A declining Catholic Church regains dominance by acquiring genuine resurrection technology, making death reversible but only through Church sacraments. This creates an ultimate monopoly: control over the afterlife itself. The story explores how an institution with control over death would reshape politics, warfare, and individual autonomy.
Relevant to life-extension technology gatekeeping, institutional power via essential services, and the intersection of religion and technology.
Domains: Medicine and Human EnhancementGovernance and Political SystemsEthics and Philosophy of Technology
Scenario Types: Thought experiment / What-ifWarning / Self-preventing prophecy
Outcomes: DystopianAmbiguous / Mixed