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Origin What Outsiders Know The Reality Population Territory and Locations Organization Government, National and Local Military Affairs Justice, Social Control, Punishment Political Factions, Dissent Famous/Infamous Persons  Relationships with Other Groups Culture Ethnic Groups, Immigration and Emigration Social Divisions and Castes Religion, Beliefs and Superstition Morality and Values Progress and Failure Family, Age, Sexuality and Gender Education and Language Environment and Agriculture Food Art and Entertainment, Music, Literature, Recreation Fashion and Appearance Urban and Rural Areas, Architecture Equipment and Resources Economy Science, Medicine and Technology Weapons and Military Equipment Communications Vehicles Aircraft Watercraft

 

While this represents the "defined" flag,

in practice a red star on just about any contrasting

fabric will do for a flag. The meaning of the

red line at the bottom has at least a dozen

popular, erroneous origin stories.

E.G., "the red band is the river of blood shed by the people",

or "the star is rising out of the mass of the people."

 

Origin

 

Pre-War

 

     Just ordinary middle or lower class Californians. Some of the politically oriented classroom fables claim that almost all of the Brethren's 20th Century ancestors were impoverished, homeless people and illegal immigrants. By the 22nd Century the meaning or purpose of this claim matters little to most people, even among the Brethren.

 

Post-War

 

     Little is known of the origin of the Brethren; they no doubt survived with few resources during the Long Winter. Their own stories are quite embellished, with a lot of internal politics, political rhetoric, heroes and villains, all quite unreliable as history. 

     In 2020 an amazingly powerful set of earthquakes over a few days created the Great Rift. The Brethren have tales of people who were killed just by being thrown about by the tremors ...

     It seems that over the decades the Brethren have clashed with the Democratic Republic of America, or other remnants of Soviet military forces. Presumably the DRA came to the Bay Area, rather than the other way around.

     A raiding force, known to the Brethren as "New America", laid siege to the peninsula for the decade from 2025 to 2035 AD. During this time, various leaders united several bands and survivor groups on the San Francisco peninsula into a powerful, motivated force, dedicated to creating a culture free from technology and the oppressive societies of the Ancients. The New America name may be been applied by the Brethren to a series of separate raider groups; their history applies many terms and characteristics to the New America army that seem more traditional than historical.

     The Foundation and the Brethren fought a nasty war in 2125 ... only the most recent in a series of conflicts.

 

What Outsiders Know

     The Brethren are considered to be a primitive cult by the Foundation and other organizations; the members are poor, malnourished, tough, rugged and fanatical.

 

The Reality

  

     Their behavior is a bit cultish, indeed. Many of the Brethren are a puritanical, joyless people, unwilling to be pampered.

 

Population

 

     The total number of Brethren is less than 200,000 persons.

 

Territory and Locations

 

     The Brethren control the San Francisco peninsula, the East Bay, and the southern end of Marin county. However the Foundation patrols the waters of the Bay and the Rift, making transport difficult. The Wall runs from Half Moon Bay to the Rift, and has been over-run a few times since it was built about 2030. Most of their people live in the hills south of Pacifica, although many scavengers make their homes in the city of San Francisco itself.

     Farmers and beastmasters tend crops and herds in the East Bay, and smuggle their goods across the Bay or the Rift under cover of fog and night. Military camps, lookout posts and "border guards" can be found out to the edge of the Central Valley and the Inner Sea. A particularly large, fortified lookout post is built into the top of Mount Diablo.

     Lumber, foodstuffs and tribal refugees are moved down the coast and across the Golden Gate from Marin county.

     The Bay Bridge is almost completely fallen; only the center anchorage stands at about its full height. The Golden Gate Bridge lost most of the deck long ago; the Brethren have hung two "rope footbridges" from the remaining suspension cables. The Foundation patrol craft sometime shoot at persons crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, so crossings are normally made at night. All of the other bridges are represented only by tangles of steel and concrete around their piers and foundations, or lines of broken, cracked concrete pilings (and not even that for the low causeway sections).

 

yellow circles are air bursts, magenta circles are surface strikes

the red dotted line is the Wall

 

Organization

 

     The lowest levels of the Brethren live as natural communists or hippies -- almost everything is shared. Regulating, monitoring, leading and teaching the masses are Guides, using charisma and brute force to keep their flocks in line. The most zealous, lucky and tough eventually become Prophets, who preserve the lore and messages of the founders. 

 

Government, National and Local

     Blah blah ...

 

Military Affairs

 

     Except for the Martyrs, none of the Brethren use firearms; the mass of the people, united in communal fervor and adherence to proper doctrine, form the military

 

     Significant militant groups include:

 

• Beastmasters, who train horses and attack dogs

• Hateful Ones, kamikaze assassins and suicide bombers, wearing red robes

• Shadows:  sneaky spies

• Martyrs:  a very secretive tech-using group, based on Alcatraz Island

 

     However, normal soldiers are either infantry or cavalry. The Brethren only have a couple thousand horses, many of which are used for transport, so the cavalry rarely enter combat en masse; they use crossbows and swords. The infantry carry clubs, axes, poleaxes and maces; some units employ bows also, with poisoned arrows. They receive little training in formation fighting, but receive useful lessons in traps, fieldcraft, and destruction of resources. The basic principles are:

 

"The enemy advances, we retreat;

the enemy camps, we harass;

the enemy tires, we attack;

the enemy retreats, we pursue."

 

     The roads and routes into the peninsula (and in the East Bay) are carefully watched and heavily trapped to resist an invasion by a mechanized enemy (think Ewoks vs the Empire); rusted, burned-out armored vehicles are placed artfully, with skulls and carefully-daubed patriotic slogans, to demoralize the enemy. Landing places along the Bay have a moderate amount of surveillance and traps, also. The increasing use of aircraft by the Foundation worries the Brethren; they employ cover and camouflage extensively.

     The Brethren have a lot of cyanide (extracted from cassava) and like to imagine ways to use this substance in warfare -- not too successfully, so far.

 

Justice, Social Control, Punishment

     Blah blah ...

 

Political Factions, Dissent

 

• the Godless are the most politically active, educated, well-read and influential group; few in number, they're heavily represented among the teachers, Guides and Prophets. They are strongly atheistic and Marxist, and pretty much meet the definition of a political class.
  

• Havenots are the most numerous of the Brethren; vegans, and mostly opposed to personal material possessions. Their representatives are commonly found on the public, powerful councils, but not so often on the secretive, behind-the-scenes ones. Since the military is pretty much every able-bodied person, they are also the commonest soldiers.

• the Barefoot Order are pacifists, but their influence is dwindling as the Foundation and other nations grow ever more dangerous. They are in danger of being suppressed by the Godless for not "doing their part" against the powers of technology and material culture; but they're widely admired by the Havenots. Think of them as the "left wing". 
  

• the Simples are an especially zealous offshoot of the Havenots, opposed to any kind of literacy or learning and focused on their Prophet, Cherish 1:6. Think of them as the "right wing".

 

Famous/Infamous Persons 

 

     Some current leaders:

 

• Wisdom 5:17 is a famous and skilled general, victorious against the Foundation in many skirmishes

• Deuteronomy 28:18 is the best-known of the Godless Prophets, and close to being a dictator
  

• the Barefoot Order is inspired by Victory 7:1, who would deny being a leader, but is treated as a Prophet anyway
  

• Cherish 1:6 is a 9-year-old girl, inspired (or insane) Prophet of the Simples

 

     Notable historical/mythical figures:

 

• Clarity was the most famous of the original founders of the Brethren, in the early 21st Century

• Fear, another early leader, began the first Simpling, the eradication of non-conforming members

• Victory was a military leader in the mid-21st Century, who is credited with bringing Brethren principles to warfare

 

Relationships with Other Groups

     They get along well with the tribals along the coast, and in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

     The Foundation, to the north and east, are the major foe of the Brethren, loathed for their use of technology, and their retaliatory attacks. 

     The Kingdom of Nuevespania, to the south, is a regular foe, but they're not such a technically-accomplished culture.

     In recent years, the Brethren have begun undermining various "technical" cultures elsewhere in Sierra Gehenna -- Southshore and Berdu in particular have been affected. These communities are unaware of the Brethren's activities among them.

 

Culture

 

Ethnic Groups, Immigration and Emigration

 

     The Brethren actively recruit among the tribals along the California coast, to the North and South. Initiation into the Brethren isn't simple, but is happening more and more often. Few Brethren ever desert their people; however, some of them sent as missionaries or political agents no doubt fall prey to the temptations of Material Culture.

 

Social Divisions and Castes

     Blah blah ...

 

Religion, Beliefs and Superstition

     They are strictly atheistic, but of course have some "mystical" beliefs and superstitions.

 

Morality and Values

     Most able-bodied Brethren undertake a "mission", some action outside the normal boundaries. Usually this is aiding the tribals along the coast or in the Sierras, but a certain amount of preaching is mixed in. More daring Brethren wander farther from the Coast, hiding their affiliation but spreading the good word. The most skilled are the Shadows.

 

Progress and Failure

     Blah blah ...

 

Family, Age, Sexuality and Gender

     Blah blah ...

 

Education and Language

    Unislang is their native language; used without gendered pronouns. Few Brethren are literate, and many of them despise literacy.

 

Environment and Agriculture

     Except around the destroyed refineries, and the craters of the surface bursts, the land is pretty much safe for farming. The weather isn't as cool and wet as it was 150 years ago, but (by North American standards) the Peninsula is a garden zone. Most farming (fields and orchards) is on the Peninsula; the danger of attacks by raiders or the Foundation has kept the East Bay mostly a ranching area. The Brethren try to encourage forests, but their need for fuel and shelter does require lumber to be shipped down the coast. 

 

Food

 

     Due to the destroyed industries around the Bay, and several surface nuclear bursts, the Brethren avoid seafood in their diet. Cattle, chicken and swine are unknown (due to Soviet bioweapons during the War). Even with their large farms, supplying their nutritional needs is a stretch; the majority of the Brethren are vegans, and almost all are vegetarians (and really the difference is very small). Thus berries, fruit, nuts, gourds, cassava, corn, grain and vegetables form most of their diet. Their military rations are heavy on brown nutty bread (often made from non-wheat substances like cassava), salted nuts, and a weird herbal tea. A favored treat is tapioca pudding.

     Alcohol is sometimes produced from fermented cassava, but it's not particularly appealing. Drunkenness and the use of narcotics is against the Articles

     The Brethren wouldn't know cheese if they saw it, and really don't get a lot of milk. They're probably lactose intolerant, if only due to never having had any milk products since infancy. Milk from goats and sheep is sometimes provided for young children, or in the production of a few special food dishes.

     The few non-vegetarian Brethren might eat mutton or goat, but they aren't notable for their recipes.

 

Art and Entertainment, Music, Literature, Recreation

     Community songs, dancing, scavenger hunts, and recitals of stories are popular. Cooperative games like hacky-sac are encouraged for kids, along with some team sports resembling soccer. A fair amount of Brethren humor centers on the Godless debating the social acceptability of various games. Horse racing has become popular in recent decades; the Guides and Prophets make an effort to point out the communal nature of the sport, or at least prevent factionalism.  

     A common way to become a Guide is by memorization of the Articles, a collection of texts thought to imbue correct principles. The Articles include parts of the Bible, Communist texts, and other obscure (to the rest of 22nd Century North America) works.

 

Fashion and Appearance

     Dusty red shirts or some item of clothing are very common, especially among the Havenots. In general, shapeless tunics and trousers are worn, with sandals made from Ancient tires.

 

Urban and Rural Areas, Architecture

     Partly due to their origin and politics, but also to foil the Foundation, the Brethren build with natural cover over their structures -- underground or among trees. Buildings are decorated to resemble natural objects; large nets are strung between them to hide the Brethren from the skies. 

 

Equipment and Resources

 

Economy

     They are simple communists, and despise the use of currency. Their basic needs are met, but it's a somewhat rigid system.

 

Science, Medicine and Technology

     Those terms are treated with contempt among the Brethren. Nonetheless, they have crafts and skills that meet those definitions. Blacksmiths, poultice-makers, etc. The militant arms of the Brethren are pretty clever with traps, and understand more or less what the vulnerable parts of vehicles are. And of course the Martyrs gather what they can.

 

Weapons and Military Equipment

 

     They don't use guns, so bows, arrows, clubs, spears, axes and knives are the usual weapons. Swords, crossbows, and other "more expensive" melee weapons are used when available, but aren't often produced among the Brethren. Leather armor might be worn; they don't usually object to mail or plate armor, but again don't really have the resources to create it.. They deal with vehicles by destroying bridges, digging pits, and setting fires; and in fact trap-making is a specialty of theirs. Traps can involve technology of a self-destroying nature, if it was captured (the Brethren don't make dynamite or grenades, for example). Poisons are often available.

     The use of narcotics, even natural ones, is frowned on -- except in combat against outsiders. Various stimulants and aggression-producing substances are available.

 

Communications

     Runners, mounted couriers, "jungle drums", and smoke signals. Heliographs have been used, but are frowned on by the more zealous. The Brethren are typically good at remembering verbal messages.

 

Vehicles

     Wheeled vehicles are distrusted, but a few solid-wheel carts have been seen. Otherwise, travel is on foot, or mounted on horses, donkeys or mules.

 

Aircraft

     None.

 

Watercraft

     Blah blah ...

 

---

 

stuff from The Lost and The Broken

 

• faction:  Beastmasters

• faction:  Hateful Ones:   kamikaze assassins, in blood red robes. Only about 100 of them.
  

• they are led by Baruch 2:29
  

• faction:  Shadows:  sneaky spies. They number about 200 persons
  

• faction:  Martyrs:  secret tech-using military group, trained on Alcatraz (the "Isle of Martyrs"). They number less than 50 persons, some are former Foundation soldiers
  

• led by Father 20:19
  

• faction:  Purifiers:  internal security and political enforcement. There are about 150 of them.
  

• the Inquisitors are recruited from the Purifiers; their leader is Fortitude 5:14

• faction:  the Godless:  the most influential and politically-active faction

• their most influential member is Deuteronomy 28:18

• faction:  the Barefoot Order:  pacifist martial artists, isolationists, and pretty much the "opposition". They wear simple fabric masks
  

• a prominent member is Victory 7:1

• faction:  Havenots:  the most numerous of the Brethren; pretty strict vegans, and mostly opposed to material possessions

• most influential member is Wisdom 5:17, a skilled general

• faction:  Simples:  especially zealous, resembling the Havenots, but also opposed to any kind of learning

• their leader is Cherish 1:6, a nine-year-old girl