Just bumping
Followers of Ray the Divine
Image Source
Pixabay
“Followers of Ray the Divine”, derogatorily nicknamed as “Raytheists” is a relatively obscure religious cult centered around deification of the Ray of Matar, Karin Midular. The central tenet of this cult is the belief that Karin Midular was in actuality God made manifest in mortal form. Formed while she was still alive, it has seen slow but steady increase in membership after her death.
It is thought to have originated from former slaves indoctrinated into the Amarr faith trying to intertwine their beliefs and Minmatar culture, ultimately creating a belief system that is found deeply offensive both by Minmatar and Amarr alike. As such, practicing the faith openly is unheard of in the Republic, but there are notable Galnet communities based on the belief, and in recent Federation census polls several thousand people listed “Followers of Ray” as their primary religious community.
Believers assert that Midular’s attempts at peace between the Amarr and the Minmatar were clearly borne from divine will, and that Minmatar, just like the Amarr, are God’s Chosen people. That she was removed from power in the Republic before her untimely death is considered a display of God’s patience; she was to bide her time and unite the Minmatar and the Amarr when Shakor’s Republic would inevitably fall within decades to internal strife.
The Gallente, who allowed the Ray to come to harm and God’s mortal form to perish before she could fully accomplish her goals, are blasphemers, heretics, and the enemy of the Chosen.
While some are quick to point out that if she were a God, surely she could have avoided her death, the Followers are quick to reply that her death also served a purpose - that is, to show the Believers who are the True Enemies of the Chosen. They are convinced that she will be reborn as a new Ray in the near future.
There is some indication, mainly sourced from studying the aforementioned Galnet communities and their routing data, that the cult had enjoyed minuscule popularity even in the Empire and the Mandate. It remains to be seen if recent crackdowns on heretical behaviour in the Empire has also affected the Followers of the Ray there.
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Le thread open keeping bump
Sorry, no new stuff, just a bump. Maybe one day I’ll get back to EVE and would get more ideas about writing stuff.
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I will write something new here some day.
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Looking forward to it lets keep the spirit of Matar alive
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Still waiting for a burst of inspiration to hit.
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Paranoid?
”They’re feeding you lies, you understand that, right?”
The dim glow of the holocall system lit up Mayah’s face as she was sitting next to her desk, talking with her sister Laranta in her small, contractually provided one-room quarters on a station orbiting one of the many moons in Rens.
”I - I’m not so sure anymore. Why do you think so?” Laranta replied.
”Sis, I see things out here. I hear things out here. They don’t have as tight grasp on media up here as they do on terrestrials.”
”What kinds of things?” Laranta asked, looking at Mayah quizzically.
Mayah looked directly in to her sisters’ eyes, ”That we actually work with them all the time. A lot more than we did during Midular’s leadership, even. They may be feeding the line about ’Never again another long night’ back home, ’We won’t rest until all are free’… It’s all tosh as far as I’m concerned.”
There was some kind of indistinct but intense chatter in the hallway, Mayah could hear it even through the thick door and monotonous background hum of the air circulation system. She turned to face the entrance to her quarters.
”Mayah… Of course they do, you mean EDENCOM right? We need their help to fight the Triglavians-”
Mayah turned briefly again to frown and glare at her sister’s face, ”Do we? Do we really? I did tell you just now that we’re not subjected to the same censorship up here. Did you know the Fleet actually was one of the most competent of the interstellar navies in responding to the Triglavian threat in terms of damage inflicted and least losses incurred? It is they who need our help, if anything.”
”Really?” Laranta looked lost in thought for a moment, ”But why would they lie about that? It doesn’t make any sense.”
The chatter was getting even louder. Mayah glanced at her illicitly obtained plasma pistol placed on the desk, to the left of the holoterminal.
”It doesn’t, doesn’t it? I’ve found out a lot of things that don’t make sense out here. They say ignorance is bliss, but keeping us ignorant is also a tool of control-”
Mayah was interrupted by a muffled yet distinct coil-whine, followed by a cracking sound made by certain cruder laser weapons. She quickly grabbed her pistol and kept her gaze fixed at the door. An alarm started blaring almost immediately after.
”Mayah? What is…”
”Larrie, if you start getting mails sent supposedly by me, don’t believe anything they say. Don’t even believe any holocalls. I’ll come and meet you in person and then I will explain everything, I promise. I love you. Goodbye.”
–
She shut down the call without giving her sister any chance to reply and stood up with the pistol steady in hand, slowly moving towards the entrance, then pressing herself tightly to the wall, all the while keeping the gun fixed towards the door.
The earlier chatter was gone now, but was replaced with what clearly sounded like an active firefight going on outside her quarters. The intercom crackled to life.
”An armed altercation has been reported in sector 34F, automatic lockdown is in effect. Please do not attempt to exit your quarters until further notice.”
–
After a few minutes, the battle seemed to have come to an end. Mayah’s heart was racing, her entire body flooded in adrenaline. She perked her ears. She could hear several footsteps in the hallway, and people banging on doors, one of the doors being hers.
”Station security! Open the door!”, a voice yelled, as the alarms were still clanging.
Mayah stayed quiet.
”This is station security, officer Meor. The system tells us that there is someone inside this unit but it can’t read your identification chip to confirm your identity, we have to make sure whoever is in there is the person assigned to these quarters. Open the door!”
She was still wary of the voice and didn’t respond. Then she heard a whirr and a clack unlatching the lock on the door.
”I’m coming in!”
The door opened with a hiss, and a man entered the room, weapon drawn. Mayah squeezed, but then hesitated to pull the trigger, in the brief window she could have surprised the man and found herself staring down the barrel of a plasma rifle.
”Drop the gun! Put your hands up now!” The man demanded. She had no choice but to comply, and the gun fell to the floor with a metallic clank. Coincidentally, the alarms finally shut down at the same time.
”Identify yourself!” he ordered.
”M-Mayah Kersel, M-maintenance technician. Worker I-ID 3315/DL.”
There was a brief flash in the man’s cybernetic eyes, and he lowered his gun, but kept it ready to raise again at a moment’s notice.
”That information corresponds to the person who is assigned to this habitation module. Why did you not answer me earlier, and why is your identification chip disabled?”
”W-Well, I heard the commotion and then weapons discharges outside a-and I was scared. As for the chip, it uh- it uh malfunctioned this morning-, wh- what happened outside, can you tell me?”
”Ma’am, calm down, I am not going to hurt you,” the man said, ”as for your question, I don’t know anything beyond that there’s three dead unidentifieds and injured security officers down the hallway. I also have another question for you – that gun, where and why did you get it? You’re not permitted to own weapons while in the employ of-”
Mayah sighed, a bit of tension leaving her body. ”Well, you know, black market, where else. And I was afraid for my safety.” She tilted her head a bit towards the doorway, ”And for good reason, it looks like.”
He gestured for Mayah to take a couple of steps back and picked up the pistol she had dropped.
”A MK-Tech G-12? This must have cost you a few months wages.” he remarked.
”Well, you can’t put a price on safety, can you?”
”True enough, heh.”
Officer Meor relaxed his posture a bit. ”Well, this is a conduct violation and I am going to have to report it. Normally I’d take you with me to the security office, but for now, I’m going to lock you inside your quarters for your own safety, we will come back for you soon.”
The door hissed, whirred and clacked behind him as he left.
–
Mayah sat down on her bed, feeling a bit fatigued now that the fight or flight response was winding down. She couldn’t help but think that the people down the hallway were sent for her, in fact she was sure of it and had a good idea of who they might have been. It was a stroke of luck that they had gotten in to a quarrel with station security.
She would get the next ticket out of this station and go meet her sister as she promised, then buy a new identity for sure and disappear, somewhere in the Federation. As she was preparing to lay down on the bed for a quick nap, there was a knock on the door.
A whirr, clack and a hiss.
”Back so soo-?”
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Angel Cartel Performs A Stealth Raid On A Gas Mining Colony In Atlar
01.02.125
FITTAKAN - The Angel Cartel has covertly attacked a gas mining colony belonging to the Minmatar Mining Corpration (MMC) located on Atlar V. According to the information provided to the Molden Heath News Network by an insider source, the entire personnel roster of the mining colony is reported missing, and are feared to have become victims of human trafficking.
The internal documents of MMC also state that the raid likely happened shortly after the latest crew rotation, roughly one week ago. The raid might not have been found out until another week later if not for an automated priority maintenance call from the station’s mining equipment to the parent company. The maintenance crew arrived to the colony only to find that they couldn’t raise anyone on communications and upon docking, found the mining station completely deserted.
According to our source there was some scarce evidence of resistance against the attackers, but the attack must have been extremely swift and well planned as no distress calls were received nor stationwide alarms issued. The Angel Cartel were identified as the culprits only through the efforts of an unknown employee who managed to store and encrypt some surveillance footage in the mining station’s mainframe.
We have tried to reach the representatives of the Minmatar Mining Corporation and local police forces for comment, but have not received a response as of yet.
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Good ol’ autolock avoider post.
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Everyone loves these. Still nothing to show, just an autolock avoidance thing again. See you in 3 months.
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Maybe in the next 3 months this time…
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What’s this, actual content? 
Found something I wrote years ago I guess to an in-character poetry contest but I probably never actually posted anywhere? I think I wrote this, but as said, it’s been years - the file was dated late 2018 - so I’m not even 100% sure about that. Couldn’t google anything out with it though.
The forums butcher the formatting due to not having decent formatting tools, but I figure it gets the point across regardless.
A mistake
It all begins with a mistake, an underestimation,
it swells
eyes poked out,
flesh torn away
bones grind to dust
and I feel every last lash
the searing of skin
crackle and grind
And for what, again?
The picosecond I stand, at the gates of truth
And emerge from the womb
that is not a womb
I retch,
clench my teeth,
clench my fists
My skull bursting at the seams,
I am being born again
And for what, again?
To be a false saviour,
To be the sword and the shield
to sate my own desires
to…
Repeat the cycle
I hate this
All of it
But I chose it
And I shall endure it
Until I am pronounced free
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You know what time it is.
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The Greatest Fool
She entered her personal reading space - one of her many anchors to a relative normality of a human life. As she walked past the bookcase, her finger traveled over the backs of several antique books, and then stopped on one. She grabbed that book without even looking and sat on the luxuriously soft, oversized chair she had especially picked for this room and purpose.
She finally looked at the cover and discovered what she had picked: “The Greatest Fool”, a collection of themed poems by Jossenti Varoux, a famous Gallentean poet. She eagerly opened the book and with her right hand brushed aside a bit of her hair that had fallen in front of her eye as she was adjusting herself for a comfortable reading position. All for naught, as she had barely begun reading the first verses when a figure appeared in her peripheral vision.
<< Ms. Noduri, if I may… >> the figure started to say.
She sighed and closed the book with an audible clap, turning her head to see the figure better, even though she knew what it was. << If you’re going to pretend being my friend, at least don’t be so formal. >>
<< Feedback noted. >>, the figure then continued, << Athryn, you haven’t left the house in weeks. May I suggest taking part in some social gatherings, your schedule… >>
<< I am well aware of my schedule. And no, I’m not in the mood for people. I WAS in the mood for a relaxing evening with this book, but well, you kind of ruined that vibe. >> she said and placed the book on a side table.
<< Apologies, my function as your aide includes making sure you stay healthy, and regular contact with other people is important for mental health. >>
<< Yeah. yeah. I know. I’m sorry for lashing out, Pearl. Could you bring me some herbal tea?>>
<< Certainly. >>
Athryn smiled at the AHM - Advanced Humanoid Machine, as it left the room. This one, Pearl, was a limited production prototype. Supposedly it was the latest word in humanlike companion robotics while still operating as a “weak AI”, but its capability to read the room, so to speak, certainly was something that needed to be improved upon.
–
Her gaze drifted around the room, though as usual, her mind was elsewhere; her eyes simply reflecting the room without truly seeing it. Before long, Pearl returned with a cup of tea for Athryn, placing it next to the book on the table.
<< Thank you. >> Athryn said, picking up the cup. << Since you’re here, sit down for a bit. >>
Pearl obliged, if a bit awkwardly by sitting on another chair on the other end of the room.
<< You know, you can move the chair a bit closer. >>
<< As you wish. >> Pearl replied, moving the chair to a more comfortable speaking distance in front of Athryn.
It stared at Athryn for a moment, who was in the process of taking a sip of the fresh tea. It then glanced at the book on the table, and the bookcases lining two walls in the room.
<< Pardon me for being blunt, Athryn, but why do you still read printed books? I understand it is a hobby of course, but wouldn’t it be easier to use audiobooks? Or at least digital formats? >>
<<Well, that is indeed blunt. >> Athryn giggled << But you are pardoned. I know you have the ability to smell, sense touch, generally have the same senses as a biological human would have, right? >>
<< You are correct. >>
<< Well, I suspect this is something you are simply not equipped to understand, but humans are strange, sentimental creatures that form attachments to sensations, attachments to… Well, everything. You can smell the ink, the old paper smell just like I do, but you can’t get the same satisfaction as I do for smelling it. You too, can feel the coarseness of the paper, but you would not appreciate it the same way I do. >>
<< I see. Yes, I believe I do not understand this sensation driven attachment in the same visceral way you would. >>
A brief silence fell between the two. Pearl motioned towards the book on the table with its hand.
<< “The Greatest Fool.” It is a highly acclaimed collection of poems. Is there a particular poem you like in this book? >> Pearl asked.
<< Well, it has been a long time I read it, but the titular poem, “The Greatest Fool” is very memorable. >> Athryn replied and placed the tea cup back on the table.
She stood up, mouthing the words of the poem; << “On paths never taken,
in lives forever forgone,” >> Raising her both hands, palms open, she continued, << “In regret’s grasp, languish the greatest of fools.”>>
She looked down at Pearl, who wore an unimpressed expression on its face.
<< Ah, I guess I got a bit theatrical there. Well, did you like it? >> she asked, carefully sitting back down and leaning towards Pearl.
<< I’m afraid I cannot say. I believe I understand the underlying concept. But I guess I lack the human experience to appreciate poetry like you do, as well. >> Pearl replied.
Athryn closed her eyes, sighed, clasped her hands and leaned back on her chair. << I was expecting you’d say that. But I can’t still help but be a little disappointed. >> She opened her eyes, looking towards, but past Pearl, like it was hardly there.
<< All right, I suppose I should go out and mingle with meatier brains. When was the next moot again? >>
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Industrial accident leaves 351 dead in Teonusude
27.04.126
FITTAKAN - A gas extraction complex on Teonusude III suffered a catastrophic failure early this morning, with at least 351 employees at the facility confirmed dead, of a 412 employee total.
Initial reports have suggested a fault in the atmosphere pressurization system of the complex’s main storage facility as probable cause of the accident, but it is as of yet unknown why the rapid depressurization of the storage facility did not trigger automatic containment and alert protocols around the rest of the complex.
“We have launched a thorough investigation with Republic Justice Police and our own technicians working on this around the clock. Our primary concern is how multiple backup and failsafe systems failed to stop this from happening. Our thoughts are of course with the families and loved ones of the victims of this unfortunate accident.” -Maurits Peloto, spokesperson of Hydrogen-Helium Extractions Inc.
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Working on a little something, but not sure if I will get it done before the autolock, so lock avoider post.
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Still working.
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