Previously: While preparing for the recruitment ceremony, Sister Lucia faces mounting pressure—from rumors about her competence to the unexplained absence of Sister Teresa. But as the procession begins without the head nun, a new presence takes her place: the Mother Superior, highest ranking official of the Faith.
The Nun Who Hacked Heaven:
A tale about faith, code, and rebellion in a convent nestled in the dystopian ruins of 2099.
Chapter 7: Thirteen
The echoes of the solemn hymn sent ripples through the hall. When the choir reached the final note, it rang out clean, then silence took over, leaving a hollow stillness in its place.
The wrist of the Mother Superior flicked.
Sister Lucia panicked. Her hands snapped to the chalice, raising it just in time. The Mother grabbed it with force. She thought she saw the Mother glare at her. Gulping hard, she scurried back to her position behind the High Priestess, bowing low in obedience. Lucia hadn’t expected the Mother to preside over what was supposed to be the smaller, internal initiation. The joint ceremony with the Brothers wasn’t until next week. Even then, the Mother Superior rarely ever made any appearance for an annual recruitment ceremony.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Sister Cathy, barely a foot away. Her head was equally bowed in both reverence and fear. Making a mistake now didn’t just mean messing up in front of two hundred judgmental nuns. It meant failing in front of her. The Mother Superior of the Faith of the Bound Word. The highest living authority of their entire order.
Everyone was deathly afraid of her even when most had barely ever seen her.
“It is time for the reveal of the new followers of the Faith of the Bound Word,” the Mother intoned, her voice bellowing more than speaking.
Lucia and Cathy lunged forward to assist her down from the stand and toward the base of the altar. The thirteen recruits, still draped head to toe in black, were guided into a single line before the altar.
“New followers of the Faith,” the Mother proclaimed, “know that it is the spirits of Old Earth who have led you to the Bound Word. Consider yourself blessed to have been chosen to serve them in this brief life of yours, here in the tangible world.”
Sister Lucia watched as the recruits remained still and bowed, just as Cathy had likely instructed them during rehearsal barely an hour ago.
“Now, repeat after me your solemn promises,” the Mother continued.
“Do you promise to uphold the traditions of the analog society’s highest order, the Faith of the Bound Word?”
“We promise to uphold the traditions of the analog society’s highest order, the Faith of the Bound Word,” the recruits responded in eerie unison.
“Do you promise to cast aside any desire to engage in digital activity, even so far as to refute the existence of zeros and ones?”
Again, the same chorus.
“Do you vow to forever carry and spread the word of analog living, the rightful, true form and purpose of human life?”
The recruits’ voices echoed off the marble walls, sounding almost ghost-like.
Phrases of promises continued well into the next half hour. Lucia and Cathy actively turned the papers of the scriptures over so the Mother could keep going.
The ceremony was gradually drawing to a close. The sweat beading behind Lucia’s neck slowly dried as the Mother Superior concluded the final promises and blessings.
Only one step remained: the announcement of the recruits’ chosen names, their walk toward their mentor nuns, and the formal unveiling, the lifting of the veil, to welcome the recruits to the Faith.
“I will now begin calling out the new followers of the Faith by their chosen name,” said the Mother. “Please walk to your mentor nun. They will present you before the rest of the order.”
Sister Cathy quickly passed the scroll with the recruits’ chosen names over to the Mother Superior. The choir began a gentle hymn.
Lucia and Cathy took their places at either side of the Mother facing the entire nunnery.
The Mother began solemnly, “Sister Ophelia.”
The first recruit stepped forward, bowed to the Mother Superior then walked towards Sister Cathy.
Lucia went over her memorized list once more, preparing to receive her assigned Sisters.
“Sister Daphne.”
The second recruit walked to Lucia. Lucia gently lifted the black veil and revealed a young girl beneath, around seventeen, already dressed in her own habit.
“Welcome,” Lucia whispered, then turned her toward the congregation. Together, they bowed.
Daphne stepped to the right, beginning the formation of a line.
One by one, the recruits made their way to their mentor nuns.
“Sister Roran”
“Sister Maggy”
…
“Sister Benedict.”
The last of Lucia’s recruits approached. One more would go to Cathy, and the ceremony would be complete.
“Welcome, Sister Benedict,” Lucia whispered. The girl smiled in reply. They turned to bow. Benedict joined the line.
Lucia exhaled softly, relieved to finally put faces to names.
She turned to watch the final recruit step forward.
The Mother moved her finger to the final name on the scroll.
“Sister—”
She paused. The room stilled.
Lucia’s heart kicked. Had there been a mistake? Had she missed something? Had the Mother caught something Lucia hadn’t?
The pause lingered too long.
Then, at last—
“—Sister Vee.”
Vee?
Lucia blinked, eyes shifting back to the audience. The final recruit bowed before the Mother.
Surely the recruit would now turn and head toward Cathy, as instructed. Surely Cathy had gone over this.
But just as Lucia turned to glance at her line of recruits beside her, relieved the ordeal was nearly over, she heard Cathy gasp.
She snapped her head around.
The final recruit was walking toward her.
Panic bloomed in Lucia’s chest. Her eyes darted to Cathy. Then to the Mother Superior. Then to Sister Irene in the crowd.
“No,” Lucia whispered, barely moving her lips, trying to signal the girl to turn back.
But it was too late.
The recruit was already in front of her.
Lucia hesitated, paralyzed. She saw the Mother Superior glance her way. She was holding up the ceremony.
Her hands moved automatically, catching the edge of the veil of the recruit. She lifted it, revealing the new Sister still bowing her head in reverence.
Lucia muttered quickly.
“Welcome, Sister Vee.”
“That would be Sister V,” the girl whispered, raising her head. “Just V.”
Her eyes locked on Lucia’s, curved with mischief, widened with awe, rimmed with something else. Curiosity? Recognition?
Lucia nearly nodded.
And then she froze.
Her body registered the face even before her mind caught up.
“You know,” the girl added, voice soft, dangerous,
“Like V for Vengeance.”
Lucia gasped.
That face. Even with years passed, skin matured, eyes sullen, and features ripened, it was still unmistakable.
She had known that face since birth.
It was the face that should have been by her side. The face she could have relied on. The face that eventually betrayed her.
It was the face of her long-lost sister.
Her blood sister.
The once-better sister.
Thanks for reading!
New chapter out next Sunday. See you then!
Note: This story is a work of fiction, set in a fictional world and explores imagined systems of belief, technology, and power. While it may echo real-world themes, it is not intended as commentary on any specific religion or culture.
"V for Vengeance" made me giggle a tad. Super interesting development!
“Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Sister Cathy, barely a foot away. Her head was equally bowed in both reverence and fear. Making a mistake now didn’t just mean messing up in front of two hundred judgmental nuns. It meant failing in front of her. The Mother Superior of the Faith of the Bound Word. The highest living authority of their entire order.”
My Catholic fear/guilt/shame is BATTLING RIGHT NOW