Anima Mori

Anima Mori is the name given to a class of technology that staves off death that is forbidden within the Imperium by both the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Inquisition.

Whilst there exists treatments that can extend the lifespan, the arts of the Anima Mori involve overcoming death as well as the means to restore life to the dead. Those dark arts and sciences are considered a perversion of the natural order with them being in place since before the time of the Great Crusade. Amongst the canon of the Priesthood of Mars, the Anima Mori are considered the most reviled, dangerous and oldest of the tech-heresies. The creations often manifest themselves as reanimated beings that have been brought back from death itself but are now filled with unnatural life. Such beings are known as corpse-thralls or carrionates. Though the distinction between a corpse-thrall and a Servitor may seem as a fine one, there is a large difference between the two. For one, the servitors are created from recycled living tissue or even vat grown synthesized tissue which are an accepted part of Imperial technology. Furthermore, the use of preserved organic components such as bone are also part of the serviors construction.

Anima Mori, however, go further than accepted practices as they seek to reanimate the dead and even necrotic tissue in order to create an unliving servitor that is beyond the frailty of flesh. In theory, this in effect creates an immortal living machine that is free from the limitations imposed by death. There are a number of creations that are classed as Anima Mori which include the exotic engineered viruses such as the Lazarus Triox-Cell that plagued the Segmentum Solar for millenia whilst others suse ancient human technology or forbidden Archeaotech such as the Sarcos-waveform energy field. More fouler applications involve the use of the Warp or even forbidden Xenos technology. Regardless of origin, all examples of Anima Mori are considered pervisions of the human form and a crime against the soul itself. The Adeptus Mechanicus has also in place an ancient ban on the technology which is brutally enforced though for mysterious reasons of their own. Those seekers of the art also face dangers of their own as the true natures of an Anima Mori are little understood; even by the insane visionaries that pursue it.¹

Source

• ¹: Dark Heresy: Disciples of the Dark Gods, p. 62