Tech-Heresy
Tech-Heresy, also known as Heretechnica,[1] is the forbidden science or pursuit of technological studies outside of the strictures of the Cult Mechanicus.[5]
History
The Treaty of Olympus between the Martian Parliament and the Emperor imposed several restrictions upon the Mechanicum’s practices, labelling much of the knowledge possessed by the Forge Worlds as ‘heretechnica’ – a heresy against the Emperor in his authority as an avatar of the Omnissiah. There were many such forbidden heretechnical sciences and technologies.[1]
Overview
In the Imperium, technology is the province of the Tech priests of Mars, servants of the Omnissiah. Certain avenues of research, innovation, and development lie outside the strictures of the Omnissiah’s creed, and thus are labeled tech heresy. Most Xenos tech and even some advancements from the Dark Age of Technology are considered forbidden by the Tech-priests, and any who dabble in such blasphemous experiments are hunted with righteous fury.[5]
Nevertheless, there exist some who continue these heretical practices and unleash terrors or mistakes to ravage the worlds of Man.[5] Heretechnica ranged from those which may be contained to the horrors of the mind or body of only a single being, to higher orders of Heretechnica, capable of unleashing plagues of death across entire star systems, draining the energy from stars or distorting space-time itself.[1] The Tech-priests of Mars and the Inquisition often confront such renegades and their tools.[5]
Much like being a heretek, there are many grey areas of tech-heresy, many of which do not involve Chaos, traitors, or the Dark Mechanicum at all. Some hereteks remain in the Adeptus Mechanicus, their tech-heresies hidden or unnoticed, and still loyal to the Imperium and humanity.[3]
Using Xenotech is considered tech heresy by some or a valuable opportunity by others. Opinions such as these can lead to the cooperation or conflict between tech-priests and Inquisitors, depending on the alignment of each party.[5] Xenarites and many other tech-priests of Stygies VIII often walk this fine line[4]
High Heretechnica
The Orders of High Heretechnica hated above all others include the following: These related to the creation of artificial sentience, such as the so-called 'Men of Iron which had plagued humanity’s Dark Age of Technology. The manipulation of the human gene-code, particularly where relating to the mysteries of the Primarchs, the Legio Custodes or the creation of pariahs and other abominations against nature, and lastly, the deep study of the Warp.[1]
Ambiguity
The manipulation of the laws of time, Chronaxic manipulation, is one of the prime bans. As an example of the ambiguity and nuance of these strictures, during the Conclave Chronalis, Archmagos Belisarius Cawl presented a planned tech acquisition expedition involving travelling near the event horizon of a black hole. This would inevitably involve voyaging through time, in a way. A split in the argument would rapidly emerge, some temporal experts insisted that no fundamental laws of either the Cult or of material science would be broken, as they were dealing with a natural effect. While a minority decried this plan is de facto voyaging through time and clearly forbidden, no matter how Cawl's argument was dressed up.[2]
Sources
- 1: The Horus Heresy: Age of Darkness Rulebook, pg. 124
- 2: Genefather (Novel), Chapter 16
- 3: Dark Heresy: The Radical's Handbook: pg. 44
- 4: Nightfall on Stygies (Short Story)
- 5: Dark Heresy: Creatures Anathema, pg. 15
