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