The decades following the Neo-Hominoid insurgency and second Vagrant War on Morganna were marked by economic and social decline. The interregnum world struggled greatly under the loss of space flight. The small moon persisted only on the organised efforts of small cultural conclaves. Unified government had long since dissolved and in its place were a number of agricultural communities squabbled over by warlords and criminal syndicates. During this upheaval charity proved to be scarce, but ultimately the small worlds most valuable resource. While powerful warbands tore through the aging megacities and sunken aquatectures a handful of teachers decided to build something.
By earliest accounts it started with 11 teachers building a shelter. A salvaged long house of sorts erected in an evening. Perimeter walls and stockades were curious omissions in gun pocked streets. It is said the teachers could not be robbed or violated as they freely gave all they had. With each visit their assailants’ were disquieted by the staunch passivity of the teachers. As the scars and fractures mounted, so did sympathy and reverence for the teachers. Without fail food, water and shelter were freely available for all at the longhouse. The desperate and meek gathered, exiled or forgotten by harsher conclaves.
Soon the dependents numbered in the hundreds and all were cared for at the expense of the teachers. Some came to value the charity of the teachers, seeking to repay them with whatever they could offer. The teachers rejected offers for protection and assistance in creating fortifications. They instead directed volunteers to help provide shelter, food and water for the dependants. Those volunteers poorly suited to manual labour set themselves to learning from the teachers and combing the vast dead ecumenopolis for lost knowledge and technology. This proved invaluable, wonderous old technologies expedited and eased the securing of base needs far more than any one individual’s labour based contribution. From this the high tenent of shared knowledge arose.
The volunteers, further seeking to emulate the practices, teachings and customs of the teachers set to preserving their wisdom. The teachers’ tenets of critical passivity, inurement to suffering, unconditional compassion and personal agency became codified in iterations of written volunteer accounts. The exact number of tenets is disputed amongst different gene flagellant sects even today but all agree there are at least 1 high tenent and 4 core tenets.
1) The High Tenent: knowledge must be shared for the betterment of all.
2) Critical Passivity: dictates that one should not provoke violence, nor should one hold hatred or resentment in one's heart. Hate seeds hate and resistance to hatred seeds hatred. Instigating violence cannot bring utopia or enlightenment.
3) Unconditional Compassion: to reach others, to help them change or grow cannot be achieved If we hold judgement in our heart. We lessen others and ourselves when we cast them as demons.
4) Inurement to Suffering: one is not oneself when wounded. At these times we are the tiger or the gazelle. A tiger is too hungry to care for its prey, a gazelle is too fearful to care for its predator. To remain ourselves, to not lessen under pain we must build resilience. Resilience comes with exposure.
5) Personal Agency: the enactment of tenants can only ever be a decision. A mother can not refuse theft to feed her starving family. Meaningful decisions can only be manifested when choices are available. Freedom is the only benefit of sapience, bondage must be challenged.
For decades the scattered longhouses agglomerated into a collection of sprawling urban open monasteries on Morganna. Gene Flagellants came to their name through their adoption of ritualistic scarification and gene modification to pursue inurement of suffering. By the time contact with wider mankind was made again with the reestablishment of space flight the population on Morganna had been permanently genetically altered. The first venti sociologists inaccurately assumed the purpose of this deliberate self harm was a form of punishment. Hence “Gene Flagellant” became common parlance in the venti language to describe practitioners of the teachers’ faith.
Gene flagellants believe in a cycle of reincarnation that all living things fall into. Existence within this cycle, is understood to be the greatest form of suffering that can occur. The gene flagellants founding figures, the teachers sought to pass down knowledge to mitigate and ultimately end this suffering. They deride ignorance, hatred and attachment as the threefold shackles to the human soul the three damned paths of suffering. The teacher’s seek to propagate knowledge and the means to pursue the two noble paths to eliminating suffering.
The path of utopia describes how the creation of a perfect society one unequalled in prosperity, justice and liberty to help all thrive and ensure none within it suffer is the highest calling. This path preaches the sublimation or surpassing of suffering, manifesting as a collective to will to create paradise.
The path of enlightenment describes how the pursuit of insight and knowledge can help reconcile the existential paradoxes and help one attain a perfect inner solemnity. This path preaches self examination and inurement to refute suffering, manifesting as a singular will to create peace.
Contemporary gene flagellants pursue their religious goals through the praxis of their tenants. The saffron and sable garb represent a pursuant of Utopia or Enlightenment respectively. Invariably each gene flagellant will interpret and value the 4 tenets and the high tenent to differing degrees. Broadly, the pursuants of enlightenment often seclude themselves or detach from the concerns of others and focus instead of attaining their own desires and goals. They might seek knowledge, new experiences or greater strength. Pursuants of Utopia often distance themselves from their own desires , instead attempting to focussing on reducing the suffering of others. They might altruistically teach, heal or provide for others without expectation reciprocation.
Many Gene Flaggelants become Armournauts in the pursuit of their religious ideals. On the battlefield both the saffron and sable garbed are feared for their terrifying resilience and capacity for sustained engagements.