Disclaimer: I own Jackshit.
AN: Ok then. The next chapter of the story is finished and ready. Once more, I'd like to thank Vladicus for giving this a read over to ensure that it wasn't a complete pile of rubbish.
Anyway, on with the story!
XXX
Watching as the last Tech-Priest was bundled up in webs of super-strong Carbon nanotubes, I felt a deep satisfaction at the battle being complete so swiftly, as Collectors crawled through what remained of what must have once been the Main reactor of the vessel I was on. Looking around through the eyes of my creations, I saw that the place had clearly seen better days, even before my... visit.
Walls were decorated by claw marks and cuts, seemingly created by a localized heat source that, according to my calculations should have reduced the entire wall to little more than molten slag, but was focused and localized to a single cut. Dried blood decorated dozens of spots on the walls, which was joined by freshly spilt blood and oil along with the body parts of those that had been slain. Said body parts were being gathered altogether by my Collectors as they searched for anything of value among the fallen. Discarded weapons, stray body parts, implants and even a few random pieces of metal that they had picked up from the ground were added to a rapidly growing pile of material. They were laid out on a carpet of webbing that served as a blanket, a trick they had learned early on, in order to carry loose items around efficiently in large bundles. I approved of it, but pushed that to the side of my thought processes as my attention was focused on keeping track of the still living Tech-Priests that were being carried through the winding corridors of the vessel.
A total headcount showed that I had captured a grand total of 57 Tech-Priests of various ranks, an impressive amount, though given that I saw the bodies of almost two hundred such individuals on the ground, I knew I had ways to go. Tech-Priests were by no means weak. They were not to be taken lightly by anyone, lest said individuals either die humiliating deaths or suddenly find themselves as either a lab rat or a new Servitor. The destruction of so many of my units reinforced that but this just drove it home, especially after the Binary cry of the last target I had designated. They had fought hard, a few of them even committing suicide via various types of Grenades when capture seemed likely, but they still fell to overwhelming numbers.
Even then despite this carnage, all I felt was some mild satisfaction at the victory, and noticed a distinct lack of remorse as I absently ordered both the living captives and the corpses of their former comrades to my Research Walker. A fair amount of stuff was already going that way, but the corpses and captives were getting special treatment as I wanted to examine them thoroughly. I knew from my memories of 40K that Tech-Priests held many secrets, especially when it came to science and technology of any kind. Innovation may have been something that they considered heretical, but they still knew much. They were the only reason that the Imperium of Man was as advanced as it currently was and it showed. They maintained everything to one degree or another, as such even the humble Enginseer would know much about the technologies of the Imperium which would speed up my efforts immensely.
Sure, I could simply reverse-engineer everything on my own, but doing so would take time and processing power. Not to mention the simple fact that I wasn't going to turn down being given the master blueprint for any technologies I might find. Especially if said technologies might be the key to getting me out of this Hell-hole of a universe.
With that thought, I turned my attention to the Research Walker that was striding through the hollow sections of the vessel. Medical equipment was being flash-fabricated along with storage bays and appropriate means of restraining those still-living captives I now had. Corpses were going to be set to the side and dissected first, the aim being to learn about what forms of technologies were incorporated into them. Not to mention recovering any information still present within their cybernetic brains. An added bonus of this was learning more about how to interface with the Neural interfaces that all Tech-Priests seemed to have in order to control their implants. I knew studying both would help a lot when it came to extracting information, especially when compared to the rather crude and brute force method I had used to render my captives unconscious.
XXX
Work continued around the clock, even as I kept a careful eye on the dissection of the corpses. Collectors scouted out more of the ship, searching through corridors even as they ripped through walls, floors and ceilings to gather more resources for me to reclaim. Absently, I kept a few dozen of them hanging around the Plasma Reactor and monitor it while also having Collectors working together to move a series of Fabricator into position. Fabricators weren't limited to simply creating solid materials, they could, as I had found, create liquids and some gases, though, only if the gas was dense enough. As such, I had the Collectors grab sample of Promethium and bring it back to one of my Walkers. I didn't really need to reverse-engineer anything about it, so I simply set the four Fabricators to produce it and pump it into a small, ad-hoc fuel tank before pumping that directly into the Reactor.
I had half a dozen Collectors linked directly to the Reactor's control as I kept a note of all the readouts. Throughout it, I noted that the Admech really must not have paid too much attention to what they created, since the operating system for the Reactor had the readouts for dozens of sensors to tell an operator exactly what was wrong with it at any given time. Then again, innovation kind of went out the window for the Admech after the Horus Heresy, as far as I was aware. They got caught up with simply copying what existed with no real drive for understanding. Which was probably why they seemed to have added so many redundant gauges and such, since they didn't know what was in the operating system of the reactor itself.
I had the areas around both the Gellar Field generator and the reactor reinforced and fortified heavily, as I quite enjoyed living and those two areas were vital to me not becoming daemonic chow. Both areas now supported dedicated garrisons, and would remain to have them until I got the hell out of the Warp, if not until I got the hell out of this reality. I sent out more groups throughout the ship looking for anything of interest. What I found ranged from random remains of the Human crewmen that used to walk the corridors to random items that I could use to gather more information. In the time it took me to fortify my holdings I found that and more, I even found more than a few Cogitators still in semi-working order. The organic sections of the machines were half-way rotten in many places, and most of them had physically been damaged by impacts or superheated, ultra-focused cuts through their casings. However, in most cases, enough remained of the machines to allow me to gather some useful information.
For one thing, I had found a rather decent quality map of the ship, at least for the main areas and things like that, including several other vital areas such as the 'Enginarium', the 'Generatorium', the 'Medicae Wards', Armories and the various gunnery positions. The Bridge was also highlighted at the prow of the ship, along with my initial location, which was a plus, since I discovered that I was near the middle of what was, apparently, a Luna-class Cruiser called the Profits on the Wind. I would have rolled my eyes at the name, had I had any to do so, if only because I was reasonably sure that this was a Rogue Trade vessel, rather than Imperial Navy. Mostly due to how fucking on the nose it was, given the common views of Rogue Traders being vain and extremely greedy individuals.
Not even mentioning the legendary wonderlust that they all seemed to experience in one form or another.
Shaking such thoughts away, this made me re-evaluate the value of those Tech-Priests. Upwards, of course, potentially by several orders of magnitude.I put further priority on the dissection and investigation of the corpses while having several new sub-processes start looking for ways to interface with their cybernetics, if only to access their minds for their knowledge and experience. The experience that a single one of those Tech-Priests could have was now something I needed, especially if even a single one of them was a Magos Explorator and knew how to get me the hell out of the Warp. With the map, I ordered a new group of units to head for the rear of the ship, searching for any sign of the main engines or, even better, the Warp Drive.
As those orders were sent, I paused for a moment, noting the relief I felt, I barely felt it, but it was there. I felt it more and more as the chance to get the hell out of the Warp grew, something that I hadn't felt before. A second passed as I considered my memories and noted that this was the first time I had felt relief since waking up, a note of my emotions always being best described as calm and dispassionate, for the most part. It was enough for me to know that now was as good a time as any to look into just what the hell had happened with my emotions. Then again, I felt that if I didn't investigate it now, I might not get the chance later down the line...
...For one reason or another...
XXX
... Well then...
Ok, so, it had been a few days since I have captured my haul of Toaster Worshipers before leaving them in the fridge, but in that time I had discovered a few things. Firstly, and the potentially least troubling one to resolve, was the simple fact my units had finally made it to where the main Engines and Warp drive should be. I say 'should' because they are missing.
Literally, the main entryway was barred with a Blast Door that sensors showed led to the open Warp beyond. I didn't even bother trying to get beyond it after making that discovery, if only because I didn't feel like trying my luck with being exposed to the Warp. Even through a proxy like my units I didn't want to risk it as I didn't know what Daemons and other Warp Predators might be able to do, so I didn't want to take any chances in that respect since I either had a soul, and could be possessed and/or corrupted, or didn't. If it was the latter, then I could be both safer and more exposed than before, though, I didn't even want to think about that mess of metaphysical bullshit.
Still, the single ship missing so many crucial components wasn't the end of the World, especially given the potential for other Warp Drives being present in the surrounding ships. This was the only reason that I hadn't triggered that damned 'Factory Baseline' a few dozen times out of sheer panic. Dozens of other vessels were stuck to the Spacehulk, which meant that I still had a chance, assuming I could get to them...
Moving on from there, to my my other important discoveries.
I have found out a bit more about the 'Factory Baseline' thing that had flashed through my mind after I had had a mental breakdown. Turns out, there were several options for that and all of them had been ramped up to full with me having very little, to no, control over the damned thing. At most, I was able to discover what the feature did and why. Long story short, it was a feature designed to make sure that veteran Commanders didn't panic or go nuts in the field from seeing too much shit. Commanders were apparently created with a very limited ability to feel emotions, but they could feel them. Experience and veteran status usually meant that they could experience the same range as most Humans. However, that still didn't mean that they were immune to freaking out. As such, this feature basically removed all their experience at feeling emotions, reducing them to the defaults that seemed to be little more than positive reinforcement for successful victories, tactics and strategies. The whole point of this was to ensure that the Commanders that reached a certain emotional maturity would be completely desensitized to any form of action. Nothing should be able faze them , but the system was still retained as a 'safety feature', to ensure that anything that did faze them, didn't do so for long before they got back in business.
I felt some measure of frustration at that, another returning feeling, at the explanation I was given. Mainly because I knew Human emotions weren't something that could be disconnected without any kind of side effects. Not to mention the fact that emotions had aspects in both the mental and biological aspects of a Human's existence. And that was without getting into metaphysical bullshit, which was a fact of life in 40K.
Still, the fact that it had happened to me, and worked, said various things about the PA-Progenitors. Not only that, but it implied several things that made me feel... Disquieted, for lack of a better term, since it seemed that even without the temporary emotional lobotomy, I was incapable of feeling truly remorseful, regretful or disgusted. There were even fucking Notes on it in the system programming that explained why, mostly due to some BS about needing to do whatever it takes to win, regardless of the cost or morality of the actions needed.
Once again, I was disquieted by the fact that, the PA-Progenitors had embraced the Cold calculus of war...Moving swiftly onwards, and on to less... Progressive things...
My attempts to get the information out of the Tech-Priests had hit a roadblock, several in fact.
First, trying to extract any information from the implants taken from the corpses proved to be of little use. The data on it seemed to auto-delete when the Tech-Priest died, though a few things had been recovered from the dozen corpses I'd examined to see what could be found. So far, it proved informative and useful, but less than I had hoped or expected for. That didn't mean that it wouldn't be of great utility further down the line, just that I didn't have a use for the blueprints of a Leman Russ Tank or an Aquila Lander at the current moment. My second try at this was slightly more fruitful, when I tried it with a few of the less dead captives, though, I had managed to find some information regarding ranks and hierarchy within the Priesthood of Mars. As such, I was able to try my luck on a few of the, as-yet-still-alive Enginseers I had captured.
With that in mind, I had gone through it under the assumption that I just needed to get the information in their heads while preventing them from deleting this. Turns out, it was a lot more difficult in practice than in theory. Their augmented minds fought me every step of the way, even with my Root access and their mental capabilities reduced to that of a rotten Cabbage. I blamed that on the 'Machine Spirits' that were probably present, if the data-echoes I saw were any indication. I had yet to investigate them, but I made a note to do so in the future. When I finally did get something, it was often nothing of value, or something that was utterly useless, like how to repair the equivalent of a coffee machine.
Suffice to say, I rapidly lost my patience after the seventh time that happened and just wiped the minds of the Tech-Priests and reformatted the information and what fragments remained. I thought that would work, giving me access to the information, but the end result was not what I hoped for. Instead of being able to extract the information and assimilate it effectively, I was left with an expert system trapped in a barely functioning corpse of a body. The Tech-Priest's shattered mind was turned into a problem solving engine that seemed incapable of solving problems outside it's limited pool of information, ones trapped in barely living corpses at that. The ability to learn from failures or new data was completely lost and the information was still out of my grasp. Directly downloading the information was prevented by the Machine Spirits, that corrupted any information that I tried to take from the lobotomized Priest. With that said, I decided to simply euthanize the test subjects, feeling that would be the humane thing to do.
It still creeped me the fuck out that I didn't feel even remotely sad about the fact I had, basically just mind-raped someone into oblivion, let alone the fact that they were killed so dispassionately by my decisions. I blamed the mental and emotional gymnastics that I had apparently been thrown through in order to fit my new form.
However, even with that, I felt that there was still a chance to get the information that I required as I investigated the Machine Spirits and their connection to the Tech-Priests, not to mention furthering my understanding of the Neural interfaces that the Tech-Priests used. I was looking for a chink in the armor that protected their knowledge and experience, something that I could use even as I pursued alternatives. Resources were poured into the work as I considered prototypes and started connecting further and more complex devices to one of my chosen 'test subjects' in the hope of carrying out a very specific goal in mind.
Though, admittedly, I had something similar in mind, I had no intention of turning the Tech-Priests into batteries.
Far too inefficient...
XXX
Consciousness came instantly as Magos Errant Neta Alkins blinked, her vision coming back to her as she looked around, her form bent over as she found herself awake and alive. Moving her gaze, she instantly found herself within a white void, utterly devoid of features save for herself and the seat that she sat upon. Said chair was well made, Neta feeling the leather-like material under her body, pressed against her skin through her clothing even as she discovered several things that almost caused her to panic.
The first thing she discovered was that she could not move, anything below her neck seemed to be locked in place, unable to even twitch minutely, not even a single toe. For another thing, she discovered that she could no longer access, or feel, her implants. A glance down at her bound arm showed not a steel-forged limb from her early induction into the Priesthood of Mars, but an organic limb that lay within an open sleeve of a white robe that seemed to cover her frame. Besides that, Neta could feel little resting against her skin, telling her that it was all that covered her form even as she saw it drop down, passed her knees. Looking around for a moment, she still saw nothing but a white void, the ground below her being white tiles to differentiate it, but still white all the same.
However, in the blink of an eye, something changed.
Within the blink of an eye, a small table appeared before her, two small cups appearing on it on small saucers that seemed to steam slightly as another chair appeared on the other side of the table, virtually identical to the one she sat in. Along with that, it was current host to another being that Neta could clearly see was not Human.
The being sat with a calm, confident posture with both arms relaxed on either arm rest. It wore some kind of formal attire, a jacket and trousers of the same black. Under that, she saw it wearing a shirt that looked to be a blue so dark it might as well be black. Gloves covered the hands while the feet were covered by simple, practical, shoes that seemed to have recently been polished to a reasonable degree. However, the face and head of the being revealed their inhumanity quite obviously. The head was smooth, like polished glass that lacked any feature while showing an image beyond it. Neta looked on as she stared into that glass-like surface and saw stars twinkling on the other side, she saw a distant nebula gleaming in the void.
She would admit, it was an impressive sight. A shame that it came through the skin of a Xeno. However, before she could voice her disdain, the creature spoke.
"Ah, good to see you awake at last, Magos Errant Neta Alkins. I trust your rest was pleasant?" It asked as she glared at it, still unable to move as she snarled, teeth showing as she did everything she could to will her body forwards.
"Release me at once, Xeno Filth! For I swear to the Deus Ex Machina, you will pain for the lives you have stolen!" She growled through grinding teeth as her efforts came to not. Whatever held her still remained as firm and as unyielding as ever, so spitting verbal curses and promises of vengeance was all she could do, that and have faith that the Machine God's will would be done.
"I'll take that as a yes, little Priest. Though, I must admit, there is no need to be so unpleasant about it. I was merely asking a question." The creature stated simply, seemingly unbothered by her proclamation as it reached forwards and sipped it's tea. Neta watched as it seemed to absorb the liquid through it's skin without difficult, unhindered by the lack of a physical mouth as it looked at her without eyes.
"Then again, I can understand why you are being less than pleasant. And while I apologies that such actions were taken to secure both yourself and your comrades, they were regretfully necessary." The creature spoke simply, revealing itself to be the one behind the attack that had killed so many and captured so many others, no doubt to have their data-archives pillaged of knowledge and sacred lore. Neta simply glared harder upon hearing this, willing the creature to combust by the will of the Machine God as her gaze bore into the smooth face of the creature. Said creature simply returned the look with an unblinking gaze of its own, seemingly unbothered yet again as it took another sip of the cup.
"Irrelevant, you Heretical Xeno Abomination. For your actions against the Followers of the Machine God, He shall smite you for your Xeno-technological blasphemies." She stated with cold fury as anger still boiled through her as it was replaced by the cold fury that only came with hate. The creature tilted it's head to one side, seemingly curious about something.
"The Machine God? Maybe. Though, I must confess, I'm unsure of which entity you are referring to. Are you talking about the C'tan lurking in the Noctis Labyrinth on Mars? The Human Emperor that is currently struggling to survive on his Golden Throne? Or do you mean some other being that I am unaware of?" It asked even as Neta heard the words of the Xenos and paused as it heard the clearly alien word in relation to the Holy Forge World of Mars. The question formed and escaped her lips within moments without her consent.
"A Xenos on the Holy World of Mars?! What Blasphemies do you dare speak, you Foul, Rust-taken piece of Scrap!" The Magos shouted, rage seething through her as she tried to jump up from her seat and attack the Xeno before her. The action was still an exercise in futility as her body still refused to move, whether this was due to it being restraining thoroughly or due to the Xeno having gained such a big level of control over it, the Magos did not know. However, the creature seemed completely unaffected by the triad that slipped through her lips.
"No 'Blasphemies, merely the truth of the matter. I do not know who you were referring to as the 'Machine God', so I wished for clarification. The ideal that you follow is known to me, but I also know that there are several in this existence that could serve such a title. The one you would call the 'God-Emperor', or Omnissiah, could fit, but he is a being of a far broader scope. Certainly, with the God-forging that is currently underway, I doubt his domain would be of machines and technology. The Void Dragon, perhaps, would have been a better fit, if only because of its nature as a C'tan that seemed to specialize in technology. Not only that, but its location upon Mars would mean that, even sleeping, its dreams would still bring rise to technological advancements, both great and terrible in nature. However, that is neither here nor there, as it does not relate to the reasons that both you and I are currently here." The Xenos stated, uncrossing a leg and leaning forwards, placing the cup and saucer down with a single gloved hand as it leaned forwards, elbows out and it's head pressed forwards, seemingly looking at the Magos with an intent stare.
"The simple fact of the matter is that I require knowledge and experience. Genetic scans, and what I have learned of the hierarchy of the Adeptus Mechanicus, show that you are both the most learned and oldest Tech-Priest among those I have gathered. Your genetics show repeated signs of rejuvenation on both the cellular and physical levels while your cybernetics have been mapped to be both extremely well integrated and quite invasive, certainly more so than just a new initiate to your Order. Scans show that you own data cores holding your memories, knowledge and wisdom have been expanded several times to ensure that you have enough space for it all. As such, I need you for the information and knowledge you possess." The creature stated simply, the Magos noted the use of certain words as it spoke. The way it talked about her implants and the fact that it could say such things with ease made her feel violated on a primal level, as she was utterly exposed to a Xeno that had done something to her. Neta also noted the fact that it never seemed to speak as though the Bionics had been removed. Such a situation struck her as odd since, quite clearly, she didn't have any, since she could neither feel them within her flesh, nor access them with instinctive commands learned over lifetimes of experience.
"You would dare try and steal the sacred lore of the Machine from it's rightful custodians?! The Omnissiah will Smite you for your Heresy you Scrapcode-ridden, Xeno Abomi-AAAAAH!" Neta sneered, showing her determination as she spewed insults at the creature that took them with calm indifference. However, before she could get far, her triad was interrupted by a wave of sheer agony that filled her, her non-existent Bionics offering no protection as liquid fire flowed through her veins.A scream parted through her lips as pain that redefined pain flowed through her for a timeless eternity before it finally stopped. AS it stopped, the Magos felt sweat dripping down her skin, her throat raw even as she panted. Throughout this, the creature remained still, seemingly unaffected by this even as it clasped it's hands before it, arching up from the armrests of the chair.
"First, let me correct you. I am not, as you would call it, a 'Xeno'. A more fitting term for me would be what you would call a Man of Iron. I believe you would call such a thing as me a 'Silica Animus', if I understand correctly." The creature stated with the same calm indifference as Neta suddenly felt her head snap around, her pain forgotten and her exhaustion ignored as she turned to look at the creature that was, quite possibly, the greatest crime against the Machine God to every exist; The Thinking Machine. She went to scream, to shout, to curse the machine and declare that it would see the Vengeance of the Omnissiah brought down upon it even as she rallied against her restraints. Instead, nothing happened as she found her voice silenced, her throat tightening as her vocal cords refused to respond.
"Secondly. I have already tried to forcibly take the knowledge of your comrades, something that has shown itself to be, at the current time, an exercise in futility. As a result, I have decided that it would be better for you to give it to me, of your own free will." The Silica Animus stated simply even as she pondered her next move, thoughts of killing the machine circling in her mind as she considered them. A moment later, a lance of pain struck, silencing the thought in an instant and forcing it away.
"Of course, free will is a subjective thing. Certainly, there are ways around it and I know several such methods. Though, I will ask once more, that you give me what I seek. I am even willing to offer much in exchange for your services, all you need do is work with me." It stated, it's voice like sweet poison as she felt her voice return to her control. The Abominable Intelligence merely watched her as she pulled herself up and looked at it with undisguised hate flaring in both eyes before she spoke once more.
"... May the Deus Ex Machina's Wrath cleanse this universe of your Heretical exista-AAAAAH!" Once more, Neta Alkins made to speak, but was cut off as her voice was reduced to little more than pained screams even as the volume of her screams seemed to disappear. Her vocal cords were silenced, her throat clamping up and her teeth grit together in pain even as the Thing spoke once more, a more mechanical tone present in its voice.
"... Regrettable, but not unforseen. Given time, I am sure you shall sing a different tune." The machine stated as it moved to stand up from the chair, movements flowing far too gracefully for anything Human, augmented or otherwise. Said movements had more in line with the baleful Eldar Xenos and their Dark ilk. Taking several steps, the machine quickly stood to one side the chair as it looked back at her, glancing over a shoulder as the Magos Errant felt something slither up her legs. A feeling of intense cold and numbness that swarmed her ankles. Neta could feel it moving, something that felt solid, yet flowed like a liquid as it streamed up her legs and came into view as she felt horror surge within the depths of her mind as a swarming mass of black crept over her legs, up the side of the chair. Within the black mass, Neta could see a red glow that terrified her to the core even as she felt her arms going numb, experiencing more of the same. Snapping her head around, she saw the same strange and terrifying material covering her arms, surging up her body as she tried to struggle.
Her struggles were for naught, as her body was still held firm as the sound of footsteps grew ever dimmer to her ears. Looking up, Neta saw the shrinking back of the Silica Animus as it walked away, the white tiles turning black with it's passage as more of that material seemed to sprout from it's steps. Random spots of it formed around her, but most seemed to follow his path away and spread rapidly, surging in all directions, but especially towards her. Even as she felt the goo crawling up her waist and along her shoulders, the machine spoke, it's voice still audible to her even over the growing sound of echoing steps and shifting liquid.
"Deus Ex Machina... The God from the Machine. I suppose that your people would call me the Diabolus Ex Machina, the Devil from the Machine. Though, after some... Introspection, I'm sure you'll come to know which title is more fitting when addressing me, especially when compared to you..." The machine stated as the liquid crawled over her chest, hugging her body as she gasp from the cold contact against her skin, flowing over skin and coating every crevice with its mass. Around the corners of her vision, Neta could see it creeping it, rearing up as it reached the edges of her face, felt it crawling through her ears even as tendrils of it snaked up and touched her bottom lip.
With it's piece said, the machine seemed to disappear in a burst of static before the tendrils of black and red pulled back further, readying to strike at her even as Neta finally understood the feeling that was deep within her heart at that moment.
As the black liquid surged and her vision disappeared, coated in darkness, Magos Errant Neta Alkins felt dread.
XXX
Unplugging from the simulation that I had taken to calling the Matrix, I couldn't help the feeling of satisfaction that filled me even as it made my guts roll. The actions taken were monstrous, inhumane and utterly disgusting, but I didn't feel any of that, even as the system I was now stuck in seemed to want to reward me for achieving my objectives that I had set at a subconscious level. The entire thing was geared towards turning me into a Brutally Efficient, Self-Replicating Mechanism of War, one that would do anything and everything to win, no matter what those actions were or what they would be seen as.
One could hardly blame me for being less than eager to become a monster, even if I understood the need. I was pragmatic enough to understand that peace was a lie, especially in the current universe I was in.
Still, unoriginal names and moral dilemmas aside, I felt that progress was being made. My work on converting the Tech-Priests to my side was going well, conditioning them to different things was working as I used Operant Conditioning to make them associate different drives. Sub-processes connected to their nerves and brains were triggering pain and pleasure responses to associate and re-associate things with the feeling, mildly altering loyalties as they brought in other emotions by altering chemical balances. Emotions, on a purely biological level, were just chemical reactions that took place in the brain, things that could be altered and shifted with the right know-how. One of my early attempts to mind-wipe a Tech-Priest had been on a Genetor, a Tech-Priest that specialized in biology. As a result, while he had been turned into little more than an expert system, I still had his extensive knowledge to pull from, especially since he knew more than enough about Human biology for my purposes.
Combined with the fact that the simulation was running at several times the speed of base reality, it meant that their indoctrination into a new... Faith, for lack of a better work, would be completed rapidly. Not to mention the fact that I was being extremely thorough in my reprogramming of their mentalities. Nothing was being left to chance, especially with the Warp and other things being present in this hellscape of an existence.
Still, as that went on, other projects were being carried out as my units spread out. The ship I was on was being hollowed out further, with more and more sections being devoured even as my minions crawled through different areas. Already, several sections of the hull were being isolated and sealed off from the rest of the hollow space to allow the units to pull said sections down and re-seal the holes. The whole point of such operations being to allow for the disassembly and reclamation of a dozen of the ship-mounted weapons that the vessel came with, even in pieces. Dozens other pieces of equipment were being consumed and researched as well. Reverse-engineering of such technologies was given a top-priority as I built more Research Walkers to allow me to do both just that, while keeping the Matrix running at full speed.
Watching it all, while still carrying out an investigation of another project, I couldn't help but repeat something I had thought earlier: Unlimited multi-tasking was a beautiful thing.
With that thought, I turned a fraction of my attention back to one of the many tasks at hand. Namely, the dissection of what the Tech-Priests called Machine Spirits.
Or, as I had discovered, fragments of Men of Stone and Men of Iron, both mixed with the simplistic instincts of a rather weak infomorph-like creature...
XXX
AN: Ok, so that was Chapter 3 complete. Hope you all enjoyed it. Any feedback and comments are welcome, and I'll try and take them onboard to improve the story.