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The Hall of Victories (Minor Spoilers For Deliverance Lost)


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"What is this place?" Corax asked. "What manner of victories are celebrated?"

 

"The most important kind" said the Sigillitte.

 

Whilst reading Deliverance Lost a few years ago I came across this little gem of a scene, where Corax enters the Emperors personal museum of man kinds whole history. Some of the objects, who's sizes ranged from the size of your palm to a battle tank, are teased in the book; The Titan Rover, The first warp capable starship's navigational circuit, The first Human genome cloning formula and the first piece of pottery ever made by man. The objects are described as being of mostly technological and scientific with a few cultural.

 

I was wondering can we as a community create a few suggestions of what else there might be based upon our knowledge of both the real world and the 30k Universe.

The AK47 would be a strong contender as well as the cure for cancer/HIV/common cold. I have always considered it a place full of technological/scientific/idealogical advancement throughout the ages of man that fit the Big E's Imperial truth.

The Bible and the Quran -- I even remember in earlier editions of the game it was said the Emperor had many identities over the course of human history, from Christ to Khan. Stasis-locked corpse of the first Navigator.

I was going to say these, but then I thought about his whole anti religion thing, maybe he'd have had all the holy books destroyed? I dunno, maybe he would keep one of each. Reminds me of the Book of Eli.

 

The Bible and the Quran -- I even remember in earlier editions of the game it was said the Emperor had many identities over the course of human history, from Christ to Khan. Stasis-locked corpse of the first Navigator.

I was going to say these, but then I thought about his whole anti religion thing, maybe he'd have had all the holy books destroyed? I dunno, maybe he would keep one of each. Reminds me of the Book of Eli.

 

 

While he wanted an secular empire, he'd be a fool to disregard the literature of religious nature. 

 

In purely a historical view, they are amazing.

 

WLK

 

 

The Bible and the Quran -- I even remember in earlier editions of the game it was said the Emperor had many identities over the course of human history, from Christ to Khan. Stasis-locked corpse of the first Navigator.

 

I was going to say these, but then I thought about his whole anti religion thing, maybe he'd have had all the holy books destroyed? I dunno, maybe he would keep one of each. Reminds me of the Book of Eli.

 

While he wanted an secular empire, he'd be a fool to disregard the literature of religious nature. 

 

In purely a historical view, they are amazing.

 

WLK

Yep, if they are no longer sacred texts, then they become mythology.

The AK47 would be a strong contender as well as the cure for cancer/HIV/common cold.

Wait...these are two separate things?

 

Ak47s always cured my patients diseases...never had another one again in fact...

 

*ahem*

 

I imagine Alan Bligh's brain is kept in one of those B'marri monk jars on spider legs (things in Star Wars).

I'd Like to think he had at least 1 Obelisk, Pictures/ Paintings of the 7 ancient wonders of the world, the Lunar Lander from Apollo 11, Replica of Sputnik, First working Nuclear Fusion reactor, Original Telephone and Light bulb, some of the first tools used for agriculture, Printing Press, Trinity Test Monument and maybe original footage, ancient telescope, original Chinese compass and paper replica.

 

And of course no museum is complete without the formula for Greek Fire.

The Sigillite audio and Know No Fear made it clear that cultural touchstones of humanity are important; with the implication there's a strong connection between the shared human belief in the object's importance and the Warp – examples being flint knives, iron swords and fire being effective against daemons, while boltguns and plasma rifles are not.

 

There were hints that Malcador had been collecting these objects for a very long time – The Lightning Tower includes the following notes about his private apartment:

 

 

Ancient images hung on the walls: flaking, fragile things of wood, canvas and decomposing pigments, preserved in thin blue fields of stasis; the smoke-pale portraits of a woman with the most curious smile; garish yellow flowers rendered in thick paint; the unflinching rheumy gaze of an old fleshy man, cast in shadow, tobacco brown

I've always interpeted that as he owned the Mona Lisa (as WoT pointed out), at least one of Van Gogh's Sunflower series, and Rembrandt's Self-portrait as an Old Man. These are all famous works, but more importantly they're formative, seminal works that went on to change the nature of understanding and art.

 

The short then goes on to describe Thunder Armour – again, a prototype that changed warfare – and banners from the Unification Wars; items that symbolised a sea change in humanity's collective belief in itself as a species with a destiny to control the galaxy.

 

If these are the sorts of things included in the Hall of Victories – and judging from the fact that the Rosetta Stone is included, they are – then we can interpret Malcador's statement 'The most important kind [of victories]' as being items that symbolise victories that brought about changes in humanity's understanding. Personally, I'd also note that they seem to be changes in terms of greater understanding – not necessarily of historical significance (though they often go hand-in-hand), but of rational, scientific significance. That certainly seems to fit with the ideal of the secular Imperial Truth.

 

That said, the works of noted authors appear throughout the Horus Heresy series, both as allusions and direct quotations. Shakespeare is quoted directly – I believe there's a clever, if slightly melancholy (and tongue-in-cheek) reference to 'all three' of his works somewhere in the series – and simply by an administrator, so these thing saren't necessarily hidden away.

 

+++

So, what would I expect to see in there?

 

The Australopithecus skeleton known as Lucy should be included as a symbol of bipedalism and humanity.

 

The Lion Man of Hohlenstein Stadel is considered the first figurative artwork – i.e. the first piece of artwork that represents something that doesn't actually exist (as opposed to a representative artwork), and thus symbolises the development of the mind to allow the dawn of imagination itself. It's a must to be included.

 

One of the T-shaped pillars from Göbleki Tepe should find a place as a symbol of civilisation before widespread settlement and civilisation.

 

I'd expect some cuneiform tablets (marking the beginning of writing), as well as something to mark printing (perhaps a Sumerian seal?), both allowing the recording, reproduction and dissemination of ideas.

 

The Code of Hammurabi is something I'd include as it symbolises an important stage in cultural change: with the rules emanating from the King's authority directly, instead of through him as a mediator from the gods.

 

A copy of Magna Carta – a symbolic point when the Divine Right of Kings was broken.

 

Those are the things I'd include. The important thing is not that they're necessarily the first or best examples; but that they are well-known to humanity at large. They thus become icons and symbols of progress; providing a vital distinguishing mark between the rational (the materium) and superstition (the warp). They thus form a collective focus of 'rational reality', in contrast to the rituals and superstition used by Erebus to create the Ruinstorm.

 

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Items like holy books – the Bible, the Koran – are undoubtedly cultural touchstones, and so I would expect them to go in the Hall of Victories. We've seen from Sindermann in the opening trilogy of the series that the Imperium isn't afraid to discuss religion, and doesn't censor it from scholars; merely that it's seen as a 'shed skin'.

Similar to the code of Hummurabi and the manga carta, there must be a copy of the napoleonic code. This forbade privileges based on birth and specified that goverment jobs should go,to the most worthy, among other things. It was the the document that replaced feudal laws, not just in Europe but also, influenced the USA and China among other countries.

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