Loop

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The Loop is the dominant religion/philosophy of the Ioxian Protectorate. The main headquarters of the religion is the Loop Temple on Iox. According to its tenets, all of history is cyclical, and what has happened in the past will happen in the future again. It appears to operate at different timescales, in that humans who recently die are expected to return within their loved ones' lifetime, but major historical events such as the Fall of Iox may repeat on a scale of several centuries.

Returning loved ones are implied to be able to remember their previous lives to some extent, so that they can be reunited. Burying a dead person is said to prevent them from reincarnating, which is why the practice is reserved for one's greatest rivals. On the other hand, pouring a person's ashes into a flowing body of water is thought to return them to the rivers for reincarnation.

According to Enkei, the Loop religion was invented by the robots of the Steel Empire as a way to reduce human suffering at the thought of death. Even so, certain major historical events are shown to repeat in a way; the game itself with its New Game+ mode can be interpreted as a very literal example, but also the consistent falling and overthrowing of the dominant empires of the Nebula do seem to repeat predictably. Whether this really is evidence for the loop or just history repeating itself is not known.