Greta nodded when Isabella told her about the Junkers' beliefs, although she had never specifically heard of them.
"Yes, there are many different beliefs throughout Sirius, some share many points in common with ours, others not so much." she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Our faith is respectful with people who have no religious beliefs, or with the beliefs of other peoples, even when we don't share their line of thought. As long as they aren't go against the Sacred Mandate that Deux ordered us to carry out, the truth is that we don't care what people believe. As His Holiness likes to say quite often, Deux doesn't care if you believe in Him or not, what matters to Him is that you fulfill His Mandate. Thus, there are many people who are currently fulfilling the Mandate of Deux and haven't even heard of our religion." Meyer smiled warmly and pointed Saito."For example, MFE, which helps the most needy people for free, I consider to be doing a large part of Deux's work. In general, anyone who actively works to achieve peace, well-being, unity and harmony among human beings is fulfilling what Deux wants us to do."
The clergywoman heard Dr. Saito's words and widened her eyes in surprise when she indicated that she had had encounters with Nomads.
"Oh, Deux, I can't imagine how terrifying an encounter with the Nomads in space must be. Fortunately I have never had the bad luck to experience it, but to get an idea all you must do is listen to the testimonies of our pilots and commanders who have suffered it in the Omicrons, and they've been able to survive. The same story always happens. A contact on the radar, the xenomorph entity rapidly approaching the ship, a barrage of telepathic thoughts full of hatred and death wishes that invade the minds of the crew members, and then the impacts of its bioenergy discharges before everything explodes." Meyer shuddered just thinking about it. "It's horrible how much the Nomads hate us. I've always wondered why, although I suppose it's because they are aberrations designed and conceived for that. Maybe they have no choice, and can't do anything else but wish for our destruction... But I also wonder why the one who created them would seek our death. The Nomads came to the solar system just to eradicate us, and when they saw that some humans had managed to save themselves, they attacked us here on Sirius, eight centuries later." She shook her head regretfully. "Luckily our ancestors had the advice and warning of Deux Our Lord to ensure that Mandkind could escape all that. Now we can only thank Him by fulfilling His Mandate and trying to make humans stop fighting among themselves and live in harmony, to be stronger and be able to defend ourselves when the Nomads come to finish their work."
Greta looked at Isabella and smiled shyly, trying to downplay the drama she had expressed in her words. She hoped she hadn't scared the doctor with her whole spiel about the Nomads. She sometimes forgot that people who came from outside didn't perceive in the same way as the believers of the Faith the level of threat that those creatures really represented. They hadn't been educated in reading the Sacred Codex, and they had not been able to verify for themselves how the prophecies contained in those scriptures had been fulfilled in what had happened in the last millennium. And it didn't really matter. The Church and the believers were already there to understand this threat. Non-believers could collaborate with the Sacred Mandate simply by making Sirius a more peaceful, more brotherly, and more united place. And as the things were lately, that was already a lot.
The monsignora was pleased when Saito changed the subject and asked about the functioning of the colony and its government. It seemed she hadn't bothered her too much with her musings about the Nomads. With a happy gesture she hurried to explain it to her. "Oh, the Government positions are held by the clergy of the Church, who govern all matters, both religious and civil. For example, I myself have the ecclesiastical position of monsignora within the Church, but at the same time I hold the civil position of Minister of Science. Our laws really don't differ much from the laws anywhere else. We are a theocracy that is guided in its governance by the Mandate of Deux, it's true, but the Mandate of Deux doesn't require great specific religious efforts." Meyer absentmindedly pointed toward the settlement, which could already be seen getting closer through the car window. "The vast majority of our settlers are believers. There are other settlements in Pygar, and when someone decides to come expressly to Faith Haven, it is usually because they are already believers in the religion of Deux. However, we also have people living among us who are outside the Church, although they are mainly relatives of believing settlers, who come here to reunite with their loved ones. Still, we don't demand from anyone to believe in Deux to live here although we obviously ask everyone to behave in a way that is consistent with our values, obedience to government authority, and absolute respect for our beliefs. It's also mandatory to be employed in something from the age of 18 to 65, with the obvious exceptions of people who suffer from an illness or disorder that makes it impossible for them to do so. Here we also understand by working to study a specialization in something that can be beneficial for the future of the settlement."
Meyer leaned over the minibar and picked up a bottle of water, the contents of which she started to pour into the glass that previously contained the rum. Everyone could see through the windows how the car at that moment was getting closer and closer to the vast biodome that they had seen from afar before. Its dimensions were enormous, and through its transparent walls you could glimpse part of its interior. In the center, several large buildings could be seen, which were still not can clearly differentiated between them, and around them, there were wide esplanades and what looked like some gardens. Scattered around the edges of the biodome were smaller buildings, resembling homes, and some warehouses. Greta finished pouring her water and continued talking.
"The Church guarantees to all Faith Haven settlers, free healthcare, free education, employment, free housing, free basic food, and free basic clothing and footwear. Employment is remunerated for all workers and an attempt is made to find occupations for the settlers that have as much as possible to do with their skills or work preferences. It isn't always possible for all settlers to work for the Church exactly in what they want, but every effort is made to make it so. Likewise, there is the possibility for settlers to exercise employment autonomously, undertaking small-scale private initiatives. The Church has a monopoly on large service sectors such as transportation, health, housing, construction, and security of course, but settlers can undertake small businesses on their own such as, for example, restaurants, clothing stores, sales of items from abroad that be brought by transporters from outside the Church, leisure rooms, gyms... almost everything you can think of."
The clergywoman took a small sip from her glass of water, clearing her throat. "The private commercial premises are rented from the Church, which owns the real estate of the entire settlement. What these private businesses normally do is offer a much wider range of products than what the Church guarantees freely to the settlers. Thus, the Church provides the settlers with the most essential things, and then they can acquire more specific things or services from the private business by paying for them with their salaries. In this way, both the employment guaranteed by the Church and the private initiatives of the colonists themselves help to maintain a state of relative well-being, given the circumstances."
Meyer mentally reviewed the things he could tell the doctor about the settlement as he glanced again at the front of the car through the driver's screen. The road was clear, with no other vehicles in sight, and soon they would be under the main biodome. He turned back to Saito and continued with his presentation. "Then you'll probably be interested in knowing about where people live. As I said, all real estate belongs to the Church. It's the Church that builds it and who assigns it to the settlers. They are built very similar, fully equipped, and with holographic simulation systems of exteriors through false windows, to reduce the anxiety of living underground, because the vast majority is located in the underground part, like almost the entire settlement." Greta looked away at the storm outside. "Pygar is what it is, nothing survives on the surface unless it's under a biodome, and biodomes are tremendously expensive and complex to build. Only members of the Government live on the surface, specifically in the biodome to which we're heading, in the Pontifical Palace and its surroundings. However, their houses are not much more luxurious or equipped than those of ordinary citizens, they simply have the benefit of being bathed in the light of the white dwarf. Some of them, like me, live in the Palace itself, in private rooms, but don't think that the Palace is a mansion at the service of its inhabitants. It's also our workplace, and contains an entire wing of offices from which the entire settlement is ruled."
Greta opened her arms, as if showing what was around her. "Of course our social system isn't perfect at all, but we try to avoid injustices as much as we can. At the moment we are a small community, about 11.000 people, and the Government can be aware of practically everything that happens and intervene when necessary. But we're constantly growing, we encourage the births of new children and offer subsidies to families who have them. I only hope that when our population grows we can continue to maintain that control to prevent serious imbalances from occurring among the settlers."
