Warhammer: Don't Call Me the God of All Machines

Chapter 753 Space Bridge Network (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
When the stellar signal sent back from 93 light-years away was publicly reported by the stone man responsible for compiling the information code, everyone immediately erupted in excitement.

No amount of words can compare to seeing it for yourself. All the mechanical priests, traveling merchants, and countless eyes on Ganymede saw that space bridge shining with dazzling light.

They also spotted a starship bearing the Machinarium gear skull symbol, which sped across the space bridge and then disappeared.

Those who were able to stay on Ganymede were not fools; they naturally knew that if this wasn't a joke played on everyone by the advanced technological community, then some major technological breakthrough must have occurred.

Adding to the excitement was the rapidly spreading rumors that the founder of the Advanced Technological Community, the Great Sage Lothie, had returned to Ganymede, further agitating countless people.

Some astute individuals have already sensed that a massive storm is brewing, and now is the eve of it.

"That starship disappeared directly into the space near Ganymede. With the gravitational interference of the giant planet Jupiter, even if he had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to jump through the warp."

"The instant you jump from the physical universe to the subspace, the disturbed gravity will tear everything to shreds. Unless the Emperor himself protects you, you are 100% doomed."

Inside the F-11 spaceport on Ganymede, high-ranking members of the Armengard merchant ronin family from the Calesis Sector are discussing the current situation aboard their starship.

The Calesis Sector is located in a corner of the hazy northern part of the Milky Way. It is one of the most vulnerable parts of the vast human empire, far from those ancient and important human worlds.

The constant warfare and threats that have never truly subsided have instilled in the people of this sector a spirit of courage and exploration, enabling even mortals to step forward before threats materialize.

The traveling merchants of the Calithis sector were prime examples, and the representatives of the Armengard traveling merchant dynasty sensed the coming opportunity.

A century has passed since that rebellious war that instilled fear and despair in countless people.

Horus's rebel army not only slaughtered humans in various worlds, but also severed the trade routes that had been established.

Cutting off communication with the outside world is the most terrifying thing for a human world.

The Amengard merchant dynasty suffered heavy losses in the wars waged by Horus, but ultimately managed to preserve its family line.

Orpheus Armengard always believed that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Therefore, after she received the roaming merchant's certificate from her mother and became the head of this ancient family, she immediately reopened the route to the Throne World.

The Armengard family follows a matrilineal succession system, where the eldest daughter succeeds her mother upon her death.

The fact that these women were able to establish themselves in the chaotic and perilous Calissis Sector in this way demonstrates their resilience and strength.

"Is it really possible that it's a non-subspace jump at faster-than-light speed? Or could it be some other secret technology that we've never heard of, such as technology that can completely conceal one's presence?"

Orpheus's sister, Jones Armengard, asked tentatively, as she thought that achieving faster-than-light speeds without relying on subspace was simply a pipe dream.

Humans have been using subspace travel for so many years, how could a completely new technology suddenly emerge?

A glint of light flashed in Orpheus's eyes.

Her actual age is close to 100, but thanks to the most advanced longevity surgery and maintenance drugs, she still looks young.

However, beneath her youthful appearance, she possessed a muscular physique no less impressive than a man's, along with battle scars hidden beneath her elegant attire.

What you said is indeed possible, but I'd rather take the gamble.

"In the wave of epochal change, even the slightest advantage can be rapidly amplified."

“Send a letter of invitation to the great sage Belisarius Caul of the High Technological Community for me; I wish to pay him a visit in person.”

"As for the key to getting in, let's use a fragment of the STC standard construction template that has been passed down in our family."

"Based on my experience dealing with these believers in the god of all machines, only STC can move them."

“Chief, is it really necessary to pay such a price? Isn’t this a bit…” Jones continued to question.

She had no complaints about her older sister, who possessed great leadership charisma, genuinely cared for her subordinates, and was also incredibly strong in combat.

Orpheus once fought a gladiator with an Eldar pirate and obtained the Eldar sword as a trophy. Jones believed himself to be far less intelligent and brave than his elder sister.

"A price?" Orpheus smiled at her sisters and asked in return, "No, my sister, this is not a price, but simply our sincerity."

"If new technologies really emerge, then we will be among the first batch of investors who have invested sincerely in the initial public offering (IPO), and this is something that no amount of money or resources can buy."

Seeing that her elder sister had made up her mind, Jones stopped talking nonsense and wholeheartedly carried out the plan.

……

An unexpected space experiment has stirred up a storm throughout the solar system.

Some people are just watching the spectacle, while others have already sensed the opportunity and made a decision to place their bets in advance.

Inside the space laboratory, Loshi watched as Rand and the other Mechanicus sages recorded complete experimental data.

"The first experiment of the Space Bridge has been successfully completed."

"The experimental subject: the USS Stewart cruiser and all crew members maintained stable vital signs."

"Attempting to perform a reverse return procedure."

"Star communication has been sent."

After receiving the interstellar message from Ganymede, the USS Stewart cruiser cruised in the HD-110067 system for a few minutes before turning around and speeding toward the still-dissipating space bridge wormhole.

The moment it entered the space bridge, the cruiser once again traversed a long distance of 93 light-years, returning directly to Ganymede's cosmic range.

The energy source that Roche extracted from Jupiter has been mostly consumed, leaving only a small mass of liquid hydrogen that has condensed into a pure sphere in the universe.

"The energy consumption of this space bridge is indeed outrageous. The USS Stewart is just a civilian ship that is only two kilometers long, yet it consumes so much energy to cross a distance of 93 light-years."

"The wise man Rand sighed, but his old face was still beaming with joy."

He only cared that the theory was feasible; as for the issue of resource consumption, that was something Roche and Guilliman had to consider.

He now only wants to implement this brand-new technology as quickly as possible.

The 121 energy pillars and control pillars provided by the Sage of Loxi were just prototypes; the difficulty of producing and replicating these things remains to be seen.

"It would be a waste to use the space bridge simply as a teleportation portal. We must try to push its limits."

"If 121 energy pillars are enough to span hundreds of light-years, then if there are more energy pillars and more energy supplied, could this limit be broken?"

"Perhaps we can emulate those two ancient stargates located on Pluto and Uranus to build a mature and comprehensive space bridge network system."

A true wise person does not get bogged down in the details, but rather stands at a higher level and looks at problems from a macro perspective.

Loshi had barely taken out the Space Bridge when Rand was already thinking about how to build a human version of the Space Bridge Network in the galaxy.

Arkan Rand was involved in the Emperor's Web Dao project, so he naturally knew how much the Lord of Man coveted the Web Dao controlled by the Eldar.

The Eldar's web-based system hasn't made much progress yet, so we might as well establish a human version of it first.

“Every method of faster-than-light travel has its own advantages and disadvantages. In time, if we humans also master the Eldar’s network, we can use these faster-than-light methods in combination.”

In the aged eyes of the Great Sage Land, it seemed as if the space bridge spanning the universe was reflected, and human civilization would be freed from the pollution and threats of the warp, truly taking its destiny into its own hands.

Guilliman's way of expressing his excitement was even simpler and more direct.

The Primarch frantically pulled Lothie into his arms; if Lothie's physique hadn't been far superior to his former self, he probably would have broken Lothie's spine.

"Space bridges! I want to build space bridges all over every sector of the Milky Way!"

"As for the energy consumed, there are so many ownerless stars in the Milky Way that there is never a shortage of energy."

"As long as I can use the space bridge to connect people all over the empire, then humanity will never again be divided and civil war."

"Even if a rebellion breaks out somewhere, the Empire's suppression fleet can immediately take a space bridge and reach its destination at the fastest speed, instead of encountering the potential threat of storms as with warp travel."

"You have done me a tremendous favor, my friend."

Rosie also derived indescribable joy from Guilliman's feedback.

He risked his life to work hard outside, hoping that the people in his hometown could live a better life.
If it weren't for humanity, Loxi would have been out of her mind to fight those gods to the death.

"It's a pity Neos is asleep, otherwise I don't know how happy he would be if he saw these things," Rosie said with emotion.

Guilliman was silent for a few seconds, then offered words of comfort.

“Father entrusted the Empire and humanity to us; what we see is what he saw.”

"And perhaps he wasn't always in a state of complete ignorance when he sat on the golden throne."

“He is watching everything we do from the shadows, but he just doesn’t say anything.”

Roche nodded, which was an affirmation of Guilliman's statement.

"There's one more thing I forgot to mention: the Space Bridge technology is a trophy I obtained from the Cybertronian civilization, and it comes with a technology called the [Star Harvester]."

“Ancient Cybertron was a great civilization; its members were even able to use star harvesters to convert stars in the universe into energy batteries that could be used directly.”

"I brought it back with me. The energy contained in stars is arguably the cheapest and most ubiquitous energy source in the universe."

"Although it is only a product of thermonuclear fusion, as the saying goes, great things can happen. As long as there is enough quantity, no matter how efficient it is, it can meet the demand."

"What you said makes a lot of sense. Many times, the most technologically advanced things are not necessarily the best. The most suitable ones are the best."

"And who says that a star harvester can only be used as a tool for collecting energy sources?"

Guilliman winked at Losi, exuding the iron-blooded aura of an imperial commander.

"If the star harvester really is as you say, capable of converting a star in the universe into an energy battery."

"Then this is clearly an extremely efficient stellar strike weapon."

"We have always lacked a cheap and widely available super-destructive weapon. Whether it is a vortex torpedo, an orbital bombardment, or even the planet-destroying cannon of the Thundercloud-class planetary warship, we lack a decisive and dominant force."

"If we were to conquer those alien civilizations in the future, we would only need to use the Star Harvester to directly destroy their sun."

"We can not only plunder the enemy's sun as an energy source, but also leave a portion of the star behind, allowing it to enter a completely chaotic and explosive state."

Guilliman became more and more excited as he spoke, and as Rosie watched his animated expression, a hint of worry appeared in her eyes.

First came Ryan Johnson, the extermination-order maniac, and now comes Robert Guilliman, the sun destroyer.

Does this mean that those who ascend to the position of Imperial Commander are destined to become destructive monsters?
"Especially when dealing with those damned green-skinned orcs, even if those green plague creatures that can reproduce using spores die, their flesh, skin flakes, and hair can regrow green-skinned orcs in the soil or even rocks."

"All they need is sunlight from stars. They love sunbathing, right? I'll blow up all the stars and see how those greens reproduce!"

When Guilliman mentioned the green-skinned orcs, his previously gentle demeanor and aura instantly crumbled, transforming into a hideous appearance.

Luo Xi's heart skipped a beat.

Since he came back, he has only reported good news and never bad news.

He hadn't had a chance to tell Guilliman about the Chaos Rebels' raid on the Tal Rashin's Tomb of Solemnus and the release of the ancient orcs hidden in the museum.

Guilliman has suffered enough; let him hear some simple good news and be happy for a while.

"What's wrong, my friend? Did I hurt you because I used too much force just now?"

The Primarch's perception was incredibly sharp; Guilliman noticed the fleeting stiffness in Roche's body and the astonishment in her expression.

He didn't understand psionics, but he knew that it was an extremely dangerous power that could potentially backfire on the user at any time.

"It's alright, it's alright, this little noise won't bother me."

Rose waved her hand, indicating that she was fine.

Just as he was preparing his words and thinking about how to tell Guilliman this terrible news, Belisarius Caul, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up.

“Great Sage Roshi, I have a different opinion.”

“Your move to display the Space Bridge in public is a bit too hasty and could even backfire.”

Compared to a century ago, Kaul now possesses a greater sense of calm and composure.

You should know that when Roxi brought this little guy into the Advanced Technology Community, he was just a fledgling young priest who was so nervous when he met Roxi that he didn't even know what to say.

Now, he dares to express different opinions to Losi in public.

Roche didn't feel embarrassed or offended at all. They were just having an academic exchange, and being straightforward was the simplest and most efficient way.

What he hated most was introducing so-called "social niceties" into academia, as that would only cause the entire system to become rigid and rotten. "Tell me your thoughts, Caul," Rosie said, looking at him encouragingly.

This rising star, as dazzling as a shooting star, is the successor chosen by the Great Sage of Rand. When the Great Sage returns to the embrace of the God of Machines, he will become the new Great Sage.

If he is a timid yes-man, then that would undoubtedly be the greatest irresponsibility towards the advanced technological community.

“Yes, sir.” After being encouraged, Caul was visibly more confident.

"First of all, we all know that the space bridge is a brand-new technology that can achieve faster-than-light speeds without going through subspace, and its arrival will inevitably cause a great shock within the Empire."

"There are good aspects to it, and naturally there are bad aspects as well."

"On the negative side, let's start with black glass."

As Kaul spoke, he pointed to the black glass fragments floating in mid-air inside the space laboratory.

Do you know why the black glass turned into these fragments?

Before anyone could answer, Kaul began to ask and answer his own questions.

"The direct cause was naturally during the Horus Rebellion, when the White Scar Legion was being pursued by the Death Guard led by Mortarion and the Emperor's Son."

In their quest to escape, these loyal soldiers stumbled upon black glass inside an abandoned orbital space station the size of an asteroid.

"In order to ensure the survival of the Legion, the Storm Prophet Talihutai Yesugei, with the white scars, sat on the throne of black glass and then opened a web portal, sending the Fifth Legion back to Terra."

"But let's not forget why Black Glass was abandoned in an unknown orbital space station?"

The question posed by Kaul immediately made the atmosphere even more tense.

Loshi understood what the other person meant; he was referring to a segment of human society who would oppose the emergence of new technologies.

"The Black Glass was discovered by the Empire a long time ago. It was the prototype of the Golden Throne and should have been placed on Terra or Mars for in-depth research."

"But if Black Glass makes progress in its research, then those navigator families who rely on the subspace to seize status and power will be the first to jump out and fight against it."

"The Navigator family holds the dominant position in the Empire's warp navigation. Any warship using a warp engine must be equipped with one or more navigators."

"In order to pass on their psionic talents, these navigator families even go so far as to engage in incestuous intermarriage and reproduce wildly, so that their offspring have a greater probability of exhibiting the dominant characteristics of the Warp Eye."

"It can be said that without the Navigator family and their successors, the human empire would cease to exist, and only a few tiny, fragmented nations would remain in the galaxy, communicating with each other through slow, sub-light-speed engines."

"They gained a great deal of power and influence because of their specialness and transcendence."

Although most of the time they are prisoners of their jobs, hiding in the navigation room, spending their days with the maddening warp.

Under Kaul's persuasion, even Guilliman fell into deep thought.

This is a huge problem; if not handled properly, the entire empire will be plunged into massive internal strife and upheaval.

The Navigator Ambassador, Abbot of the Star-Speaking Court, and Presiding Master of the Star-Torch Court are all members of the nine permanent High Lord positions established by Makado.

This already occupies one-third of the high-ranking chairman's positions.

It is easy to imagine just how enormous the influence of the forces they represent.

Although these three forces rarely show themselves, their presence is so low that it's as if they don't exist.

But anyone who dares to ignore their existence, or even infringe upon their interests, will be horrified to discover that a colossal creature lurking in the deep waters has already extended its claws and crushed the provocateur.

Even Guilliman would have to think twice before making a move against them, proceeding with extreme caution.

Furthermore, navigators are an absolute necessity for the Empire, and if all navigators go on strike, he has no better way to find replacements in a short period of time.

Moreover, the Navigator, the Star Torch Court, and the Star Language Court are, in a sense, all connected by blood. If one of them is harmed, the other two will follow suit, and they will always stand on the same side.

Seeing that everyone was deep in thought, Kaul decided to strike while the iron was hot.

But his teacher, the Great Sage Rand, took over the conversation and added his explanation.

"I know the whole story. The Emperor himself decided to study the Black Glass in an attempt to reactivate it and thus advance the progress of the Network Project."

"However, the Emperor was far too busy and had no time or energy to spare, so he set up a research group, and the leader of the group was the navigator Peter Helian Acheulius."

“Helian was a great and pure man. His loyalty to the Emperor was unwavering, and even though he knew that researching the Black Glass would threaten the Navigator family behind him, he still remained devoted to his duty.”

"He knew how complex and terrifying the navigators' informants and intelligence sources were."

Therefore, he vigorously promoted the research project on the Black Glass, keeping it secret from most of the Empire's institutions and placing the research site near the Catalan subspace rift.

The black glass shards floating in the space laboratory seemed to be humming softly, echoing a trace of the past in Akan Land's hoarse voice.

Despite such caution and secrecy, the black glass was still destroyed.

"When the warriors of the White Scar Legion discovered the Black Glass, a navigator in their legion named Will realized that he should do something."

"She was originally a secret agent sent by the Navigator family of Terra, but was accidentally captured by the rebels during the Horus Rebellion."

After the White Scar warriors rescued her from the rebels, she completely disregarded their life-saving grace and still managed to destroy the space station containing the Black Glass using a vortex bomb.

"In the eyes of these people, their own interests, the interests of the empire, and even the interests of humanity must give way to the interests of the navigator family behind them."

"It's sad, but that's the reality."

When Rand recounted this past event, his tone was unusually somber. It was a blatant trampling and insult to technology and innovation, enough to enrage any mechanical priest.

"These messages are all records I obtained from those white-scarred veterans."

"If they hadn't survived, the world probably wouldn't know what crazy things these navigator families, whose core interests had been touched, would do for themselves," Rand said quietly.

"It seems that I did not consider things thoroughly enough."

"I am not a god, and I cannot consider every aspect of a matter," said Luo Xi in a deep voice.

Those deeply entrenched interest groups of navigators in human society cannot even tolerate the use of the Black Glass of the Internet, let alone the Space Bridge which has no need for subspace at all.

While Roche's creation of the Space Bridge may be a qualitative leap for humanity as a whole, for navigators, it completely uproots their livelihood.

It is no exaggeration to say that even if Horus had overthrown the Emperor and established his empire, the navigators would not have been in such a bad situation.

After all, Horus's empire also needs navigators; at most, the probability of navigators being devoured by demons is only slightly higher.

It is foreseeable that as space bridges become more widespread, human demand for subspace travel will gradually decline.

By then, navigators who are deeply tied to subspace navigation will also lose their jobs.

There is a famous saying in ancient Terra: "The livelihood of millions of canal workers depends on them."

Destroying someone's livelihood is worse than killing their parents.

“No, you did nothing wrong.” Guilliman stood up at this moment, supporting Losi without hesitation and backing up his contribution.

He was not only standing up for his close friend, but also, as the commander of the empire, he was endorsing the space bridge, a technology of epoch-making significance.

"Perhaps you are indeed a little too hasty, but it was bound to happen sooner or later."

"Are we going to continue to shelve this technology just because we're afraid of a counterattack from the Navigator family?"

"I can tell you very clearly—that's absolutely impossible!"

"We cannot wait until everything is ready before starting; doing so would result in an indefinite postponement of the plan's implementation."

“My friend, no matter what happens, I will stand by your side without hesitation, without compromise, and without fear.”

Your enemy is my enemy, the enemy of all Primarchs, the enemy of the five hundred worlds of Alteramar!

It must be said that Guilliman's speech was indeed very inspiring.

When he spoke passionately and eloquently for Rose, Rose felt a sense of exhilaration, as if she had found a kindred spirit.

With Guilliman so supportive, what's there to be afraid of!

The Great Sage of Rand, Belisarius Caul, and even Tarachin were all captivated by Guilliman's incredible personal charisma.

"Damn, the Primarch is truly extraordinary. I really want to collect one..."

Tara thought bitterly that compared to the Primarch, a being unique in the entire universe, the things in his museum were simply rubbish.

However, he only thought about it for a moment. Every Primarch has a subspace essence, and their physical bodies that walk in the physical universe are just an anchor point.

For example, after Feralus Marus died physically, his soul was still taken by the Emperor and put to work in the Cursed Legion.

Thinking of all this, and then of his stolen precious collections, he was so angry that Fire Source convulsed in pain.

He spent his days hunting geese, never imagining that one day a goose would peck out his eye.

Tarasim's Book of Hatred is filled with the names of Abaddon and Vashtor, and he will surely take revenge if given the chance.

Guilliman had no idea that this Sage Tarachin dared to set his sights on him.

He had to express his stance to the wise men present and demonstrate the official position of the empire.

"I will never forget the contributions of the navigators and star speakers. The human empire's current status is inseparable from their contributions."

"Space bridge technology is only a supplement to subspace travel and will never completely replace it."

After all, subspace travel is actually more advantageous in terms of both efficiency and cost.

“I will break down the situation and communicate it clearly to the Navigator Ambassador and the Star Language Court.”

"We are not afraid of conflict, but we do not want conflict either. The promotion of space bridge technology is imperative. This is a responsibility to our race and to our future generations."

Anyone who benefits from the current system and wants to turn back the clock of history should ask whether my sword is sharp enough.

Guilliman's speech demonstrated both his absolute support for the advanced technology community and his clear stance on the navigator family.

Guilliman is indeed qualified and capable of saying such things, but in the coming period, he will face even greater pressure from the High Lords.

This is no longer an ordinary conflict, but a true life-or-death conflict.

He could only try to divide one faction into another, trying to break up the navigators' alliance of interests as much as possible, in order to minimize the damage to the empire.

"Great Sage Rand, you are in charge of this project. You must promote the space bridge technology as quickly as possible and verify where the limits of this technology lie."

"I want to see a full written report and a feasibility analysis within three months on Terra."

"Within six months, establish a space bridge backbone network centered on Terra, radiating to the four major star systems surrounding us."

"At the same time, we must also speed up the research progress on the Black Glass side. Now that Sage Roxi has returned, I will summon Prophet Uslan to initiate cooperation matters related to the Internet."

"Subspace travel, space bridges, cyberways—I want them all!"

"I'll use whichever one works best."

"Did you understand? Do you have any further objections?"

Guilliman swiftly and decisively tackled the problem head-on, without any hesitation.

"I have."

Rose's voice broke the silence. Guilliman turned around, puzzled, and looked at Rose with his eyes, asking if she had any more questions.

Despite how disappointing this was, Lothie still wanted to talk about the ancient orcs.

This missing ancient orc has now likely become a terrifying threat no less than Horus.

“I have no objection to you prioritizing the verification and popularization of space bridge technology, but there is one more thing I must tell you.”

"The empire now faces not only the possibility of a counterattack from the Navigator family, but also a more significant threat from the outside."

"According to my sources, a terrifying green tide, even surpassing the former Ulanor Orc Empire, is brewing and spreading."

"War...is coming again!"

(End of this chapter)