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Because of lack of maintenance during this time, Mars's atmospheric radiation shields soon disintegrated, allowing deadly solar radiation to destroy the fragile ecosystem and wiping out sparse vegetation which had taken millennia to cultivate. Mars returned to being the red wasteland of the past. Plagues caused by high radiation levels slew most of the population. Many of the survivors devolved into [[mutant]]s or gibbering cannibals. The destruction of the entire planet seemed likely. However, this was not to be, for a new idea began to spread among the people, a religion of survival - the Cult Mechanicus dedicated to the Machine God. The religious devotees sought out the now scattered technology needed to rebuild temporary radiation shelters. The cult demanded absolute devotion from its followers, for only by selfless dedication and often personal sacrifice could machines be recovered or the planet saved. Under the direction of their Tech-priest leaders, the cultists set about restoring order to the world. They built shelters to protect themselves from the radiation storms, and oxygen generators and food processing machines to enable them to live behind the enclosed shielding.{{Cite This}}
There were few shelters even for the Tech-priests and none for unbelievers. Marauders and mutant raiders tried to force their way inside the hurriedly constructed buildings. Many of the cultists died defending their shelters and some early shelters were destroyed, but the survivors emerged all the stronger and more determined. The people interpreted their survival in the face of tremendous odds as vindication of the Cult Mechanicus. Their resolve and devotion to the cult became unshakable. While rival warlords battled over the remnants of Terra the Tech-priests built Mars anew, and the first temples of the Machine God were built. The Tech-priests scoured the ruins of Mars for surviving machinery which they enshrined within the Temple of All Knowledge. Within the temple's [[plasteel ]] shell shining pistons held the vaulted roof almost a mile above. The shafts of each piston were so constructed that they moved to raise and lower the roof, altering its acoustic properties to accentuate the hymns of praise sung to the Machine God. The High Altar within took the form of a vast database containing the whole knowledge of the Tech-priests. Even today every new discovery is dedicated to this altar. Every temple on Mars and throughout the Forge Worlds is connected to the High Altar by means of a living Transmat link, a psychic [[Servitor]] whose mind co-joins all altars of the Cult Mechanicus into one holy machine entity.{{Fn|2}}
Now unified under the Cult Mechanicus, the Priesthood of Mars began to dispatch [[Explorator Fleet]]s across the galaxy and even plundered the surface of war-torn [[Terra]] itself in hopes of discovering lost technologies. Facing resistance to their quest on the planet's surface, the Adeptus Mechanicus soon became bitter enemies with the [[Techno-barbarian]]s which plagued Terra and thus welcomed the eventual arrival of the [[Emperor]].{{Fn|6}}
*{{Endn|26}}: [[Gamma-Zhul-881 (Sourcebook)]], ''Gamma-Zhul-881''
*27: [[Dark Heresy: The Lathe Worlds]]
** {{Endn|27a}}: pg. 78** {{Endn|27b}}: pg. 79** {{Endn|27c}}: pg. 80** {{Endn|27d}}: pg. 81
*{{Endn|28}}: [[Deathwatch Core Rulebook]], pg. 166
*{{Endn|29}}: [[Rogue Trader: The Navis Primer]], pg. 65
