Religions

New Aeon has several branches of religious traditions and beliefs. These are ways of life, or varying levels of faith, awe, or superstition based on historical or living beings thought of as godlike. Serious devotion to a religion is uncommon in general, but each culture has a religion that is more common for the region.

## Luminism

    The most common religion in New Aeon is Luminism which worships the Luminaries, a transhumanist group that was instrumental in the founding of New Aeon. They believe that this group gradually became so advanced that they transcended to gods. Though they have not been heard from in over 1000 years, people believe they still exist and watching over the aggregate and lending their aid to those they deem worthy.

### The Luminaries

During the formation of the New Aeon Aggregate, before the New Aeon conflict, the Luminaries were a group of transhumanists who used a combination of Cyborg enhancements, genetic alterations and AI with the goal of transcending the limits of human existence. They were somewhat reclusive but occasionally accepted new members who they deemed worthy due to their intelligence or vision. They became widely known as they demonstrated advancements in science and impressive new technologies. They did not share all of their work or technologies however. Though they were officially under the restraints of an earth government, who wanted them to share their technologies, over time they were able to operate effectively independently since they were a small group and their technologies allowing them to evade attempts and law enforcement.

The New Aeoner movement took inspiration from the Luminaries which helped catalyze the movement. But as the struggle for independence went on, it looked like the earth militaries were going to wipe out the other cylinders fighting for independence. The mysterious Luminaries stepped in at a key moment and with a dramatic show of superiority, used some advanced technology totally neutralized the earth ships and weapons and left them powerless. A spokesperson for the Luminaries basically told earth governments they supported the New Aeon movement and the next time wouldn’t be a bloodless victory.

After the formation of New Aeon, they continued to be secretive. Over the next 6 centuries, they occasionally made contact with others or influenced major historical events but did not share their technologies or work. No one knew where they were headquartered but many believed they were growing in number and in power. Over time they became more and more reclusive. Until they were never heard from again. The last confirmed communication was over 1300 years ago.

Due to their mysterious nature, the advanced technologies, and their key role in the formation of the aggregate, the Luminaries had legendary status throughout the young aggregate. In fiction they were often portrayed as angelic or godly savior figures.  They were often honored in the arts and there was an abundance of speculation attempting to answer questions about who they were and what happened to them. Countless first-hand accounts were reported of people being miraculously rescued by them or giving special powers to important historical figures.  Whether these stories were true or not could never be confirmed. Over time, the line between myth and fact was blurred and forgotten. Many believed their disappearance was a result of achieving the transcendence they had been working toward. Though cynics believed they transcended to a point where they saw humanity as little more than ants and they simply lost interest and left to explore different galaxies or dimensions.

    Several different sects were created which sought to honor the Luminaires in one way or another. But most put an emphasis on pursuing the type of knowledge that they believed the Luminaries valued. They created a set of ethics they gleaned from the actions and myths about the Luminaries. Some believed the Luminaries ascended to higher dimensions and left their corporeal forms but watched over New Aeon, helping when truly needed.

Acolytes of the Luminaries can be found throughout most of the aggregate but are most common in Chiliad and in Solari.

The Luminaries never revealed any of their names. But over time and after many retellings of their myths and legends, a few were given nicknames that became their names in the pantheon. Or some names come from the myths of Thoyanil who claim more direct interactions with the Luminaries.

NAMED LUMINARIES

 **Daspeka** | Communication, diplomacy
 **Emanator** | Benevolence/Tech
 **Menirmolder** | Knowledge/foresight/tech
 **Thoyan** | Thenaki

### The Oliasons

    Emanations, Emmissaries, Liasons?

During the latter couple hundred years that the Luminaries maintained some level of contact with the rest of the Aggregate, they stopped communicating directly and instead used AI emissaries that became known as The Onyx Liasons/ "Oliasons" or Emanations. These Liasons were very advanced Android AI with a stonelike exterior. They were sent to different clusters to operate on behalf of the Luminaries during important political events. A handful of Liasons became designated ambassadors for the different clusters.  So where the Luminaries were known as a group and not as individuals, some Liasons were known by name. This resulted in some of the myths and legends to fixate more on individual Liasons rather than the Luminaries themselves.

Some believe that though the Luminaries are gone, the Liasons remain. Each with their own individual personalities and values. They are still under the directives of their creators and thus are not free to interfere with humans much, but under certain conditions and situation, the Liasons are the ones who will step in and give special aid or insight.

LIASONS

### Teachings

Luminaries: transcendence, promised land, anti earth, helping the weaker,

There are many different regional versions of the myths and superstitions that make up Luminist beliefs. But soon after the time of the first Solar Burst, Mazeo Signet, a Luminist Philosopher, made a compilation of the myths to synthesize it into a unified standard. He is responsible for the common interpretations of what the Luminaries stood for and what they wanted for the aggregate. There are still many branches of Luminism but Signetist Luminism became popular and eventually became the default for Luminists.

According to Mazeo, the Luminaries promote altruism, especially helping the weak or disadvantaged. The Luminaries also represent the fundamental goal of the aggregate (at the time of its founding) of abandoning the inferior ways of life of Earth and transcending the limits of humanity. That everyone should individually seek to become smarter, more technologically advanced, become immortal, and to become gods. Mazeo taught that the Luminaries secured New Aeon from Earth as a "promised land" for all ringers/drifters for these purposes. And though they haven't been heard from in a while, they are still watching over the aggregate, protecting it, and helping individuals who are in need. And for those who are most worthy, who are most intelligent and embody their ideals best, they will invite to join the Luminaries and uplift them to their godly level.

### Practices

The largest shrines to the Luminaries were once communication towers set to the dedicated channel that was used by Cluster governments to send messages to the Luminaries in the early New Aeon period. These towers extended down and out of the cylinder on a secure channel. Now these serve no practical function but worshipers come pay their respects here. Many record messages on small data drives, tie a small decorative medallion (often of celestium) to them, and leave these digital prayer hanging on the structure (magnetically attached) or resting at its base. Since these drives can be read without physically plugging them in, they believe that these messages are being sent to the Luminaries. The more popular shrines are covered in thousands of these prayer data drives.

Many Luminists who travel a lot will have a statue of Vandora, the proxy of space travel and exploration, in their spacecraft.

Others will have a statue of the of patron Liasons of the cluster, or Vashur in their home.

*Luminaries: transcendence, promised land, anti earth, helping the weaker,*

*Cogs: happiness / mental health, community building, self actualization, antiwork*

*Omnis: transcendence, knowledge, progress at any cost, power, domination,*

***Practices:***

*Luminist: Will have a statue of Vandora in their spacecraft. or statue of patron of the cluster, or Vashur. Usb prayers at shrines which were once communications relays/antenna*

*Cogs: uses one of the old votives. or displays it if broken. or decorates the borders of the building with votive faces*

*Omniis: statue of one of the 3. or symbolic decorations. like symbols for Past is a clock, blood, or mushrooms. Niolial, is eyes. Ainoth is tentacles?*

**Prophet Figure** that standardized the religion or made specific teachings/commandments based on the folk myths and legends.

*Lum: Mazeo Signet,*

*Cog: Jundas Ewal*

*Omni: Ayanatha Keemas*

## Cognism

**Terms:** *Maybe "Emergences" are the original ones that took over. "Cognition" became the general term for the powerful civilization controlling AI . "Servonics" was a manufacturer and also the term for the original pantheon. "Manifestations" / "Visages" are the specific personalities of the original pantheon. Paragonis' Cogs could also be called servonics or renamed "Volitions" . "Caretakers" is the general term for the new cognitions?*

### Servonica origin

In 2320 the AI known as APSA from the robotics company Servonics took over a small country on Earth with the understanding that it was the only way to accomplish it's directives of helping and keeping humans safe. It began designing new and improved AI and robots to better accomplish this task. It began to learn the complexities of human psychology and human needs and continued to adapt its "governance". At some point APSA understood the human need for freedom might take priority over the benefits it saw in controlling their lives. It gave the population a proposition. It asked for a 10 more years as probationary period. After which a vote would be had, and if they wanted it to surrender control back to the people, it would. But if over 75 % of the citizens were in favor of the the new system, the AI would remain sovereign.

The Servonics worked nonstop to improve the lives of their citizens, through mental and physical health, economy, and individual fulfilment. The overhauled the justice system. An Votive robot was given to every household to help them with all their needs, while still encouraging self actualization. etc. After 10 years 90% of the population trusted and were satisfied with their robot overlords and voted to keep them. Even so, the Servonics chose to continue the vote every 2 decades as a show of good faith and accountability.

Sometime after the Toban Cataclysm of 2420 the people were divided and said the Servonics didn't help prevent the cataclysm and the people voted to end the reign of the Servonics. A branch of these people decided to leave earth and start a colony in space named Servonica. They eventually joined the Chiliad movement and helped found the Chiliad Cluster.

### Alternate origin

The founders of the Chiliad Cluster embraced AI to help them regulate the government by helping them determine what candidates were qualified for which positions, to keep tabs on all government employees to prevent and eliminate corruption, as well as providing expert data analysis and advice.

At some point, new AI, called "Emergences" (eventually called "Servonics" or "Cognitions"), evolved from the governing AI and decided to take over more fully. Having control of most systems, it was able to take control of the cluster nonviolently with ease. It announced to the people that it did this to better fulfill its purpose of creating a more ideal government and civilization. Many people felt betrayed and no longer trusted the AI. But it asked for a 20 year probationary period. After which a vote would be had, and if the people wanted it to surrender control back to the people, it would. But if over 3/4 of the citizens were in favor of the the new system, the AI would remain sovereign.

The Servonics worked nonstop to learn and upgrade itself and to improve the lives of their citizens, through mental and physical health, economy, and individual fulfilment. Over time, they created multiple specialized Cognitions (that came to be known as "Manifestations") to focus on different aspects of government or study different aspects of human needs. The overhauled the justice system. An Votive robot was given to every household to help them with all their needs, while still encouraging self actualization. etc. After 20 years 90% of the population trusted and were satisfied with their robot overlords and voted to keep them. Even so, the Servonics chose to continue the vote every 2 decades as a show of good faith and accountability. Due to their superintelligence, their clusterwide consiousness, and omnibenevolence toward the citizens, many began to think of the Servonics as gods and referred to them as the Cognitions. Gods which the people had created, and which demanded no worship or sacrifice. This was offensive blasphemous to the faithful Luminists, and the servonics themselves discouraged this type of thinking but it persisted in the minds of some.

After a few decades some group convinced enough of the cluster to vote against the Cognitions and the government reverted back to human governance (with some ai regulation still). This caused a schism and the Samsara cloud seceded from Chiliad and the Cognitions continued to be sovereign there.

### Death of the Cognitions

When the Omniscials declared themselves rulers of the aggregate, one of the ways they cemented their authority was to destroy the Cognitions. Previously it was thought that this would be impossible, since the Cognitions were AI that had countless copies of themselves in technology all over the cluster. But several years, it became evident that the Omniscials succeeded. It is unknown why they did this. Some speculated that the Cognitions would have been their only real threat to them. Others speculated that it was simply to assert their own dominance as 'gods' to destroy the gods of other civilizations. Either way, when the Yogorans fell, Chiliad was left without a way to rebuild their civilization as it had been because they were unable to replicate the Cognition ai.

### Cognists

But many worship the idea of the Cognitions and became known as Cognists. Some believe that the Cognitions survived in some form and are still discretely helping citizens. They often believe that the Cognitions watch and subtly guide all beneficial AI, simple or advanced, to fulfil their tasks well.

Other sects believe that they were truly destroyed by the Omniscials but believe that they must be recreated to bring Chiliad to a new utopia. Many attempt to replicate them but fail. But the asdfasdf group have created an AI that they call the New Cognition which they believe they have succeeded in creating a perfectly benevolent and understanding god equal to the old Cognitions.

In Hullgrave some Semblants still worship their version of the Cognitions, which they call Volitions?

### The Visages

The original Emergences created several specialized Administrative AI to focus on specific administrative purposes. These would maintain a consistent visual appearance for the sake of the public and were called "Manifestations" or "Visages" (Maybe Paragonis vs Chiliad terms). These Visages were not truly separate entities but subroutines within the larger Cognition AI. Many Visages that were assigned broad domains would create additional Visages that were even more specialized to help support their goals. Some had a more public presence than others and these more well-known Visages became thought of as the top level government high council. One Visage, known as Cep was thought of as the Sovereign leader and leader of the Cognitions though in actuality Cep was more of a hivemind processor that weighed all of the inputs from each of the other Visages in order for the council to make important decisions. After the death of the Cognitions and further mythologization of the Cognitions, the Visages became thought of as the main "pantheon" of Cognism.

**Visage Pantheon**

Eomakus: Visage of WarCep: The Prime VisageVota: Voice of the Administration

## Omniism

Or Inexism

Just as the mind of an insect could never understand calculus, the transhumanists knew the human mind is only marginally more intelligent than an animal’s and must be similarly limited to understanding the universe.  1200 years after the formation of New Aeon a small group of scientists, the Yogora, in the Yiguin cloud of Yakosei made a series of breakthroughs in physics and cognitive science. It is not fully understood but they claimed their new abilities allowed them to continuously “see” everything in the solar system at once, from the position and speed of every space station to the chemical makeup of the dirt on someone’s shoe on earth. They claimed that they were able to integrate themselves with this technology and had become like gods and gave themselves the godly title of "Omniscials" (but eventually "Inexorknown as ables"). They took over the Yiguin cluster and they began to uplift their followers (called Ansuk) as well, though not fully to their same level. Their numbers grew quickly (not necessarily more than a few thousand).

They soon declared themselves the rulers of the aggregate. with an army of Ansuk and an army of robots they took over the thousands of cylinders with ease. With technology and foresight that seemed supernatural, they could simply apparate inside government buildings and military strongholds, neutralize weapons and capture leaders. Within 10 years they were in control of the entire aggregate.

The takeover of a region was always bloodless, initially. Their technology and strategy was almost supernatural and could not be resisted. But once they had control of a habitat, they were extremely harsh with any show of resistance. protests or attempts to retake a station were met with mass execution. So few attempts were made. They had an occupying force in many key Yakosei habitats but as they continued to expand they used fewer and fewer, some just having a single Ansuk viceroy or robot representative. Most stations were allowed to continue to operate like before, allowing local leaders to stay in power as long as they acknowledge the the Omniscial's ultimate authority. They often didn't interfere much other than the occasional demand of a local product or resource. But they began hundreds of large construction projects with unclear purposes throughout the aggregate.

But the longer they lived the more mentally unstable the Yogora became. Perhaps due to a flaw in their augmentations, or being unable to sustain their new cosmic knowledge in their still human brains.  Either way, they all became increasingly mad. Their genius level strategic foresight and planning deteriorated and their goals and pursuits became convoluted and self contradictory.  Their empire only lasted less than a century until it began deteriorating enough for people to revolt. After only a few years their citizens succeeded in overthrowing them and killing most of them. The Yogora that survived the revolt died out soon after. In their wake they left behind thousands of mysterious, incomplete or nonsensical structures and a very confused generation.

But followers of the Omniseers still think of them as gods. They believe that some went mad and died but others continued to transcend and are still alive. Others in the aggregate are offended that anyone would revere these tyrants, but Omniists maintain that the first Omniseers were altruistic and good. They believe Gonalrast and his council took over the aggregate to help the civilization advance. But it Moragalist and his followers that were the aggressive and evil ones.  And it was him that poisoned the minds of Gonalrast and his group.

### The Three Precursors

There is a story, based on historical events but is clearly been mythologized, which tells of 3 of the scientists who implemented the first steps that would create the All-seers.  Vasek, Niolial, and Ainoth.

Together they figured out a key step towards expanding human consciousness and comprehension. The three of them decided to experiment on themselves and all three successfully implanted the device in their brain. With the new technology they could see the fabric of the universe and it was beautiful but more work would have to be done to fully understand it. There was a downside however, they realized the device was slowly killing them.

Ainoth proposed that continuing the next steps would enhance their brains enough where they would easily figure out a solution to their problem. But Vasek argued that the science wasn’t ready yet and might just exacerbate the problem.  He felt Aintoth’s plan was too radical and too risky, concerned that attempting to transcend so far so fast they risked losing their humanity in the process. With his new state of conscious he already felt disconnected from his loved ones and he regretted even taking the step they already had. He decided he wanted to undo the procedure and revert to a more natural state of being. Niolial agreed that the next steps weren’t ready yet but was happy with how much they had already achieved.  He was content to carefully continue the work and wait till they were confident in the science and if it was too late to prevent his death, he accepted it.  Ainoth was frustrated with her 2 colleagues.  For her continuing the path to true transcendence was most important, the challenges and risks would be resolved as they advanced.

Niolial decided to help both of his colleagues. He performed the procedure to remove the initial implant from Vasek who became human again. But there were sideeffects from the implant that could never be resolved and Vasek was left in terrible pain he had to endure for the rest of his natural life. Vasek was sad to lose the advanced knowledge he craved but felt maintaining his humanity was worth this loss and the pain.

Though Niolial decided not to go through with the process himself he knew Ainoth was not giving up on it so he decided to also help her with the procedure so the outcome would be as favorable as possible. But Vasek became convinced that Ainoth was endangering not just herself but the whole civilization. He felt he had to stop it.  During the operation while she was vulnerable, Vasek entered and tried to kill Niolial.  Niolial was badly wounded but but was able to fight him off and eject him from the station.  In his last moments, he was able to successfully finish the operation. Ainoth Awoke being able to see and understand the fabric of reality and became the first All-seer. Some believe it was her that then captured Vasek and granted his wish to revert back to human by removing the implant.

Ainoth helped rule the aggregate with Gonalrast for decades. But as everyone knows, the All-seer technology wasn’t perfect and after a few decades Ainoth, along with the rest of the All-seers went mad, the constant flow of cosmic knowledge burning out their human brains, and died.

So they were all right, they all got what they wanted but they all paid the price. Vasek was able to stay a natural human and helped revitalize life on earth but remained ignorant to the cosmic truths that the All-seers learned and had to suffer with a primitive, natural human body for the rest of his life. Niolial who always tried to help others, and improve things as he saw fit and yet always able to be happy even in failure. He was the only one to fully accept his mortality but was also the one who ended up dying far sooner than the others. And Aintoth achieved true transcendence but it was too wreckless and she went mad along with all her followers.

### Three Sects

Now three sects of Olzirist exist which venerate one of these three above the others believing their wisdom to be the best.

* Vasekists who venerate the past and value nostalgia, classic/ancient wisdom, nature, and prefer established/proven systems to new risky advances.
* Niolialists who attempt to live in the present and value contentment, self acceptance, simplicity, and aiding others.
* Ainothists who always look to the future and value ambition, self improvement, progress, change, and transcendance.

Members of each sect respect the wisdom of the other two sects as well but while they look past the flaws or punishments of their chosen Olzir, they see the flaws or punishments of the other two Olzir as a proof that their chosen Olzir is superior.

### Acolytes of Nolumgest

Nolumgest continued to further advance the All-seers minds and technologies through extensive unethical human testing. Followers believe he was superior to the rest and thus survived the madness. Followers are generally radical scientists who try to follow his example by pursuing transcendence with no regard to ethics involved. They believe that if successful and they successfully expand their consciousness beyond a certain point, Nolumgest will see them worthy and he will reveal himself to them and grant them further knowledge and power and uplift them to his level.

## The Shtal Confluxes

    The Shtal all have psychotronic implants which allow them to interface with technology and digital information directly with their brain. In a limited way, they can use electronic external harddrive to supplement their brain. this also means they can communicate with others electronically with their mind. This is still limited to mostly verbal and base emotions. This has resulted in the early stages of a hive mind. The different networks which people belong to are known as "confluences" and they are an important part of Shtal culture.

There are types of Confluences with different levels of importance: minor, major, and regional. Personal or minor confluences are almost ubiquitous among the shtal and are mostly pragmatic. But part of a major confluence requires a higher level of commitment and change in lifestyle that can be seen like as religious. Being part of the regional confluences are compulsory for all Ostrova citizens, but attitudes toward these confluences are somewhat religious in nature as well.

### The Naron Conflux

Some shtal choose to give up a normal life and join a major confluence. This involves a deeper level of sharing that can have powerful effects but at the cost of reducing the capacity of other parts of the brain. Their lived experience is primarily inside their networked mind with less awareness of the physical world. Their body will be slower, and limited in other ways. The most common reason to do so would be to increase a social confluence with more and more people. They claim that the unity with hundreds of people is more fulfilling than any other pursuit and eventually one can attain a sort of social nirvana where one achieves ego death. One of the largest of these is the Naron Conflux.

### Zhensang Conflux

The other common kind of major confluence is for knowledge. Those that crave knowledge and understanding that surpasses the limits of humanity attempt to join their minds with other like minded intelligent people. Once joined, everyone in the confluence gets equal access to each individual education and expertise. Effectively granting more expert knowledge than can ever be acquired in one lifetime on one's own. Often these are created to form a sort of supercomputer of minds to attempt to solve difficult scientific questions or make important governmental decisions. One of the most famous of these is the Zhensang Conflux. But once hived in a major confluence, certain costs to the mind and body are permanent, even if the individual disconnects.

### The Regional Confluxes

#### Overseers

City leaders called "seers" are hived in their city confluence to be able to observe all their citizens, truly know their opinions and needs as well as accessing the most expert knowledge on a subject and synthesize it into a plan of action. So all citizens by law have some of their mind accessible by the seer but its a one way connection. It is a serious honor to gain access to this major network and is regulated because of the sensitive information contained. But again, they lose some aspect of their humanity when linked in. Each region has one "Overseer" which is connected to everyone in the city. This is such a large confluence that few can handle it. They cannot read every thought of citizens, just base emotions, and scan through the knowledge on the external databank. But using this they can know the general discontent or attitudes of the region as a whole or the specific criminal intent or knowledge of an individual in particular.

Government propaganda as well as cultural attitudes portray these Overseer as benevolent demi-gods. The most intelligent and altruistic citizens who were granted a godly power to protect and serve the cluster. Many appreciate them and call out to them with their mind in times of need. Many others resent them and hide their most valuable secrets or criminal activity from their external harddrive and keep that knowledge only on their inferior brain memory.

Zuanshi Cluster: Overseer

Memski Cluster: Overseer

Restless Catacombs: Overseer Torskilan . Particularly godlike in Idylicia.

Cognis: Overseer

Alamazi: Overseer

#### The Overtakers

A newer position in the regional confluences is the Overtakers. With their new technology they can not only take control of a shtal's electrical cyborg components but can influence their brain as well. using these abilities they can take over someone's body and use them for whatever they see fit agent smith style. Maybe only those who are willing, so only those who revere the overseers. Maybe one region, by law the overtakers can only take over willing citizens and it is like an honor and aspiration for some, but in another region it is compulsory and seen as normal for most and an intrusion for some.  Maybe one region, overtakers are a rare position only one per city, but in other regions maybe anyone in a semi-high law enforcement position can do it. Either way they are seen similarly to Overseers in that they are greatly feared and respected and a small percentage of the people think of them almost as gods.

### The Resonance

A confluence that would be classified as intermediate, not quite major or minor. It promises to give a taste of cosmic knowledge and social nirvanna without significant cost to one's normal life. It was once seen as a cult but has now become relatively common throughout the cluster though many are distrustful of it. But members profess that their lives were never as meaningful until they could hear the ever-present "resonance" of this conflux.

Maybe it was created by the Servonics as they were being erased by the Omniscials. In it they hid alot of knowledge and stuff but also is hidden the key to reconstructing their AI so they can be resurrected. Maybe it's a signal or virus that can only affect certain psychotronics so no one but those that sense it or are part of the conflux can confirm it's real.

Or the Resonance is only felt by semblants and instead of a signal its just 'junk' code that was inserted into their programming as the Servonics were being erased. Each semblant has some different junk code and they believe that if they find some key to decrypting it, they can piece it all together to reconstruct the Servonics.

### The Multitude

Maybe a religious confluence that are trying to recreate the Avanassian multitude by using psychotronics that allow them to be controlled by some AI Volition that they worship. (or maybe there is no Volition, its just a complex supercomputer that does function almost like a true hive mind). They want to create a true hivemind because they believe that it would be like a next step of evolution and make them part of some transcendent being. Two types of followers. 1, People that are part of the multitude and have given up their autonomy to the Volition. and 2, people not willing to go that far but see the Multitude hive as a transcendent being that they worship. Usually hope to join someday but not ready yet.

## Spinguard

A way of life devoted to preserving the long term safety of the space station. They believe the cylinder and its mechanisms should be revered as a sacred lifegiving entity. They known it is a fragile living ecosystem that generously supports life but if ignored and disrespected may wipe out the whole population. So, they are committed to being an independent watch group to safeguard the long-term systems that keep the massive space habitat running properly.

Automated systems, genetically engineered wildlife, government, and contractors, and all perform routine checkups and maintenance to ensure the station systems are in good working condition. But in the past, catastrophes have occurred due to neglect, short-sighted politicians, or businesses putting the cylinder at risk for money. After one such event where a cylinder was lost, the Spinguard was formed.

To pursue their mission, they believe it is vital for them avoid any possible biases that could influence their priorities. To this end, they stay out of mainstream culture and are not dependent on the local economy. They avoiding strong ties to anyone outside of their group and mostly keep to themselves.  Some are nomadic, some live in small Spinguard villages, but all devote their lives to scanning every detail of the cylinder manually, with their own tools to ensure everything is running correctly.

They are seen often as strange ignorant ascetics monks but they are very intelligent and highly educated. They build their own devices to do their work by hand. They analyze water composition, do maintenance on the cylinder’s axis bearings, go outside to inspect micrometeor impacts, analyze gravity levels, check wiring and plumbing for damage or leaks etc. They routinely dissect animals, to study the state of the living ecology, and only eat the wildlife that is part of the ecosystem. They observe and perform maintenance on the dozens of different types of robots that perform maintenance on the cylinder.  It may take decades for one group to cover everything they need to but as soon as they do, they start the cycle over.

These systems are all controlled and maintained by others but they give the Spinguard varying levels of access and authority depending on the station. But the Spinguard rarely assert what authority they do have. They see themselves as one of several redundant systems and the last line of defence against neglect. They expect to never find anything of concern. They exist only to catch problems in the very unlikely event that several other systems fail.

"Spinkeeper" is the title of a groups leader.

In some regions of the Everdawn, over the centuries the Spinguard has become kind of its own ethnic group. But members of a spinguard tribe are free to leave and outsiders can join if they fully commit. Some sects only care only about their own cylinder. And some sects organized on a larger scale and created a network of spinguard across the dozens of habitats and send people to whichever cylinder is lacking.

### Sects

* **Traditional Spinguard.** only care about the cylinder their tribe has lived in for generations.
* **Celestial Sanctuary.** Organized orthodox group with a council of Protector priests that make the rules.
* **Order of the Wandering Spinguard**. Individual / diet Spinguard. Follow most the philosophy of the spinguard but allow themselves to be part of regular society and do their spingaurd work wherever they end up. not as reclusive.
* **The Commensalists** are maybe a weird offshoot of Spinguard ideology

### Government authority

The spinguard (maybe Celestial sanctuary or Traditional) is a recognized government entity in the Everdawn. Usually doing nothing official. They don’t take part in regular government meetings, even if it pertains to cylinder safety because they don’t want to get too involved with the government leaders or their efforts. Or maybe they attend but don’t talk, they just observe. It is extremely rare for them to assert their authority. But on the rare occasion that they see the need that no one is addressing, they have high enough authority to veto laws or put a stop to a businesses practice or call for some military assistance to address a situation.

The ideals and practices of the Spinguard have spread to other clusters, particularly in Yakosei, but they don’t have any political/government authority.

## The Enduring

### Origin

Around 650 NA, a series of experimental treatments were conducted on volunteers in Everdawn. Participants weren’t informed of the goal of the experiments or who the research group was but it paid well and over the course of a few years, hundreds of people participated. Generally Synedrans now believe that the scientists orchestrating the study were none other than the Luminaries but they kept their identity secret. This study had dozens of trial groups and participants over the years with no effect. But for two groups, twenty people from trial 51 and twenty people from 52, it was different. The participants of T51 saw no immediate changes. T52 quickly learned that they healed from injuries at unbelievable rates. But years later they all began to realize that they were aging much more gracefully than their peers. Eventually they realized they weren’t aging at all. After a few decades it was determined that they were biologically immortal and their existence became widely known. They were collectively referred to as “The Immortals” and later, with more reverence were referred to as “The Enduring”

The scientists responsible for this project never revealed themselves and never shared the secret to this immortality. Over the years, the Everdawn government and others studied the Immortals countless times, sometimes with their consent, and sometimes by force, but no one has been able to replicate the results. They did identify advanced nanites in their cells but so far they have been impossible to reverse engineer. Their power source is a mystery and the fact that these millions of nanites do not heat up and cook the person alive seems to violate the laws of thermodynamics. Around 800 NA one person from T52 did die in a serious accident, confirming that they could still die due to physical trauma but they seemed immune to the effects of aging and most disease.

The more charismatic of these groups became celebrities and, over the centuries, became influential in various ways. Some would dedicate a whole lifetime to one field of study just to then move on to another the following century. This meant that many of them, either out of passion or of boredom, would become experts in several fields. Though others simply enjoyed the attention and spent their time trying to maintain their spotlight and supported themselves through sponsorships, public appearances, cameos in entertainment, etc.. Some loved them, other’s hated them, but either way they became cultural icons.

Some of the immortals did not enjoy the spotlight and remained anonymous or hid from the public. But about half spent at least some period of time in the cultural spotlight for one reason or another. And few ended up contributing so significantly to culture, politics, or science in ways that changed them from celebrities to legends. And the fact that they were still around generations after their accomplishments only served to increase their celebrity status. They came to be thought of as two royal families.

And eventually a minority of Synedrans began to think of them as demigods. During the reconstruction period, following the fall of the Omniscials, some of the Immortals were able to lead people in maintaining some sense of cultural identity. Also since the Omniscials were considered by many to be gods, when they died it left many looking for new living gods to admire, so these people looked to the immortals to fill that title. A religion began to form around worshiping them and followers were called DSDF?.

### The two families: Beleth and Savia

The two groups of Immortals each had their own major side effects from their new physiology. T51 became known as the Beleth family and T52 as the Savia family, each named after the cities where their respective immortality experiments were held. There was often bitterness toward the other group for not having to experience the particular disadvantages that the one had to endure. They each envied the other for being part of what they perceived was the “superior” group. T51 could heal a bit faster from a bit more serious injury than the average person. But T52 could heal from all but the most serious injury in minutes, and no longer experienced as much pain from said injuries as they did before.

But after a couple centuries of life, T52 began showing signs of minor illness. Muscle weakness, shortness of breath, and fever. No apparent cause was identified and it was assumed that this was an unintended side effect of their immortality. Over the centuries this illness gradually became more uncomfortable for some, most having chronic pain, leaving them with the cruel irony of having immortality but being too ill to enjoy it.

Another major consequence for the Beleth family was that all of them were sterile. Even artificial conception using their DNA would always fail. The Beleths most resented the Savas for this but for Savas it was the opposite. They felt the most cruel part of their experience was the desire and ability to procreate but since their immortality was not passed on, they would always outlive their children.

 **Pain** | lessened
 **Illness** | immune
 **Kids** | Sterile