Telstein

Sectatus Imperialis Ky'Telstein
Seal of the Sectatus Imperialis
National Words Salus Imperialis Suprema Est
Sector Capitol	Telstein
Largest City	Hive Uttica
Ethnic group	Human 100%
Languages	High Gothic Low Gothic Countless Local Tongues
Demonym	Imperial Telsteinian
Governing Structure
Emperor Jimmy Space
Dominus Sectatus Kari Sejanus
Cardinalis Sectatus John Smith
Prefectus Primus Sectatus John Smith
Fabricator-General John Smith
Population
Total (Est.)	17 Trillion
Area (Est.)	400 Settled Worlds
Date	Check/Segment/Year/.Millennium

Telstein, officially known as the Sectatus Imperialis Telstein (Telsteinian Imperial Sector) is a former constituent region of the Imperium of Man that stretches over 400 settled worlds throughout an approximately 200ly³ area of space in the Galactic West. Telstein was formerly an Administrative subdivision of a wider galactic empire until an unknown phenomenon resulted in its dimensional translocation during Night of a Thousand Rebellions in 992999.M41 according to the Imperial Calendar. It now finds itself in the 21st Century CE in a reality that is entirely unrecognieable from the one which it departed.

The Capital of the Sector is the planet of Telstein in the eponymous System and Sub-Sector, which is also the personal domain of the Sector Lord, Dominus Sectatus Kari Sejanus. Responsibility for governance of the Sector is split between local Planetary Governors and the remains of the Imperial galactic administration. As a successor to the Imperium of Mankind, Telstein is a highly autocratic state where human life is intrinsically worthless and the concept of inalienable rights is unimagineable. Daily life in the Imperium is typically marked by staggering levels of inequality, corruption, and cruelty. Democratic principles are unheard of, and the Imperial Adeptae only interfere with the privileged upper classes where their behaviour affects the orderly administration of the Sector or conflict with the central tenets of its official faith, the Imperial Cult.

History

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Recent History

The Telstein Sector vanished from all Imperial Record during the Night of a Thousand Rebellions in 992999.M41. Considered to have been destroyed by a chaotic rebellion, those within the Sectatus Imperialis still labour to discover how they have found themselves entirely separated from the Light of the Astronomicon in an alternate universe.

Astrography

Location of the Sectatus in relation to Holy Terra.

The Telstein Sector is a three-dimensional cuboid area of space with sides roughly 200 light years long. Its borders correlate roughly with the Pre-Starshift Telstein Sector insofar as Imperial Adminstration would be concerned - though since the Starshift there have been territorial gains and losses which have resulted in minor but noticeable changes. The Telstein Sector sits to the West of the Milky Way Galaxy. It is positioned on the outer edge of the Perseus Arm, which is to the Galactic South-West of the Orion Spur wherin lies Holy Terra. The Sector was formerly seen as a bulwark against the Northern edge of the Veiled Region. The Telstein Sector sits at a longitude of 237° and at a latitude of 12° above the galactic plane according to the Galactic Coordinate System. It is approximately 18,000ly from Earth.

Whilst the Starshift has entirely removed Telstein Sector from the dimension of reality in which the remainder of the Imperium of Mankind lies, those concerned with its governance still consider Telstein a part of the Segmentum Pacificus, one of the Imperium of Mankind's Segmentae Majoris. The names of the Segmentae are also used commonly to describe the vast reaches of galactic space which they were responsible for administering. Within the Segmentum Pacificus, the Telstein Sector sits between the notable Macharian Sector and Chiros Sector, tending toward the border with the Segmentum Tempestus.

Administrative Divisions

The Telstein Sector consists of around 400 settled worlds with countless settled moons, man-made satellites, minor celestial bodies and void-stations. Whilst populations can rise to sit in the hundreds of billions on the largest of Hive Worlds, the majority of human-controlled planets are sparsely populated and the average population of a planet is in the tens of millions. These worlds of the Sector are principally divided into Sub-Sectors, Systems, Planets, and Inter-Sectors. The various governmental organisations possess their own administrative sub-divisions, but aside from differing terminology their boundaries typically correlate with these standard areas.

Sub-Sectors, also known as 'Clusters' are areas of space approximately ten to twenty Light-years in diameter. Rather than being standard sized divisions that the entire Sector is divided into, they are instead centered on densely populated clusters of stars, important worlds, and convergences of stable warp-currents. Given inter-stellar travel for the Imperium relies heavily on these warp currents it is common for exploration and colonisation to cluster around such convergences, with key worlds forming thereafter. There are seven designated Sub-Sectors within the Telstein Sector. The largest consists of ten systems spread in a three-dimensional wish-bone shape at the point that the Haelian Warp Corridor bifurcates into the Upper Haelian Reach and the Capacitan Spur. The smallest consists of a single System, and was only elevated to the status of a Sub-Sector following the Starshift to recognise the importance of the Adeptus Mechanicus within the Sector's administration. Sub-Sectors are firmly claimed as Imperial Territory, with the borders of even the largest such divisions being something vessels of the Imperial Fleet can comfortably patrol. Despite this however, it would be incorrect to claim that Imperial Hold on territory within a given Sub-Sector is absolute. There are countless worlds visited and deemed unsuitable or irrelevant to Imperial colonisation efforts, and countless more that have yet to be visited by a vessel of the Imperium. Whilst it is exceedingly rare for an interstellar empire to unknowingly co-exist with the Imperium of Man, entire interplanetary civilisations, both alien and long-lost human in origin exist within so-called Settled Space. This is to say nothing of those worlds which hold life but claim no dominion over the stars: either that which has yet to step foot in the void, or small settlements that fail to recognise Imperial Authority.

The strength of Imperial Control weakens considerably outside of such Sub-Sectors, in what is referred to as Intersectional Space. Whether due to conventional distance, capricious warp currents, or even due to a parity opponent of the Imperium, these areas are not as tightly controlled by the Imperium. Naturally the proliferation of Imperial Colonies diminishes quite proportionally to how easy a given area of Inter-Sector is to reach from Settled Space. For this reason, Intersectional Space is often referred to as Wilderness Space. The vast majority of the Telstein Sector is made up of Intersectional Space, and it would be fair to say that more than half of the settled worlds within the Sector sit without of a Sub-Sector.

Below the grade of a Sub-Sector, comes that of a System. As with standard astrographical terminology, a System consists of a Star or system of clustered stellar objects which are orbited by non-stellar objects bound by the gravitational pull of the system's star. A system need not necessarily contain a Planet but it is exceedingly rare for such a locale to become so noteworthy that it is worth designating as a System. All Planets governed by an Imperial Commander will exist within a System, though if the System only holds one Imperial Planet then the difference between the two entities is minimal.

A Planet is defined astrogeologically as a rounded sub-stellar body. This is a wide definition that includes satellites of other sub-stellar bodies. Insofar as Imperial Bureaucracy is concerned, a Planet is a celestial body settled by Humankind and showing both fealty and worship to Him On Earth. Administratively speaking, a Planet will have an Imperial Commander or Planetary Governor appointed. Under the Lex Imperialis this figure holds absolute authority over that world so long as they meet their obligations to the Wider Imperium. The geological mass, environmental conditions, political landscape and population size of any two planets will differ - in some cases so wildly that it is unbelievable that they are part of the same nation. It would be fair to say that due to the erratic and often glacial pace of travel, communication, and bureaucracy within the Imperium of Man, the Telstein Sector holds many Planets it does not yet know it controls. As Rogue Traders, Explorator Fleets, Colonial Crusades and even private corporate efforts expand the borders of the Sector, civilisation can spread across entire systems - and die screaming centuries later - before the Administratum recognises the laying of the first foundation stone.

Planetary Classification

All Planets, even those Sub-Stellar Celestial Bodies which are not formally 'accepted' as Planets by dint of not possessing a Planetary Governor, are classified by the Administratum to allow Imperial Authorities to better understand the space they control. Classifications exist on a variety of different scales including those which divide them by their tithing requirement or their function within the wider Imperium. Whilst there are countless planets, the majority of them, which are classed as Gamma-Class Civilised Worlds, many others are highly specialised and could not survive for long if cut off from the wider Imperium. These include Alpha-Class Agri-Worlds given over entirely to farming practices often so monstrous they would be unrecogniseable to a modern farmer, Delta-Tau-Class Death Worlds so inhospitable to human life that daily survival is near-miraculous, Eta-Class Hive Worlds so overpopulated and overpolluted that a single late food conveyor can starve millions, and Phi-class Forge Worlds given over entirely to industry and worship of the Omnissiah.

Government

The government of the Imperial Sector is a highly conservative autocratic system riven with wastefulness, inefficiency, bureaucratic inertia and - in some cases - open warfare. It is functionally a now-isolated microcosm of the wider Imperium of Man and exhibits most, if not all, of the failings of that empire's wider administration. Responsibility for governance is split between the Imperial Commanders who are responsible for specific territories, and the local remnants of the three Adeptae Majoris which constituted the interplanetary Imperial state.

As a part of the Imperium of Man, in theory the Head of State is Him on Earth, the Master of Mankind, the God Emperor. The God Emperor of Mankind is an immortal psyker personally responsible for the unification of human colonies accross the Milky Way through his Great Crusade of the 30th Millennium. Whilst functionally catatonic within a life-sustaining sarcophagus named the Golden Throne, his psychic abilities enabled him to communicate with suitably attuned individuals through premonition and diviniation. However, the government of the Imperium continued in his name through a council of the executives of the Adeptae Majoris and other important governing bodies known as the High Lords of Terra. Even now all contact with the wider Imperium has been categorically severed, the Imperial Sector does not regard itself as a distinct and sovereign entity. Various organisations have adapted to this new reality with differing levels of ease heavily dependant on how much they in turn depended on direction from superior officers of state to function.

Many of these organisations are or were functionally independent from their peers, being beholden only to their own superiors until the highest levels of Imperial Bureaucracy - far higher than that which remains extant in the Sector. Some of the bloodiest conflicts of the Post-Shift Century were caused by jurisdictional grievances between Adeptae or through power-grabs initiated as soon as a given Department felt it was without supervision. The political situation within the Sector has now reached its calmest since the Starshift. The heads of all major Adeptae now acknowledge the Dominus Sectatus as a notional first-among-equals who intercede in and arbitrate disputes at the highest levels of the government as well as speaking for them as a collective. In practice however, all of them, many subordinate yet-still-senior officials, and other more obscure officeholders like Imperial Inquisitors claim authority in certain matters from non-existent higher authorities - in some cases from the Emperor himself.

Imperial Commanders

The Imperial Commanders are officials who govern Imperial territories. The term does not refer to anyone who oversees a settlement or even a world, but specifically those officers personally commissioned by the High Lords of Terra to exercise control of their domain in the Emperor's name. They enjoy an autocratic absolute authority to rule as they see fit so long as they meet their tithe quotas and they effectively suppress heresy, mutation, and disorder. Their relationship with the Imperium is set out by the Lex Imperialis. Imperial Commanders are responsible for the provision government services on their world, though there is no requirement for them to meet the personal or societal needs of their citizens. The form these governments take, their effectiveness, and their organisation all varies depending on the circumstances of their world and the whim of its ruler. Imperial Commanders are hugely privileged individuals who enjoy immense personal power and wealth by virtue of their office, which is frequently an inherited position.

Meeting their world's obligations to the Imperium is the personal responsibility of the Imperial Commander which can be a difficult and onerous duty. Failure to fulfil these obligations is almost universally met with death or worse, to say nothing of the punishment meted out on the institutions and populations of the world. This is usually the reason given by holders of such offices as why their position, status, and power is a curse rather than a privilege. It is often explained as a charitable act that the burdens of leadership are not shared amongst the citizenry of a planet - of course the myriad opportunities for self-enrichment available to such people is purely coincidental.

The juniormost grade of Imperial Commanders are those who oversee entire worlds, and they are called Planetary Governors. In addition to their role overseeing the administration of their worlds they act as the commander-in-chief of the local military - the Planetary Defence Force. They are universally regarded as immune from local laws, but are bound by the Lex Imperialis as enforced by the Adeptus Arbites on their world. Planetary Governors are traditionally addressed as Lord or Lady Planet.

Above Planetary Governors come System Lords who are addressed comparably to their subordinate Commanders. This position is usually held by the foremost Planetary Governor in a given star system in addition to their responsibilities to their world. The position frequently involves acting as commander-in-chief of the naval warships and defence platforms that patrol space within the territory under their control - the System Defence Force.

Naturally, the next seniormost Imperial Commander is a Sub-Sector Lords who rules over the eponymous administrative division. At this level, the position of Imperial Commander begins to align more closely with the workings of the Adeptus Terra, and they have responsibility for coordinating much of that body's workings throughout the Sub-Sector. The Sub-Sector Lord typically remains a figure-head for the area, and is rarely if-ever responsible for day-to-day administration of their domain. A Sub-Sector Lord may also hold other offices, such as remaining Planetary Governor of the realm they led before elevation to their current position. As with the individual Planets, the minutiae of appointment, command, and relationships with other bodies enjoyed by each Sub-Sector Lord differs greatly. There are seven Sub-Sector Lords within the Telstein Sector, one for each of the Sub-Sectors. They are formally addressed as Lord or Lady Sub-Sector.

The senior-most Imperial Commander in the Imperial Sector is the Dominus Sectatus or Sector Lord of the Telstein Sector, known as the Dominus Sectatus Telstein in High Gothic. Even before the Starshift the office was an immensely powerful one. The Sector Lord is responsible to the Segmentum Commander and the High Lords of Terra for the governance of their sector in the name of the God Emperor of Mankind. This means supervising the collection of the tithes and their distribution as necessary, keeping order and maintaining security within the Sector, identifying and coordinating the response to any military threats, and ensuring expansion of the Imperium within the Sector proceeds in a sustainable fashion. The demands for a Sector Lord's attention are so many and of such magnitude that it is rare for them to become involved in affairs that affect a single world. They are formally addressed as Lord or Lady Sector - in this case Lord Telstein.

In the context of the Wider Imperium a Sector Lord's authority was tempered by the fact that they did not actually command the Adeptae Minoris that made up their administration. Most, if not all such bodies had hierarchies that continued to the Segmentum and even Galactic level with the foremost member of many organisations sitting in the Senatorum Imperialis, even as members of the High Twelve in some cases. However, since the Starshift and the subsequent bloody realignment of power most of the Adeptae Minoris have accepted that the Lord Telstein represents the legitimate peak of Imperial Authority until contact can be resumed with the wider Imperium.

The Sector Lordship is currently held on a hereditary basis by the head of House Sejanus alongside the Governorship of the planet Kyara. This dual domain is legally referred to as the Ky'Telstein.

Lady Kari Sejanus is the fourth Sector Lord following the deaths in-office of Lord Menini who was Sector Lord at the time of the Starshift, and of Kari's father and elder brother who held the post prior to her investiture. Lady Kari Sejanus's shrewd diplomacy between the Adeptae Majoris and Minoris as well as prominent Sub-Sector Lords is largely credited with ending the widespread high-level conflict that had ensued since the Starshift. As a result of this, the position of Sector Lord was notionally as the foremost figures amongst the Sector's Adeptae executives with a general presumption of decision-making authority unless expressly retained within a specific Adeptus. In practice the myriad Imperial Adeptae remain in conflict and will frequently attempt to subvert the authority of the Sector Lord to their benefit if they believe they can get away it.

Adeptus Terra

The Adeptus Terra, also known as the Priesthood of Earth or erroneously conflated with its largest constituent body - the Adeptus Administratum, represents the incalculably vast secular bureaucracy of the Imperium of Mankind. Broadly speaking, any body or organisation that fulfils its functions across the entire sector - formerly the entire galaxy - is part of the Adeptus Terra if it is not part of the other Adeptae Majoris.

Due to its nature as thousands of Adeptae Minoris, Departmentos, Ordos, and Officios, there is no one executive decision-maker for the Adeptus Terra, or even the Adeptus Administratum. All personel within the Adeptus Terra above the grade of Menial are formally referred to as Adepts, and enjoy something approaching 'rights' as a result of this station. Both because of this privilege as well as the perception of spirital association with the God Emperor's will, even the lowest such employment within the Adeptus Terra is commonly seen as a great honour and something to be aspired to, as the quality of life and status that comes with being an Adept is often unattainable for the common Imperial Citizen. Whilst there are certainly situations where one could interact with the bodies of the Adeptus Terra, it is significantly more common for the untravelled and uneducated common citizenry to erroneously conflate local planetary governing bodies with the Administratum. Among the most common of these mistakes is believing that all Imperial law enforcement are Arbitrators of the Arbites, when in fact that body only busies itself with threats to the machinery of Imperial Government rather than with crime under local laws.

Whilst much of the Adeptus Terra's constituent Adeptae Minoris have accepted the supremacy of the Dominus Sectatus through fair means or foul, two of the most powerful Adeptae have managed to wrangle dejure independence for themselves - if not de facto. The Adeptus Arbites of the Sector holds that the Dominus Sectatus explicitly lacks the legal power to modify the Lex Imperialis, which is the sole authority recognised by them. They also correctly hold that they are responsible for deposing the Sector Lord in the event of their failure to discharge the duties of their office, though practically speaking such a move would be near impossible for them without recorse to the wider Imperium's resources. The Adeptus Astra Telepathica meanwhile hold that their remit is sacrosanct and relies on such esoteric knowledge that the Dominus Sectatus could not legitimately exercise any oversight of their functions.

The Adeptus Arbites is the organisation responsible for enforcing the Lex Imperialis. They do not usually trouble themselves with petty local crimes such as murder, but instead protect the wider functioning of the Imperial state from threats as serious and varied as obstruction of Administratum vellum supplies, circumvention of Offico Agriculturae manure taxes, and vandalism of candlewax delivery haulers. Whilst the Lex does proscribe contact with aliens, witches and the like, such esoteric threats to the Imperium are the purview of the Inquisition. Arbitrators are usually recruited from the Scholae Progenium of the Adeptus Ministorum, but are also known to be recruited from experienced and skilled members of comparable organisations such as the Astra Militarum or Planetary Enforcers. The Adeptus Arbites has considerable military might under its Marshalcy Divisions that operate from Precinct Fortresses on settled worlds or which form part of their independent fleets. These Arbitrators can be employed to maintain order on betroubled worlds where local enforcers cannot handle a situation, act as the final bastion of Imperial Authority in the event of a planetary rebellion, or even depose the Governor should the Adeptus Terra deem them to have failed in their obligations. The Judges are a parallel hierarchy of senior Arbitrators alongside the Marshals who specialise in encyclopaedic knowledge of the Lex Imperialis. They assist investigations by reviewing evidence and investigative strategies, prosecuting cases, judging guilt, assigning punishment, and hearing appeals.

The Adeptus Astra Telepathica is the Adeptus responsible for locating, capturing, and training psychic individuals. It is comprised of two main divisions, though only one formally exists within the Imperial Sector. The first is the Scholastica Psykana on Earth itself, which is where Psykers underwent assessment and if they were deemed to have the fortitude to do so, were trained in how to control their powers. Following this, such individuals would be sent to serve throughout the Imperium in roles ranging from Inquisitors and Adeptus Astartes Librarians to soulbound Astropaths and Sanctioned Psykers general service. The second body is the League of Blackships, which is a small fleet of voidships that constantly travel from world to world collecting untrained psykers and conveying them to Earth for training, or destroying those unsuitable for transport. Other elements of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica include the Astropathic relay stations responsible for interstellar communication, containment facilities on the largest of worlds which take responsibility from the Governor's administration for holding Psykers until the Blackships arrive, and Witchunters who assist the Inquisition, Planetary Authorities, and the Adeptus Ministorum in tracking down nascent Psykers to take them into Containment. Since the Starshift the Adeptus Astra Telepathica has been attempting to replicate the Scholastica Psykana within Telstein to little success. It has become clear that the divine presence of the God Emperor was of significant import to the process of sanctioning Psykers. The Adeptus Astra Telepathica and its mission to recover, preserve, assess, and train Psykers regularly conflicts with the uncompromising and homocidally conservative religious views on witchcraft. The Adeptus Astra Telepathica is different to the Adeptus Astronomicon which maintained that eponymous psychic beacon on Terra itself and was essential for safe travel through the Warp.

There are many other Adeptae Minoris in the Priesthood of Earth who are represented within the Imperial Sector, ranging from the Intelligence gathering Synopticon and the star-mapping Astra Cartographica, to the highly independent, genetically modified warriors of the Adeptus Astartes Chapter and the almost-entirely unheard of Officio Assassinorum.

Adeptus Ministorum

The Adeptus Ministorum, also known as the Ecclesiarchy, is the State Church of the Imperium. It is largely independent from the Adeptus Terra, and is an incredibly powerful organisation in its own right. The Ecclesiarchy preaches a faith known as the Imperial Cult which teaches that the Emperor is a divine figure and that humanity is a chosen people whose destiny is the stars and whose purity of thought and form must be maintained at all costs. It is therefore a significant factor in the Imperial culture's commonly homicidal hatred of aliens, mutants, psykers and apostates. Whilst disbelief is not contrary to the Lex Imperialis, the Adeptus Ministorum has its own military power and accepted legal authority to enforce the tenets of the Imperial Cult. Apostasy and Heresy are punished by death at the least, and many other crimes against public morals are tried in Ministorum courts.

Before the Starshift, the Adeptus Ministorum hierarchy continued through ever more grandiose ranks until one reached the Cardinals Palatine and the Ecclesiarch himself on Holy Terra. Below these came various lesser forms of cardinal, the most numerous of which were the Cardinals Astra. Following the Starshift, the Cardinals Astra within the Telstein Sector held a synod and determined that the foremost among them must be elevated to the position of Arch-Cardinal to speak on their behalf. Arch-Cardinal Calleb Eos is typically seen as equal to the Sector Lord and Fabricator General in power and influence due to his singular authority over the wider Ministorum.

The Telstein Sector is largely coterminous with the Ministorum's own administrative Ecclesiarchal Arch-Province of Telstein under the Arch-Cardinal. A number of the Sub-Sectors are further organised into Ecclesiarchal Provinces under their own Cardinals. The organisation of the Ministorum below this can be byzantine, with various orders of priesthood and monasticism, the most visible of which is the Curacy. The Curates of the Curacy make up the Parish-level ordained priesthood of the Imperium - from Regimental Priests and cathedral-dwelling Arch-Curates with planet-spanning authority to the lowest and meanest frontier preacher. Sometimes a planet may be a Cardinal World where the chief priest on the planet jointly holds the office of Imperial Commander. Such preachers are usually elevated to the Cardinalcy as a Suffragan Cardinal who, practically speaking enjoys significantly more direct authority, power, and privilege than their fellows in spite of nominally being subordinate to the Provincial Cardinal Astra.

The Ministorum is also formed of a variety of other bodies:

• The Creed Temporal is the bureaucratic, logistical, and administrative arm of the Adeptus Ministorum. It is staffed by countless lay scribes and menials, overseen by the Deaconry - priests who undertake duties as senior administrative officers within the Ministorum.
• The Adepta Sororitas is a collection of all-female monastic orders who dedicate their lives to glorifying the Emperor through carrying out their selected role with a fanatical fervour. These range from the power-armoured Sisters of Battle of the Orders Militant and the beloved healers of the Orders Hospitaller to the window cleaners of the Order Fenestrus and the Orders Famulous that serve as governesses and maajordomos for the nobility.
• The Missionaria Galaxia is the division of the priesthood responsible for spreading the Imperial Cult throughout the galaxy. They accompany exploratory fleets and help establish new shrines on frontier worlds.
• The Schola Progenia are academies run by the Ministorum to educate the orphaned children of the nobility, Imperial Officials and military officers, selected worthies, and commoners adopted on scholarship programmes. Students are taught general topics, strictures of the Imperial Cult, and specific vocational training that leads to them taking up posts in various Imperial organisations.

Adeptus Mechanicus

The Adeptus Mechanicus, also known as the Priesthood of Mars, is technically an independent technocratic, theocratic empire of planets united in worship of technology through a religion known as the Cult Mechanicus . Since the foundation of the Imperium of Man the God-Emperor afforded the Priesthood of Mars rights, privileges, and freedoms unheard of elsewhere in its society. Like the Adeptus Ministorum founded after his internment on the Golden Throne, the Priesthood of Mars has its own laws, system of government, language, almost-entirely-heretical religion, military force, and war fleet.

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. 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.

The Adeptus Mechanicus holds a monopoly on all advanced technological knowledge within the Imperium, as well as outlaying a strict code of technological conduct that determines which innovations or fields are proscribed 'techno-heresies.' Foremost among these are tampering with the human genome, abominable intelligence, and warpcraft. Whilst advanced technological knowledge is hoarded by the Mechanicus, it is common for other Adeptae and even private businesses to license and lease maintenance and production of mundane technologies from them. Such arrangements invariably impose stringent requirements to allow the Techpriests of Mars access to ensure that the uninitiated are not adapting approved and sanctified designs, however.

Like the Cardinal Worlds of the Ministorum, not all Mechanicus shrines are located within planets overseen by Imperial Commanders. Some worlds, designated Forge Worlds are given over entirely to the worship of the Machine God and are formally independent of the authority of the Adeptus Terra and Ministorum. Military forces of the Imperial Guard fighting campaigns in defence of such worlds are treated more like foreign allied auxiliaries than equals to the Forge World's skitarii congrgations, and even the theoretically-limitless authority of the Inquisition holds little sway in such places.

Since the Starshift the Mechanicum within the Telstein Sector organised as a single polity under the authority of the Fabricator-General - equivalent to the Planetary Governor and foremost Cult Mechanicum priest - of the Sector's foremost Forgeworld. The Fabricator-General of Theurides Primus, Faustius van der Schlan, concurrently holds the post of Sub-Sector Lord for the Theuridian Sub-Sector and is generally regarded as one of the most powerful figures within the Sector because of the monopoly he holds on technological production and maintenance.

Economy

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Demographics

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Psykers

See Also: Psykers

The Adeptus Astra Telepathica has spent much of the century since the Starshift attempting to compensate for its inability to send Psykers to Earth. In times of great tumult this included mass culling of individuals with psychic potential, as is often standard practice when a world is cut off by warp storms and unable to be reached by a Blackship. However, as the political situation has calmed, three Scholasticae Minoria have been founded within the Sector, two of which remain today. As yet their alumni are generally held to be inferior in technique and control to those who had been trained on Terra itself, but this is considered an acceptable price to pay for continued provision of Psychic capabilities. Unfortunately two of the most important abilities are those which are not able to be replicated by these Scholasticae Minoria - the Navigators and the Astropaths. The former is based purely on genetic inheritance and has been affected greatly by low breeding rates and internecine feuding between those members of Navigator Houses who are active in the Imperial Sector. Regarding the latter, no adequate replacement has been identified for the Soulbinding Ritual carried out on Earth itself, and the proportion of Psykers capable of acting as Astropaths without that ritual is so small that the population cannot currently be sustained.

Culture

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Religion

See Also: Imperial Cult & Cult Mechanicus

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. 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.