The long journey tested one's will most of all. High Priestess Phylira and several other priests loudly recited the stories from the holy book about the Prophetess leading the chosen people to the holy land and establishing God's kingdom on earth, strengthening the Mutant believers' faith. If someone familiar with Earth's religious history and politics were here, they would easily recognize the astonishing similarities between the evolution of this alien religion and Earth's religions.
In both cases, a prophet received divine revelation and led believers away from their original homes, removing them from familiar surroundings before setting a goal that would take a long time to achieve. Within this information cocoon, cut off from familiar environments and other communities, the prophet possessed absolute authority. Over the long journey, the prophet's authority would continuously strengthen until the first generation of believers died. Then the authority of the prophet and the so-called deity would become the only culture and history of this people who had lost their original culture. This story had been told in detail in the Torah, and it was told once more by High Priestess Phylira. No matter how the characters and events changed, the underlying logic remained the same.
High Priestess Phylira had absolutely no idea that the stories she told, the doctrines she shouted, and even the procession of believers she led were being watched by a pair of eyes. Several reconnaissance drones hovered soundlessly in the air. Their high-precision cameras clearly captured and marked every Mutant's face, then relayed those marks through base stations into the Enemy-Friend Identification System of the Gene-modded Warriors' Power Armor, where they were categorized using database tags.
"Mutant numbers exceed five thousand and are still increasing. Armament classification: individual light weapons. Cold weapons A-1, unknown ranged weapons A-2. Retrieving similar models