M.A.D. Monks (Mutually Assured Destruction) - group of monks from south Arizona that are part of the Servants of the Mushroom Cloud cult.
Background[ | ]
A radical offshoot of the Servants of the Mushroom Cloud, the Monks were formed around 2087, after Brother Ramirez discovered a crumbling nuclear missile base in a canyon in eastern Arizona. The Servants did not believe him, save for a small group of radicals who joined him in voluntary exile. They journeyed to the canyon under Ramirez's leadership. Finding it to be overrun with raiders and other lowlifes, the Monks appropriated the decommissioned Titan-II missile as their God and threatened to unleash it on the Canyon if the people within did not comply with their demands. The bluff worked, and the Monks instituted a martial order enforced by the threat of nuclear devastation - if not by the missile, then by suicide attacks carried out by the most devout brothers. They maintained the pass for fifteen years, protecting all who bore their mark and the passage between western and eastern Arizona.[1][2]
Ideology[ | ]
These monks worship radiation itself, which they refer to as the Great Glow, as well as their hidden guardian whom they refer to only as Titan. It is the Monks belief that the only way to ascend to the afterlife is to absorb enough radiation into their bodies that they become one with the Great Glow, or better yet, to be destroyed in a nuclear event while protecting the order. This leads their warriors, or M.A.D. Monks as the locals refer to them, to the practice of strapping radiation filled dirty bombs to their chests and self-detonating at the first sign of conflict.
Behind the scenes[ | ]
M.A.D is the acronym to signify Mutually assured destruction, a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of high-yield weapons of mass destruction by two opposing sides would effectively result in the complete, utter and irrevocable annihilation of both the attacker and the defender, becoming thus a war that has no victory nor any armistice but only effective reciprocal destruction.
Quotes[ | ]
| “ | Not all monks spend their days copying manuscripts in avowed silence. M.A.D. is an acronym for Mutually Assured Destruction, and that is the philosophy of the M.A.D. Monks (a splinter faction of the Servants of the Mushroom Cloud), who believe that perfect peace can be achieved through the threat of imminent nuclear destruction. Disturb the peace in a small way, they will lob nuke grenades at you, and happily blow themselves up in the process. Disturb the peace in a major way and they willing to unleash megatons of nuclear deterrent.
The M.A.D. Monks were founded when Brother Ramierez discovered a crumbling nuclear missile base in a canyon in eastern Arizona. He took up residence there, then invited others to worship the live Titan II missile they found there as their god. |
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| ~ Desert Rangers Wasteland Survival Guide
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References[ | ]
- ↑ Father Enola: "So, now you know the real reason we need the missile from *Silo 7*. Yes, it's true, we have been perpetrating a lie upon the canyon. But... but it was a good lie. Fear of *Titan's Wrath* has kept the peace for fifteen years. Afraid, however, that the secret might one day get out, we sent *Brother Wright* to find a working missile - so our bluff would be a bluff no more. Sadly, he turned against us and has spent the last three years trying to get the missile working so he can take his vengeance upon us."
- ↑ The Servants of Titan