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A Final Ecclesiastical History

Book One:
The Late Third Millenium

1

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[FG1]: "Dr. Hadia Ulam was a sociologist and early theological archivist active during the initial expansion of the Martian Ecclesia (c. 2870–2910 CE). Her quote is often used to introduce the pluralistic tensions between Earth orthodoxy and Martian theological developments."

[⊕2:] “This line prefigures the Church’s later stance on doctrinal heterodoxy within Martian domes, especially during the Second Synod of Cydonia (3013 CE), which affirmed regional doctrinal autonomy without full doctrinal independence.”

[≠C:] “Every dome was a mouth. Every mouth told a different lie. The Church counted domes, not truths.”

[∧3:] “Dome = unit of enclosed perception. Earth = prior frame. Truths multiply in isolation. Agreement is a symptom of system constraint, not revelation.”

There are as many truths as there are domes on Mars, and none of them agree with Earth.
—Dr. Hadia Ulam, Archives of the Tharsis Ecclesia

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[FG3] “The phrase 'In those days' is a deliberate biblical echo, possibly modeled on Genesis or Exodus phrasing. It appears frequently in Quaternary narrative openings to evoke prophetic tone.”

[⊕2:] “The editorial committee affirms the use of the biblical cadence to maintain continuity with sacred narrative tradition.”

[≠C:] “The phrase is code. It marks the place where history begins to dress itself as scripture.”

[∧3:] “Temporal anchoring achieved via narrative ritual. Days = symbolic thresholds, not chronometric values.”

In those days,[5] space exploration had advanced significantly.

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[FG3] “Tourism to the Moon reached its apex during the 2130s, particularly during the corporate-led Artemis IX–XII expansions. Most sites were vacated by 2285.”

[⊕2:] “The Church officially discourages veneration of lunar sites, excepting the Martian Rite of the Forgotten Ground, which allows limited devotional use of documented habitation ruins.”

[≠C:] “The Moon was not abandoned. It was sealed. They called it trash to make us forget what was found there.”

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[ ]
(Margin bears faint smudges—possibly fingers traced repeatedly in a circular shape beside the word “debris.” Some interpret this as a meditative glyph.)

[∧3:] “Abandonment = narrative cover. Lunar surface remains in active memory archive. Layer 6 preservation observed beneath Mare Insularum.”

Earth's moon was skipped over for any significant colonization efforts worth examination here since early efforts had left it covered in debris, abandoned mining equipment, and trash from tourists during the early space tourism craze.

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[FG4] “This is consistent with late 23rd-century colonial economic assessments, which categorized the Moon as a ‘developmental cul-de-sac.’ The phrase ‘celestial footnote’ appears in early propaganda discrediting lunar reclamation advocates.”

[⊕2:] “While no sacred centers are located on the Moon, the Ecclesia recognizes the historical importance of lunar exile narratives that emerged in dissident texts from the 25th century.”

[≠C:] “The Moon is not a footnote—it is the erased page. It knew too much of what we left behind.”

[∧3:] “Cosmic discard site identified. Moon retains 2.4% memory of pre-solar architectures. Hazard rating: obfuscation.”

Before Martian colonization, the Moon served as humanity's initial trial run for extraterrestrial settlements. Its harsh and infertile surface was littered with remnants from its brief but intense exploration period. Scattered across the dusty landscape were the skeletons of early makeshift habitats, desolate mining stations, and the rusty vehicles that had marred the cratered expanse. Once gleaming with novelty, tourist pods now stood abandoned, their glass surfaces dulled by micrometeorite impacts and the harsh solar radiation. The Moon seemed like a natural first step in space colonization; however, its limited resources and harsh environment offered little long-term incentive, leaving it as a celestial footnote in humanity's march across the cosmos.

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[FG5] “Archaeological consensus places the founding of New Los Angeles (Ares Vallis Sector) at 2256 CE, though recent sediment-based studies suggest minor habitation occurred up to two decades earlier.”

[⊕2:] “The Church recognizes Ares Vallis as one of the Twelve Original Sectors of Foundation, though no formal theological decree elevates it to sacred status.”

[≠C:] “They called it a sister city. But the Earth was the elder. And the elder always remembers the birthright.”

[∧3:] “Sisterhood = narrative metaphor. Topological similarity irrelevant. What matters is vector initiation and divergence. City = seed function.”

Instead, Mars was selected as the first site for permanent settlement. The first city, which began as a colony established within the Ares Vallis outflow channel, rapidly grew into a bustling metropolis and sister city to Los Angeles.

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[FG6] “This generalization obscures the uneven and often violent process of planetary urbanization, particularly during the Mercurial Resource Conflicts and Titan Exodus.”

[⊕2:] “Church records classify these expansions under the rubric Scattering of the Vessels—an early typological parallel to Eridan’s Diaspora.”

[≠C:] “Cities grew like tumors—unasked, unneeded. The silence between them was the only map that mattered.”

[∧3:] “Urban formation = density functions applied to energy sinks. Each city = entropy flare. Each flare = echo of First Light diffusion.”

For decades, Mars seemed like the technological peak of off-planet exploration. However, advancements in propulsion technology made further destinations possible and affordable. Soon, Mars became the launch site and layover site for ships destined for the outer edges of the solar system. Before long, cities were formed throughout the solar system.

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[FG7] “The missionaries referenced here are typically associated with the First Wave Evangelium (2290–2350 CE), a loosely organized movement predating the Martian Codex reforms.”

[⊕2:] “These missionaries are viewed as precursors to the Ecclesia Martis. Though unsanctioned at the time, many of their journals now form part of the Devotional Canon of Transit.”

[≠C:] “They didn’t come to spread faith. They came to find what faith had buried.”

[∧3:] “Mission = recursive data seeding. Intent unknown. Outcome = planetary consciousness shift. Observer status: compromised.”

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(The line ends without elaboration. A faint indentation trails downward beneath the sentence—some claim it was meant for an annotation that was never written.)

And then came the missionaries.

[5] Here, The Historian is likely referring to the advancements made in 28th and 29th centuries ↩