Tags
Cardinal Seldon, Catholic Church, christendom, Foundation, Foundation Series, Future Catholic Church, Holy Roman Empire, Imperial Star Fleet, Politics, Science Fiction, Star Fleet
Besides my work as the Head of the English Speaking Branch of the HRM and my work on The War for Christendom book series, I have also written a few works of science fiction (sci-fi), specifically the (as-of-yet) unfinished St. Damian’s Chronicles: Tales of Catholicism Amongst the Stars. The St. Damian’s Chronicles are a sort of Asimov’s Foundation about Catholics on different colony planets struggling to survive and spread the Faith.
(This Paragraph is for those of you who have no idea what Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series is.) The basic premise of the Foundation is that a Statistical Wizard named Hari Seldon predicts the fall of a Galactic Empire (unlike Star Wars this is good empire) and sets up a group of scientists who use religion and money to gain control of surrounding barbarians in order to create a second Galactic Empire. They botch the job and Psychologists/Psychiatrists rush in to save the day. (Enough summarizing, back to the main post.)
The St. Damian’s Chronicles‘ analog to Foundation would be incomplete without a corresponding Empire and Starfleet, so without further fanfare, I present:
The K.U.K. Space Fleet
That’s right, the Holy Empire is back- and it’s got a Star Fleet. The Officers of the K.u.K.W.F. (Kaiserlich und Königlich Weltraum Flotte/Imperial and Royal Space Fleet) take pride in their smart blue uniforms and golden insignia, while their motto and rallying cry, Sub Umbra Aquilæ, strikes fear into the heart of any pirate, smuggler, or rebel who dares to threaten Justice and Peace.
When atheist vocal minority groups set up militant Secular Republics on some of Colony Worlds, throwing them into chaos, the K.U.K. Fleet Cruisers are dispatched from the Sol System, and while every officer from the High Admiral to the lowest ranking cadet fights bravely, treachery is a very real danger.
If you would like me to do another Sci-Fi Saturday Post on the Imperial Space Fleet, just let me know in the comment section below. In the meantime you can check out my Ten Guidelines for Catholic Speculative Science Fiction, and I will leave you with the Star Travelers blessing:
Benedicite stellæviator
Dei Matrem dírige eum
Ut in portum pervenit ad
The War for Christendom 
One question about the rules. Why no alien clergy?
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My reason is (and of course this could be theologically disputed) that a man (i.e. a human male) is the only valid matter for ordination.
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Theologians are going to be overjoyed if aliens are ever discovered.
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I’m actually going to go deeper down the rabbit hole. Would a Near-Human count as Men? 🙂 For example, if we found the Star Wars Galaxy, could a Chiss or Zeltron be ordained? Not that you would ever want a Zeltron as a priest though.
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If one slightly changes the question, and asks are chimpanzees (near humans of a sort) valid matter, the answer is obviously no; however, this is because chimpanzee does not have a rational Human nature. To get more theological, the priest stands in the Person of Christ Who took on a rational Human Nature. The defining question is do these Near-Humans have a Human Nature or a Nature which is rational but distinct from Humanity.
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Sorry for the long quotes but here they are:
“The Chiss were a near-Human species distinguished by their blue skin and glowing red eyes, which grew darker depending on the oxygen content of their surroundings. The more oxygen present, the more intense the color of their eyes and skin tone. Their physical form led to some speculation on whether they were an offshoot of humanity’s ancient expansions into the galaxy or whether their physical form coincidentally matched that of Humans. However, genetic analysis indicated that they were an offshoot of humanity, and it was believed that moving underground led to a divergence between them and baseline Humans. Furthermore, this analysis indicated that their unique skin tone was the result of exposure to glacial minerals.”
“Zeltrons were one of the few near-Human races who had differentiated from the baseline stock enough to be considered a new species of the Human genus, rather than simply a subspecies. They possessed two biological traits of note. The first was that they all produce potent pheromones, similar to the Falleen species, which enhanced their attractiveness and likeability. The second was a limited telepathic ability, used to project emotions onto others, as well as allowing them to read and even feel the emotions of others; some Zeltrons were hired by the Exchange for this ability. Because of their telepathic ability, positive emotions such as happiness, love and pleasure became very important to them, while negative ones such as anger, fear, or depression were shunned. Another difference between Zeltrons and Humans was the presence of a second liver, which allowed Zeltrons to enjoy a larger number of alcoholic beverages than other humanoids.”
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The question then becomes do these “Human” variant species share Human Nature. If they do, then you have valid matter for ordination.
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Planning on having any aliens in the St. Damian’s Chronicles?
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Not at the moment.
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On the subject of Chiss and Zeltrons (and other Near-Humans for that matter), I would say, albeit theoretically, that being descended from Humans, they would posses human nature.
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