Emperor's Bane

Chapter 677 I Want to Become an Immortal! (1/2)

"I don't know if there's anything you've ever wondered about before, Morgan."

"Emperor, our gene father, what kind of means and what kind of raw materials did he use to create such a perfect work as us? Even Luo Jia is an individual who is proud of the galaxy. His most despicable part is more noble than the entire galaxy. This is an amazing chain effect."

“From a biological science perspective.”

At this point, Perturabo's voice came to an abrupt end, and he ended with a secretly complacent hum, leaving a large amount of blank time for his blood relatives to think, get confused, and become obsessed with the unknown questions and answers he had drawn out.

This kind of anxiety coming from another smart person, especially a smart person who has been recognized by him, Perturabo, is the emotion that the Lord of Steel likes to feel the most. It ensures the one thing he desires most in his heart: that is, among all the outstanding people, Perturabo is still the best one overall.

He is the eagle flying the highest, and this spontaneous sense of victory is as sweet as the thin pure air on the top of the mountain.

The Lord of Steel watched silently. The sweetness he longed for was rippling in the Spider Queen's pupils. The blue-green lake nourished Perturabo's soul. It was indeed right for him to stop for Morgan. The sister before him was the one who, among all his blood brothers, could best understand his greatness.

Of course, Dorn was OK, Horus and Jonson were passable, and Magnus was not without his merits: but they were all too proud, too stubborn, too blind, especially Dorn, whose praise was of the highest value but whose mouth was as hard as stone.

Only the greatest deeds in the galaxy can pry open the mouths of the Invites and make them praise willingly, but such deeds must be real and visible. Dorn cannot understand the value of fantasies and ideas that are castles in the air but have epoch-making significance. Even the greatest philosopher in human history will starve to death in his country.

This is where Dorn is inferior to him.

Perturabo raised his head, his vision easily passed over Morgan's head, even completely above her skull: when the Spider Queen's iconic silver hair completely disappeared from the Lord of Steel's pupils, the Parade Building standing at the end of his vision, wrapped in a unique rudeness and rigor, crashed into Perturabo's eye sockets.

It is truly a work of Donne.

The Lord of Steel shook his head, with contempt and approval coexisting in his heart.

He knew that starting tomorrow, billions of warriors and tens of thousands of Titans, Knights and armored vehicles would march in unison through the spectacle of gold and marble. The parade at Ullanor would last for a whole month, and under the iron-gray sky, the Emperor and the Primarch would have to spend eighteen hours a day on the terrace overlooking the entire parade as if they were completing a mission.

Only in this way could they ensure that every soldier who came here could see the faces of the Emperor and the Primarch from afar: Dorn and the mortal bureaucrats under Marcodo spent almost the same amount of time arranging all this. He also directed the construction of the entire parade ground to ensure that it was completed before the deadline. The Mechanicus was the only ally he could rely on.

As for the final result: at least from Perturabo's point of view, except that it was too monotonous and lacked necessary decorations, it could indeed be called perfect.

That's what people think.

But the only point of contention was that Dorn had not reserved any seats for anyone: according to the mortals' ideas, next to the parade terrace that only the Emperor and the Primarch could ascend, there should be a huge auditorium. After all, the dignitaries of the entire human empire were now gathered on Ullanor, waiting to attend the Warmaster Ceremony and the Nikea Congress in a few days. Regardless of their status and achievements, these mortals all believed that they were qualified to sit down and observe the outstanding soldiers from all over the empire.

But Dorn doesn't think so: this is rapidly ruining his reputation these days.

Perturabo chuckled: he had to admit that he admired Dorn more and more.

"However, there is one thing that Dorne will never be able to surpass us."

"He doesn't think like us."

The Lord of Steel smiled, tapped his own temple, and his wandering gaze returned to Morgan: Perturabo knew his blood relative very well, and he knew that when Morgan talked to others, he would always limit his thinking time to a certain amount, and would stop at the right time even if he could not come up with an answer.

Three, two, one.

The Lord of Steel counted down in his mind. He had just swallowed the last number when, as expected, the dazed blue pupils in front of his eyes instantly regained clarity. His slender eyebrows covered his moving pupils, and his white fingers carefully stroked the strands of hair: Morgan was confirming the results of her thinking.

She really realized something: just because of his few words of advice.

Seeing this, Perturabo turned around calmly and stroked the connector above his head with a hint of pride.

"What did you think of?"

【not much.】

Morgan was humble as usual.

"Then go through them one by one."

The Lord of Steel seemed very patient.

[First, you are suggesting to me that we are not the product of natural evolution. This is of course known to everyone. We all know that we originated from the Emperor's laboratory and have the same blood in different genetic test tubes: but what is really important is the subsequent inference.]

Morgan's vision shifted, with a hint of wariness lurking in his pupils.

[Discarding those lines of reasoning that don't need to be explained one by one, and directly stating the result: My dear brother Perturabo, are you trying to tell me that our father used some raw materials and methods that are not in the real world, but come from other places, or simply put, from the warp, to create our twenty Primarchs? ]

[You want to tell me that we are not only not human, but not even "biological beings"? ]

"clever."

Perturabo sighed quietly.

"I thought I was going to spend ten minutes trying to figure this out with you."

【well enough. 】

Morgan suppressed her expression and tried to calculate the progress in her mind: This is not easy, she hasn't pretended to be an "excellent beginner" for a long time.

[As long as we restrain our instinctive anger when facing such reality, and resist the nausea and push the result back to ourselves, the remaining steps are not too difficult: To be honest, I think most of our brothers actually have a vague idea of ​​the origins and backgrounds of us gene primarchs, but in the past, we chose to turn a blind eye. ]

"Yes."

Perturabo nodded.

"Think about it, Morgan."

"We, the Primarchs, have strength measured in tons. We can even lift Titans. Our reaction and thinking speed make the most extraordinary electronic equipment look pale and powerless. Our vitality is enough to withstand attacks that can overwhelm fortresses and even hives. We can use the calculations in our heads to sustain an entire apocalyptic-level battle. We can quell the disputes of thousands of generations with our personal charm. We can also survive in a pure void environment. Radiation and lack of oxygen are not that deadly."

"We can even fly, regenerate part of our bodies, see the future, make people completely forget we exist, make millions of people believe in bullshit religions with just a few words, be born with a mother, always see a huge star on the other side of the stars, stay in the wilderness for ten years without completely degenerating, stay in the city for ten days without evolving at all, be locked in an arena, be defeated by an unknown alien, be stupid enough to worship the warp, and have an endless supply of sons."

"To be honest, all of the above, from the perspectives of physics, politics, warfare, and statistics, can be concentrated in the same individual, but biology will never consider this individual to be a human being."

"That's the problem."

Perturabo spread his fingers, showing helplessness.

"After all, the Emperor has always positioned us as human beings. It is not easy for us to accept that we are not human beings at all, but a monster that is completely the opposite. It took me a long time to force myself to admit my true identity."

"But it is undeniable that ever since I woke up on Olympia, gained a clear will, and saw a mortal for the first time, I began to doubt my true identity: I believe that most people are the same. As for you, my dear sister Morgan, your process may be a little more complicated, but I believe you have had a vague feeling a long time ago."

【indeed so. 】

"However, there is one exception."

Perturabo paused suddenly.

[You mean Guilliman?]

"Yes, Guilliman."

When this name was mentioned, the smile on the Lord of Steel's face froze for a moment.

"He's always the exception."

"Among all the brothers, perhaps only Guilliman still stubbornly believes that our father and we are all relatively strange humans. I remember he once told me such a theory: he thinks the Emperor is a mutant individual who represents the future evolutionary trend of mankind, and we, the Primarchs, are all driven by the so-called Darwinian theory of evolution, and we are the nineteen bloodlines that continue his mutant gene characteristics."

【He can say it.】

The Spider Queen couldn't help but smile, she really didn't know these things before: Morgan rarely discussed matters related to the Emperor or the Warp with Guilliman, and this was purely for the sake of her own blood pressure.

[However, he should also have some memories of the laboratory, right? ]

"Is this..."

Perturabo's expression suddenly became quite strange, as if he had thought of a vulgar joke that was difficult to tell.

"He does. I once had a very brief experience fighting alongside the Ultramarines. During that time, we discussed this issue for almost two hours. Guilliman's answer to me was that he believed that all of us were the product of test-tube babies, so we had the memory of the laboratory."

[That’s an explanation.]

Morgan was a little absent-minded.

[Then how would he explain the fact that we were once separated from each other: our old father with genetic mutations finally created a bunch of good sons with the same genetic mutations as him, just to aim in the direction of the Milky Way and play a game of space bowling where no points can be counted? ]

"Then why do you think it is?"

[A subspace storm so large that it can affect the real universe. ]

Morgan wasn't lying: she had always believed this.

And if it wasn't, she would have to kill a few people for it: Could it be that someone had really thrown their Primarchs into a mad and dark galaxy, and this person just happened to be their blood relative?
What is this? A new character introduced just to push the story to the eight o'clock prime time?
Sounds like something perfect to feed Conrad.

Perturabo shook his head.

"It's a reasonable explanation. I am willing to believe it now. However, Guilliman told me his thoughts a long time ago. It was an answer that sounded very humane. He thought that it was simply because the Emperor's test tube baby plan did not obtain the prior consent of the other party who provided the genes, so it was artificially sabotaged by the other party in the final stage of the plan."

【…】

"Morgan?"

【…】

"What's wrong Morgan?"

[No, it’s nothing. 】

The Spider Queen coughed, her face still in the same daze as before: she didn’t know if it was an illusion, but when Perturabo explained to her Guilliman’s wild speculations, she seemed to really hear the long laughter that had disappeared for a long time in her mind?

The dark blue one?

The Primarch blinked, then noticed that the corners of his mouth were a little stiff.

[I just feel a little...] "Ah, it's okay."

Perturabo waved his hand.

"To be honest, I was also fooled by Guilliman's words at the beginning. His description was very detailed and logical, like something a stupid mortal would do. Until you and I started our cooperation plan."

"On the Veil of Fate, remember?"

[You mean my Anya? ]

At the bottom of the Spider Queen's pupils, which were rippling like lake water, there was a rare and obvious emotional fluctuation: due to the sensitive situation on the surface of Ullanor, Morgan deliberately left her eldest daughter on the battleship, so she hadn't seen Anya for several days. Although she didn't feel anything when she was busy on weekdays, now that Perturabo suddenly mentioned it, Morgan's longing for Anya surged.

Ok……

This seemed to be a feeling she had never had for the Dawnbreakers.

That’s… strange.

"Yes, she is a successful work."

The Lord of Steel's breathing was filled with his unique sense of pride.

"In fact, Morgan: Whenever we have time to meet during our busy missions, I will take the time to observe her, her changes and her behavior. I originally thought that she could only survive for ten to fifteen years, and then she would have to undergo transformation and restart. However, not only did she survive much longer than I thought, but her strength, her wisdom, and even her gradually developed complex emotions all further proved the guess in my mind."

He stopped and looked at Morgan with a complicated look in his eyes...admiration?
Morgan recognized the emotion, of course: she had never seen it here on Perturabo, though.

"You know what, Morgan: when you stood in front of me and showed me how to use your psychic power to pull out the so-called soul fragments and brain thoughts, so that a creature that is biologically brain dead and whose only flesh tissue is the skin, a pure technology and metal creation, can have almost the same thinking logic and spiritual emotions as humans."

"Do you know how shocked I was when I witnessed all this?"

“It was like a scientist witnessing a living Frankenstein!”

The muscles at the corners of the Primarch's mouth twisted in an unnatural rhythm. The strange scene was like seeing a group of steel bars dancing. He raised his arms with a fanatical emotion, and clenched his fists slowly and firmly, completely ignoring the pain caused by the creaking sound.

"At that time, I was completely immersed in the joy of success. But later, after I said goodbye to you, when I calmed down and thought about it again, I felt more and more how incredible this scene was: we actually created a new life! An existence that is free from the evolutionary system! What is important is not the trivial details such as resurrection or 100% physical transformation, but her gradual growth in the future..."

"soul!"

“Things that the physical universe cannot explain or create to this day.”

"But there is no doubt that each of us has a soul, whether it is you or me, or each of our brothers."

"soul……"

He held on to the word tightly, as if a hungry man were holding on to a piece of bread.

"This is the most important thing. In the following decades, I have been trying to reproduce the process of your soul creation, but all attempts have failed without exception. I have used all the knowledge I know and exhausted the possibilities of mathematics and physics, but let alone touching the dawn of success, I couldn't even find the right path in the darkness."

“That’s when I started to wonder how we were born.”

【Clear thinking.】

Morgan responded quietly.

[You think that we were born with psychic energy and the subspace elements behind it, because you have tried all the ideas in the real universe, and all of them have failed.]

"This is the only explanation."

The Lord of Steel nodded, as if he was still brooding over his failures decades ago.

"That was the hardest time. I wanted to ask you for help, but we didn't see each other often and the heavy workload left me no time."

This is a lie.

Morgan looked away.

There is absolutely no way that there was no time: Perturabo was simply too proud to let go of his pride. If he had not achieved some results that satisfied his self-esteem, he would never have come to Morgan and discussed their previous careers as a student.

The Lord of Steel loves to learn, but he absolutely hates being a student.

【Then what? 】

"Then……"

The primarch took a deep breath.

"And then, as my reward for annihilating the Hrud, you, I, and Dorn fought together: the Emperor took me to his library."

As he uttered these words, a sun bloomed on Perturabo's face. Morgan had seen countless times how the Lord of Iron was triumphant and arrogant in front of her, but all the excitement and joy were far less than Perturabo's happiness at this moment: he was showing off to Morgan the reward that came from the Emperor and would not be given to anyone else.

Obviously, this is something that would make the Lord of Steel happier than ten thousand victories.

"You should remember that the two of us were on the Emperor's flagship at the time."

[How could I forget? ]

Morgan hid the depression in his eyes.

While you were reading, I spent tens of thousands of hours arguing with that old asshole.

What kind of place is that?

"It's hard to describe."

Perturabo hesitated, which was rare. He was not pretending to be reserved, but was really hesitant.

"I wanted to draw it, or describe its existence through words, but I found that I couldn't do either. It is a space like a moving maze, and the space inside is so vast that I wouldn't feel strange even if I encountered a knight mecha directly after turning a corner."

"I once doubted whether I was still on the Emperor's Dream, because I insisted on moving in the same direction, at least 17 or 18 kilometers, but still did not reach the end. But when I turned back, I swore that I had only walked 3 or 4 kilometers and I saw my starting point."

“The distance is totally wrong.”

Morgan's expression gradually hardened, while Perturabo was still trying to recall.

"But the real problem is that the library is very automated. It's very dim. There are no lights in most places. There are only sensor lights that light up when I stand nearby. When I stop to read, things hundreds of meters away are no longer clear. This is also the main problem that makes me feel that it is like a maze. Because there have been several times, I just finished reading a very exciting book, and then I followed my memory to go back and browse it again, but I found that I was walking on the correct route in my memory, but the book in the original place was already another book."

[Is it like this every time? ]

"No, only after I've read some really wonderful books."

"To be honest, the knowledge in these books is often in very... strange areas."

[For example? 】

"Well...mostly occult, as well as history and war related."

"Fortunately, I can remember most of the content after reading it once, but I always feel like I seem to have forgotten something: some books that I should have read, but I only remember reading them but not remembering the content. Of course, this may also be my illusion."

The Primarch tilted his head.

"You know, I have a photographic memory."

【…】

Morgan blinked.

[Perturabo: Are you sure that is the Emperor's library?]

“That’s for sure.”

The Lord of Steel nodded without hesitation.

"There are double-headed eagles of the empire and the emperor's personal emblems everywhere. Although it may be due to disrepair, some of the emblems have gradually corroded and turned black. I suspect that it belongs to the emperor's private library, because the classification is complicated and messy, and there is so much dust that no one takes care of it. It also involves many aspects of mixed quality."

[Many aspects?]

"Yes, religion, history, some strange private biographies and ship logs, as well as industrial knowledge and physics classics: but the most important of all are a lot of strange drawings, some of which opened my eyes."

The Primarch's face froze for a moment.

"But the most important one is a blueprint for fusing soul and metal. It opened my mind and made me doubt the technology used by the Emperor to create us. The language on it is obscure and difficult to understand. It took me a lot of effort to translate a small part of it."

"In general, it is a blueprint for creating a war weapon: first, you need to build a pure metal shell, and then use some very strange technology. I'm not sure if you used the same technology when you made Virgo. In the future, something from the warp... the latter part has been worn away. I can only speculate that it should be something from the warp, maybe a lost soul or something else, stuffed into this metal shell, imprisoned it, and it can fight for you."

【…】

Morgan blinked, and a drop of sweat slid quietly down the side of her ear.

Why does this thing sound so familiar to her?

【It...what is it called?】

“It’s a weird name.”

Perturabo smiled.

"It's called Demon Engine."

"Maybe it's an adjective. After all, this method does sound quite devilish."

【…】

(According to the new theory, the first Daemon Engine was created by Moravec [yes, the Moravec in the Moravec Vault on Mars], and whether the Emperor was Moravec is a typical Warhammer Schrödinger question. I will assume that the Emperor knew the Daemon Engine technology.)
(There will be another chapter later)
(End of this chapter)