© COPYRIGHT 1994 BY JACQUELINE LICHTENBERG
An Interview With Jacqueline Lichtenberg
by
William Long
QUESTIONS ON "THE CHURCH OF THE PURITY"
HOW MUCH CONTROL DOES THE CHURCH OF THE PURITY (C.O.P.) HAVE OVER THE GEN GOVERNMENT? None, at least not anything more than a very local scale where there are C.O.P. communities. There aren't many nor are they big.
ARE CHURCH AND STATE ONE OR ARE THEY TWO SEPARATE ENTITIES?
There really is no "Church" -- there is very little organized religion.
WHAT IS THE C.O.P.'S IDEAS ON 'BEING SAVED' -- SUCH AS DOING GOOD WORKS OR TOTAL OBEDIENCE TO THE WORD OF G-D AS THEY VIEW IT? These are issues which become insignificant in a world where children turn Sime and kill their parents.
IF A CHILD IS BORN IN GEN TERRITORY AND CHANGES OVER TO SIME, ARE THEY VIEWED WITH AWE OR ARE THEY WATCHED BY THE CHURCH BECAUSE THEY COME FROM THE DEMONS? They are destroyed as quickly as possible. The degree of hate Gens direct at changeover victims depends on the degree of threat they feel.
IF A GEN ESTABLISHES WHILE IN SIME TERRITORY AND MANAGES TO ESCAPE THE "DEMON SIMES" (e.g. SURVIVES) IS THE YOUNG GEN STILL WATCHED OVER BY THE CHURCH [SIMILAR TO THE SITUATION OF HUGH VALLORY'S MOTHER -- IT APPEARED TO ME THAT SHE NEVER LIVED THAT REPUTATION DOWN AND THAT HUGH WAS ASHAMED OF IT.]
Out-Territory, the refugees from Sime territory are viewed with suspicion and fear. Nobody would marry one for fear of having all-Sime children. Refugees learn to hide their origin.
DOES THE C.O.P. HAVE AN OFFICE SIMILAR TO THE INQUISITION? Not that I know of. Also -- there is no "The Church of the Purity" -- it's lots of little factions loosely in contact.
IS THE FAMILY OF A RECENTLY CHANGED-OVER SIME WATCHED OVER BY THE CHURCH BECAUSE OF POSSIBLE SINS WHICH MIGHT BE PERCEIVED AS THE CAUSE OF THE CHILD CHANGING OVER TO SIME? There is no "The Church." Local people make their own rules. There is no real central authority structure. By the time the Tecton has a firm hold on Sime territory, the C.O.P. in Gen-Territory is pretty well defunct. But like all human attitudes, it turns up here and there from time to time.