Tech-Heresy

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Tech-Heresy, also known as Heretechnica,[1] are forbidden sciences and technologies as dictated by the strictures of the Cult Mechanicus and Adeptus Mechanicus.[5]

History

In M30 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]

The Dark Mechanicum was a coalition of Magi which saw these restrictions as shackles placed upon the ambition, imagination, curiosity and righteousness of purpose of the entire Mechanicum. They rejected the notion of the Emperor embodying the Machine God’s purpose, and cast off the fetters placed upon them, continuing their research into forbidden lore. Dark deeds and unspeakable experiments simmered and festered within the Mechanicum, carefully hidden from the Imperium’s eyes until the conclusion of the Great Crusade, during which time the Warmaster Horus sent his emissaries to many Magi who felt themselves oppressed by the Emperor’s dictates. The Warmaster offered an open hand of friendship and promised to sweep aside the Emperor’s restrictions.[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 labelled 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 ranges 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]

Tech heresy is considered the greatest crime in the Lore Mechanicus and its practitioners are pursued ruthlessly by the Lords Dragon and Collegiate Extremis.[8] The Magos Juris also ruthlessly pursues tech heresy in a similar manner to the Ordo Hereticus' pursuit of heresy.[9]

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 rogue tech-priests remain in the Adeptus Mechanicus, their tech heresy hidden or unnoticed, and remain loyal to the Imperium and humanity.[3]

High Heretechnica

The Orders of High Heretechnica hated above all others include the following: those 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]

In regard to genetic modification, the Lex Mechanicus allows for a plethora of methods to be applied, however, pursuing mutant genetic strains and splicing xenos DNA are a damnable tech heresy.[10b] An extreme safeguard some take to prevent this specific tech heresy is that of the Puritens surgery.[11]

The acquisition of xenos devices is often considered a grave heresy.[7b] Using Xenotech is considered tech heresy by some, however a valuable opportunity by others. Opinions such as these can lead to 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]

Lesser Tech-Heresies

What explicitly constitutes tech-heresy is vague enough that it can cover a vast amount of subjects and categories. These true nature of what defines a tech-heresy can vary depending on the world or sector of space.[12]

Lesser tech-heresy are a miscellaneous collection of those that that don't fall under the primary heresies regarding artificial intelligence, excessive genetic manipulation, in-depth study of the warp, returning the dead to life, and betrayal or disloyalty to the Cult Mechanicus.[12]

Misuse of Technology

One category of lesser tech-heresy is the misuse of technology. This is an extremely broad category that can range from simply using otherwise innocent technology against the Adeptus Mechanicus instead of for it, speaking blasphemy of the Omnissiah over a vox, or simply venting one's frustration towards a particularly stubborn machine spirit while in the presence of a Tech-Priest.[12]

Another example of this minor heresy would be a Tech-Priest turning the majority of a hive city's hab-block into bestial servitors loyal only to them. Illucius Grizvaldi committed such an atrocity and was summarily captured by the Inquisition and executed. Grizvaldi had only been a relatively low-profile heretek prior to these crimes.[12]

Unsanctioned Communion with the Machine

The unsanctioned communion with the machine is an extremely conservative set of complex stipulations placed on the lay citizens (not belonging to the Mechanicus) of the Calixis Sector. Put forward by the extremely influential and conservative Arch-Magos Ralwure the Golden, this defines various sets of activities as tech-heresy. One of its bans disallows any lay citizen from crafting unsanctioned augments or scavenging technology. Although not fully adopted, the policy also seeks to label any interference or harm caused to a Tech-Priest as tech-heresy. This category is replete with precedents and exceptions that only those within the Cult can hope to understand.[12]

Other

Anyone can commit tech heresy, whether they're an Imperial citizen, guardsmen, or tech-priest. More mundane tech heresies include the guardsmen crew of a battle tank performing anything more than the most basic of repairs on their tank, and even then, only under the most dire of circumstances. Such heresies can be as innocuous as flipping a switch.[6]

The average Imperial citizen often considers melding with technology as what they'd interpret as "tech heresy", as far as they understand it. Another fairly mundane unsanctioned tech heresy that would cause a tech-adept's duress, would be guardsmen cooking their lasguns' charge cells around a fire. This is an old trick common among the Imperial Guard in order to charge a few extra shots. The power pack being this near a fire causes metal degredation, reduction of cell endurance, and other material decay.[7a]

Creating a servitor that retains a certain level of awareness is considered a tech heresy.[8]

Punishment

Punishments for those condemned of tech-heresy can vary drastically depending on the crime, severity of their actions, and their accusers. A minor slight might only result in a loss of resources or access to them, other times, it could result in exile to the far region of the respective sector of space. Those who aren't technically guilty of tech-heresy, but found to have incorrect thoughts going against the current tenets of their respective Cult hierarchies are considered apostates and labelled Malatek.[12]

More serious heresies require greater punishments, such as the removal of augmentations, cranial scouring, and corrective re-engramation, followed with formal declaration to their respective councils on the errors of their ways.[12]

The most serious crimes are often sentenced in closed tribunals. Death is typically the least harsh punishment for the worst offenders of the Cult; more often than not their fate is servitorisation. Prior to this, it isn't uncommon for every ounce of data to be extracted from their brains in a horrific manner, all to better root out the extent of their heresies. Their minds are then destroyed and their bodies transformed into base servitors to live out the rest of their wretched lives.[12]

Ambiguity

What is or isn't considered tech-heresy can vary depending on which sects and beliefs are currently prevailing amongst the majority of the priesthood.[2] Different sects and Forge Worlds can have subtle but widely different views on what is considered breaking the Universal Laws of the Omnissiah. These differing interpretations are often debated.[10a]

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 xenotech acquisition expedition involving travelling near the event horizon of a black hole. This would inevitably involve voyaging through time, in a way. A debate amongst the assembled tech-priests rapidly emerged, some temporal experts insisting 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 as de facto voyaging through time and clearly forbidden, no matter how Cawl's argument was dressed up.[2]

See also

Sources

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