Cult Mechanicus
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Machina Opus redirects here. For the Space Marine Honour Badge, see Machina Opus (Space Marine Badge). |
The Cult Mechanicus, also known as the Cult of Mars,[21b] is the state religion of the Adeptus Mechanicus, which recognises its own dogma as opposed to that of the Imperial Cult. As an organisation, it is composed of the priesthood of the Adeptus Mechanicus, also known as Tech-Priests.
Overview
History
The Cult Mechanicus has ancient origins, developing on Mars during the Age of Strife. It was the state religion of the early Mechanicum even before the arrival of the Emperor and the commencement of the Great Crusade.[5][26] When the Emperor first arrived on Mars many saw him as the Omnissiah, or the physical manifestation of the Machine God. As per the terms of the Treaty of Olympus that saw Terra and Mars unify, the Mechanicum was still allowed to practice its faith despite the Emperor's own secular Imperial Truth.[6a] The Cult Mechanicus continues to exist to this day, distinct but related to the Imperial Cult.
Beliefs
The core tenets of the Cult Mechanicus are codified in the sixteen "Universal Laws".[8][27] Along the ages, the creed has accrued further theses, such as the Law of the Divine Complexity[6a][6b] or the Third Law of Universal Variance.[14]
According to the Cult Mechanicus, knowledge is the supreme manifestation of divinity and all creatures and technology that embody knowledge are thus holy because of it. The worth of a single man is only the sum of his knowledge - his body is simply an organic machine capable of preserving intellect. It is by this motivation that the followers of the Cult Mechanicus follow the Quest for Knowledge, seeking new technology and information to better themselves.[1]
Non-Mechanicus individuals who take well to quality augmetic implants, with no signs of rejection and natural synergy, are seen as having a natural synergy with the Machine-God. Some would say this marks the individual out as a favoured ignorant or enlightened-in-waiting.[21a]
Machine-God
The Machine God, also known as the Deus Mechanicus,[2][3][4a] Deus Ex Mechanicus (God In The Machine),[26] He who is three-in-one,[15c] the three in one,[16c] the triple god,[16a] the prime architect,[15a] and God-Machine,[11] is the ultimate object of worship in the Cult Mechanicus. It is the Machine God that gave rise to all technologies and made them manifest through his chosen among mankind. To the Mechanicus, machines represent a higher form of life than those crudely formed from biological evolution. The planned perfection of form and function embodied in a machine are so great, that they could only have arisen from a divine source. Officially, the Cult Mechanicus maintains that the Emperor is the physical manifestation of the Machine God (the Omnissiah) and part of a trinity that also includes the Machine God and the Motive Force, the deity that gives all life and motion its continued existence.[2][3][4a]
One of the surviving Men of Iron, UR-025, states that it has met the true Omnissiah, not the false one worshipped by man, and that it would find the Mechanicum disappointing.[7]
Machina Opus
The Machina Opus, also known as the Cog Mechanicum, is the symbol of Mars and the Cult that has been used since well prior to the Treaty of Olympus. The symbol is a representation of the best of Humanity and machine unified, and the all-encompassing domain of the Machine God. Some Tech-Priests teach that the symbol also represents that while mechanical augmentation is the truest form of a balanced existence, a human mind must remain in control. Others claim that the cog is the Motive Force that surrounds all Humanity, or that humanity are but cogs in the Omnissiah's great machine.[27]
The Machine-God made the universe, his perfect machine, the Great Work. He made humanity, and put them into it so that they might flourish, and do so by knowledge, which begets improvement, which allows understanding. Like the Ecclesiarchy, the Mechanicus believes that the human form is perfect, however the Machine Cult instead sees it as the perfect starting point in order to test His followers. The flesh was made weak by the Machine God to test them. Their role in life is to learn all there is to learn, to improve upon what the Machine-God gave them, and enrich his creation in the process.[21b]
Some believe that organic life is the Machine-God’s greatest accomplishment within the scope of the Great Work. The Machine God created the complex weaknesses of flesh so his followers might learn metallic strength, and ascend to his level of machinic perfection.[15c] Thus striving to improve upon it and replace it, however, abandoning his numerous gifts is done at great peril. For to give up one's soul is the great sin of the Cult Mechanicus. The soul must be understood, not despised. Such is life’s great test.[16b]
The Great Work of the Machine God was made with the warp and the universe in balance, each influencing the other. Without the touch of the warp, the human soul cannot function and ill effects will occur to humans when completely cut free of the spiritual aspect of the universe. Little or no connection to the Warp will cause a Stilling effect on humans, as seen within the Necrons' Pariah Nexus, while to detrimental effects of too much or direct Warp exposure has been well documented after the opening of the Great Rift.[20]
In death, some followers of the Machine Cult believe they join the Machina Opus, the Great Work of the Machine-God, to become pure data.[15b]
Tech-Heresy
Those who disobey the Omnissiah's Universal Laws or the Lex Mechanicus are subject to being condemned and tried as hereteks.[27]
The Treaty of Olympus outlines a strict code of Technological conduct, as dictated by the God-Emperor during the onset of his Great Crusade, dubbing a far range of innovations and fields as Tech-Heresy (Heretechnica) and its practitioners as hereteks. These include such forbidden sciences as unleashing plagues of death across entire star systems, draining energy from stars, or distorting space-time. However the three greatest orders of Tech-Heresy are that of Abominable Intelligence, manipulating the Human genome, and delving deeply into the powers of the Warp.[10]
A maverick magos found guilty of modus innovatum or repeatedly neglecting the numerous prayers and rites of maintenance or other needlessly tedious rituals on machines in the pursuit of efficiency might be sentenced to mind-wipe and servitorization.[24a]
Sex, Gender and Inception
The Adeptus Mechanicus largely disregards biological sexual attraction as an inconvenience or distraction, while others might even hold the subject in some degree of disdain. The gendered pronouns of Gothic, when pertaining to a highly augmented tech-priest, are more often a matter of an individual's chosen identity rather than an indicator of their clinical sex, as so much of what might define one physically is often removed or replaced.[22a] Some view sexual attraction as the greatest weakness of the flesh. Despite this, human fondness can still emerge between individuals, whether both parties are Mechanicus affiliated or not.[21c]
Those produced via natural human-birth might feel some amount of shame about their origin, receiving sneering pity or disgust from other members of the Cult.[25] Regardless of the methods of inception and birth, individuals of both human-born and vat-born origins can be found throughout the various strata of Mechanicus society.[22b][25]
Sign of the Cog
The sign of the cog, sign of the cogwheel,[18] sign of the Cult Omnissiah,[19a] or sign of the Icon Mechanicus,[19b] is a hand gesture to indicate faith and deference towards the Machine God. This sign is equivalent in function to the Imperial Cult's sign of the aquila but used in the context of the Cult Mechanicus.[17e]
The sign of the cog is made by lacing both hands together across one's torso. The sign can be, and is regularly, made by unaugmented human hands.[17e] One's knuckles are described as being knotted, meshed,[19a] or interlaced.[23] This gesture is often used while praying to the Machine God.[17a][17c] It is also used when showing solemn thanks and respect to a member of the Cult Mechanicus[17d] or an honoured machine, such as a Knight.[17b] Making a circular symbol over one's breast: the sign of the cogwheel, might be done to pay one's respects to the deceased.[18]
Those of the Imperial Cult and Cult Mechanicus will sometimes make the symbol of each-other's faith during a formal greeting, when giving solemn thanks, or showing showing one's respect. The mutual gesture expresses a sense of cooperation and solidarity between the two cultures working together. Most Imperials tend to make the sign of the cog with a laboured unfamiliarity. Regardless of execution, this gesture tends to meet with a degree of approval or appreciation from the Mechanicus party.[19b]
There are other examples of polite salutes accepted by many sects of the Cult. One could make a circle with their hands in front of their face then over their heart, done so as a representation of the Opus Machina.[24b]
Religious Excerpts
Organisation
While each Forge World is led by its own Fabricator General, it is the Fabricator of Mars who is considered the de facto leader of the Cult Mechanicus. Beneath the Fabricator General is the Fabricator Locum who in turn may call upon and command Magi Technicus, Metallurgicus, Alchemys, Cogitatrices, Pedanticum, Tech-assassins, hive monitors and Holy Requisitioners, who in turn can command a body of fabricators minoris, Fulgurites, Corpuscarii, overseers, underseers, stasis clerks, and techno-dervishes.[9a] The governing body of each Forge World's technarchy[15a] is referred to as a forge-synod. These synods are collections of high ranking tech priests of that Forge World and are led by that Forge World's Fabricator General. All Forge Synods ultimately owe fealty to the Great Synod of Mars.[16a]
Holy Orders
The Cult Mechanicus is organised in different Holy Orders, of which a Tech-Priest may change in time of need. The orders of the Magi pursue esoteric agendas as likely to end in triumpth as disaster. The orders of the Genetors probe biological mysteries, creating ever-stranger cyborgs and slaughtering numerous xenos to excise their biological secrets.[9a][9b] The Logis includes analyst, statistician, and logistician whose purpose is to predict future trends and make forecasts about Mechanicus expenditure and needs.[4c] The Artisans create and restore weapons of war.[9a][9b]
Military Forces
Each Tech-Priest Dominus may lead a Battle Congregation consisting of detachments of the Servitoria, Electro-Priesthood, and the Legio Cybernetica.[4b]
Related Videos
See also
Sources
- 1: Codex Imperialis (Background Book), pgs. 41-42
- 2: Warhammer 40,000 4th Edition Rulebook, pgs. 120-122
- 3: Index Astartes - Cult of the Machine God
- 4: Codex: Cult Mechanicus (7th Edition)
- 5: The Horus Heresy Book One - Betrayal, pgs. 17-19
- 6: Mechanicum (Novel), Chapter 1
- 7: Man of Iron (Short Story)
- 8: Deathwatch Core Rulebook, pg. 100
- 9: Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus (8th Edition)
- 10: The Horus Heresy: Age of Darkness Rulebook, pg. 124
- 11: Vainglorious (Novel), Chapter Eight, with reference to note #54
- 13: Fire Warrior (Novel), Chapter 3, pgs. 64-66
- 14: Predator, Prey (Novel), Chapter Eight
- 15: Belisarius Cawl: The Great Work (Novel):
- 16:Genefather (Novel):
- 17: Dominion Genesis (Novel):
- 18: Rites of Passage (Novel), The Smog Deeps
- 19: Titanicus (Novel):
- 20: The Silent King (Novel), Chapter 24
- 21: Flesh and Steel (Novel):
- 22: Archmagos (Novel):
- 23: Spiritus in Machina (Short Story) - Inferno! (2018) Vol.2
- 24: Archmagos (Novel):
- 25: Nightfall on Stygies (Short Story)
- 26: Dark Heresy: The Lathe Worlds, pg. 8
- 27: Imperium Maledictum: Adeptus Mechanicus Player's Guide, pgs. 6-9 - Pillars of the Cult