A Canticle for LeibowitzA Canticle for Leibowitz opens 600 years after 20th century civilization has been destroyed by a global nuclear war, known as the "Flame Deluge." As a result of the war, there was a violent backlash against the culture of advanced knowledge and technology that had led to the development of nuclear weapons. During this backlash, called the "Simplification," anyone of learning, and eventually anyone who could even read, was likely to be killed by rampaging mobs, who proudly took on the name of "Simpletons". Illiteracy became almost universal, and books were destroyed en masse. Isaac Edward Leibowitz had been a Jewish electrical engineer working for the United States military. Surviving the war, he converted to Roman Catholicism and founded a monastic order, the "Albertian Order of Leibowitz", dedicated to preserving knowledge by hiding books, smuggling them to safety (booklegging), memorizing, and copying them. Centuries after his death, the abbey is still preserving the "Memorabilia", the collected writings that have survived the Flame Deluge and the Simplification, in the hope that they will help future generations reclaim forgotten science. |
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abbey Abbot Arkos Abbot Zerchi Aguerra ancient Apollo asked Beatus began Benjamin Blacktooth Blessed Boedullus Brother Francis Brother Jeris Brother Joshua Brother Kornhoer buzzards called CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ centuries Cheroki Church ciborium collegium Compline dark DEFENSE MINISTER desert desk Dom Paulo Domne door Earth eyes face Fallout Father Abbot Fingo Gault glanced Grales Green Star hand Hannegan heard hermit Holy Jarad LADY REPORTER lamedh Laredo laughed Lehy Listen looked Lord Lucifer m'Lord Mad Bear mean Memorabilia Messér monk monk's Monsignor never nodded nomads noticed novice officer Order Paulo paused perhaps pilgrim Poet pray prayer priest prince relic Reverend Father robber rock Rome Saint Leibowitz scholar seemed shelter shrugged smiled stared starship stone stood stopped sure tell Texarkana there's thing Thon Taddeo thought tion told trail trying turned vocation voice waited wanderer watched whispered