Soul Hunter question....Eating geneseed?

[Blaze]

I just read Soul Hunter and it was a great book, one of my favs. But it brought up some questions for me. In the book the main character (a night lord) threatens to eat a loyalist marine's geneseed after killing him. I thought it was just an exaggerated threat, just to sound scary. But throughout the book he mentions it like 3-4 times making me think he was serious. Has anyone ever heard of this before? And is it purely for the pleasure, or does it serve some purpose? Marines gain knowledge from eating someone's flesh so would it give some kind of insight?

[Kizzdougs]

I suppose the memory theft could have something to do with it but i think it is more likely ment as a insult.

"I'm going to Kill you and then eat your legacy, consume your honour and devour your only chance to serve the Imperium in death. Deal with it" :devil:

 

Imagine the horror. A heretic is eating your genetic legacy. You have failed the chapter even in death. You have lost the flesh of your Primarch to a hated traitor.

 

I think it must be the ultimate finial insult. EVIL!!

 

Also if you go with the memory idea the marine is betraying his chapter in death. A traitor has access to your memories and perhaps delicate chapter intel.

[Dark Bjoern]

It´s the Omophagea, the implantate of the 8th phase. It allows to extract genetic informations, memories, experiences or natural talents from animals by eating them. I think a CSM will not stop eating parts of an enemy.

[isilvra]

On the other hand, just what else could they do with it? Unlike other legions who will happily create Astartes out of loyalist geneseed (i'm looking at you iron warriors) the night lords seem to be doing there best to remain pure.

[AbyssKnight]

I would say there are a few levels to the threat.

 

First off, the termination of legacy that kizzdougs is talking about. I mean, this is pretty much the Astartes version of saying, "I will eating you children." There is a very visceral reaction to a threat like that. Being treated as food means you are less than I am (in most cultures), and the threat conjures a slew of images of being chewed and torn apart. This kind of threat is just par for the course when looking at how Night Lords (specifically, and Chaos Marines generally) operate.

 

Secondly, yes, as Dark Bjoern states, Space Marines can actually gain benefit from the things they eat. In fact, in the really really old novel Space Marine, a Imperial Fist marine learns how to pilot a Titan by eating the dead priceps' brain. They don't play up that part of marines so much anymore, but it is still mentioned every now and then in places. You could almost expect any Space Marine, Chaos or Loyalist, to eat their foes when possible to learn about them, but more recent examples (no spoilers but just say it happens in Courage and Honour) show that at least loyalist marines seem to frown on the practice.

 

And lastly, yes, I have seen something like it before, in Storm of Iron, the Warsmith fuels his tranformation into a Demon Prince with the consumption of large quantities of loyalist geneseed. Now, the act was probably more symbolic, a sacrifice so to speak, so just eating geneseed by itself isn't enough. But it is an example of Marine-canabalism like you asked.

[nightlordsrock3564]

if i remember, the character you are talking about was on the path to becoming a bezerker or a champion of khorne, so i guess maybe that means he is going down the cannibalistic route as well as the blood for the blood god route

[Hyaenidae]

'A Loyalist Marine once tried to best me. I ate his gene-seed with some fava beans and a nice chianti.' heh heh heh, sorry I'm a 'silence of the lambs' fan.

[Sawtooth]

'A Loyalist Marine once tried to best me. I ate his gene-seed with some fava beans and a nice chianti.' heh heh heh, sorry I'm a 'silence of the lambs' fan.

 

It's okay, Hannibal Lector would probably make an excellent Night Lord.

[Noctus Cornix]

It's okay, Hannibal Lector would probably make an excellent Night Lord.

 

 

*scribbles something down on blood stained parchment then scuttles back off into the darkness*

[AbyssKnight]

if i remember, the character you are talking about was on the path to becoming a bezerker or a champion of khorne, so i guess maybe that means he is going down the cannibalistic route as well as the blood for the blood god route

 

No, Uzas is the one falling into the path of Khorne. But the one we are talking about who makes several references to eating opponents geneseed, is Talos, "the Prophet," the main character of the book.

[Dante Alighieri]

And lastly, yes, I have seen something like it before, in Storm of Iron, the Warsmith fuels his tranformation into a Demon Prince with the consumption of large quantities of loyalist geneseed. Now, the act was probably more symbolic, a sacrifice so to speak, so just eating geneseed by itself isn't enough. But it is an example of Marine-canabalism like you asked.

 

I don't think he got ascended for eating the geneseed, just its capture. He needed it because Abaddon' next Black Crusade was coming up, and all of that geneseed would give him thousands of new Astartes at his command.

[AbyssKnight]

Well, turning over the geneseed to Abaddon was the cost of the Iron Warriors not helping in the Black Crusade itself. And given the time needed to create a marine (about a decade) I doubt this particular geneseed would create more chaos marines to be used in the actual 13th Black Crusade, it was more just a payment in leiu of service. Such practices were common in feudal societies.

 

But I stand by my statement that the reason the Warsmith starts eating geneseed like it was an all you can eat Vegas buffet is the symbolic destruction of geneseed acting as a sacrifice to the chaos gods to fuel his final transformation into a demon prince. And note, even chowing down as he does really doesn't put a dent in the massive stockpile that is present, there is still plenty left to give to Abaddon (and for Honsou to keep some for himself according to Dead Sky, Black Sun).

[nightlordsrock3564]

didn't pertuarbo also consume 400 imperial fists gene-seeds as well to ascend to daemonhood?

[AbyssKnight]

Good point. Didn't even think of the symbolism from that angle (the Warsmith mirroring the action of his Primarch).

 

Lexicanum just says "sacrifice" not consume but indeed, it was specifically sacrificing "the geneseed of over 400 Imperial Fists" that elevated Perturabo as a Demon Prince.

[Argon]

'A Loyalist Marine once tried to best me. I ate his gene-seed with some fava beans and a nice chianti.'

 

Hannibal Lecter as a Chaos Marine...... :lol:

 

May I sig that?

[Hyaenidae]

As you wish, Clarese...