The Lost Primarch Quest
- Thread starter Daemon Hunter
- Start date
[x] Plan: To Build A Better Future, with Teleporters.
- [x] Warp Genetics x1
- [x] Thunder Warriors Genome x2 (to x4 if needed)
- [x] Master Understanding of Cultist Behavior x2
- [x] Advanced Cultist Countermeasures x1
- [x] Cultist Rituals x1
- [x] Void Shield Possible Mass Upgrade x1
- [x] You'll help Magnus with his own research x1 to x2 (Discard if needed for Thunder Warriors Genome)
- [x] Lion
- [x] Vulkan
- [x] The Presentation
- [x] Horus
- [x] Eli
- [x] Warp Genetics x1
- [x] Thunder Warriors Genome x2 (to x4 if needed)
- [x] Master Understanding of Cultist Behavior x2
- [x] Advanced Cultist Countermeasures x1
- [x] Cultist Rituals x1
- [x] Void Shield Possible Mass Upgrade x1
- [x] You'll help Magnus with his own research x1 to x2 (Discard if needed for Thunder Warriors Genome)
- [x] Lion
- [x] Vulkan
- [x] The Presentation
- [x] Horus
- [x] Eli
- Location
- Reno Nv
[x] Plan: To Build A Better Future, with Teleporters.
- Location
- USA
I'm worried about skipping the Magnus social.
He has just taken a big hit. It would be good to be there for him.
He has just taken a big hit. It would be good to be there for him.
And we still gonna do research with him which can be served as a brief distraction for him from the coming shitshow by doing the thing both he and Kesar love doing and bonding over which can help him.
Yeah, me
Count Sinner
Fate in Your Favor
- Location
- Placentia ca
[X] Plan: To Build A Better Future, with Teleporters.
- Location
- CABA
[X] Plan: To Build A Better Future, with Teleporters.
I'm looking forward to attaching eternal warden deepstrike teams to every other legion if this works. The shitty deamons think they're on easy mode munching on some ultramarines, then suddenly Witch Hunter power boots are jojo stomping them to death!
Last edited:
JustinTim3
Lost soul of Ashes
- Location
- iowa
[X] Plan: To Build A Better Future, with Teleporters.
Greenworld were rolled, many things were found, including the STC versions of this aka we got the dark age of technology version of teh USA's gun trucks of vietnam and a continent sized power plant that has handled the energy part of the IA's budget which is 6% and came with blueprints. The Imperium has access to super power plants that cost at a minimum 200k materials 100k tech. it's a guestimate but that should give an idea of the scale involved.
Also found was a hive world so massively populated that out of 10.5 trillion people, 10 trillion elected to join the IA en masse and essentially let the IA save money on one of their major projects.
The informational has been updated by Daemon
Also found was a hive world so massively populated that out of 10.5 trillion people, 10 trillion elected to join the IA en masse and essentially let the IA save money on one of their major projects.
The informational has been updated by Daemon
Last edited:
- Location
- Elsewhere
Well, seems like this was a close vote.
Oh I love such ideas! So many potential for jokes.
- Location
- Elsewhere
It does for a select handful of locations within the Imperium, but overall they still have major recruitment issues. This does however get the ball rolling so to speak, and makes it easier for them to continue to surge recruitment.
Years 46 - 50 - Part 1 Understanding
- Location
- Elsewhere
"Perhaps one day you'll understand Orbán." - Eli
"The teacher must fix the mistakes of the student." - Skullface
GM Note: Special thanks to @argenten, @Ruirk, and @TinyGladiator for providing some neat snippets to incorporate into the update.
Kesar found himself with a rarity over the last few decades. With his time spent constantly refining his psychic control, he had the opportunity for research. And so he dove into it deeply, covering so many projects that he had left by the wayside. With the work his own sons had done, the work he had mentally covered, and the Emperor's notes, he was able to make great strides in a variety of fields.
His study of warp genetics was finally complete, and from it, he found a number of answers, but also far more questions. What he had found was that genetics covered a varying range of influence over the warp, with different manifestations of warp phenomena being affected by genetics in differing ways. Psychic ability for instance was just barely influenced by genetics, with minor statistical trends being observed across Svarga. Geneseed however, was heavily influenced by genetics, with that being the cause for the restrictive limits needed for one to become an Astartes.
*Warp Genetics Completes*
This directly led to a number of conclusions for his project in modeling navigator genes. Most of them, however, were negative. It seems out of reach for Kesar to create new navigator houses unless he found a breakthrough in another area. Due to the millennia that had passed since their creation, their genetics and created narrative had likely entered a self-reinforcing loop. Kesar did make a mental note that this was a postulate rather than a certainty, as he lacked the historical documentation needed to confirm his theory. Nonetheless, this resulted in a situation where the traditions of the navigator houses were a major reason for their abilities being as strong as required to navigate the warp. So, any new house would first need to have the same genetic modifications, but then they would also have to gain the traditions of houses that had existed for thousands of years. Both of these were major hurdles to overcome, yet perhaps in the future, it would be possible.
*Navigator Genome Modeling Completes*
His work on Thunder Warriors, however, was more dubious, as Kesar found himself pushed to the limit of his skills, and oftentimes found himself lacking key information. Even scouring the Emperor's notes, all he had learned was of their degradation and the fact that there appeared to be 5 MIA Thunder Warriors. As a result, Kesar was forced to work off of extrapolation and theory, which admittedly were well supplemented by some of the experiments he could perform. The conclusion he came to was that the Thunder Warriors were an impossibility, which couldn't be the case. Sending off a copy of those notes to Fabius, who agreed with his conclusions, didn't resolve much, resulting in the needed extrapolation. There was nothing in the genetics or narrative that let them survive. Nor would Terra's narrative assist them. Leading to a conclusion that explained quite a bit about why the Emperor had felt confident reviving Angron.
To make the Thunder Warriors work, the Emperor had paved over the cracks in their existence by using their soul as glue. Which resulted in their souls slowly being drained in an effort to ensure their augments continued to function. And in the end, there was only one possible ending. Madness then death.
*Thunder Warriors Genome Completes.*
Then Kesar began to work on a research project that the Wardens had made a surprising amount of progress in already. It was at times like this where the Second Anathema felt pride in his sons, where he could see their collective effort rising to the level of a Primarch. Perhaps given enough time they would have been able to find the same conclusions that he was able to. No, that was a certainty. Auro's understanding of rituals, Baldur's ability to understand everyone's darkest secrets, and Oriacarius' ability to create innumerable contingencies were all further elevated by the rest of the Wardens, creating an ever-growing expansion of dark lore and artifacts that only a handful were allowed to know of.
A set of 20 ships, all with a crew chosen specifically for their mental strength. Each of these vessels was heavily runed, with the mortal crew all but entirely removed where possible. Each of these vessels contained information covering daemons and cults, providing a series of detailed analyses of cultists and the link to their gods. Warning signs, and subtle manipulations, were all described. Kesar even convinced Alpharius to forward him details of Alpha Legion operations against several Chaotic agents to supplement the Warden's own historical records. Five copies were made, distributed on five vessels, with another vessel housing daemonic artifacts the Wardens had yet to destroy. And the other 14 acted as decoys. Improving from this would be a gargantuan task, yet one Kesar suspected they may be able to do sooner than any expect.
*+1 Anti-Daemon. Svarga gains a small bonus against Chaos cults. The Imperium gains a very small bonus against Chaos cults.*
*Master Understanding of Cultist Behavior Completes*
*Advanced Cultist Countermeasures Completes*
*Cultist Rituals Completes*
The last bit of research Kesar did on his own was on refining his void shield designs for mass production. This proved to be a massive challenge and required Kesar to constantly create new hardware and software. He went down over a dozen promising pathways, only to find dead ends in almost all areas. In the end, while he was able to reduce the difficulty in producing his void shields, as well as the cost. It was still far from cheap, and he expected that the Imperial Army would only use them on capital ships, hives, and major installations. But perhaps in the future, it may be able to refine it further.
*Void Shield Possible Mass Upgrade Completes. Multiple projects for the Imperial Army have begun.*
The last bit of work performed by the Second Anathema was assisting Magnus with his projects. While Kesar didn't have enough time to hold a lengthy discussion with his brother, he was nonetheless able to find the time to at least work together with him. Initially, the XIth Primarch expected to work as a co-lead on the Cyclops' project studying the interactions between psykers and blanks. However, Magnus seemed to have been struck by inspiration, which in turn led to Kesar acting more as his brother's assistant than anything else.
What they wound up discovering was further information on the soul. With the Thousand Sons discovering a psyker with a blank arm grafted onto their body (why that was, Kesar really didn't want to know), the Legion had been blessed with a unique opportunity to study interactions in detail. Independently verifying Grey Soul theory, this apparently was a significant enough breakthrough to cause Magnus to genuinely smile despite his stress, which Kesar was glad for.
The theory itself described the soul as two components, a materium side and an immaterium side. Psykers had large immaterium souls, while blanks lacked it entirely. There were additional details related to what the two parts of the soul actually did, but most of that was speculation. Unless one asked Magnus, who had several beyond-esoteric proofs that required the Cyclops to create an entirely new mathematical framework to even get the ideas across in the first place. Kesar admitted he didn't understand it himself, and he genuinely doubted anyone besides maybe the Emperor would. Still, it was seemingly a major step forward, and for that, Kesar was happy for his brother.
Kesar entered Eli's office, recognizing two of his guards. "I didn't realize the Sisters of Silence provided bodyguards."
One of the Sisters seemed to shift, but Kesar was familiar enough with them to see it for what it actually was. A response to his statement that only a select handful would be able to translate. 'We have our reasons.'
"Truthfully I wasn't expecting it either," Lord Commander Militant Eli replied. "I approached them for a few projects, including several I expected them to reject." Eli seemed to catch himself before he began rambling. "Ah, but we can discuss this later. Lord Primarch Dorlin, I'm very happy you agreed to meet me."
"It was no issue, your request was rather intriguing." Kesar chuckled, "and I doubt anyone has missed the Imperial Army's massive expenditures. Your schedule must be filled with meeting requests by now."
"Several of those were from your brothers," Eli replied. "I do hope Lord Primarch Vulkan isn't offended that his request was one that I had to reject, but Lord Primarch Guilliman was rather insistent."
"Really?" Kesar frowned, wondering why that was the case before realizing. "Oh … how large is the Imperium's deficit?"
Eli winced, "120%."
"..." Kesar choked. "How?"
"It's an unfortunate necessity," Eli walked over to a case filled with dataslates, running his eyes over them before finding the one he was seeking. "There were two competing issues, a lack of funds and a lack of military strength. As the Imperium absolutely cannot afford to lose its military strength, there was only one real option."
"But 120%? In a mere five years, we'll have tripled the debt gained from the entirety of the Crusade!" Kesar couldn't even find the correct words to begin formulating how absurd this situation was. "What are you even spending this on?"
"The future, Lord Dorlin. That and so much more. Ah, but I should probably explain things before I start rambling about visions and whatnot." Eli handed over the dataslate to Kesar, who immediately began to look at the charts.
"Doubling funding for the Imperial Army's logistics, approving 15 major projects among the Imperial Army, tripling the budget available for Primarch projects, and doubling the classified budget," Kesar commented as he went through the information provided. "Is this truly necessary?"
"Much as you have done as well Lord Dorlin in fact, I have heard that your domain shall become one of the most advanced and productive domains of the empire, once certain...elements are brought to manage."
"Can I count on your assistance?" Kesar saw the opportunity and seized it, from what he had seen of Eli, the man seemed dependable. And would likely agree to his request.
"Hopefully it'll be addressed swiftly, thanks in no small part to your generous donations of troops." Eli smiled, like a shark circling a wounded fish, "With the recent muster, we will be able to ensure the Svarga branch of the Imperial Army will be fully purged of malfeasant elements as soon as possible."
"I was planning on recruiting another two trillion guardsmen over the following years."
"There's no need for that," Eli waved off Kesar's offer. "I've already organized a task force dedicated towards this. In the following years, Svarga, Ultramar, and Deliverance will be seeing significant reinforcements. The efforts of you, Guilliman, and Corvus have coincided nicely with our efforts to bring the Imperial Army to where it should be. We will also be providing greater funding towards your domain to ensure your investment strategy is able to move forward, as will that of the other Primarchs."
"That's wonderful," Kesar said, feeling a bit more nervous than he seemed at the thought of yet more expenses. "But can the Imperium afford it?"
Eli seemed more than a little annoyed at the question but swallowed whatever irritation he had before responding. "There is a reason why I outsourced this to economic experts. They determined that money spent by a Primarch has the best investment value."
"Strange of them to suggest that since I've heard quite a bit of pushback on our projects, considering what your predecessor thought," Kesar replied, irritated by Eli's response, but willing to push past it.
"Lord Baelsar believed that there wasn't much hope in trying to fix the economy without a tediously cautious approach to it. As you can tell, I disagree with that assertion." Eli explained.
"So you are saying that he was wrong?"
"I'm saying that he wasn't looking for the right answers or willing to entertain them."
"Has your approach found these right answers?" The Primarch was careful to keep his tone curious rather than accusatory.
"Yes," Eli smirked, "In ten years' time, the Imperial Army's strength per regiment will have doubled, with their cost having fallen by a third."
"Your confidence is impressive, I will admit." But Kesar also thought this plan was sounding a bit too "enthusiastic" with its spending. Still, the results sounded quite promising. "As for the economy itself, I imagine there has been a stimulus of sorts. Although has it kept up with inflation?"
"We don't yet know," Eli responded, "it takes time for changes to propagate in the Imperium, but so far we've seen wealth increases be projected at 8% annually, with a 7% inflation rate."
"What do you mean by wealth? GDP, GDP per capita?"
"GDP per capita," Eli explained, "notably, this is projected to be uniform across social classes due to the increased requirements for workers creating heightened competition between manufacturers for people to create their products."
"And this is deemed sustainable?" Kesar questioned, knowing that such rapid growth could often be temporary.
"If the money remains well spent in preparations for the future, yes. Much like war, economics can often be a matter of preparations and execution. We simply need to build up, and allow for our income to rise to the level of our expenses."
That was all well and good, but Kesar was still wondering why Eli believed so strongly in his decisions. "I can see why Guilliman was rather insistent on meeting you."
"I have been preparing rather extensively for that," Eli grinned as he waved towards the copious organized dataslates. "But perhaps we could refocus on what I wished to accomplish during this meeting?"
"Very well." Kesar accepted, knowing that Guilliman would be the one following up with questions far more detailed than himself. "You mentioned the Rune World and Project GI?"
"Yes, the Rune World. A fascinating read. I wish I could say I understand most of it. Extraordinary research. Sadly, much of my time has been spent in more practical endeavors."
Kesar almost didn't pick up on the backhanded compliment. He didn't bring it up, though. "I assume its budget has been tripled?"
Eli nodded, "Yes, but I would like to preemptively purchase 80% of its production for the next 500 years."
"I wasn't expecting that," Kesar idly replied. "It's a tall order."
"I'm willing to help make it work. Believe me."
"That I do, you seem quite aggressive in your economic policy." If Eli noticed the backhanded compliment, he didn't show it. "What do you plan to use it for?"
"The wargames are still underway, but I expect them to be used to supplement elite Solar Auxilia spearheads."
"Are you saying there is enough money within the treasury for you to purchase 80% of runes completed? On top of tripling the budget?
"I don't need to pay in just money, yes? Besides, any agreement made between us would require further extrapolation of how to make this work. But as I said, I am ready to make this happen."
"And what do you have to offer?"
"Project GI."
"...You are a rather surprising mortal," Kesar commented, not expecting that to be the bribe. "I'm starting to think Roboute might try something out of character for him when he arrives and speaks with you."
"I hope he at least hears me out first," Eli laughed, "it'd be a shame to leave this office in pieces before asking him to take over the Imperium's central bank."
"...we have a bank?"
"I said the same," Eli chuckled, clearly enjoying the expression on Kesar's face. "But it seems we do, it acts as a central currency exchange, which is how guardsmen get paid."
"That seems a step removed from an actual bank, I've been working with several regional banks in Svarga for investments, and they do quite a lot more than that."
"Which is why I want Guilliman to take control of it and expand its responsibilities dramatically," Eli replied with a hungry look in his eye. "I see so many possibilities in the future if I was in charge, can you imagine what Guilliman would be capable of?"
"Aren't you worried about an erosion of power within your office if my brother was taking charge of things?"
Eli waved off the rather credible danger, "Yes, yes. A loss of political power for the good of the state. There are far worse fates."
"You should know, for all that Guilliman's administration skills are second to none, he is not one to expand his previous powers unless circumstances strongly push him to it. Ultramar does still go through the process of democratic voting after all." Kesar explained, "There was also concern his realm would gain too much control over the Imperium."
"He already has it, this would remove the pretense of it being otherwise."
"...Not inaccurate," Kesar muttered, knowing just how necessary Ultramar's bailout of the Imperium was.
"As I said, there are far worse fates."
"Alright, so how is Project GI going to convince me to sell runes for free?" Kesar sidestepped the statement, but he couldn't say Eli was wrong.
"How many guardsmen worth of supersoldiers would you like?" Eli smiled widely. "The end state of Project GI will be 500 trillion, but there are multiple steps along the way."
"You're rather confident in a project that's just started," Kesar dryly observed, "and one you likely want my help with."
"Of course. We both stand to benefit." Eli answered, keeping that ridiculous smile on his face.
"When you say 'supersoldier', what is it that you intend? Either practically or as a hypothetical end goal?" Kesar asked.
"Your First Captain is quite exceptional, isn't he?" Eli seemed to go off on a tangent, "Ahriman is one of the most knowledgeable minds on the warp, Dantioch is an exceptional commander, Maticus a peerless swordsman, and I could go on for days on the finest in the Imperium. Imagine if you would, a series of heavily augmented soldiers whose memories included the memories of these Astartes. Imagine the finest augmentations that you and Fabius could create spread en masse to the entirety of the Imperium." Eli chuckled, "It's quite the image, is it not?"
Kesar's initial thought was that memory doesn't equal experience, then he thought deeper into some of the warp lore he had been exploring in the past and his reading of the Emperor's notes. There were deeper implications to this, similar to how Astartes drew from the concept of heroism via their link to the Primarchs. "I've noticed you've only named Astartes, is there a reason for that?"
"Well, there are non-Astartes among the names. Plenty, in fact. It's just that I figure you'd be most interested in topics related to the Astartes. And, if I am being honest, transhuman soldiers have exceeded expectations." Eli responded, studying Kesar's expression as he spoke. When he saw Kesar's continued pondering, the Lord Commander Militant remarked, "and it seems there's something more to it."
"One moment," the Primarch replied, taking out a dataslate which contained a condensed version of his notes. Flicking through it, Kesar began to perform a series of complex calculations and analyses, cross-referencing several times with both his notes and the Emperor. Eli sat back in his seat, his usual smirk fading into something more contemplative and analytical. "There are a few modifications that can be made, strip out the memories of simple conflicts and focus more on key moments in their life."
Eli made a note on his own dataslate. "How come?" He asked curiously.
"You've stumbled on something more worthwhile than I think you intended." Kesar began to explain, as Eli seemed to light up with delight. "Your project appears to be partially operating off of the same concepts as Astartes, although the links will be far more tenuous. There are some risks to it that won't be apparent until they're produced en masse, but I would recommend dulling the memories considerably to avoid oversaturating the memories they'd draw upon. I'll send you some documentation for why later, but I'd recommend hiring some additional staff to analyze them." The Primarch sheepishly dragged a hand through his hair. "They're not really understandable for anyone besides Primarchs."
"I'm quite glad I hired Fabius then," Eli chuckled, "he has been coming up with quite a few unique ideas, and I imagine you would as well." Kesar raised an eyebrow at the understatement. "That or overturn all existing scientific theory."
"I have made a habit of that," the Second Anathema dryly commented.
"Ha," the Lord Commander Militant laughed, "you really are the gift that keeps on giving. Can I assume you accept?"
"Come now Eli," Kesar's eyes glinted in amusement at the brazenness. "As much as I approve, this is still a favor to you, I need a little more before I accept."
"I'll authorize a discretionary budget for special Primarch research," came the response, which Eli had clearly prepared for. "Hmm, let's say enough to fund at least five comprehensive, large-scale, destructive experiments?"
Kesar's mind immediately went towards teleportation, which the Wardens had done some small-scale experiments for. If performed en-masse with servitors, however, … there was significant potential in that. Perhaps with it, teleportation could become outright reliable on massive scales.
[] Accept Eli's offer. Locks 5 research years in Years 51-55. Other unknowns.
[] Refuse Eli's offer. Leaves Years 51-55 free. Other unknowns.
[] Write-in
In either case, Fabius is still going to reach out with a request as well
[] Accept Fabius' request to vivisect Kesar in years 51-55. Locks 1 research year.
[] Reject Fabius' request to vivisect Kesar.
"The teacher must fix the mistakes of the student." - Skullface
GM Note: Special thanks to @argenten, @Ruirk, and @TinyGladiator for providing some neat snippets to incorporate into the update.
[X] Plan: To Build A Better Future, with Teleporters.
-[X] Warp Genetics x1
-[X] Thunder Warriors Genome x2 (to x4 if needed)
-[X] Master Understanding of Cultist Behavior x2
-[X] Advanced Cultist Countermeasures x1
-[X] Cultist Rituals x1
-[X] Void Shield Possible Mass Upgrade x1
-[X] You'll help Magnus with his own research x1 to x2 (Discard if needed for Thunder Warriors Genome)
-[X] Lion
-[X] Vulkan
-[X] The Presentation
-[X] Horus
-[X] Eli
-[X] Warp Genetics x1
-[X] Thunder Warriors Genome x2 (to x4 if needed)
-[X] Master Understanding of Cultist Behavior x2
-[X] Advanced Cultist Countermeasures x1
-[X] Cultist Rituals x1
-[X] Void Shield Possible Mass Upgrade x1
-[X] You'll help Magnus with his own research x1 to x2 (Discard if needed for Thunder Warriors Genome)
-[X] Lion
-[X] Vulkan
-[X] The Presentation
-[X] Horus
-[X] Eli
Kesar found himself with a rarity over the last few decades. With his time spent constantly refining his psychic control, he had the opportunity for research. And so he dove into it deeply, covering so many projects that he had left by the wayside. With the work his own sons had done, the work he had mentally covered, and the Emperor's notes, he was able to make great strides in a variety of fields.
His study of warp genetics was finally complete, and from it, he found a number of answers, but also far more questions. What he had found was that genetics covered a varying range of influence over the warp, with different manifestations of warp phenomena being affected by genetics in differing ways. Psychic ability for instance was just barely influenced by genetics, with minor statistical trends being observed across Svarga. Geneseed however, was heavily influenced by genetics, with that being the cause for the restrictive limits needed for one to become an Astartes.
*Warp Genetics Completes*
This directly led to a number of conclusions for his project in modeling navigator genes. Most of them, however, were negative. It seems out of reach for Kesar to create new navigator houses unless he found a breakthrough in another area. Due to the millennia that had passed since their creation, their genetics and created narrative had likely entered a self-reinforcing loop. Kesar did make a mental note that this was a postulate rather than a certainty, as he lacked the historical documentation needed to confirm his theory. Nonetheless, this resulted in a situation where the traditions of the navigator houses were a major reason for their abilities being as strong as required to navigate the warp. So, any new house would first need to have the same genetic modifications, but then they would also have to gain the traditions of houses that had existed for thousands of years. Both of these were major hurdles to overcome, yet perhaps in the future, it would be possible.
*Navigator Genome Modeling Completes*
His work on Thunder Warriors, however, was more dubious, as Kesar found himself pushed to the limit of his skills, and oftentimes found himself lacking key information. Even scouring the Emperor's notes, all he had learned was of their degradation and the fact that there appeared to be 5 MIA Thunder Warriors. As a result, Kesar was forced to work off of extrapolation and theory, which admittedly were well supplemented by some of the experiments he could perform. The conclusion he came to was that the Thunder Warriors were an impossibility, which couldn't be the case. Sending off a copy of those notes to Fabius, who agreed with his conclusions, didn't resolve much, resulting in the needed extrapolation. There was nothing in the genetics or narrative that let them survive. Nor would Terra's narrative assist them. Leading to a conclusion that explained quite a bit about why the Emperor had felt confident reviving Angron.
To make the Thunder Warriors work, the Emperor had paved over the cracks in their existence by using their soul as glue. Which resulted in their souls slowly being drained in an effort to ensure their augments continued to function. And in the end, there was only one possible ending. Madness then death.
*Thunder Warriors Genome Completes.*
Then Kesar began to work on a research project that the Wardens had made a surprising amount of progress in already. It was at times like this where the Second Anathema felt pride in his sons, where he could see their collective effort rising to the level of a Primarch. Perhaps given enough time they would have been able to find the same conclusions that he was able to. No, that was a certainty. Auro's understanding of rituals, Baldur's ability to understand everyone's darkest secrets, and Oriacarius' ability to create innumerable contingencies were all further elevated by the rest of the Wardens, creating an ever-growing expansion of dark lore and artifacts that only a handful were allowed to know of.
A set of 20 ships, all with a crew chosen specifically for their mental strength. Each of these vessels was heavily runed, with the mortal crew all but entirely removed where possible. Each of these vessels contained information covering daemons and cults, providing a series of detailed analyses of cultists and the link to their gods. Warning signs, and subtle manipulations, were all described. Kesar even convinced Alpharius to forward him details of Alpha Legion operations against several Chaotic agents to supplement the Warden's own historical records. Five copies were made, distributed on five vessels, with another vessel housing daemonic artifacts the Wardens had yet to destroy. And the other 14 acted as decoys. Improving from this would be a gargantuan task, yet one Kesar suspected they may be able to do sooner than any expect.
*+1 Anti-Daemon. Svarga gains a small bonus against Chaos cults. The Imperium gains a very small bonus against Chaos cults.*
*Master Understanding of Cultist Behavior Completes*
*Advanced Cultist Countermeasures Completes*
*Cultist Rituals Completes*
The last bit of research Kesar did on his own was on refining his void shield designs for mass production. This proved to be a massive challenge and required Kesar to constantly create new hardware and software. He went down over a dozen promising pathways, only to find dead ends in almost all areas. In the end, while he was able to reduce the difficulty in producing his void shields, as well as the cost. It was still far from cheap, and he expected that the Imperial Army would only use them on capital ships, hives, and major installations. But perhaps in the future, it may be able to refine it further.
*Void Shield Possible Mass Upgrade Completes. Multiple projects for the Imperial Army have begun.*
The last bit of work performed by the Second Anathema was assisting Magnus with his projects. While Kesar didn't have enough time to hold a lengthy discussion with his brother, he was nonetheless able to find the time to at least work together with him. Initially, the XIth Primarch expected to work as a co-lead on the Cyclops' project studying the interactions between psykers and blanks. However, Magnus seemed to have been struck by inspiration, which in turn led to Kesar acting more as his brother's assistant than anything else.
What they wound up discovering was further information on the soul. With the Thousand Sons discovering a psyker with a blank arm grafted onto their body (why that was, Kesar really didn't want to know), the Legion had been blessed with a unique opportunity to study interactions in detail. Independently verifying Grey Soul theory, this apparently was a significant enough breakthrough to cause Magnus to genuinely smile despite his stress, which Kesar was glad for.
The theory itself described the soul as two components, a materium side and an immaterium side. Psykers had large immaterium souls, while blanks lacked it entirely. There were additional details related to what the two parts of the soul actually did, but most of that was speculation. Unless one asked Magnus, who had several beyond-esoteric proofs that required the Cyclops to create an entirely new mathematical framework to even get the ideas across in the first place. Kesar admitted he didn't understand it himself, and he genuinely doubted anyone besides maybe the Emperor would. Still, it was seemingly a major step forward, and for that, Kesar was happy for his brother.
Kesar entered Eli's office, recognizing two of his guards. "I didn't realize the Sisters of Silence provided bodyguards."
One of the Sisters seemed to shift, but Kesar was familiar enough with them to see it for what it actually was. A response to his statement that only a select handful would be able to translate. 'We have our reasons.'
"Truthfully I wasn't expecting it either," Lord Commander Militant Eli replied. "I approached them for a few projects, including several I expected them to reject." Eli seemed to catch himself before he began rambling. "Ah, but we can discuss this later. Lord Primarch Dorlin, I'm very happy you agreed to meet me."
"It was no issue, your request was rather intriguing." Kesar chuckled, "and I doubt anyone has missed the Imperial Army's massive expenditures. Your schedule must be filled with meeting requests by now."
"Several of those were from your brothers," Eli replied. "I do hope Lord Primarch Vulkan isn't offended that his request was one that I had to reject, but Lord Primarch Guilliman was rather insistent."
"Really?" Kesar frowned, wondering why that was the case before realizing. "Oh … how large is the Imperium's deficit?"
Eli winced, "120%."
"..." Kesar choked. "How?"
"It's an unfortunate necessity," Eli walked over to a case filled with dataslates, running his eyes over them before finding the one he was seeking. "There were two competing issues, a lack of funds and a lack of military strength. As the Imperium absolutely cannot afford to lose its military strength, there was only one real option."
"But 120%? In a mere five years, we'll have tripled the debt gained from the entirety of the Crusade!" Kesar couldn't even find the correct words to begin formulating how absurd this situation was. "What are you even spending this on?"
"The future, Lord Dorlin. That and so much more. Ah, but I should probably explain things before I start rambling about visions and whatnot." Eli handed over the dataslate to Kesar, who immediately began to look at the charts.
"Doubling funding for the Imperial Army's logistics, approving 15 major projects among the Imperial Army, tripling the budget available for Primarch projects, and doubling the classified budget," Kesar commented as he went through the information provided. "Is this truly necessary?"
"Much as you have done as well Lord Dorlin in fact, I have heard that your domain shall become one of the most advanced and productive domains of the empire, once certain...elements are brought to manage."
"Can I count on your assistance?" Kesar saw the opportunity and seized it, from what he had seen of Eli, the man seemed dependable. And would likely agree to his request.
"Hopefully it'll be addressed swiftly, thanks in no small part to your generous donations of troops." Eli smiled, like a shark circling a wounded fish, "With the recent muster, we will be able to ensure the Svarga branch of the Imperial Army will be fully purged of malfeasant elements as soon as possible."
"I was planning on recruiting another two trillion guardsmen over the following years."
"There's no need for that," Eli waved off Kesar's offer. "I've already organized a task force dedicated towards this. In the following years, Svarga, Ultramar, and Deliverance will be seeing significant reinforcements. The efforts of you, Guilliman, and Corvus have coincided nicely with our efforts to bring the Imperial Army to where it should be. We will also be providing greater funding towards your domain to ensure your investment strategy is able to move forward, as will that of the other Primarchs."
"That's wonderful," Kesar said, feeling a bit more nervous than he seemed at the thought of yet more expenses. "But can the Imperium afford it?"
Eli seemed more than a little annoyed at the question but swallowed whatever irritation he had before responding. "There is a reason why I outsourced this to economic experts. They determined that money spent by a Primarch has the best investment value."
"Strange of them to suggest that since I've heard quite a bit of pushback on our projects, considering what your predecessor thought," Kesar replied, irritated by Eli's response, but willing to push past it.
"Lord Baelsar believed that there wasn't much hope in trying to fix the economy without a tediously cautious approach to it. As you can tell, I disagree with that assertion." Eli explained.
"So you are saying that he was wrong?"
"I'm saying that he wasn't looking for the right answers or willing to entertain them."
"Has your approach found these right answers?" The Primarch was careful to keep his tone curious rather than accusatory.
"Yes," Eli smirked, "In ten years' time, the Imperial Army's strength per regiment will have doubled, with their cost having fallen by a third."
"Your confidence is impressive, I will admit." But Kesar also thought this plan was sounding a bit too "enthusiastic" with its spending. Still, the results sounded quite promising. "As for the economy itself, I imagine there has been a stimulus of sorts. Although has it kept up with inflation?"
"We don't yet know," Eli responded, "it takes time for changes to propagate in the Imperium, but so far we've seen wealth increases be projected at 8% annually, with a 7% inflation rate."
"What do you mean by wealth? GDP, GDP per capita?"
"GDP per capita," Eli explained, "notably, this is projected to be uniform across social classes due to the increased requirements for workers creating heightened competition between manufacturers for people to create their products."
"And this is deemed sustainable?" Kesar questioned, knowing that such rapid growth could often be temporary.
"If the money remains well spent in preparations for the future, yes. Much like war, economics can often be a matter of preparations and execution. We simply need to build up, and allow for our income to rise to the level of our expenses."
That was all well and good, but Kesar was still wondering why Eli believed so strongly in his decisions. "I can see why Guilliman was rather insistent on meeting you."
"I have been preparing rather extensively for that," Eli grinned as he waved towards the copious organized dataslates. "But perhaps we could refocus on what I wished to accomplish during this meeting?"
"Very well." Kesar accepted, knowing that Guilliman would be the one following up with questions far more detailed than himself. "You mentioned the Rune World and Project GI?"
"Yes, the Rune World. A fascinating read. I wish I could say I understand most of it. Extraordinary research. Sadly, much of my time has been spent in more practical endeavors."
Kesar almost didn't pick up on the backhanded compliment. He didn't bring it up, though. "I assume its budget has been tripled?"
Eli nodded, "Yes, but I would like to preemptively purchase 80% of its production for the next 500 years."
"I wasn't expecting that," Kesar idly replied. "It's a tall order."
"I'm willing to help make it work. Believe me."
"That I do, you seem quite aggressive in your economic policy." If Eli noticed the backhanded compliment, he didn't show it. "What do you plan to use it for?"
"The wargames are still underway, but I expect them to be used to supplement elite Solar Auxilia spearheads."
"Are you saying there is enough money within the treasury for you to purchase 80% of runes completed? On top of tripling the budget?
"I don't need to pay in just money, yes? Besides, any agreement made between us would require further extrapolation of how to make this work. But as I said, I am ready to make this happen."
"And what do you have to offer?"
"Project GI."
"...You are a rather surprising mortal," Kesar commented, not expecting that to be the bribe. "I'm starting to think Roboute might try something out of character for him when he arrives and speaks with you."
"I hope he at least hears me out first," Eli laughed, "it'd be a shame to leave this office in pieces before asking him to take over the Imperium's central bank."
"...we have a bank?"
"I said the same," Eli chuckled, clearly enjoying the expression on Kesar's face. "But it seems we do, it acts as a central currency exchange, which is how guardsmen get paid."
"That seems a step removed from an actual bank, I've been working with several regional banks in Svarga for investments, and they do quite a lot more than that."
"Which is why I want Guilliman to take control of it and expand its responsibilities dramatically," Eli replied with a hungry look in his eye. "I see so many possibilities in the future if I was in charge, can you imagine what Guilliman would be capable of?"
"Aren't you worried about an erosion of power within your office if my brother was taking charge of things?"
Eli waved off the rather credible danger, "Yes, yes. A loss of political power for the good of the state. There are far worse fates."
"You should know, for all that Guilliman's administration skills are second to none, he is not one to expand his previous powers unless circumstances strongly push him to it. Ultramar does still go through the process of democratic voting after all." Kesar explained, "There was also concern his realm would gain too much control over the Imperium."
"He already has it, this would remove the pretense of it being otherwise."
"...Not inaccurate," Kesar muttered, knowing just how necessary Ultramar's bailout of the Imperium was.
"As I said, there are far worse fates."
"Alright, so how is Project GI going to convince me to sell runes for free?" Kesar sidestepped the statement, but he couldn't say Eli was wrong.
"How many guardsmen worth of supersoldiers would you like?" Eli smiled widely. "The end state of Project GI will be 500 trillion, but there are multiple steps along the way."
"You're rather confident in a project that's just started," Kesar dryly observed, "and one you likely want my help with."
"Of course. We both stand to benefit." Eli answered, keeping that ridiculous smile on his face.
"When you say 'supersoldier', what is it that you intend? Either practically or as a hypothetical end goal?" Kesar asked.
"Your First Captain is quite exceptional, isn't he?" Eli seemed to go off on a tangent, "Ahriman is one of the most knowledgeable minds on the warp, Dantioch is an exceptional commander, Maticus a peerless swordsman, and I could go on for days on the finest in the Imperium. Imagine if you would, a series of heavily augmented soldiers whose memories included the memories of these Astartes. Imagine the finest augmentations that you and Fabius could create spread en masse to the entirety of the Imperium." Eli chuckled, "It's quite the image, is it not?"
Kesar's initial thought was that memory doesn't equal experience, then he thought deeper into some of the warp lore he had been exploring in the past and his reading of the Emperor's notes. There were deeper implications to this, similar to how Astartes drew from the concept of heroism via their link to the Primarchs. "I've noticed you've only named Astartes, is there a reason for that?"
"Well, there are non-Astartes among the names. Plenty, in fact. It's just that I figure you'd be most interested in topics related to the Astartes. And, if I am being honest, transhuman soldiers have exceeded expectations." Eli responded, studying Kesar's expression as he spoke. When he saw Kesar's continued pondering, the Lord Commander Militant remarked, "and it seems there's something more to it."
"One moment," the Primarch replied, taking out a dataslate which contained a condensed version of his notes. Flicking through it, Kesar began to perform a series of complex calculations and analyses, cross-referencing several times with both his notes and the Emperor. Eli sat back in his seat, his usual smirk fading into something more contemplative and analytical. "There are a few modifications that can be made, strip out the memories of simple conflicts and focus more on key moments in their life."
Eli made a note on his own dataslate. "How come?" He asked curiously.
"You've stumbled on something more worthwhile than I think you intended." Kesar began to explain, as Eli seemed to light up with delight. "Your project appears to be partially operating off of the same concepts as Astartes, although the links will be far more tenuous. There are some risks to it that won't be apparent until they're produced en masse, but I would recommend dulling the memories considerably to avoid oversaturating the memories they'd draw upon. I'll send you some documentation for why later, but I'd recommend hiring some additional staff to analyze them." The Primarch sheepishly dragged a hand through his hair. "They're not really understandable for anyone besides Primarchs."
"I'm quite glad I hired Fabius then," Eli chuckled, "he has been coming up with quite a few unique ideas, and I imagine you would as well." Kesar raised an eyebrow at the understatement. "That or overturn all existing scientific theory."
"I have made a habit of that," the Second Anathema dryly commented.
"Ha," the Lord Commander Militant laughed, "you really are the gift that keeps on giving. Can I assume you accept?"
"Come now Eli," Kesar's eyes glinted in amusement at the brazenness. "As much as I approve, this is still a favor to you, I need a little more before I accept."
"I'll authorize a discretionary budget for special Primarch research," came the response, which Eli had clearly prepared for. "Hmm, let's say enough to fund at least five comprehensive, large-scale, destructive experiments?"
Kesar's mind immediately went towards teleportation, which the Wardens had done some small-scale experiments for. If performed en-masse with servitors, however, … there was significant potential in that. Perhaps with it, teleportation could become outright reliable on massive scales.
[] Accept Eli's offer. Locks 5 research years in Years 51-55. Other unknowns.
[] Refuse Eli's offer. Leaves Years 51-55 free. Other unknowns.
[] Write-in
In either case, Fabius is still going to reach out with a request as well
[] Accept Fabius' request to vivisect Kesar in years 51-55. Locks 1 research year.
[] Reject Fabius' request to vivisect Kesar.
Robinton
Probably petting Schrödinger's cat
- Location
- Scientifically proving a miracle
Interesting... Thanks for the update!
Twice in Kesar's conversation with Eli, the two mirror each other:
Additionally, while this is very much a wild thought, do you know who has ridiculous smiles?
(Yeah, wild thought.)
Twice in Kesar's conversation with Eli, the two mirror each other:
Interesting...
Additionally, while this is very much a wild thought, do you know who has ridiculous smiles?
Clowns of Cegorach: that's who!
(Yeah, wild thought.)