The Doctrine of Deceit Pt. 1

In the year 2525 a new wave of religious dogma was introduced to the general populace. This of course was shortly after the Third Downfall in the year 2462. The third downfall having left most of the remainder of humanity in chaos left room for a new form of zealotry to rise. This often happens during periods of upheaval. The religion however is much older than the year 2525. It began in the little village of Little Pine which is just outside New Burg, the now super city once known in the 20th and 21st centuries as Pittsburgh. This village was quite rare in that approximately 45% of the population still claimed to believe in a higher power. This is much higher than the world average of only 25%. So, it is with great ease the leader of this new religion Tobias Gaylord was able to gain a foothold amongst the citizenry. The first mention of this religion in the town records is on September 16th 2350. It was in the Little Pine Recorder as a letter to the public and is quoted below.

"To Whom It May Concern,                                

It has come to my attention that the Little Pine community is at a loss for what it is that causes their current plight. I however have the answer and will be freely answering all questions concerning it at a meeting taking place in my church on September the 17th at noon.

Sincerely,   

Tobias Gaylord

The plight that he is referring to could only be the Plague of Roses which was a virus that had taken more than 1,000 lives in Little Pine and 45,000 lives in New Burg which was the epicenter of the disease. This of course was a grievous number due to the fact that as of the Second Downfall, 2285, the population of humanity had only re-surged to approximately 2.5 billion. This is compared to the 55 billion that had been around prior to the First Downfall, 2120.

Strangely enough the events of Gaylord's Q&A with the community is not mentioned, but Little Pine does not report any more deaths caused by the Plague of Roses. Even as the Plague ravishes the surrounding areas and totals at 10 million killed before a cure is discovered in 2352.

TBC...