Unified Terran Community

Some further musings on the subject of reincarnation. As has been mentioned elsewhere, the process of reincarnation is one of the most important underlying concepts of the Unified Terran Community setting. When I was researching the subject, to help me decide how I wanted it to work in the alternate reality of the stories. I was surprised at the prevalence of the idea in real world religions, both contemporary and ancient. It’s important to point out that my research was not exhaustive, I wasn’t particularly keen to imitate a specific religions interpretation of reincarnation, I was more interested to see a few different examples. From what I was able to gather there are, broadly speaking, two versions of the concept. In one paradigm, it is the rebirth of a human soul into another human body. In the second paradigm, the process of reincarnation is not restricted to incarnation into human form, souls can be reborn in animal bodies. Within these two very broad categories, there are numerous subtle variations which combine to ensure that there is no consensus view on exactly how the process works. The lack of consensus wasn’t surprising but was quite handy from the point of view of seeing different takes on the subject. I also didn’t want to endorse any one religions interpretation of the subject. You can’t please everyone, with such disparate views on the concept, so I opted not to please anyone. Generally speaking, though, I followed the idea of reincarnation being restricted to human to human transfer.

The Mystery Religions of Ancient Greece were the inspiration for the terminology that the members of the Community use to describe their incarnation technology. Areas such as India and the Orient are of course famous for the incorporation of reincarnation into their beliefs, but it was, and is, present in some form in every culture. The ancient religion of the Egyptians, which seems to be the ancestor of many other belief systems, had a strong emphasis on reincarnation. J.J. Dewey postulates that the belief was part of early Christian teachings, but was removed as church leaders felt it was incompatible with their doctrines.The Church of Scientology also features reincarnation as a central belief, although their take on it has human kind as being extra terrestrial in origin (or at least that’s my understanding of it…)

A process related to the concept of reincarnation is past life regression, by means of hypnosis. One of the most recurring features associated with this, is the considerable historical inaccuracy associated with the memories. This has led many to the conclusion that the memories recovered through the hypnotic technique are not true memories, but creations of the subconscious after receiving a suggestion to recall memories from before the subjects birth. This got me thinking as well, what if it were possible to prove such memories were real? This would be a fundamental change to our reality and how we perceive each other. Then I began to consider the possibilities of the complete restoration of the memories from any past incarnation. The vast increase of collective wisdom, would have a staggering impact on our society, techniques and theories from the ancient world which we have never been able to duplicate or fully grasp would become accessible once more. Marry this with our modern day technological advances and vast cultural leaps could be made.

Which leads me conveniently to a small advance notice, the third part of the main UTC story arc, with a working title of ‘The High Watchtower’ is underway and will be posted in due course. I’m also working on another Travellers Tales instalment, which should be finished around the same time or possibly a bit earlier. For those who simply can’t wait, there will be a background article very soon which will have a few clues as to the next story. I’ll bid you farewell, for now, and hope to see you again soon!

unifiedterrancommunity@gmail.com

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Although the Unified Terran Community has no single leader, as such, they were initially guided by the vision of a cabal of scientists, philosophers and philanthropists. Pre-eminent among them was the man known as Heru Seleem. The precise origins of the man are shrouded in mythology, it seems, however, that Heru Seleem was the first human to retain full memory of his previous incarnations every time he was reborn. Heru was believed to have been born in Egypt near the end of the period referred to, by twenty first century scholars, as the Early Dynastic Period. It is thought that Seleem was a member of the Egyptian priesthood on several incarnations, as well as living diverse other lives serving as advisor to several Pharaohs, as well as developing numerous agricultural and alchemical techniques over several lifetimes. Many of the advances in agriculture which made food readily available Egypt were methods pioneered by Seleem. For Seleem himself, his most useful discovery was an alchemical recipe, ancient even then, which taught him the skills required to create living, but soulless simulacra. He used these vessels to reincarnate himself into an adult form, so that he could continue whatever work was consuming him at that time.

As the centuries rolled past, Seleem wandered the planet, exploring the rise and fall of a multitude of civilisations. As Seleem travelled, he began to see a pattern emerging from the history of ages. He began to take note of what aspects of a culture caused its initial growth and prosperity as well as taking note of the characteristics of cultural degeneration. He slowly began to conceive of a society where mankind could truly prosper. The main obstacle to overcome was the implementation of this massive cultural change. Seleem swiftly realised he would require considerable time and help to realise his plan and began to seek out certain individuals who he felt would see the value of his scheme. As preparations slowly built, Seleem was saddened and frustrated by the loss of his comrades to the inevitability that was death, and subsequent loss of memory upon reincarnation. Seleem understood the cause of the phenomena, and began to dream of a method of crossing the Lethean Barrier, while retaining recollection of past events. Employing principles conceived of by Pythagoras, Seleem began to work on the prototype of the Mnemosyne Device during the sixteenth century, aided in his work by Dr John Dee, advisor to the English Queen, Elizabeth I. During this period, Seleem also had frequent contact with Francis Bacon, whose ideas, he strongly influenced. When the first Mnemosyne Device was finally constructed in the seventeenth century, Dr Dee was the first soul to employ it as a means of incarnating into a simulacrum. Seleem carefully hid the Device from world at large, and began to approach the people who eventually become the founders of the Unified Terran Community.

Meanwhile, the endemic violence of the human race continued. Despite not actively fighting, Seleem was killed sixty three times during the Second World War. By this time, Seleem had seen thousands of years of conflict and strife between the nations of man and had concluded that a truly fundamental change had to occur. Seleem gathered his technologist allies and, in the dark days of the early twenty first century, they made their move. It took the rest of that incarnation for Seleem and his allies to stabilize the Community. As he approached the end of his incarnation, Seleem announced that he would not return immediately, but instead planned to explore the spirit world and return once he had learned the ‘wisdom of the distant shadows’. That was a little over two hundred years ago, and no one has seen or heard from Heru Seleem since.

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Day to day life in the Unified Terran Community is radically different to life in our own time. As mentioned previously, all of the repetitive, laborious work is now in the hands of specially designed robots. This and the work of the Bio Engineers in providing synthetic but nutritious food for all have profoundly altered the nature of humanity. Freed from the monotony of the capitalist system, with the abolition of currency, the members of the Community are able to focus their energies on more rewarding activities. Numerous project groups exist, developing improved technologies, accumulating centuries of knowledge and providing entertainment for the society. These groups generally have no one who can easily be identified as being ‘in charge’ and conflict is rare. If a group member is unhappy with the direction the group is working towards, he or she need simply leave and find or form another group more suited to their tastes. Many groups have overlapping spheres of activity, indeed, the Life Engineers and the Bio Engineers were one group initially. As time and the Community progressed, the group splintered in two although some technology, such as genetic manipulation and cloning is the product of both groups activities.

Significantly, there is no obligation, no pressure from the rest of the Community, to join a group. The principle reason this is possible is the activities of the Bio Engineers. With their mastery of synthetic biology, these technologists can manufacture limitless supplies of food and are also responsible for ‘growing’ the lightweight, incredibly strong materials that buildings are constructed from. These materials, in turn are developed to be able to convert sunlight into usable energy. Thus with free food, shelter and energy, humankind is finally able to develop it’s potential. An atmosphere of cooperation over competition is created. Obviously, Community members are free, and encouraged, to pursue personal interests as well. The philosophy of the Community is that anything which does not harm the Community, enriches it in some fashion. As all members of the Community are considered equal, so too are the groups regarded. Certain groups would appear to be more crucial to the functioning of the Community, but even these are cross dependent on numerous other groups. Each group requires the others to function to the best of it’s ability.

There is an emphasis on familial groups within the Community. However, with the advent of Seleem’s Mnemosyne Device and consequently a knowledge of past incarnations, the concept of Shadow Families has evolved. The Shadow Family is an extended group of souls, who have, down through the ages, always been born into the same mortal family tree. These souls are considered to be linked in some fashion. Another facet of this idea is that of Shadow Partners, lovers who have frequently or always found each other during incarnations. So far the Psychonauts and Life Engineers have advanced several theories as to why some souls seem eternally drawn to each other, none however has been taken as the consensus opinion.

Individuality is prized and greatly encouraged within the Community. This had lead to eccentric settlements comprised of buildings constructed in a bewildering array of styles, ranging from the ancient to the fantastical. Unhindered by an industry dictating certain modes of dress, the clothing favoured by the Community members is rich and varied. Numerous textile groups exist and manufacture clothing designs limited only by their imaginations. The current fashion for naming in the Community is to employ the name of one’s first incarnation, though this is by no means a firm rule.

The members of the Community are free to pursue their interests and desires, all the Community asks in return is that no harm is brought to the other members of the Community in the process.

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Despite the outward harmony, there are two significant threats to the survival of the Community.  These threats are respectively referred to as Outsiders and aberrant personalities.  The latter are more understood by the Community.  Aberrant personalities are those human souls who would have been considered psychopaths.  they are individuals who, at a fundamental level, think differently to other people.  They have no grasp off, or interest in, the social conventions of the Community and they have no conscience.  The aberrant personalities are aggressive, domineering and are prone to violent yet calculated actions.  They are dangerous simply because there is nothing they will not do to achieve their aims.  The aberrant personalities are usually very clever, but a limited ability to learn from their mistakes prevents them from hiding too long in the Community.  Numerous therapies have been tried to try and integrate the personalities into the greater Community.  These have not only been unsuccessful, but also equipped the aberrant personalities with the tools they needed to better hide in the Community, they now knew how the Psychonauts were identifying them.  The Community’s current policy towards the aberrant personalities, is to detain them when they are revealed and then subject them to an intense program of ‘re-education’.  After this process is complete, the Life Engineers who oversee the procedure, release the reformed people into experimental sub communities.  Thus far, the Life Engineers have enjoyed an impressive success rate with their rehabilitation techniques, unmanageable individuals are prevented from reincarnating until such time as they are willing to try the program.

The Outsiders are a completely different matter.  Their origins are unclear, even to the most experienced of Psychonauts.  The one thing that is clear, is that the Outsiders are souls or spirits who have never been human.  Outsiders are not born on earth in any of the conventional fashions.  They strike from the spirit realm, shredding the soul of a living human and seizing their now soulless body for their own.  The Outsiders also manifest a range of supernatural abilities, making them more than a match for most members of the Community.  To give a sense of perspective, the Outsiders were considered demons and dark gods in bygone ages.  The response of the Community to an intrusion from an Outsider is markedly different to their approach to the aberrant personalities.  Once captured by Life Engineer operatives, the host body is destroyed and the Outsider cast back to the spirit realm.

Over the last twenty years, the Life Engineers have become aware of an unwelcome development from the aberrant personalities.  While the Outsiders had always stolen bodies, the aberrant personalities had to be reborn in one of the conventional methods.  This allowed the Life Engineers to proscribe certain individuals temporarily.  In the last twenty years, the aberrant personalities have developed the ability to possess bodies in a manner similar to that of the Outsiders.  How they developed this alarming ability is, as yet, unknown.

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