So I am putting together narrative for my Ramah force for the upcoming campaign and I got to thinking, I know those who undergo the super soldier programs are essentials heros and gain medical coverage for life and so on, but the book gets very shallow into, how long do they serve? What is their non-combat life? Khawarij in particular are known as being devoted to the Search for Knowledge and are scholar soldiers, but do they marry? Are they allowed to marry while in service? Are they devoted to the Quran, or simply study the Quran as a scholar? Or both?
I believe they are allowed to marry - also while still in service. Unless the treatment deprived them of sex drive, it would be a recipe for trouble otherwise. Keep in mind Islamic view on marriage is different than the Christian one: it is primairly a civil legal contract. If it is lifelong, great, but if not, there are legal provisions to dissolve it. Bah, Islamic jurisprudence knows even an idea of a set-time marriage (though IRL it is not popular, except for Iran, AFAIK): basically a limited duration marriage contract (which expires after pre-set time has passed, though it can be renewed for another set time, or as unlimited time contract). But back to the point - there's no reason to force your troops into celibacy. Religious officials aren't expected to do that (bah, IIRC you can't be a mullah if you aren't married! It is assumed you'd chase after the women in your mosque... unless you have a wife of your own to take care of you), so why expect that of your troops...? There might be a problem with reproduction, though: Runihura treatment is a gene-altering therapy (as are the other "supersoldier" programs, right?). Realistically, I'd say, this means no kids of your own... but there are a number of possible outcomes: You can't have kids anymore (unless some of your pre-Runihura genetic material is kept in cold storage and used for in-vitro insemination. By todays standards, it is a delicate operation, but absolutely feasible on a commercial scale. By Infinity tech level, it should be pretty much routine). You can't have kids, unless there is both daddy Khawarij and mommy Khawarij (so, a matching bioengineered "species" - you can't crosbreed with baseline humans) in the couple. Then, you'll be making fine lil' Khawarijs, inshallah. Your reproductive capabiliites are unaffected by Runihura treatment, so you can have kids (who will be baseline humans, even if the other parent is a Khawarij too), Your reproductive capabilites are affected by Runihura, but you are still corssbreed compatible with baseline human (or other gene-modified type), making kids that are either effectively Khawarij, or who inherit some of your traits (which is going to turn into a mess pretty quickly...*) How long do Khawarijs serve? Well, unless they are all like amir Mansuri (i.e. virtually not aging at all), they are going to serve as long as they feel for it. IRL, there aren't many frontline (as in "the guy runnin' around with rfle and grenades, shooting things up)" soldiers much past their 40th birthday, AFAIK. They either retire from military alltogether, or move to training / administrative / staff posts. I wouldn't expect to find any past their 50th year mark. Simply put, their health doesn't alow that kind of stuff anymore: natural aging means they are less fit than younger soldiers under the same training regime. injuries are accumulating, to the point where you simply can't pass fitness test (or medical examination) anymore... even if those are minor, trainng-related injuries (strains, sprains etc). Combat injuries are a different kettle of fish. Keep in mind there's also psychological trauma likely, assuming you've seen active service. So, depending on how long can Haqq medicine (along with your Runihura treatment) keep you in good fitness ... that's how long you could be effectively serving. If I were to guess, I'd add 20 years - but that's not an educated guess, merely one I did on a whim. After that, you're likely to be no longer fit for active service. Should you want to remain in the Sword of Allah, you'd likely be assigned as an instructor, or maybe a professor for a miltary academy. Or get a staff position. Otherwise, it is the time for a honourable discharge / retirement. Being a scholar on Islam, and a highly respected member of the society would open you a way to a number of civilian posts. Again, as an educator - but also in the legal professions. I could absolutely see a retired Khawarij as an teacher, a kadi (basically: judge, especially on civil cases) or a religious offical (or at the very least, being asked for chutba - a lecture from the pulpit during a Friday prayer - on a regular basis). * In TAGs of Avalon, we had a girl being mentioned whose parent(s?) were supposedly some kind of Haqq supersoldiers. Never got to the point of actually meeting her... and TAGs of Avalon is purely a fan-made creation, so there's that... Edit: Then there's another aspect that's Intinity-specific. Once a Khawarij grows to old and weary for active duty... maybe we could offer him a fresh-from-the-tank LHost? Imagine a veteran Khawarij, 30-40 years of experience in training and frontline service, and we put him into a genengineered Khawarij body that is effectively aged 20 and in tippity-top physical condition. Naturally, barring accident, injury and death in the line of duty (and then only if we can't recover his Cube) we could expect (assuming the guesswork I made above) another 30-60 years of active service from him in his current LHost (& rinse, repeat). Isn't that, basically, what the Nomads did with the Mexican General? Of course, after a lifetime of service, one might be tired with it. Especially if there's no real advance in the career possible (devoted ulemma or not!) - which is the eternal problem of all societies with ultra-long or eternal life (under basic human conditions, all posts eventually vacate, even if due to simple biology: even omnipotent tyrants eventually die of old age, if nothing else gets them first! And this opens up vacancies for the next generation. On the polar opposite you have advance and promotion rates in armies during a high-attrition conflicts, like WW2).
@Errhile I can only give you one like! Wonderful synopsis and theory crafting from existing and known information, along with extrapolating modern day islam. That was incredible to read. Thank you for taking the time to respond!
You're welcome, @theGricks :) ...now I'm off to get myself some Klatchian coffee and erase the mental image of bratty lil' Khawarij kids jumpin' around like rubber balls off my brain! ;)
While @Errhile has said all that needs be said, it's maybe worth noting that the RPG specifically identifies the Khawarij as Mu'tazilites. Civil service and academia seem like eminently suitable professions, but this may also give an indication of personality / patterns or thought.
