Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 259 Academic Disputes
Like other religions, the Cult of Mechanics is internally divided into complex factions and academic disputes.

This vast organization that worships the god of machinery has never been a monolithic entity; its internal divisions far exceed what outsiders can imagine.

Even within the same forging world, the mechanical priests can be divided into several opposing factions due to their different interpretations of the doctrine.

They accused each other of deviating from orthodox beliefs, and it became almost a daily occurrence for them to denounce each other as "technological heretics."

The content of these disputes is varied, and some are still within the realm of common sense and understanding.

For example, there is the debate about the boundaries of the belief in the God of All Machines: conservatives insist that the belief should be limited to human technological heritage, and that any alien technology is blasphemous; while radicals believe that as long as it can serve humanity, it is not unreasonable to absorb alien technology.

Although these debates are heated, they at least help outsiders understand their importance.

After all, the state religion also emphasizes the purity of humanity and has always been very resistant to the alien empire.

However, more often than not, the disputes within the Cult of Mechanics are simply laughable.

There are records of a decades-long doctrinal dispute between two factions in a certain foundry world over a question as to whether a screw should be tightened clockwise or counterclockwise.

These technical details, which may seem insignificant to outsiders, are of great importance to the mechanical priests as they concern the purity of their faith.

The way a screw is tightened or the way a weld is handled can be used as a basis for determining heresy.

This is why the Cult of Mechanics, like the Empire, is vast but divided.

As a relatively young industrial world within the Empire's territory, the Mariupol Foundry World maintains a certain rational restraint in its internal sectarian conflicts.

Compared to the almost fanatical doctrinal disputes in other ancient casting worlds, the conflicts here seem more "pragmatic."

Conservatives adhere to the most original dogma of Mechanicus, firmly believing that while the power of the Om Messiah does indeed exist in all mechanical creations in the galaxy, the divine essence of Om Messiah is perfectly embodied only in pure human technological civilization.

In their view, the STC template is the most sacred scripture, and any research that deviates from the human technology tree is blasphemy against the god of machines.

These conservatives insist on preserving ancient mechanical devices in the most traditional way, and firmly believe that ancient human technology is what the mechanics should pursue, and that no other technology should be sought.

The radicals, on the other hand, argue that since the power of the God of Machines pervades the galaxy, even the technology created by alien races should be seen as a manifestation of the will of the God of Machines.

However, it is worth noting that the radicals in Mariupol are not so radical when it comes to alien technology.

They exhibited a rare degree of caution—unlike some extreme forging worlds that directly copied alien technology, they insisted on meticulously analyzing and modifying it to fully integrate these foreign technologies into the human technological system. In their laboratories, alien equipment was always isolated by layers of protective barriers and only dared to undergo limited research after countless purification rituals.

It is precisely this relatively mild difference in stance that has kept the sectarian conflict in Mariupol under control.

Although the two factions often argued endlessly at technical review meetings, with the conservatives accusing the other of "tainting holiness" and the radicals refuting the other of "being closed-minded," they rarely escalated to the point of using the Defenders and the Titan Legion for academic discussions.

The mediation of the foundry director, shared production goals, and a relatively young foundry tradition all subtly eased the tensions here.

Therefore, even at the height of the debate, the two groups of priests were able to temporarily set aside their differences in order to meet production targets and jointly recite the binary prayer in front of the furnace.

However, when Chen Xi arrived at the Mariupol Foundry World, the conservative Foundry Sage who greeted him accused him of using alien technology to lure the radicals of the Mariupol Foundry World, thereby affecting the production of the Foundry World.

“Your Honor,” the sage’s mechanical voice crackled with static, “I must state bluntly that those… alien creations you previously delivered have severely disrupted our production order.”

He deliberately emphasized the electronic sound effects when saying the word "alien creation," as if just saying the word made him uncomfortable.

This wasn't entirely unfounded, after all, Chen Xi had sent necromantic technology artifacts to the Mariupol Forging World several times, and the radical faction had indeed diverted a lot of manpower to study those alien technologies, which to some extent delayed the production schedule.

These alien creations were treasured by the radicals and kept in the deepest analytical sanctuary, where they were reverse-engineered day and night.

“Those studies weren’t entirely without merit,” Chen Xi replied calmly, his gaze sweeping over the massive furnace spewing thick smoke in the distance. “As far as I know, the radicals have gained some inspiration from the molecular structure of undead metal, which might improve the quality of the armor you produce.”

"Blasphemy!" The sage suddenly raised his voice, his mechanical vocal cords emitting a piercing distortion: "Using alien, corrupt technology to 'improve' sacred human technology? This is an insult to Om Messiah!"

His mechanical fingers twitched involuntarily, as if he were ready to chop Chen Xi to death with his casting axe at any moment.
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After a less-than-pleasant encounter with the forging sage, Chen Xi was placed in the forging world's reception area for foreign guests, where a neutral mechanical priest explained the whole story to him.

"So now the conservatives believe that it is because of me that the purity of the Mariupol Foundry World has been affected. They hope to expand the influence of the conservatives through the expeditionary force's arms orders and restore the purity of the Mariupol Foundry World?" Chen Xi was a little confused about the thought process of these tech enthusiasts.

The neutral priest's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, a nearly human expression that was extremely rare among mechanical priests.

“Indeed,” he continued, his voice tinged with subtle restraint, “The conservatives believe that by mass-producing pure human technological artifacts through this order, and by filling every corner of the forging world with these ‘sacred creations,’ they can make their ‘misguided’ comrades repent.”

Clearly, the neutral faction exists because these pragmatic mechanical priests are unwilling to get involved in the almost religiously fanatical struggle between the two factions, nor do they want to see the Forge World miss out on development opportunities due to internal strife.

Like precise gears, they maintain the basic operation of the world of casting, while observing this naive-tinged struggle of faith with a touch of clarity.

(End of this chapter)