Diary: Ayane Hayashi

[Karita]

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Ayane Hayashi Personal Log: Dec. 25, 824 AS

Ainu Depot, Hokkaido System

I've had some fairly productive downtime, despite no access to my ships while they're being updated. Work on the Shiragiku project is proceeding. Kiko has secured the permits and registration from the National Council for our Shrine facility in the Edge Worlds and disbursed our initial taxes to the Council. Our approved location is close enough to the Outcasts to be solidly in their territory (requiring their taxation, but I consider it fair), which should hopefully keep us far enough away from the Outcasts' enemies that we won't be considered a threat worth attacking. We will be far from the rest of humanity, but close enough to the Outcasts to remain well-supplied. In the Edge Worlds we will be far enough from the influence of humanity to form a community truly dedicated to Amaterasu.

As I write this, the 200 sisters and brothers of the Shiragiku Sect destined for the Shrine are moving all their belongings aboard the explorer ship Shiragiku, in preparation for our departure. Contractors working for the Sisterhood have begun gathering supplies and are readying to move to the site to initiate construction of the Shrine, under Kiko's supervision. All manner of crew, from electrical workers to priestesses, are moving their lives to the Edge Worlds seeking a community emulating the society Amaterasu desires for humanity.

I met one young couple moving their things to the Shiragiku liner: Misha and Samuel. Both are choosing to leave the relative comfort of their lives aboard Ainu for a new station in a far off, frozen part of the Sirius Sector. When I asked them how they were feeling about their upcoming transition to a much more difficult and uncertain life, I expected a dutiful acknowledgment of the reality coupled with some bravado. Instead, they couldn't wait to share their plans for their part of the future Shrine. Samuel and Misha are both teachers, who are si crucial to the development of our Chrysanthemum movement into the future. There are enough children amongst the families to require educators, and the two talked excitedly about their plans for their students and their classrooms. They lamented that their potential before joining the Chrysanthemums had been stymied by a requirement to fit into a patriarchal socio-economic model, even among more liberal schools on Honshu, and looked forward to the chance to blossom in a community without such constraint. Every person I ran into had a similar story: they focused only on their plabs to help create a model egalitarian society where each person is free to live up to their true purpose.

I am nervous about such an endeavor, but inspired by stories such as these. As I collect them, perhaps I will record more; for they will surely help when the road gets difficult ahead. I am awaiting final word from Kiko for our deployment, which should be in a few days' time.

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