Wednesday 14 June 2017

Progress

(Des Moines.)

The Emberverse Iowa has:

a large capital city with miles of water-powered factories and furnaces and black smoke from tall brick chimneys;

a ruling group with shares in the factories;

at least two political parties, Ruralists and Progressives.

That is more technological and social progress than I would have thought possible after the Change. Progress generates political and moral questions, as in other timelines. See here. The Church Universal and Triumphant opposes progress and that Church seems to be inspired by whatever entities caused the Change, that moment when technology stopped working. It would be interesting to live in a world where superhuman Powers occasionally intervened, e.g., in Poul Anderson's War Of The Gods, offerings are made to Thor because of a troublesome giant but, inexplicably, the god does not intervene on this occasion.

In secular society, we have learnt to manage our own affairs without appealing to the gods.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Well, I sometimes pray to God or His saints in times of trouble or anxiety, for assistance, or at least to bear with patience whatever comes. And I'm sure millions of other Christians do the same thing. And it's my belief God sometimes ACTS to help or heal people at Shrines like Lourdes. The Medical Board there which investigates alleged cures there has grudgingly testified to about 100 cures having no known scientific or natural cause.

Sean