Freewinds Religious Technology Center (6.0)

The **Freewinds Religious Technology Center** was a nation concept for PWP6.0 that began development in November 2018. By the time PWP6 was officially announced, the concept had been abandoned.

## General

### Official Name

Freewinds Religious Technology Center and Church of Spiritual Technology

## Demographics

### Major Religions

Church of Spiritual Technology (40%), Protestant Christianity (25%), Roman Catholic (15%)

## History

### Founded

1945 (Induction of the First Devotees)1959 (Establishment of Freewinds Settlement)

## Concept Overview

The Freewinds RTC claim concept is based on the real world Church of Scientology, which had not yet been established at the PWP6 point of divergence. A group of US Navy sailors, under the command of then-Lieutenant Lafayette Ronald Hubbard, commandeered their vessel after losing contact with the rest of the Allied forces.

Lieutenant Hubbard used his position of authority within the defectors, as well as his personal charisma, to establish a cult of personality, and later a new religious movement based around his visions of atomic fire (coinciding with the Trinity nuclear test which marked this game season's PoD).

The claim was deliberately meant to be mobile, feasibly settling anywhere on the coast, since it was not clear which areas would be most popular. Papua New Guinea was initially chosen as the preferred claim location for the RTC. **The following History and Culture and Government sections should be considered non-canon.**

## History

In the last years before the waters rose, Prophet Lafayette Ronald Hubbard was serving as an American naval officer on the USS Algol in the Mariana Islands. According to RTC records from before its founding, then-Lieutenant Hubbard began experiencing visions of the future after His service in the Battle of Okinawa. He saw a great plume of fire rising from a barren desert, and the fall of major world cities into rising seas. The most sacred doctrines of the Church of Spiritual Technology are privileged information, restricted to all but the most devout.

As the war continued rumors eventually reached Hubbard that His visions, which had become the subject of jokes around Him, had come to pass. On July 16, 1945, a bomb of immense power was detonated in the desert of New Mexico, a towering fireball in a desert across the sea from the Prophet, and naval dockyards were measuring rising water levels. The crew of the Algol then became the first adherents of the Prophet and the founding members of the Church of Religious Technology.

Since the first service of the Church, the Devotees of the Prophet continued to serve in the interests of the United States of America, participating in the Invasion of Japan during which the Prophet slayed the Emperor Hirohito in single combat. After losing contact with the American government, the Devotees commandeered the ship where their movement had begun and re-christened it the Freewinds. The crew of the Freewinds then spent 13 years travelling between ports along the Pacific Rim, spreading the words of the Prophet as he experienced more visions and Church doctrine grew more elaborate.

By Church reckoning, the Son of the Prophet was born aboard the Freewinds sometime in 1958, though the exact date is known only to the Family of the Prophet. At the wishes of the Wife of the Prophet, the Freewinds put into port for the last time at Bumayong, formerly of British Papua and New Guinea, where the first permanent settlement of the Freewinds Religious Technology Center was established. By this time the Freewinds had assembled a small armada of fishing ships, passenger vessels, and commandeered former warships of no less than seven nations.

With the establishment of the new Freewinds Settlement converts from across the East Indies, displaced by the rising waters, flocked to reside with the Prophet. Within a decade the holy city, and smaller satellite communities, achieved population densities never before seen on the island of Papua. The period from 1958-1975 is further marked by missionary activity both on Papua and on the remnants of New Britain. During this time, the Church placed an emphasis on securing the necessary materials for maintaining a functional society, and the bureaucratic influence of the Sea Organization grew.

In 1975, the last settlement on Papua was brought under the administrative purview of the Church. Missionaries had found that locals of the southeast tip of the island were not taking kindly to missionaries, so missionary efforts were redirected inward. By 1995, the Church of Spiritual Technology had assembled the largest congregation of any religious institution in its borders. Although not yet a majority religion in the areas under its control, the Church has achieved plurality status by requiring public servants to be active members in good standing and by mandating lessons about Church history in public schools.

## Culture and Government

The Devotees of the Prophet, and their descendents, make up the cosmopolitan upper class of the RTC, with new converts and uninitiated locals forming the majority of the population as of the present year.

Social class in the RTC is remarkably fluid intergenerationally, with citizens able to rise and fall in status according to their adherence to scripture. That said, Church doctrine plainly states that it is more difficult for certain races of men, as well as women generally, to achieve Clear status. There are no restrictions or limitations placed against these individuals on the Bridge to Total Freedom, it is simply a matter of spiritual fact that some individuals are more prone to harmful suppressed memories and unconscious drives, with race and gender being contributing factors.

Throughout the RTC, positions of public service are restricted to members of the Church of Spiritual Technology in good standing. High ranking members of the Church, as well as members of Sea Org or the Guardian’s Office, are often chosen for bureaucratic promotion ahead of lower ranking members, even if they are not as qualified.

The relationships between the religious and political organizations established by the Prophet and His Devotees are complicated.

The Church of Religious Technology is the oldest such organization and is the mother church of all followers of the Prophet. The Prophet remains the head of the Church, and therefore head of state of His followers. The Church records doctrine as dictated by the Prophet, and issues inquisitorial and missionary orders to subsidiary organizations.

Sea Organization is a monastic fraternal order of the most dedicated members of the Church, serving as doctrinal enforcers. The uppermost officials of the Religious Technology Center tend to be members of Sea Org as well, but are not required to be. Sea Org also repairs, maintains, and administers naval facilities operated by the RTC.

Rehabilitation Project Force manages the criminal justice system of the RTC. Criminals and Church members found to have hidden malicious intent against the Church are handed over to the care of the RPF for rehabilitation and reeducation.

The Guardian’s Office fills the international relations role for the Church, and represents the Church in legal matters. Like high-level RTC officials, the officials of the Guardian’s Office tend to be members of Sea Org.

Missions International coordinates and manages local churches and missionary programs loyal to the Church, offering introductory services for prospective converts and laypersons. All churches outside of the Freewinds settlement, and all volunteer ministers, interface with the Church through Missions International.

The Freewinds Religious Technology Center is the government of the Freewinds settlement, built around the sacred ship of the same name, and outlying communities of the Prophet’s followers. The RTC controls domestic policy within these communities through the Board of Directors. Members of the Board are chosen by the Church and serve at the discretion of the Prophet, though typically not for terms of less than five years. The Son of the Prophet, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard II, has served as the Chairman of the Board since 1980. Though some state functions are handled by the RTC or its subsidiary organizations, many of the most important are handled directly by the Church.

The Devotees of the Prophet is the military of the RTC, comprising army and navy branches. All military aged men under the protection of the RTC must serve either in the Devotees for two years or in the Church for three.