Garahm eyed the unassuming metal ball on his palm, his eyes narrowing even as every single scanner he'd set loose upon it came back with a negative; the artifact was not corrupted and neither was it tampered with. For all intents and purposes, it was pure. But still, he had to make sure; after all, something of this magnitude might just be the catalyst that will bring about mankind's ultimate victory. The time he'd spent studying it also revealed other, very concerning possibilities that would have to be brought up and discussed in utter and utmost secrecy. After all, the Imperium could not afford another schism, no matter how small or how brief.
And this tiny thing in his grasp held enough potential to turn the Imperium over its head, especially if it wasn't carefully distributed.
Garahm sighed and leaned back. His helmet was on the table next to him, polished to perfection and recently oiled with whatever it was the Tech-Priests anointed and offered him. Though it was a biological impossibility, Garahm felt the budding signs of a major headache that was sure to hit him like a brick from the top of the Imperial Palace. He stared at the metal orb once again and his eyes narrowed; soon or later, this was gonna have to be sent to Mars. Perry made the right decision here by handing it over to the Custodes, an act that essentially transferred authority and responsibility to a much higher entity. After all, the Priests of Mars were more likely to listen to and accept the reasoning of a Custodian as opposed to a Guardsman; such a thing honestly wouldn't have been much of a problem if Perry was, in fact, able to properly explain how he came to receive such an artifact, but he couldn't, whereas the Custodes could say that it was uncovered from the Inner Sanctum of the Imperial Palace.
"Lord-Commander, there's been a-" Khars suddenly walked through the door. Ah yes, another walking source of headaches. At least, he'd gotten used to the Khars' antics over the many centuries they've spent serving the Emperor together. Garahm did not bother to rise and greet his friend and subordinate, however, as there really was no need to do so. "Is that the STC?"
Garahm nodded and tossed the orb over to Khars, who swiped it from the air and held it close to his eye-lenses. Unlike himself, Khars wasn't privy to the actual design held within; as far as his fellow Custodian was aware, Perry had simply been granted an STC by his strange and esoteric powers. The way the Emperor explained it, Perry was a nascent entity of some kind, who subconsciously made himself stronger by performing great feats, things that his mind accepted as some form of achievement and, therefore, deserving of reward. "The one and only, given to us by our dear and honored guest, Perry Anatinus."
"Yes, another one of his rewards, was it?" Khars said, lowering the STC and tossing it back to Garahm. "What a queer power he possesses; no wonder the Emperor deigned to have us be his... leash."
"What does the STC do anyway?" Khars asked. And, for a moment, Garahm pondered if he should answer at all, before deciding that, at the very least, there was no need to keep the STC a secret from his fellow Custodians. "You've been here for the last five hours. I can tell when something's up."
"It's a blueprint for a... an unimaginably powerful device, capable of FTL communication, regardless of distance." Garahm answered. "From what I understand of it and from what Perry told me, each device is connected to each other on a quantum level, allowing instant transmission of data from one corner of the galaxy to another. Can you imagine how such a device could save the Imperium?"
"Oh, I can imagine it quite well, actually." Khars tried – he really did – but he couldn't quite hide the utter surprise in his tone. Plus, Garahm had known him for thousands of years at this point; he knew what the sexual deviant was thinking most of the time. And this... this device was a surprise even for him. "That's... very dangerous. Have you told anyone else about it?"
Garahm shook his head. "For now, we'll keep it a secret. Only fellow Custodians should be made aware of it."
An implication he'd not shared with Khars was that the device seemed as though it could be modified to do... other things. For instance, even with Garahm's admittedly limited understanding of technology, he saw the potential for it to be modified and tuned in such a way as to be capable of piercing through even the writhing storm of souls and daemons that was the Warp and perceiving the Astronomican; specifically, if they were to install one of these devices into the Golden Throne, then it would allow every other device to perceive and monitor the Astronomican constantly. Warp Navigation would be easier and safer, and – most importantly – Navigators would be rendered mostly obsolete.
His idea was that a vessel would carry one of the FTL Communication Device at all times, which could then be used to lock onto another FTL Communication Device, present at its intended destination – could be a planet or a fleet; it hardly mattered. And that connection would essentially function as an anchor, creating a straight path, for a lack of a better term, with the connection to the modified FTL Communication Device on the Golden Throne illuminating said path.
Or something like that.
His preliminary examination of the blueprints certainly hinted at the possibility.
At least, that was how Garahm saw it. Surely, the Tech-Priests of Mars, whose knowledge of technology and STC's far outclassed his own, would see even greater potential uses for the device. He could also be wrong, of course. It was entirely possible that the device wouldn't be able to perform all the things he'd envisioned it doing and that was okay.
Actually, the entirety of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica would be rendered obsolete. And, alongside the Navigator Houses, these two were some of the most powerful and influential entities within the Imperium. If they found out about a device that would essentially make them useless, they'd do everything in their power to make sure that such a device would never see the light of day.
Unfortunately for them, the blueprints for the FTL Communication Device was far more important than they could ever be. It had to reach Mars. It had to be distributed.
"I will not speak of it to anyone." Khars said, tipping his head slightly forward. "You have my word. But... you agree with me, then? Perry is dangerous – too dangerous, actually. His abilities boggle the mind."
Garahm nodded and placed the STC in a small, locked box, which was anointed with holy oils and symbols that were considered sacred to the Adeptus Mechanicus, which would make it much-much easier to hand over to the cog-heads and have them recreate it as quickly as possible. Because the Imperium needed this technology. "Indeed. Perry is dangerous, but... I'll be honest, I sense no malice from him. Perry barely values his own life and is a fanatically-devout follower of the Imperial Cult. I sense no treachery from him. This whole business of getting him to lower his guard around us is pointless. Perry would rather jump into a nearby star before he even considers becoming a traitor."
"And yet..." Khars crossed his hands over his chest and pressed his back against the nearby wall. "We were told to guard him, to be his guardians and to be his... executioners if need be. But, if he is as you say he is, then I don't see why we'll never need to worry about anything; his mind is truly simple, hardly a candidate for treachery. But, one can never be too careful. Or did you forget about poor little Drakan Vangorich? He was much the same as Perry, minus the simplicity; he was loyal and steadfast and was one of the truly good men who worked and fought and bled hard to give mankind a brighter future, but he nearly tore the Imperium apart anyway."
"I know – I remember. I was there." Garahm answered, shaking his head. The War of the Beast had been quite a headache for everyone involved in it and Vangorich, the poor kid, was left to manage the Imperium effectively on his own. The stress of it tore his mind apart and so began the Beheading. It wasn't because of his malice or treacherous nature; Drakan simply went nuts because no single human being could possibly govern and micro-manage a civilization as massive as the Imperium. Drakan did it and he succeeded for a time. That much was a miracle in itself. The other Custodians, like Khars, saw things differently; they never quite agreed on that bit. "It's not the same as Perry. That boy has no ambition, beyond wanting to serve the Emperor and Imperium. Still, that point is moot; we have orders and we obey. Why are you even here, brother?"
"Just wanted to inform you that our dear guest has displayed an ability that we were not informed about." Khars said. And Garahm had to raise a brow. The Emperor did inform them that, as Perry achieved greater and greater feats and reached higher heights, the rewards he'd subconsciously bestow upon himself would grow with him, which meant he'd get a bunch of amazing goodies or new abilities. The Emperor himself instructed them to subtly take note of every single thing Perry was capable of doing, without ever cluing the man himself to the fact. "He can apparently create entirely new lifeforms – if my understanding of it is correct. Though, this is if he is provided with an adequate amount of Biomass."
Garahm's eyes widened. Yep, that headache was definitely already coming. Garahm sighed and shook his head. If he was an ignorant savage, who was born into the Imperial Cult, then he was pretty sure that such an ability would be considered heresy. "What have you learned? How does this ability even work?"
"Well," Khars began. "We're well aware of the fact that our dear Perry has the ability to shape Biomass to whatever he wants. That ability has been clearly documented and established. We've speculated that that is how he is able to heal others and himself, though we've not quite confirmed that yet. Regardless, one of our monitoring cameras captured a video of him creating a small, white furry thing out of his own hand; the creature ran around Perry Anatinus' room for a time, completely physically independent from Perry himself, before it joined with him after approximately ten minutes."
Khars continued. "It's entirely possible that the creature he created was not at all independent from himself, but was merely an extension of his will, like a limb. Alternatively, Perry created something that had the ability to think for itself, but was ultimately still subservient to himself. Whatever the case, I thought it was important enough to inform you personally, Lord-Commander."
Garahm nodded. Khars was right. An ability like that was definitely worth noting. Perry was honestly a terrifying creature. And, Garahm figured, that boy was only starting to scratch the surface of what he was truly capable of. If that power had been given to someone else, someone selfish and disloyal, someone who cared little for the fates of others, someone who wasn't Perry, then it would've beendisastrous. "I suppose that is important enough, yes. Thank you for informing me, brother."
"Of course," Khars nodded. "It is my duty, after all."
"Also, I've received word from our Supreme Overlord that we shall be organizing a game of Dungeons and Demons to test our dear guest," Khars said. Garahm raised a brow. It'd be a while since they played that game. As far as he remembered, the Emperor and the Sigilite both loved to play that game, either with each other or with their guests. They also used it to simulate or predict possible future events by modeling characters after real individuals. Garahm never quite understood how they did that last bit.
But, ultimately, it wasn't his place to question the Emperor's will, even if he found it unnecessary at times. Perry the Guardsman was an open book. There was no need to peel him apart, looking for more layers when there were none. "I'll get the rulebook and the map ready. Anything else?"
"And, of course, the Emperor himself will be joining us, alongside one of his... unsavory friends."