Cannon Omake: Christ's Kingdom on Earth (Part 3)
Chimeraguard
We do deserve to exist.
Matters of Faith
With the success of the Sermon of Sfard and most of the warlords either removed or brought to heel, Abiel Wyse had a much freer hand to reform Christ's Kingdom on Earth from a collection of religiously charged warbands occupying territory and into a true nation-state. To do this, he would embark upon a project to officially codify both the Vanguardist faith, and the government of the Kingdom.
In some ways, the work on the faith was a much simpler task, since as the prophet of the religion, his word was universally acknowledged as the final say on such matters. Nevertheless, the rapid spread of Vanguard faith had led to a number of idiosyncrasies developing, which had resulted in no small amount of conflict when branches met. Most well-known was the Trojan brand of Vanguardism, which, due to the games of missionary telephone, believed that Christ was an American Uptimer who had been killed by the Tucson Police.
Furthermore, it must be remembered that Abiel Wyse had no real religious education, or even, in truth, experience beyond knowledge of a few well-known topics of the Christian faith in general. What he did have however, was a certainty in his own validity as a prophet for Vanguard Christianity, and thousands of well-armed zealots who were equally certain and had proved quite willing to enact violence upon skeptics. This in turn meant that when Abiel Wyse dictated the Vanguardist Bible, it was quickly accepted as fact across most of the CKE.
The core of the Vanguardist Faith was built on the idea that God had sent Tucson into the past for a purpose. This was essential, as what had drawn Americans in the hundreds, thousands, and even tens of thousands to Vanguard Christianity and its boy prophet was the promise that all the hardship they had endured had a purpose behind it, and that they had a purpose within it. The new Bible codified this: God looked upon the past before the sacrifice of Jesus Christ - where men were damned through no fault of their own, and the future - where Christianity had sunk into both ignorance, arrogance, and corruption, and sought the salvation of both. Tucson's journey back in time was a divine mission to save the souls of Downtimer and Uptimer alike, to forge a new Christianity away from the sins of the old.
One interesting effect of this affirmation that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ has not actually happened yet has been an explicit rejection of the Old Testament (once someone with enough knowledge of Theology to explain the difference between the Old and New Testaments got Wyse's ear.) Neither Testament, they argue, has actually happened yet. But from the New Testament they can base their beliefs on what Christ, rightful King of Earth, would want, and so better prepare the world for his arrival. Needless to say, this is infuriating to virtually every non-Vanguardist practicing Christian, doubly so as it is becoming clear that the CKE's existence has ensured Vanguardism is likely to become one of the most well-known branches of Christianity in this new timeline.
Theology in the Kingdom was complicated by the presence of the Downtimer deities. The Luwian pantheon was still popular and worshiped among the Downtimer population, and Vanguardist Christianity emphasized that Uptimers and Downtimers were equal in the eyes of God, and a significant portion of Vanguardist military strength came from pre-revolution Downtimer resistance groups that, thanks to the cold war between New Washington and the NAR, were quite well-armed, and whose opposition to most things American made them unlikely to take the idea of abandoning their Gods for an American one well.
Fortunately for Vanguardist Christianity, another arm of its theology had the solution. The Gods of not just the Luwians, but many other civilizations across the world, were not some heathen spirits. No, they were Angels of the Lord, sent across the Sea of Time to shepherd Mankind until Tucson's arrival. This, Abiel Wyse proclaimed, was the great failing of pre-Event Christianity, for it had been unaware of, and so disregarded, the burden and sacrifices the Angels undertook for God, and so declared their flocks Pagans. This was to be the great undertaking of the Vanguards of Christ, to unite the Angels that had been so scattered across the world and hearts of man back under the unified banner of God, and create a true Kingdom of All Under Heaven in preparation for Christ's arrival.
This theology of Abiel Wyse was crude and basic, and with no small amount of its own holes, but to the people of Anatolia left desperate and resentful of their treatment by the nations of the First Wave, both Downtimer and Uptimer alike, it was solid enough for them to rally to its banner by the tens of thousands, pledging themselves to the aggressively evangelistic, militant faith that, in many ways, sought to actively define itself by its break away from being "American."
A Kingdom of God
The New American Republic that the Vanguardists had overthrown was essentially an alliance of warlords locked together in a web of feudal alliances imposing dictatorships over the nation's population. Christ's Kingdom on Earth in the early stages of the war was little more than a collection of religiously charged warbands and popular uprisings. The former had been, at best, reluctantly tolerated as better than the alternative of chaos and insecurity. The latter had been accepted (by the Vanguardists' supporters at least) as a temporary yet necessary sacrifice to bring about a new world. But for any sort of long-term stability, Christ's Kingdom on Earth would have to at least begin resembling a proper nation-state.
Abiel Wyse himself had little idea of how to run a nation. Granted, the argument could be made that the same could be said of the leaders of many other nations in the Age of Rust, but nevertheless, the largely illiterate teenager would need substantial assistance in setting up a proper governmental structure. Some of this aid was provided by former New American Republic Intelligentsia, particularly those who had joined up after Dean Baker, known for his persecution of anyone deemed too "Liberal", became president of what remained of the NAR.
Abiel Wyse was also heavily influenced by his personal experiences and those he had made his most fervent supporters: Young Americans - those mere children when the Event happened and whom Wyse felt a kinship towards (with many having struggled in the post-Event world due to a lack of education compared to their older peers) and Downtimers, who feared that without Wyse's influence they would be quickly returned to their prior post-event status of third-class citizens at best and slaves at worst.
The uppermost strata of leadership was, naturally, the Regent himself. It was made very clear that the only worthy King of the Kingdom would be Christ himself, and until his arrival all other rulers were mere regents. Alongside the Regent was the Synod, an assembly of high-ranking figures of the priesthood who carried out day-to-day national policy and interpretation (and, in theory, advising) the will of the Regent. Shortly after this was codified, the Regent and his hastily assembled Synod busied themselves in reforming the Kingdom into something functional.
One of the first reforms carried would be the institution of local level democracy, at least for Vanguard Christians. The lack of and real democracy had been something the American population had resented in the NAR, and even relatively token reforms in this regard easily garnered widespread support. The new "Communions" would be able to elect leaders for local level affairs, with control over local taxes and policies for development. This, alongside a land-to-the-tiller policy, redistributing the land across the NAR that had been seized by the ultra-wealthy agriculture barons like Chuck Wise, made the CKE an immense improvement in the eyes of the former citizens of the NAR.
One should not mistake these reforms for an institution of true, nation-wide democracy. Non-Vanguardists were disenfranchised (though still promised freedom of religion), and only Vanguardist Christians could have positions of authority and power, whether by appointment or election. Even for Vanguardists, while these institutions had teeth, it was clear that the policies of the Kingdom, its Priesthood, and Regent would take priority in any dispute. Nevertheless, to people who had been under the authority of warlords and their private militias since the foundation of the NAR, these were still great improvements in their personal liberty, particularly for the Downtimer population.
Non-Vanguardists had their own rights. Though barred from positions of power or political influence, they were free to practice their faith. Vanguardist doctrine had argued that such faiths that either worshiped God without His Angels or Angels without God were not wicked so much as they were incomplete. As such, they would be allowed to continue their faith, so long as they paid an additional tax (either a conventional one, or providing some special service to the Kingdom, the latter implemented to attract and make use of educated and skilled American personnel.) Comments that this was little more than reinventing the Jizya were studiously ignored.
Above the various Communions and their Lay Priests (as the elected officials who were not part of the official priesthood soon became known as) was the official Vanguardist Priesthood that administered the Dioceses (which generally included multiple Communions, particularly in cities.) Each Diocese was administered by a Bishop, elevated to the position by a mixture of approval from the Regent, the Synod, and their peers, and confirmed by a yes/no popular vote amongst the Vanguardist population in that Diocese (with a majority voting "no" requiring a new candidate be selected.) These Bishops served as administrators of the central government's will, enforcing its policies across their Diocese as well as seeing to region-wide needs.
A side-ranking of Bishops were the so-called "Prelates", largely consisting of early CKE warlords who had agreed to follow Wyse. These Prelates were given more autonomy over their Dioceses so long as obedience to Sfard and the Regent remained, and the understanding that their position was not hereditary (though the family would receive a generous stipend) and the Diocese would be transferred over to a Bishop upon their death or retirement. The existence of the Prelate was something of a pragmatic move, as despite the centralizing effects of the Sermon of Sfard, there were still warlords who held enough influence that the Kingdom could not afford to war with them and the anti-Vanguardist coalition at the same time.
Aside from governmental structure, another major reform would be education. Education within the New American Republic had been a ramshackle thing, with inconsistent curriculums varying depending on the beliefs of the ruling Senator. Downtimers meanwhile, were only rarely educated at all, and when they were it was usually in the sense of boarding schools meant to "Americanize" them.
For the Vanguardists, for whom young Americans left at a disadvantage due to their lack of education were a major supporter demographic not just within but outside of the nation's borders, this was unacceptable. Moral considerations aside, the long-term survival of the Kingdom required as educated a population as possible. A committee was formed to plan up a curriculum to be established nation-wide, with old schools renovated and new ones built so that every child (in theory) and a decent number of young adults (at least once the war stopped drawing up so many as soldiers) could receive education in first basic literacy and mathematics and, hopefully, more advanced subjects in the future.
Though trumpeted as a major success, the program was not without its hiccups or glaring flaws. Theological classes were baked into the curriculum alongside more practical skills, and while bilingualism in both English and Luwian as the spoken word was encouraged, written classes would be done primarily in English. Nevertheless, the effort to at least recognize the Luwian language and even translate the New Testament and the Vanguardist Bible for Downtimers was a marked improvement in their treatment and rights by the scale of light-years.
Other reforms ranging from law enforcement to drug laws (which were quite restrictive) were also made in the weeks and months following the Sermon. By the beginning of 13 A.E., Christ's Kingdom was at last beginning to look like a functioning nation, albeit one heavily built around the Vanguardist faith and Abiel Wyse.
Stalinism with Theocratic Characteristics
To many of the more politically astute in other nations, Christ's Kingdom on Earth was beginning to resemble a single-party state, if one replaced a political party with a religious priesthood. Influenced by the initial Globe Uprising and Sermon of Sfard, Abiel Wyse had become firmly convinced that the success of Christ's Kingdom on Earth had come from its ability to mobilize the masses, American and Downtimer alike, via religious fervor. This task, and the overall running of the Kingdom, would be left in the hands of the priesthood.
While the upper rankings of the priesthood worked to form regional and national policy within the Dioceses, the rank and file members of the priesthood acted as the clergy's political footsoldiers. These preachers were organized into cells within their environment, ranging from a village to a factory to a school dorm to a corvee work gang, with size varying depending on the size of the structure they were expected to oversee. They were the priesthood's eyes, ears, and the arms, working to mobilize support and action towards the Kingdom's policies.
While some cells (particularly those close to major centers of power) had their leadership appointed those further up the hierarchy, many more were, like the leadership of local Communions, elected by the cell membership. This was something of a holdover from the start of the CKE, where these cells formed the nucleus of various Vanguardist uprisings, most notably in the territories of the Emergency Commission and American Republic of Turkey. (The case of Mary Wilson's cadre of closet Vanguardists that spearheaded the uprising of their town's Downtimer population, as well as disenchanted sections of its American one is a particularly well-known example, for the name of the cell's ringleader if nothing else.)
The first members of the priesthood were particularly devoted Vanguardists, or at least those with skills it would need to govern the Kingdom. Those who were involved in the early risings, those who took over control of the various towns, industries, and bureaucratic administration after the Vanguardists seized control. Abiel Wyse personally elevated many into the priesthood both after the initial revolt in Globe and again in the aftermath of the Sermon of Sfard.
With any luck, future appointments to the priesthood would occur in a far less ad-hoc fashion. While some level of raising to priesthood would remain constant (though now usually accompanied by various qualifying exams), the main structure of recruitment into the Priesthood was expected to be from the Young Vanguards, essentially the priesthood's youth program, most comparable to a more religious Boy Scouts, or a theocratic version of the USSR's Komsomol program. The Young Vanguards served as a program to educate future priests and promote political/religious activism for the Vanguardist cause among the Kingdom's youth, both American and Downtimer. Indeed, one of the key points of the program was to encourage a step away from the viewing of people as "American" or "Downtimer" in favor of an identity based on their shared faith.
Graduation from the Young Vanguards directly promoted into the priesthood, ensuring a steady supply of new, young members. Abiel Wyse paid particular attention to the formation of the Young Vanguards, viewing them as something of a pet project owing to his origins and personal feelings of attachment to the young demographic of Americans.
Perhaps even more important than this look at the rank-and-file of the Vanguardist priesthood however, is a view of the still-teenage boy who was at its unsurpassable top. Abiel Wyse ruled Christ's Kingdom on Earth as Regent in the name of his Older Brother. This alone would have granted him significant power, but the title of Regent alone fails to account for the sheer expanse of Wyse's influence across the Kingdom.
Simply put, Abiel Wyse was the Prophet of Vanguardist Christianity, its founder, codifier, and the leader who had taken it from a tiny cult of a few hundred to a nation that was taking on every other First Wave nation in Anatolia…and winning. His political position after the Sermon of Sfard was effectively unassailable, having eliminated any major power bloc within the Kingdom that could have actually opposed him.
With that in mind, a key part of anyone else wanting to institute nation-changing policy was gaining the favor, or at least avoiding the disfavor, of Abiel Wyse. Even without an actual purge (which Wyse seemed to wish to avoid after the Sermon of Sfard), a word of his support could guarantee an edict's passage, while a hint of his disapproval could strangle it in the crib. The sheer amount of influence Wyse had as effectively unquestioned prophet of the Vanguardist faith, the adoration of much of the Vanguardist-aligned masses, and what many had come to realize was a genuine talent for public speaking gave the still largely illiterate teenager far more influence than the still-substantial seat of the Regency had officially.
But despite the internal jockeying for favor (a downgrade from the prior purging and mob violence that characterized the pre-Sermon internal factionalism), the overall Vanguardist movement was far more focused on the enemy in front of them, for even as Christ's Kingdom began to organize into a nation-state worthy of the title, there was still a war to be waged across all of West Anatolia.
Last edited:
