NOTE ON
LANGUAGE
The common language of the
Imperium is represented by English, proper names have been rendered in an anglicised form.
Many of the titles of ancient institutions and organisations are presented as Latinised
English (such as the Adeptus Terra). This represents an older tongue, itself a development
of Twentieth Century languages, not necessarily Latin as such.
This older tongue is known in the
Imperium as "Tech", being a version of the language in which technical rituals
and ancient works are recorded. This developed during the Dark Age of Technology (in fact
a golden age from the point of view of science - it is only dark in the minds of the men
who now fear it). It derives from the common tongue of the time, an assimilation of
English, European and Pacific languanges which developed over many centuries in the
American/Pacific region. This was the universal medium of written record until the Age of
Strife, and was spoken as a first language by many and as a second languange by almost
everyone. Its idioms and vocabulay now appear archaic and mystic, many of its words have
acquired religious significance over the years. It is the language of the Tech-priests and
of forbidden books.
The common tongue of the Age of
the Imperium is spoken as a first language on almost all civilised planets, and is
accepted as a second language on planets within Imperial control with the exception of
some medieval and feral worlds. This is a bastardised version of Tech, combining
additional elements from several of the oriental languages of ancient Earth. Over the
millennia it has changed greatly, and now bears almost no resemblance to the tongues from
which it derived. Although a common language, it varies fiom planet to planet (and even
from region to region), so that it is not always easy for two characters to communicate if
they are from different worlds.
Medival, feral and
worlds suffering from long periods of isolation may have several indigenous languages
derived either from Tech or one of the ancient Earth tongues. It was quite common during
the Dark Age of Technology for worlds to be settled by small communities of
'isolationists'. These eccentric groups were often self financed and their journals
unrecorded, many were of racial minorities attempting to recreate a sense of national
identity away from the overpopulated Earth. Some of these groups made a deliberate attempt
to revive long dead or moribund languages, perceiving them as a source of national
identity and communal strength.
NOTE ON THE
TECHNOLOGY IN THE AGE OF THE IMPERIUM
Except on the
occasions where a technical explanation or description was felt useful to an understanding
of the rules, such explanations have generally been avoided. The book contains few
descriptions of how specific items are used or function - it is enough within the context
of the game that the item has the effects attributed to it. This has been a deliberate
policy throughout the rules. The main reason for this is simply that the Age of the
Imperium is not a technically inclined age, to have included descriptions of 'head-up
dispays', 'computer links', etc, would have given the wtong impression entirely. This is
an age where problems are solved by brute force and ignorance, where dangers are either
too gross or too unthinkable to elicit any other response. The other reason why technical
description has been avoided is that the Age of the Imperium lies more than forty thousand
years in the future - at a stage in history when those head-up displays and computers are
about as innovative as storte circles. What scientific knowledge persists from the Dark
Age of Technology is far above and beyond anything we can imagine from the perspective of
the Twentieth Century. That understanding lies only with a select few - the Adeptus
Mechanicus - the Tech-priests of the Imperium. Even their knowledge is somewhat debased,
and the popular image of technology can be compared with that of witchcraft in medieval
times. Those who come into contact with technology use it with reservations and a
reveicnce that are almost religious. The Space Marines, for example, treat their equipment
and armour as if if were imbued with a will of its own - a fine chest-plate, well looked
after and constandy maintained may reward its wearer by saving his fife; whereas a Marine
who neglects his equipment may be struck down by a leaking suit or malfunctioning weapons.
Such is the will of the Gods.
While it is
impossible to speculate with any certainty on the technical developments of the next forty
millennia, it has obviously been necessary to make assumptions during the construction of
this game. The greatest assumption has involved the creation of a broad history and a
universe populated by a variety of dangers. The people of the far future are mentally very
different from those of today - they have a way of looking at things in which twentieth
century ideas of efficiency and morality are irrelevant. Their technology reflects both
their past (an age of discovery and achievement) with their future (an age of danger and
survival).
TRANSMISSION
SYSTEMS
Electricity formed the single
most important form of transmissible energy for a very long time, and still plays a role
in the Imperium. It is one of the primary motivating forces in nature, and has
applications which make it ideal as an interface between the biological and physical
worlds. The most significant advance in the field of electronics was the development of
Stacked Atomic Chains - or 'stacks'. Atoms within a small piece of material are arranged
in rows and patterns, forming the basis for molecular level circuitry. Using this
technique miniaturisation reached its ultimate form - so that few devices have to be any
larger than necessitated by controls or aesthetics. Stacks use an extremely low voltage,
depending on perfect refining techniques for their raw materials, and perfect simulation
during operation. The natural electricity radiated by a human would destroy an unprotected
stack based system.
Photon lines are an extremely
refined development of the fibre optic principle. Flexible hair-fine strands made from
ceramic based materials are used to transmit laser light signals to photon-powered
actuators. A single strand can handle a lot of information, but most systems are so
complex they require a bundle of cables to function.
Phased Crystals use crystal
technology to transmit a signal - although they provide no power. The conductive matenal
is crystalline, exploiting the way in which a chain of crystals change shape when
subjected to varying heat/pressure or energy fields. Phased crystals are the chief
components in monitoring devices, and act as regulators of other systems.
Hydroplastics transmit power
directly by pressure, or activate other systems by the same means. Hydroplastic lines of a
suitably small bore are highly efficient, yet technically simple, means of powering a
system. Bore diameters are on the molecular level. Hydroplastic actuators (small motors
which transmit energy into physical movement) are perhaps the most common type.
Sucrosol is the usual
abbreviation for Sucrose based solution. It is a synthetic blood designed to feed cultured
bio-tissues by means of osmotic pressure. Sucrosol is used by all mechanisms incorporating
bio-engineered parts, including robots. It is usually white.
Radio signal is
essentially the same as in prior ages, although equipment now has the ability to utilise
far narrower wave bands.
GENERATION
SYSTEMS
Crystal Batteries are based on
specially engineered crystal structures with the ability to absorb energy modifying thcir
crystalline form in the process. The absorbed energy is released slowly as the material's
structure reverts back to its original form. Units of such crystals may be rechargcd
almost indefinitely. Some units can be recharged by heating (even exposure to daylight),
whilst the most powerful are designed to hold an electric charge and must be recharged
from an electric generator.
Plasma is the purest form of
energy it is possible to generate - essentially the component material of stars. It is
completely ionized matter consisting of free sub-atomic particles maintained at incredibly
high temperatures. Plasma must be transmitted along armoured coils and contained within a
magnetic field. Plasma is little used in the Age of the Imperium, the safety margins
necessary for its containment are too tight. Regarded as old fashioned, it is still used
to power steam or photon based generators and is used for space drives.
Conventional - on
most worlds electric or photon power is generated by wind, tide, photo-cell or by burning
something. On many other remoter worlds machinery is powered directly by wind, steam,
combustible fuels or good old animal power. Isolated settlements make the best use of
local resources.
MOTORS AND
ACTUATORS
Hydraulic actuators rely on
hydroplastic pressure to power components. These are commonly used in robotic systems and
to power sub-systems on vehicles, in buildings, etc.
Electrically Motivated Fibre
Bundles are made from a fibre that contracts under the influence of an electric charge,
replicating die actions of living muscles. They form the chief components of bionic parts,
and are used in many robots. Powered armour and Dreadnoughts use this technology almost
exclusively, as it is far more efficient and faster than equivalent hydrauhc or mechanical
systems - ir is also difficult to produce and therefore rare.
Gravitic Reactors
are powered from a surrounding magnetic field - such as a planet. They have the ability to
counteract gravitational affects, and form the basis for gravity based motors, and
suspensors. The technology used in their manufacture belongs to the past. Fortunately a
vast reserve of raw material still remains on Earth, from which gravitic reactors can be
made utilising conventional technology. Once this store of material is used up, however,
further production will be impossible.
CONTROL SYSTEMS
The actual appearance of
equipment is as variable as the populatons of the different planets. With over a million
worlds in the Imperium, local tastes and materials will inevitable produce a riot of
different forms. Some worlds favour an archaic pattern of instrumentation, believing that
the arrangements of buttons and levers form part of a runic pattern itself important to
proper functioning. Other worlds prefer to mimic the higher technical achievenents of
their ancestors, utilising the more advanced (although no more effective) pure crystal or
holographic control systems. When it comes down to it, all are forms of pushing a button,
and are equally effective. Only if characters encounter a system radically different from
one they are used to will problems arise.
Archaic controls are basically
buttons, levers, switches and dials set into a panel and monitored by video, digital or
dial display. This is the sort of thing anyone from the Twentieth Century could easily
understand and use.
Pure Crystal Technology and
stacked atomic chains have no visible components - control panels often take the form of
either black slabs of material or transparent sheets like glass. Held by suspensors, an
inactive control panel could appear as a floating pane of glass or slab of stone - the
same panel could be recessed into fioor or ceilin and might float into position by vocal
command, radio-signal, pressure sensors, presence detectors, etc. A panel is activated by
coded radio-signal, voice or simply by touch. An active panel displays information
visually like a vid-screen. Its equivalent of buttons are differently coloured lights
which are touch or heat sensitive.
Holographic Projection envelops
the user in holographic images somewhat a three-dimensional wrap-round vid-screen.
Activation is usually by presence, or by any of the methods used for crystal technology -
so the operator simply sits in a control seat to activate the 'panel'. The projection can
be manipulated to provide monitoring or control functions. Projectors sense the movement
of the user's eyes and limbs and translate these into instructions - the user only has to
press imaginary buttons! This is the most specialised type of tactile panel, being almost
impossible for the uninitiated to use. The slightest gesture will change the entire
set-up, and unique arm/hand/finger and eye movements form the basis of the operating
procedure.
Mind Impulse
dispenses with any sort of panel or control gear, allowing the user to control and monitor
a system by thought alone. These system are technically complex and producing them is
difficult. Consequently they are rare. Their most common appiication is in Dreadnought
suits: some spacecraft employ mind impulse links but this is not usual. Such devices
require considerable training to use at all, and a great deal of practice if they are to
be used efficiently. The physical component is a headring which picks up and amplifies the
wearer's instructions. A cruder, but equally effective, version is the spinal tap. This is
engineered into the wearer's spinal cortex and works in the same way as the headring but
is difficult to remove without causing physical or mental damage.
SKINPLANTS AND
ELECTOOS
A development of crystal
technology is its use for personal ornamentation. Many races apply paint or tattoos and
within the Imperium the practice is common. This is true of all levels of society, from
the lowly city-scum of the hive-worlds to the most sophisticated of the Adeptus Terra.
Amongst government servants and employees of the Navigator families these marks serve as
identification as well as ornament. Devices are also used as secret signs by governmental
and anarchist agents, psychic covens and pirates. Tattooing is commordy achieved using
materials and technology of a very ancient kind - although the inks used can be of any
colour (including flourescent) and can be removable, temporary or degenerative when
exposed to light, laser light, heat. etc.
Skinplants are sophisticated
tattoos - very sophisticated. The miniaturisation possible using crystal technology makes
it possible to create a functioning device between layers of skin. The device cannot
include mechanical components or utilise large amounts of power. The most popular
application of this idea is to power and control an electrically sensitive tattoo. So, any
citizen with sufficient credit can have a device or logo on their forehead which actually
lights up and fiashes! This can be either controllable, light-sensitive or a permanent
fixture. The subcutaneous wristwatch is a standard way of carrying the time - light
pressure on the wrist activates the digital display beneath the skin. A character could
even go to the lengths of having an entire limb or his whole body glow if he wanted! A
light emitting patch on the palm will illuminate a small area within 10 cm and is
popularly known as the 'thief's light', providing sufficient light to pick locks, operate
switches, etc.
Electoos also utilise crystal
technology, but involve a lot more work and a great deal of skill to create. An inert
layer of conductive material is inserted beneath the skin, sometimes it is injected and
allowed time to form before the process can continue. Crystal stacks are built up on this
film and waste material is dissoived out. The Electoo can then be programmed to function
as any control or monitoring device. On Earth everyone carries an electoo containing
personal details, credit ratings, security grades and details of social record - these act
as police files and automatic credit facilities. Sensors at building entrances read the
details of every electoo carrying individual that passes them - so a constant record can
be build up of anyone's movements. Similarly when an individual buys anything, a
till-sensor automatically modifies the credit rating of the electoo accordingly. The
system is also used throughout the Adeptus Terra and on some imperial worlds either
generally or within specific social levels. As electoos are invisible they are ideal for
carrying secret messages - information is coded so as to be almost useless except to the
intended recipient. A character carrying a Electoo need not be aware of the fact, and
certainly wouldn't be aware of its contents. Eiectoos carrying secret messages can be
split between several people and only work when joined.
Electrografts are a
special form of electoo engineered directly onto the recipient's cerebellum. This involves
cutting away a portion of skull and creating the electoo directiy on the brain tissue
before (usually) replacing the section of cranium or covering with synthetic material. An
electrograft reacts with the brain to alter a creature's memory, personality and
knowledge. Many of the Imperium's technollogical secrets are passed on by this means, and
it is certainly a quick and easy way to learn how to speak new languages, operate
machinery, etc. On the other hand, interferance with the mind tends to cause personality
disorders, problems with memory recall and occasionally total mental breakdown. Once
inserted an electrograft can be reprogrammed almost indefinitely, although repeated re-use
accelerates the degenerative process.
STANDARD
TEMPLATE CONSTRUCTS
During the Dark Age of Technology
humanity travelled throughout the galaxy, founding new colonies and exploring new worlds.
Many of these colonies failed to establish themselves, others were lost, whilst a few grew
into independent civilisations with distinctive cultures. Most however, established a
subsistence economy and simply stopped. In such an environment the impetus for change was
very low; everything the citizens needed was at hand, their new world supplied them with
food, and the store of knowiedge brought from Earth enabled them to maintain a high
technological base without a technological society. In part this was a result of the
Standard Template Construct system carried by every colony.
The heart of the STC system was
an evolved computer program designed to provide construction details for the colonists.
Its prime function was to enable the colonists to build efficient shelters, generators and
transports without any prior knowledge and using almost any locally available materials.
The user simply asked how to built a house or a tractor and the computer supplied all the
necessary plans - in short it was idiot proof. Many humans attribute the entire Orkish
civilisation to early STC svstenis - but the truth will never be known.
The Age of Technology ended in
inter-human war and anarchy. The STC systems that had helped to build it either lapsed
into disuse or decayed so that they became increasingiy unreliable and quirky. On some
worids they were maintained, but most suffered damage by enthusiastic software specialists
or subsequent jury-rigging. Hard copies of the information they contained survived much
longer, and were frequently copied and passed down from generation to generation. Today,
in the Age of the Imperium, the familiar designs of the STC are still discernable in the
shapes of vehicles, spacecraft and buildings. The Adeptus Mechanicus on Earth make it
their business to collate and utilise STC material - it is their equivalent to a holy
text, a font of all knowledge (which is exactly what it was intended to be).
One result of the STC system and
its pivotal place in human development is that many worlds now utilise designs and
machinery of a similar type. Of course, the millennia have wrought changes in the basic
utilitarian devices proscribed by the STC, but many humans adhere religiously to the old
designs. STC designs were intended to be able to cope with anything - by the standards of
the day they were rough and ready, big and brutish, hard to damage and easy to repair.
Because they were intended for use by unqualified people their power-plants mere based
around commonly obtainable materials, employing steam power, wind power, water power and
combustion engines. High-tech material was described too (although rarely used) and
designs were provided for full-scale nuclear power-grids and fission processors. However
few people understood these, and the need for power was supplied quite easily by
conventional means. Consequently hard copies were rarely taken and gradually written texts
became lost or hopelessly distorted.
The weapons, vehicles and much of
the equipment described in this book have their roots in the STC system. Fighting vehicles
often look like tractors and prime movers because that's exactly what they were copied
from! STC designs can be produced in almost any materal; wood, plastic, concrete, steel,
plastic, etc, and can be replicated on almost any world that has raw materials of some
kind. Uncorrupted STC systems are unknown and after so many years will probably remain so.
Nonetheless, finding such a system is regarded by many Tech-priests as their ultimate goal
- a sort of quest for the holy grail. Legends surround the existence of lost, functioning
STC systems, but whether they have any basis in truth is anyone's guess.