Bluestrike2 wrote:
My point was that the people's belief isn't something to be respected for the command staff and whomever remained under the Temple. It never was. It's a tool, meant to manipulate and limit them. It doesn't matter that Maikel genuinely believes in God or that the Temple's leadership cares more about personal gain than godliness. All that matters is how those attitudes can be used in furtherance of Langhorne's plan. Maikel's piety is an active problem because it helps justify his schism; the Temple leadership's avarice and corruption are tools to be leveraged to the Church's benefit. Corruption can always be trimmed back a bit after they've won and Charis is a smoking crater.
Maikel and Charis are obstacles. That's it. They're pawns to be swept off the board, and little more. Pawns might have feelings and emotions, but to a person who has spent well over a century playing the part of a divine being--and eventually, you start to believe in the part you play day in and day out--it doesn't matter.
As for your last point, you're right. But my thinking was that if they had any respect for faith and piety in the first place, they wouldn't have gone along with Langhorne even after he put his plan into motion. They'd have lined Langhorne and his followers against a wall and shot him. Instead, they leveraged faith as a tool to manipulate with far more cynicism than any ruler in human history.
Of course, if that happened, it would have been a much different story, now wouldn't it?
Sorry but no, there you're plain wrong.
They did respect believe. Hell yes, did they ever. They wagered the survival of humanity on believe and believe alone. Its the believe_r_ they didnt respect.
Where you're also slightly off the mark is their goal. The command crew didnt want to merely manipulate people. If they did you would be correct, corrupt people are best.
But the command crew didnt want to manipulate people, they wanted to manipulate populations. Influence generations upon generations, even after they left.
Thats a HUGE difference, because corrupt people dont stay true to a goal, their aim changes in whatever direction is most convenient at the moment. And there're a lot of moments in a single millenium, let alone an infinite number of them.
For stability over generations and millenia, you need zealots, not hedonistic kleptomaniacs. People who cling to someting outside of themselves and are not only capable but willing to accept hardship in the name of whatever.
The Group of 4 is all about themselves and their own power, the vicarage isnt much better (and most of the "better" has probably fled or been killed) and I dont give the rest of the upper management much more credit.
No, the (upper) temple loyalists are throughouly flawed tools because he cant trust them. If somebody needs to be swept away, its the flawed tool.
But speaking of flawed, could you explain why Maikel and his followers would be flawed please? Except for the obvious - but secret - flaw of believing in the wrong thing, they seem to be perfect to me.
Willing to die for their believe and truly interested in serving the church instead of milking it. That's what an Angel would want after all, someone to follow his word even without supervision.
Yes, he may have to prune back some war emergencies like gunpowder, steam and above all the routine of granting exceptions just to name a few examples, but that's necessary for both sides after all so no glaring disatvantage for either. The difference comes afterwards, when he finished his playacting, he would be convinced that Maikel will follow Gods wishes even without the Angel looking over his shoulder (and he would be right of course, except that Maikel followes a different God).
If he were to achieve the same with the original Church, he would have to completely rebuilt everything and start from zero to do so. Nobody in power could be allowed to remain there, which basically validates the Church of Charis nearly as much as simply taking them over, but minus all the people from the CoC whom he couldnt use to rebuild the United Church if he fights the CoC first.
That he will end up with one version or another of a Reformed/United Church is a foregone conclusion, because no matter what he does, the Church of God Awaiting cannot be allowed to survive in its present state. Its simpy to untrustworthy.
Now, Im not saying that the Angel will wake up and proceed to take over the CoC. In fact, I heartily wish he wont, because that would be a terrible ending to the series I think. See my cliffhanger remark, and I truly detest cliffhangers.
But I could see how it works, and works rather well from the Angels PoV, especially if he's under a time constraint. Nearly no fighting to and way less rebuilding with way more help. Works brilliantly in fact.....until he discoveres that he built on quicksand that is, because somebody manipulated his believes instead of the other way around.
Even a monumental cliffhanger may be worth it to get a look on his face in that moment!
Thinking about it no, nothing is worth a cliffhanger with the waiting time we already have between books, let alone whatever we'll face between (sub)series.
I don't think that's where he intends to go.