Shepherds Path, Part 7: Colonial Economics
New Jerusalem settled into what could be described as an agricultural technocracy. The colony was heavily focused on agriculture and food production. The standard of living, while comfortable, was missing many of the more advanced technologies seen on the other colonies. Farms, deep forest outposts, and other more rural establishments dominated the planet. The Church maintained a large degree of control over the industrial and urban areas, where it oversaw the processing and distribution of products and services. Church members with the rank of priest or other titles would go their entire career without leading a worship service, and instead would become managers and bureaucrats.
There were three major side effects of this economic structure that would shape New Jerusalem’s society. The first was that the average farmers were little more than serfs. The Church provided for their basic needs such as housing, medical care, and food while they worked off their contract. This meant significant reliance on the Church and its infrastructure for relatively basic needs. The second was the shift of the clergy (which was now open to all residents) from a spiritual role to a governing one. The church’s controlling assembly, which had been formed to debate theological issues, began to see more governmental votes on things like roads, subsidies for new companies, and other infrastructure projects. The Pope transitioned into a head of state role, becoming the primary negotiator and figurehead of the entire planet. Soon, lower-level members found themselves performing clerical and administrative tasks instead of just giving spiritual guidance. Priests not only served their local congregations as religious figures, but also oversaw the collection and distribution of supplies and materials. Eventually this led to the deliberate recruitment of people for this role, often from the higher learning centers on the planet. The Church set up schools to educate these recruits, which had the added effect of focusing knowledge and skill within the church itself. This all ended up splitting the clergy into two major sides. One side was still the spiritual guidestone of the people, while the other focused on governance and running society. The final effect was the Church becoming the primary technological provider for the planet. With complete control of what came in and out, the Church soon found itself controlling much of the advanced technology needed to continue operating the colony.
Eira stared at the columns of figures scrolling across her desk’s display. It was the manifest of a cargo ship set to arrive tomorrow with a fresh load of supplies from Caprice and Earth, as well as their final destinations. On a separate tab in the same file was the outbound manifest of the cargo that same ship would leave with mere days later. Any normal person would be driven mad by the data, she mused to herself. Since she was a child, Eira had always had a fascination with data, logistics and other more numerical subjected. This had naturally led her to enroll in the University at Adrian’s Landing, where she and thousands of others learned technical trades under the supervision of the Church. Upon graduation she and those like her had been inducted into the Church’s ministry, taking a title that best fit their sect of Jerusalemism.
Eira didn’t really care about that. Her ministerial robes sat in a bag, nearly forgotten in the back of her closet. Her faith was strong, but it had never been a driving part of her life like so many other members of the clergy. Those who had such a connection to their faith would, after their induction into the Church, go on to lead worship services and counsel the faithful. She, on the other hand, was very happy with her administrative role, and she still laughed a bit when other members of the clergy called her ‘sister’. There had been some discussion about how the Church, once guardians of the souls of the faithful, was also now responsible for their earthly bodies. More and more people began to consider the Church a government. Great debates within the Church had begun over this. although Eira thought it was pointless. If the Church did all the tasks of a government, it was one, simple as that. It wasn’t even worth worrying about.
Eira resumed her scrolling, noting on occasion an item that would need to be rerouted or had been reported damaged in transit. Her eyes almost missed it. There, buried in a cargo module bound for the northern ocean settlements was a small section going somewhere else. Its name was little more than a jumble of numbers and letters. When she tried to access the location her screen showed she lacked the clearance to access further information. She sighed, her curiosity left unsatisfied. This sort of thing was rare, but not unheard of. She mentally added it to the list of at least eight other similar locations and went back to work.
