Adeptus Mechanicus

Many praises be to the Omnissiah my son. How may I assist you in your quest for knowledge?

Ah, you seek knowledge into the most holy of orders to serve High Terra. I commend you for your intelligence in recognizing the Mechanicum as the most important part of the holy Imperium of Man. I shall attempt to enlighten you in any way I can, my son, though I warn you, the biological components of your cortex may have trouble containing or comprehending the knowledge I impart. Such is the weakness of the flesh.

Those new to our order, such as yourself may think of the Mechanicus as nothing more than the engineering wing of the Imperium. Outsiders may see us as heretics, perverting the teachings of the God Emperor, or debasing ourselves with technophiliac rituals. I tell you this, my son, that nothing could be further from the truth. The Mechanicus is here to preserve the most sacred treasure of the human race, that of knowledge.

Man is a weak and fragile animal, always has been. Even in the earliest days of Terra's history, we were outmatched in tooth and claw. But always, man has been the superior species, because we are capable of harnessing the most holy of forces, the divine inspiration of the Omnissiah. When the first proto-human took up the spear to fell his enemies? When the first men created the wheel, created machines to bear his burdens? These are the gifts of knowledge, my son, and this is what the Mechanicus was created as a chalice to hold. The holy men of high Terra focus on the wrong thing. They focus on the God Emperor's incorruptible form, while we focus on the spirit. Machine is as much an extension of the spirit as biomatter, my son, as you well know. Organic life is nothing more than a machine to house sentience, the true spirit of the Emperor. Perhaps the Ecclesiarchy in all its pious glory has forgotten that machines are the only thing that keep the great Emperor alive to this day. The Emperor was powerful, and a great man, yes, however, like all life, he was forsaken by the most fallible of materials, the flesh.

Despite that we maintain their weapons, forge their Titan engines, and even give spiritual council to the lost and weary, looking for purpose, we are reviled by many factions within the Imperium. The High Lords of Terra, The Inquisition, and even many noble houses believe us to be nothing more than freaks, concerned with nothing more than our own self-improvement. They view us as a cult, an accepted heresy, one that would drive the Imperium back into the dark age of technology. In truth, my acolyte, they fear us. The noble houses and the High Lords are incestuous politcians, concerned only with the material. The fools see no value in the intangible, and are concerned primarily with maintaining their position. The Inquisition? It's been a long time since something has triggered my humor, and I savor it. The Inquisition and the Ecclesiarchy waste their time worshiping the physical aspect of the God Emperor, while we worship his mind and soul. That is the Omnissiah, my son, the collective of human knowledge.

The Omnissiah, as you should well know, is the basis of our religion and the font of all our knowledge. For all his power and wisdom, the God Emperor of Mankind is merely the vessel, the physical avatar of the greater being within. He speaks to us through the code and the speaker, watches us with the view screen and the camera, protects us with the bolter and the grenade. Some see the God Emperor as an impotent corpse upon the throne, whereas we see him everywhere. The hum of a server quietly sings the Emperor's hymns. The roar of the blaster declares his ire and the whistling cry of the mortar his divine judgement pronounced. This is why innovation is anathema my son. In truth, while others may see us as heretics, we trust not the fallible human imagination, that invites chaos and disorder, we trust only the eternal wisdom of the Omnissiah, in his tried and true formulae. This is why machines are worthy of respect, nay, reverence, for each one houses an aspect of the Omnissiah, as holy and worthy of adoration as the Golden Throne itself. The Omnissiah is in all things, and only the unenlightened see him as a fractured entity. When we find S.T.C.'s, the old knowledge of the world, do restore further order to the completed divine engine and widen our grasp. Stray not down the path of the Heretek my son. The Omnissiah is here, and everywhere. He needs not your flawed consciousness to corrupt his holy being.

I hope this has been an enlightening talk, my son. Perhaps one day, you will deliver it yourself, when you have reached the highest levels of optimization and calibration. Have a productive day.