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Cult Mechanicus

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Machina Opus.png Adeptus Mechanicus Portal
Symbol of the Cult Mechanicus

The Cult Mechanicus is the state religion of the Adeptus Mechanicus, which recognizes its own dogma as opposed to that of the Imperial Cult.

Overview

History

The Cult Mechanicus has ancient origins, developing on Mars during the Age of Strife. It was the state religion of the early Mechanicum even before the arrival of the Emperor and the commencement of the Great Crusade.[5] When the Emperor first arrived on Mars many saw him as the Omnissiah, or the physical manifestation of the Machine God. As per the terms of the Treaty of Olympus that saw Terra and Mars unify, the Mechanicum was was still allowed to practice its faith despite the Emperor's own secular Imperial Truth.[6] The Cult Mechanicus continues to exist to this day, distinct but related to the Imperial Cult.

Beliefs

According to the Cult Mechanicus, knowledge is the supreme manifestation of divinity and all creatures and technology that embody knowledge are thus holy because of it. The worth of a single man is only the sum of his knowledge - his body is simply an organic machine capable of preserving intellect. It is by this motivation that the followers of the Cult Mechanicus follow the Quest for Knowledge, seeking new technology and information to better themselves.[1]

The core tenants of the Cult Mechanicus are codified in the sixteen "Universal Laws".[8]

The Machine God, also known as the Deus Mechanicus, is the ultimate object of worship in the Cult Mechanicus. It is the Machine God that gave rise to all technologies and made them manifest through his chosen among mankind. To the Mechanicus, machines represent a higher form of life than those crudely formed from biological evolution. The planned perfection of form and function embodied in a machine are so great, that they could only have arisen from a divine source. Officially, the Cult Mechanicus maintains that the Emperor is the physical manifestation of the Machine God (the Omnissiah) and part of a trinity that also includes the Machine God and the Motive Force, the deity that gives all life and motion its continued existence.[2][3][4]

The Men of Iron also seem to have worshiped a faith similar to the Cult Mechanicus. One of its surviving constructs UR-025 states that it has met the true Omnissiah, not the false one worshipped by man, and that it would find the Mechanicum quite disappointing.[7]

Religious Excerpts

Speaker Quote Source
Catechism of the Autoculus of Mars Toll the Great Bell Once!

Pull the Lever forward to engage the

Piston and Pump...

Toll the Great Bell Twice!

With push of Button fire the Engine

And spark Turbine into life...

Toll the Great Bell Thrice!

Sing Praise to the

God of All Machines
-Excerpt

Warhammer 40,000 4th Edition Rulebook, Introduction
From the Ceremony of Commission This machine is discharged into your care.

Fight with this machine, and guard it from the shame of defeat.

Serve this machine, as you would have fight it for you.

(response) - I shall.

Warhammer 40,000 Compendium, p. 84
from "The Book of Five Runes" When uttering the incantation, mark well that the rod is upon and not within the intake. The second incantation should not be uttered until all the fumes have come forth, then the way shall be clear for the sacred words to penetrate unto the heart of the engine. If the mounting be hot say the third rune, if it be cold the fourth rune is more appropriate. For then the wrath of the engine will be aroused... Warhammer 40,000 Compendium, p. 131
from The Contagion of Ganymede Henceforth no man shall set foot upon the world, and all around shall be set sentinels to ward away unwary spacecraft. We must accept that this place is lost to us forever, and is now the eternal habitation of abomination. [Needs Citation]
Hymn of Reforging Thus do we invoke the Machine God.

Thus do we make whole that which was sundered.

Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), p. 71
from "Lord of the Engines" 16th Tome, Verse 2001 And when at last he came upon the vehicle, he perceived the distress of the engine therein and forthwith struck the rune and it was good. Thereupon the engine ignited and was filled with strength... Warhammer 40,000 Compendium, p. 131
Extract, The Problems of Organic Thinking, Chapter XII Bio-chauvinism, and on such a small scale, when it comes to the processing of knowledge, is laughable. Give me any savant you care, and I shall match his worth tenfold with even the most basic of Machine Spirits. [Needs Citation]
Runic Mechanics - An Introduction The beast of metal endures longer than the flesh of men. Those that tend the beasts of metal must labour long to learn its ways, for a single beast must suffer the mastership of many men until ready to shed its vorpal coils. Those that seek apprenticeship must attended closely to the runes of mobilisation, the rites of maintenance, and the words-of-power that describe the parts of a beast. Nor must they neglect the tutelage of the Adeptus Prefects, nor the casting of the proper roboscopes. Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, pg. 118
Runic Spaceflight - An Introduction; Naval Flight Manual W110E Strike the first rune upon the engine's casing employing the chosen wrench. Its tip should be anointed with the oil of engineering using the proper incantation when the auspices are correct. Strike the second rune upon the engine's casing employing the arc-tip of the power-driver. If the second rune is not good, a third rune may be struck in like manner to the first. This is done according to the true ritual laid down by Scotti the Enginseer. A libation should be offered. If this sequence is properly observed the engines may be brought to full activation by depressing the large panel marked "ON". Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, pg. 98

Sources

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