Cyber-Altered Task
| This article is about the machine; for the animal, see Cat. |
Cyber-Altered Task units ("CATs") are mechanical constructs designed to perform simple tasks, like inorganic servitors. Programmed with a set of very simple instructions, they are occasionally used by the Adeptus Mechanicus and some chapters of the Adeptus Astartes as remote probes and retrieval units[1a].
As of M41, CATs had been in service with both bodies for several centuries, or even millennia, although the Mechanicum and the Astartes prefer the versatility and expertise of a servitor or a Scout, respectively. Nevertheless, constructing CATs is a popular hobby for Mechanicus Adepts and Techmarines, who claim that the activity is a useful meditative exercise, and CATs are frequently underfoot at any shrine to the Omnissiah.[1b]
In fact, some suspicious members of the Inquisition have observed that their creators seem to treat their CATs almost like pets, though the Mechanicum claims to be above such emotional attachments.[1b]
CATs were deployed by the exploratory team sent from the Reclaimers Space Marines aboard the space hulk Spawn of Damnation.[1a]