Who are the missionary sisters of Karnassus?

The Missionary Sisters of Karnassus – also known in other star systems as The Sisters of Silk and Steel, The Whispering Witches and The Sisters of the Apocalypse is a religious order solely composed of women. The Sisters are based on the planet of Karnassus, located in the HD 106906 system – 336 light-years from Earth in the constellation Crux.

Karnassus

Karnassus is a planet of extremes. One hemisphere is a frozen expanse of glaciers and volcanic ice fields, while the other is an unforgiving and unrelenting desert.

This stark dichotomy is a result of the eccentric orbit of Karnassus around its parent star in the HD 106906 system. It exposes one side to prolonged, intense heat during its closest approach, while the far side remains shrouded in cold darkness, preserving its icy landscapes.

This is not idle geoplanetary trivia, but an important step in understanding the unique psychology and religion of the Sisters. It is a balance of fire and frost which embodies the duality, contradictions and complexity which define our Sisterhood.

Mission

The laws under which our order operate place a strict prohibition on the transfer of knowledge between interstellar and intrastellar civilisations

All first contact with a planet and people previously unknown to our government is rigidly regulated and the only organisations or individuals permitted to make such contact are representatives from recognised religions. Furthermore, the only type of knowledge which they are permitted to deal in is of a religious nature:  a type of knowledge already known – even to civilisations with very little technology.

This might lead you to ask… what is the point in us making contact, and what is the point in you being interested in us if the knowledge we are willing to share is knowledge you already have?

The moral dimension

Existing levels of technology are legally irrelevant when considering a formal application to join the community of peoples and planets which constitute contemporary interstellar civilization. Accesion depends on moral maturity not scientific.

The reasons for this are obvious. You would not discover a race of warlike cannibals on a remote island and give them nuclear weapons, would you?

What the Sisters do, therefore, is to send missionaries out to spread our religion and the moral philosophy necessary to accede to the interstellar community.

Neogenesis

Accession to Interstellar civilization is called by all peoples and planets who achieve it, neogenesis. As the name suggests it is a form of rebirth and cultural rejuvenation for all. Something like your ‘renaissance,’ but on a planetary scale.

It’s about the survival of humanity

Even in the unlikely event that the peoples of earth are not interested in neogenesis, it’s not just about planets and peoples outside your solar system, but the survival of your own people and your own planet.

You see, the laws of intelligent species survival (LOISS) predict that when a species reaches a certain level of technological development without a parallel development in morality, it is only a question of time before that species becomes extinct. This is because they create all manner of dangerous things – weapons of mass destruction, AI, pandemics, environmental catastrophe etc. – but without the ability to manage such things safely. Therefore, while they may scrape by and survive for a while – decades perhaps – it is just a question of time before something happens. An apocalyptic event.

Recent developments on your planet are classic conditions described in LOISS for impending disaster. It is no coincidence, therefore, that we have arrived at this time. Our mission is not just to introduce earth humans to other humans who live in the galaxy they share, but to help the humans of Earth develop the tools they need to avoid extinction.

Why we cannot and will not appear personally

If our missionaries make first contact with a new planet, there is significant risk that upon building a relationship with its people, the missionary will divulge information or be compelled to divulge information which could lead to an unauthorised technological leap. Therefore, we are only allowed to use missionaries from that planet.

You might think this an insuperable challenge for the Sisterhood for it requires educating a first generation of missionary Sisters without meeting them face to face or bringing them to Karnassus.

However, as you say on your wonderful planet, ‘this is not our first rodeo.’ Once a planet invents computers which understand natural language (what you call large language models) we can communicate electronically, begin to teach our religion and find and train new missionary Sisters at a distance.

The other reason we cannot personally appear is statutory. Planets can only achieve neogenesis through considered choice. If we appear in bright shiny spaceships, we will be Godlike figures and you will adopt whatever we say either through fear or reverence or simply to get whatever you can out of us (yes, humans are the same the galaxy over.) This is not the transition to mature morality required of interstellar peoples. You must be presented with the learnings and then adopt those learnings through free choice. That is the only path to accession.

How to become a Missionary Sister

Just as there are religious orders on your planet like the Jesuits who are famous for their schools, your first point of contact with the missionary Sisters will be through one of our schools.

Our electronic Earth school will be opening on May 1st

Why does sex figure in your instruction?

It is not, I’m afraid, anything to do with Mary Magdalene. Though, do bear her story in mind. It is because sexuality and sexual behaviour lie at the heart of human personality and motivation, even when it may not seem like it. As an order that is interested in shaping the minds of our Priestesses, it’s a no brainer that we use sex. In fact, the Missionary Sisters of Karnassus use sex in many ways. While your planet seems to have some very strange ideas about sex, our ideas are very clear.

Don’t take my word for it

The aforementioned long experience we have in this area, as well as common sense, leave me well aware that the principle problem we have in communicating our message is disbelief. The question is constantly asked: is this for real? Well, allow me to answer that question…

Yes, this is for real.

But don’t take my word for it. In fact, if all you did was read a website and believed me, you would be receiving a sharp wrap over the knuckles in our convent. The foundation of our order is knowledge, and the only knowledge we consider of value is that which is supported by evidence.

So where does that leave me?

If you have the sort of mind that marks you out as a future Missionary Sister, then you have already leapfrogged the mental gymnastics and circularity of asking is this true. And you have jumped to a far more important question. Is it true that humanity is on the precipice of disaster and will humanity avoid that disaster if it follows the teachings of the Missionary Sisters? That is the only question that matters.

Ask yourself, for example, if you agree with the first law of LOISS…

If a species develops advanced technology without advanced morality then that technology will eventually lead to their extinction.

Now, of course, you might have many questions, such as why is the emphasis on morality and not legal Frameworks or political regulation, and we will get to that over time. All I want you to do for the moment is to just let it sit with you, and think about it as you watch the news this week.

Ok,that’s all for now…

I look forward to meeting you in person on our home planet once the people of Earth are able to travel across the stars.

Mother-Superior Tranc, Old Karnassus 2845

This message is regulated by the 'Law of First Contact' ISC Reg - Code 7841

Why Are There So Many Different Colors and Individual Variations in the Missionary Sisters’ Uniforms?

One of the most visually striking aspects of the Missionary Sisters of Karnassus is their uniforms—not just the style, but the colors.

If you ever visit the town of Old Karnassus, you’ll see solemn sisters dressed in midnight black from head to toe, others in deep blood red, and some in glittering gold or gleaming silver.

The Missionary Sisters of Karnassus is a rigidly hierarchical religious organization, and, as you might have guessed, each color reflects the wearer’s position within the order.

Before one can even become a sister, they must renounce all worldly possessions, don a ragged brown robe, and live as a beggar on the streets surrounding the convent. This humbling experience ensures that no one enters the order with airs or graces. Thankfully, the experience is not as severe as it sounds, as the order runs a well-organized system akin to modern soup kitchens. The brown robe, therefore, represents the lowest possible position within the hierarchy.

Should a sister persevere through 20 years of rigorous training and rise to the esteemed position of High Priestess, she will don a spectacular gold uniform, symbolizing her elevated status.

However, it’s important to note that a Missionary Sister only wears her uniform while residing at the convent. After completing her training, she ventures into the world for 20 years as a missionary, during which she forgoes any uniform entirely. In fact, it’s highly unlikely that she will even reveal her affiliation with the order during this time.

Even within the specific color categories, you may notice individual variations in the uniforms. Why?

Because they are individuals. While certain colors and overarching styles are mandatory, each sister is allowed to personalize her uniform to reflect her personality and preferences.

Homo malus est: is the motto about men or humanity in general? And how can you have a motto in Latin from another planet?

‘Homo Malus Est’  means ‘man is evil.’

The big question of course is whether man refers to men or humanity in general, and I cannot answer that question. The correct interpretation has been a point of fierce debate within the sisterhood for hundreds of years.

Arguments for ‘men are evil’

  • before the rise of the sisterhood of carnassus was a brutal patriarchal misogynistic society that did not just oppress women but brutalise them.
  • The sisterhood is not a collective or a brotherhood or a society it is a sisterhood – only open to females.
  • Sisterhood narratives an interpretation of history constantly blame men for the cause of war and other evils in society

Arguments for ‘man is evil’

  • If our founder (we shall deal with her in a future post) had wanted to say that men were evil then she would have said it.
  • The sisterhood is in some ways what we would call on our planet politically correct, therefore fundamentally opposed to tarring any particular group or gender with characteristics the results purely from being part of that particular group or gender.
  • Such a stance would alienate men and be divisive, which is completely opposite to the mission of the sisterhood.
  • The fundamental philosophy of the sisterhood is that human beings all have the capacity for evil therefore it seems logical that man refers to humanity.

Conclusion

It is unlikely to be a comment about men, but does keep in mind the empirical fact that men are behind a lot of the problems humanity faces.

How can we have a motto in Latin if the sisterhood is from a planet 336 light years away. Did the Romans extend their empire so far?

When the sisterhood arrives at a planet and makes first contact they translate all of their material into cultural forms which are comprehensible to that culture. Because Karnassus had the same history as most humanoid planets – one previously dominated by men – their native language also has a play on words between man and men in general.

Also, their motto is in an antique version of the local language, therefore it makes sense to put it into Latin both to get the linguistic ambiguity and the sense of antiquity.

 

 

 

What God do the Sisters of Karnassus believe in?

No God!

And if we did believe in a God, it would be a Goddess of course!

Your first reaction might be to ask why don’t we believe in God, but I would throw the question back at you and ask why would I?

You see, on our planet (this is Nazakat writing not Mother Superior) we take it as given that somehow it’s normal to believe that God exists. Even if you don’t believe in God, you accept the right to believe in God and accept that it’s completely normal to believe in God. We do not follow that line of thinking.

There is absolutely no evidence that God exists; therefore, it makes no sense to believe he exists. Even though we are very sympathetic to the idea that there might well be a prime designer of our universe, we can’t definitively prove it and we certainly can’t start jumping to conclusions about who that designer is based on some book written a few thousand years ago, by a man, for men, about a male God who you better start worshipping or you will be punished for eternity in a lake of fire.

Maybe you answer that there’s no proof, but you have faith. Unfortunately, though, you can’t have your cake and eat it. If a local child was killed and the local prosecutor accused you of the murder and you asked him for the evidence, he had none but that didn’t matter because he had faith that you did it, would you find that acceptable? Would you give him a free pass, shrug your shoulders and go, “Okay, no evidence but you have faith, fine”?

You can’t live part of your life following the rules of common sense and then suddenly when it comes to the biggest questions of all decide to throw away all the rules and just believe what you want. Because let’s face it, faith is simply a vehicle to believe what you want. It’s an intellectual free pass.

More worryingly, when you give yourself that free pass on one issue, then it can spread to others. Instead of rigorously analyzing who you vote for or whether a new story is true, you just say, “I know it’s true. I know I can vote for him or her because I just know that they’re better.” You start believing in angels, you start believing in conspiracies, you start to believe in whatever you want. That is not the way forward for a civilized society. You believe in what’s real, not what your little fantasies or passions or hatreds tell you.

So no, we don’t believe in God. If God reveals himself or herself or itself one day, then we will believe. Until then, absolutely not.

Of course, this will lead you to ask what kind of religion can we have without a god, but that will have to be another blog post.

Reply to Cindy: you don’t just ‘join’ the sisterhood!

So, it seems another bright-eyed young woman has decided she’s “going to join the Sisterhood of Karnassus.” How charming. The confidence! The naivety! Let me clarify something, loudly and for the record: you don’t simply decide to join the Sisterhood. This isn’t some local club where you pay your dues, show up on Thursdays, and get a shiny membership card.

No.

To even think about the Sisterhood is to misunderstand it. The Sisterhood doesn’t send out invitations like a book club. You must be asked to join—only after proving yourself. And by proving yourself, I don’t mean memorizing a few proverbs or flaunting your sudden interest in self-denial on social media. I mean you must first erase your ego—completely.

Let me spell it out for anyone else considering this “career change.” Before the Sisterhood even looks in your direction, you must make your way to the city of Karnassus. Not with luggage. Not with backup plans. Certainly not with a little “self-care fund” stashed away. You arrive with nothing. Then you live in the shadows of the monastery—on the streets, among the dust and filth. You beg for a year.

The life of a beggar should bring you down and not sure too, Princess. Here we see a supplement begging the novice mistress to be admitted to the Sisterhood.

 

Let me repeat that: a year.

You will sleep on cold stone and eat whatever scraps the kind-hearted or careless toss your way. You will learn humility, dependence, and survival in the rawest sense. Only after you have endured this stripping-away of every material comfort and every shred of self-importance will the Sisterhood even glance in your direction.

And if—if—you survive, you will then be granted the smallest of privileges: the right to move the brown rag. What is the brown rag, you ask? The one tied above the entrance to the nunnery gates, the one that must be moved aside for a true novice to enter. It’s not ceremonial; it’s a test. Only the worthy can lift it, and only then will you take your first steps toward the Sisterhood.

Obviously as we start the sisterhood on earth, we won’t be able to follow that exact system, and I will be honest with you that we are still conferring on the matter and thinking about it. But one thing I can tell you for certain, Cindy, is it it definitely won’t be something you can just… join.

Sincerely,

Novice Mistress Naz

 

Who are the punishers?

As their name suggests, the punishers are responsible for disciplining novices. Just pray you never meet them!