Introduction to the Three Commandments
These are my most controversial stories. Most take place several centuries in the future, when the Meta-Church of the Three Commandments is a moral force in the Commonwealth of Known Planets. Most of these far-future stories take place on the planet Brunch, which the Meta-Church owns and governs.
Any and all religions and churches are welcome on Brunch, so long as they espouse the Three Commandments:
“Thou Shalt Respect Thy Neighbor.”
“Thou Shalt Be Kind.”
“Thou Shalt Not Waste.”
In practice, this means all must submit themselves to Meta-Church discipline in the event someone complains they have committed one of the Three Sins: Disrespect; Cruelty; and Waste.
In addition, every individual residing on Brunch must attend “Sunday School” once a week (not necessarily on Sundays) from the ages of three through eighteen. Individuals immigrating after the age of three must attend for at least fifteen years. The primary sacrament of the Meta-Church is held at the end of each Sunday School session: a congregant-catered group feast called “Brunch .”
On Brunch, every opinion about good and evil is open for debate, and traditional eastern thought is given as much weight as western traditions.
In “Sunday School,” the debate is mainly about child prostitution. In “Audit File 1771,” it is about whether pleasure is the highest good. All the stories evaluate the level of hypocrisy required for survival among “others” practicing “might makes right.”