What we know so far is that seijin Khody was a saint at one point, became a seijin, then a non-person after the Adams and Eve's died out, quite a process in one man's life.
To fire such devotion in disciples centuries later seems to require considerable proof as a foundation for their faith, so I wonder what relics might there be for his followers?
Suppose a federation telescope far better than any the church approves, enables current viewers to see the imperfections of the moon, or enables easy tracking the other planets, monitor or track solar weather etc, or simply instruction on how to make their own good enough for the same purpose of disproving the Holy Writ?
I don't think any text indicates Khody was part of the command crew, but he might have found or received from even Shan-wei herself pre-creation documents, akin to the History of the Terran Federation, perhaps a crew manifest for operation Ark etc, that reveals the archangels humanity and ulterior purposes.
Other items might be medical scanners or purifiers etc, like a small 24th century hand held x-ray type device, solar powered like Paityr's, that can aid detection and treatment or see through a wall, while obviously used by the angels they always denied them to further the religious awe.
While such tools are accepted as gifts from the angels by the CoGA lay public initially, it may be such admissions are seen as dangerous by the then survivors or vicarate, who hatch the plan to slowly discredit his memory.
I'm sure others can point out other tools such fed tech might be, that still working helps prove his story to the next generation of acolytes.
L
Lazalarlives wrote:What we have here is a wonderful little bit of what we've all been obsessing about.
It tells us huge amounts - we have the name and recruiting methods of the organization along with the reason why they're not happy with the COGA.
What we don't have, however, are answers. We can infer that the Sisters of Saint Kohdy still (somewhat) believe in the 'angels' and 'saints'. We do not, however, know much else.
And while we're at it, it's the perfect fourth column for Safehold as it is. The men ignore women - as is common in a lot of less enlightened areas. And women talking to each other? Just gossip. Ignoring women is stupid, especially from an intelligence point of view. But it happens all the time, even in places you'd think were way past that 'barefoot in the kitchen' outlook.
What do you want to bet that Kohdy's great sin was women's rights? I can imagine a man who loves women - not a player, but the hopeless romantic that crashes from romance to romance while the women in his life despair of ever catching him but never tire of trying - pressing the COGA to name a woman to the Orange of a Vicar.
And like the man of La Mancha, continuing to tilt at that particular four-armed giant long after it was wise or safe. Nations like Harchong cannot endure with a serf (slave)-type economy if there is any recourse to equality. It makes it easier to oppress people if there is someone lower than they on the totem pole - and women are generally the easiest target because of their size, nature, and comparative physical strength. (I'm not trying to be sexist, just honest. While some women my age are far stronger than I, most women in a particular group are, on average and in the mean, weaker than their male counterparts. They are also less likely to seek physical confrontation and respond more readily to threats against their offspring and family. Quite a few 'uncultured' types (see the Gaza strip) are just fine with the concept of 'kill all the youngsters you want, we have plenty of women and we'll make more.' End Rant, sorry)
Someone in the COGA made Kohdy a non-person - but someone else remembered. And that first seed of doubt is the source of her belief that Merlin comes from 'somewhere else; just like all the Adams and Eves.' (paraphrase) Doubt is often like faith - it can begin as a small thing, like a mustard seed, and grow into a huge bush that shelters all sorts of things from the storms.
And thank you, if I had not before, for the snippet, sir. I sometimes miss speculative analysis and trend identification. This stuff keeps me from driving the wife nuts by doing things like picking up the milk, eggs, and bread on the way home when she's waiting at the door with a list for me because she forgot to tell me and wants me to go back out and get them...
Just my two cents.
Dave
