Intergalactic Summit

As you know, Mr. Nauplius, I don't believe in such a person.

Or being.

Or whatever the word would be.

(Also, your version of God is a little ... uh. Dark.)

I'm an Achur practitioner, sir, Shuijing (lit. "Crystal of Size and Clarity Suitable for Jewelry") sect. The list of things I actually believe in is pretty short.

I believe in the Totality, the seamless All of existence. I do not believe in any lesser "thing," and see every reason to doubt my own existence: the borders between objects and people are illusory, navigational tricks we play on ourselves, when the reality is that people and things are more like whorls and eddies, deeply entangled with each other and with no existence at all apart from the water. I believe that if spirits and gods did exist, they, also, would be part of the Totality, just as we are.

I believe that we are never really apart from our roles in the Totality, nor can we truly act against it. We don't have "free will," but our interactions are complicated enough to closely simulate such a thing. Our awareness of the Totality itself it is a part of what influences our interactions within it, so I believe that by playing my part in the Totality, and by learning to perceive its movements and patterns, and my own place among them, I can lead a better, happier life, in tune with the universe and my place in it.

This is easier said than done. It seems worthwhile, though.

Yeah, that never seems to go over well when I try to explain it briefly. I keep working on a concise way to describe it, but I always just sort of come off "out there."

Oh, well. It's not like we're a huge sect even on Achura.

(But yes, your bleeding foot is also a whorl.)


Edit:

So-- maybe a few more tries. Let's see if any of these makes me not sound like a can of mixed nuts.

* I'm a pantheist who doesn't think anything exists but God. We struggling life forms are sort of a dream God is having, and the world of "things" is a dream we are having while being dreamed.

* I'm a nihilist with a more positive attitude.

* I'm a figment of my own imagination. That's okay; so are you.

* I'm a member of a spiritually-skeptical sect dedicated to a clear-eyed exploration and understanding of both the universe and ourselves. We enthusiastically pursue and incorporate findings into our teachings from basically any field from semiotic theory to quantum physics, and look at "gods," "spirits," and so on as teaching tools rather than literal entities.

Lay practitioners often believe in literal spirits, as well as a fairly standard Achur afterlife (which is kinda like being alive, only weirder). Monks typically get deeper into questions of the nature of reality, and also get deep enough in to properly understand that there's probably no celestial court waiting for anybody (a dead mind probably goes the same place a snuffed candle flame does), but that's more or less okay since nobody actually exists as a separate being in the first place. Learning to actually perceive and understand these truths is something most practitioners take a lifetime to achieve, if they manage it at all.

(There's a reason we only really go deep into that with the monks. For some reason I keep trying to explain it to capsuleers. Maybe the fact that occasionally some of us seem to get it?)

Ourselves a tiny twig on the end of a long and tangled branch of the mighty tree that is the Achur faith, we're part of what might be the strangest theocracy in history-- literally the concentration of the greatest power over the Achur people and the (rural parts of) planet Achura in the hands of the people generally least interested in temporal power. We have no concept of heresy or heterodoxy and tend to splinter off additional sects whenever there's a major disagreement. Often these divisions dissipate; sometimes they don't.

In the end, our sect's focus is simply truth-- both the vast truths of the cosmos and the more mundane but no less bewildering truths of humankind. I can get deep into neuroscience, semiotic theory, and the traditional use of martial arts to break down the barriers between mind, body, and "external" world, but really my aim is something much less arcane:

I want to be wise, instead of just clever.

It's pretty simple, sir: I have trouble believing in the Amarrian God.

As a cultural, social, and political device, He's magnificent. It would be hard to find a better mechanism for binding a society into stable form for thousands of years.

As an actual, literal being, though....

In general, I find it easy to forgive people (they're just people) and the universe (it's not here for us; it's just here) for all the misery that we cause each other, and that circumstances cause us. I have trouble, though, with the idea of a sapient mind being responsible for all this.

The deepest weakness of the Amarr faith is its dependence on belief in a just god. If that belief dies, atheism or (much worse) Sanism tends to follow.

I don't expect justice from this universe in the first place, and I don't believe in any world to follow. But, if I did believe in God, I'm afraid I'd probably hate Him.

I can forgive the Totality. I can't forgive God. As you can imagine, this is kind of a sticking point.

Maybe some day this will change. I'm a little subject to the influence of the people around me, but I'm also maybe a little stubborn about things I actually have strong opinions on. I assume the Praefecta hopes to convert me one day, but, I'm kind of a long-term project that way.

I'd kind of have to be.

Also, I'm well aware of the scripture warning against knocking on the gates to Paradise and then walking away. Your religion will have me when I'm good and ready, sir. And not before.

Pilots Vellum and Jenneth your exchanges are quite interesting. It is pleasant when one can reflect upon their own world view by listening to an intelligent conversation held by others. By all means continue. Not everything here has to be said in angry words to be effective.

Do not confuse people who claim to be amarr with Amarr - people who serve God and the Empire, live by the Scriptures and follow The Word. Spirit and faith are intertwined together in a symbiosis, one can't flourish without the other. When it does flourish tho you get your "strongest, steadiest source of light" that know no hardship etc. and so on, you've heard the rest probably.

That's the thing she can't, for her to dismiss you is not only to fail you but also the Divine.

And Totality is?

Maker, Aria. I'm just going to sit here in my quarters, alone, with a bottle of vodka and a box of hankies.

It would be interesting to see those reeled off people who would claim otherwise.


I'm not trying to reclaim you or make you upset, just letting you see that we are responsible for people that we surround ourselves with. Besides why would you get upset about the truth, that would be most unwise. There is also another matter I just logically don't understand why you cling to something that couldn't serve it's purpose and failed you when you most needed it.
Also what do you mean by saying "so cheaply"?


If it is just then it is devoided from feelings and interests, it is about consequences that are deserved. It would be unjust to reward carelessness, don't you think? So if someone jumping into a raging river overestimating his or her strength and stamina expecting Divine laws to stop just because, then it dosen't make world around unjust on the contrary it shows that person who is doing selfish and shortsighted thing will get what he or she deserves.

If I'm talking complete nonsense then why it upsets you.

I was just asking questions for the most part based on your answers, I didn't use such terms as "to attach", "bind to" or "to sell... so cheaply", playfully and proudly announce that you are "stubborn and a long-term project that way" you said all of this not me. I did compare your actions with a burden that is true, not you but your actions based on your chosen wording.

And now I find it worrisome that you got upset over my comparison, but you seemes to be ok with your "steady source of light" to die a little because you feel you worth it.

Sir, are you aware that, in effect if not intentionally, you are trying to guilt trip me into changing my religion?