Deus Machinarum: The Omnissiah Awakens!

[Zyobot]

Years ago, I came across an intriguing fan theory about the Machine God worshipped by the Adeptus Mechanicus and how it might hypothetically attain its own, separate existence. To reiterate, it argued that even if the being they deify is actually Void Dragon, their collective belief and acts of veneration might generate a separate entity in the Warp that turn what began as silly superstition into actual reality down the line. A self-fulfilling prophecy, if you will, in which their faith in their beloved Omnissiah winds up making it real.

Seems the writers at Games Workshop have moved forward with this concept, too, if the debut of Vashtorr the Arkifane in 10th Edition is any indication. Personally, he still strikes me as too "halfway-organic" and not nearly "machine" enough to be the actual patron god of engineering and invention. In fact, while it's definitely not up to me, I find that I'd quite prefer he'd instead be a Greater Daemon to the true God of Machines — which I've taken a stab at writing myself.

That all out the way, I hereby present my own spin on the "Warp-born Machine God!" idea in the form of Deus Machinarum:

 

Spoiler

• Per my above remarks, my AU draws on the notion of sentient emotions and beliefs giving rise to deities in the Warp that come to embody them, as is the case with the Imperial Cult sustaining the Emperor of Mankind or the turbulent state of the Galaxy fueling the Dark Gods of Chaos. However, my interest lies in the other, more “theoretical” beings who’d arise from this process — namely, the Machine God so fervently worshipped by the Adeptus Mechanicus.

 

• The Adeptus Mechanicus is as old as the Imperium itself — and their faith even older, what with the Tech-Priests of Mars practicing the Cult Mechanicus before the Emperor came along and conscripted them to his cause in exchange for being allowed to retain their faith. At present, there exists an uneasy syncretism between the Imperial Cult and the Cult Mechanicus. However, even ignoring the Tech-Priests’ continued reverence for the Machine God (and the Emperor as more of a “Machine Jesus”), the ubiquitous (if not enthusiastic or innovation-happy) use of technology and pervasive belief in Machine Spirits throughout the Imperium provides a basis for a new, long-gestating Warp God to finally be born.

 

• Come the 42nd Millennium, and Psykers and Tech-Priests across the Galaxy are hit by a “thunderclap” of psychic energy as what began as occasional sightings of new “machine-daemons” and skirmishes with elusive, but technologically advanced warships of unknown design become an onslaught when a host of new Warp Storms open. A new player has entered the Great Game, and when the Forge World of Mars renounces the Emperor as a “False Omnissiah” and pledges fealty to the newest God of the Warp, so, too, does most of the Adeptus Mechanicus. A Second Schism is now underway, but the reign of Deus Machinarum — “God of the Machines” — has only just begun. In the words of the newly corrupted Fabricator-General themselves: “Our God is now online!”

 

• Despite its recent emergence, the Machine God of the Warp is known by many titles: Deus Machinarum, the Great Gear, the Machine in the Warp, the Omnicog, the Orthodox Omnissiah, the Almighty AI, and a hundred-thousand other epithets spoken by Tech-Priest and Heretek alike across the Galaxy. As these names imply, it is the Warp God of machines, industry, and technology that range from simple mechanisms like gears and pulleys, to Dark Age marvels like STC constructs and Men of Iron. It also claims domain over the various disciplines that led to their invention, with the subjects of mathematics, engineering, and scientific discovery and innovation falling under its sway — much to the alarm and paralyzing panic of mainstream Imperials and Mechanicus loyalists alike.

 

• Like its rival deities, the Machine God has its own residence in the Warp that reflects and gives visual quality to the fields in which it claims domain. It dwells in the middle of the Foundry-Scape, an endless expanse of factories, power plants, and giant gears whose size and productive capacity put the likes of Mars to utter and absolute shame. But much like the Forge Worlds of Realspace (who are but pale imitations reserved for the Great Gear’s mortal servants), its assembly lines work ’round the clock to mass-produce armies of mechanical daemons — known as “Aetherbots” — who act as the Machine God’s disciples and foot soldiers in the Materium, easily being a match for the Necrons and C’tan Shard super-weapons in direct combat. Indeed, many have noted the Aetherbots’ strange resemblance to the long-defunct Men of Iron of ages past, with some going so far as to theorize that even before fully awakening, the Machine God had unconsciously triggered the Cybernetic Revolt that saw mankind’s machines turn on them and resulted in the outlawing of Abominable Intelligence throughout the Galaxy. In any case, this is mostly theoretical for now, though many fear the fully awakened Machine in the Warp may perform even worse feats of technological terror than that as the 42nd Millennium rages on.

 

• Even though it lacks a physical form or appearance comprehensible to mortal minds, the Machine God is best visualized as a colossal mass of gears and sprockets held together by metal chassis and dotted by computer terminals, conveyor belts, and mechanical tendrils that flow out from its body. In the middle of its gargantuan central cog is a single red eye that focuses in and out on whatever the Machine God has turned its gaze to, much to the consternation of beings on the receiving end. In short, imagine it as a planet-sized Klinklang with a color scheme of Martian gold, red, and rusted grayish-brown — as well as numerous other machines attached and appended to its physique — and that is the Machine God, dubious visual qualities as a Warp entity notwithstanding.

 

• While its emergence was felt by all and its role to play in galactic affairs profound, the Machine God’s reception throughout the Materium has been mixed. Its most obvious devotees encompass the bulk of the Adeptus Mechanicus, who have defected from the wider Imperium and pledged themselves to the newly emergent Machine in the Warp. Their ranks are likewise swelled by scores of once-neutral tinkerers, engineers, inventors, and scientists the Galaxy over who have finally found a patron god that not only sanctions, but happily fuels (and is in turn, fueled by) their craftsmanship, creativity streak, and unquenchable thirst for knowledge of the universe's workings. Together, they seek to kickstart a new “Age of Invention” in which STCs will be rediscovered in droves, Tech-Priests are finally eager to innovate, and the Power of Science may to roar back to life with new vigor. Despite this, outside observers fear that the groundwork is being laid for the Second Dark Age of Technology instead. Admittedly, this hysteria has only been furthered by the many rumors and unconfirmed (but increasingly likely) reports of reality-breaking constructs wiping out Imperial fleets, Orthodox Omnissiah cultists uploading themselves into robotic bodies modeled off of the Necrons, or the sprawling armies of Aetherbots in Deus Machinarum's employ actually being the Men of Iron who've been resurrected and reproduced en masse — all allegations that the Great Gear's servants have conspicuously failed to deny.

 

• Unfortunately, these anxieties have produced a Second Schism on a scale not seen since the Horus Heresy, which has split it into an Orthodox Mechanicus loyal to the Great Gear, an Imperial Mechanicus that remains loyal to the Emperor, and a Draconic Mechanicus that venerates the recently awakened Void Dragon of Mars, now in direct competition with the Machine in the Warp to decide who deserves the title most. More schismatic still are the numerous “heterodox” cults in the margins, ranging from a minority that believes the true Machine God is neither a C’tan nor a Warp deity, to sects of the Dark Mechanicus who find the Orthodox Omnissiah too cold, too clinical, and even too “machine-like” — and thus, seek to create their own “Dark Omnissiah” to counterbalance them by better reflecting their own mad, mechanically inclined depravity as a sort of Unicron to the Great Gear's Primus.

 

• However, for all the “mixed” reception the Machine God has received in the Materium, it pales compared to the dissonant reactions it has received in the Warp. Chief amongst these is the Dark Gods of Chaos, who fear the newest arrival as an all-too-powerful interloper alongside their longstanding arch-nemesis, the Emperor of Mankind. The Machine God has caused them considerable trouble on the ground, as well, what with the mass-conversion of other Ruinous Powers' Tech-Priests to the Orthodox Omnissiah and resultant “Scrapcode Wars” in which Chaotic machinery (such as Daemon Engines) has become increasingly vulnerable to “disinfectant cleansing” by the Great Gear, turning them from rickety demonic constructs into well-oiled mechanical wonders used by the Orthodox Mechanicus. Its relations with more “material” gods fare no better, as the Void Dragon — once the “original” Machine God whom the originators of the Cult Mechanicus mistook for divine and made their deity of choice — must now compete with the Machine in the Warp for followers, with the consequent clashes between the Orthodox and Draconic Mechanicus (as well as Imperial Mechanicus loyalists) proving especially fiery and baleful. Perhaps most ominous of all are once again the tiny, but growing sects of the Dark Mechanicus who’ve drawn twisted inspiration from the emergence of an “orthodox” Machine God and seek to create one of their own as a more deranged rival in the Warp — laying the groundwork for the emergence of yet another Chaos God who, if born, will unleash a galaxy-spanning, techno-theological apocalypse to make the Horus Heresy, Age of Strife, and War in Heaven look insignificant in scale.

 

• This is what The Coming of Deus Machinarum hath wrought. And as the Galaxy is wracked to its very core by the Second Schism, endless Aetherbot incursions, and the arrival of the Orthodox Omnissiah in the 42nd Millennium, an age-old adage becomes more relevant than ever: “In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war.”

 

 

All in all, quite an "interesting" fan theory that I felt need to expand upon myself.

Please let me know what you think; I'm new here, and the ins and outs of 40K fluff and theology are not my foremost area of expertise (especially when it involves Warp shenanigans or potential gods who've been implied to still be forming). Other than that, I'd say I've done a decent job of at least delineating the broad strokes of a Warp-born Machine God would look like and what the ramifications might be, so feel free to ask your questions and supply your comments. I look forward to reading all of them!

Thank you in advance,
Zyobot

[camaleaowar]

your idea is very interesting. I'm curious how the imperium as a whole would react to the birth of this god. I can see chapters like black templars distrusting tech marines and dreadnoughts. At the same time that Space Wolfs claim that their Iron priests are totally different from techmarines in the same way that rune priests have nothing in common with psykers

[WolfLogic]

This is an interesting idea, and I'd love to see you write it.

 

That said, I think the premise would depend entirely on how worship works in the Warp. While the Void Dragon may be the Machine God, the Adeptus Mechanicus all believe that the Emperor is the Omnissiah given flesh. So in my mind it would depend on if the "worship power" goes towards who they believe to be the Omnissiah (that being the Emperor), the "real" Omnissiah (whatever that may be), a new warp god like that of the story's premise, or perhaps even to the Void Dragon (although I don't know how that'd work as C'tan and the Warp don't interact well together).