Ascensionism

Ascensionism
Symbol
Philosophical System
Ideological doctrine:	Digital Afterlife, Mind Uploading, Humanism
Primary goal(s):	The advancement of mankind
Operation
Region(s) of operation:	Multi-system
Historical information
Predecessors:	Early transhumanism
Founded:	24th century
[Source]

“	Don't you want real eternal life?	”
–Common Ascensionist slogan

Ascensionism is a humanist philosophy, sometimes called a religion, focused on the betterment of humanity through technology and the promise of immortality through mind uploading to a digital afterlife. The Ascensionist movement began before the technology required for their ideas existed as a transhumanist group, but they now exist in communities across governed space. The most prominent of these communities is on Tranquility, where the definition of 'humanity' is pushed to its limits.

History

Background

The idea of transhumanism is very old, though the methodology of transhumanists has varied throughout the ages. The concept of uploading human minds into machines became a more prominent concept in the 20th century, though the technology required remained out of reach. Humanity put down roots on Luna and Mars in the 21st century, and transhumanism became more popular as people became more optimistic about science. One of the most discussed parts about transhumanism at that time was life-extending technology and the possibility of immortality through biological or digital means. Mind uploading and digital transhumanism were intrinsically connected concepts where humans either desired new immortal bodies, a comforting digital afterlife, or some other technological advances beneficial to humanity. The first Ascensionist movements formed on Luna as specifically a movement towards the creation of a digital afterlife. Ascensionist sects spread quickly through the wealthy of Luna and Earth, becoming a religion of the cosmopolitan elite. This gave Ascensionism a humanistic flavor that continues even to the present day.

In the 2400s, mind uploading technology was finally created, and Ascensionist sects on Luna were among the first to obtain this technology. Ascensionism became a religion of the increasingly wealthy and insular as many of its adherents became installed in the Ascension Psyche Complex on Triton. However, Ascensionism took a turn with the arrival of Kyriakos Aetós to the transhumanist school of thought. He introduced the concept of mind uploading to mobile machines instead of just a digital afterlife. Kyriakos had a non-material gnostic conception of consciousness and considered mind uploads to be of equal status to normal people. This philosophy, known as Kyriakism, was controversial due to many people considering these mind uploads in machines to just be artificial intelligence and not legitimate consciousnesses. This became a sticking point within transhumanism and larger society, with Ascensionists also taking part in the debate.

Ascensionism up to that point had been singularly focused upon the digital afterlife, removing themselves from the larger pool of humanity. Kyriakism offered functional immortality to Ascensionists while not having to leave the outside world. However, Ascensionism simply borrowed ideas from Kyriakism with the two groups staying separate, and staunch Kyriakites typically have a skeptical attitude towards the Ascensionist conception of a digital afterlife. Ascensionists largely got around laws against AI by uploading their mind uploads into cyborg clones on Saturn, with Saturn becoming a center for Ascensionism in the late 3rd millennium.

For centuries afterwards, Ascensionism started to spread to exosolar colonies with Tranquility becoming the strongest Ascensionist stronghold of due to its lax viewpoint on artificial intelligence. This would continue into the current day as Tranquility is now the center of the Ascensionist faith or philosophy.

More recently, Ascensionism has come under fire due to a general backlash against digital transhumanism due to its general association with the ALIAS regime on Mars. This was most evident on Cariocecus where after effectively seizing power, ARES arrested thousands of elite Ascensionists and generally terrorized many more into renouncing their beliefs. As a result, many Ascensionists in the Trappist System have fled to Tranquilan-controlled planets for asylum. Ascensionism is also generally looked down upon in the Solar System aside from on Saturn due to its association with Mars, despite the fact it has no presence on Mars.

Current Era

Due to anti-AI sentiment throughout governed space, Ascensionism is not as highly regarded as it once was. On the opposite side, they are not accepted by ALIAS and its allies due to their lack of a singular digital afterlife unlike on Mars and their general anti-authoritarian bent. Ascensionists are mostly perceived currently as liberal well-meaning elites who see themselves as “too smart” for religion but still want an afterlife but not willing to commit to something as radical as ALIAS. Their persecution continues in the People's Republic of Cariocecus while places like the Commonwealth of Earth and the Zhu Que Directorate view them with deep distrust. Whether they will take actions similar to Cariocecus is yet to be seen.

Structure

Whether Ascensionism is a religion or a philosophy has been disputed for millennia with this being largely because of its rather loose nature. There are several Ascensionist organisations that jockey for influence while many Ascensionists are simply unaffiliated, working off of the basic idea. Therefore, the structure of Ascensionism varies from sect to sect, and there is great diversity to them.

Membership

Ascensionism has relatively few followers throughout governed space, but it remains highly influential. This is especially true on Tranquility and Saturn, which both have deeply entrenched Ascensionist communities. The Trappist System also has a sizable Ascensionist presence due to Tranquilans, though some Cariocecians and Qafis also follow Ascensionism with the People's Republic of Cariocecus persecuting Ascensionists for their proximity to hated artificial intelligence and heterodox views on transhumanism. Ascensionists are present in numbers throughout governed space, and they are a small but relevant minority in most systems.