Imperial Culture
From Lexicanum
Contents |
Imperial Culture: Foreword
Imperial Culture can be said to be cosmopolitan in that no two worlds are exactly alike. Making all these disparate cultures into one that owes fealty to one source -Earth- is in itself difficult. This section will deal in generalities, but it must be remembered that there will be plenty of worlds beyond even these sweeping statements.
Currency
There is no Monetary Union inside the Imperium. Worlds do not pay their tithes to Terra in coin, but rather in flesh, weapons and food - the consumables of war. On the planet of Necromunda, the currency in use is Credits2. However, in most of the Gaunt's Ghosts novels, the guardsmen have 'pay' to spend, although the actual currency is never mentioned. It may be that guardsmen are given an amount of credit with which to buy luxury items.
Language
Unlike currency, there is a unifying language to the Imperium: High Gothic (Or Tech1) and is the first language on a large minority of worlds, a well-known second language on still more1. There are other languages in use. The Nalsheen3 and the Sleepwalkers of Gereon use one such language. Very few feral and feudal worlds do not have native High Gothic speakers1.
High Gothic is represented in most editions of 40k as a "latinised" form of English, which enrages Latin scholar fans of the game still, some still complaining that the book Deus Encarmine should instead have been called Deux Encarmine(See Black Library forum).
Technology
In the main, the Imperium is suffering a dark age in terms of technology. A dark age occurs when learning is lost and is not re-learned. The main theme of all the 40k editions has been Ignorance, even since the first edition1.
Transmission systems
Electricity is the simple most important means of transporting energy from one place to another in the 41st millennium1. However, some of the technologies within the Imperium rely upon Photon Lines (a refined development of fiber optic cable), Phased Crystals (to transport information), hydroplastics (which generate power through pressure), Sucrosol (an abbreviation of Sucrose based solution, a synthetic 'blood' that allows bio-engineered parts to be maintained. It is usually white) or Radio Signal (utilizing radio band widths previously unavailable) 1.
Generation systems
- Crystal Batteries
- Plasma-generators
- Conventional
Motors and Actuators
Control Systems
Bionics
Bionics are used throughout the Imperium, though with no real standard to make or quality. They are commonly used to repair severely wounded soldiers, although there are many other applications. High-ranking officials of the Imperium such as Adepts and members of the Inquisition are most likely to have high-quality bionics. Generally, they represent a special acquisition and would not conceivably be available to the poor or even moderately well-off.
The prestige of bionics has wavered through the editions of Warhammer 40,000. In the 1st edition, bionics were a fairly broad selection of gear and equipment, including such devices as tendril sensors and bionic limbs. By third and fourth edition, with the focus coming much more as a large-scale warfare game, the role of bionics has diminished to giving only minimal advantages7.
Generally speaking, bionics are available to soldiers of the Imperium, including guardsmen (Shoggy from Gaunt's Ghosts) and Space Marines7. They are also available to other servants of the Emperor of rank, and to the rich (such as the captain of the ship that Eisenhorn hitched a lift on)8.
Standard Template Constructs
A Standard Template Construct (STC) is a system created in the Dark Age of Technology to assist colonists in creating and maintaining technologies vital to survival on new planets. In the current era of the Imperium, very few exist. The Adeptus Mechanicus are constantly searching for any rumour of an STC as part of their "Quest for Knowledge."
Religion
In the 41st Millennium, the standard religion of the Imperium is the Imperial Cult. The cult venerates the Emperor as a divine being, borne out by a number of miracles and saints in his name (Saint Sabbat herself included). Variations of this cult appear across the galaxy, and the Adeptus Terra investigates some of them to ensure that they do indeed pay fealty to the Immortal Master of Mankind. Note that not all of humanities' defenders worship the emperor in the same manner: some of the Adeptus Astartes chapters' beliefs would be heretical for an ordinary citizen to hold7.
Unfortunately for mankind, there are other gods that demand worship. 'Warp Entities' require tribute in order to remain in the physical realm1,6 while still others venerate aliens4,5. These deviant cults are the maggot-ridden underbelly of human culture, and it is the role of man's best investigators to root them out and burn them before they infest the rest of the race.
Music
- The Tanith Pipes
- Praetorian guard's musical instrument
- Music of the Necromundian Hives?
- Chants and hymns of the Imperial Creed: Definitely some mention in of these in Guant's Ghosts series
Fashion
- The colours of the robes of the adepts of Terra
- References to extremes of dress from sources: Loken's Hats?
- Pictures of Imperial Guard uniforms - distinguishing feral and technological worlds
