Overview
It is said that this was the first place settled on the planet. The Basatines believe they are descended from the original settlers and resent the influence House Perko and House Harkonnen have over them. House Melech rules over this continent.
The annual tithe is contentious with the population. No self-respecting family wants to send a son or daughter off-world. Most of the soldiers begrudgingly sent are orphans and criminals.
The peasant class speaks Semic but the nobility are expected to learn to speak Gallach, too.
The Melechs comprise a large extended family that dominates Basatine society. Nepotism is rife. Lesser families have sprung up that double-barrel their names with "Melech" to improve their prestige.
The ruler of Basat has the title of "Malik" or "Malka" for a woman.
The continent is a strict theocracy. The Butlerian Jihad is celebrated as a holy war fought against the Devil. The Devil gave out technology that robbed its users of their humanity and disfigured their souls. The power of God was stronger than the Devil and the Devil was defeated. The Orange Catholic Bible is the continent's principal holy text. The fourteen sages are revered as their most holy saints.
Commissar-chaplains preach against the evils of technology. The Basatine people are among the most primitive in the Imperium. This only applies to the working classes. The rich have access to higher levels of technology but nothing that violates the Butlerian Jihad.
History
About seventy years ago, the continent was in the grip of the Heresy War. The dominant Orange Catholicism waged a war of annihilation against the minority Ecclesiastic Qabbalists. The Patriarch created the Commissariat Chaplaincy to root out and destroy the Qabbalists. Qabbalism is outlawed in Basat. The penalty is death.
After the war was won, the Commissariat turned on the Orange Catholics looking for heresy and religious disaffiliation.
Religion
Bene Gesserit
The Missionaria Protectiva did its work in Basat some centuries ago. The Bene Gesserit are remembered as the Wise Women. Descriptions of them vary wildly. Tales of the Bene Gesserit have grown tall over the generations. The Wise Women are credited with writing the Azhar Book, a holy text in four volumes second only to the OCB in importance.
The Missionaria Protectiva left Volod before they had finished their work. Why is not recorded in the archives of the Bene Gesserit. This is why the teachings and practices of the Daughters of the Wise Women are incomplete.
Orange Catholicism
The official religion of the continent is Orange Catholicism. Every child is obliged to study the Orange Catholic Bible. Every household is obliged to own a copy.
Divination is considered an affront against god. As such, it is banned. The Council of Exarchs has sufficient influence over House Melech to have all forms of divination made illegal as well as many of its tools. Not only are Tarot cards illegal in Basat but also ordinary playing cards. An attempt was made to have coins minted lacking a head and tail preventing their use for the I Ching. This failed as the Melechs wanted their likenesses on their currency.
Hierarchy
Patriarch - the head of Basat's church answerable only to god. The vast majority were male but a few exceptional women became Matriarchs.
Exarch - the highest ranking officials in Basat's Orange Catholic church. They meet at the Council of Exarchs (which also includes the Mother of the Daughters of the Wise Women and the Commissar-General of the Commissariat Chaplaincy).
Ethnarch
Eparch
Minister - the rank and file preachers who minister to the faithful. Their activities are monitored by Commissar-Chaplains.
Council of Exarchs
The Council of Exarchs, led by the Patriarch, is the highest religious authority in Basat. It is the council which chooses the new Patriarch after the previous one dies or, more rarely, steps down.
Daughters of the Wise Women
The Daughters are the successors of the Bene Gesserit of the Missionaria Protectiva who visited Volod many centuries ago. Unlike the Bene Gesserit, these women comprise a true religious order. They preach the OCB, study the Azhar Book (the publicly available four-volume version), and preach about and prepare for the prophesised liberator of Volod. Only women of the female sex are eligible for membership.
The daughters venerate God in the form of the Great Mother. They recognise both the light and dark sides of their goddess.
The leader of the order is referred to as Mother, while the rank and file are Sisters. The Mother is answerable only to the Balat's Patriarch. A few rare Mothers have attained the rank of Matriarch.
The sisterhood generates much tension with Pozemskory with its prophesies of overthrowing Perko rule. House Perko's response, in the past, was to assassinate particularly vocal Mothers and senior sisters. This policy further radicalised the Daughters. The order is outlawed in continental Pozemskory (though not in Bielemest, which comes under Harkonnen law). If a Daughter is discovered there, she is put to death.
Spice is considered holy by the sisterhood and as a gift from God. However, the amount they manage to get from House Perko falls short of their needs. It is difficult for the Daughters to get off world because Volod's primary spaceport is located on the continent of Pozemskory, where the sisterhood is banned. The Daughters want to spread their influence to the rest of Volod and to open up potential new sources of spice. They have no direct access to the Spacing Guild.
As the successors of the Wise Women, the Daughters are considered to be immune to heresy and, therefore, fall outside of the jurisdiction of the Commissariat Chaplaincy.
Much has been lost over the years, including the knowledge on how to create reverend mothers.
Hierarchy
Mother - the head of the order who answers only to the Patriarch and attends the Council of Exarchs.
Sister - the rank and file of the sisterhood. Sisters are assigned duties and gain a title denoting their roles. There is a sub-hierarchy within the sisters that not even most of the sisters understand.
Appellant - a young woman apprenticed to a sister. Appellants are not considered to be full members of the Daughters of the Wise Women.
Commissariat Chaplaincy
The Commissariat Chaplaincy combats heresy and apostasy. It is dominantly male but has no gender or sex restrictions for membership. It is under the direct control of the Patriarch.
Officially, they seek to correct and prevent the general populace falling into error, with guidance. They have a duty of care towards their charges. In reality, corruption runs rife. Chaplains are known to abuse their position to persecute people they don't like. A minority take bribes to investigate innocent people. House Perko and the Patriarch choose to cover up the Commissariat's corruption rather than combat it.
The Emperor's Tithe
Those committed of political and religious crimes are locked up in high security prisons. There, they are treated well. This is not out of compassion or altruism but to maximise the number of healthy individuals who are taken as part of the Emperor's Tithe. This serves the dual purpose of ridding the continent of undesirables and of currying favour with the Imperial court. This has yet to lead to Imperial intervention in Melech's claim to hegemony over Volod, but this has done nothing to diminish the zeal of those who manage the Tithe.
At irregular intervals, a carrier comes to transport the Tithe to Salusa Secundus. No one in Basat learns the fate of those shipped to the Imperial prison planet. It is unknown how many Sardaukar have a lineage going back to Volod.
The Emperor's Tithe has led to Melech gaining a quota of melange by Imperial decree, much to the chagrin of House Perko.
Hierarchy
Commissar-General - the head of the order who answers only to the Patriarch and attends the Council of Exarchs.
Lord Commissar - senior commissars who report to the commissar-general and co-ordinate the work of the chaplaincy within their diocese. A Lord Commissar acts as Arbitrator for the most serious offences, for example, the creation of a thinking machine or violation of the commandment, "thou shalt not disfigure the soul". They see to it that the Emperor's Tithe is well subscribed.
Chancellor - a senior commissar who oversees the activities of the chaplaincy and is responsible for much of the administration of the order.
Arbitrator - a judge who oversees serious crimes. They have quotas for the Emperor's Tithe and oversee the Commissar-Chaplains under them.
Commissar-Chaplain - the rank and file of the chaplaincy who do its work. They monitor the activities of ministers and watch over the citizenry. The preside over minor transgressions.
Acolyte - a neophyte graduate who is apprenticed to a commissar-chaplain.
Neophyte - a new recruit to the chaplaincy undergoing religious education.
Acolytes and neophytes are collectively known as novices.
Transgressors may find themselves in an ecclesiastical court. For lesser offences and complaints, this may be a tribunal presided over by a Commissar-Chaplain. More serious offences come up before a Arbitrator. Anyone found guilty of practising Ecclesiastic Qabbalism is sentenced to the Imperial Tithe.
Ecclesiastic Qabbalism
For many years, a minority of people followed Ecclesiastic Qabbalism. They came into conflict with the dominant Orange Catholics. This came to a head when the Heresy War broke out. The Orange Catholics fought a war of annihilation against the Qabbalists. The Qabbalists either died, fled or converted to Orange Catholicism. The religion was declared heresy and outlawed in Basat. No one openly practices Ecclesiastic Qabbalism in Basat any more.
The Qabbalists were against organised religion and sought to find understanding of God through qabbalistic theory. They rejected the teachings and prophecies of the Wise Women and by extension, the Bene Gesserit. The Coming of a messiah-figure to liberate Basat from the domination of House Perko was dismissed as false prophecy.
Qabbalists seek to understand the relationship between the immortal and infinite God, and its creation, the entropic and mortal Universe. (There is much debate over whether the Universe is finite or infinite.) Most Qabbalists reject the Orange Catholic Bible as a corruption of the religious texts on which it was based.
Some ecclesiastic qabbalists try to reach God through various means. Divination using many different methods is common. Though some decry the practice claiming that the will of God cannot gleaned through such mundanity. After the ecclesiastic qabbalists were expunged from Basat during the Heresy War, divination was banned in Basat.
Hierarchy
There is no hierarchy within the doctrine of Ecclesiastic Qabbalism. Each adherent finds his or her personal relationship with god. They refer to themselves as the righteous people (Zadikim in Semic). Critics of EQ claim that there are as many different versions of this religion as there are adherents. A claim that is not without merit.
"There are infinite ways of knowing the Infinite."
Geography
School of Aramoy
It is a famous and prestigious (on Volod at least) medical school with a reputation for producing the finest doctors in the world.
The school is a town in its own right. Everyone who lives there is either studying, teaching, practicing or supporting those who are. The school is known for its education of doctors and nurses, but it also teaches related fields such as pharmacology and other support functions of the medical industry.
Graduates earn the right to use the title "Physician".
Dopin-Nam sells pharmaceuticals to Aramoy. It is its largest supplier.
Kadosh
Originally called
Kadoshmai'im, this small city is the evangelical capital of Basat. Many feel
the city is too commercialised. The Melechs protect the city as a source of
income. It is a pilgrimage site, especially for people living in the Small
Sagittarius Star Cluster.
A branch of the
Melech family governs Kadosh. They are referred to as the Kadoshite Melechs.
The ruling family marries a daughter into the Kadoshite Melechs every few
generations to prevent the family line drifting away.
Worship is an
industry in Kadosh. It is the most cosmopolitan place in Basat in terms of
religious beliefs and practices.
An airport connects
Kadosh with the rest of Basat and with Fiolova Spaceport. Criminals sentenced
to Gehinnon often pass through here on their way to exile.
The economy is
mainly commercial and service orientated.
The Kadoshite Mosque
serves the remnants and successors of the Third Islamic movement. The mosque
guards a holy relic, a stone supposedly taken from the kaaba in the Masjid
al-Haram, in Mecca on Old Earth. Pilgrims come here to see the stone and
venerate the First and Third Muhammads. It is a minor but still important site
to Muslims and Orange Catholics.
The Church of the
Trinity serves the Orange Catholic community. It too, has a holy relic. It is
the bones of the left little finger of Abd-al Abulafia. Abd-al is said to have
been one of the followers of the Third Muhammad, Maometh. Scholarship is sceptical
of this claim, but the tradition is strong enough that many believe it.
Kadosh is the most
social and cosmopolitan Basatine town or city. The city's primary source of
income is from tourists and pilgrims. Many tea houses, coffee shops, cafeterias
and hotels cater for visitors. Those looking for entertainment in the evening will
be disappointed by the lack clubs, theatres and bars. Sermons are easily come
by in the innumerable chapels, temples and churches. Alternatively, there are
reading and study groups of texts approved by the Commissariat Chaplaincy.
There is no shortage
of bookshops. The bestsellers are, Orange
Catholic Bible, Commentaries and Azure Book. Many books written by local
scholars are available. Few have print runs larger than several hundred.
Seguida
Seguida is the
capital city of Basat. Tradition states that it is the place where the first
Basatines settled after arriving on the planet.
It is known for its
university, libraries and temples. Many come here to study and debate the Orange Catholic Bible.
The Debating Square
allows freedom of speech. Words spoken here cannot be used as evidence in an
ecclesiastical court. The Commissariat Chaplaincy maintains a low key presence
vigilant for heresy. The Chaplaincy uses the Square to identify potential heretics
and keeps an eye on them after they leave. The Debating Square is a vestige of
the earliest settlers who enjoyed debating religion freely before the fear of
heresy gripped Basat.
The Great Cathedral
stands out as an architectural marvel in the otherwise drab and uninspiring
city.
Armon
Armon is a suburb of
Sequida but it is treated by most as a separate entity. At its heart is the
Great Palace, home of the ruling Melech family. Linked to the palace is the
Kansyat Ha'alohot, or the Church of the Divinity. It is more than a church. It
is an ecclesiastic academy, a palace for the Patriarch and the other senior
priests and a court where the most serious religious crimes are tried. It is
here that the Council of Exarchs meets and where Patriarchs are elected.
To live in Armon a
person must be born in Basat to Basatine citizens. Persons with criminal
records are barred entry into Armon. Residents must be in good standing with
the Basatine Orange Catholic Church.
The whole of Armon
is surrounded by a wall four metres tall and two metres thick. There are two
gates between Armon and Seguida. The gates are open during the but locked at
night. To gain entry into Armon a Basatine must have no criminal record and be
in good standing with the Basatine Church. Foreigners must have the correct
papers to prove that they have legitimate business in Armon. The gates are
well-manned with two guard towers with trained swordsmen and crossbow snipers
at the top of the towers.
The thick walls
bestow the trait "Fortification" on the suburb.
Armonite Bazaar
The bazaar is the
heart of the suburb. This not just the place where the Armonites get their
daily provisions but where they meet up and socialise. It is the only place
they have to do this that is not a church or shrine. This is the only place to
go shopping in Armon. There are no other shops. Vendors are restricted to one
stall each.
There are cafeteria
type stalls that sell food and drink. Alcoholic drinks are available but they
have low alcohol content.
Square of the Four St Jameses
The Square of the
Four St Jameses is located towards the edge of Armon on the far side from
Seguida. Roads radiate from the square. A local saying is that "all roads
lead to the Jameses". It is accessed via Great George's Gate, an ornate
gate forged from an iron-nickel alloy, imported from the asteroids. The gate,
if closed and locked, would prevents crowds from entering the square but would
be ineffective against a military offensive.
Men and women go to
the square to preach. Only handful of people, at best, listen to them. It is
not usual for them to be ignored. There are no stalls in the square selling
souvenirs or refreshments. Trading is prohibited here. Statues of the three
Marys adorn the centre of the square.
The Great Palace is
opposite the entrance to the square. As one enters through the Great George's
Gate, the Barracks are on the right and the Church of the Divinity on the
right.
Thomas the Architect
came under heavy criticism for the layout as it suggested that God was the
right hand of the ruling Melechs. He suffered a scourging for his sin. The
sources are contradictory on whether this was an act of punishment or penance.
Regardless, he died of his wounds soon after. The post to which he was tied is
still there, albeit in a dilapidated condition. It is fenced off to preserve it
and prevent pilgrims from whipping it.
The suburb of Armon
is a walled town that exists mainly to service the needs of the Great Palace,
the Church of the Divinity and the barracks. Thomas was the last person to
suffer a public beating in the square.
House
Vishala recognises the canonisation and martyrdom of St Thomas the
Scourged. Pilgrims from Allgrave to pay their respects and self-flagellate in
the hope that the St Thomas appear to them in a vision.
Kansyat Ha'alohot (Church of the Divinity)
To the left as one
enters the square is the Church of the Divinity. While the Great Cathedral in
Seguida is considered the centre of Basat's religious institutions, it is here
that the Council of Exarchs meets most often. People travel from all over Basat
to come here to study the Orange Catholic Bible.
It is less grand than the Great Cathedral, but is still an architectural marvel
in its own right, at least by Basat's standards.
An unusual
three-pillared gateway leads to the grounds The pillars form an equilateral
triangle with arches over the top. Visitors enter through one side of the
triangle and must divert left or right to enter the grounds. It has no official
name, but people refer to it as the "Trinity Gate" or "Trinity
Gateway". I less ornate side gate leads directly into Armon.
The grounds are
well-maintained. Seasonal flowers grow in beds. Paths wind through perfect
lawns. At the centre is a chained-off solitary apple tree. It is the
"Forbidden Tree", planted there decades ago to remind the faithful of
their original sin. It is illegal to eat the apples, "the forbidden
fruit"; considered a grievous sin. A transgressor would be tried in the
highest ecclesiastical court and be sentenced to the Emperor's Tithe.
Services in the
Church of the Divine are delivered in Semic, the local language.
A wing of the church
is set aside for study. Holy texts in both Semic and Galach are available for
students.
The opposite wing
houses offices for the members of the Council of Exarchs and their meeting
room, which also acts as an audience chamber. This wing also has cells in the
basement below a small courtroom, known as the "High Court", where
the most heinous ecclesiastical crimes are tried. It is nicknamed the
"Exiling Court". Those who face justice there, invariably are exiled
to Salusa Secundus.
At the rear of the
church is the Melechite Mausoleum. A small building with pillars that make it
look a little like a Graeco-Roman temple houses a small chapel. Beyond the
chapel are steps that lead down into a crypt where deceased members of the
ruling family are interred. There is a back entrance used by workers who
maintain and expand the crypt.
Visitors can visit
the shop to pick up a fresh copy of the OCB
or other approved text, including A History of
the Church of the Divine by Yehan Melech. Other items for sale are
incense, incense burners, religious symbols, etc.
Great Palace
House Melech's Great
Palace is located next to the Church of the Divine. The two buildings are
linked by underground passages so that the Melechs can access the Church of the
Divine without going into the Square of the Four Jameses. It is a large building.
One wing is the living accommodation of the ruling Melech family. The palace
also houses administrative offices, a private chapel and audience chambers.
Basat is governed from this building.
Everything that the
people who work there is provided during the work day. There are mess halls,
common rooms, a gymnasium with changing rooms and showers, and a small hospital
ward with six beds. Some of the senior members of staff live on site and have
servant quarters allocated to them. This takes the form of a small, single
bedroom with communal ablutions.
The official
entrance to the palace is from the main gate located in the Square of the Four
St Jameses. The staff entrance and deliveries are located at the rear. The
routes to this part of the palace are not sign posted. A guard point checks
passes and delivery manifests, and conducts random searches.
The palace has
grounds at the rear that can be used by the residents. Walls afford the
residents privacy and protection, though some have commented that it was like
living in a prison. Guards patrol the perimeter of the palace at random
intervals.
The Great Palace has
thick walls surrounding it, giving it the asset "Fortification", an
escape system comprising tunnels leading to the Church of the Divine and the
Barracks. There are storeroom off the tunnels with provisions and disguises.
Malik Soloman and
his wife Rebecca have a suite of rooms and their own trusted servants. A
separate suite belongs to Emir Khayim, who also has his own servants and a
bodyguard.
Barracks
Finally, there is
the barracks housing the soldiers who patrol the Square of the Four St Jameses,
and guard the Church of the Divinity and the Great Palace. Basat's swordmasters
hone their skills here.
This a Military Base
with a Garrison, Landing Pad and Command Bunker. Behind the Barracks is a
Training Camp. The Garrison contains one regiment of infantry, swordmasters and
two ornithopters. An underground passage leads from the bunker to the cellars under
the Great Palace.
Secular Law
Secular is distinct
and separate from religious law. The death penalty is banned in Basat due the
old commandment, "Thou shall not kill." Punishments for
transgressions are brutal.
Murder -
imprisonment followed by being sent on the Emperor's or Harkonnen tithe.
Sexual crime -
surgical castration (in some cases the convicted rapist is forced to eat his
testes) witnessed by the victims and their friends and family, followed by
incarceration until they are added to the Harkonnen tithe.
Theft - repeat
offenders have a hand surgically removed.
Physical Assault -
fingers and thumbs on both hands broken.
Exile to Gehinnon
Criminals could also
be outlawed. First, in a public display, a surgeon removes the restrained
criminal's nose, without the use of anaesthetic. A secular magistrate, in a
public ritual, strips the criminal of Basatine citizenship. The criminal is
denied food, shelter and healing from all citizens in good standing in Basat.
Next, magistrates deprive the convicted criminal of all worldly possessions,
including clothes. The convicted criminal, possibly with others, is forced into
a transport. The transport goes to Gehinnon, an isolated valley in the arid
southern region of Basat.
If the Basatine
Church is to be believed it is a place of purification where sins are washed
away before the sinner faces the judgement of God. For the occupants it is a
living Hell. Water and food are scarce. There is no enforcement here, just the
criminals condemned to live there. Many choose to walk out into the desert.
If someone were to
escape and make it back to civilisation, the lack of nose would reveal the
person to be a criminal.
This option is
reserved for convicted criminals who are unsuitable for the Emperor's and
Harkonnen Tithes.
Naming Conventions
A patronymic or matronymic maybe formed by placing the syllable "Bar-" or "Ben-" (son of), or "Bas-" or "Bat-" (daughter of) before a name.
Example Female Given Names
Ariel, Avigail, Deborah, Dorrit, Elisheva, Elke, Hannah, Mary, Miriam, Rachel, Rebecca, Ruth, Sarah, Sharon, Shayna, Suri, Tabitha, Zelda
Example Male Given Names
Aaron, Abraham, Adam, Ariel, Daniel, Eli, Enoch, Hiram, Ichabod, Isaac, Jamin, Jeremiah, Joel, John, Jonas, Jonathon, Joseph, Joshua, Levi, Sender, Simon, Solomon, Tolemei, Yankel
Example Surnames
Afek, Agmon, Allon, Arad, Arazi, Asael, Avidan, Avishai, Avram, Banai, Barak, Barkin, Chagrin, Cohen, Dahan, Dayan, Efron, Eliad, Ephron, Ezekial, Farkash, Gadot, Geffen, Gershon, Gorion, Gozal, Hadas, Harmatz, Haviv, Hazzan, Helon, Ismaël, Joachim, Kenan, Kishon, Levi, Lotan, Luzon, Malamed, Malkin, Malmuth, Margolis, Medan, Narkis, Netanyahu, Osher, Poraz, Pundak, Rabin, Rimon, Rohal, Sapir, Shabat, Shaham, Sharon, Sinai
