Temple of Evolution
Radiation is not poison. Radiation is the engine. That is the core conviction of the Temple of Evolution, a subsect of the Church of Darwin that has carried a simple theological premise to its most extreme and violent conclusion: without radiation, the Lineages would never have emerged from the Infection. Without radiation, the capacity to adapt, to change, to survive in forms the old world never imagined, would have died alongside everything else. The Temple does not merely tolerate radiation. It worships the glow as the light of truth in a world sculpted by the Mortis Amaranthine.
For a time, that worship looked almost reasonable. Moderate Temple members organized education centers in settlements willing to listen. They demonstrated the utility of controlled radiation in medicine and agriculture, shared protective measures against its harmful effects, and preached the gospel of adaptation through public exhibitions of mutation-based evolution. Skeptics called them reckless. The Temple called the skeptics afraid.
Then the Glow-Shrooms appeared.
Where other groups saw the spread of Glow-Shrooms as a promising tool for environmental reclamation, the Temple saw catastrophe. Not progress; a warning. The fungus does not merely absorb radiation. It replaces the ecosystem radiation sustained. In the Temple's theology, the Glow-Shrooms are evidence of the Infection's dominance over the future, a creeping force that threatens to erase individuality and drive the Lineages into a mindless, hive-like existence. The initiative to deploy Glow-Shrooms across the wastes, championed by the Wells Society and others, struck the Temple as an act of species-wide suicide dressed up as healing.
The response was not measured. By 125 DC, the Temple had abandoned education and embraced detonation. Dirty bombs in key areas. Deliberate irradiation of vast sections of the wasteland. Their aim is twofold: destroy what they consider corrupted or Infection-dominated territory, and force those who survive to adapt or perish. Settlements that do not align with the Temple's beliefs are no longer partners to be convinced. They are obstacles.
Under the guidance of Curie Pierre, the Temple has expanded beyond the underground temple that once defined it, sending pilgrimages of the glow across the wastes. What began as scientific evangelism has become a campaign of forced evolution. The Temple does not see itself as a doomsday cult. It sees itself as the last line of defense for a species too short-sighted to recognize the thing that made it possible in the first place.
For a time, that worship looked almost reasonable. Moderate Temple members organized education centers in settlements willing to listen. They demonstrated the utility of controlled radiation in medicine and agriculture, shared protective measures against its harmful effects, and preached the gospel of adaptation through public exhibitions of mutation-based evolution. Skeptics called them reckless. The Temple called the skeptics afraid.
Then the Glow-Shrooms appeared.
Where other groups saw the spread of Glow-Shrooms as a promising tool for environmental reclamation, the Temple saw catastrophe. Not progress; a warning. The fungus does not merely absorb radiation. It replaces the ecosystem radiation sustained. In the Temple's theology, the Glow-Shrooms are evidence of the Infection's dominance over the future, a creeping force that threatens to erase individuality and drive the Lineages into a mindless, hive-like existence. The initiative to deploy Glow-Shrooms across the wastes, championed by the Wells Society and others, struck the Temple as an act of species-wide suicide dressed up as healing.
The response was not measured. By 125 DC, the Temple had abandoned education and embraced detonation. Dirty bombs in key areas. Deliberate irradiation of vast sections of the wasteland. Their aim is twofold: destroy what they consider corrupted or Infection-dominated territory, and force those who survive to adapt or perish. Settlements that do not align with the Temple's beliefs are no longer partners to be convinced. They are obstacles.
Under the guidance of Curie Pierre, the Temple has expanded beyond the underground temple that once defined it, sending pilgrimages of the glow across the wastes. What began as scientific evangelism has become a campaign of forced evolution. The Temple does not see itself as a doomsday cult. It sees itself as the last line of defense for a species too short-sighted to recognize the thing that made it possible in the first place.
History
The Temple of Evolution began within the Church of Darwin as a subsect focused on the role of radiation in post-Fall survival. Their foundational argument was straightforward: the Infection alone did not produce the Lineages. Radiation provided the catalyst for change, the environmental pressure that forced adaptation beyond mere persistence into genuine evolution. Without it, survivors would have stagnated; the diversity of Strains and Lineages that defines the wasteland would never have emerged.
Early Temple activity centered on a single underground temple and a modest evangelical mission. Members disseminated research on radiation's benefits, organized education centers, and conducted public demonstrations of controlled radiation use in agriculture and medicine. Their methods were provocative but rarely dangerous. Extremist devotees pushed further, exposing themselves or others to radiation to showcase its transformative effects, but the movement's leadership maintained a posture of persuasion rather than coercion.
The turning point came with the spread of Glow-Shrooms and the broader initiative to remove radiation from the wastes. The Temple viewed this campaign as an existential threat. In their theology, stripping radiation from the ecosystem would halt the evolutionary process entirely, leaving the Lineages vulnerable to the Infection's homogenizing influence. The Glow-Shrooms were not tools of healing; they were harbingers of stagnation and collective extinction.
By approximately 124 to 125 DC, the Temple completed its transformation from a faith-based advocacy group into a militant organization. Under Curie Pierre's direction, the subsect expanded beyond its original temple, launching pilgrimages across the wastes and escalating from demonstration to direct action. Dirty bombs were detonated in key areas. Vast sections of territory were deliberately irradiated. The Temple began rejecting cooperation with any settlement that did not share its convictions. The line between preservation and zealotry had been crossed, and the Temple showed no interest in finding its way back.
Early Temple activity centered on a single underground temple and a modest evangelical mission. Members disseminated research on radiation's benefits, organized education centers, and conducted public demonstrations of controlled radiation use in agriculture and medicine. Their methods were provocative but rarely dangerous. Extremist devotees pushed further, exposing themselves or others to radiation to showcase its transformative effects, but the movement's leadership maintained a posture of persuasion rather than coercion.
The turning point came with the spread of Glow-Shrooms and the broader initiative to remove radiation from the wastes. The Temple viewed this campaign as an existential threat. In their theology, stripping radiation from the ecosystem would halt the evolutionary process entirely, leaving the Lineages vulnerable to the Infection's homogenizing influence. The Glow-Shrooms were not tools of healing; they were harbingers of stagnation and collective extinction.
By approximately 124 to 125 DC, the Temple completed its transformation from a faith-based advocacy group into a militant organization. Under Curie Pierre's direction, the subsect expanded beyond its original temple, launching pilgrimages across the wastes and escalating from demonstration to direct action. Dirty bombs were detonated in key areas. Vast sections of territory were deliberately irradiated. The Temple began rejecting cooperation with any settlement that did not share its convictions. The line between preservation and zealotry had been crossed, and the Temple showed no interest in finding its way back.
A radicalized Church of Darwin subsect that worships radiation as the catalyst of evolution and has begun detonating dirty bombs to prevent its removal from the wasteland.
