Scythes are a group of people who serve the purpose of population control, choosing a number of people to "glean" each year to fill a quota. The Scythedom is the institution that encompasses scythes around the world.
The Scythe Commandments[]
- Thou shalt kill.
- Thou shalt kill with no bias, bigotry, or malice aforethought.
- Thou shalt grant an annum of immunity to the beloved of those who accept your coming, and to anyone else you deem worthy.
- Thou shalt kill the beloved of those who resist.
- Thou shalt serve humanity for the full span of thy days, and thy family shall have immunity as recompense for as long as you live.
- Thou shalt lead an exemplary life in word and deed, and keep a journal of each and every day.
- Thou shalt not kill fellow scythes beyond thyself.
- Thou shalt claim no earthly possessions, save thy robes, ring, and journal.
- Thou shalt have no spouse nor spawn.
- Thou shalt be beholden to no laws beyond these.
Scythes must live by these laws or major punishments can be made. Some of the punishments are:
- Your gleanings must be regulated by another scythe.
- You must suffer multiple deaths, being revived each time.
- You are put on probation, and not allowed to glean for a significant time.
- Your ability to grant immunity is limited to familes of the gleaned.
Possessions[]
Scythes eschew owning earthly possessions, they typically subsist off the generosity of others. Whether out of respect, fear, or ingratiation, people generally do not charge scythes for goods or services and offer them favors. Some scythes may choose to pay for goods anyway (such as Scythe Curie and Fallingwater) or give immunity instead (Goddard and the businessman's estate)
As established by Commandment 8, scythes are allowed to own nothing but their ring, their robe, and their journal. Many old-guard scythes live more simple lives without luxury, however some scythes don't do this, and instead live lavishly.
Scythe rings[]
Scythe rings were made of special diamonds with dark cores. Kissing a ring would grant immunity to a person for one year, and if those with immunity should find themselves about to be gleaned during that time, the rings of nearby scythes would flash red. Some scythes choose to have security measures installed in their rings, like Scythe Faraday who installed a micro-coolant chip in the setting to cause severe frostbite to the finger of the thief and stop any attempt to rob the ring.[1]
Scythe rings were originally used as entry keys for buildings. They had special gem locks on them, such as the ones in Kwajalein for the bunker and the fail-safe for the Scythedom.
Scythes can grant a year's immunity from gleaning by allowing a person to kiss their ring, which transmits that person's DNA into a database that designates them as off-limits for gleaning to the entire Scythedom. Immunity must be given to each member of the immediate family of a recently gleaned individual. Scythes can also bestow immunity at their own discretion, although the Scythedom frowns upon blatant favoritism and excessive offering of immunity. Sometimes individuals may have lifelong immunity, beyond relatives.
In the Year of the Cobra, the gamma pulse from the transmitter on Kwajalein broke all scythe rings, releasing the darkness in the core of the rings. This dark core contained malicious nanites, developed by the founding scythes, that mimicked ten deadly diseases: pneumonia, heart disease, stroke, cancer, cholera, smallpox, tuberculosis, influenza, bubonic plague, and malaria. These nanites are set to glean 5% of the population every 20 years, to take over the Scythedom's job of population control.[2] The setting is still kissed sometimes by the bereaved as thanks for ending those who the nanites chose to die, even when there is no immunity.
Scythe robes[]
All scythes wear scythe robes, worn by only scythes and those brave even to tempt death. The color of a scythe's robes is chosen by that scythe or the region. They are allowed to be any color except black, as black symbolizes death and an absence of light. New order scythes align themselves by attaching gemstones to their robes, and Amazonian scythes only wear various shades of green. A black robe was worn by Scythe Lucifer for symbolism, but he was never an ordained scythe. Faraday wore slipper-like shoes, but it's unclear if all scythes wear the same footwear.
Scythe journals[]
Scythe Journals are regular journals, with kid leather covers and lambskin parchment. Scythes are supposed to write in their personal journals for every day that they live so that they can be archived publicly.
Elements[]
Gleaning[]
Gleaning is the act of killing that is sanctioned for scythes. Because humans no longer die naturally as they did in the Age of Mortality, scythes kill people to manage the population. This act is known as "gleaning", after the early form of charity in which farmers would allow the poor to collect the leftovers from their harvests. Scythes are supposed to glean with compassion, and they are prohibited from gleaning with prejudice or in the spirit of animus. They must meet their gleaning quotas for overall numbers and distribution of gleanings throughout demographics. Currently, the nanites from the founding scythes fail-safe have taken their job. They can only do sympathy gleanings now. Before, though, they gleaned roughly 260 people every year, averaging to five a week.
The act of gleaning is meant to be sacred and ceremonial (some scythes use each weapon only once for each gleaning). Each scythe must find their own method of gleaning. By the old guard scythes, this tradition is held sacred, though new order scythes disregard the respect gleaning deserves. New order scythes prefer to do mass gleanings; this is one of the largest controversies between the old guard and the new order. To be a scythe means to be well-versed in all methods of killcraft. There are seven basic methods of killcraft (most common are the 3 Bs: blade, bullet, and blunt force):
- Blade
- Bullet
- Blunt Force
- Asphyxiation
- Poison
- Catastrophic induction (such as electrocution or fire)
- Weaponless force (Bokator, much of the time)
Since the Scythedom was taken down, some scythes are currently performing sympathy gleanings.
Bokator[]
Bokator, also known as Black Widow Bokator, is a deadly version of the ancient Cambodian Bokator martial art developed specifically for the Scythedom. It is one of the seven basic methods of killcraft: a method of weaponless force. It is very physically demanding. Bokator is a balance amongst strength, agility, and focus.
During Bokator one's mind has to be clear. Each Bokator match begins with a ritualistic strutting around the circle, the two combatants physically taunting each other in a sort of aggressive dance. Then, the kicks, punches, and body slams start.
During her training with Scythe Curie, Citra Terranova practices with a black belt Bokator bot. [1]
Journaling[]
Scythes are required by law (commandment six) to keep a written daily record of the innocents they kill, their deeds, feelings, and any other event they find noteworthy enough in a public journal. The scythe archive is open to the public and it is located in the Library of Alexandria[3]. Even apprentices are required to write daily entries in their apprentice journals, the difference is that these journals are kept private from the public. Their mentors have the prerogative to read them, still. This is done in preparation for writing in their official scythe journals once they are ordained.
It isn't exactly known if all scythe's journals go to the new Library of Alexandria when they eventually self glean, but most of them are stored there. The journals are submitted manually, but some scythes, like Algieri, may not for awhile. Some librarians, like Munira, are in charge of bringing self-gleaned scythe journals into the library. They are all open for the public's viewing, though not many take advantage of this, instead opting for the selected readings more easily available.[1]
Scythe apprenticeship[]
To become an ordained scythe a person must complete a year-long apprenticeship under the tutelage of a scythe. Any scythe may take an apprentice at any time and a person who is chosen for an apprenticeship, though unwillingly, is often unable to refuse. Scythes are permitted to train their apprentices how they see fit so long as they're able to pass the tests required to become ordained. As a general rule, apprentices are in their youth, but some exceptions exist.
Apprentices are given an apprentice armband to wear during their apprenticeship.[1] They are green, with the Scythedom logo on it.
Training[]
Scythes are permitted to train their apprentices however they see fit. This is reflected in the way Scythe Faraday trains Citra and Rowan and how their training changes when they become the apprentices of Scythe Curie and Scythe Goddard respectively. To pass the various tests of apprenticeship, apprentices must be skilled in the various methods of gleaning via kill-craft, have practiced journaling, to help with the expression of emotions and so that scythes can stay in touch with their feelings, and have studied the Scythe Commandments. Students often become proficient with many different types of weapons, poisons, and toxins and obtain a high level of skill in Black Widow Bokator. It is also very common, if not required, that apprentices accompany their scythe to gleanings so that they may witness them and, occasionally, assist them.
Some training methods employed are:[1]
- Making the scythe apprentice administer the poison to the person selected to be gleaned.
- Scythe apprentices spar with their teachers or a bot
- Take classes in history and Mortal Age art (to remember the suffering and pain of the mortal age
- Study biochemistry and memorize poison formulas
- Dialing down or turning off pain nanites (often and exclusively a new order practice)
- Some apprentices are made to kill a large group of people, who may or may not be armed. this was to help hone in on their gleaning skills and to help richen their love for killing, they leave one person remaining to give them the satisfaction of the last gleaning during mass gleanings. (This is specifically for Scythe Goddard's apprentices)
Tests[]
Even after passing the third test, an apprentice may still not be ordained if the Bejeweling Committee finds them unfit for whatever reason. Some possible reasons an apprentice may not be chosen are: if they enjoyed gleaning too much, they appear to show some sort of obvious bias, or they are too quick to anger. It is put to a vote whether they are ordained in the bejeweling committee.
Test Examples:
- The first test for Citra and Rowan was administered by Scythe Curie. She lines the apprentices up in a row and asks them each one question. For some, the question is a scenario or a list of poisons. For others, it is a personal question.
- The second test was a Bokator match administered by Scythe Cervantes. Rowan had Citra win by breaking her neck which was an illegal move.
- The final test is administered by members of the bejeweling committee.It is for them to kill one of their loved ones. Citra almost refuses when she realizes that she must render her little brother Ben deadish, but does it in the end. Other apprentices that conclave had to make a poison and its antidote and take them in succession.
Organization[]
As stated in the tenth commandment, scythes are not subject to the law as the general populace is, and as such have their own governing bodies to regulate their activities. Scythes operate within a regional Scythedom, which is subordinate to the World Scythe Council, which represents the world's collective Scythedom.
Scythes must attend their regional Conclave three times a year to judge, appoint, and make new rules for all the scythes. Each of the Conclaves has a different name: the Vernal, Harvest, and Winter conclaves. They hold conclave for only one day; these meetings are held in Fulcrum City, MidMerica for the MidMerican Scythedom. Each separate region, including charter regions, has its own regional Scythedom chapter, so to speak. There is also an international delegation and conclave.
Regional Scythedoms[]
Each region of the world has its own local Scythedom, which oversees gleanings, apprenticeships, and other local rules regarding scythehood. For instance, the MidMerican Scythedom ensures that the scythes under its jurisdiction adhere to their quotas and censure those who deviate.
An elected High Blade heads each regional Scythedom and presides over the triannual conclaves. High Blades do not appear to have term limits, so once they are elected they essentially have tenure until they pass on, they relinquish the position voluntarily, or are ousted by the Scythedom's government for improper behavior.
There are several other ranking scythes within a regional Scythedom. A parliamentarian ensures that rules are strictly observed and provides expertise on the laws of the Scythedom, like Scythe Paine. The High Blade employs underscythes to assist them in governing the Scythedom. Furthermore, several committees exist within the regional Scythedom, each of which is chaired by a scythe.
World Scythe Council[]
Seated on the Island of the Enduring Heart, the World Scythe Council consists of seven Grandslayers, who each represent a continent. Of these, the Supreme Blade ranks highest.
The council functions in a manner analogous to the United States Supreme Court: It hears cases concerning the legalities of proposed or current laws and actions, then decides whether the law or action will be permitted to stand.
Once a scythe becomes Grandslayer, the only way to end their tenure is by gleaning themselves. However, to glean themselves, the Grandslayer's underscythes must unanimously and voluntarily consent to self-glean as well. Without that consensus, the Grandslayer is not permitted to self-glean. Should the consensus be reached, arrangements concerning the Grandslayer's successor and the date of the self-gleaning will be agreed upon; the successor must be present at the self-gleaning to receive the dead Grandslayer's diamond necklace off their predecessor's shoulders, while the adornment is still warm. These preparations are carried out in secrecy.
A clerk, a parliamentarian, and various underscythes serve the World Council as well.
Scythe committees[]
There are several committees within the Scythedom that oversee various parts of governing at the regional, inter-regional, and inter-continental levels. Scythes may be recommended for a committee and the Scythedom as a whole during a Conclave meeting must vote to approve that scythe.
Regional committees[]
Bejeweling committee[]
The Bejeweling committee is a committee within the Scythedom. They are responsible for judging scythe apprentices and deciding if they're worthy of being scythes. This committee is chaired by Scythe Mandela.
Bias committee[]
The bias committee is a committee that was formed within the MidMerican Scythedom after the revised definition of bias was implemented, and a registry was created. Any group could claim protected status from excessive gleaning by submitting an application form to the bias committee. Thousands of groups were registered and granted protection against bias. Some of the groups given status as protected classes were rural and urban people, academics, manual laborers, the unusually attractive, and the decidedly unattractive. Tonists were denied bias protection because their religion was deemed manufactured, not authentic. Lifestyle unsavories were also denied because at that point in time everyone was marked unsavory so they were only part of the global reality. Likewise, those with strong genetic leanings were denied on the grounds that no group should be defined on the basis of genetics. After some time other Scythedoms began forming their own bias committees.[4]
Irregularity Committee[]
The irregularity committee deals with general problems. It is implied that they were responsible for patching the glitch that allowed people to masquerade as scythes.
Selection Committee[]
The selection committee is tasked with confirming people that scythes glean during their first 4 years, and choosing people for scythes who show bias.
Immunity Committee[]
The immunity committee was proposed during the Vernal Conclave in the Unknown Year before the Year of the Capybara. It was probably tasked with confirming people that scythes gave immunity to during their first 4 years, and making sure scythes who too freely gave out immunity only gave it to immediate family of the gleaned. It is unknown whether this community had time to be put in place.
Unnamed Committee on Commandments[]
Goddard proposed a committee in his High Blade candidate speech to deal with interpreting the commandments.
Scythedom's bureau of investigation[]
Scythe Constantine heads the bureau who investigates things. Notable examples include the targeting of Anastasia and Curie, as well as catching Scythe Lucifer.
Politics[]
Due to the Separation of Scythe and State, the Thunderhead couldn't interfere in scythe matters; thus, the Scythedom was the world's only self-governing body. Unlike the Thunderhead, the human-managed Scythedom was not impervious to politics, and differences in opinion about scythe issues could lead to conflicts, such as the contention over the purge.
Attacking a scythe for essentially any reason was an offense punishable by the gleaning of the perpetrator and the perpetrator's immediate family. This was an expansion upon the fourth commandment. Because of the needs of their occupations, scythes, scythe apprentices, and assistants to scythes could access the Thunderhead's backbrain. However, they were forbidden from accessing its algorithmic "conscious" mind, if they ever tried to do so, the Thunderhead itself had to report it to the High Blade who would severely discipline the scythe/scythe helper.
The most pressing contemporary dissension concerned the new order and the old guard. The new order was a faction of scythes who lobbied for less oversight of their conduct and gleanings and more lavish lifestyles. In contrast, the old guard adhered to the founders' beliefs of living simply and gleaning with compassion and in accordance with quotas, it should be noted however that not all scythes fell into one of either category, for example, Scythe Morrison who was disliked by both groups. This conflict had pervaded the Scythedom on a global scale. Numerous groups supporting the new order ideology, such as the Double-Edged Order of Upper Australia, had cropped up throughout regional Scythedoms; in response, factions coalesced to defend the founders' principles. Because of this strife, the Chilargentine Scythedom teetered on the brink of civil war. In MidMerica, the despicable actions of the new order, Scythe Goddard and his group, prompted Rowan Damisch to take the mantle of Scythe Lucifer, a shadowy outlaw who eliminated unscrupulous scythes.
Scythe hierarchy[]
- Supreme Blade - The leader of the entire Scythedom, each Supreme Blade is also a Grandslayer.
- Grandslayer - There are 7, and each controls one continent, NorthMerica, SouthMerica, PanAsia, Afric, EuroScandia, Australia and Antarctica.
- Grandslayer underscythes - underscythes of the grandslayers.
- Various other council positions, like Parliamentarian and Clerk
- Overblade - A title invented by Scythe Robert Goddard after the Grandslayers died, it essentially is the same as a Grandslayer, except there was only ever one.
- High Blade - One for each region, including Charter Regions, there are 28. One must first become a High Blade if they wish to become a Grandslayer, or even eventually the Supreme Blade.
- Underscythes and other positions, such as Clerk, weaponsmaster, and parliamentarian, as well as commitee members and chairs.
- Honorable scythe - A regular scythe.
- Junior scythe - A scythe ordained less than 4 years ago.
- Scythe apprentice - A person selected by a scythe that may eventually be ordained.
- BladeGuard - Essentially peace officers who work for the Scythedom. They are mainly for show and aren't generally competent beyond that. Sometimes also called the Scytheguard.
History[]
Creation of the Scythedom[]
The year 2042 was the year computational power became infinite, "the cloud" evolved into "The Thunderhead", the year death was conquered. The Scythedom itself was founded in the Year of the Condor, which is estimated to be around two hundred years prior to the events of Scythe. The founders — Gershwin, da Vinci, Laozi, Gandhi, Sappho, Lennon, Jefferson, Powhatan, Elizabeth, King, Confucius, Cleopatra, and Prometheus — hoped to control population growth and to bring peace and solace to humankind by gleaning individuals.
Early Days of the Scythedom[]
In the earlier days of the Scythedom, the remaining members of the allegedly corrupt human governments were gleaned. Afterward, a number of scythes advocated for the gleaning of those born prior to the post-mortal age - an event known as the purge. Many scythes, including Scythe Curie, argued against this; the World Scythe Council eventually deemed the purge to violate the Second Commandment and punished its perpetrators.
New Order[]
During the Scythe series, the Scythedom faces the spread of corruption, hedonism, and malfeasance amongst some of its scythes. Throughout the world, regional Scythedoms are splitting into factions, fomenting disorder within the Scythedom. Scythedoms are split into scythes who are in alignment with the old guard, the new order, or unaligned.
Fail-Safe[]
In the Year of the Cobra, the Scythedom has been taken down. Scythe Confucius, Elizabeth, Sappho, and King, created a fail-safe on Kwajalein Atoll, which ended up being found and activated by Scythe Faraday and Munira Atrushi. However, some scythes refuse to adapt to this new reality and are still killing people. The Thunderhead revives their victims and is actively working on rehabilitating scythes and helping them find a new purpose.[2]
Known scythes[]
A full list of scythes can be found here.
From left to right: Scythes Rand, Goddard, Anastasia, Lucifer, and Curie.
Old guard[]
- Scythe Anastasia
- Scythe Cervantes
- Scythe Curie
- Scythe Faraday
- Scythe Possuelo
- Scythe Xenocrates
- Scythe Hideyoshi
- Scythe Nehru (formerly)
New order[]
Unaligned[]
- Scythe Constantine
- Scythe Twain (officially, votes with Old Guard)
- Scythe Morrison
- Scythe Paine
- Scythe Truman
Trivia[]
- Several scythes, including Scythe Cervantes, once thought of starting a "Traditions committee" for junior scythes with the purpose of studying the teachings and intentions of the founding scythes, and hopefully entice younger scythes away from the new order.[3]
- Several Scythes had supported the idea of founding an immunity committee, to oversee the granting of immunity. Scythe Faraday supported the idea of founding the committee, and changed the views of several scythes on the matter.
- The poem “The First Swing” in Gleanings implies that it was humanity’s choice to establish the Scythedom, rather than just the Founding Scythes who voted for it.
- “It was their choice to let us choose”