The Machinama cult is among the most widely held belief amung the 'new' religions of the deep. It was founded by Nevin Templin-Smyth CEO of The Templin group, a very powerful hydroponics company. It was a clever way,he thought, to encourage workers to work harder and perhaps to inhibit union growth. He was soon overwhelmed by his own creation.

A charismatic worker, known today only as "Spark" took the basic concept and took it far beyond the bounds that the Corparation had intended. Only making things worse by martyring him. Spark's followers quickly dispersed through out the under sea, spreading the word of Machinama.

THE MAINSTREAM RELIGION

The doctrine of the church is about science and technology, that man can overcome with the divine machine. It also promotes creative scientific thought and hard work. Because of the work ethic inherent in the religion, it is very tolerated by the powers that be. Worshipers are called Gears. Many Nymachikku( steampunk androids) are programmed to at least pay lip service to it. Churches are as big as the charisma of the head of the local branch, not exceeding a moderate regional level.They can be as layed back as Anglicans and as fanatical as Muslims on jihad, though the extreme is not considered well among non-members Most church leaders are called Professor and are considered divine.Nearly all Professors are elevated to sainthood. Most Gears are polygamous. While there are no universal books or practices, most of the following are dogma to all

1 Machines are the apex of man's creation and should only be used for its intended purpose, thus a jack hammer should not be used as a weapon just as a gun should not be used to open a lock.

2 Invention of machines is highest form of science and the makers of them are divinely inspired. Prayers to the Kallium inventor are of highest priority

3 The cult will make Saints out of local engineers who die in the use of machines

4 They believe in reincarnation and they will come back as a higher form of life unless they are sainted. Sinners against Machines will come back as sea farmed crabs( and are sometime brutalized in ceremony (just as machines 'come back from the dead")

5 Initiation is by ingestion of a shot of motor oil and a very small manufactured item, most often a coin

6 Machines MUST NOT be recycled into something it was not intended to be , if it is not salvageable it must be melted down, jury rigging is NOT an option

7 Emotions should be kept to yourself, shouting is vulgar, as is swearing.

THE NON-MAINSTREAM CULTS PRACTICES

The cult is not organized above a local level, it operates in cells. Dogma varies widely, but a few ideas are central to all chapters(called Cogs)

1 The Machine is God-No one may harm a machine or cause it to function at any level below perfect.

2 To be Machine is God- Emotions are the work of the devil

3 Spread the Word- Others must believe (This can be interpreted as just preaching or torture and beatings)

INITIATION

In order to join the cult a recruit must undergo a ritual that includes the drinking of a quart of oil and eat as many small metal parts as possible. They must then work a triple shift in a any sort of technical field, the more complex the better. Drugs are often administered to make the process go smoothly. How you do, then leads to your placement in a Cog. If the individual does well enough , that place could even be Chief Cog of the cell. a number is given to the innate and that is their permanent rank

FOCUS OF WORSHIP

Kalium processors and power plants are big ones as are oxygen production. Some cells hyper focus on obscure and some do all

VIEWS ON NYUMACHIKKU

The mainstream Machinama view them as A masterpiece, like the Mona Lisa. They will allow them to be owned and used but NEVER would tolerate mistreatment of them.Use as weapons or making them disposable will bring the Gears to great anger and perhaps violence. The non-mainstream will hold a variety of views. Some will see them as abominations that must be destroyed. Some will view them as actual angels and even fall down in worship. Whatever the view it will be STRONGLY held.

THE CULT AS ENCOUNTERED IN PLAY

the cult wants the party to join, to them this is not optional

The cult is battling a local union, and the union is looking for help

The cult has completely taken over a habitat and need to be forcibly evicted

a few Cogs are beneficial, fanatic machine fixers who want to be your friend, Yes Please!

encounters with angry cultist over battle damage