Chapter 10-Wyrdcraft
Cyralius sat back in the chair on the observation deck, closed his eyes and cast his mind out of his body. For a moment, he saw the various flares that showed the crew-members' own souls scattered about the length and breadth of the ship, before he turned his mental eyesight in on itself, jumping past 'normal' warpsight and to true warpsight; scrying the Empyrean itself.
For even the most accomplished of psykers, letting their mind leap past realspace and into the realm of Chaos was a suicidal exercise, one that would swiftly lead to insanity, or worse. But Cyralius wasn't foolish enough to do something like that. Instead, he let his vision halt at the barriers between realspace and the Warp, and cautiously extended a tendril of his consciousness, brushing against the very edge of the Empyrean's bounds.
It was strange. The Warp felt different; it was hard to find the right word, but if he had to give one then it would be cleaner. The strange taints of the Chaos Gods didn't seem present; none of the thick, bloody reek of Khorne, the sharp crystalline scent of Tzeentch, the sickening stink of Nurgle or the heady musk of Slaanesh.
For another minute, he skimmed over its surface, hunting for them, just to be sure. It was strange; he'd never experienced a phenomenon like this before.
He spent what must have been a good ten minutes probing its surface before he was sure he was right, that the taint of Chaos had gone. It wasn't gone completely; he could still feel a vague taste of it now and again, but it was certainly not as dominant as it once was.
He withdrew, his consciousness retreating back into his own skull, blinking slightly as he saw through is eyes again. Slowly, he drew upon the Warp, checking the mental siphons of his subconscious, ones usually designed to filter out the taint of Chaos so he could use his powers safely, for anything that might be dangerous, flushing the rest off in the form of cool flames that glittered harmlessly around his gauntlets.
Nothing seemed to be building up against them. Had he been in the Imperium, there would already be a small film of Chaotic energy pushing against them, one that would only dissipate once he stopped drawing upon the power of the Empyrean. But there was nothing, nothing whatsoever. Cautiously, he withdrew some of his power from the filters, the flames around his hands blooming as they siphoned it off instead.
Well this certainly was interesting.
A smaller filter was kept on, just in case, but this meant only one thing; he could use more power.
He smiled as he bent the flames in his hand to his will, their forms twisting into shape as he so desired, their ethereal quality suddenly made solid by his will. With a swift motion, he extinguished them, before deciding to experiment proper.
A tendril of his will solidified wrapped itself around one of the chairs, and lifted it in the air. Before, such an effort would have been a difficult one, but now, now it was easy without a having to divert so much energy to his mental defences. Another chair rose, before the table they flanked hovered upwards into the air. Delicately, the three items of furniture danced across the room until Cyralius had them hovering a few metres above the floor on its far side. Despite himself, there was a grin of almost childlike glee on his face.
"Holy shit!"
The exclamation was enough to grab the epistolary's attention, and for a small moment his concentration lurched before he righted it, and the Astartes turned to see the shaven headed girl, Jack, he thought her name was, standing in the doorway, and expression of surprise across her hardened features, as the furniture gently lowered itself to the floor.
"What the hell are you doing?" she asked. "How the hell are you doing that?"
"I'm a psyker," Cyralius replied. "That's how."
"A psyker?" the girl asked. "What's that? You're not one of these New Age fortune teller weirdoes, are you?"
"I'm not, no," Cyralius said. "As I said, I'm a psyker. I can manipulate reality to my will, to a certain extent, using the Warp."
"What are you talking about?" Jack said. "What the hell is the Warp?"
"An alternate reality created from the projected emotions the various sentient species living in the galaxy," Cyralius said. "What, isn't it known about?"
"No," Jack said, giving Cyralius a cautious look. "Though I felt something…weird happening. That's why I came up here."
"You did?" Cyralius asked. "What sort of thing?"
"Sort of, I don't know, like somebody pulling at a rubber sheet, but with the air or something."
Cyralius' interest peaked. Perhaps this girl was one of the 'biotics' he'd read about. As far as he'd been able to tell, they were able to manipulate dark energy fields or something like that, able to use it as a crude form of telekinesis. If that was the case, then he supposed that them being sensitive to the pulls and yanks in the skeins of reality that Psykery caused was not out the question.
"Tell me, have you ever been able to sense things that were…unusual, before?" he asked.
"Yeah," Jack replied. "I'm the most powerful goddamn biotic in the galaxy, what do you expect?"
"You are, are you?" Cyralius said. "That's…interesting."
"What does that mean," Jack said. Suddenly there was a look of suspicion, even hostility, in her eyes. "Anyway, what are you?"
"As I said; a psyker."
"And that's like a Biotic, then?"
"You could say that, yes."
"Right, yeah. Okay, that's cool, I guess," Jack said, turning towards the door. "Hey, what's your name, by the way?"
"Cyralius," the epistolary replied.
"Alright," Jack said. "I guess I'll be seeing you, Cyril."
She stepped out of the door, leaving Cyralius to ponder exactly what she had just called him.
#
"Captain, I will not have this!" Kullas shouted, slamming his fist on the table before him. "This entire ship is abhorrent!"
"I'm sorry, Kullas?" Malleus asked, slightly taken aback by the forge-priest's sudden entrance into the starboard observation deck.
"You heard me," Kullas said. "This entire place is a blasphemy. It must be destroyed!"
"Kullas, we have been over the xenos issue," Malleus replied. "I'm not happy about it. None of us are happy about it, but there's nothing we can do about it."
"Xenos issue?" Kullas said. "This isn't just about damn xenos, it's about this ship and its crew!"
"Kullas, calm down," Malleus said. "At least be coherent."
Kullas took a breath to steady himself, before looking at Malleus.
"None of the ship's maintenance crew know the first thing about repairing machines," Kullas said. "Neither of them knew a single rite to appease machine spirits, and yes, captain, I know that they do not because we do indeed predate the Mechanicum and the Imperium and thus commit no intentional blasphemy, but when I tried to teach them some they refused to learn. One of them even had the gall to ask me if I was mad!"
Malleus raised an eyebrow at the forge priest, who's servo-harness was twitching slightly as it mirrored his distress.
"So what do you want me to do about it?" he asked.
"I want…I wanted…" Kullas trailed off. So caught up in his outrage was he that he hadn't actually managed to think ahead. Instead he opted to take another approach.
"Captain, I realise that it may be unfair of me to judge these people on the terms of the Adeptus Mechanicum," Kullas said. "And, I suppose they would be somewhat irritated if somebody told them that they way they did their jobs was wrong, but I showed them why I was correct. I quoted teachings, repaired one of their devices using only binary cants and showed them the wisdom of the Mechanicum is irrefutable, but they still refuse to believe me. It's heresy, pure and simple."
Malleus frowned for a moment, before asking; "Did you by any chance say that they were heretics?"
"I, I may have, yes," Kullas replied.
"Then don't you think you may have upset them?" Malleus asked. "I wouldn't take kindly to being told that something I did on a daily basis was heretical myself."
"I suppose so," Kullas said. "Yet the point still stands that they are not fit to service this ship."
"Then do something about it, man," Malleus said. "Don't just complain about it, get something done!"
"What, though, Captain," Kullas said. "You said so yourself; we cannot alienate these people if we wish to deal with these 'Reapers' Cyralius told us about. But I am in a quandary here; if they continue their ways, they will surely invite doom upon their heads, yet the more insistent I am then the more unwilling they will be to learn. And forcibly expelling them from the engineering deck will simply make things worse."
"Kullas, I honestly don't know," Malleus said. "Do what you think you need to; you are the expert in your field."
Kullas nodded soberly, before saying; "You're right. I have not conducted myself accordingly, and I have wasted your time, Captain. My apologies."
"Think nothing of it," Malleus replied. "These past few days have been a difficult experience for us all."
Kullas slammed his fist to his chest in a salute and bowed slightly.
"I should be going," he said. "Omnissah's blessings."
He turned and left, heading towards the lift where, down on the engineering deck, he hoped to find Gabby and Kenneth in order to make amends. Before he reached the lift, however, he was stopped by a voice asking; "I have a question."
Kullas halted, and turned around to see who was speaking, yet nobody was there.
"Who is that?" he asked cautiously. "It is often polite to show yourself when speaking to another."
"I'm afraid that the nearest station from which you can 'see' me is some distance away," the voice replied. It was automated one, with a slight feminine inflection. "But I listened to your conversation with Malleus, and the one you had with Gabriella and Kenneth, and I desire more data on you."
'Desire more data,' was an interesting way of putting it, Kullas considered; that was more like a term a tech-priest would use when talking to another than anything. Not to mention the voice was automated. Well, there was one way to make sure.
State enquiry, he chattered in pure binaric, the artificial vocoders implanted into his larynx taking over to talk in a language too fast for his vocal chords to follow.
Basic information on religious beliefs, the voice replied, its own grasp of binary perfectly fluent. Desire specific definition on; machine spirit, Omnissah, divine template.
Request granted. Primary query; Member of Martian machine priesthood. Repair machinery, appease machine spirits, seek knowledge.
Understood. Secondary query; Machine priesthood. Worship of machines?
Only partially accurate. Belief that machine is superior to human form, but machine cannot exist without human form to tend to it. Independently intelligent machinery dangerous and blasphemous.
Religious issue to artificial intelligence?
Historic. Humanity betrayed by artificial intelligence. Iron War. Many dead. Too close to extinction. Machines must be treated as tools, be ruled by man, but cannot rule man. Query; identification?
Enhanced Defence Intelligence, abbreviation EDI. Artificial intelligence concerned with electronic warfare of Normandy SR2.
The statement was enough to jog Kullas from his use of machine code.
"What?" he exclaimed. "You are an artificial intelligence and you are in charge of a ship?"
"That is not entirely correct," EDI replied. "I handle the electronic warfare and secondary defence systems of the ship."
"You are still in charge of a significant part of the ship's systems, yes?" Kullas replied, doing his best to keep his voice calm and modulated.
"That is true," EDI replied.
"I see," Kullas said. "And where might your main processors be stored?"
"They are on the tertiary deck, next to the medical bay," EDI said.
"I see," Kullas said. "Thank you."
He changed his direction, heading along past the lift and up towards the Normandy's bow, trying to stop the almost compulsive twitches of concern from the arms of the servo-harness attached to his back. He noticed Okeen step out of the infirmary as he walked past, and was halted for a moment by the apothecary.
"Kullas," he said. "I was just explaining to doctor Chakwas here about augmetics, and I was hoping you could show her some of yours so she can get an idea of what they are like."
"I'm afraid not," Kullas said. "I have far more pressing business to attend to."
"It'll only be a moment," Okeen said. "Besides, what do you need to do?"
"Destroy the abomination lurking in there!" Kullas proclaimed, pointing to the door of the ship's AI core.
For a moment Okeen frowned, before he asked; "You mean EDI, don't you?"
"Yes, I do," Kullas replied. "And…hold on a moment. You knew of EDI and you did not tell me?"
"Yes, I did" Okeen said. "I assumed you knew as well."
"How dare you?" Kullas stormed. "You think I would stand idle while such an abomination existed?"
"I didn't mean it like that," Okeen replied, raising his hands somewhat defensively. "I just said-"
"I do not care what you were trying to say," Kullas said. "Out of my way!"
He stepped around the baffled apothecary, marching up to the AI core's door. He stood in front of it, waiting for the automated doors to slide away, but nothing happened.
"Open this," he said. "Open it at once!"
By now a crowd was gathering, various deck hands craning their necks to see what the semi-bionic Astartes was doing.
"I can't let you do that, Kullas," EDI said. "What you intend to do would compromise the ship. That would be unacceptable."
"Very well then," Kullas replied. The two claws mounted on his servo-harness reared, snapping in anticipation. "You leave m no choice. Ave Omnissah."
"What's going on?" a familiar voice called, and one of the claws turned, the inbuilt cameras spotting Miranda shouldering her way through the crowd. "What in hell's name are you doing?"
"Saving you all," Kullas said, glancing back for only a moment. Then, one of the arms crashed down, the second following suit and peeling away the hole the first had punched in the door with a scream of tortured metal.
He stepped inside, frowning as he regarded the various panels displayed before him. All he needed was a single way to get him into EDI's coding. From there, he could find and unmake all of EDI's being.
"Stop!" Miranda yelled, drawing her pistol. "Stop right now."
Kullas ignored her, boots clanking on the deckplate as he walked towards the main panel. Chattering a soft binaric cant under his breath, he reached towards the panels, the various microprocessors embedded into his fingertips sending out signals that would grant him entry to EDI's systems.
He paused for a moment when he felt a pistol being pressed against the side of his head, before one of his servo arms swept up and slammed Miranda up against the wall, sending her gasping and choking, struggling vainly against their mechanical might. Gently, Kullas loosened his grip slightly, just enough to let her breathe.
"Do not try and stop me, Miss Lawson," he said. "I act in the name of the common good."
"What the hell…are you…talking about," Miranda managed to gasp.
"It's the damnable…thing that you foolishly let exist in your ship," Kullas said. "I am destroying it before it betrays us all. Take my word, in the long run it will only be a good thing."
"You're insane," Miranda said, managing to get a grip on the claw and pull herself upwards so she could breathe properly. "There are barriers, limiters, they stop that from happening."
"Barriers can be overcome, and limiters have loopholes," Kullas said. "As soon as this machine decides that the time is right to destroy you, it will find ways past those and then you will be doomed."
"KULLAS!" This was a roar, one of deep rage, pronounced in a deep voice that could only be Malleus'. "What in the Emperor's name are you doing?"
The captain strode into the AI core, grabbed Kullas' shoulder plate and spun him to face him. Miranda dropped to the floor with a gasp, neck nearly wrenched out of place by the sudden movement.
"What I am doing, captain, is what should have been done long ago," Kullas answered, his bionic eye and remaining organic one locking with Malleus' own. "I am destroying the abominable intelligence that controls this ship before it does us."
"Kullas, stand down," Malleus said. "Do not be a fool."
"A fool? A fool? You tell me not to take the necessary measures needed for the survival of all on board and you call me the fool?"
"Just what exactly…is the problem with EDI?" Miranda asked, before coughing weakly. She had got to her feet, one hand gently massaging her bruised throat, the other used to support herself on the wall.
"EDI is an abominable intelligence," Kullas said. "There for it must be destroyed."
"Yes, but why?" Miranda said. "That's not a good enough reason to just go bloody storming in there."
"Because abominable intelligences are a blasphemy, a contravention of the Omnissah's edicts. It is my duty to do so."
"And what exactly is so 'blasphemous' about them?" Miranda asked. "For God's sake, you're making no sense."
For a moment, rage flared in Kullas' eyes, before he said; "You do not know of the Iron War. The very war that left trillions dead, drove humanity to the brink of extinction and plunged us into a millennia long dark age. A war that was brought about by the hands of abominable intelligences, no less. And you, Malleus, you dare tell me that by shutting this abhorrence down I am being a fool?"
"Kullas, I will say this only once," Malleus said. "Stand down now. I will not say it again."
"I will not!"
"Kullas," Malleus said, switching to Gothic. "I know full well the dangers of AI. I know of the Iron War. But as you yourself acknowledged less than five minutes ago, we cannot afford to alienate these people either. This is like the xenos, you understand? I don't want it. You don't want it. None of us want it. But if we want humanity to survive, then we need to look at the bigger picture. We can deal with the xenos and the AIs and the other thousands of blasphemies that exist later; right now, we've got an immediate threat and that is what we need to deal with. Do you understand, Kullas?"
For a moment, Kullas stood stock still, quivering with adrenaline, before he stepped towards the door. Just as he passed Malleus, he murmured quietly words only the captain would hear.
"For all our sakes, I pray you know what you're doing, captain."