. 

Of course, for the Sani Sabik think Molok is just fine, or worse, worthy of veneration. They have ceremonies to call forth his powerful spirit of evil, and even attempt to get Molok's spirit to incarnate into a living body again. 

I worry about where Yun-Hee might have heard about the Molok, I should ask next time. Are there Sani Sabik among us that try to influence her? I would not be surprised if this is the work of the arch-heretic and his minions, it is not the first time that one of them infiltrated Gottin's Lamp...

Rite of conversion

Yesterday I interrupted my study of the recovered Takmahl artefacts and the telemetry of the temple rock for a festive ceremony.

We celebrated the conversion of Jade Blackwind to the Faith. Her liege is lady Echo Ashland, and her godmother during yesterday's ceremony is lady Arline Kley. 

The spreading of faith from one person to the next was symbolized by passing the flame of a candle from the godmother to the candle that Jade held. A new light shines! It is a powerful symbol of the light of faith that conquers darkness - a symbolism also present in the acronym of our alliance, LUMEN.

The ceremony took place in the chapel, and there were plenty of curious non-capsuleer members of our congregation that showed up. It is not that often that a capsuleer formally converts to the faith! 

I was also happy to see Yun-Hee present, she has shown an increasing interest in religious matters and I hope that one day she too will stand here before the congregation to become part of the great community of faithful. For, in the words of the prophet Kuria, "Only in God can we thrive and grow."

Spacewalk

(continued from yesterday)

Fearless (and also in disregard of safety regulations), Alda Malukker decided to make a spacewalk, during our exploration of the Takmahl temple rock. Blood Raider reinforcements could arrive at any moment, there was all sorts of space debris flying around at the speed of bullets, and the site is basked in unknown forms of radiation.

Capsuleers do not fear death - and are willing to risk it in order to advance science. Alda disembarked from her Retribution class frigate, as you can see in the image above (courtesy of Lunarisse, I was too stunned to take a picture of that spacewalk). 

This allowed us to ascertain that our inability to enter the tunnels with our ships is not due to malfunctioning proximity safeguards. Also an astronaut trying to enter the tunnel "on foot" is pushed back by some sort of force field. Not a usual shield, that could be depleted and penetrated with enough firepower - it seems the rock itself expels foreign bodies by its own design. Not in all tunnels or cavities - there is one where I could enter, and I think also the Takmahl could enter and staged their blood sacrifices ceremonies in. 

There was some speculation that the rock could be a spaceship (an old one that somehow accrued a lot of dust that coalesced). That does not seem to be the case. Even though there is a lot of subsurface structure there, there is no sign of engines, a bridge, docking bays. The tunnels appear bare, and appear as if they we not artificial, but the result of the violent formation of the rock. There are signs that when this asteroid formed there were repeated cycles of melting and resolidification: the stalagtites have rings of subsequent deposition, as if they are the product of some faulty melt extrusion, or perhaps some phasing in and out of an alternate dimension. It would be good to compare this with those new phase asteroids that have appeared. 

The expedition has taught us a lot about this temple rock, and in addition we have retrieved a large amount of artefacts and even fragments of texts and inscriptions. But it seems that -as it often goes in science- every answer has created new questions...

Takmahl tunnels

With the support of friends in fleet, I was able to take my time mapping out the Takmahl temple rock. I used the Stratios that I had received as a gift during the past Secret Santa party. It felt somewhat strange to pilot, as I am used to the Indagatrix, an Anathema class hull, good reliable Amarrian design. But the Stratios felt much sturdier, able to take a beating, and have a large collection of drones of all sorts to use. 

The stalagmite asteroid is very large, and it turns out to have not just one but many tunnels leading inside. Above you can see one of the major entry tunnels, and the (much smaller) size of the Stratios in front of it for comparison. In the backgroud is Aphi's star - the site is located very near the Red Giant basking in its radiation. 

The debris you see is part of a vast cloud of debris, remnants of a vast Takmahl space settlement that surrounded the temple, including structure to hold blood sacrifices, places to house the revelers, and a thriving tourist industry, no doubt. While steered the Stratios into the tunnel, fleet members retrieved what artefacts they could find from this debris, in between fending off waves of Blood Raiders coming to "defend" this place.

Inside are cavernous spaces, with some Takmahl inscriptions on the walls, but no real docking bays. There are traces of landings, mooring of ships, but no structures. There are gullys carved out on the cavern's floor, hinting that at one time there might have been some construction that allowed for an atmosphere and flowing liquids. The gully's lead to a pit, and still contain traces of organics, so I think they were part of some horrible blood ceremony taking place inside the temple rock.

I was not able to move much deeper, and emerged from another tunnel, near some of the spires

There are many tunnels, leading to internal cavities, but they do not seem to contain any habitations or ruined docking hangars. But some of them seem to have force fields. A central sunward tunnel turned out to be blocked, although as you can see, it also ought to have been large enough for the Stratios to enter.

The collision sensors appear to have been fooled by the minerals in the rock, since I could not detect any shield. The same was true for an entrance at the top, which appeared to have some radiation coming out of it, hinting at some type of power source within

There's many kilometers of rock below that - the glow appears to come from the rock rather than from the Red Giant's light penetrating. I was wondering how we'd bypass the ships collision sensors - or somehow reduce its signature radius, perhaps by switching off power to the shields, when Alda Malukker spontaneously tried a special experiment...

(to be continued)

Visiting the Takmahl Temple Rock

I must begin this log entry with scripture: "Surround yourself with the faithful, Stand together, for there is no strength like it under the heavens."  It is an evergreen favorite from the Book of Missions, and it remains very relevant.

I would not have been able to do this without the help of my fellow LUMEN pilots. The Takmahl labyrinth is invested by Blood Raider scum that think they own the place, because the Blood Raiders and the Takmahl share some common Sani Sabik ancestry.

A fleet gathered in Dresi - the Praetorians often work from that system. Under the command of good Gaun Arel, many pilots rallied to my call for help on this exploration mission! Lord Kane Arcahviri did some scouting in advance. Luna was there, as well as Alda Malukker, Echo Ashland, Tiberius Arthuron, and Otto, Vintrilus, Naktaria Tevangelys, Paul Pantor Pahineh, ... I hope I have not forgotten anyone in this list - I was overwhelmed by this nice support.

With that many talented pilots in fleet, the Blood Raiders were quickly dispatched, with no casualties on our side. 

I had plenty of time to explore the rock and could take all the telemetry I needed, confirming my suspicions. But more on that in tomorrow's log - today is a day to celebrate and be grateful.

Seeking an archeology support fleet

I used an auspicious connection from Seclusion to Gheth, one system away from our Mehatoor headquarters, to return home. These fleeting connections come and go, and one has to wait sometimes to get a connection that goes back to Empire space. So, even though the study of the Talocan wreck is not quite finished, I headed back during the time frame that this particular wormhole was stable.

Now I am getting ready for an expedition to the Araz constellation, and should see if I find Gaun or Baron. They lead anti-piracy operations, and since the Takmahl sites are infested with Blood Raiders, their expertise will come in handy. I will also need to prepare the Stratios class hull, since my Indagatrix is not suitable to hack relic sites under heavy enemy fire. Hopefully all can be brought in order for coming Sunday, depending also on the anti-piracy fleet's schedules.

The goal is not just to retrieve artefacts from the debris belt circling the Takmahl's holy rock, but also to investigate the rock itself more closely, and scan to see if there are structures or cavities inside this rock. It is a dangerous operation, and I am inclined to make a general call for help among LUMEN's capsuleers.

The writing on the wreck

To a looter, like to a grave robber of an ancient tomb, a thorougly salvaged wreck holds no interest any more. I think that is why the Sleepers let this Talocan frigate just float about. They have extracted everything of any use from it.

However, to the scientist curious about ancient cultures, even a looted wreck is a source of interesting information: We know very little about Talocan culture and writing, and even though the tomb is emptied of valuables, so to speak, there are still frescoes on the wall. 

Over the many years that the wreck has been exposed to solar winds and dust clouds, all markings seem to have faded away. However, even a small amount of pigment particles can still be made visible through (even weak) fluorescence rather than reflection or absorption of light. By sending in the right frequency, and monitoring the right frequency, even trace amounts can be made visible. 

That is how we see the frescoes on this tomb's walls. I have logged and added the symbols that we found. We do not understand them yet, they look blocky somewhat like Jovian glyphs (and some have posited a relation, although that is controversial). The Talocan language remains a long-standing mystery, and many academic works have been written trying to interpret the icons.

As you can see from the sample in the handbook above, these square pictographs look somewhat similar. There also seem to be too many different ones for them to be letters in an alphabet. We do not know if they break down into such smaller units, or perhaps they are ideograms representing words or concepts, like a pictogram for "emergency exit hatch". 

However, the more different ones we can add (including the context where they were found), the larger the body of knowledge about them grows and perhaps one day we have enough information to crack the code of the Talocan language! 

((ooc picture credit: Archaeological Museum of Zagreb; page of the Oedipus Aegyptiacus of Athanasius Kircher))

Cargo cults

The Talocan wreck was found in the vicinity of a sleeper listening post, and it appears at first sight to be stripped of any salvage, probably by the Sleepers. Our crews are still making certain that no nanite or other ancient traps are present.  

Meanwhile the exterior is also worth examining. The hull is an elongated ellipsoid, with a thicker band running around its circumference in the middle, and a band running along the long side's top edge. The front part has six forward facing spikey protrusions, probably scanning devices or some sort of weapon. The aft has exhausts from a propulsion module.

This type of shape is quite typical of Talocan structures, be it ships or even small outposts (these tend to be somewhat less prolate). It could be just the product of my imagination, but I do see a certain resemblance with the stalagmite asteroids, albeit turned on their side. 

This points to a very interesting hypothesis: the Takmahl (do not mix them with the Talocan) worship of the stalagmite asteroid is a cargo cult religion! 

The Takmahl might have been visited by the Talocan, and were so impressed by their gifts and help coming from that alien ship, that they made or modeled an asteroid to look like it, and to implore from that rock the gifts that they received from an actual alien visitor.

This is a known phenomenon: indigenous inhabitants of small islands, during the wars of reclamation, met with the technologically superior Amarr who used islands as temporary bases and brought in goods with airplanes. After the reclamation, the bases were removed and the army left, but the inhabitants made mock landing strips from sticks and stones in the hope that this would attract the divine visitors with their goods.

But the Takmahl empire is fairly young on the scale of things! If true, this hypothesis implies that (perhaps the last) Talocan would have wandered around the cluster much much after we now estimate that their civilization got extinct!

Virtues Party

Tonight I will sleep under the unfamiliar constellations of Anoikis. I have arrived in our wormhole system of Seclusion, but today I did not have much time for the Talocan frigate, just a quick visit. First, my presence was needed at a ceremony to celebrate that the planets have been given names, registered in the Amarr Planetary Society's atlas. The planets are named after important virtues: Obedience, Devotion, Charity, Temperance, Sacrifice, Honesty, Propriety and Justice. 

For this milestone we had a party at the "Two Shots Minimum" bar on station, where Baron Redwolfe first reviewed the history of LUMEN's wormhole, from the time when intrepid explorer Umar Ahmad announced that LUMEN had claimed their spot in Anoikis, to the present era. That was followed by a contest, for the best personification of a virtue through dress, word or performance. 

Charity (Lady Echo Ashland), Propriety (ms. Jenneth) and Justice (Lady Arline Kley) impressed the jury, and each of those winners will be immortalized by having one of the control towers at the corresponding planets named after them.

The winners are also given a planetary-industry fitted Epithal-class hauler (which paladin Kley could not accept due to her vows with the Praetorians). That in itself is not worth a great deal in terms of isk, but it is easy for new industrialists in that they do not have to bring it and the bulky planetary command centers to Seclusion themselves. 

It is part of a wider effort to attract new investment and industry to the resource-rich planets of Seclusion. They have hired a public relations firm from the State, who have printed and distributed brochures "Seclusion is Open for Business!" that tout the very low tax rates and absence of tariffs for exports from the newly named planets.

Converting for love

It is an interesting conundrum. What if someone wants to convert to our religion not because the fire of faith has taken hold of them, but out of love - love for a person that does find faith important? Is that a reason good enough? Should they be allowed the conversion rite if they are not convinced to their core of our creed?

I have given it some thought, and I think it should be allowed. God has many ways to call people to Him, and certainly the path that starts with love for another person is not a bad one to begin the journey of faith.

There is historical precedent, too. Back when Assimia was still a patchwork of pagan kingdoms, a mighty king fell in love with a common girl called Riasan. He was impressed by her beauty and wisdom and kindness. She was of the faith, and through her prayers and devout life, she succeeded in converting her husband the king. This did not happen overnight, and I can imagine that the king's heart was not quite convinced of Riasan's religion at first, and he may have converted (and converted his subjects as well) out of love for his wife. This shows that love is a fertile soil in which the seed of faith, once planted, can grow and flourish!

Miniature of queen Riasan in prayer

It is to be noted that Saint Riasan is nowadays invoked against sudden death and iniquitous husbands. I am not sure where the sudden death part comes from, but she has indeed proven that she is able to change a husband for the better.

(( ooc picture attribution: St. Clothilde from Gallica Digital Library, available under the digital ID btv1b84472995/f53 ))

Aguard

I was surprised by the news from the Federation today. The Federation, once an enemy, have steadily moved more towards a friendly relation. The Pashanai accords, brokered by house Kor-Azor, enacted a new era of (perhaps tense) peace between the Federation and our Empire. 

LUMEN has played a role in these thawing relations. We have opened an embassy, well before even the Pashanai accords, on Luminaire, in order to bring the Empire and the Federation closer, be it merely at the level of our capsuleer engagements. On the overall scale of things this is perhaps a small role, but still I believe it to be an important component of our improved relations. It was one of many moves that prepared the way towards Pashanai.

So to hear today that the leader of the Federation, President Celes Aguard, has been deposed from office, is shocking. 

I realise Presidents are nothing like an Empress, they are not chosen by God but by the people, people with all their sins and imperfections and callous judgments and selfish desires. They do not reflect the divine, they merely reflect the basest common denominator of wants. But still - presidents are imbued with authority. I do not know what will happen now, there are no heirs in their system, there is no Shathol'Syn, no divine guidance. Most likely they will again poll their people, who have no training nor guidance in selecting good leaders...

May the next President prove to be a reliable partner for the Empire and may he or she continue to follow the path of peace and collaboration.

Preparing for Seclusion

I am heading out to LUMEN's wormhole system of Seclusion this weekend. There is a naming celebration for the planets, as we are encouraging new industry and investment on those resource-rich worlds. 

Astronomers had named them Seclusion I, Seclusion II, and so on - scientific names. They will now be named after virtues, somewhat corresponding to the type of planets. So there will be a contest where people can represent virtues through poetry, clothing, dance, song, or any sort of performance. I will be on the jury for this. 

Mr. Firth very much approves of such celebrations, proclaiming them to be virtuous in their own right. But that is not his only motivation to join me to Seclusion, despite his strong dislike of wormholes (or, indeed, of any type of space that is not high-sec by concord standards).

We will also inspect a Talocan frigate that was retrieved by Baron Redwolfe's exploration fleets. It has been towed to station, and remains there, sealed and ready to be investigated. I will be bringing a team of engineers from our Gottin's Lamp headquarters to help us breach the hull or access parts of the ship that might still be closed off. Perhaps I should also bring one of these neural lace implants in case we need to hack a systems. Special drilling equipment, small scanning probes, a force field enclosure... the Indagatrix's cargo bay is filling up quickly. 

Preparations are indeed needed - this is much like opening an ancient tomb. Also this is not without danger! The Talocan possessed knowledge and skill far beyond what we have. However, the high risk comes with a high potential for reward as well. And even though prudence is a virtue, so is fortitude!

Mining permits and jobs

The mining permit is false. We found it in the Interbus shuttle that crashed on the asteroid where my old monastery is. 

It took a while, and a long tour along all sorts of instances, from the Amarr Civil Services and the Ducia Foundry to the Amarr Trade Registry. No-one recognizes this type permit, and there are no records that any mining permit has been granted. That is to be expected, as the land of a monastery is sacrosanct. 

I was told that most likely this is some sort of "permit" handed out by racketeers, who let miners in regular asteroid belts pay in order not to be attacked. After they pay and get the permit, they get attacked anyway. Probably the shuttle was some sort of automated escape pod which left the ship without any occupant.

In other mining related news, I have heard that the arch-heretic has announced his own freelance mining jobs, asking capsuleers to mine asteroids in Gamis and Zorozih, hoping to find the Ametat and Avetat on some rock. Firing mining lasers at relics expresses a total lack of respect for these delicate and holy items. In the case of the Ametat and Avetat - relics of such inconceivable power - it will probably result in the destruction of the mining craft. 

However, I do not worry too much, I cannot imagine that the Gamis asteroid belts are where these holiest of artefacts are. The belts in those system are too heavily mined and exploited for such a find to have gone unnoticed. The outer layers of moons and asteroids - where the deposits of the last few ten thousand years would be - must have been scraped off them already a while ago. 

Epikouria Chronicles VIII

Another handwritten missive was waiting for me, from Brother Hugo, reporting on the wormhole colony started by Publius.

Brother Hugo's plans to visit the Original's capital have taken an interesting turn. As it happens, an intercultural fair is going to take place at the Free Trade Friendship Zone - the designated area on Renaissance (planet VI) where Starborn and Originals can freely mix. 

Both groups are very cautious with strangers. It is said of wormhole dwellers in general that they are somewhat paranoid, and it seems that at least the Starborn are no exception to this. The first step to trust each other is to get to know each other better, and that is the goal of this two-week long event, organized jointly by the Starborn and the Origin Colonial Authority (I think it is the Original's equivalent of the Empress' Privy Council).

There will be different pavilions devoted to the various cultures, beliefs, and habits present among the Starborn and the Originals. Brother Hugo and his companions made it their task to construct a pavilion showcasing the Amarrian faith. 

Their plan is to build a pop-up church. 

They do not have the means to build a pavilion like that, but they have held a charity drive and went around the Ardishapur quarter in Ouranos station with a collection box. Their congregation gave generously, and contributed not only in terms of money, but also objects to display. Brother Hugo is very proud of a large oil-on-canvas painting depicting Empress Catiz. 

Also people not of the faith contributed items, as the brothers are well liked on most of the station. They got an old statue of Heideran VII, which had been used somewhat blasphemously as a mannequin in a high-end boutique for official ceremonial attire. Brother Hugo plans to repaint it with gold paint and put in on display along with copies of the Pax Amarria.

It may have been one of the first letters that gave me a sense that Brother Hugo is in a good mood and positively energized!

Links to keep track of the letters of Brother Hugo:
I. First Contact
II. Diplomatic Talks 
III. Refugee crisis
IV. Setting up a new home station
V. Epikouria under siege
VI. Prince Seraghis visit

VII. A suspicion of heresy

Second wreck

A message reached me from Baron Redwolfe, who is currently in Seclusion. Besides the shuttle from Interbus that we salvaged here at the Monastery, it appears that there's now a second salvaged spacecraft that is brought to my attention! Baron's Odysseus explorer found a Talocan wreck. 

image courtesy of Baron Redwolfe

He writes:

I have come across a perculiar item that you may wish to investigate more. I am unsure if you have obtained one or not. I have encountered in a sleeper data chace, a one Talocan Derelict Frigate. I had the teams in Seclusion II tow it back to be investigated. We have not opened it in case there is anything of danger inside. We await information from you if we should proceed with opening it or not.

I told him to be careful about nanites, and I am eager to go see this for myself. From the image it does look Talocan in nature, but closer inspection is needed to see if it is not some sort of replica.

Troubling salvage

We have searched through the remnants of the crashed Interbus shuttle, and found only a few items of interest. One is an Interbus public communications display of some safety instructions featuring a demon of sorts, and the other is a mining permit:

This document caused quite a stir among my brothers, and even the Abbot who struck me as an even-tempered man is in panic. They fear that someone wants to start mining on the very asteroid where the monastery is located. Needless to say this would be a huge disruption of the peace and quiet that is needed for transcribing scripture, prayers and meditation.

The paper is a weird thing. It seems that someone just states that from now on they own the land and can mine it, and the locals have nothing to say about it. I am not even sure to which land it refers to. Who could have issued such a permit? 

They do not think that the Ducia Foundry would do such a thing - Ducia is the main mining corporation in the constellation. But even if this is not issued by Ducia, then still it might be from some other organisation, perhaps a start-up, that seeks to drill into the asteroid. This is not even an asteroid that is valuable for its minerals - it is all basic regolith and silicate!

I promised the Abbot I would go and find out more about this, my first stop will be the Ducia corporation.

Salvage operation

It has been a while since I made a spacewalk outside of the pod.  

With the ice storms subsiding now that the season is over, we ventured out on the asteroid's surface. The Monastery itself has artificial gravity inside, but once you leave though the airlock, this quickly dissipates. Moving away from the installation, the gravity reduces until you barely feel it is there. 

The jagged horizon encloses you, and its curvature is clearly visible since the rock is not that big - the perspectives seem all wrong. The surface is frozen, but it is not like usual ice or snow, it is much more dilute, powdery and fluffy, and walking is awkward. We took out a large salvage vehicle, which looks more like a big cage on spikey wheels - traction control is difficult even on the usual regolith of the asteroid. There is no real sense of speed, as you have with planetary vehicles, or perhaps there is some feeling but it betrays you. 

Everything is very very quiet - the rock does not have any atmosphere.

We moved to the sunny side and crossing the from the darker to the lighter region is a brutal attack on the senses. Even the combination of the helmet's adaptive visor and vision implants has a difficult task to find a setting that does not blind you with light, nor with darkness. The white cover is thicker here - the ice particles are carried by the solar wind so the side that is more exposed to the star is more thickly covered.

We made it to the crashes shuttle without any problems, and started with checking that there are indeed no life signs. There would not be ones, since an entire side of the shuttle is missing. We did not find a corpse, whatever happened to the pilot of the shuttle - or perhaps it was on autopilot - is a mystery until we read out the navigation computer, or what is left of it.

We removed whatever pieces and parts we could - lifting even big masses does not require much effort in this weak gravity. But the work is slow, and clumsy, as you are most of the time moving yourself in stead of the mass when you try to push or pull, there is little grip. In the end most pieces were removed, and the crash site is left relatively clean. 

Now the task of sifting through the salvage to find out more about it begins.

Snow storm disruptions

I have had pleasant discussions with the new abbot, who presented me with a gift, a hand-written copy of the Book of Reclaiming. We talked about how being a capsuleer brings additional duties and obligations. 

The discussion turned to the current metaliminal ice storms, and how the monastery had been hit hard by the winds carrying ice particulates that sweep the system. Nearby shipping lanes are also disrupted, and many Interbus travelers have been stranded over the end-of-year holidays. 

It is not just here, but going over the maps, I saw that the Araz constellation seems to be a focal point for the storms this year:

In particular, the Araz "pentagram" systems are hit by strong storms. Could some link between the Drifter system asteroid and the Aphi labyrinth asteroid be attracting these phenomena?

Anyway, that was not the point that the abbot really wanted to make. He got to the question that he wanted to ask only after a while - apparently an interbus shuttle has crashed on the far side of the asteroid. There seem to be no life signs on board, just material damage. Since the monks do not have much experience with spacewalks, or walks on the exterior of an asteroid, the abbot asked me to lead a small expedition to walk over to that side and check out the wreckage, and clear up the site.

Storms are predicted to quiet down tomorrow, so that is when we will go.

Copy demons

It is strange to see my old monastery covered in what appears to be snow. Given that it is an asteroid monastery, and not on a comet.

However, the system has had a metaliminal storm bringing ice particles, that collected on the odd potato-shaped rock on which the monastery is located; most of the monastery is underground but there are some structures outside, including a shuttle port, facing the cold vacuum of space. These structure now sport a nice wintery scene, looking as if the monks can come bursting out on its surface to roll a snow puppet or start a snowball fight any time.

We devote ourselves to copying scriptures by hand here, following in the steps of Saint Aloysius, our patron saint. This is goes on day and night without interruption. The scriptorium lies deeply in the asteroid, and is protected by relics and ringed by side-altars where always one of the monks is praying. This protection is needed to avert the copy demons, believed to besiege the monastery. 

Nowadays, it is easy to copy a text flawlessly electronically. But back in ancient times, it was believed that demons try to secretly corrupt faith by altering words, whispering errors of translation, or distracting monks who would skip a word. A single error, faithfully recopied over centuries, can bend doctrine and hollow out faith from within. Hence the protective prayers, and the presence of a hierarchy of scriptors, lectors and correctors.

I shared a simple meal with my brothers after my arrival, and they asked me hundreds of questions about my travels and about capsuleers and their organizations. I felt exhausted. They have kindly offered me to sleep in my old cell! 

A visit home

I have been asked by the new Abbot of my former monastic order if I could pay them a visit. 

It has been a little over four years now that my guide and friend, the former Abbot Bavo passed away. That was the last time I went to the asteroid monastery where I spent a good sixty years of my life. So, a visit is long overdue, and it will feel good to see my old brothers again! 

Also, I am curious about the new Abbot. Even though he is not my direct superior as I am no longer part of a monastic order and have become a friar rather than a monk, the order and the asteroid monastery is still very dear to my heart.