One of the strongest forces on Alterra is faith. When that faith turns to doubt, turns to disillusionment, turns to mistrust... it multiples in force and is turned back upon the very establishment that fostered it to begin with.
Brother James, Year 2350 Standard, Tenth month, day 17. Lyceum City

The building that was chosen to meet was not in a good part of town. Brother James felt naked as he walked down the street without his usual robes, the others had argued that he would be too conspicuous dressed as a holy man. He had argued that this neighborhood needed a holy man even more than most but was overruled by a majority vote.

Nearly tripping on a broken sidewalk it seemed to Brother James that even the street itself had given up on life. In a city that nearly gleamed on the main walkways it seemed incongruous, this street of grime and gaping potholes.

The houses he passed were boarded up, worn wooden planks nailed across the windows and tape that read ?Condemned? just in case someone was thinking of living there. He knew that there were people living in those buildings, desperate people just trying to survive. Those were the people he should be talking with, not the ones he was hurrying down the street so as not to be late to see.

When he got to the abandoned building on the corner of First and Cherry Street he paused. Was this something of which he truly wanted to be a part? Brother James thought of his mother, and his sister, both now a part of the techno core zombies. Taken from their family, from him, to be trained as soldiers, or interrogators, or the Gods knew what else. One thing was sure, they never returned home. He had seen holos of them both, doing things he knew was not a part of the nature with which they were born. They had been turned into monsters.

Drawing in a deep breath he pushed the heavy metal door open. It slid open silently, someone had taken the time to oil the hinges. He moved down several hallways, past silent open doors toward the back where a light illuminated a stairwell that lead down.

By the time he reached the midway point Brother James could heard the soft echoes of voices. Getting to the bottom and moving down the narrow hall he turned into the first open door and paused. There were six other people in the room already, he was the last to arrive. He knew these people by name, not by face but still he had a few good guesses at their identities.

?Buona giornata. I do hope that I have not kept you all waiting too long.? Brother James moved in further and found a seat. All the other members were either seated with their backs to a wall or were standing, leaning against one. All cautious people, all now looking at him with suspicion in their gaze. Of all the people in this group his motivations were probably the least visible, it was nearly impossible to trace his family as it was for every member of the Church.

?No, Brother James, we were just getting into introductions so you are right on time. Why don?t you start us off?? This came from a young woman that was leaning against the wall. Her dark hair was cropped short, more in the style of a man than a woman. Still she had a pretty face, even with the frown that appeared to be a perpetual expression. The cut and obvious quality of her clothes reminded Brother James of high society, an interesting thing that he would file away for later introspection.

?Of course. I am, as you have correctly guessed, Brother James. I am usually off world educating others on the ways of peace, enlightenment and our Gods. At this point I am more of a teacher than a preacher.? He smiled a bit, it was a saying he used often in his travels in an effort to put others at ease. Few people wanted to be preached at but he found that there were many people willing to be educated.

The other six people in the room nodded at him. ?And your reason for being here, Brother James?? Again it was the young woman that spoke.

?My reason? I believe it is the same as everyone else. I believe that the government is actively attempting to create more technomancers in an effort to solidify their regime. This is being done at the expense of peoples lives, lives of people that the government should be protecting, not abusing.? The ring of truth in his voice was undeniable.

?Strong views for a man of faith.? This was from a tall, nondescript man sitting across from Brother James.

?Every man and woman of faith must have strong views. As humanity spreads across the stars, reaching out to find new worlds, new species, and new Gods only those with the strongest views can maintain their faith.? Brother James replied. This must have satisfied the group because they began introductions of their own.

?That is true enough. I am Trent Silversmith. I work for the government, currently as a bioengineer. I know firsthand some of the experiments that are being set up.? The man that spoke was about six feet tall, slender and pale. He wore black rimmed glasses that were too large for his face, his hair was pulled back in a queue and looked greased back. His hands were in his lap and he was wringing them in a nervous gesture that made Brother James think of a wild animal caught in a corner.

The next to speak was the man directly to Brother James left, and his voice was deep and sonorous. Brother James could nearly feel the vibrations created by each word. ?I am Jonas Abal-Yasif of the Isle of Hagazore.?

Jonas fell silent after giving his name and place of birth as though those two pieces of information was all that was required to tell his story. It told a lot, the Isle of Hagazore was deep in the ocean of the West Winds and very few people ever left. The currents there did an odd thing to the people that lived there, or so it was rumored. Maelstroms were a common occurrence and visitors were discouraged, usually at gunpoint.

The men and women of Hagazore were all thickly built, shorter than the world average and possessed a sense of solidity that made them appear to be a part of the earth they trod upon, not just an intruder that tread unwelcome. Jonas was no different than the stereotype of his people, even seated he looked like a man not to be trifled with. He was thick as a full grown oak tree and his arms were as wide as one of Brother James legs.

When it became apparent that Jonas was going to offer no more information the next man spoke up. ?I am Michael DiGregorio, from the city of Alterra. I bring to the table a set of skills necessary to accomplish whatever plan we come up with.? His voice was soft and confident. His manner and dress were all polished, nothing out of place, nothing dirty or frayed. His short blond hair and beard were trimmed short and precise. The suit he wore was of a high end quality but nothing so extravagant as the clothes worn by the only woman in the room.

?I suppose I should go next.? The man that spoke was of an average height, handsome without being too obvious, with dark hair and light eyes. His features were wide set, an oddity in a face that had such high cheek bones, he would have been exotic if it were not for the fact he was sitting next to a man with the exact same features. Twins were a rarity on Hera, it was unlikely that you?d see more than one set of twins in your lifetime. ?Or we should go next.? After everyone had shifted their gazes back and forth between the twins several times.

?I am Nathan, my brother is Barrington. We were born in Alterra, or rather one of its many suburbs. Skills, yes, we have them. What we want to know, need to know, is that there is a real chance to strike a blow at the government and the plans they have for the women of our world.?

Nathan pushed off the wall, a passion filled his voice as he spoke, ?My brother and I need to know that families will no longer be torn apart because of a mutated gene that makes a child a tool. It is not right, not fair to breed us for the technomancers we might spawn. It is not right to treat that child as a tool owned by the government, indoctrinated with the belief that it is their duty to serve the state. That there will be no more.?

The woman pushed off the wall at this point and interrupted Nathan, ?Enough, Nathan. We will use your skills of public speeches on others, not those here.? Nathan fell silent, a dark cloud of discontent hovered over his head but he moved back and surrendered the floor to the woman. Upon first glance she didn?t seem like much; short, slender, dark hair and eyes that could be seen on a million faces. There was something about the way she stood, or maybe it was some innate personality trait that called for others to listen and to obey. It made Brother James uncomfortable in a manner he could not quite put his finger on that first meeting.

?I am Nicola DeAmarco. I will be coordinating our efforts and executing the plan.?

Brother James interrupted her at this point, ?What is the plan, exactly? I have been told nothing beyond the fact it will strike a blow against the government and the techno core at the same time but not the manner of this strike. There are women in the core that are just innocent victims of a system they cannot control.?

?It is true that there will be victims, innocent victims when we strike. It can not be avoided, we need to rid the world of those with the mutated gene that allows for the manipulation of matter via the use of technology and, for lack of a better term, magic.? She forestalled any protests with a raised hand. ?I know that most of you are here because a loved one is now a part of the techno core and you have my sympathies, and my empathy. We can not back down from this because we will be sacrificing, it is to stop others from suffering that same loss, pain and sense of helplessness that we must do this.?

Brother James could see his pain mirrored in the eyes of the men gathered, knew then that they too had a loved one in the techno core. The only member he could not seem to get a fix on was Nicola.

?What form will the strike take?? Brother James asked of Nicola.

?We are building a specialized virus that will only attack the mutated gene. Trent and Michale will be working on the delivery method. The rest of you are here to assist with funds and access to information that would otherwise be unavailable. The virus will be designed to paralyze the technomancers. We will work on a method of ridding them of the gene after we have neutralized the threat.? Nicola looked at the men, focused on each face and paused before moving to the next. When she was done she nodded her head almost imperceptibly. ?We should go, we do not want the authorities curious about why we have gathered.?

?And how would they know we were here?? Father Josh asked, curious. He was not the type of person to believe that the government knew all, saw all, heard all. Nicola surprised him by laughing, ?You think the cameras have all be deactivated? No, they have all they need if they decide to investigate the matter. We will not meet again for a year. Gentlemen I will be in touch.?

With that she turned and flipped the light switch, throwing the room into darkness. There were a few curses and the sound of chairs being knocked over as they scrambled to the fixture to turn the lights back on. When the pale light was restored Nicola was no where to be seen, all the men gave each other a wary stare before backing out of the room, all except for Brother James. He remained in the room for a long time after the others had departed, wondering if what he was doing, what they were doing, was the only way to handle this situation. He prayed long into the night, no answer was provided.