Fellowship of the Holy Fallout

"Glory be to the Bomb, and to the Holy Fallout. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. World without end. Amen."

- Mendez XXVI

The Fellowship of the Holy Fallout is a fictional religious order featured in the Planet of the Apes multimedia franchise. They appeared in the 1970 film, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, which was the second film in the original five-movie series.

History
The Fellowship of the Holy Fallout was a religious congregation of telepathic mutants who lived beneath the ruins of New York City in the latter half of the 40th century. Like their followers, the members of the Fellowship were descended from a long line of mutated humans, whose origins dated back to the late 20th century. Following an ape uprising in 1991, the human controlled governments of Earth waged war with one another – a war that devastated significant parts of the population, and caused drastic geological upheaval.

Survivors of the nuclear holocaust were forced to seek shelter in the ruins of cities contaminated with atomic radiation. The exposure to this radiation caused severe genetic defects – defects which were passed down through the generations, forcing select groups of mankind to evolve into a new subspecies of mutant. Two-thousand years later, many of these mutant descendants began to develop advanced telepathic abilities. Whether these mental endowments were borne as a side-effect of their mutation is still a matter of speculation.

By the late 40th century, a coalition of mutants established a settlement for themselves in the ruins of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. They had acquired a weapon of mass destruction – a surviving relic from Humanity’s downfall. This was a Doomsday device known as the Alpha-Omega Bomb. Declaring the weapon as the "Divine Bomb", this congregation of mutants became known as the Fellowship of the Holy Fallout. In their culture, the Alpha-Omega Bomb represented not only a unifying characteristic of their lifestyle, but of their origins as well. They believed that God spoke to them through the weapon. They placed the missile, as well as its accompanying launch controls, at the nave of their altar in the cathedral.

On most occasions, the subterranean denizens of New York wore latex masks and wigs which concealed their physical mutations, but during liturgical services and Mass, it was customary to remove their masks while proclaiming in unison, "I reveal my Inmost Self unto my God."

All elements of mutant culture revolved around devotion towards their religion. Followers wore stark, white, full-bodied uniforms, the design of which was patterned after the protective radiation suits worn by their ancestors. Even children were expected to behave in accordance to the tenants of their faith. A popular children's nursery rhyme, though seemingly innocent, invoked images of the nuclear horror that befell mankind centuries past.


 * Ring-a-ring o'neutrons,
 * A pocketful of positrons,
 * A fission! A fission!
 * We all fall down.

The Fellowship and its followers were reclusive isolationists who shied away from the world above them. However, in 3978, a time-lost astronaut named George Taylor stumbled upon the Fellowship's underground society. The leaders of the Fellowship used their mental powers to interrogate him at length, from which they learned that a society of evolved apes had developed a community outside the ruins of New York City. After extracting as much information as they could from Taylor, they imprisoned him in one of their many dungeon cells.

On occasion, the reigning council from Ape City would send gorilla scouts into the region (which they referred to as the Forbidden Zone), in search of evidence of human occupation. To protect themselves from inquiry, the members of the Fellowship used their telepathic powers to create massive illusions depicting scenes of graphic violence. In some cases they would craft the image of a great wall of flame; in others they would produce visions of apes being crucified and tortured. On one circumstance, they allowed a gorilla scout to enter the underground tunnels, where they placed him under an intense telepathic interrogation. Recognizing the aggressive prejudices of the apes, the Fellowship decided that apes were a threat to their existence and took elaborate measures to conceal themselves from further inspection.

A short time later, another astronaut named John Brent and a mute human named Nova followed Taylor's trail into the Forbidden Zone. The Fellowship of the Holy Fallout captured them, and used the same mental torture techniques against Brent and Nova that they had used upon Taylor. They even manipulated Brent into turning on Nova, forcing him to choke her nearly to the point of death. After gleaning any information of value from him, they placed Brent into the same cell as Colonel Taylor. A guard named Ongaro watched over the prisoners and used his mental powers to make them fight against one another. In keeping with the structure of their own Holy doctrine, Ongaro iterated the fact that the members of the Fellowship do not actually kill their enemies, but rather, they force their enemies to kill each other. Brent and Taylor managed to break free of the mind control however, and killed Ongaro while escaping from their cell.

At the same time, a gorilla military leader named General Ursus led an invasion party into the Forbidden City to route out and exterminate all human occupants. They found the Fellowship’s cathedral and proceeded to execute as many mutants as they could find. Mendez and Caspay were shot down in cold blood, while Albina preferred to end her own life rather than suffer the fury of a military onslaught.

Moments after the last of the Fellowship had been executed, George Taylor, dying from a gunshot wound fell upon the launch controls of the Alpha-Omega Bomb. The device was activated and the resulting explosion destroyed the entire world.

Psychic Abilities
Members of the Fellowship of the Holy Fallout (notably the Inquisitors) possessed a wide variety of psychic abilities. These powers included the ability to communicate telepathically with their fellow mutants, as well as other humans. They employed these powers for a variety of effects, which the Fellowship referred to as "Weapons of Peace". The most common of these abilities was a process known as the Visual Deterrent. This reflected a mutant's ability to create elaborate and convincing illusions designed to confound or in some cases ensnare unsuspecting prey. The Fellowship used the Visual Deterrent to trap the time-lost astronaut George Taylor. They later used the power to much broader effect in the hopes of warding off an encroaching ape army. Accompanying the Visual Deterrent was a practice known as the Sonic Deterrent. Using this technique, a mutant could generate a piercing sonic hum in a target's mind – the intent of which was ultimately to drive the victim insane. The most intrusive and devastating tactic however, was a practice called Traumatic Hypnosis. Using this ability, a mutant could control another person's mind, forcing them to act in contrast to their own nature – even violently.

Known Members

 * Mendez XXVI
 * Adiposo
 * Albina
 * Caspay
 * Ongaro
 * Verger