Chapter 290: The Imperium: I'm Dead, But That's Unlikely
Vigilus, Hyperia Hive, Aquila Council Government District, Romulus's Office
After returning from the sacred domain of the Motive Force, Magos Vosch lovingly toyed with the material in his hands. It was what he had been pursuing all along, a crystal material that could amplify the influence of the warp through Blackstone components, thus, to a certain extent, replacing small and medium-sized Volcano Cannons for firing.
His goal was to enable Stygies VIII to achieve independent production of Volcano Cannons, to break the blockade of the Volcano Cannon manufacturing industry by Mars and its subordinate forge worlds. This long research experiment had been going on for tens of thousands of years, from Vosch to his master's master, and could be traced back to the time when they first had a disagreement with Mars. The Volcano Cannons supplied to them by those Martian tech-priests had a terrifyingly high premium, and they also monopolized the firing crystal material. Stygies VIII had always been on a tight budget in the formation of its Titan Legions.
But they had to buy. Even if they had to go through the channels of other forge worlds, it was worth buying. After all, the Volcano Cannon was the most powerful laser weapon in the Imperium. Stygies VIII had no other better technology. They couldn't just stick a super-charged plasma emitter on a Titan like Ryza, could they?
Vosch had been in despair, continuing to push forward this ancient work and conducting his own archaeological research, trying to find some inspiration from the creations of those ancient xenos, just hoping to leave his own mark on history in his lifetime.
To know how to use a weapon just by picking it up, to see through the composition and operating mechanism of an object just by observing its appearance, to create countless basic sciences and applied knowledge just by hearing a description... Magos Vosch believed this was a true god.
"Magos Vosch," Romulus said, and at the same time, complained internally. Aside from solid-slug weapons and small laser weapons, there are very few things in the Imperium that don't have something to do with the warp. That Volcano Cannon firing crystal, you could tell at a glance that it was a crystal that absorbed and stored psychic energy. After a large number of psykers had been slaughtered on the mining planets where these crystals were produced, you could still feel the echoes of their emotions in them.
Ramesses had also experimented with it. Using a soul-stone to hold a few Drukhari as batteries had a much higher power output and was extremely durable. Unfortunately, the Aeldari themselves were short on soul-stones, and the planets where they were produced were all in the Eye of Terror. It was difficult to use them for large-scale deployment. But it didn't matter. The Dawnbreakers could mass-produce them. And Drukhari pirates were everywhere. This branch of the Aeldari had a great advantage in their ability to procreate.
Now, with Vosch's research data, they wouldn't have to spend this expense in the future.
"Holy Motive Force, speak," the standing Vosch immediately saluted with an extremely devout posture. He had originally intended to kneel, but the Motive Force believed that was too extravagant. Without a scientific and rational view of development, kneeling as many times as you want is useless.
See, how rational!
"Just a normal address is fine. There's no need to say it all the time," Romulus said, feeling a little awkward. Although on an objective level, they were indeed gods and monsters, he couldn't let this guy interfere with his normal social interactions with others. Although Romulus did not consider this place his home, he still considered himself and the people around him to be of the same kind. The augmented Astartes, the un-augmented ordinary humans, they together formed Romulus's social relationships in this world. He believed he could find a little sense of identity in this, just as he would often chat with Drakus and the others about Imperial jokes, and talk about the Primarchs.
He wondered how beautiful the scene would be when Guilliman saw these sons.
"Yes, my Lord!" Vosch replied immediately, in the midst of the Invictarus Suzerain's difficult expressions.
See, how humble!
Sigh. Noticing Drakus's expression, Romulus sighed. He shouldn't have mocked the old man on the Throne for always insisting 'I am not a god.' Now the boomerang had come back. "That's fine," Romulus said, not intending to be stubborn. He then gave another infinite cube for storing physical objects. "It comes with an unlocking tutorial. You can look at the first document, just go through the appendix, and then give me your own opinion."
In it was the "Required Knowledge and Norms for the Education and Promotion of Tech-priests" that he had had Cawl compile, for the purpose of integrating the members of the Adeptus Mechanicus. It was mainly in preparation for the online education model, which had already been promoted in the advanced technician education within the Dawnlight Sector. It was just that a large amount of the religious component had been removed, the deconstruction of the machine-god had been removed, and the direct worship of the Omnissiah had been retained. Even Arthur agreed with this. Everyone in the 21st century would burn incense and kowtow to a machine. Not to mention that in this universe, burning incense and kowtowing really worked.
And Cawl didn't like to take the blame. Romulus fully respected the other's opinion, and had always communicated with the Mechanicus members who were willing to communicate on his own.
Vosch first instinctively examined this xenos creation, and then began to quickly analyze the appendix, occasionally focusing on the data that he could directly distinguish as true or false. Vosch frowned. "Magos Vosch, what is your evaluation of this?"
'He's messing with the Mechanicus's cake.' But Vosch obviously couldn't say that. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "If the content of this material can be guaranteed to be correct, it is sufficient to be used as a study textbook for a tech-priest to a polymath Magos. If one's own talent is sufficient, and one can perform a large amount of practical operations, one can even complete independent study."
This content was too detailed. It was common knowledge that the research path of a Mechanicus member was strongly tied to their master. So if you wanted to cross-specialty from a Magos Biologis to a Fabricator Magos, then you would either have to start from scratch, or spend a great deal of money to find a new master. Whichever choice you made, you would end up consuming a large amount of time and energy. And even those Fabricator-Generals who were in charge of a forge world did not have enough lifespan to support them in venturing into more fields.
But now someone had brought a complete set of basics for all fields. You could understand it as the original Mechanicus being all private tutors who set their own questions and educated their students. The teaching effect depended entirely on the teacher's own level and their understanding of the existing technology. But now someone had compiled a complete set of textbooks, from primary school to high school. Now it wasn't just the students who had to study, but the teachers as well.
There's a bad guy among my colleagues! Vosch couldn't help but mutter, and searched for the signature, but couldn't find it. What have you written that I have written?
"Can it be popularized?"
"It is difficult, my Lord," Vosch immediately replied, putting aside his own thoughts. "This will break the knowledge inheritance system within the Adeptus Mechanicus and will infringe on the interests of the vast majority of Magi who are hovering in the middle class."
"And you?"
"We would find it convenient. To be able to cultivate this number of Magi in a short period of time would greatly facilitate our work. And the dissemination of this knowledge, strictly speaking, would not shake our position. Although it is comprehensive, it is also very shallow," Vosch explained, choosing his words carefully.
If he were a polymath Magos in the process of being promoted, then he would definitely oppose this plan, because it would mean he could not rely on his knowledge to constrain more tech-priests to work for him. But now was different. Although he was submissive in front of the lords, his rank, strictly speaking, was an Archmagos. He had his own forge-city, and was also responsible for the specific field of research required by the forge world. He was not middle-class. At their level, the deeper expansion of knowledge was not something that could be solved by just squeezing a few people. They needed more money. So for a being who could create more value for the forge-city, he would hold an open-minded attitude.
As for the lower-level tech-priests who worked for the polymath Magi, that went without saying. With such an opportunity right in front of them, only a fool would not support it and study.
"Mm," Romulus nodded. It seemed this version was quite good. It wouldn't stimulate the nerves of the entire Mechanicus group, and could drive the interest conflicts between its various classes. Romulus integrated the series of communication data from the past ten years and finally established a plan. Very good. We will use this version for the initial promotion.
"Can you promote it?" he asked.
Vosch immediately looked troubled. It wasn't that he was afraid of dedicating himself to the Motive Force, but was it not looking down on him to have him conduct a technology promotion? With his rank, if he dared to promote this material on a large scale, he would likely die halfway, and the promoted textbook would likely be changed beyond recognition to better suit the interests of those forge worlds.
"Just promote it within the forge-city you lead. Secondly, I hope you can propose this motion in the council of Stygies VIII in my name."
Vosch immediately agreed. These were all things he could do.
"As for the effect, it is not your responsibility. You need to ensure the progress of the forge-city you control," Romulus said, handing over a data-sheet. He quite liked dealing with the Mechanicus, especially the Mechanicus that had been beaten hard. After these people were forced to put down their arrogance, they could seriously communicate data with you. You only needed to set reasonable indicators, and the other party could also understand.
"Secondly, while giving the production license for some technologies, we also hope that the Dawnlight Sector can achieve a deep collaboration with Stygies VIII in projects such as xenos research and ruin excavation." Romulus did not rush to take out the documents. These matters that would decide the route of a forge world were not something that a single Vosch could decide.
"Can I sign it first? On behalf of myself," Vosch asked.
"...You may," Romulus was somewhat underestimating their power. Magos Vosch quickly nodded. "My Lord, regarding the excavation work of the Vigilus ruins, who should I liaise with?"
"This aspect of the research is handled by Fabricator-General Trazyn." Trazyn had another clone on Stygies VIII, which also facilitated the Dawnbreakers' better grasp of the situation on Stygies VIII.
That's not strange then. Vosch immediately thought of the Magos who had dared to openly bring out the Canoptek Acanthrites. No wonder the other side was so arrogant. So the lords have an open attitude towards xenos-creation research. This was a rather good premise for promoting the cooperation between Stygies VIII and the Dawnlight Sector.
Stygies VIII was a heretical research base. Its analysis and research of xenos technology had always been at the forefront of the various forge worlds, and its tomb-raiding was also extremely diligent. Therefore, the pressure they received from Mars was also the greatest. The explorator fleets of the two sides would definitely have one side disappear if they met in the Ultima Segmentum. If the lords could endorse Stygies VIII's research, then strengthening the communication between them was an inevitable result. Thinking of this, Vosch felt that he could win more favorable conditions for the lords in the council of Stygies VIII.
"My Lord, how should we maintain contact?" he asked again.
"We will send an astropathic team to liaise with you."
"I understand," Magos Vosch fell silent, respectfully waiting for his orders.
"Take another look at this," Romulus finally took out a star-chart. It marked the currently discovered Mechanicus fleets and their areas of activity.
"..." Vosch did not see anything wrong at first, until he discovered that, aside from the Incaladion forge world's fleet, the other fleets were composed of small fleets from various sects. "This is not normal," he immediately said. The internal forces of the Mechanicus were complex. Aside from Mars, which was large enough, the others were all relatively isolated due to their conflicts with each other. It was not uncommon for cooperation to occur due to related interests, but such a large-scale organization and assembly—
Vosch's gaze quickly swept over the dozen or so node-worlds where the Mechanicus was present, and began to analyze them from a strategist's perspective. The last time was during the Great Heresy! And at that time, it was Horus who had捏合 those traitors from countless branches together.
So now, what power had brought them together here?
"This is the problem we are about to face," Romulus shook his head, indicating that this assembly was not led by them. "A Chaos power has gathered these forces. The mastermind is currently unknown. We can only be certain that it is related to that false god in the warp."
Vosch immediately became serious, and at the same time, had no problem with Romulus calling Vashtorr a false god. That inferior being, who needed a cult of the demiurge to scrape the ground in the material universe to build his war-machines... how could he compare with the Motive Force of the Void's creation?
"I will immediately report this discovery to the council and have the Magi of the various forge-cities submit to your management," he said, and then recited the name of the false god. How dare he challenge the true machine-god.
"I do not expect Stygies VIII to stand on my side in this war. But I hope it can hold its own ground," Romulus said, seeing that Vosch's emotions were a little agitated. Stygies VIII was in the Segmentum Pacificus, which was quite far from the Eye of Terror. But with reference to Vigilus, due to the excavation and research of the Necron ruins and the demand for Blackstone deposits, the number of forge-cities that Stygies VIII had established around the Eye of Terror was not small at all.
Romulus did not expect to be able to command those guys who were so far away. After so many years, Romulus also knew that a reminder was the best he could do. At least as a Primarch, his words had enough weight most of the time. The rest was to do his own thing.
"I understand, my Lord. I will ensure that the forces under my command can submit to your management," Vosch said.
"Mm, thank you for your trouble. You may leave—the handover work will begin in thirteen hours. Please be prepared," Romulus said, seeing that the matters that should be communicated had been completed, and gave the order to dismiss the guest.
"Yes, my Lord," Vosch replied, and then turned. He was going to assemble his fleet.
Those work and affairs were political problems, military problems. Lord Romulus had already given the requirements and had tolerantly set the boundaries. He would not do anything superfluous, because the order of the Motive Force was not to be questioned.
But there was one more thing. The most important thing. He had to solve the religious problem.
Vosch's eyes were filled with fanaticism. This was the contract he had made with the Motive Force. He had to make those colleagues who were still in a state of confusion and arrogance believe in the true machine-god.
After sending Vosch away, Romulus finally let out a long breath in his heart. He looked at the encirclement around Cadia and couldn't help but rub his temples. It was close to the scale of the Dawn Crusade. Just the Titan Legions were ten or more, not to mention the accompanying fleets. Even though Arthur, with the Wolves and the Dark Angels, had eliminated many splinter fleets by finding fault or by secret execution, the number of Mechanicus forces gathered here had already reached an extremely exaggerated number.
And those large-scale fleets were not easy to move. It was easy to stimulate the already sensitive nerves of the Mechanicus. If they were to trigger a conflict prematurely, the mastermind behind the scenes might be even happier. The union of just a few Mechanicus sects had forced them to be cautious. It had to be said, the Imperium was really huge. Especially as an opponent.
"If everyone in the Imperium did their duty, it would definitely be the most powerful force in the galaxy. There is no doubt about that. It's just a pity that this is just a concept," Romulus couldn't help but say, after the oak door had closed again. Vigilus had been cleaned up. Next was to radiate outwards and connect to Cadia, and then to wait for the other side to make a move.
"Unity is strength," Arthur said. Thinking of the current situation around the Eye of Terror, his expression became grave. And he was not wrong. So-called unity was never the shallow unity of your spiritual friends, your political allies. That could not be called unity, but factionalism. True unity was to unite all objects that could be united, and then to integrate them into a new structure. These Mechanicus were just like that.
But Arthur was optimistic about the situation. Just as the Dark Angels under his command had crushed their former colleagues like a steamroller, under Romulus's command, the power of Vigilus began to constantly concentrate on the Dawnbreakers. The nobles were quickly dealt with, the planetary government was reorganized, the industrial structure began to be optimized, and a large amount of productivity was used more efficiently. Next was to spread, to integrate the existing military forces of the Imperium to the greatest extent before the enemy made a move.
The areas that had long been contested by multiple factions were opened up and began to be further developed under the coordination of the Dawnbreakers, and at the same time, the benefits were distributed to ease the conflicts between the various parties. Vigilus was about to be built into a factory, a fortress. Next, its surroundings would also be built into an unbreakable defensive line, and would expand outwards.
Arthur focused on the star-chart of Vigilus. They were also uniting more forces, and also had flexible means. He felt his companions had to do better. But this also showed the problems of the Imperium. There was no mutual trust at all. There was no powerful person or government like them who could stand up and take charge of the overall situation. Just like those Fallen, just like the chaotic situation on Vigilus before. It could not be denied that if the Imperium continued to maintain such a state, then it would be inevitably heading for death.
"I do not believe the Imperium is heading for death," the chaotic energy of the warp surged like a tide, and twisted light and shadow intertwined in the void. A daemon-forge world belonging to Perturabo floated under a crimson sky, the pulse of the lava illuminating the entire surface like a hellscape.
On the bridge of the Iron Blood, Perturabo stood tall, his cold metal armour reflecting the burning world below, his dark eyes gazing at the twisted metal and flesh in the flames. "Because the Imperium is already dead."
The entire planet awakened under his will. The veins of iron pulsed deep in the planet's crust. Countless Iron Warriors, like machines, precisely executed his orders. Forge-bastions rose from the ground with a roar, the sound of meshing gears piercing the sky. Mortal slaves stumbled forward under the whip, their figures stretched long in the firelight of the lava, pulling chains, hauling heavy objects.
In the rivers of lava, new war-machines were slowly forming, their metal shells glowing a dark red in the high temperature. Screaming daemons were bound in iron chains and forcibly stuffed into the mechanical shells.
"It is already an empty zombie. Every day they fight is just prolonging the pain of this corpse, letting it continue to take its bewildered steps in the boundless space. Let me destroy it! Destroy this corpse! Let us free those pitiful brothers, those deluded sons, from our father's slavery!"
Forrix listened silently, his eyes calm, thinking about the tactical requirements that the Lord of Iron had given him. He stood motionless, making the Primarch's body, which was growing stronger and stronger as it embraced the great power of the Sea of Souls, look even taller.
Perturabo was jealous. Yes, he was jealous.
Back then, the Emperor had withdrawn from the Great Crusade, had returned to Terra to pursue his ambition of godhood, and had handed over the rule of the Imperium to mortal bureaucrats, not to the sons who had fought and bled for him, who had conquered the galaxy. In Perturabo's view, the Emperor's actions were undoubtedly a betrayal of him and his brothers.
And now, Perturabo was burning with jealousy. The privileges they had once sought but could not obtain were now being casually exercised by four 'brothers' he had never even met. The galaxy they had conquered with so much bloodshed was now being freely painted by these replacements who had never participated in that great crusade!
And what about them? What did they have left?
The ancient A.I. that Forrix had personally led the Iron Warriors to capture, which had been developed in the Dark Age of Technology, was bound inside the bridge of the Iron Blood. Countless conduits connected it to Perturabo.
"The Lion, Sanguinius, Guilliman, Magnus."
Ignoring another request for a meeting from the Black Legion's representative, Perturabo gazed at the treacherous Sea of Souls, squeezing every bit of computational power from the A.I. A route that could leap out of the Eye of Terror was slowly forming in his eyes.
He murmured, "You really have to see them. See how they have come to replace you."
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