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Zvetaku Creed


Zvetaku Creed
LocationCold Frontier
Capital Planet Zvetaku
Government Religious Oligarchy
Tech Level Ultra-modern
Established Antiquity
Composition Human
Mixed Immigrants
PlanetsBezhysta
Gorostorod
Valentholo
Wyslacki
Zvetaku
A religious sect striving for personal and cultural perfection through the use of science. Their philosophy is that we are all given weak bodies and strong minds, the "cosmic puzzle" being how to perfect the one with the other. Through biogenetic engineering and cyber- and nano-augmentation they are dedicated to turning themselves into perfectly functioning beings. They use commercially available and technologies as well as ones they have developed themselves. While their most aggressive and experimental manipulations sometimes succeed and sometimes fail, each generation tends to be more powerful, more specialized, more skilled and subject to fewer failures and inherent weaknesses. The Zvetaku believe in a non-personified god, worshipping the forces of the universe as Fundamental and Right. They have developed metaphorical representations of universal forces and use stories about these to deliver their wisdom, without actually worshipping the physical manifestation. Their three primaries are Obov, who embodies man's motivation and need to improve on nature, Belikorovo, who represents physics and the natural flow of the universe, and Torod, who leads the Muluctae, a horde of misshapen creatures that cause the disintegration and chaos in the universe. None are Good or Evil in the capitalized sense, each just plays their part in teaching man to improve himself.

Sanctification and Settlement
They strive to turn hostile worlds into idyllic societies. They have developed aggressive and effective terra-forming techniques which they have implemented in the "sanctification" of their four-world empire. The Creed creates Pilgrims who are heavily modified to survive the worlds they are terra-forming, in essence creating an artificial race perfectly adapted to their new homeworld. There is a sacrificial air about the Pilgrims, who are sometimes so modified that they can only live on the world they are sanctifying, essentially giving up their ability to fit in normal society and surrendering their very humanity for the Creed. In a second sense, they are converting their new homeworld to be human habitable and will, within generations, turn it into a hostile environment for themselves and their offspring. 

They generally choose a cold, barren, geologically stable world within the life-band of a stable star. The atmospheres tend to have high nitrogen content, as a stable and effective buffer gas, and frozen polar water and nitrogen. The Zvetaku tend to choose worlds with a large variety of easily accessible in-system resources, like hydrogen and minerals.

The Zvetaku employ a number of techniques in Sanctifying a world. On high-gravity worlds, they tend to use augmentation to strengthen their body structure. On low gravity worlds, they tend to actually increase planetary mass, introducing large amounts of material into the world by bombarding it with asteroids full of dense minerals. The rock is then processed into useful minerals and soil in Sanctification Plants and Soil Farms. The disintegration of asteroids and comets in the atmosphere also releases ammonia into the atmosphere which acts as a greenhouse gas. Nanites biogenetically created organisms are introduced into the wild and help stimulate or artificially construct a suitable atmosphere.

They raise planetary temperatures through the introduction of halocarbon greenhouse gasses. Huge mirrors are placed in orbit, reflecting light and heat to warm the atmosphere. In addition, the Zvetaku darken the surface of the planet with biologically engineered lichens that trap and gradually radiate heat.

Training
The Zvetaku Creed spreads through propaganda and recruitment centers on most worlds. They have a variety of training centers located on most worlds. New recruits will be given a path in life as a Pilgrim or Colonist, Recruiter, Defender, or other position. Most new recruits will spend time being indoctrinated and trained on their homeworld, spend some time working recruitment centers, and eventually walk the path of the Colonist, destined to live on a nearly or already converted world. They generally begin working on an Agricenter, which are local representations of a typical Zvetaku world where they will learn farming and living techniques in a variety of climates. Training for a harsher life on less developed planets is often undertaken on moons and in asteroid belts of populated systems.

The Zvetaku primarily recruit Humans, through Iliene and Bjaki have also joined in smaller numbers.

Power Structure
The top of the power structure is the Zvetaku. The Zvetaku is the appointed representative chosen by the collective forces at work in the universe. He is chosen by and from the Hermitage, which is a holy council comprised of the seven most powerful members of the Creed. Six Hermits and the Zvetaku set all the policy for the Creed.

The Hermitage will define the power structure of each Creed world based on its individual needs. Generally, they will assign a High Minister to oversee each world directly. The High Minister will appoint regional Deacons who set local policy. 

History
In early Antiquity, a young man by the name of
Mikhan Zvetaku  worked for the fledgling tech powerhouse Ignatius Solutions. He worked with a fervour and zeal that was at once inspiring and appalling to those around him. He spoke to his co-workers and supervisors of changing the face of man forever with the Ignatius Product line. His designs and ideas knew no moral limitations. He was let go as his preaching became more aggressive and his notions approached a religious obsession. He was soon a major fixture all over the world of Ignatius, calling for the reformation of the "biological", insisting that anything less than using every available technology to perfect mankind was an affront to God and the universe.  

Gradually, he began to gather a devout group of followers. His notions appealed to many, the concept of fortifying the weak human shell with the products of a strong, God-given mind. Zvetaku would eventually travel around the Core Commonwealth and neighbouring worlds, spreading his message to those who would listen. Eventually, he had a large and loyal enough core following to realize his dream of establishing a distinct and perfect society. He led a group of settlers to a nameless, barren hell of a world, which they terra-formed over generations into what is now Zvetaku, a well forested world with an active bio-system and good crop fields. As he died, his followers officially proclaimed that they were renaming the world "Zvetaku". Their title of leadership is Zvetaku and represents something between "boss" "king" and "reverend".