For the followers of Epsilonism, the Earth is only 157 years old. They believe dinosaurs are a lie that people fall for because they are weak. And if you have a birthmark, you might be a descendant of Kraff, the famous “Emperor of the 4th Paradigm.”
The only things the religious cult asks for in return is an open mind and your wallet.
The clear-cut parody of the Church of Scientology is just another jab at pop culture in the upcoming Grand Theft Auto V. The open-world crime game doesn’t come out until Sept. 7, so developer Rockstar Games has a few more months to drip feed cryptic teases, such as this PSA from the fictional Epsilon Program. The video displays the various goals and belief systems against a background of seaside cliffs, a lighthouse, and a small island, which look like possible locations for GTAV. The portrait of a new character dressed in a ceremonial robe is also shown.
Check out the three-minute teaser below:
[youtube http://youtu.be/B8lyxWbYlpc]
This isn’t the first time that the Epsilon Program has been in a GTA title — you could’ve found out about it in missions or idle chatter from pedestrians and radio stations. Back in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, you can run into Epsilon believers who love to shout “Kifflom!” — the name of a deity Epsilonists worship that’s also used as a greeting — or hear an interview with its leader, Cris Formage, on West Coast Talk Radio. In Grand Theft Auto IV, you can hear another person talking about Kifflom on Public Liberty Radio. And if you place an order for GTAV on Rockstar’s Warehouse site, you can get a Kifflom shirt for free.
On its website, the developer invites readers to visit “one of [the Epsilon Program’s] enlightenment centers.” Directions to those centers, and possibly more GTAV news, will arrive in a week.
(Thanks to Zak Islam for the tip.)