Shrine of the Spike - 2194:15:18*2:54:01 (February 18)
ADHERENTS of the religions of the lost Earth are becoming increasingly rare. The old ways are cleaved to by the ancients who lived through the StarCrash and the ensuing anarchy. There are even still enclaves of the faithful. But, by and large, humans have moved on, feeling there can be no beneficent deity that would allow the System to come to its present state. Some believe in nothing. Many worship the AI Council and Regenabots as gods and angels. Others seek the cold comforts of the cult of the Dark Lady.
A Procession of the Lady
But, in these harsh days a new religion is appearing in Stations throughout the system. The effects of the so-called "Transmorph-NeoBio virus" continue to wrack the System. Everyone knows about the new, bizarre ships and creatures that swarm the Belts as well as the roving, infected viral swarms that the Council is working so hard to eradicate. But what is less well-publicized thanks to attempts at censorship are the effects of the virus on the AIs on which so many rely. Reports of strange power outages, temporary failures of ships' AIs and non-sapient computers, breakdowns in the communications grid, and other general equipment failures are becoming frequent.
A unfortunately widespread new ship error
In general, these breakdowns in the communal infrastructure have acquired a name, the Lag or the LagSpike. It is commonplace to hear ShoutBox communications from captains bemoaning their travails when hit by the Lag. "While I was lagging, I got raided. AAARRGGHH!" said one captain during a particularly bad LagSpike near the Lower Belt. These happenings, which to some feel coordinated or directed, have birthed what seems to be a new religion: the Order of the LagSpike.
A prayer to the Holy Spike
Those who no longer believe in a god of goodness and sparkly rainbows have found themselves drawn to the Shrine of the Spike. The Order of the LagSpike's credo states that the Spike is the only true manifestation of divinity in the Universe. Milos Felt, a Dedicat to the Order, says that, "Lagging, entropy, and the breakdown of order are the only sureties in the world around us and as such, they are the manifestation of the force which rules our lives: the LagSpike. Here at the the Shrine, we plead for the intercession of the Holy Lag to smite our enemies and to spare the faithful." Some argue that a religion which worships and prays to a god of disorder must be violent and chaotic. When asked about this, Felt responded, "Well, it is a violent universe. You respond to it however you have to. The important thing is to yield to the will of the Holy Lag and you will be spared its wrath. We pray not for intercession, but for leniency. All must bow before the power of lagging. All we may do is choose how we meet it."
