video / action

[hymnals]

Who: Adrasteius; perhaps you
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Bishop; kitchens
When: N to the O W

[Adra's in the ship's kitchen, seated at the table. A shimmering, golden aura limns his entire body, concentrated particularly at the crown of his blonde head. The faint impression of angelic wings blinks in and out of corporeality on his back as he speaks, sometimes seeming almost solid.]

I'm here today to speak to you about the Light. No, I don't mean that thing in the ceiling, or the sun, or any physical, mechanical sources of illumination, so let's nip that idiot question right in the bud. I'm talking religion, people, which some of you desperately need. A religion that isn't bullshit.

[He leans forward; steeples his hands.]

First of all: no gods. No capital G 'God' or 'Maker' or 'Creator' or what-have-you. No offense if that's part of the dogma, I guess, but it doesn't strike me right. Most of the gods I've met needed a swift kick to their many-mouthed faces, personally.

Second of all: no judgment. Of course, those who wield the Light can and must judge, but the Light itself brooks no discrimination. Whatever you've done, and for whatever reason you've done it, the Light forgives. The Light is grace: by definition, ever present, albeit never deserved. A gift of the universe.

Because, you see, the Light is an omnipresent, divine force. It is the name we give to every person's individual connection the universe. Under its teaching, we recognize our place in the great span of space and time--and our responsibility to influence the universe positively, to bring comfort, to soothe pain, to offer hope.

[Adra gestures with his hands, and as he does so, Light sparks from his fingers. The energy darts around the room, looking for all the world like a cascade of shooting stars. He might be trying to show off a little--or, at least, just trying to demonstrate that what he's talking about can be empirically observed.]

Practitioners follow a path of three virtues: respect, tenacity, and compassion, taught in that order. Don't worry: I won't go into it. Not today.

[But another day. Sooner rather than later.

The glow around his body fades. He smiles, a beatific, genuine expression.]

The point is--religion doesn't have to be damaging. It doesn't have to be oppressive. There are philosophies, churches, that work for good. Mine is one of them. It's here for you. I'm here for you.

Just letting you know.

Comments

video;

[fujibayashi]

I get what you're saying here, but I'm not sure calling it bullshit is going to win you a lot of fans.

[She shakes her head.]

My friends and I found out that the religion ruling over our world-- two worlds, at the time-- was a fabrication. The whole thing. It was used as a tool to oppress people and an excuse to sacrifice them behind the scenes, even though it preached love and forgiveness.

But... there were good people who believed in it, who helped and gave everything they had to make the world a better place.

Isn't it better to get rid of the corrupt parts of religion and let people believe what they want to believe?

[hymnals]

[This is exactly the kind of godawful shit he's talking about. He doesn't understand why this kind of thing should go unanswered. He's not here to make morally relativist daisy chains.]

It is not better to let people believe what they want to believe. The folks you mentioned--the ones who weren't corrupt. If they truly subscribed to good ideals, then their work should persist. Their beliefs should become the basis for something new.

But lies don't help anyone. Not in the end.

[fujibayashi]

[She remembers something Colette said.]

I had a friend who believed the real goddess was inside everyone's hearts. I... kind of agree. Not everyone is strong enough to have their faith shattered and go on the way they were. Some people need to cling to bigger ideas. Some people have weak hearts and it's okay to acknowledge that.

Who's to say that in a hundred years, the remnants of my world's religion won't become something like yours?

[hymnals]

I don't have an issue with ideas in and of themselves. I have an issue with how ideas are applied. If your religion has some kind of focal deity, then that's fine--so long as worship isn't founded on fear, and oppression.

Who's to say? If it does, then I'd be glad. The Light lives within us, too.

[fujibayashi]

It's a work in progress, that's for sure. All the corrupt framework is gone for good. The bad part that endures is tied to the upper class. We can't just tell a few hundred thousand people that their goddess doesn't exist and the history books are all lies, so we have to do things the right way.

But the world will get better. We have to start over now, and we'll make it a place everyone can live.

[hymnals]

Shouldn't be any such thing as an upper class. Social inequality breeds every kind of evil.

[fujibayashi]

I know. They've treated my people like dirt for longer than anyone can remember. We've had to live in hiding...

Still, there's people in the upper class who aren't terrible, and they're helping us out. We've got power and influence on our side. We just have to keep trying.

[hymnals]

That's all anyone can do. That's all I do.

[fujibayashi]

Then both of us ought to keep trying. We'll make it through.

[She smiles faintly.]

I'm Sheena, by the way. I know a lot of people are giving you a hard time, but I think you're right: religion shouldn't run on misery.

The whole faith thing is kind of spoiled for me now, though. Sorry. It's not you, it's... you know, thousands of years of being lied to.

[hymnals]

Adrasteius. Nice to meet you.

[It occurs to him, JUST NOW, that he should have mentioned his name in the initial broadcast. Oh, well. Hindsight.]

You don't have to have faith in anything to be a good person. But some people need it--not necessarily for morality's sake, but for comfort. To know they aren't alone. Religion should take care of those people.

[fujibayashi]

Nice to meet you, too. [She's genuine about it.]

Mm-hmm. That's what I believe.

Pardon me for asking, but you're an elf, right? The elves on my world don't have such long ears... and they don't usually talk to humans.

[hymnals]

Yeah. Sin'dorei. We don't usually talk to humans, either. At war with them, in fact.

[fujibayashi]

Wha-- really? That's... it must've been hard for you, at first. I'm sorry.

Aselia's elves want nothing to do with the outside world. I can see where they come from, since I was raised in a hidden village too, but... ignoring a problem doesn't make it go away.

[hymnals]

It's hard now. And foolish, besides. But that's neither here nor there.

[He sighs, irritated.]

Yeah, we have contingents like that, too. Useless ostriches.