From its beginnings in the Holy Lands, on the shores of the Red Sea, the center of the world's power has moved consistently and steadily west.
From Jerusalem, the world's capital migrated west to Rome, where it remained for the time of Caesar and his successors. Rome's collapse saw the seat of power drift west again, to the empires of London and Paris.
Europe's decline was accompanied by the rise of a great new power, to its west, in the United States. The American era was explosive but finite, and the world's center of power traveled west yet again, to the great population centers of Asia.
Beijing and Calcutta served as the predominant cities of the 21st century, a period of astonishing technological achievement known as the Asian Age. But this epoch was cut short by a horror unmatched in human history.
On July 21, 2094, at the height of a world-enveloping period of spiraling tension and terror, all-out nuclear war erupted in China. In just six days, 26 nuclear weapons exploded across Asia. Over two billion people were killed. The Great Holocaust brought the Asian Age - and very nearly, all life on Earth - to a close.
The eastern hemisphere was turned into little more than a crater: a massive scar on the face of the earth. Because of the enormous fallout, the western hemisphere became endangered as well. The world's water supply was contaminated. Humanity's very survival was thrust into doubt.
But in this time of utmost darkness, a savior emerged, in Africa.
In a small laboratory in Soweto, just outside Johannesburg, a 41-year-old botanist named Dr. Everett Finlay invented a filtering machine capable of purifying the irradiated water. He literally ran to his local reservoir with his device. Miraculously, it worked. Copies of Finlay's invention were quickly shipped to the reservoirs around the world. Mankind's extinction was staved off.
Finlay spent the next five years traveling the world's reservoirs, refining his machine, and meeting the people whose lives he had saved. At each new city he was greeted by thousands of grateful followers. He was friendly and open with them, talking for hours on end, deep into the night, often camping out by the reservoirs, under the stars.
The conversations were not merely about science. Finlay was something of a lay philosopher, with a brilliant mind and a generous spirit. In a time when almost everyone he came across was deeply traumatized by the Great Holocaust, Finlay was an optimist: a beacon. He spoke with eloquence and passion about mankind's potential for decency. He lifted people's spirits.
The word quickly spread about Finlay, and it was not long before he started to become known as a prophet. When he left each city, his work sites at the reservoirs were preserved as shrines. Thousands of people would return to the shrines, day after day, discussing and dissecting the prophet's words and beliefs, tenuously strengthening their delicate, emerging hope.
Thus was the practice of Finlayism born. Some called Finlayism a religion, but one that revered science instead of rivaling it. Finlayism had no God; Finlay himself was agnostic. The bedrock of Finlayism was its dedication to nonviolence.
Everett Finlay was passionate about maintaining a worldwide, permanent peace. He spoke eloquently about the opportunity that this singular moment in history provided – the aftermath of the Great Holocaust. He swore that the human species had a unique opportunity, right now, to change its behavior and fate, and to step off the path towards self-annihilation.
Finlayism was swiftly adopted by every culture and tribe around the world. Those people closest to the prophet - his most learned and devout followers - grew to become the Finlayite high priests and apostles. All Finlayite clergy were scientists: physicians, professors, and chemical engineers. The most brilliant and influential among them rose to become the Finlayite bishops and archbishops.
