The Empaths

Empaths are defined by their radical environmental philosophy and aesthetics. The Clan advocates lifestyles that minimize the impact of civilization on all environments, but particularly oppose terraforming -- not just for the relatively few planets that already support life, but also for airless and barren planets. In fact, Empaths have been known to oppose asteroid mining and other common industrial exploitation of system resources.

Since barren planets are popularly talked about as having a grey topography, even when the actual colour is brown, red, or slate, Empaths are sometimes called "The Greys." The name also implies their reputation as being humourless and dedicated to their beliefs beyond any reasonable position. The fact that Empaths are likely to denounce the nickname as a trivialization of their position does little to persuade most people that the reputation is unfounded.

The Empath philosophy has two main rationales. First, Empaths argue that Humans are poorly equipped for detecting life forms too different from their own. Early contact with both the Nanobots and Demons, they argue, are sufficient proof of this fact. For Empaths, it follows that, in terraforming or exploiting planets and asteroids, Humans risk accidentally damaging unfamiliar environments — or even genocide.

At the very least, Empaths argue, so-called sterile bodies should be studied for decades before being terraformed or even landed upon. They argue that such a policy would have prevented the accidental extinction of the semi-sentient silicates on Guardian.

Second, Empaths argue that sterile bodies should be valued for their own unique aesthetic. Since this aesthetic is so common, they believe that to embrace it is to be more in tune with the laws that govern the cosmos. The result is a philosophy that stresses asceticism and minimal waste, as well as a deep interest in the early history of the cosmos, which tends to be best preserved on such bodies.

To these basic tenets, some Empaths add that embracing the aesthetics can lead to the Godhead. Others maintain that the philosophy can lead to a deeper understanding of the laws of physics. One sect of Empaths even believes that it is the only way that Humans can justify their stewardship of space when the species is judged at the approaching end of days by their nameless and formless god.

A few Empaths have gone so far as to suggest that Humans should ultimately alter their DNA so that they can live on sterile bodies. The rationale is that, given that sterile bodies are far more common than ones with existing life, to be able to live on them would make Humans more pleasing to the Godhead. This theoretical suggestion has created rumours that a handful of Empaths have actually carried it out.

These rumours are strengthened by the abrupt appearance of the burrowing snakes on Pandakota, and the claim that the avian packs of Gray Dodger understood human speech when they were first contacted. However, mundane explanations of these phenomenon remain far more likely: The snakes' appearance appears to be related to the cycle of stellar tides, while the avians appear to have had an unrecorded visit by Humans a few centuries before the official one. At any rate, the fact that Empaths generally show little interest in non-sterile environments or biological engineering makes these rumours unlikely to be true.

Yet whatever the truth of these stories, Empaths' beliefs have resulted in an instantly recognizable austere aesthetic, a pantheonistic philosophy and religion, and a decentralized lifestyle that frequently includes a strong tradition of activism and of research in the physical sciences. In some times and places, these characteristics have made the Empaths the darlings of artists, iconoclasts, and rebels. Always and everywhere, they have made the Clan the despair of those who believe in strong government, urban living, and industrial progress.

History

The philosophy of Empathism has its roots in environmental movements that predate space flight. However, the philosophy did not really begin until the first planets were settled. For the most part, those who sponsored colonization assumed with few exceptions that other planets should be terraformed as rapidly and as thoroughly as possible.

However, a minority opinion has always insisted that some or all alien environments should be preserved. These minority opinions are responsible for planetary preserves like New Kikuyu and Torholm, which protect proto-sentient species by prohibiting planetfall to all but a few trained observers.

By the outbreak of the Great War, "Protectionism" had become part of many political parties' platforms to a greater or lesser extent. In fact, on such planets as Shipwreck and Rhymer, debates about the extent of terraforming consistently dominated the local government agenda. Although Protectionism is unlikely to have ever become a majority view, at times it does seem to have enjoyed the support of a sizable minority, who were more than willing to compensate for relative lack of numbers with political activism.

The legacy of early Protectionism in mainstream society is a well-defined ethic today that prohibits terraforming when a sentient or proto-sentient species is involved, and a general acceptance that other spacefaring species have a right to make over a world to their own liking. This moderate outlook seems acceptable to most of those who concern themselves with such issues, despite such unfortunate exceptions as the so-called Algae Genocide of Coriolanus in IY -3467 and the Showboat Massacre in IY 2389.

However, for some, these mainstream views were not enough. The discovery of both C-Tunnels and the spacefold drive were denounced by many aspects of the Protectionism movement as hastening the despoiling of environments across the galaxy. Moreover, well before the end of the Great War, extreme Protectionists were corresponding and meeting informally to discuss the promotion of their beliefs.

Two events in particular led directly towards the creation of Empathism. First, in IY-5, in response to the growing alarm over the new wave of colonization in the four centuries since the discovery of the Spacefold Drive, the first Protectionist conference was held on Xanadu. When this meeting became decennial in IY16, it gave movement members a sense of coherence that they had previously lacked. Similar meetings were held at other locales across the galaxy, and, in IY51, the name of the philosophy was officially renamed Empathism.

Second, in IY 28 sociologist and economist Savannah Clifton Wu published her famed essay, "On the moral imperatives of environmental colonialism," which constitutes an extreme Protectionist critique of the ravages from the wave of colonization produced by the discovery of the spacefold drive in particular and by human expansionism in general. This essay, later expanded into the seminal "Colonial Ecology," a massive transmedia work completed at the end of Wu's life, set out not only the tenets of modern Empathism, but also gave the movement its pantheistic tendencies. These tendencies were widespread in Protectionism, but it is only only with Wu that they became central to many branches of Empathism.

Wu herself is one of those characters whose lives are so enmeshed by legend and rumour that fact and fiction about her have become hopelessly intertwined. We know for sure that she was a native of Daphnae who received a scholarship to the prestigious University of Safe Harbour, and went on to become one of the luminaries of that institution. We know, too, that she was a tireless lecturer, traveling constantly for almost sixty years until she collapsed on a podium at the College of Far Hither in IY 88.

Beyond these facts, the details of her life are surprisingly scanty for such a well-documented person. We know most of her movements throughout her life — in some periods down to an hour by hour basis — yet much remains undocumented. Even Wu herself makes no mention of such stories as the one that claims she converted to Empathism after she nursed the last survivor of a nameless alien race decimated by Terran diseases on a remote asteroid, or that she heard the Voice of God speaking to her from a polluted lake and prophesying imminent disaster for humanity.

The confusion is all the greater for the fact that Wu's copious body of works on Empathism — in contrast to her earlier scholarly works — was highly metaphorical, although she can hardly be faulted for the literal-mindedness of some of her followers.

Discounting the more sensationalist biographies written by Empaths — all of whom seem eager to claim Wu for their particular school — we can still make some educated guesses about her life. For instance, although her assistants generally went hooded to protect their identities, we can indirectly infer who several were, and make intelligent guesses about one or two others; if the scholarly consensus is correct, then she was assisted by some of the greatest academics of her age.

We also know that she was a compelling public speaker and, putting aside the undocumented accounts of her conversion to Empathism, became steadily more radical in her beliefs as she wrote.

But if the details of Wu's life are debatable, her influence on the movement is unmistakable. Wu's influence was largely responsible for the change of name in the movement, and her writings also led to the establishment of colonies where Empath beliefs could be carried out, and the emergence of the clan as a self-identified group.

Following Wu's death, Empaths endured a variety of reactions from authorities, ranging from attempts to ignore them to legal restrictions and extra-legal retaliations. The hostile reactions, particularly the pogrom on Little Beach in IY 173, are believed to have had a direct influence on the rise in Empath settlements on new worlds.

Since the founding of the clan, Empaths' main interaction with the rest of humanity has been as lobbyists for their point of view. Their focus has been on internal debates and the grand scheme of adapting to individual planets. In many cases, even trade goods from other worlds do not reach Empaths, since self-sufficiency and the avoidance of ethical and physical contamination are often important parts of their philosophy.

One consequence of this isolation is that Empaths were largely spared any losses in the Disappearance. Although the story is told that one Empath was among the original crew that discovered the Demons and succeeded in transferring his brain-pattern into Demonic form, for the most part, Empaths' environmental concerns leave little room for interest in psi. For many Empaths, the Disappearance was largely a news event centering on foreigners a long way away, and people whom Humans are better off without. They tend to regard the Disappearance as an opportunity to promote their beliefs -- and in fact, the Clan does seem to have grown in recent years, both in numbers and influence.

The Empaths Today

Aside from Shipwreck and Rhymer, few planets of any size are completely governed by Empaths. The Clan itself is governed by the proponents of seven sub-Clans that represent different schools of thoughts ranging from the Primitive Protectionists (the mildest and most successful form of Empath thought) to the Space Monastics (celibate mystics who inhabit the space station Divinity Point and its accompanying satellites) and the Family of the Aftermath on Young Nebula (scientists who study the origins of the cosmos).

These sub-clans hold regular conferences throughout known space to argue and determine basic doctrine and to pass judgment on the new philosophical off-shoots that the Clan produces with alarming regularity. Some of these conferences are held in conjunction with art exhibits and scientific gatherings to which outsiders have tightly-controlled access. At times, decisions at the conferences have created schisms within the Clan. Surrounding these conferences is an entire system of Empath businesses that cater to the needs of those organizing and attending events.

When not involved in these conferences, Empaths usually live in small settlements on planets that are low-tech, or that are centres of learning. Still other Empaths, wishing to avoid the guilt by association created by living on a terraformed world, show a marked preference for life on space stations, where they cannot endanger potential environments or intrude upon an aesthetic setting.

Few Empath settlements are welcoming to outsiders, unless there is a chance to convert them. Very few non-Empaths are ever allowed to visit them for any length of time. The few scholars who have spent prolonged periods among Empaths frankly believe that they were allowed to see only what their hosts wanted them to see. However, despite the limited data, over the eight millennia of their existence, Empaths have developed several recognizable preferences.

In daily life, one of the identifying features of Empaths is their mixture of philosophy, aesthetics, and science -- which, they insist, are all the same thing when properly understood. This attitude is especially annoying and confusing to other scientists who might work with them. More than one scientist has spent months trying to verify what they thought was a research paper, only to find that, despite its form, it was actually a piece of philosophy -- or even a prayer based upon wishful thinking rather than hard data.

Another common characteristic of Empaths is an emphasis on self-sufficiency and minimal environmental impact. Most Empaths, for example, consume only food that can be grown on their own planet, and use only such goods as they can produce themselves. The more moderate Empaths relax this self-sufficiency to the point of using food and raw materials from the local solar system, but even this is enough to have some other Empaths label them backsliders.

The same is true of Empath technology. Many Empaths prefer human labour over machinery, and renewable, non-polluting power sources whenever possible. When these preferences are impractical, some Empaths have been known to do without. Others, if traveling between planets, will carefully calculate the energy needed for their journey, and reduce their power consumption for years afterwards in compensation. Those who live in space often adopt extreme ascetic lifestyles in a desperate effort to counter the increased demands of their habitat.

However, the main characteristic of Empaths life is their ceaseless advocacy of their beliefs. When allowed, they set up information centres in commercial areas to promote their beliefs, some of which offer food and shelter for the indigent in return for attending lectures and workshops.

In addition, Empaths and their sympathizers consistently attempt to politically intervene to prevent visiting, much less terraforming, any new environment. Should such efforts fail, their fallback position is to insist that any action be monitored by a committee of Empath scientists. These actions, though, are rarely successful except on planets where Empaths are a majority, because, all too often, Empath scientists do not seem to be scientists in the sense that most people use the word.

Other elements of Empath life are more varied. For example, the Empaths of Greater Bandersnatch have evolved a privacy-obsessed culture reminiscent of the Aquans, while the Empaths of Settlement Beach have developed a communal culture where privacy is all but non-existent.

However, none of the diverse Empath sub-cultures give any plausibility to the tales that they have sometimes banded together to destroy sub-cultures that deviated from their ideals. While individual Empaths have been found guilty of acts of sabotage, such as the destruction of a space elevator, Empath cultures tend to have lower levels of violence than other Human cultures. In general, Empaths seem to lack both the inclination and the ability to mobilize that would be necessary for even minor warfare. While they can be quick to ostracize, they are generally non-violent, and often open pacifists.

Relations to Other Clans and Intelligent Species

Empaths show little interest in other Clans, except to influence them to Empath-approved actions and policies. They regard most Clans as wrong-headed, and in return are often regarded as naive at best and as muddle-headed eccentrics at worst.

Generally, the Empaths who influence others the most tend to be the mildest, and drawn disproportionately from the Primitive Protectionists. Fellow-travelers such as Thuyicides 3212 of Buah Pohon, the famous Orangutan polymath, and Aurora Victrix of Blue Tasman have enjoyed large followings and have succeeded in having at least brief impacts on their local governments. Yet the mildness of such Empaths and fellow-travelers means that more extreme Empaths denounce them as hopelessly compromised.

The four most dominant clans -- The Aristocracy, Founders, Spartans, and Spacers -- are typically viewed by Empaths as destructive at best, and as the epitome of evil at worst. These clans are seen as not only destructive and hostile to the natural order of existence, but as a perverse influence on the rest of humanity. Much Empath lobbying is aimed directly at the influence of these clans and, to many Empaths, the Disappearance was a divine judgment on these clans.

Pilgrims are similarly viewed as having led humanity astray. Inlookers are seen as only marginally better, since they are dedicated to breeding humans with certain mental traits rather than promoting the Empath aesthetic.

Empaths have more sympathy with Drylanders, Taurans, and Aquans, as well as the Mer bloodline of the Clones. To the average Empath, these clans do not go nearly far enough in their efforts to adapt to alien environments, but at least they are heading in the right direction compared to the rest of Humanity.

Nor do Empaths interact well with other sentient species. They consider the Bappakana and Ferrets as hopelessly corrupted by human influence, and denounce the destruction of the non-terrestrial environment on the Ferret's ruined home world. Similarly, they consider the Forerunners in danger from the rest of humanity, and the inability of the Tsihor to meet face to face with humans as proof of the dangers of the philosophies that prevail among humankind. Even the Crucians, now that they are safely in the past, are seen as victims of humanity's environmental imperialism, and The Great War as a punishment for such attitudes.

Empaths are less sure what to think of the Demons. Some Empaths suggest that Demons with their psi-powers are a temptation that humans must learn to resist. Others counter that the Demons' reluctance to interact with humans is the only sensible course for a species that does not want to be corrupted.

These outlooks on sentient life are more abstract than concrete, since few Empaths ever encounter aliens. All the same, they can make for serious misunderstandings on those few occasions when Empaths and other species interact.

Names

Empaths take a new name when joining the movement, or when they come of age. One favourite source of names is a virtue (Adaptive or Steadfast for men, or Devout or Sympathetic for women) or a slogan (Spare-the-Planet or Terraforming-Is-Genocide) that is often abbreviated (Terraforming-Is-Genocide, for instance, might be called Tig by friends).

Another source of names is famous environmentalists who have been forgotten by almost everyone except Empaths, such as Muir, Zhao, or Thoreau. Such choices make Empaths instantly identifiable, since few, if any, other groups use the same names.