The Purists

The Purists are a cult on Prison Planet that are known for their fanatical devotion to God. Some see their belief system as a sect of Christianity, while others just see it as blind devotion to something entirely unrelated.

### History

During the initial arrival of prisoners to the Prison Planet following the First Shipment, a small group of devoted Christians began to band together for protection, mutual aid, and prayer gatherings within their compounds. At these gatherings, prisoners would pray as a group for their families on Earth, their survival on Prison Planet, and ask forgiveness for the crime (or crimes) they had committed that got them sent to Prison Planet. Eventually, members of the community began to move out of the crime infested corporate compounds and establish their own settlement near [placeholder]. This was known as [placeholder] village.

Over time, this group began to attract much attention across Prison Planet due to their reputation for looking out for each other in the cutthroat prison society within the compounds, "inspiring" many non-Christians to convert to the religion and join the community. This was seen by some as a revival of the faith, but many cynical members of the group believed that these new converts only wanted to mooch off of the security the community provided. At first, these new converts would simply visit the village, traveling back and forth from their compound on a weekly or daily basis. However, once these new converts became more integrated within the community, they would often have to let these new converts sleep in community homes or build temporary housing.

Many of these new members happened to be either former or current VR or drug addicts. At first, the community sympathetic to their plight (mainly the non-cynics) attempted to rehabilitate them through prayer and bible study. However, as the number of addicts continued to grow, many realized there was simply no way to rehabiliate them all. A solution was needed. Some suggested to exile them from the community if they returned to drug use or otherwise acted sinfully on a frequent basis. Others recommended that every new member be made to recite a random bible passage verbatim.

However, one man had a very different idea. He proposed that instead of trying to rehabilitate them, they could accept them into the fold the way that they are. He announced before the community that he himself was a former VR addict, and that he understood their plight. But, he also knew how powerful VR could be in enabling the user to experience what he called "transcendence". He told them of one of his first experiences with VR, where he wholeheartedly believed that he was able to contact God directly. The man said that he had heard countless others who had similar experiences while on drugs or in simulations [maybe he believes the ultimate experience is where you do drugs in VR].

This man came to be known as the prophet John Rogen. Initially, devout members of the community spoke out against him and demanded that he would be exiled and excommunicated. They were outnumbered by the new converts, who unsurprisingly embraced his message. He began to preach a new doctrine; a completely radical rethinking of conventional Christianity. The first part of this doctrine required that his followers would rid themselves of all material possessions in order to atone for their sin. This included their clothing. However, this did not prevent them from possessing things in VR. Rogen set up public spaces in which anyone could try drugs or VR. Within VR, he could personally travel between the simulations and guide them in achieving "transcendence". He led sermons in VR [One time he did a legendary sermon in which he required all attendees to be on da goop in VR].

While many members of [placeholder] village could be seen detachedly drifting about the village as naked as Adam and Eve, some, mainly the original colonists, refused this ridiculous premise. Ironically, his followers began to be known as the Purists and those who refused to follow the prophet's teaching were known as The Cynics [why did these names develop. I guess Purist gradually becomes a racial purist after Zeus takes over].

In response to the physical deterioration of many devout Purists due to spending so much time either in VR or on lazy drug trips, the prophet issued a new doctrine of intense physical training. Many Purists opted to undergo this training within full body VR exercise simulations, which were no less intense, and sometimes even more intense than real world exercise in the most extreme simulations. The Purists became legendary on Prison Planet for their adherence to the prophets strange doctrine of "transcendence" and "self-improvement", and were seen by some as perfect beings and to others as crazy fanatics.

[Augustus at the beginning of his reign sees the Purists as either friends or doesn't really care that they exist. Maybe he is friends with John Rogen and that is why he accepts the Purists refugees today as he is repaying a debt to him. However, there is some crisis that occurs that allows Zeus to come in and blame the non whites]

[Zeus arrives, begins to manipulate John Rogen with his racist beliefs, claiming that the crisis is due to nonwhite christians. Zeus convinces Cynics to become his elite bodyguard, calls them Angels. They wear similar outfits to the KKK, but futuristic or something]

As the prophet grew older, Zeus exerted more and more control over [placeholder] village. Every day he managed to convince Rogen to pass another law, and when he couldn't convince him, he forced him. When Zeus eventually proposed to enact a law that enabled the theocracy to detain any non-white or mixed race Purists, the prophet refused to comply. But this was hardly an issue for Zeus. Zeus has his Angels arrest the prophet and throw him in jail. However, the Prophet was beloved by all who remembered his teachings, leading to much unrest within the colony. This was not just Purists who resisted, but also a few Cynics, who were either fond of the prophet for a personal reason or were against Zeus's widely known racism.

### Zeus's Reign

The new leader of The Purists hopes to return the society that it was after the First Arrival [but racist]. To do this, he has employed extreme measures, often forcing anyone who so much as tries VR or drugs to do extreme forms of "penance" such as denying them food, water and stimulation apart from cult scripture or tying them to a cross in a public square for days or even weeks. Those who Zeus deems to be VR or drug addicts can be freely acted upon by all members of the cult (killed or worse). He has banned the name of John Rogen from being spoken by any Purist, and completely