Church of Light

The Church of Light is a religious organization devoted to the Queen of Light, based on the Tower of Light. Members of the Church of Light regard the queen as both their ruler and goddess, that through her ascension she has achieved divinity. The church was founded in 2051 and has grown to an official membership of 42,000. Meetings of the church are held in virtual space; no physical sanctuary exists, though the church does maintain shrines and auxiliary sites throughout the tower, predominately in The Main. Of note in the church is that all members of the Tower of Light security forces and all of the Children of Light are included among the faithful, with the Children of Light given special regard as the Queen's chosen. The church maintains a clergy and staff of about 400 people. The Queen herself is a professed agnostic and does not administrate or participate in church activity. The highest office in the church is the Bishop of Light.

Church of Light members often have idols of the Queen in their apartments, as well as light imagery or likenesses of the Queen decorating their walls. Several different types of necklaces with church emblems and imagery are worn by church members as well, as a display of their faith. Informal prayer and meeting groups are common among the faithful of the Church of Light.

The Church of Light has few vocal opponents. Many people at the Tower of Light are open about not believing the Queen of Light is a divine being, just a genetically and cybernetically advanced trans-human, and the Queen does nothing to discourage these beliefs. Some small pockets of traditional religion still exists, with Christianity being the predominate historical religion practiced at the tower (fewer than 10,000 adherents). A subset of those Christians see the Queen of Light as a messianic figure in the second coming.

The Fist of Light

Within the broader Church of Light is a monastic sect called the Fist of Light. The Queen of Light was known to be a practitioner of martial arts as a mortal, and the Fist of Light seeks to honor her by carrying on this tradition. The styles practiced by the Fist of Light draw from many martial arts traditions, including tae kwon do, Wushu, and jujutsu. Members of the sect are encouraged to live simply and cleanly, to be ready to fight for the cause of the Queen of Light if called upon to do so. Those who join the Fist of Light may join no other organizations and may seek no other employment; they may not marry and must be celibate.