The Ecclesia are a secret society consisting of hundreds of the Earth’s wealthiest, brightest, and most powerful. It is rumoured that the Ecclesia formed after the first Colossus storms in 2034 hit. Some believe the Ecclesians pushed America into its Second Civil War. Others say Ecclesian scientists and hackers helped push India’s space program to become the equal of China’s - creating the stalemate in the stars we have today. Some even say they’re finding a way to see and control the future itself. It cannot be known for sure, though, how much is true and how much is hearsay. Though there has been rampant speculation of their existence, since the faction's inception they have managed to dictate many global events without making themselves known to the public. In fact, aside from the deepest inner sanctum, members of the Ecclesia do not even know for sure who other members are.
Members of the Ecclesia celebrate at a secret soiree. Artwork by Embreate.
The purported goal of the Ecclesia is to work together to "guide" and "maintain" humanity. They believe that history has proven that "common people" cannot rule themselves and need to be shepherded in the right direction for a successful planet to flourish. It's not that they want to be the rulers of the world, it's just that they believe they know what's best. If any one member grows too powerful, or too dangerous, the Ecclesians have a way of dealing with them, so that the balance isn’t tipped too far in one direction or another. This also applies to the globe itself as they try to regulate any one country from becoming too much of a dominant force.
A politician stumping at a rally trying to garner support. It is is impossible to know what politicians are or aren't part of the Ecclesia. Artwork by Embreate.
The Ecclesia look to cement their status as the shepherds of humanity with the perfect of Future Now: a powerful predictive engine that has the potential to have an accuracy in its predictions that previously would have been unthinkable. If Future Now is perfected, it would ensure that humanity is never threatened again. However, it would also ensure that the Ecclesia's grip over humanity would never be threatened, either.
An Ecclesian leader looks down from her penthouse balcony on the city below. Artwork by Embreate.
These are the billionaire and trillionaire types. Many are the descendants of the famous ultra-rich names we know today. Even though income inequality is at an all time low, there still remain the ludicrously rich who, naturally, have made their way into this secret society. Many of them live in castles in Provencal Europe and have summer homes in New Zealand or on the moon. Their children are forced to conform, often spoiled rotten, with their morals dramatically skewed. The individual ideologies of the Technologists vary greatly from pseudo-Paradisians, dyed-in-the-wool Traditionalists, and Off Worlder spacemen types who made their trillions by asteroid mining and lunar real estate.
Major projects, such as launches by the Indian Space Agency, are unknowingly funded by Ecclesia members with their own ulterior motives. Artwork by Embreate.
These are the members of the Ecclesia that have made their way into the halls of power in the world’s leading nations including the two superpowers of China and India. They are explicitly working to make their country better, but are also balancing the greater goals of the Ecclesia in creating a predictable, even-keeled world.
Both the Chinese and Indian governments have Ecclesians secretly working from within. Artwork by Embreate.
The dedicated assassins and hitmen of the Ecclesia. These highly specialized forces live for the glamour and danger of associating with the Ecclesia. Living on a knife’s edge, they are glamorous, beautiful, and outfitted with the best tech money can buy; steeped in luxury, debauchery, and danger. Ultimately no more than a tool, they are sent to eliminate anyone the Ecclesia sends them after: no questions asked, by any means necessary.
A rogues gallery of Exisionaires. Artwork by Embreate.