Rargh Rargh Rargh
I’m aware that the good Sister isn’t supposed to be an out
and out villain, but play Alpha Centauri (the cult favourite successor to Sid
Meier’s world-conquering Civilization games) enough times and you’ll inevitably
come across Miriam and her faction, The Lord’s Believers, playing that role.
Miriam’s here to represent every mindlessly hostile, pig-headedly stubborn AI
opponent in Sid Meier’s sprawling oeuvre; from the despot who refuses to
surrender and insists on bleeding your armies even when past all hope of
survival, to the superpower that mechanically spits on endless treaties and
steamrollers your peaceful civilization with marauding elites.
While related games have their share of unwavering
aggression (the Multiplayer Gold edition of Civilization 2 somehow
turbo-charged AI hostility and made diplomacy a near-pointless endeavour in a
world of endless bloodshed and backstabbing) and Miriam’s peers among the Great
and Good of Alpha Centauri are all capable of tormenting the player in their
own way, there’s something about Sister Godwinson’s particular brand of raving
zealotry that really gets on the nerves.
Of course, being the self-appointed preserver of humanity’s
yearning for religion on their adopted planet doesn’t automatically put Miriam
in the wrong, though she can come across as self-righteous in some of the
flavour text. Nor is her personal nemesis, ultimate nerd Prokhor Zakharov (the
cold-blooded lovechild of Nikola Tesla and Richard Dawkins) immune to lapsing
into his own brand of villainy, depending on how your game unfolds. Miriam’s
fervent, even noble belief in the importance of maintaining spiritual
traditions, even light-years from Earth and centuries into the future, is more
than understandable in a world of murderous fauna, frighteningly advanced
technology and ruthless utilitarianism. However, the Believer’s inbuilt
intolerance for neighbouring civilizations, combined with their distrust of
scientific progress, means that games in which they play a significant role
often lapse into a grim cycle of holy wars, as Miriam lashes out at any
unbelievers within range with endless legions of poorly-equipped and hopelessly
indoctrinated plasma-fodder. Her penchant for impulsive offensives means that she
is the faction leader most likely to spur Planet’s descent into a repeat of the
bloody tragedies that have blighted Earth’s history, and for that, war-savvy
players can take great pleasure in routing this ranting would-be prophet off a
continent or two.
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