Introduction
The Warhammer 40k franchise is at its core based in the tradition of science fiction, as a result, technology and science are essential themes to the narrative. Technology and discussions of scientific discoveries being a cornerstone in much of modern as well as classic science-fiction.
As with earlier parts, we are going to discuss these phenomenons through the lens of the Imperium of Mankind, the representation for humanity within the Warhammer universe.
We will later discuss how science and technology is presented in the franchise as a whole. For now what you need to know is that within the universe there exists a source sometimes referred to as magic and sometimes referred to as psychic powers. The line between these powers and technology is often highly blurred, as well as the line between magic and psychic powers. It is with this setting in mind that we will discuss the technology of the IoM. (Hill 2016)
Analysis
The imperium of mankind is described as stagnant at, or rapid regression at worse. Much of their technological advancement is lost to time, and what small slivers of technology that remains are seen with fear and suspicion. Especially any form of artificial intelligence is strictly forbidden. In the core Codex for the faction Astra Militarium (Hill 2016) this ban is described to be a result of superstitious and conservative ways of the Adeptus Mechanicus. This religious order is tasked with taking care of, and researching what technological wonders humanity still has left. Were one to read closer though, further texts discuss a war between man and armies of man and an army of artificially intelligent robots. This war is the true reason for the outlawing of many technologies. (Hill 2016) This is just one example of how the Warhammer 40k franchises uses unreliable narrators and conflicting narratives are used to create a fuller universe as well as a sense of mystery and intrigue. With unreliable narrators I am referring to that can be implicit or explicit, who present a wholly or partly false picture of the events in the narrative. This narrator often presents a third person narrative, but at some points, such as with letters and other metafictional texts, presents their text in a second person narrative.
In the Imperium of Mankind is a human component used to compensate for many advanced mechanics components that have been lost to time. One example of these human and machine hybrids in the service of humanity are droids known as “servitors”.
Source: http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Servitor
The picture above is an example of a mindless servitor used universally within the IoM. They do everything from help navigate star ships to harvest crops. Some of the more advanced servitors are wired directly into larger machines. These lobotomized humans are used as a loophole to keep using the technology that originally used artificial intelligence without breaking the taboo set by the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Source: https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Servitor
As you can tell from these two pictures these Servitors are as varied in use, as they are in design. The Imperium also uses so-called “servo skulls”. Human skulls adorned with technological components capable of carrying out simple tasks. (Hill 2016).
These machine/human creations help further the atmosphere of stagnation and backwardness to the IoM. These creations also add an element of body horror to the setting. Humans are quite literally being made into the machinery that they work and die for.
Scrolls, quills and papyrus are common visual elements of the Imperium of Mankind, as well as candles and other primitive forms of lighting. These elements are often paired with highly technologically advanced elements such as robots, lasers, advanced prosthetics or huge spaceships. This apparent disparity is what we are going to discuss in the remainder of this chapter.
Source: http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Adeptus_Administratum
Many of the visual cues, such as skulls and scrolls can also be prevalently seen in Games Workshops other tabletop series Warhammer Fantasy (Cruddace 2011). Skulls and scrolls are a particularly common theme in this setting. As both franchises are owned and produced by the same company, it’s understandable that some visual elements carry over. In fact the trend of mixing sci-fi tropes with elements from their Fantasy series is something that we will see more and more of as this series continues. Candles and parchments make us think of the medieval dark ages, of monks and scribes of old. This leads us to how knowledge creators and preservers are depicted in the setting. By this I mean, individuals that is responsible for creating, distribution and curating knowledge. There are the above mentioned adeptus mechanicus, but also what Hills (2016) text call scribes and clerics of the adeptus administratum. Both departments take their names from Latin, or “high gothic”. Adeptus being able to be translated to overtaken or belonging to something, and mechanicus and administratum being engineer and administrator respectively. These titles would suggest that the individuals have been overtaken by their profession. Above we see a member of the Administrarium, as you can see he is dressed in a robe much like a western medieval monk.
All these elements bring together to create a very archaic feeling of stagnation. If we tie these elements with what we discussed in the earlier chapter, will we start to get a notion of what kind of place the Imperium of mankind truly is.
Next time to follow up on the same theme, we will take a closer look at the Adeptus Mechanicus and discuss more deeply how the 40k franchise uses dramatic irony to produce a sense of dread and horror.
References:
Cruddace.R (2011). The Empire. Games Workshop. Lenton, Nothingham.
Hill, J.D. (2016). Astra militarum. Games Workshop. Lenton, Nothingham.
Adeptus. (2017, June 27). In Wikipedia. Retrieved June 3, 2015, from
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/adeptus
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Under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. I do not claim to own an of the pictures in this post. Al copyrighted materials belongs to their respective owners.
This blog post was spell checked and edited for readability at 2021-06-08
An Unused Frequency 