God having made Man such a Creature, that, in his own Judgement,
it was not good for him to be alone, put him under strong Obligations
of Necessity, Convenience, and Inclination to drive him into Society,
as well as fitted him with Understanding and Language to continue and enjoy it.
Locke, Two Treatises of Government
The Children of Anu
The Children are one of the "new" religions that has appeared as humans
have spread to other worlds. Although initially dismissed as a cult, the Children
have grown rapidly due to their priests reportedly having the ability to work
miracles. These priests first appeared on Gilgamesh some fifty years ago,
claiming that the father of all mankind , whom the ancient Babylonians worshipped
as Anu, had revealed himself again to them. These priests were later identified
as the members of a missing coreward survey team, but they refused to give
an account of where they had been or what had happened to the rest of their
crew. Eventually, it was decided that some trauma had unhinged them, but they
were strangely then allowed to go free. Soon, word spread that they were working
miracles, and large parts of the planetary population were converted, many of whom then took
off-planet trips, after which they were ordained and sent on as missionaries.
So far, they are considered a potentially dangerous organization, although they
have not been shown to engage in any illegal activity. The Children teach that mankind
is nearly ready to take up our positions alongside the gods in the Armies of Heaven.
Any who have not joined them when this happens will be treated as one of the enemies of the gods.
The Helix
After the Blight on Earth, genetics was a scorned field, greeted with hatred and fear by most of the populace. This attitude was only reinforced by the bukavu pandemic and the Eugenics Riots, so that, today, geneticists labor under severe restrictions and pressures on most worlds. Lately, reports have appeared suggesting that many biologists continue to work in this field, relying on the support of certain governments and individuals, as well as an organization devoted to allowing the free exchange of knowledge about this nearly taboo science. That organization is generally referred to as the Helix, after the DNA double spiral that geneticists have used as their symbol since it was discovered by Watson and Crick. The common fear is that this group is developing tailored viruses that will remake the human genome as these scientists desire. This fear continues to create public distrust of advanced biological science.