Luddite

To some, a person who rejects the progress of science in one or more forms. By the 23rd century it has mostly been identified with those whose disagreements have turned to the malicious.

The most drastic of these groups chose to abandon technology entirely, and are typically referred to as the exiles. They began to leave Earth's cities during the 21st century, or took part in making the cities leave Earth. As many died victims of their own violence as of famine and pestilence, and by the time the arcologies had been completed, over a billion of their number perished. Currently, the overwhelmingly vast majority of those that remain of them roam the wilderness of Earth as hunter-gatherers.

The remaining luddites (or ludds) are, collectively, a set of organizations branded as antitechnological terrorists by just about everyone else. While, technically, they could claim gerens status, they generally do not choose to do so. Most prefer the greater anonymity that being considered a content provides, and few have respect for the concept of safe haven for contents that the Anti-Homogenization Act proposes.

Certain of the above chose to progress with humanity, choosing instead to correct their sins by giving their lives to 'saving' their fellow race. The most prominent of these groups are as follows:

• The Cheshvan Order, an Orthodox Jewish group whose numbers are suprisingly large for the population they draw from. This is widely believed to be due to the Jewish calendar ending in the year 2240, and a large population believing that Earth needs to be made worthy for the Messiah. They are one of the few organizations that are an official gerens, since their targets are never among the content. They own the Jericho arcology on Earth.
• The Church of Eschaton is an organization dedicated to bringing humanity back to its 'proper place' - that the world may someday end. They are a fractured, desperate order, some of them promoting techhnology (some of which is quite capable of destroying worlds, such as Klein taps), others trying to disrupt its progress, and to sabotage planetary defense systems.
• Gaia's Children are a derivative of an environmentalist movement which came to believe that humanity deserves extinction. Although they oppose all technological progress, they are particularly famous for their attempts to disrupt the terraforming of Mars.
• Jehovah's Sword claims descent from the 'original' followers of Christ, although most trace their beliefs to fundamentalist or evangelical roots. They are by far the most well-financed of the groups, having long since placed a great many people into positions of wealth and power.
• The People of the Wheel is a large, mostly indo-oriental group who believes that the life of man must eventually come to an end. While they do not preach against technology directly, its use as artificial intelligence, and humanity's first step through transhumanism being that of immortality is an unforgivable offense. The most numerous of the groups, they function as an assassination society targetting the oldest members of the populace.
• The Silent Crescent is an offshoot of adherents to the Hanbali interpretation of Islamic law. They are among the most violently opposed to the creation of artificial life, and of degeneracy.

While the above groups have an extant, unifying philosophy, others have developed more singular goals. Rather than support a possible list of goals which some members may be opposed to, most of the rest choose a singular goal that they are decidated to above all else. In this sense, they are more technically gerens than the above organizations.

• The Returner Foundations are a collective of closely allied organizations opposed to the human development of space. Most members of a given organization are members of all, though they consider their duties to be separate.
  • The Scarlet Foundation seeks to prevent (and now destroy) all human development on Mars. Their major claim to fame was the destruction of the Ulysses colony in 2149, killing some two hundred thousand. Their successes since then have been more limited, often focussing on picking off transport vessels too and from the once-red planet.
  • The Golden Foundation is the current focus of the Returner Foundations. The Goldens seek to prevent any human development on Venus and Mercury, and the very thought of the Neith Proposal does not even bear considering.
  • The Silver Foundation seeks the purification of the Moon from human taint.
  • The Jovian Foundation has taken it upon themselves to prevent the development of the outer planets. Due to their rather violent opposition to the existence of Ouranos Prime, they receive a great deal of sponsorship from the Solar Consortium. This has caused a bit of a split in the organization, many feeling that it makes them little better than privateers.
  • The Firmament Foundation attempts to prevent the development of other star systems. They formed to try to stop the launching of the Centaurus Mission, but it occurred so rapidly that they were unable to get an operative on board any of the ships - or such is commonly believed.
• The Anti-Degeneracy League is opposed to what they consider to be degeneracy, which is any modification of the human form beyond the Alpha Strain.
• Ice is opposed to the creation and use of artificial sapience.
• One Voice is opposed to the genetic enhancement of nonhumans, especially in terms of sapiation.
• The Children of God are the youngest of these groups, being opposed to the presence and use of the mobius patterns.