This is our Warhammer journey

Chapter 512 Steady Progress
The Ancestral Core is the most well-known technology of the Wotan Alliance.

Countless legends within the Empire, especially those originating from the Cult of Mechanics, have bestowed upon it numerous sacred pronouns.

A shrine to knowledge, a remnant of the golden age, abhorring intelligence, the end of mathematical calculation.
Many people equate it with AI from the dark ages of technology, and some have even speculated that the Wotan Alliance itself was ruled by the Ancestral Core.

However, the core concept of AI from the ancestors is quite different from the mainstream understanding of AI.

Here, we must first determine one factor by examining the decrees issued by the emperor prohibiting AI.

What is AI?

AI is an intelligent life form developed by researchers from the Dark Ages of technology, capable of continuously iterating and evolving by collecting existing information.

Pierre, now transformed into the 'Azure Star', is a super AI powered by planetary energy. Its advanced algorithms are capable of directly constructing data models in digital space that are virtually identical to reality. As long as data is input, it can unfold simulations that are exactly the same as reality.

Moreover, unlike a single reality, AI can simultaneously activate countless timelines and arrive at results in an extremely short time from a realistic perspective through 'time acceleration'.

Back then, Caul's optimization of the Primal Casting Interstellar Surgery on this planet, as well as the forging of Guilliman's armor, were largely thanks to his near-cheating methods that saved a lot of time.

Currently, the Dawnwing series of projects also heavily rely on its assistance.

For those technologies that require a lot of resources to verify, you can quickly get results by inputting the data and running it.

The various threats currently existing in the galaxy are also tested by running data on it to simulate intrusions under various circumstances, thereby generating contingency plans.

The policy is also tested for feasibility through simulations, then piloted in reality, before finally being promoted throughout the star sector.

Compared to the advantages mentioned above, the computing power of this planetary computer itself is merely icing on the cake.

This was still because Dawnwing believed that AI was just a tool and didn't let it completely take over the rule of the star sector. Otherwise, as long as 'Azure Star' was connected to the 'Preserver' on Dawn Star and entered the communication system built by Ramses, it would be more than enough to take over the affairs of the entire Dawn Star Sector.

It's no wonder that the emperor was so cautious about AI.

Imagine if chaos corrupted a human with the qualifications to use AI, how much power could they generate for chaos in a short period of time?
Compared to AI, the ancestral core of the Wotan Alliance is more like the thinkers of the Empire. They are essentially computers used for storage, capable of producing results based on the needs of the user, but they do not have the ability to iterate on their own. They are tools to assist a political entity in ruling.

However, the ancestral core of the Wotan Alliance is much larger in size and has more advanced storage logic, to the point of being almost mystical.

It can store various weapons, theories, philosophies, lineages, and even the thoughts of STC and intelligent life forms.

Ironically, although the Hearthlings have always looked down on the Mechanicus, the Wotan Alliance and the Mechanicus are not fundamentally different in their beliefs. The Mechanicus regard the Emperor as the god of machines, endowing machines and knowledge with sacred qualities and worshipping them, while the Hearthlings regard the Ancestral Core as something like the Eldar gods, completely regarding it as their own sanctified ancestor. Their behavior is so absurd that it can even be described as ignorant and superstitious.

The reason why the Cult of Mechanics speculated that the core of the Wotan ancestors was an AI was because the core of the Thinker began to wear out.

Due to prolonged overload computing, the overall computing speed of the ancestral core began to slow down. The filling of junk information caused these machines, which should have responded to users at high speed, to malfunction, just like humans making mistakes in repetitive labor.

This stems from the fact that the Hearthbloods place great importance on blood ties and the core of their ancestors. They have an almost religious fervor for ancestor worship, and it is unknown when it began, but the thoughts of every deceased Hearthblood are eventually uploaded into the core of their ancestors.

According to a report from the Human History Research Association within the Dawn Sector, their original intention was to enrich the core with the rich experience of their ancestors to help future generations, but for some reason it veered off course into religious worship.

For the ancestral core itself, the exponentially growing population has already overwhelmed its computing power, as it needs to monitor the genomic data of each generation of Hearthkins. The Hearthkins also continuously add massive amounts of repetitive and redundant information from the brains of the dead, as well as various experiences inputted by the returning exploration fleets, to their storage devices.

This directly resulted in the most advanced ancestral cores in the entire faction being visibly overloaded with computation. In more serious cases, stored consciousness would even be connected to the output system, causing them to exhibit quite human-like traits such as hesitation, mistakes, and insincerity.

Looking at it this way, doesn't it seem just so-so?

No, quite the opposite.

That's what makes the core of our ancestors so amazing.

It's not love, but it's better than love.

Not only does it lack the ability to iterate on its own, completely eliminating the risk of Iron Man's rebellion, but also, due to its exaggerated computing power and extremely advanced algorithms capable of storing consciousness, this thing, like AI, has an absurdly strong resistance to chaotic contamination.

Even now, with the Wotan Alliance nearly destroyed, Chaos can only cause trouble for the Alliance by corrupting the technologies of the ancestors and the core, or by forcibly corrupting the machines offline, such as by Chaos attacking them, rather than directly destroying the technology at the warp level.

It can be said to have the advantages of both.

The requirement for a qualified operator was exactly what Dawnwing wanted.

"Is it really okay?"

Guilliman stared intently at the materials and asked Ramses a question.

"Don't worry, I've been trying to hack into this place for ages and I still can't get in."

Ramses, who was conducting stress tests on the Ancestral Core in the subspace, replied.

The Wotan Alliance was quite sincere, sending over an Ancestral Core directly.

"The 'Ancestral Core' is a safe and harmless technology. After a detailed evaluation by the Throne Council, it was determined that it does not possess the ability to self-iterate and is fundamentally different from the Abomination Intelligence."

Noticing Guilliman hastily picking up his pen and defining the ancestral core, Romulus chuckled and shook his head.

The only drawback is its capacity.

"Tsk, it's a bit clumsy. Should I just take all the consciousness inside?"

Ramses made a comment.

However, this cannot be considered a drawback.

Romulus then looked at the images sent by Ramses.

In addition to the constantly updated results of the stress tests, there is also the destructive operation recorded by the think tank during Huron and others' efforts to salvage the Wotan Alliance technology while leading Astartes in the effort to do so, targeting the corrupted Ancestral Core.

The most eye-catching one was a Tzeentch archdemon who rushed into the Ancestral Core as the ritual was completed, hoping to boost his KPIs in the library management job of the Usurped Heaven. Then, the next second, he had to retreat, looking like he had just "eaten shit".

There's too much spam.

Before I even had a chance to cause any trouble, my mind was filled with a huge amount of repetitive garbage.

It's easy to imagine the current state of the Wotan Alliance's ancestral core members.

Everyone knows that if they want to further refine their management of the empire in the future, a more stable ancestral core is essential in the short term.

"Lord Romulus."

Solgrim noticed Romulus's focus and was on the verge of tears.

In fact, they were aware of the problems with the ancestral core. If it weren't for the delays caused by this junk information, they might have been able to deal with the threat of chaos much more easily. However, this problem was not something that could be changed at will.

In the culture of the Hearthkins, regardless of whether they have souls or not, the consciousness stored within the ancestral core is regarded as family, and even those Ironborn who have been infused with consciousness are considered their kind.

This can't even be considered a culture anymore; it's more like a fundamental logic etched into their DNA. The only way to get the Hearthborn to change is through a forced cleansing.

It goes without saying how brutal each cultural shift in history has been.

From any perspective, abandoning the Hearthborn is unacceptable to the High King.

“Since it has been raised, it must be changed, but simply forcing it will not completely solve the problem.”

Romulus waved his hand.

In theory, such a fundamental conflict cannot be resolved amicably, but Dawnwing can do just that.

Leaving aside the fact that materializing the soul could directly produce ancestral cores to solve the immediate problem, even excluding their unique abilities, the problem could be solved using subspace methods.

Would you mind moving to another location?

Romulus pushed out his territory, 'Pioneering Heaven,' which had already been planned by Ramses.

De la Cruz quickly handed over the reins.

Built on the foundation of Vashtor, it is said that they will later borrow even more wicked techniques from the Emperor.

However, this is not something he needs to worry about; Ramses will handle that.

"It's not just about storing consciousness, it also includes subspace projection."

Romulus also felt that what the Furnaces were doing was not a good thing, and out of good intentions, he still wanted to offer some advice. Ancestor worship was not a problem; they had knelt before their ancestors' graves many times in the past. However, it was very problematic if ancestor worship affected the progress of civilization and survival.

"what?"

Solgrim took the document with a puzzled look on his face.

"Of course, this is not free."

Romulus added.

From another perspective, the redundancy of the ancestral core represents a large amount of labor. And because of the Wotan Alliance's endless recording of ancestral consciousness, the existence of those who excel in various fields within the Wotan Alliance has been stored for tens of thousands of years.

While the Wotan Alliance retains its technological path that is identical to that of humanity, these individuals are all exceptionally high-quality workers, managers, and researchers.
“Your ancestors needed to meet my demands in order to gain the right to live on ‘Pioneering Heaven’.”

".I see."

Having read the documents and gained a detailed understanding of the composition of subspace and the principles of their open domains, Solgrim sighed softly and could only respond.

"I will communicate with the tribe."

He knew he had little initiative, especially since the authority figure had already offered him a way out.

The pressure was immense. Even though you could sense that the other party meant no harm, there was a feeling of being completely dominated by a superior being, making it hard to breathe.

I felt like a yes-man, completely at the mercy of the original entity in this environment.

"Lord Romulus and the others are all very comfortable with their roles."

Evelyn, standing to the side, covered her mouth and smiled slightly.

Compared to Guilliman's ingrained mindset of treating ruler-to-ruler relationships as politics, the leaders of Dawnwing were much more assertive when facing alien races.

When you're dealing with a politician, you still have a chance to negotiate, but when you're dealing with a god, you don't have that at all.

All you can do is pray, pray that the God before you will be merciful.

"very good."

Romulus, seeing that the two most crucial projects had been completed and his own base had been expanded in the process, revealed a relaxed smile.

"Let's move on to the next phase."

After signing the instrument of passage handed to him by Guilliman, he proceeded to unfold a document that had been prepared some time ago.

Next come a series of tedious little things, such as resettlement issues, management issues, handover of specific projects, and personnel arrangements.

However, for the current Supreme King, these trivial matters, though tedious, are far less burdensome than the pressure of the survival of his race.
-
boom! ! !
The smoke from the explosion almost completely obscured the portholes of the Imperial command vehicle.

This offensive was comprehensive and relentless, and even the Greenskins' repeated attempts to reinforce, using their weapons, psionic powers, and even their own bodies to fill the advancing torrent of steel, were to no avail.

All-in is a form of strategy, and when initiated by an empire, it is often too much for other races to handle.

On the battlefield, the Greenskins and the Imperial Guards fought fiercely.

Under the influence of the warp forces, the flesh and blood of both sides awakened the curse buried beneath the earth, and the Khorne's army, which joined in from time to time, made the future of this war increasingly unpredictable.

If Arek's performance in the war had not aroused the resistance of countless people, and if Amegadoton had not been able to support the defenders and the Greenskins in a high-intensity confrontation with them by relying on its remaining industrial system after losing control of half the planet, the soldiers and their generals would not have had the confidence to fight a war of attrition against the Greenskins here.

Life is constantly fading away, and the emperor's currency disappears like a shooting star.

The bodies of the dead were all taken to the densely packed campfires behind the battlefield, which resembled the shimmering reflections on the surface of a dark lake.

Each time they repel another brutal counterattack, tearing a bloody path through the increasingly dense greenskin settlements, groups of burners work overtime to clear away the piles of remains, while the wounded are transferred to medical bunkers or field medical stations.

The wounded were covered in blood, so many that it was dizzying. Fortunately, they were able to retreat back to the Nest City defense zone under the guidance of the air formation through the safe zone plowed out by the bombing.

The remaining parts will be burned directly, and will be officially disposed of by the Angel Church after the war ends.

This is a very serious task, especially now that 'God' is able to truly respond, but there is no time to hold a proper ceremony or ritual.

"I need to see him."

Inside the Imperial command vehicle, a sage from the Netherworld VIII raised himself in the busy command room.

"What level of communication?"

In response, the chief of staff, who was gathering a large amount of information, immediately inquired.

As the battle intensifies, the transmission of information needs to be more efficient.

Much of the battlefield information was handled by the parties involved when the communications entered the Thinker's system. More difficult cases were handed over to the staff officers in charge of each legion, while the more important ones were decided by the chief of staff.

Only those matters that are important enough to require a war leader's decision can prove their worth through layers of transmission and ultimately reach Arek.

"Level ."

The supervisor in charge of mechanical engineering tasks paused, immediately interrupting the others' reports.

"Level One Battle Report!"

He gave a shout, and the adjutant took over his task without hesitation.

The chief of staff immediately summoned the sage and led her to the high platform.

During this short journey, she could hear the pounding of war engines, the clattering of pager modules straining under their load, the panting conversations of the communications officers, and smell a suffocating odor.

She can hear many things because she is a mechanical sage.

One of the operators collapsed to the ground, unable to grasp anything. The medic told him that he needed plenty of rest and treatment for his vision to recover.

The chief of staff could barely maintain her posture. Her adjutant, supporting her hand, quickly informed her that at the forefront of the assault team's salient, the heavily damaged combat nun squad was carrying out an emergency evacuation. Except for the fortifications that had not yet fallen, which would continue to be held, everything else would be moved away. The direction of attack would be adjusted, the point of leverage would be changed, and transport vehicles were waiting to transport the personnel who needed to be evacuated to other areas.

She listened to a battle fought by an adjutant, in which the greenskins in that corner were nearly destroyed under his command, but the squad's losses and accumulated fatigue as the battle progressed prevented them from further expanding their gains.

The raid had been going on for three days, and the enemy's reckless counterattacks had put immense pressure on the assault troops.

Human resources and combat units are being depleted at an alarming rate, and it is visibly becoming increasingly difficult to sustain such an offensive as the troops advance deeper into the enemy territory.

The Greenskins, on the other hand, grew stronger with each battle. Their bodies remained vibrant and their organization remained full of fighting power, launching seemingly endless counterattacks like a tidal wave.

Such qualities are truly enviable.

The sage narrowed his eyes slightly.

They were so close to destruction.

Fortunately, 'One-Eyed' Arek was there, along with the legion of salamanders and space wolves, and—

The deafening noise drowned out her thoughts. As her adjutant led her to the command platform, a clear, direct voice rang in her mind.

"I can give you two minutes."

The political commissar, who had been maintaining absolute focus in front of the command post, looked up.

He was still full of energy, with a red glow in the center of his gray eyes, similar to that of the Greenskin, as if this human was in sync with the Greenskin's physiological state.

Arek said, "Then I need you to get back to your post and not argue."

“Now, sage, tell me, who gave you this order?”

"Arthur Pendragon, Lord of Dark Angels".

she replied.

"We were asked to conduct online advertising."

(End of this chapter)