The Gold Pact
The Gold Pact is a gigantic golden coin, shaped like the sun, that was created by a number of Gods to usher in an era of currency, to permit society to advance beyond tribal and territorial groups. The pact was a literal declaration that metaphysically changed the value of certain precious metals and gems across the entire multiverse, making them into currency by law and making it morally defensible to consider them the equivalent of the necessities they can buy.
Purpose
The Gold Pact's purpose was to usher in an era of currency, allowing people to advance society beyond bartering, but it also served to make it morally defensible to treat such currency as if it was the very necessities that could be bought with currency, and to make it morally defensible to fight and kill for this currency, as if it was the very necessities of life that it could purchase.
It also serves to make it morally defensible for anyone to charge currency for their services, no matter how essential their services are.
Effectively, the Pact made soldiering, law-enforcement and mercenary work possible without suffering eternal damnation for murder, and it made it defensible to deny someone money if they had an immediate need for it, because one is permitted to view money as if it was what it can buy (including necessities for oneself to survive) - but it also condemned the hoarding of money, stating that money should be spent or put towards investments, as this was a necessity for the economy to flow.
Document Structure
Clauses
The first part of the document is a declaration explaining that the document is a Divine Edict, followed by a complicated diagram that essentially shows why the above statement is true. Below that, there is a list of those who have co-signed the document, and their signatures, which is in turn followed by a table of contents that briefly describes what the following segments are about - the first describes the value of currency and contains complex formulae that determines what can be currency on which plane, followed by a segment that goes into the philosophy of the moral acceptance of taking currency for services rendered or goods.
Caveats
The document pertains only to mortal (including the practically immortal, such as dragons and true elves) sapient creatures with physical needs.
Publication Status
The Goldpact itself is not known to exist by most mortals, but that doesn't prevent it from being in effect. Only relatively few are familiar with the Gold Pact, mostly those who might question the morality of taking gold for their professions.
Legal status
The document is valid across the entire multiverse, and holds true in some form or another everywhere imaginable in the setting - the forms of currency may differ from plane to plane, but currency exists in all planes.
Historical Details
History
Surprisingly, legend has it that it was Asmodeus, the Arch Devil himself, who initially proposed the pact and supposedly provided the Coin upon which the declaration was written, and some claim he is also a co-signer. It is said that his motivation for suggesting the pact was to usher humanity into a new era, and it was out of the same desire that the Gods agreed.
Public Reaction
Society changed forever, and humanity evolved beyond tribalism.
Term
Permanent.
Type
Decree, Religious
Medium
Metal
Authoring Date
-5000 DR
Ratification Date
N/A
Expiration Date
Never.
Location
Authors
Signatories (Organizations)
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments