An attached note-window accompanying the opening display on a compilation of documents about the pre-Star religions of the Silent-Ones, stored in a "crystal scroll" delivered to Lady Willow Dack:
To the Lady Willow Dack:
As per your request, here are several documents and portions thereof, found during my survey of records of the pre-Star religions of the People, and allusions made to these faiths by Light-of-Star. Although you will no doubt wish to peruse them yourself, I have taken the liberty of attempting to summarize a number of observations based upon these findings.
First, it should be noted that the worship of the Star is a faith that is several thousand years strong. It is often claimed by outsiders that our beliefs are but an offshoot of the teachings of Terran missionaries that visited Zion in the age before we gained the ability to travel to the stars through Gates. However, it should be noted that historians and archaeologists point to evidence of the existence of much of the imagery of our faith in a period predating that of the arrival of the humans.
Second, it should be noted that there was never any one faith of the People before the arrival of the humans, and it would not be for many centuries after that until the Theocracy would be formed, the Holy Book would be canonized, and the Archon would be recognized as the sole authority on all matters spiritual, political, economic and military.
Many of the religions pre-dating the Age of Gates did not have names, per se, as the People did not ascribe nomenclature to things in quite the same way that humans were prone to do, and as we do in this present age. Historians have attempted to apply labels to major religions, and find distinct divisions and definitions, but the matter of worship was largely disorganized – a single god or goddess might be recognized as the sole deity in one place, and as yet another member of a whole pantheon of deities in another. In one fiefdom, a patron deity might be regarded as good and benevolent, whereas, in another land that had frequent clashes with the first, this deity would become the embodiment of all things evil and detestable.
In the kingdom of the Sea-Masters – so named because of their advances in naval travel, and the development of triremes and then larger sailing vessels, and means of navigating by the stars and thus being able to sail out of sight of land – there were two major deities who were associated with polar opposites of day and night, the sun/star and the moon (it was once a single body, before it was split by Warlord Gand in a violent demonstration of alien technology that sparked the Anti-Terran Rebellion), life and death, good and evil, creation and destruction … and, incidentally, male and female, which is rather telling about the social status of females in that age. Men were viewed as inherently moral, and women as corrupters, who inspired weakness in them.
The god and goddess pair were referred by many names, generally a restating of their titles and spheres of influence. Although the religion of the Sea-Masters included various spirits and supernatural creatures that could be thought of as "gods" and "goddesses", these lesser beings had less well-defined identities, and might be added or dropped from worship from village to village – The central God and Goddess, associated with Star and Moon. Sometimes, the World (or, as the Terrans would say, 'The Earth' or 'The Dirt') would become a third part of this triumvirate, personified as a genderless child of the two deities, representing aspects of neutrality or balance between the extremes represented by its mother and father. In other traditions, the People were considered to be the collective Child of the deities.
Due to the high mobility of the Sea-Masters, their beliefs had an impact on all the major cultures of Zion, and the concept of the Star and Moon (or, at the very least, the Star) appears in many of the ancient religions. In some, the marriage between Star and Moon is discounted, and the Star becomes a benevolent, good deity, whereas the Moon becomes a lesser, evil being bent on making life miserable for the People. In others, there is a concept of "balance" between "good and evil", and the marriage aspect is emphasized. In the latter cultures, there is a distinctly relativistic flavor to their morality.
As an aside, there are evidences of religions in which a singular Creator Deity was worshipped by the People, and there are evidences of the concept of a Child Redeemer of the Deity taking on mortal form, or the Creator itself taking on mortal form and dwelling amongst the People, but there is no definitive way to prove which traditions predated the others, or to demonstrate that one religion was not inspired by the other. Furthermore, it is well known that, during certain periods in the past of the People, unscrupulous "archaeologists" made considerable leaps of logic in the interpretation of their findings, motivated by political concerns and perhaps a fair amount of wishful thinking, hoping to find evidence of Pre-Gate-Era worship of the Star alone. There have also been many frauds and hoaxes, complicating serious research.
The imagery associated with the Star and Moon has unknown origins, though it is traditionally attributed by scholars to the Sea-Masters. Priests and priestesses of the Star and Moon were identified by marks upon their foreheads, meant to represent the Star or Moon (or both).
Back in those ancient days, many of the People had no concept of modesty, and in order to visually differentiate themselves from each other, they would often dye their fur and hair in different patterns, according to their families, roles, and accomplishments. These systems of making marks on the fur were precursors to the present-day system of sigils upon masks or ornamental jewelry that tells of the name and station of the wearer. It should also be noted that even to this day, warriors often wear scars as badges of honor. Although modern medical procedures can greatly reduce or even remove signs of scars entirely, warriors often choose to leave at least a discoloration of the fur. Such scars make them not only visibly distinctive, but declare to the viewer that they are veteran warriors.
In many cultures, gods and goddesses were often noted as having distinctive scars or deformities, and in some cases, children born with deformities were believed to be destined for greatness, or were deemed as chosen by the gods to be raised in the priesthood. For a child to be born with a light-colored spot somewhere on the forehead could be interpreted as a sign that the gods had preordained the child to become a priest or priestess, or some other holy purpose. Thus, for Light-of-Star to be born with a mark on his forehead could be interpreted – according to old traditions – as if he has some special claim to divine purpose in his life – one chosen by the "gods", or by the Star. Furthermore, many statues depicting the Star would show him with the mark upon his forehead.
As for the imagery of the Moon Goddess, that dates back to the height of the architectural accomplishments of the Children-of-the-Moon culture, which once thrived in the southern hemisphere, on the Prime Continent. The most famous – and largest – depiction of the Moon Goddess was a bas relief carved into the side of a cliff overlooking the tomb of Queen Emerald-Bell the Eighth. In this matriarchal culture, the Moon Goddess had supplanted the Star as the primary focus of worship, and many monuments were built to her. Her spheres of influence were greatly expanded, as the Children-of-the-Moon culture, while not having the naval accomplishments of the Sea-Masters, still understood enough of the sciences to realize that there was a relationship between the movements of the moon and the oceanic tides, so she became goddess of the night, of the sea, and of the passage of time, among other things.
The carving of the Moon Goddess showed her seated with what appear to be six arms, and superimposed in a circle that crosses her open hands and forehead are images of the eight phases of the moon. (During the "new moon" phases, there is no visible moon, so the "eighth phase" is actually absent.) It is important to note that, in the Children-of-the-Moon style of art, they represented motion and the passage of time with a sort of "multiple exposure" effect. Many of the images of characters in stories told in pictures painted on tomb walls have what seem to be double images of characters – a character may seem to have two faces, as he looks one way, then reacts with surprise, suddenly looking the other way, with an expression of shock. Or, a warrior defeating several foes may be depicted as a stationary body amidst a flurry of swinging arms and swords … in actuality, suggesting the same sword arm and sword slashing about.
So, it is quite unlikely that the Children-of-the-Moon carvers of the relief image actually meant to suggest that the Moon Goddess had six arms. However, with the decline of this culture, their cliff carvings still remained, even though erosion greatly taxed them (and, to this day, very little can be seen of the original works). Travelers may have seen the image of the six-armed goddess, and it is supposed that the image of the full moon upon her forehead was interpreted as a third eye, as artists replicated the image.
The concept of the Ascended Ones is one that apparently arose early in the time of the Missionaries, before the Alien Oppression and the Anti-Terran Rebellion. Some of the Terran missionaries tried to present their deity as a universal creator, not just a human god, and they pointed to what they took to be evidence of monotheistic faiths in the history of the People. Thus, the Terran deity was associated with the Star. To a certain extent, the Saints revered by some of the missionaries were associated with some of the old lesser deities and "holy men". When the Terran government required the withdrawal of the missionaries, some of the People developed these concepts into a hybrid of their native beliefs and these new teachings. The Saints became Ascended Ones – a pantheon of gods, in some respects, just with different names. If there is any significance to a number of twelve Ascended Ones, it would likely have its roots in this period – corresponding to the Twelve Tribes or the Twelve Disciples – as there is no universally recognized evidence of any special concern for the number twelve before this point.
The Ascended Ones were, in essence, gods, but the People could still claim to worship a single Star … It's just that this Star was the ultimate ruler of the spirit realm, and thus was the most busy. Many of the People believed that in order to get through to the Star, they needed to find intermediaries – individual Ascended Ones who might share a special interest in their problems, who could "put in a good word" to the Star for them. Some even went so far as to ascribe supernatural powers directly to the Ascended Ones, putting them that much closer to their original roles as deities.
Presently, the concept of the Ascended Ones has fallen by the wayside, though the concept of Saints – closer to the concept taught by the Terran missionaries – remains. Although the original people regarded as these Saints were by and large human, they are almost always depicted as members of the People. Part of this can be attributed to artistic ignorance, but attempts have been made to explain this away on a symbolic, spiritual level – one such explanation being that, in the realm of spirits, there are no differences between species, only between the faithful and unfaithful, so it is allowable to depict them as members of the People to symbolically emphasize that they are spiritual brothers and sisters, rather than distant aliens.
The concept of the Twelve Ascended Ones that has been revived recently is due in part to the teachings of Light-of-Star, and also due to a number of recent "archaeological finds" of dubious authenticity that seem to support Light-of-Star's claims. So far, no evidence of a pantheon of twelve Ascended Ones – including the Star – has arisen, outside of these recent finds. It has been noted that, according to the report of Jade-Eyes, Priest-Queen of the Savanites, these statues of the Ascended Ones bear resemblance to idols that were erected by a group of sorcerer-priests known as the Twelve-times-Twelve on Sinai, in the sacred City of Hands, and that each of the idols was associated with a different Sphere of Magic – a division of "magic" as it is understood on Sinai, and the spheres of influence of each.
At the time, the leader of the Savanites was the Priest-Queen Third-Vision, noted for having a peculiar deformity: a third eye in the center of her forehead. According to reports of the idols before Priest-Queen Third-Vision had them destroyed, the Twelve-times-Twelve had deliberately fashioned the idol corresponding to the Sphere of Shadow to resemble her, as part of a plan to establish her as a deity incarnate in the eyes of the people, in keeping with a tradition that had been established during the time of a "Savanite Empire" in the early history of Sinai, some six thousand years ago. It is conceivable that Light-of-Star could very well have learned of the concept of the twelve Spheres of Magic during exchanges between Jade-Eyes and the outpost orbiting Sinai (which she had been led to believe was an Angel of the Star), some of which predate this "idol incident", and might suggest some complicity on the part of the Twelve-times-Twelve.
The Archon and his predecessor, during their visit to Sinai, observed that this repetition of the significance of the number twelve in relation to magic and deities was a phenomenon found in many cultures on Sinai, largely thanks to the influence of the culture of a nation known as Olympia, which had once pioneered the study of "magic" there. The planets of the Primus System are purportedly named after deities prominent in Olympian mythology. However, considering that references from the era of the ill-fated Sifran Expedition can be found of "Primus System" and "Sinai", before any such culture should have formed, the cause and effect in this matter are somewhat confused.
In conclusion, it is the humble opinion of this scribe that the teachings of Light-of-Star are based upon carefully selected portions of ancient beliefs of the People, taken here and there from different cultures, with the intention of fitting them together into a twelve-member pantheon meant to draw parallels to the significance of the Twelve Spheres in many Sinai cultures, and the "old faiths" of the People, while still tying in the concept of the Star. Light-of-Star has taken care to phrase his teachings in deliberately vague ways, so that he cannot be pinned down as a pagan, and so that he offers plenty of "clues" that hint at his own divinity, yet – with the exception of reports of his claims through his "Angel" to Jade-Eyes – he need not directly claim to be the Star, but only to let his followers come to that conclusion themselves, thus granting him a buffer zone of deniability until such time as he is bold enough to make the claim openly.
In the Service of the Archon, and of the True Star Above Us All,
Scribe Tree-RingsP.S. At the bequest of Storm-Born, I have included some documents on the sciences of genetic engineering and cloning, as practiced by the Confederates and the Terrans, relating to your reports about the tanks and the "suspension chambers" you observed at the Orbital Palace of Divine Light. Sections that can actually be understood with some effort by the layman have been highlighted, in the interest of not overwhelming you with technical jargon. Even so, it is a formidable read.
It should be noted that Confederate cloning technology has been legally restricted to the recombination of insectoid structures for use in biomechanical constructs and genetically-designed non-sapient organisms. The Terrans have repeatedly made and broken treaties on the matter of limitations of their own technology, but primarily it is used to grow creatures to an infant stage, or else to make replacement body parts. So far as is known, they do not have the capability themselves to form fully-grown adult specimens, since these adults would lack the psychological development granted by a lifetime of experiences.
It has been noted that Light-of-Star has acquired, through intermediaries (again, giving him a buffer zone of deniability) many neural interfaces of Nagai design. The Terrans have often made use of Nagai technology for their own purposes, and it is believed that for many millennia, the Nagai have even possessed the capability to "record" memories, and implant them into cloned bodies. However, due to complications due involved to even pretend to discuss here, the prospect of trying to construct memories from scratch would be nigh impossible.
According to reports from Jade-Eyes and the observations of the Archon and his predecessor, devices known as "Learning Machines", which may well be an example of earlier forms of Nagai neural technology shared with the Terrans, actually function despite the interference of Quantum Uncertainty. However, in order to "record" memories, the subject would still have to be placed under one of these neural interface helmets, and the data transmitted somehow. Even to this day, the processing units and storage units required to contain "memory transcripts" are of considerable size, and would not easily be transported.
It is unclear from the limited information available just what might be going on at the Orbital Palace of Divine Light, but your reports are indicative of an attempt to secretly produce artificially grown bodies of sapients native to Sinai. It is unclear how they would be given proper cognitive abilities, but in light of your suggestion that "magic" somehow worked on the station, and considering the unknown possibilities of Sifran technology, such a possibility cannot be easily discounted.
