The gatekeeper - part 3

Back in AD 21304 it took quite some time for a dinghy to cross the distance between the gate hangar and a freighter thirty-odd kilometers away. Khafkan, mightily angry that someone had gone over his head, was determined to use this time to apply the full might of his administrative prowess to unearth other possible objections against approving the jump.

He sifted through the web of holding companies to find that the owner - the one who must have contacted his superior - was the chapter master of the Order of The Promised Planet, currently under investigation by the Council of Apostles. They were against Amarr's expansion to the stars and advocated that everyone should stay on our home world, the promised planet where the prophet Gheinok led us to. While he found it very ironic that exactly these folk are now in a hurry to get to Hedion, this was not a cause to deny the jump authorization.

Another thing that caught his eye was the ship's manifest. It had not raised any concerns that they were transporting pluche toys, interior house decorations, cosmetics from a line of a famous singer, and class II industrial waste. The paperwork for that was perfectly in order. But they had claimed to be on an emergency. Khafkan failed to see how these items could constitute an emergency shipment. At the very least an inspection was in order.

That is why, after landing his dinghy in the freighter's docking bay, he did not follow the droid to the bridge to get the signature, but took a sudden turn and headed towards the cargo bay. 

What he saw there, was not in accordance with regulations.

The cargo bay was stocked from floor to ceiling with crates of explosives. 

Khafkan did not make it back to his dinghy. Before a blaster blew a fist-sized hole in his chest, he was able to message the gunner the correct codes of the various infractions committed by the terrorists. With his last breath, he added "Jump request still denied". 

When the freighter made a run for the gate, the gunner drew the correct conclusion, and opened fire. The exploding ship damaged the gate, but it did not achieve the ultimate goal of the conspirators: to destroy our first and back then only stable wormhole connection to another star system. They had hoped to permanently seal off Amarr from the rest of the universe. The order, henceforth known as the Sealers, was outlawed and purged.

As for Khafkan, to this very day he is venerated as patron saint of bureaucracy.

The gatekeeper - part 2

Khafkan did not like unusual events at all, they invariantly caused him emotional distress.

When distressed, he found relief by carefully scrutinizing paperwork. There was something about administrative details that put his mind in flux and his thoughts at rest. After two and a half hours, he had finished meticulously checking all the travel documents, and communicated his conclusions to the waiting freighter.

"Your JA-319 form is not in order. Jump request denied."

The ship messaged back "This is the Spirit of Good Fortune. It's a three-hundred page document. What's wrong with it?"

"That question should be addressed to the helpdesk, not to the chief jump officer. You can open a ticket via helpdesk@hediongate.info, or online via the HediHedi app. Thank you and good night." 

Khafkan felt a wave of satisfaction based on the knowledge that no-one is more professional than he. He had noticed that the signature on page 189 was not entirely inside the box that delimited the space provided for it on the document. 

The ship's reply came in an angry voice. "We're in a hurry, it's an emergency delivery, we can't wait for a helpdesk. Why can't you just tell us what's wrong with it?"

Gone was Khafkan's feeling of satisfaction. "Because that is not in the stated list of the duties of a chief jump officer, as per the officer's handbook version 37 point 3." He added pre-emptively "That is the latest version."

The discussion that ensued was recorded and logged by the gate's communication array. It was long and not pleasant - it varied between negotiation, attempts at bribery, and threats. None of that worked to change Khafkan's mind. 

The one thing that did work, was a direct order from Khafkan's superior officer, woken up in the middle of the night by a call from the owner of the shipping company. 

"For a f***ing signature that is partly outside the F***ING BOX?" he screamed after Khafkan explained him the reasons for denying the jump. "Are you mad, Khafkan? You ARE! Go bring them a new form to sign if you need it and THEN LET THE F****** SH*TSHIP through. That's an order!" After another string of expletives, interspersed with some thrashing, the line was suddenly cut.

It was rare for Khafkan to receive such an unambiguous order. He filled in a request for an unscheduled undock of a space dinghy, and then he formally approved his own request as he had the authority to do so. As per regulations, he alerted the gate gunner, who had to be woken up, so he could dutifully stand guard and track the dinghy. He then undocked, taking with him a new copy of the JA-319 form, with a blank unsigned page 189.

-to be continued-

The gatekeeper - part 1

Lord Khafkan Knivet, not yet a saint, was chief jump officer at Hedion gate during the night shift of November 5th, AD 21304. 

Hedion Gate was still brand new, it had been opened only fourteen years earlier, and the post of chief jump officer was a very prestigious one. House Knivet was no obvious choice - it certainly was not one of the grand Houses. The choice had been a compromise between rivaling grand Houses, at least one of which dearly hoped house Knivet would fail badly at the job.

Khafkan knew this, and was out to prove that he would not just do well, but excel at the job. He had always been intensely passionate about rules and regulations, and he knew the jump flight codices even better than scripture. He was determined to apply them to the letter.

That night of November, a large freighter arrived at Hedion gate, immediately requesting to initiate the jump procedure. That was unusual - interstellar jump travel was young and the traffic through the gate was not as intense as it is in our time. There were only a few freighters per day using the gate, and those jumps usually occurred during Dam-Torsad timezone office hours. At night, civilian ships would just be moored somewhere on the gate's grid, waiting for the next day to wake the crew and continue their way. 

Khafkan, gifted with good memory and attention to detail, knew the identification number and name of every single interstellar freighter that had crossed the gate before. 

This was a new one.

-to be continued-

Single-system civilization

Today I kept mulling over the disappearance of the Jove from their own sealed off region of space.  I have been thinking about the possibility that they retreated to just one world in their region. Even if they could, it would be a dangerous thing to do. Putting their entire population in one place is putting your survival at risk: a single cataclysm or invasion may mean extinction. 

It seems unimaginable now, but there was a time when we were restricted to just one planet, Athra, and this was more than enough for all Amarrians alive then. For millennia, living anywhere else than on that planet's surface was just not something that anyone gave any thought. Athra was the obvious home, a given, and only futurists and dreamers longed for the unreachable stars.

Of course, there were far fewer people back then, and just one planet could sustain this small population. To return to living in a single system is unthinkable today, with uncountable trillions of souls scattered over a vast interstellar empire. But there was a short window of time in our history when leaving Amarr or not was indeed a point of discussion. 

In the early years of our space age, there was a group called the Sealers. These heretics rejected what is now recorded in Book of Reclaiming,
"I give to you the destiny of Faith,
And you will bring its message to every planet of every star in the heavens:
Go forth, conquer in my Name, and reclaim that which I have given."

It is sometimes claimed that the words "to every planet of every star in the heavens" was not yet there during those early years, it would have been "to every land of every continent on Athra". The Tetrimon say that the wording was changed after the Empire was purged of the heresy of the Sealers, to clarify the correct interpretation. 

The Sealers argued that Prophet Gheinok led us to Amarr to live there, in our promised land, and nowhere else. This put them at odds with the Council of Apostles (which back then had theological authority just like the Theology Council now) and of course the Emperor, who argued for expansion into the heavens. 

The dispute was not settled without a fight...

Footage analysis

The footage offered by yuanshenqidong confirms the tale of the other capsuleers that claimed to have visited the Jove regions. Their space - or more precisely the TO21-U system - seems to be devoid of any Jovian activity. The specialists at the Lamp's image analysis lab think that the footage is real, and offers a true glimpse of what happens in this sealed-off region of space.

Capsuleers are seen prancing around this seemingly abandoned space, and warping to unused Jove stations. No other signatures appear. The footage does not have a high enough resolution to see if the planets are inhabited, but from what we can make of it, it looks like the planets do not have large cities.

Where did they go? 

Did they succumb to the Jovian disease? Leave their physical bodies to upload their mind to a virtual world? Move to a different region? Perhaps they concentrate now on fewer systems, as they do not need two full regions of the cluster to support their shrinking population? Why then abandon their stations rather than move them, or at least strip them of all functionality?

I find it hard to believe than they went extinct so quickly - last contact was only a eight years ago, in YC118. Perhaps the activity of the Deathless may stir them once again into action, and cause them to reveal themselves again.

ooc acknowledgment: Thanks to yuanshenqidong for sharing the videos of their exploits; the links are to a Chinese version of youtube: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Z142167HY  and  https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV19T421X7cQ/  . The low-res versions can be viewed without any subscription. The images of the previous blog post were taken from stills of the low-res version of the videos.

First footage

The Lamp's security are proceeding well with their analysis of the links that I was sent by yuanshenqidong. It turns out to be footage from their incursions into Jove space. 

A trait often found in capsuleers is vanity; part of that is bragging about their famous exploits. In order to prove their trip into Jove space, yuanshenqidong recorded it. And mounted some sort of compilation of this footage, in two films of about ten minutes each. They are without narration, but one of them has a soundtrack with music which can only be described as previous-millennium soothing shopping mall music.

I have only obtained parts of the footage from our computer scientists - at a very low resolution unfortunately. To gain access to higher resolution, some sort of subscription is necessary which the security people think is either a Jita scam or an attempt at espionnage on LUMEN. Still, from the first low resolution images, the capsuleer is seen clone jumping from a Fraternity Building Management station in 4-HWWF (in Vale of the Silent) directly to a Jove station in TO21-U. This offers some tantalizing view inside the Jove station. It is mostly dark, a sign that it is no longer inhabited.

There, a covette is boarded, which undocks. The hangar force field appears to be active:

After a little while, a view of the entire station becomes visible.

The timestamp of the footage has been verified, YC126/05/06 . More analysis is to follow.

SoCT Scandal

The logbook fragments of Okada -meanwhile I have found a couple more as we scour specific wreck signatures- have caused a bit of an outcry against the Society of Conscious Thought. 

They are famous for their schools. I have visited one before, and used its library. 

These schools are integral parts of their enclaves, called 'kitz'es. The schools are originally meant to educate their own enclave members. They became famous for their top education and now offer programs to selected children all over the cluster. These seemed to be selected more or less at random, and it was thought that this was some sort of way to ensure equality of opportunity among humankind.

Now these logbooks contain accusations that the children are selected to be brainwashed and become spies for the Society of Conscious Thought. Indeed, it is notable that these graduates often get important posts, also here in Amarr. Whether there is truth to this accusion or not, the press coverage in the Federation has turned it into the scandal of the day.

Here, Amarr Certified News is not so quick to jump to conclusions and does not comment on the matter. But, regardless of that, or of the authenticity of the logbook, I am convinced that there will now be quiet purges. In particular in the Amarr Civil Service where many Amarrian SoCT alumni end up getting influencial posts.

Also regardless of the truth or falsehood of the accusion, I believe that we should remain wary of those who worship the Jove in stead of our one true God, and question what it is exactly that they indoctrinate our children with.

Second battle of Zinkon

When you chop off one of the heads of the mythical hydra, it grows two more. The same goes for piracy: if you remove one set of pirates, others come to fill in the void left by their deposed predecessors. It is not different in Aridia. After the defeat of the previous bunch of LowSechnayans, a new horde of them came in to take the place of their fallen comrades and stake their claim on the Aridian spacelanes. 

The two heads that grew from the one chopped off were Parallaxis Alliance and the new LowSechnayans. It did not take long before war broke out again between this pirate alliance and Prince Seraghis' pacification forces. We mustered the fleet once more, and set out to destroy the newly built headquarters of the LowSechnayans, again in Zinkon. The logistics wing was well staffed, and the battle wing consisted of Typhoon battleships. 

However, it did not go as well as last time...

The enemy fleet consisted mostly of Leshak battleships, and -another proof of the close links between the LowSechnayans and the Blood Raiders- a Bhaalgorn, along with Nestor logistics. Unfortunately, they forced us to our knees. They used electronic warfare - ECM's - to have our Guardians lose target lock. We had to make a tactical retreat, and took heavy losses. 

We learn and grow through the hardships that we face. Indeed, scripture tells us that we are closest to God when "only through many hardships, [...] a man [is] stripped to his very foundations". We're certainly not at that bleak point, but Book of Missions does remind us that there is purpose not only in victory, but also in the occasional defeat.

Dangerous links

Several months ago I explored the possibility of entering into Jove territory. God must have been guiding me then, as I had no idea of how Jove passages would become important now. I had not heard yet about Yosef Okada and how he had been searching for the same, a passage into their space. I confess that I am just a tad jealous that Okada succeeded where I failed. Granted, he tried for a longer time, and made much worse friends along the way. 

Well, strange friends... back in the Vale of the Silent, I did make some new acquaintances. People that claimed to have ventured into the forbidden Jove regions of space. I got in touch with one of them, and they told me that Jove space is now abandoned, but there are still stations around. These can not be commandeered like the Fulcrum, and are smaller. The passage that they used, according to that contact, has been closed.

Today, months after my attempts to get in touch with various contacts, I received a coded message by another one of them, yuanshenqidong. She did not hide her name, nor ask me to hide it, so I do not think I will put her in danger by recording it. 

In contrast with the other contact, yuanshenqidong does not speak Amarrian or Gallente (even though she is on record as Intaki). The universal translator is not of much help, multiple strands of dialects seem to be applicable. But I did figure out that her symbol of the Jove is 朱庇特.  Her message was concise, and merely provided some links. The Descendants of Shen Nong (as her clan is called) use their own version of galnet, probably out of distrust of the central powers. So, the links she offered are darkweb locations on some unknown alternate galnet. 

Right, I'm not going to click on that. 

I'll have the Lamp's ICT security team figure it out.

Fragment

From time to time mr. Firth's ambition proves useful. He suggested we go back to the Gurista wreck where we found the Atavum device, to see if we can find any logbook fragment of Yosef Okada. It was not a bad idea.

The wreck had deteriorated since our last visit. Looters -or perhaps Gurista search and rescue- had clearly come by. They tore some holes in the hull of the wreck, and left a data relay satellite, perhaps used as a beacon. The site had been reclassified as a data site, perhaps because there was nothing left to be considered relics. 

As could perhaps be expected, we found a logbook fragment. Now that I knew what to look for, it was actually not too hard to find, after using standard hacking procedures. It was not hidden well; even though the original file was deleted, it was easy to reconstitute. This fragment is an entry that dates from just after the destruction of the dig site on Caldari Prime, and just before Okada got evacuated. 

Unfortunately, this is a fragment that is already known and documented. It offers a small insight into a pivotal moment, when his disillusionment with the State and with the central powers started to crystallize into open rebellion. 

I wonder why these fragments are showing up so often on ships or data satellites of the associates of the Deathless. I fear there might be a cult forming around his person now, and this logbook has become scripture for his followers.

The Deathless: a biography?

There is a buzz in the archeologist community about recent logbook fragments that were found by capsuleers. These are logbook entries written by a Society of Conscious Thought archeologist called Yosef Okada. The community is divided over whether these are real or a hoax. 

There did exist an archeologist of that name, but the dean of the Archeology and Paleontology School of Hedion University is sceptical about the logbook. She points out that this Okada fellow has a very poor publication record so he is not a "serious" academic and certainly the claims in his logbook would not stand up to peer review.

From these logs, two stories seem to emerge. The first one is from before Yosef Okada joined the Society of Conscious Thought. He was an assistant archeologist investigating a dig site that dates back 15'000 years, on Caldari Prime. The site and the expedition were destroyed during the Gallente-Caldari war, collateral damage just before the dig would reveal its secret. That secret would have been some sort of evidence corroborating the existence of a common ancestral world for all of the peoples of the cluster. The dean remarks "The louder someone supports this evergreen feel-good myth, the weaker is the body of proof that they can present. In this case, any proof was conveniently destroyed by fusion bombs."

The second part of these logs recalls how the archeologist turned his back on the State and joined the Society of Conscious Thought, helping them with the investigation of the Jove. During his new expedition, he gained the trust of the Hrada-Oki clan, part of the nomadic Thukker tribe, and joined them in their travels. During Amarr's own age of exploration of the seas by sail ships, it was not uncommon that a scientist -often a botanist or geologist- would voyage along with the explorer to collect samples and then bring their collection back home to a major Scientific Society, hoping to become famous. Okada seems to have fulfilled such a role for the Hrada-Oki wandering clan, with the distinction that he never brought his collection of artifacts back to his masters, the Society of Conscious Thought. He turned rogue.

Again, according to these unverified logs, the Hrada-Oki caravan (perhaps with Okada's help) eventually hit an archeologist's grand prize: a passage to an abandoned Jovian nexus system, Zarzakh. It seems that both the Society of Conscious Thought and the Drifters were searching for this valued place. The prize is more than a functioning Jove station, now known as the Fulcrum. There are also ships of Jovian design - or based on it. And who knows what other Jovian technology can be extracted from it!

While two dogs are fighting for a bone, a third one runs away with it. Neither the Society of Conscious Thought, nor the Drifters got their prize. The Deathless and his Hrada-Oki friends did. There are hints in these retrieved log entries that the Deathless is none other than Yosef Okada himself, transformed by the Fulcrum into whatever being he is now, straddling (I quote:) "a world of substance, a world of dreams, and a world beyond." Clearly, humility is not his strong suit. Anyway, another hint that the Deathless is Yosef Okada comes from Okada's life: his disappointment with the State, and his connections with dubious clans in Molden Heath would explain the Deathless' association with both Angel Cartel and the Guristas.

Now that I suspect that the Deathless is a struggling archeologist, I have a strange new appreciation for him, although I still strongly disapprove of his career choices.

Veterans

It seems I have not been alone in my concern about Drifters being active in Amarr space. The Drifters attempted to set up a base in Turnur from which to launch an attack on Zarzakh, but failed. The impunity with which they just appeared with large structures in an Empire system shocked me, and I was happy to have been able to provide some intelligence on their bases.

We are at war with the drifters since YC117, and veterans of this war have been very concerned about this new development. Societies representing the veterans have been requesting audiences with the Empress and with the Ministry of War's Chief of Staff, divine general Perimum Amyn. 

For reasons unclear to me, the CEO of the Caldari megacorporation "Lai Dai" thought it was good to call these veterans "a distraction from the real threat" - which for them would be the Guristas affiliated with the Deathless, presumably. It is bad business to insult your Amarr trade partners. The State does not like others prying into their internal affairs, and its high representatives should in my opinion therefore refrain from such comments when it comes to our internal affairs.

Perhaps the Deathless and the Drifters are two sides of the same coin. To me, there is some similarity between the physical appearance of the Deathless (in what little footage we have of that criminal mastermind) and the Drifters. I would not be surprised if the Deathless was a rogue Drifter. If that would be the case there is all the more reason to heed our veterans!

No parade

The Atavum that I found earlier is no longer a complete mystery - in fact these objects have been all over the news. The Scope - unreliable as they are in comparison to Amarr Certified News - had a feature on the Deathless and how he is collecting these objects to unlock, well, something, in Zarzakh. Guristas and Angel Cartel are helping him transport these Atavum devices to his stronghold, so it was not surprising that I found it in a Guristas wreck.

Strangely, there is not much talk about how these devices work or what they do, the entire news coverage is about how this criminal kingpin wants them for himself. The Scope is not known for its focus on science - they find it boring and prefer sensation.

I did not get much time to investigate these objects at the library, as mr. Firth insisted we turn them all in to the MIO as soon as possible. I think he expected a medal. We went to the Ministry of Internal Order logistics station orbiting Mehatoor I, it is their closest station. 

When handing in the artifacts, the clerk said "Oh, we've already had a lot of those lately. Thanks. Put them on the stack in room 15/06. Fill in how you found them on an RF-09I." Noticing my confusion, he handed me some sheets of paper, "That's this form. In duplicate."

Naturally, Mr. Firth was disappointed with that lackluster response. I tried to reassure him by suggesting that the clerk's response may have been bluff, to make us believe the find was not important. There was no big stack of these things in room 15/06, just an empty table.

Now Mr. Firth wants to earn more credit by having us hack into Blood Raider communication nodes that were put up for the annual blood fest that is the Crimson Harvest. This does not help my own research for relics along, but seeing that Mr. Firth is in a bad mood about the reception of the Atavum I will best indulge him.

Strange object

During exploration today, I stumbled upon abandoned Guristas ruin, at one of the sites classified as a relic site. The ruin could be boarded after hacking, as usual in such sites. Inside, I found artefacts that I have not seen before, labeled "Atavum", or "ancestor device".

It looks to be of Jovian design, but I am not completely sure. To be honest, I think it may just be a Jovian casing around something else. What seems to be a latching mechanism suggests it should be fitted into another device. It does not appear to be powered up, but it still has a weak warping effect on spacetime. It might be a containment device for some spacetime knot or rift. 

I have not found it in the Society of Conscious Thought's libraries, at least the part accessible through the Interlibrary Exchange Programme. 

I will bring it back to Mehatoor to the lab for investigation. I'm not allowed to keep it for very long; it must be brought to the MIO as soon as possible. Mr. Firth was elated with this find, he is convinced it will increase the prospects for his promotion even more.

The battle of Zinkon

"I will not hesitate when the test of Faith finds me, for only the strongest conviction will open the gates of paradise" - Prophet Kuria

Amarr fleets have an unwavering dedication to the Empress and put their full trust in God. That is why -as the prophet Kuria says- they do not hesitate even when facing almost certain death. It is a trait I witnessed during the famous battle of Wirashoda, a turning point in the first Pochven war, and I witnessed it again today in the war against the Lowsechnaya Sholupen pirates and rebels. 

I came to Aridia to join the LUMEN fleet under command of Prince Seraghis. The Leshak/Damnation fleet headed out for  a crucial battle in this war. We struck right at the heart of the enemy, at their headquarters in Zinkon.

I was part of an understaffed logistics wing with four Guardian class vessels - and soon it became clear that we would not be able to keep the fleet from taking damage. Moreover, the pirates were helped by their unholy alliance with the Blood Raiders. A Blood Raider combat wing was at the station, targeting our logistics. The combination of Lowsechnaya Sholupen's battlecruiser fleet, the Blood Raider elite frigate fleet, and the stations's batteries, were too much to tank. We did as best we could for much longer than I thought possible, thanks to the outstanding wing command of Meja Lirnix from Zaraehvar. 

Our fleet stayed right on the enemy station, fully exposed to enemy fire, knowing that it would be decimated but the goal of destroying that demonic station would be reached. The sacrifice was warranted: these pirates have been attacking many other stations in the region, threatening to kill potentially hundreds of thousands of baseliner station workers and inhabitants, if not more. The bravery paid off: we succeeded. 

I will stay in Haimeh tonight, to organise a service for the families of fallen crew members, many of whom were recruits from that system. Their sacrifice must be honored - they helped ended this war. It is through their devotion to Amarr that now the rebellious pirates are either dead or in disarray. For now. We must remain ever vigilant lest they regroup.

Trouble in Aridia

Being chaplain to the sprawling empire that LUMEN has become, you have to keep many plates spinning. My attention has recently been going to our expansion into wormhole space, but also back in Aridia there is need for capsuleer ministry. 

Prince Seraghis is working hard to pacify the region near Mishi, and bring prosperity to the Mayonhen constellation and beyond. Mishi IV is the home system of the Ni-Kunni people that have spread to every corner of the empire. They are a prime example of successful reclamation!

But now Prince and his merry band of Zaraehvar warriors have a tough nut to crack: a pirate faction called "NullSechnaya Sholupen" started causing trouble in the region. The conflict has grown into a regional war.

Prince Seraghis has been very gallant and helpful when I was exploring Aridia. Moreover many members of his Zaraehvar team are quite fond of books, and I appreciate that. They have been avid users of Gottin's Lamp Library Skillbook programme, with "Gas Cloud Harvesting" an absolute bestseller. Personally, I never really considered that one a page-turner. De gustibus non disputandum est.

Anyway, I want to help them in what little capacity I can, in gratitude for Prince's help and in recognition of the worthy goals of Zaraehvar. I am traveling over tonight to assist them, offering both spiritual help and remote repairs.

New kitchen knife

The industriousness that I saw in Seclusion is rapidly transforming the place - our outpost in Anoikis is turning into an industry hub, with new stations and factories popping up all around the old space fort. This calls for station blessings, something that I plan to do in the near future. I will combine it with the translation of the relic of Saint Vasrayi to Pilgrim's Rest chapel.

Unsurprisingly, the impending embellishment and enlargement of the chapel met with distrust from the local Matari that apparently also come and go freely in Seclusion. Thukkers - space nomads that often spend their life in wandering trade caravans. I can imagine they feel at ease in wormhole space, ever changing as it is, and unbeholden to any Empire. 

One of them, a capsuleer by the name of Isidorus Orissus, told me in no unclear terms that his clan can never be forced pray at an Amarr chapel. Surely this is some sort of allergic reaction, as if the mere presence of the chapel brings with it a threat. I tried to reassure him that even though I regret that his clan does not see the light we do not do forceful reclaiming in Pilgrim's Rest. 

I do not think the message got through: He threw his knife. 

It landed into a cutting board at the Lamp's bar. After which Isidorus left. Not being an expert in Thukker culture I am uncertain whether this is to be interpreted as a sign of disapproval, or approval through the gift of a new kitchen implement. 

Promotion Exam

Mr. Ivan Firth, the political officer on my exploration ship, has filed an application to be promoted within the ranks of the MIO. His new rank would be Itinerant Frumentaris Second Class. Right now he is third class of the same title. Mr. Firths recent successes - the intel we gathered on the Zarzakh siege, and the retrieval of a biodroid - made it possible for him to apply. 

I have no idea what those ranks mean. And that is as it should be, because the specifics are not disclosed to the public. Nor are all the details known even by Mr. Firth himself. It appears to be customary in the MIO that you only get full disclosure on the duties and perks of a rank when you have the clearance that comes with that very same rank. That is meant to test your dedication. As for mr. Firth, he looks forward to discover exactly what new powers he will have. Nevertheless he assures me that he would still continue to serve as my political officer after his promotion. 

The promotion is not automatic: he still has to pass an exam to get promoted. He is studying hard for this.

I hope it will only be a theory exam...

A Saint for the Hole

I have found a suitable Saint for Seclusion. I figured it ought to be a hermit, someone who enjoyed seclusion. This might resonate also with the ones calling our wormhole colony home.

Saint Vasrayi the Anchorite lived with his parents in a garrison town in Southern Ves-Udor during the reclaiming of Athra. Fortunes turned against Amarr and the town was overrun by a pagan army. His parents were killed, and Vasrayi fled into the great interior desert, taking with him only a book of prayers. He found a cave, at the desert's edge, in the foothills of the ancient mountain range of Satach's Spite. He lived alone there from the age of ten to the age of one hundred and thirteen years old. 

In the cave, there was a clear spring, and near his hermitage there was also a palm tree. Its leaves provided him clothing, and its fruit provided him with the only source of food until his forty-second birthday. Then, a golden eagle started bringing him half a loaf of bread daily. 

From time to time, people made the difficult trek through the desert to visit the Saint, and asked him for advice or answers to existential questions. The first visitor to reach his cave and find out about Saint Vasrayi was a cleric who asked him what he learned from being all this time alone in the desert. Saint Vasrayi answered: "No matter how far in the desert you think you are, there is always someone who finds you". This is typical for the sayings of this Saint: they are at the same time seemingly trivial remarks about what is literally happening, and a deep allegorical wisdom. I think this one can also be applied as a warning to people who think they are safely cloaked in Anoikis...

The particular item of worship that I found in the rent-a-relic catalogue is a sleeve of the palm leaf robe of Saint Vasrayi. I have filed the application (in triplicate) at the Bureau of Outer Rim Consecrations. I'm also ordering a beautiful reliquary to put it on display in Pilrim's Rest chapel.

Rent-a-Relic

I've been thinking about a good relic for the chapel in Pilgrim's Rest in Seclusion. Relics always raise the prestige of a sacred building and they draw in new worshippers. 

In order to promote the construction of new churches beyond the frontiers of the Empire, the Theology Council's Bureau of Outer Rim Consecrations has a rent-a-relic programme. For a small monthly fee, you can host a holy relic in your chapel. They have a catalog where you can choose among the saints and their body parts or attributes. Of course, there is just a limited offer, but for example there are quite some Tetrimon fingers.

Now, a relic may seem morbid to those not of the faith, and sometimes they even think it is a magical object used to cast spells. Nothing is farther from the truth. A relic serves as a strong memento of the life of a Saint. In its presence, the faithful reflect on how the Saint has lived in service of God and Empire. The faithful find courage the emulate the example that the Saint has set.

So, the choice of Saint is important. The Saint's life and struggles have to be relatable to the faithful in Seclusion. However, the discovery of Anoikis is so new that I do not know off-hand of any Saint of the Hole... This requires a bit more research.