Name of the Emperor

[lee265]

It could be geoerge but all we know is thats what he went by at the time he slayed the dragon. its probably a common name from Anatoly before the seljec turks arrived. but i don't have the ambition to put up with enough anthropology to discover what those are so I am sticking with Bob.

[Pcm979]

He walked the earth for at least 30,000 years before becoming the Emperor; He's probably had every name ever. If I were him I'd settle on being referred to by my job description too. :P

[Viray]

Was that tale about him being St. George in the fluff before Mechanicum? Is it not a general rule that anything written by the Black Library, especially by Graham Mcneil, should not be taken as canon?

 

Personally, I find it hard to swallow that the Emperor would not have united humanity much, much sooner if he truly had been around all those years. Personally, it sounds more like fun Imperial propoganda or some such, otherwise the forces of Chaos would not be entirely unjustified in thinking the Emperor an incompetent moron... :)

[Pcm979]

Well, he was kinda busy beating a star-god to submission with his bare hands and binding it eternally beneath the red rock of an uninhabitable planet. That probably took more than a weekend.

 

Remember, that's the only thing we know he did for sure; That probably means he did a great deal of other things along the same lines. For all we know, he spent most of those long millennia making the galaxy safe for Humanity. Earth had a good 18,000 year grace period before encountering the multitudinous horrors of the wider galaxy, and I doubt that was just a massive coincidence.

[Brother Rathul]

He dosen't need a name, if you say his real name you will be jumped by the Adeptus Custodes and round housed kicked.

Hunted dwon by the Inquisition,

or tortured by the Dark Angels for such heresy.

I was thinking Rudy :)

[Pcm979]

Actually, the joke's on all of you: His real name is Theodore M. Peror, voted "Most Likely To Become Immortal Master Of Mankind" in Anatolia National High, class of 10,000 B.S.T.H.H.Y. (Before Something That Hasn't Happened Yet).

[Exterminatus Machine]

I don't know the Emperors name, but the 4th C'tan is David Bowie...

[Walter Payton]

I have always liked to refer to him as Archie...

[Brother Captain Ming]

Actually, the joke's on all of you: His real name is Theodore M. Peror, voted "Most Likely To Become Immortal Master Of Mankind" in Anatolia National High, class of 10,000 B.S.T.H.H.Y. (Before Something That Hasn't Happened Yet).

 

sigged...

concerning the OP, I have no idea, but any that have been mentioned sound good enough...

[Starblayde]

Personally, I find it hard to swallow that the Emperor would not have united humanity much, much sooner if he truly had been around all those years. Personally, it sounds more like fun Imperial propoganda or some such, otherwise the forces of Chaos would not be entirely unjustified in thinking the Emperor an incompetent moron... :o

Building up humanity to the point where it could realistically band together and conquer the stars would, I imagine, take a very, very long time. Something along the lines of Fight Club philosophy where you can only become great after being completely demolished and deconstructed.

[Neonknight]

Maybe there was more than one "Emperor"?

Maybe he cloned himself over and over again or choosed secretly a successor, who was taking the role of the "Emperor" after he learned all the knowledge from him.

 

Or maybe the Emperor is just the greatest gamble of Tzeentch or a trick of one of the c"tan gods. :)

 

And I'm asking myself, why don't they just clone the Emperor or use his geneseed like in a similar way to create Space Marines.

[EPK]

Personally, I find it hard to swallow that the Emperor would not have united humanity much, much sooner if he truly had been around all those years. Personally, it sounds more like fun Imperial propoganda or some such, otherwise the forces of Chaos would not be entirely unjustified in thinking the Emperor an incompetent moron... ;)

 

Whose to say he didn't many times over in different capacities?

 

For all we know, he could have served as a major player in making the United Nations a formidable world political organization (that can actually enforce things) or later he could have been elected "President" of the world at some point due to his great charisma, ringing in years of prosperity, or even later he could have served at the highest position of whatever form of government Terra and it's expanding galactic empire had prior to Old Night. And us, being mortals and likely to destroy the things we wrought, ruined each one of those high points breaking back down into fragmented nations squabbling amongst each other. But he never gave up on us.

 

And finally Old Night presented him an opportunity to take supreme command of Terra - forget all that constitutional representative democracy mumbo jumbo.

 

P.S. - One of his forms was obviously Captain Planet.

[Wrath of Terra]

An Emperor Named Sue....

 

 

Or Marion. If it was good enough John 'The Duke' Wayne it would certainly be good enough for Marion 'The Emperor' (Insert Surname).

[Clewz]

I'd imagine Doombreed being more of an ancient warrior general type.

[Ravinella]

I always though his name was Tim, he looks like a Tim

[Viray]

Well, he was kinda busy beating a star-god to submission with his bare hands and binding it eternally beneath the red rock of an uninhabitable planet. That probably took more than a weekend.

 

Remember, that's the only thing we know he did for sure; That probably means he did a great deal of other things along the same lines. For all we know, he spent most of those long millennia making the galaxy safe for Humanity. Earth had a good 18,000 year grace period before encountering the multitudinous horrors of the wider galaxy, and I doubt that was just a massive coincidence.

Building up humanity to the point where it could realistically band together and conquer the stars would, I imagine, take a very, very long time. Something along the lines of Fight Club philosophy where you can only become great after being completely demolished and deconstructed.

Whose to say he didn't many times over in different capacities?

 

For all we know, he could have served as a major player in making the United Nations a formidable world political organization (that can actually enforce things) or later he could have been elected "President" of the world at some point due to his great charisma, ringing in years of prosperity, or even later he could have served at the highest position of whatever form of government Terra and it's expanding galactic empire had prior to Old Night. And us, being mortals and likely to destroy the things we wrought, ruined each one of those high points breaking back down into fragmented nations squabbling amongst each other. But he never gave up on us.

 

And finally Old Night presented him an opportunity to take supreme command of Terra - forget all that constitutional representative democracy mumbo jumbo.

 

P.S. - One of his forms was obviously Captain Planet.

Maybe. However, it still rings of raging incompetence. For me, I find it far easier to swallow that the Emperor came much later than the ridiculously arbitrary date of 10,000 BC. I mean, why would Gamesworkshop think it necessary for him to be born then? It really adds very little to the Emperor as a character and just raises so many more complications.

 

Just my two cents though; it's not like what I believe will ever change canon. :D

[SpecialIssue]

The Emperor probably has tried to passively guide humanity on almost every possible path to lasting stability throughout his long years. Advisors to kings, religious figures, secular dictators, democracy - he's probably tried or seen it all. And seen humanity fail at all of these in the long term. Remember, the Emperor still belived in the ascedency of normal humanity - just before the Heresy, he handed power to the High Lords. Him taking power was a last resort, after everything was tried, and he had 'seen the narrow path humanity has to tread' to paraphrase.

 

I am such a Loyalist. :D :P

[Grand Master Tyrak]

Maybe. However, it still rings of raging incompetence. For me, I find it far easier to swallow that the Emperor came much later than the ridiculously arbitrary date of 10,000 BC. I mean, why would Gamesworkshop think it necessary for him to be born then? It really adds very little to the Emperor as a character and just raises so many more complications.

 

I think it works, personally. It gives him a long time to sit back, watch history progress and try to work out what is best for humanity. He'd have been around when all the mistakes of history were made and so would have had the chance to learn from them first-hand. The Emperor doesn't necessarily have to be all (or any) of the world leaders in history (that becomes problematic when you consider how many had children).

[Viray]

The Emperor probably has tried to passively guide humanity on almost every possible path to lasting stability throughout his long years. Advisors to kings, religious figures, secular dictators, democracy - he's probably tried or seen it all. And seen humanity fail at all of these in the long term. Remember, the Emperor still belived in the ascedency of normal humanity - just before the Heresy, he handed power to the High Lords. Him taking power was a last resort, after everything was tried, and he had 'seen the narrow path humanity has to tread' to paraphrase.

 

I am such a Loyalist. :D :D

Maybe. However, it still rings of raging incompetence. For me, I find it far easier to swallow that the Emperor came much later than the ridiculously arbitrary date of 10,000 BC. I mean, why would Gamesworkshop think it necessary for him to be born then? It really adds very little to the Emperor as a character and just raises so many more complications.

 

I think it works, personally. It gives him a long time to sit back, watch history progress and try to work out what is best for humanity. He'd have been around when all the mistakes of history were made and so would have had the chance to learn from them first-hand. The Emperor doesn't necessarily have to be all (or any) of the world leaders in history (that becomes problematic when you consider how many had children).

40,000 years, my friends; that is one hell of a learning curve. Still, I suppose there still is the glaring fact that he is the Emperor...

 

Oh, and I forgot to answer the OP. I think the Emperor's name may very well be King.

[shatter]

This is easily my favorite subject in fiction and has been for years.

 

~8000BC

 

Created to solve the question of Chaos regarding mankind.

 

Things I think he gathered early on.

1. Chaos was not something humans, especially considering the terra based scale of mankind, could simply 'deal with'.

2. A Castle will always fall eventually to the will to conquer.

3. Prescience is useful. But takes a larger amount of time to explore the bigger one's universe becomes.

4. A battle between equally prescient forces of equal dedication to the task can only result in a stalemate.

5. Hobson's choice is the best method of manipulation.

6. Mankind is easily programmed when one stands outside it's view of time.

7. Being purely based in the realm material against a foe that can enter when it chooses makes a castle of mankind.

8. He will be physically killed eventually no matter what. Nothing can ever last through the end of the universe (unchanged).

9. An ordered warp presence is the way forward for mankind.

10. Tell a man how to do something once and he'll ask you how to do everything.

 

To preserve mankind, He had to expand it laterally, creating millions of castles (worlds) throughout the galaxy. To do this, He needed to prepare mankind to be a tribal and brutal warrior race to be capable of forcible expansion.

He needed mankind to have social and ethical systems in place that would make a hungry and selfish beast of the human race.

 

His thousands of years working away behind the scenes were extensive exercises in prescience as He made little pushes here and there to make His people favor conquest, homogenization and empire.

He didn't have to 'be' particular people at all. He only needed to create the pressures that gave rise to negative, positive and neutral individuals of note. He let these people be the archetypes that would later speak to future generations as object lessons. He effectively 'made' so many of these people, that when his chosen prescient stalemate a.k.a. material end approached, He deliberately created the most lasting (for future histories sake) individual archetypes of all, the Primarchs. This step was easy considering all the practice in creating object lessons/memes/religions and planning as well as technological advances made.

 

The really hard stuff was the tens of thousands of years spent programming mankind into worshiping him as not just a 'God' but THE spiritual focus irreplaceable by any other mortal agency in their collective mind. What mere man could ever replace Him as the sole object of worship? None... the only things to fear were long lived races and extreme technology... and we know how He feels about that stuff.

[Grand Master Tyrak]

40,000 years, my friends; that is one hell of a learning curve. Still, I suppose there still is the glaring fact that he is the Emperor...

 

Considering how many time humans have got it wrong, that may be justified. Though it's even more galling when you realise that he didn't get it right either.

[Legionator]

According to the Inquisition War Trilogy, he has a name, but after thousands of years even he has forgetten his name.

[JamesI]

Lets keep real world political/religious issues out of this thread.

[Viray]

This is easily my favorite subject in fiction and has been for years.

 

~8000BC

 

Created to solve the question of Chaos regarding mankind.

 

Things I think he gathered early on.

1. Chaos was not something humans, especially considering the terra based scale of mankind, could simply 'deal with'.

2. A Castle will always fall eventually to the will to conquer.

3. Prescience is useful. But takes a larger amount of time to explore the bigger one's universe becomes.

4. A battle between equally prescient forces of equal dedication to the task can only result in a stalemate.

5. Hobson's choice is the best method of manipulation.

6. Mankind is easily programmed when one stands outside it's view of time.

7. Being purely based in the realm material against a foe that can enter when it chooses makes a castle of mankind.

8. He will be physically killed eventually no matter what. Nothing can ever last through the end of the universe (unchanged).

9. An ordered warp presence is the way forward for mankind.

10. Tell a man how to do something once and he'll ask you how to do everything.

 

To preserve mankind, He had to expand it laterally, creating millions of castles (worlds) throughout the galaxy. To do this, He needed to prepare mankind to be a tribal and brutal warrior race to be capable of forcible expansion.

He needed mankind to have social and ethical systems in place that would make a hungry and selfish beast of the human race.

 

His thousands of years working away behind the scenes were extensive exercises in prescience as He made little pushes here and there to make His people favor conquest, homogenization and empire.

He didn't have to 'be' particular people at all. He only needed to create the pressures that gave rise to negative, positive and neutral individuals of note. He let these people be the archetypes that would later speak to future generations as object lessons. He effectively 'made' so many of these people, that when his chosen prescient stalemate a.k.a. material end approached, He deliberately created the most lasting (for future histories sake) individual archetypes of all, the Primarchs. This step was easy considering all the practice in creating object lessons/memes/religions and planning as well as technological advances made.

 

The really hard stuff was the tens of thousands of years spent programming mankind into worshiping him as not just a 'God' but THE spiritual focus irreplaceable by any other mortal agency in their collective mind. What mere man could ever replace Him as the sole object of worship? None... the only things to fear were long lived races and extreme technology... and we know how He feels about that stuff.

I can see where you are going with this train of thought, but doesn't this contradict what we actually know about the Emperor? I'm pretty sure the last thing he wanted was for humanity to be "a hungry and selfish beast," and he most certainly did not want to be worshipped (if he did, then boy did he mess up with the Word Bearers). One can make the case that the Emperor really was a total jerk who had a ton of hidden, selfish ambitions since we, as the audience, really only have vague fluff and speculation to go on, but does tha course seem more reasonable than the one already present: that the Emperor wanted man to become a creature of dignity and intellect free from any superstitious trappings of the past?

 

Also, I thought that most of the Chaos pantheon did not exist, or, at the very least, were incredibly minor, in 10,000 BC. Didn't it take Khorne until the Middle Ages to actually fully come into being, or is this retconned fluff?

[shatter]

I can see where you are going with this train of thought, but doesn't this contradict what we actually know about the Emperor? I'm pretty sure the last thing he wanted was for humanity to be "a hungry and selfish beast," and he most certainly did not want to be worshipped (if he did, then boy did he mess up with the Word Bearers). One can make the case that the Emperor really was a total jerk who had a ton of hidden, selfish ambitions since we, as the audience, really only have vague fluff and speculation to go on, but does tha course seem more reasonable than the one already present: that the Emperor wanted man to become a creature of dignity and intellect free from any superstitious trappings of the past?

 

Also, I thought that most of the Chaos pantheon did not exist, or, at the very least, were incredibly minor, in 10,000 BC. Didn't it take Khorne until the Middle Ages to actually fully come into being, or is this retconned fluff?

 

 

About worship...

One thing we've never gotten from any of the books is a flat statement from Him to the reader about what He wanted. Ever.

 

Just because He said a thing didn't mean He didn't expect it's opposite to occur. Remember, He sees the future.

 

Didn't your parents ever use reverse psychology upon you? And specifically on the argument of religion, how can a contrary religion argue the validity of another when it flatly denies it is one at all? How can one deny a being that is so obviously godlike when in great humility it denies godhood yet sacrifices His petty human desires for an eternity of service?

 

He ordered a secular Humanity. Ultimately, He'd like mankind to appreciate reason and this order will always give it His endorsement. Perhaps this order will find fertile ground in a distant future or maybe it was simply to debunk faith for faith's sake. Blind faith under His aegis is all fine and good, but if mere mortals are directing it... And this was the Word Bearer object lesson which he created.

Anyway, in the human galaxy He created, it was obviously impossible to educate all people of every generation completely and to remove all sin from every individual. Ergo, He made a system for the sheep to graze, fight, rut and bleat in but in general, remain nice ignorant sheep in accordance with their nature. The few blessed with enough gifts and circumstance can continue to advance understanding. But present it to the sheep? Hell no... They're not ready yet.

 

As for the named entities or 'pantheon' within the polar extremes of the Chaos potential and the moment of their 'birth'... the poles were there the whole time. Exactly when the poles accreted enough 'mass' and this mass gained a certain cohesive nature, self awareness and were thusly 'named' is immaterial really. 'Destroy' it and the pole will remain and continue to gather stuff as souls project it. Part of His mission was to create a pole of order through Him. In this regard, one can suggest His attempt at the shallow term of Godhood. And why jealousy was so easy a goad for Horus... or any man. (The great object lesson.)