Traveller Vignette 002

The Ministry of Penance and Reconciliation wasn't the tallest building in New Harmony, but it cast the longest shadow. Offworlders usually think of the Reconcilers as the churches' secret police, but it's not really accurate to call an organisation “secret” when you can see its agents with their distinctive robes and staves on almost every street.

You could bet that at least someone you talked to every day reported to the Reconcilers, too – either loyal church members doing what they thought was right, or because they'd been caught in some minor heresy or sin and opted to work off their penance by informing rather than taking a public whipping.

Either way, I was pretty certain they didn't know I was here yet, since I was still walking the streets rather than having an unpleasant meeting with to a confessor and his instruments.

Comments

  1. NeilAugust 29, 2022 at 8:49 PM

    (Author's note - The idea was to give a different feel for a high law level world. The reconcilers can be stern and moral upholders of an intrusive law, or religious fanatics, whichever serves your plot best. Of course, religion and technology can interface in odd ways. Some religions will embrace the simple life and use of unnecessary technology may be a sin, while others may embrace it with a worrying fervour - once the church has access to lie detectors, they'll know whether you are a true believer or not, and you'd better not score too low on your monthly piety polygraph)

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