"All shall focus on perfection and continued evolution as a means of atonement, for the Maker will return when she is satisfied with our penance..."
"Those who expected perfection from me, I am free of you and the lonely existence that had been entailed."
A race of angelic beings called Eidolons strive for a perfect society as penance for their beloved Maker. One day, the Maker will return and their reunion and redemption shall bring them all bliss — or so the Eidolons believe.
Perfection Engine is a mix between a short story and a webcomic, published in May 31st, 2017. The comic is currently published on Tapas
and was published on Smackjeeves until January 7th, 2019. The comic finished in July 2018.
Perfection Engine contains examples of:
- All Crimes Are Equal: Inner and outer expressions of negativity —as described in Commandment 1— are both fair game for corrective measures. One could literally get in trouble if they are discovered to have ill-intent or bitter thoughts and emotions.
- And I Must Scream: The way Eidolons gun for a perfect society and perfection in themselves is a process that involves pretty much splicing any part of their original human forms deemed imperfect, including parts of their soul, and sealing that flawed humanity far away from the kingdom. What results is an amalgam of discarded humanity in a pit which reemerges as Humanitates.
- Brainwashing for the Greater Good: Eidolon King Animamundi uses the remnants of the Maker to reform his entire Kingdom and its subjects into perfect beings. They are then thus far implied to have been brainwashed to uphold an extremely high standard of morality. Chapter 2 reveals further that the process goes beyond brainwashing and takes unsavory parts of even one's soul to create an Eidolon.
- The Commandments: Presented at the end of a chapter. Each do however, seem to be long for a commandment.
- Easy Road to Hell: The first commandment's implications are rather grim.
- Felony Misdemeanor: Citizens are subject to corrective measures for even perceived inner negativity and sinful thoughts. Gotta be pure inside-out, it seems.
- Happiness Is Mandatory: The first commandment indicates that even negativity will put one through corrective measures.
- Have You Seen My God?: The Maker disappears and the Eidolons don't know why; they assume she is disgusted with them in some way, so King Animamundi attempts to build a perfect kingdom and a perfect race of people to bring her back. Turns out she left because she never wanted to be worshipped to begin with and left for that reason. Seeing and knowing what has happened to her people since outrages her even more to the point of destroying the Kingdom altogether.
- Light Is Not Good: Animamundi's rule on his Kingdom.
- Meaningful Name: Animamundi, derived from the latin phrase, Anima mundi, or the "world soul." Humanitates, derived from the latin word for "Humanities" or "Human nature," or sometimes "Kindness" or even "Culture" and "Civilization. Additionally, Umbra Fidelis, derived from the latin phrase, "loyal shadow," describing the figure as the loyal offshoot of the Maker herself.
- Obliviously Evil: When the Maker finally returns, the Eidolons have become so twisted by their obsession with perfection that they can't comprehend what is right in front of them, seeking only to murder it.
- Our Angels Are Different: The Eidolons are described as an Angelic race, and they have established a society running on perfect morals and order. They all appear to have some form of halo above their heads, and wings appear to be prevalent at least in their society.
