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Adeptus Mechanicus

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The Adeptus Mechanicus is the official Imperial name within the Adeptus Terra for the Cult Mechanicus or Cult of the Mac lefrfoqb. cartier Diamondhine based on Mars which provides the Imperium with its scientists, engineers and technicians. The Adepts of the Mechanicus are the primary keepers of what is viewed as sacred wisdom, a privileged caste of Tech-priests who jealously guard the knowledge required to maintain and construct much of the Imperium's advanced technology.

In ancient times, before the current Age of the Imperium officially began following the end of the Horus Heresy, the Adeptus Mechanicus was often called the Mechanicum. The Mechanicus acknowledge the Emperor of Mankind as the ruler of the Imperium of Man, but not the religious truth of the Imperial Cult or the Ecclesiarchy, and are granted an unusual amount of political and religious autonomy within the Imperium's structure, a role protected by the ancient Treaty of Mars. Instead of the Imperial Creed, the servants of the Mechanicus follow their own dark and mysterious scriptures and worship the deity they call the Machine God or the "Omnissiah."

As part of this faith, the Adeptus Mechanicus believes knowledge is the true manifestation of divinity in the universe, and all creatures and artefacts that embody knowledge are holy because of it. The Emperor is the supreme object of worship for Mankind, the living embodiment of the Machine God or Omnissiah, because He comprehends so much, understanding more about the true nature of reality than any other being in existence. The Adeptus Mechanicus also regard organic flesh as weak and view the removal and replacement of biological tissue with mechanical, bionic parts as sacred. Most elder Tech-priests have few organic parts left and eventually become more machine than man. The Adeptus Mechanicus is based on Mars, the very first Forge World of the Imperium, and they are the sole rulers of the Red Planet. They provide the technical and scientific experts of the Imperium and field armies of massive Titans, Mechanicus Electro-priests, Skitarii and Combat Servitors.

Contents

History

Departmento Cartigraphicae galaxy map depicting the bastions of the Machine God, ca. 999.M41

The locations of the surviving Forge Worlds and Mechanicus Knight Worlds after the formation of the Great Rift in 999.M41

Mechanicus Tech-priest leading a Legio Cybernetica Maniple during the Great Crusade

The Adeptus Mechanicus is the one Imperial Adepta that as the Cult Mechanicus actually predates the Imperium of Man itself, and was known originally as the Mechanicum of Mars. Though the Adeptus Mechanicus was formally integrated into the Imperium of Man by the Treaty of Mars (known as the Treaty of Olympus Mons to the Mechanicum) over 10,000 Terran years before the "present" of the 41st Millennium at the dawn of the Emperor's Great Crusade to reunite Mankind in ca. 800.M30, it retains an unparalleled degree of autonomy from the rest of the Adeptus Terra for an Imperial Adepta. This autonomy was guaranteed to the Mechanicus in the Treaty of Mars to provide the Tech-priests with immunity to the dictates of the atheistic Imperial Truth and to allow the Mechanicus to continue to exercise sovereignty over all of the Forge Worlds it had settled across the galaxy during the Age of Strife. In return, the Mechanicus agreed to aid in the construction of the massive fleets and the provision of the technical aid necessary for the Imperium of Man to launch the Great Crusade.

Whereas nearly all the citizens of the Imperium observe the tenets of one of the various sects of the Imperial Cult that worships the Emperor of Mankind as the God-Emperor, the Adeptus Mechanicus is virtually synonymous with the Cult Mechanicus, another faith that could easily be considered heretical by the rest of the Imperium if the Adeptus Mechanicus was not essential to the survival of the Imperium and if the Tech-priests had not proven their loyalty to the Emperor in countless ways.

The Adeptus Mechanicus is vitally important to humanity because the Imperium, despite its technologically advanced state, has a very limited scientific knowledge of how its technology actually functions. This has only reinforced the prevailing Imperial view that the building and use of advanced machinery is almost a magical or religious act, fraught with ritual and inviolable instructions. The Adeptus Mechanicus, with its inherent understanding of the Machine Spirit and the Machine God, has a near-monopoly on Standard Template Construct (STC) designs and other advanced Imperial technological knowledge. As a result, the Mechanicus wields a tremendous amount of power in the Imperium as the primary manufacturer, maintainer and repairer of everything from basic farming equipment to interstellar warships.

Mars

Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-priest exploring the mysteries of the Cult Mechanicus

The birthplace of the Adeptus Mechanicus was the ancient Forge World of Mars. Mars was colonised very early in human history, long before the start of even the Dark Age of Technology, and developed a society different from Terra both culturally and in terms of technological advancement. The arid, rusty surface of Mars was terraformed, and under a man-made oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere, the Martian colony flourished, though it remained politically independent from Terra. When the era of human interstellar colonisation began, both Terra and Mars served as the co-equal mother worlds of countless new human colonies across the galaxy.

Mars, ancient homeworld of the Adeptus Mechanicus

During the Dark Age of Technology, the two empires of Terra and Mars co-existed under the aegis of the decentralised human interstellar government of that era, to the mutual benefit of both. At the height of its splendour during that era, and even later in the anarchic Age of Strife, Mars despatched hundreds of colony fleets into the void. Many perished in the terrible Warp Storms that engulfed the galaxy at that time before the birth of the Chaos God Slaanesh, but others survived or made their way forward at sublight speeds in realspace. Those who did founded new Forge Worlds in the name of the Machine God and built on them a likeness of the great manufactorums and temples of their distant homeworld. These Forge Worlds also forged new empires for the Mechanicus among the feudal Knight Worlds and added their unique combat walkers, the Knights, to the Mechanicus' own powerful arsenal.

The onset of the Age of Strife brought an end to the glory and peace of the ancient interstellar human domain. Across the galaxy, Mankind suddenly turned upon itself as a new breed of Warp-attuned psykers emerged and Warp Storms engulfed the galaxy, rendering interstellar travel and communication dangerous to the point of impossibility. Civil war engulfed thousands of human worlds, even the twin human homeworlds of Terra and Mars.

Many warring factions vied for power on Mars and waged a brutal civil conflict using arcane and unimaginably destructive weaponry, including psychic abilities. The carefully constructed atmosphere of Mars was burned away, and once more the rusty surface of the planet was exposed to the deadly radiations of the Sun. The terraformed Martian environment, which had teemed with Terran life for centuries, was rendered a barren crimson desert again. The Martian combatants now fought in the same blood-hued wastelands that the first human colonists from Terra had found millennia before. Much of the Martian population retreated underground, as any who were not equipped with a radiation and life support suit could not long survive on the Red Planet's harsh surface.

In time, one faction emerged dominant over all the others that had contended for dominion over Mars -- the Cult of the Machine God, the Mechanicum. Believing deeply in a strange theology which held that the expression of the universe's divinity, the Omnissiah, was embodied in advanced technology and machines, the Cult Mechanicum established its rule over the Red Planet and erected massive new manufactorums and hive cities across the world, divided into different city-states known as forges or forge cities. Each forge was ruled by a high-ranking Tech-priest, and the entirety of the Mechanicum's hierarchy bowed to the high priest known as the Fabricator-General.

For millennia the Mechanicum ruled over Mars, sending out colony expeditions to spread its faith and its way of life across the galaxy, which led to the founding of the first Forge Worlds. Mars also made war upon the divided techno-barbarian states that ruled Terra at this time, as many of these ignorant savages had access to advanced technologies left over from the Age of Technology that they did not understand or know how to venerate properly. This innate hostility between Mars and Terra lasted for centuries until in the late 30th Millennium, following his victory in the Unification Wars on Terra, the Emperor of Mankind came to Mars and landed atop the great volcano of Olympus Mons. At their first sight of the Master of Mankind many Tech-priests were overcome with the feeling that they had met the living embodiment of the Omnissiah, the Machine God clad in human form. In return for peace between Terra and Mars, the recognition of the Tech-priests' right to practice their faith and their right to maintain control over both Mars and the other Forge Worlds they had settled, the Mechanicum agreed to build Imperial starships at Mars' Ring of Iron orbital fleet yards and provide all of the war materiel necessary for the Emperor's Great Crusade. In addition, the Mechanicum agreed to be bound by the Emperor's commandment to never develop certain forbidden technologies such as artificial intelligence. Though the Mechanicum had no knowledge of it, it was artificial intelligence that had nearly destroyed humanity once before during the rebellion of the Men of Iron in the Dark Age of Technology and the Emperor was determined not to repeat history. With the signing of this agreement, known as the Treaty of Mars or the Treaty of Olympus Mons within the Mechanicum, the Cult Mechanicum became the Adeptus Mechanicus of the new-forged Imperium of Man, and the Imperial Aquila was refashioned to bear two heads, one for Terra and one for Mars.

Yet the terms of this agreement did not sit well with some within the hierarchy of the Mechanicum. A minority of Tech-adepts believed that the Emperor was not the Omnissiah, for the Machine God that the Mechanicus had always worshipped actually lay sleeping deep beneath the crust of Mars in the Noctis Labyrinthus. These Tech-priests particularly chafed at the end of Mars' political independence and the imposition of the Emperor's restrictions upon what technologies the Tech-priests of the Mechanicum could research and develop. As the Great Crusade progressed into the early 31st Millennium, these simmering discontents would ultimately cleave the Mechanicum just as it would the wider Imperium.

During the Horus Heresy many Mechanicum units declared for the Warmaster Horus and fought against those of their faith who remained loyal to the Emperor, becoming known in later times as the Dark Mechanicus. These Traitor Mechanicus units initiated a civil war on the Red Planet known as the Schism of Mars that mirrored the larger conflict raging across the galaxy. The Fabricator-General himself sided with the Warmaster, but his deputy, the Fabricator Locum Kane, remained loyal to the Emperor. Horus swayed the Fabricator-General of the time, Kelbor-Hal, to the side of Chaos by promising him a complete STC database from the planet of Drakonis-Three-Eleven and brought the senior Tech-adept in his 63rd Expeditionary Fleet named Regulus over to his side with other STCs recovered from the Imperial conquest of the Auretian Technocracy. Horus promised much else in terms of technological knowledge to the Mechanicum, including the right to develop technologies like artificial intelligence previously forbidden by the Emperor in the Treaty of Mars in return for their allegiance to his cause. Many Master Adepts like Kelbor-Hal longed to pursue these restricted lines of research and had long believed that the Emperor was not the Omnissiah of the Machine God, for the true Machine God dwelled in the Noctis Labyrinthus deep below the crust of Mars. That this legendary creature may actually have been the C'tan shard known as the Void Dragon is a disturbing possibility.

The Quest for Knowledge

Over the long millennia since its inception, the Cult Mechanicus has been riven, reformed, brought to the brink of catastrophe, and has engaged in conquests that span the galaxy. Calculus Logi labour night and day to catalogue its history, though they disclose it not. Only a handful of events are allowed to reach the annals of Imperial truth:

Although accounts of this era are incomplete and unreliable, it is generally considered to be a golden era of development and expansion as Mankind first spreads across the galaxy. The Warp-Drive, Navigators and Standard Template Construct (STC) technology herald this new era of discovery. The first of what will later become known as Knight Worlds are established during this period. Human psykers appear in ever-increasing numbers.

Mankind's collapse comes with terrifying swiftness. It is difficult to unravel the truth, but tales abound of anarchy, daemonic possessions, the coming of the Enslavers and the betrayal of humanity by the thinking machines. With the collapse of the Aeldari and birth of the new Chaos God Slaanesh, the galaxy is engulfed with Warp Storms that isolate swathes of the galaxy and those civilisations not destroyed outright are cut off from one another. Many come to know this era as "Old Night," and it descends like a shroud over the galaxy.During this time, the Knight Worlds fare best, for they eschew psykers and purposefully regress technologically. They grow superstitious and hidebound in their own traditions while they stand alone in a galaxy besieged by evils.

• Mars Expands (M25-M30) - Mars overcomes strife and disaster to unite beneath the Cult Mechanicus. As lulls between the waves of Warp Storms allow, the fleets of Mars travel outwards, raiding for lost technology and establishing new colonies of Tech-adepts. With a few exceptions, such travels remain limited in scope and stay within the confines of what will later become known as the Segmentum Solar.
• The Treaty of Mars (ca. 798.M30) - The Emperor, fresh from uniting the tribes of Terra, arrives on Mars. Many of the Tech-priests declare him to be the Omnissiah, and so the Emperor forges an alliance with Mars. It is the Adepts of the Cult Mechanicus that equip the Emperor's Space Marine Legions for the Great Crusade. In recognition of the fact that to achieve His galactic plans, the Emperor needs the technological and scientific aid of the Mechanicum, Mars becomes an ally to Terra rather than her subject, which is cemented by the signing of the Treaty of Olympus Mons, known as the Treaty of Mars on Terra. Of the countless worlds that the Imperium soon claims, only Forge Worlds dedicated to the Cult Mechanicus are esteemed in such a way.

• The Great Crusade (798.M30-004.M31) - The Emperor leads the massive Great Crusade outwards from Terra, with the purpose of reuniting the hundreds of thousands of lost worlds scattered across the galaxy. At the fore are the Space Marine Legions, supported by the growing Imperial Army. All are equipped by the factories of Mars. No less important are the Skitarii Legions, the Legio Cybernetica , the Legio Titanicus , and the Imperial Knights that join the expedition. Planet after planet is reconquered and offered the same choice -- bow before the Emperor of Terra or be destroyed. On and on the Expeditionary Fleets push outwards. The Tech-priests often refer to this time as the Great Expansion, for hundreds of Knight Worlds are rediscovered during this period alone.
• The Horus Heresy (005-014.M31) - Like all of the branches of the Imperium, the Mechanicum finds itself rife with corruption during the epic civil war known as the Horus Heresy. Many Forge Worlds and Knight Worlds turn from the Emperor. Indeed, the Fabricator-General of Mars, Kelbor-Hal himself, declares his allegiance to Horus, and so begins the Schism of Mars, a bitterly-fought campaign that mirrors those taking place across the galaxy. Skitarii Legions square off against each other while Titan duels Titan. Those of the Cult Mechanicus that turn to the Chaos Gods are forever after known as the Dark Mechanicum. They are hated and feared in equal measure, for they dare to fuse daemons with the Machine Spirits of their war engines, creating twisted things that mock the Machine God and His true laws of order and reason.
• The Great Scouring (014-021.M31) - Wars of recrimination follow the Horus Heresy. Led by Roboute Guilliman and the Ultramarines, the Imperial forces fight battle after battle, driving the remaining Traitor armies back until they finally flee, seeking refuge in the Eye of Terror. The Knight Houses, their honour tarnished by the vile deeds of fallen Knights, are especially vehement in their pursuit of battles of vengeance. Recognising the need for systemic change, Guilliman creates the Codex Astartes , and tasks Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl with a secret task that will align the fates of the newly-forged Adeptus Mechanicus and the Space Marines for centuries to come.

The Mechanicum of old is reforged as the Adeptus Mechanicus following Lord Commander of the Imperium Roboute Guilliman's Reformation of the Emperor's realm and the new Fabricator-General of Mars is given a permanent position as a High Lord of Terra. Crippled by His wounds during the final Heresy battles, the Emperor is interred within the Golden Throne, a device so complex that only the Adeptus Mechanicus can hope to maintain its systems.

• The Shadow War (Unknown Date.M31-Present) - An intense paranoia drives the Cult Mechanicus to bury their secrets deep. When the Inquisitors of Terra's new order take their tithe of data-tapestries, they also unwittingly take the countermeasures that will unravel them. Aware of their mistake but unwilling to admit it, the Inquisition devises purge protocols that engage in an unseen battle with the self-replicating deletion-programs of the Cult Mechanicus. Though this shadow conflict flares up into several planet-wrecking wars before fading, battles between them still rage in secret to this day.
• The Giridium Experiment (011.M32) - The Cult Mechanicus builds a fortress around the "haunted" caves of Giridium. During the manifestation which occurs every equinox, the disciples of the Omnissiah blast apart rank upon rank of red-skinned daemons. The process is repeated for nine long standard years. Just as the Adeptus Mechanicus are compiling reports and preparing to withdraw, the sky above yawns wide and disgorges a rain of capering, whirling flame-daemons. The ensuing battle rages for solar months, and when a new wave of blood-horrors bursts from the caves at the next equinox, the combined daemonic onslaught sees the personnel of the Cult Mechanicus present slain to a man.
• A New Breed of Overseer (Unknown Date.M32) - House Taranis begins the practice of sending the Nobles that fail to enmesh properly with their Imperial Knights to the Adeptus Mechanicus. Though unfit for a place in Taranis' Knight armies, each of these cyborg warriors -- known as Psychosis-Neuracanium -- are from primaris-grade Imperial stock, and prove to be excellent raw material for the creation of Skitarii overseers. Similar exchanges between other Knight and Forge Worlds occur across the galaxy.

As the Imperium solidifies its measures of control across key star systems, including the adoption of the Imperial Cult as the official state religion, the Adeptus Mechanicus becomes ever more secretive.

• The Howling (401.M34) - An Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator fleet clashes with the Cacodominus, an alien cyborg of colossal psychic potential. The horrific creature learns well of Humanity and its agents. Within a standard year it controls the populace of thirteen hundred planetary systems. The resultant heresy is ended by a concerted attack from the Legio Cybernetica and their Black Templar allies. Alas, the Cacodominus' psychic death scream burns out the minds of a billion Astropaths and distorts the signal of the Astronomican itself. Entire sub-sectors slide into barbarism without the light of the Emperor to guide them.
• The Prophet of Cogs (979.M34) - The long-time rivalry between those Tech-priests who dwell in the north of Mars and those of the Martian south flares up into open war. As the conflict grinds on, both sides are assailed by the feral packs of malfunctioning Servitors and burnt-out war machines that haunt the desert wastes. The war reaches a gory conclusion when the self-proclaimed "Prophet of Cogs" broadcasts a control-chorus that binds millions of long-abandoned machines to his cause. Appalled by the half-living cyberghouls he sets on his foes, both the Martian north and south unite to drive him from the face of the Red Planet. Rumours persist that he haunts the Alpha Centauri System well into the 41st Millennium.

The Time of the Two Emperors during the Nova Terra Interregnum pits many forces of the Imperium against each other, and all Forge Worlds are asked to declare their allegiance.

• The Moirae Schism (ca. Early M35) - During the secession of the Segmentum Pacificus during the Nova Terra Interregnum, the rebel Forge World Moirae is destroyed by retaliatory Exterminatus , but not before the Moirae Schism has split the Adeptus Mechanicus in two. The ensuing conflict draws Titan Legions and even those Space Marine Chapters affiliated with the Adeptus Mechanicus into the turmoil. The schism takes a heavy toll on the Adeptus Astartes, resulting in the destruction of dozens of companies and the excommunication of several Iron Hands clans. It takes over two millennia of desperate warfare before the Moirate doctrines are considered fully purged.
• The Fleet Wars (Unknown Date.M35) - Of all the battles of the Moirae Schism, none are so expansive or long-lasting as the prolonged naval engagement over the nebula space fields of the Gulf of Black Shadows. There, mining wars between rival Forge Worlds escalate to massive fleet battles. It is estimated that the wrecks of over ten thousand voidships -- from mining craft to vessels of war -- float between the gas clouds. Yet the battle is far from over, for within the floating graveyards, salvage crews continue the war for centuries, fighting each other in desperate boarding actions, each side seeking to reclaim valued technology. Entire robot maniples are recovered by opposing sides, and reprogrammed to attack their former controllers.

A new age of dissent washes over the Imperium. A growing distrust separates the Adeptus Mechanicus from the Adeptus Ministorum, with each side conspiring against the other. Few records of their internecine battles are ever recorded by the Adeptus Administratum, but each side keeps their own secret tally.

• The War of Recovery (104.M36) - Twelve Knightly houses are led by the Adeptus Mechanicus into the Mortuam Chain system. The campaign lasts over a standard century and many human worlds are freed from xenos rule. The interfering Aeldari are defeated when their own weapons are turned against them. Much ancient technology is rediscovered by the great quest. The fact that one of the conquered worlds had already been converted into a Shrine World by missionaries from the Ecclesiarchy is hastily covered up by furtive Tech-priests, who speak only of the triumphant return to Mars of several first-generation STC databases.
• The Xenarite Schism (335.M36) - The Forge World of Stygies VIII comes under attack from dozens of Deathwatch Kill-teams when news of the Xenarites' dabblings with alien technology reaches the Ordo Xenos. The Adeptus Mechanicus are forced to employ radical measures in order to survive the ensuing purges.
• Missing from Imperial Records (Unknown Date.M37) - Fearful of the growing record of violations against its Tech-priests, the Forge World of Stygies VIII uses viral programming, machine canticles, and infiltration methods to destroy or alter the documentation of the Adeptus Administratum and even the datastacks of the Inquisition itself. Self-perpetuating programs ensure the obfuscation is continuous.
• The Occlusiad (550-560.M37) - The northwestern fringe of the galaxy is ravaged by the Apostles of the Blind King. Rogue Tech-priests who view Humanity as an affront to the Machine God, the Apostles uncover artefacts lost in the Dark Age of Technology that allow the creation of supernovae from the hearts of living suns. Constellations are forever changed as the Apostles purge the outer sectors of the Segmentum Obscurus. War rages for a solar decade as thousands of heretical macroclades and robotic Cohorts Cybernetica exterminate all human life from world after world with chilling efficiency. The tide turns only when Navigator Joyre Macran discovers the palace-warship of the Blind King hidden in a fold of Warpspace. Macran guides the Emperor -class Battleship Dominus Astra to the palace's location and the Blind King is slain. Without his prescience, the Apostles are overcome -- not least due to the efforts of Mars itself and the founding of the heroic Dark Hunters Chapter of Astartes.

The Imperial Cult gains political momentum, and countless crusades are launched. As the Space Marines and Imperial Guard are drawn into more and more campaigns, the Adeptus Mechanicus conserve their strength, focusing on their own expeditionary fleets, as well as their manufacturing duties to supply the Imperial war machine.

• The Telok Expedition (383.M38) - The Radical Magos Vettius Telok leads a foray into the void beyond the Halo Stars in search of the fabled artefact known as the "Breath of the Gods." His expedition is reported lost with all knowledge.
• The Shadow of Silica Animus (Unkown Date.M38) - Proof is found of dangerous experiments being conducted by rogue cults within the Mechanicus. As the creation of complex and intelligent artificial minds is strictly outlawed, a search-and-destroy inquest begins that probes every single Forge World for signs of the forbidden technology.
• The War of the Golden Cog (Unknown Date.M39) - The Fabricator-General of Mars claims ownership of the riches of the Fortress of the Soulless, lair of the Culexus Temple. A disastrous civil war between Mars and Terra is averted by a sniper's bullet, but the artefact known as the Golden Cog is left in Skitarii hands.
• Fires of Conscience (Unknown Date.M39) - The rogue Tech-priest Veriliad, after leading his Skitarii to a stomach-churning victory during the Cremation of Alcadia Secundus, knowingly destroys the STC for Phosphex Weapons.

With Imperial armies stretched thin across countless campaigns, the Imperium becomes ripe for invasion. Xenos and Chaos attacks increase tenfold, occurring with alarming frequency all across the galaxy.

• Crushing the Mecha-WAAAGH! (Unknown Date.M40) - Led by House Raven, five different Knightly houses, along with no less than a dozen Freeblades, halt the mechanised hordes of WAAAGH! Gluttok. Across several star systems, the Imperial Knights are able to counter the Battlewagons and looted tanks employed by the wily Gluttok. It is on the factory planet of Blastoom that the Warboss' Stompa Mob is at last brought to final battle. Leading his Exalted Court into the thick of the fighting, Grevan, the Iron Duke, smashes into the wall of Ork walkers and uses his Reaper Chainblade to rip apart Gluttok's Stompa. The Stompa's head can still be seen, for it was taken for display and remains at the Keep Inviolate.
• Graia Assailed (Unknown Date.M40) - When attempting Warp travel with its "Graian Crown," Forge World Graia is assaulted by Necrons and nearly destroyed.
• The Forbidden Runes (Unknown Date.M40) - After the disastrous Battle of Elixia, Skitarii survivors are sent to extract the runic inscriptions upon the ancient standing stones of Grave's End. In doing so, they open a long-forgotten gate into the Warp. Elixia is consumed by a daemonic invasion, its remaining populace eliminated by a necessary Exterminatus within the solar week.
• The Reality Cage (743.M40) - The Tech-priests of Venatoria create cagefields of pure law and reason that magnify the material dimension's inherent resistance to the energies of the Warp. Forbidden to test the resultant technology in realspace, the Tech-priests lead an invasion fleet into the Ocularis Terribilis -- the Eye of Terror. Three Venatorians make it back alive to their Forge World. They devote the rest of their careers to the creation of a "reality bomb" that they believe will seal the Eye of Terror forever more. Sadly, their test run, staged upon the yawning Warp rift known only as the Maelstrom, ends in disaster.

As the galaxy darkens, new threats arise all across it.

• The Exhubris Portal (029.M41) - The rune-sealed portals upon the world of Exhubris II's grand archipelago are hidden within a landscape of leech-infested pyramids, but the Stygian Cult Mechanicus makes it their mission to open them. The excavation is well under way when a large force of Eldar from Craftworld Ulthwé arrive without warning to assail the Cult Mechanicus work teams. Stygies VIII requests aid from a nearby Martian fleet. So determined is their defence that the reinforcements have time to make planetfall in great number, and the Eldar ground forces are hammered to ruin. The runic portal is broken open, and Tech-priests from both Stygies and Mars enter the lambent labyrinth beyond.
• The Gothic War (139-160.M41) - The Gothic War, also called the 12th Black Crusade, was a vast military campaign against the Imperium of Man launched by the Warmaster of Chaos Abaddon the Despoiler of the Black Legion in 139.M41 which lasted until 160.M41. The conflict consisted of hundreds of planetary invasions and naval battles within the Gothic Sector and only ended when Abaddon was forced to retreat to the Immaterium with the arrival of Imperial reinforcements. It saw the destruction of several planets and four of the six known Blackstone Fortresses, as well as the deaths of billions of Imperial citizens.
• The Baited Beast (173.M41) - The Cult Mechanicus deliberately triggers WAAAGH! Kragga in the tightly-held Urdeshi System. Though the WAAAGH! boils out of control planetside, the Imperial Navy keeps it contained to Urdesh and its neighbouring worlds. The Tech-priests greedily harness every screed of information; so much data is gathered their overheating archives have to be relocated to the cool of Urdesh’s underground catacombs. Eventually the greenskins are methodically exterminated clan by clan. The next three centuries are spent cleansing and rebuilding the Urdeshi System. In the process, the invaluable data-catacombs are filled with rockcrete to form foundations for a grenade manufactorum.
• The Macharian Conquests (392-399.M41) - Led by Mars, Graia and Gryphonne IV, many Forge Worlds send armies to aid the massive crusade of Lord Commander Solar Macharius, the Imperium's greatest Astra Militarum commander of all time and a recognised tactical and strategic genius on a par with the Primarchs themselves. This Crusade took place on the far western edge of the galaxy within the Segmentum Pacificus, reaching as far as the border of the galaxy with intergalactic space and even reaching into the unknown regions of the Halo Zone. The furthest extent of this Crusade reached just beyond the edge of the Segmentum Pacificus, where not even the blessed light of the Astronomican could penetrate the dark void.
• The Death of Tyran (745.M41) - A terrible new foe looms from the void. On the far reaches of the Eastern Fringe, the Adeptus Mechanicus research station of Tyran Primus comes under attack. Despite a stalwart defence by Skitarii cohorts and an entire regiment of Astra Militarum, the planet is conquered and its biomass devoured. Magos Varnak compiles a data-codex that reveals the dread truth of the planet's last few solar hours and fires it into space before triggering the outpost's runes of ending. The Tyranids enter the galaxy.
• Rain of Fire (Unknown Date.M41) - After the Battle of Macragge, a splinter fleet of Hive Fleet Behemoth winds its way into the Skitarii-held Daugel Helix. Using the knowledge recovered from the Tyran data-codex, the Skitarii fight back. The cohort commander Alpha 9-Thyrrc tuns the tide by saturating a stratum of the atmosphere with gas from the planet's Promethium refineries. After his Onager Dunecrawlers' neutron lasers set the skies aflame, each new rain of Tyranid Mycetic Spores incinerates those xenos planetside instead of reinforcing them. A triumphalist data-codex is compiled and sent to the nearby Forge World of Accatran, where it is swiftly filed away in the Archive Anomalis and forgotten.
• The War of Neotech (Unknown Date.M41) - The T'au settlers of Vesh'yo find themselves fighting for their lives against three Skitarii Legions. The ancient weapons of the Adeptus Mechanicus are pitted against he clean, cutting-edge technology of the T'au Empire. Many additional Skitarii reinforcements are deployed before victory is finally secured. Six star freighters full of T'au war materiel find their way back to the Forge World of Tigrus.
• WAAAGH! Grax (Unknown Date.M41) - The brutal juggernaut of WAAAGH! Grax terrorises the star systems near Ryza. Legions of Skitarii counterattack alongside Catachans and liberated human slaves. Word of the intense fighting attracts WAAAGH! Rarguts, which breaks through the Imperial Navy cordon to invade Ryza for the third time since the conflict began. The fate of a string of Imperial star systems hinges upon the Forge World at their heart.
• The Curse Entropic (865.M41) - A Chaos Warfleet of Iron Warriors and Daemon Engines unleashes a destructive machine curse upon Cypra Mundi. Soon the Forge World runs with rivers of molten metal, its surface dotted with a million burnt-out machines. Just as all seems lost, the Cult Mechanicus coordinate a psalmic banishment that lifts the curse, leaving the Chaos Space Marines bereft of their daemon allies. The planet is cleansed within a solar week.
• The Caverns of Calth (979.M41) - Rumours circulate of a unique Tyranid bioform unearthed from the ice of Calth's polar crust. Magos Locard leads an Explorator army into the Realm of Ultramar, delving deep under the planet's cold skin within solar minutes of planetfall. The Torsion Cannons of hundreds of Battle Servitors grind a path towards unsanctioned life signs in Calth's ancient tunnel networks. They do not find the legendary Carnifex they were expecting, but nest upon nest of burrowing, serpentine horrors. A desperate subterranean battle breaks out in the darkness, and Magos Locard is forced to leave empty-handed.
• To Punish the Usurper (983.M41) - Upon the lodestone world of Knuthor, a nation of feral humans worships their Ork slavers as prophets of the primitive deity King Thug. When the nearby Forge World of Graia learns one of the Ork Roks is built around a fabled Ark Mechanicus, it sends forth its legions on a priority intercept. Within a standard year of the travesty coming to light, both xenos and human alike have been scoured from the planet, and the salvaged pieces of the Ark Mechanicus borne reverently back to Graia.
• The Unknowable (Unknown Date.M41) - Skitarii from Stygies VIII are sent to the diluvian-class world of Magogue when the planet's industry dries up its oceans to reveal Necrontyr architecture. The Skitarii fight valiantly against the Necrons of the awakening tomb complexes, allowing the planet's islander people to evacuate. Only the commanding Tech-priests, hunting for knowledge behind the lines, escape the ensuing carnage. However, in doing so they clash with Trazyn the Infinite. One by one the Tech-priests are collected in stasis fields and displayed as part of a monument to Magogue's fall.
• The Omnitask Blashemy (988.M41)
• The Scouring of Johan's Eden (992.M41) - An ancient data-cache is unearthed upon the Jungle World of Johan's Eden. The Cult Mechanicus descends, only to find the planet's modest populace slain by Necron Canoptek constructs. Several Mechanicus war congregations launch a simultaneous attack. Eight standard years of war follow before the Cult Mechanicus recovers the data-cache. Three intact STC database files are recovered as a result -- one for self-heating cookpots, one for parchment autoquills, and one for stable flux-core bolt rounds that can melt ceramite as if it were wax.
• The Tyrannic Wars (992.M41 and 997-999.M41) - The Tyranid invasion wreaks havoc across scores of Forge Worlds, with several, including the powerhouse of Gryphonne IV, utterly destroyed by the ravenous xenos.
• Return to Abheilüng (674.999.M41)
• Ultimate Power (ca. 900s.M41) - Clues to the location of the Omnicopaeia are uncovered upon Hell's Teeth, a Daemon World on the edge of the Maelstrom. The Omnicopaeia, an arcane device that contains every STC with a psychic component, is of immeasurable value. Many billions of Skitarii are dispatched to Hell's Teeth with all haste. The entire Adeptus Mechanicus across every Forge World takes notice -- should the legendary Omnicopaeia be found, they will finally have a way to control, precipitate and even weaponise Humanity's psychic dawn.
• Desperate Measures (986.999.M41) - The Tech-priest custodians at work in the Imperial Palace uncover irrevocable failures in the mechanisms of the Golden Throne. A dozen contingency expeditions are immediately launched, including a Xanthite war procession of the Inquisition sent through the Exhubris Portal into the Webway. The Xanthites fight through Harlequin troupes and daemon hordes alike before reaching their intended destination. In the grave-cold oubliettes of the Haemonculi beneath the Dark Eldar city of Commorragh, a sinister bargain is struck...
• The Fall of Cadia (995.999.M41) - The 13th Black Crusade devastates much of the Cadian Sector and spreads disaster across the whole of Segmentum Obscurus. Despite heroic fighting, Cadia falls. Many refugees from the numerous campaigns find temporary safety on the Forge Worlds of Agripinaa and Stygies VIII, where their numbers help repel the Chaos attacks that soon follow. The loss of dozens of Titans, fleets, robots, and entire armies is a devastating and irreplaceable blow. In the wake of the disaster, the High Lords of Terra themselves decree that all Forge Worlds are to increase production by any means necessary.
• A Primarch Awakens (999.M41) - In news that ripples across a galaxy riven by war and splintering with Warp disasters, the Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman is awakened. Although xenos are rumoured to be involved, the Adeptus Mechanicus claim sole responsibility for the deed that brings back the Avenging Son.
• The Great Rift Opens (999.M41) - Warp Storms of a magnitude not seen since the Age of Strife wrack the galaxy. Every Forge World is cut off from its Explorator fleets and, for a time, from each other. All suffer invasions and raids as emboldened xenos and Chaos forces test them, probing for weaknesses, eager to destroy the bastions of Mankind's empire. No fewer than seven Forge Worlds are destroyed altogether and several more remain missing, buried beneath fierce and impenetrable storms.
• The Secrets of Cawl (ca. 999.M41) - Upon the orders of Primarch Roboute Guilliman, Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl begins to unlock the secret vaults and awaken from stasis the many armies of the Primaris Project. An entire new Founding of Space Marines is born.
• Storm of Metal (ca. 999.M41) - All across the Imperium, primary Mechanicus holdings -- from mining colonies to Knight Worlds to Forge Worlds -- find themselves under attack from Necrons. The influx of Chaos energies has triggered anti-Warp protocols in every Necron Tomb World, and things that have lain dormant for aeons stir once more. The infamous Technomandrites, struck down by the Silent King, return. Panic rises amongst the Tech-priests, for they are already besieged from without, and the Necron threat is coming from within.
• The Indomitus Crusade (ca. 999.M41-111.M42) - The initial blackness that blanketed the galaxy after the Great Rift was torn open finally lifts. In the aftermath of the Noctis Aeterna , many Imperial Crusades are launched. Although there were several successful campaigns, none could claim more triumphs than the Indomitus Crusade. From Terra, Roboute Guilliman mustered a coalition. In addition to Archmagos Belisarius Cawl, Mars sent many Skitarii Legions, maniples of the Legio Cybernetica and several lances of Knights from House Taranis. Over a dozen other Forge Worlds send supporting fleets as the expedition crosses the galaxy, and many Knight Worlds prove eager to join -- none more so than the vengeful House Krast. The Crusade's many victories bring a glimmer of hope to the darkened Imperium. However, once Guilliman leaves, returning to aid Ultramar during the Plague Wars, the remaining forces splinter, the campaign losing impetus as factions return to protect their own homeworlds.
• Duels Without Honour (Unknown Date.M42) - The fallen Knights of House Black, not seen since they escaped into the Eye of Terror during the Great Crusade, return. The fell Knights are seen across hundreds of battlefields, appearing as if from nowhere to ambush the forces of the Imperial Knights.
• War of Slime and Metal (Unknown Date.M42) - Metalica is besieged by the Plaguehosts of Nurgle, the 3rd and 7th Plague Companies of the Death Guard, Renegade Chaos Space Marines, the corrupted Titans of Legio Morbus , and no fewer than seven Questor Traitorisfallen Knight houses. Only the arrival of the entire House Raven staves off defeat, and only with the aid of a war fleet from Deimos is the attack finally broken and the daemons banished.
• The Adeptus Mechanicus Unleashed (Unknown Date.M42) - With the Imperium reeling from the disastrous effects of the Great Rift, Mars commands all Forge Worlds to ramp up production to unprecedented levels. They churn through raw materials and Servitors as never before, and vast armadas are launched to strip entire star systems of resources. The forges must be fed at impossible rates in order to supply the endless war materiel required.
• The Rust Fields War Begins (Unknown Date.M42) - To fuel their factories, a coalition of Forge Worlds led by Mars and Graia sends mining fleets to exploit the vast belt of asteroids known as the Rust Fields. Although its interior has never been explored, its exterior is incredibly rich in all manner of metals, minerals and Promethium seas -- a tumbling horizon of asteroids that stretches across three sectors. Soon after operations are begun, however, it is discovered that Greenskin clans rule the interior of the Rust Fields. So begins a great war that draws in untold numbers of additional Imperial forces as the Adeptus Mechanicus fights to retain its foothold.
• Bane of the Forge Worlds (Unknown Date.M42) - Although there are many theories, none understands the reason for the Necron attacks upon Forge World territories as well as Archmagos Belisarius Cawl. Both sides are seeking deposits of the strange material from which the Cadian Pylons were fashioned, and many Adeptus Mechanicus strongholds have been erected upon sites containing this precious resource. Cawl sends his own agents -- armies of Mars and House Taranis -- across the stars in an effort to combat the growing danger, and hundreds of battles are fought as more and more Forge Worlds are drawn into the conflict to aid their beleaguered brethren. Even those Tech-priests that begin to understand the reality of the dire situation are loath to call upon their Imperial allies for fear of being branded Hereteks.
• The Plague Wars (ca. 111.M42) - At the urgent call of Roboute Guilliman, over a dozen Forge Worlds, including Mars, Ryza, Metalica, and Triplex Phall, send reinforcements to Ultramar. There they aid the Avenging Son's armies in defence and counterattack against Chaos Renegades and the Death Guard.

Pre-Heresy Mechanicum Forge World Hierarchy

The Belicosa Potentis Omnissiah , an Exemplary Illustration of the Military-Feudal Organisational Structure of a trans-Martian Forge World during the Great Crusade

The following is an exemplary illustration of the military-feudal organisational structure depicted in the abstract of a trans-Martian Forge World, as rendered by the Office of the Principia Militaris of the Great Crusade early in the first decade of the 31st Millennium.

• Archmagos Intendant (Planetary Governor) - An Archmagos Intendant was given equal rank to an Imperial Commander and Planetary Governor, with full executive, temporal and spiritual power over their domains, with notional fealty only to Mars and the Emperor. Note that various alternative nomenclatures for this title are used on different Forge Worlds (e.g., Hierophant Technis (Ryza), Gnostarch (Antioch Majoris), Fabricator Potentate (Tigrus), Vox-Omnis (Incaladion), Revered-Comptroller (Phaeton Prime).
  • The Holy Synod of the Lord Magos (Ruling Feudal-Clerical Oligarchy of the Forge World) - Each member of the synod is a magnate and sub-ruler of their own domain or forge-fane, as well as a high-ranking priest of the Cult Mechanicus, tied to the larger web of the Forge World through a complex network of alliances, preference, arcane technological specialty and religious rank.
  • Notional Synod seniority by title in order of power:
    • The Archmandriture (Chamber Cardinal)
    • The Archmagos
    • The Magos Majoris
    • The Magos Ordinary
  • Notable Divisions of Techno-Arcana among the Synod commonly included:
    • Hespherstari
    • Provender
    • Explorator
    • Genetor
    • Logis
    • Vulpaxis
    • Metallurgicus
    • Lictanex
    • Dominus
    • Cordantor
    • Mhalagra
    • Alchemys
    • Myrmidex
    • Lachrimallus
  • The Tachmata Omnissiah - The Tachmata Omnissiah was a military command protocol enacted in times of war or to create a detached military formation varying in size from sub-division to macro battle group, constructed by predetermined configurations of retainer troops, Tech-priests, war engines and support systems, placed under the command of a number of Magi of the Synod and commanded by Magi/Archmagi designated "Prime".
    • The Legio Cybernetica  - Sacred orders of Tech-priests devolved into cohorts charged with the construction and use of Battle-automata, existing both as fully independent structures and sub-factions owing either pacts of mutual support or alliance with the Synods of major Forge Worlds.
    • The Magos Militant/Secutarius - Lower ranked Magi as well as assigned Tech-priests and prelates of militant sub-cults of the Mechanicum utilised by the Taghmata as a field command and control cadre. Each will commonly possess their own acolytes, retainer forces and sub-units owing then direct fealty.
      • Principal Tactical Divisions of the Tachmata
        • Associated Orders & Sub-Cults Militant - Composition will vary greatly depending on the Taghmata disposition, role and the tendencies and alliances of the governing Forge World Myrmidon Cult, etc:
        • Lacyraemara
          • Indentured Labour Units
          • Adseculatis Modified Troops
          • Bio-Alchem Cadres
          • Tech-priest Lacyraemarta Covenants
          • Cyber-Hybrid Carnivora
        • Munitoria Logis - Provender of Munitions and Wargear, Servitor and Drone Cohorts. Assigned to Taghmata service.
          • Signatus Avox
          • Lexmachanicus Auditorii
        • Macrotechnia
          • Enginseer Covenants
          • Tech-thrall Combat Units
          • Macro-Machina
          • Ordinatus Locum
          • Technographica Determinus
        • Bonded Cybernetica
          • Battle-Automata
          • Siege-Automata
          • Bonded Tech-priest Covenants
        • The Autokrator
          • Ground Armour
          • Pioneer Forces
          • Mobile Artillery Units
          • Tech-Guard Regiments
        • The Knight Houses of the Questoris Familia - The ruling noble houses of the Knight Worlds form their own unique culture and traditions from their own unique culture and traditions which have become closely linked with the Mechanicum over time. Households often deploy alongside the Legio Titanicus in support.
  • The Basilikon Astra - The division of the Machine God's servants tasked with the construction, use and operation of void craft and interstellar vessels. This order's divisions by their nature control the outer reaches of a Forge World's systems and so stand apart from the planetary synods, but are still tied to them by dependence and ancient tradition.
  • The Skitarius (Tech-Guard) - Ancient standing armies of elite cybernetically and genetically engineered troops, originating on Mars and principally loyal to the office of the Fabricator-General. The Skitarii, also known as the Mechanicum Protectors, are not members of the priesthood, but follow their own unique martial traditions and sub-cult of the Omnissiah. Skitarii regiments maintain entirely separate structures of organisation and tactical deployment outside of the Taghmata and are assigned at the behest of the Lords of Mars.
  • The Prefecture Magisterium - Doctrinal covenant of the Machine Cult charged with preserving dogma and the persecution of techno-heresy. Magisterium Cohorts and hunter-killer claves are maintained on all Forge Worlds under the authority of the Archmagos Intendant.
  • The Legio Titanicus - The division of the Titan Legions, the Princeps and Moderatii of the Legio Titanicus are charged with the baleful right and onerous duty of mastering and maintaining the God-Machines that are the avatars of the Omnissiah's destructive wrath. The manifold Titan Legions are spread through the Omnissiah's domains as their shield and their strength, as well as operating as the hammer of the Great Crusade. The Legio Titanicus form an ancient military society existing in parallel with the Mechanicum priesthood, including their own support structure, domains and military retainers (Scutarii).
  • The Ordo Reductor  - Mendicant order of Tech-priests devoted to the art of siege craft, demolition and mass destruction. The Ordo Reductor is essentially nomadic, gravitating to areas of intense warfare, but maintains links to major Forge Worlds for resupply and support.

Post-Heresy Adeptus Mechanicus Forge World Hierarchy

Imperial chart depicting the Strategic Disposition of a standard Forge World in the late 41st Millennium

• Fabricator General
  • Fabricator Locum
    • Priests of the Cult Mechanicus
      • Legiones Skitarii - The naming convention presented below is that used by Mars and most of its brother forge worlds; some style their armies the "Divsion Skitarii" and group their cohorts into regiments instead.
      • Macroclade 1 - (Known variously as Prima Macroclade, Macroclade Primus, ect.) A forge world's first macroclade traditionally garrisons its Titan Legions and/or Ordinatus Engines.
      • Macroclade 2
      • Macroclade 3
      • Macroclade 4
        • War Cohort 1 - Each War Cohort is identified by a cohort numeral displayed on the hull of their Onager Dunecrawler vehicles.
        • War Cohort 2
        • War Cohort 3
        • War Cohort 4
          • Battle Maniple Delta - The typical Skitarii maniple is the combined arms Battle Maniple, but specialist cohorts, maniples and clades can be arranged as needed: Infiltration Clades, Armoured Cohorts, Assault Maniples, Anti-aircraft Cohorts, Anti-tank Cohorts, and son on. Units in a Battle Maniple are identified by a common maniple sigil, usually displayed next to squad and vehicles identification numbers. Other formations are identified by combinations of glyphs and sigils on the bodywork of their war machines.
            • Skitarii Rangers
            • Skitarii Vanguard
            • Sicarian Infiltrators
            • Sicarian Ruststalkers
            • Ironstrider Cavalry
            • Onager Dunecrawlers
          • Battle Maniple Epsilon
          • Battle Maniple Omega

The Cult Mechanicus

Cult Mechanicus Adept with Combat Servitors

The Cult Mechanicus believes knowledge to be the manifestation of divinity, and holds that anything embodying or containing knowledge is holy because of it. The supreme object of devotion is therefore the omniscient Machine God (also known as the Deus Mechanicus or, in its embodied form as the God-Emperor, the Omnissiah), an eminent and omnipotent spirit governing all machinery and knowledge in the universe. Generally, this deity is held to be an aspect of the God-Emperor (or, most commonly within the Cult itself, both are held to be aspects or faces of the same divine being). The Omnissiah is believed to be friendly to humanity, and to be the originator of all human technological and scientific knowledge. Subservient to the Omnissiah are the pantheistic Machine Spirits, who are believed to inhabit all machinery and which must be appeased before a piece of technology is used or repaired, lest the machinery fail.

It should be noted that the Void Dragon, one of the C'tan Star Gods who are the true masters of the Necrons, is supposedly hidden somewhere beneath the surface of Mars. This could be what the Adeptus Mechanicus actually worship as the Machine God. The existence of the C'tan beneath Mars is a highly classified secret of the Imperium.

The Quest for Knowledge

The ultimate goal of the Cult Mechanicus is to understand and fully comprehend the glory of the Omnissiah. The communal and personal attempt at this form of enlightenment is known as the Quest for Knowledge. The Cult believes that all knowledge already exists in the universe, and it is primarily a matter of time before it can be gathered together to complete the Quest. The Cult is therefore disinclined to perform most basic scientific research and development. Despite this, some original scientific research does continue on Mars and the other Forge Worlds of the Imperium, enough to keep Imperial technology advancing steadily, if extremely slowly. The faith of the Cult is defined by a series of sixteen precepts, known as the Sixteen Universal Laws, which have been divided into two sets of eight precepts known collectively as the Mysteries and the Warnings, which are listed below.

• Life is directed motion.
• The spirit is the spark of life.
• Sentience is the ability to learn the value of knowledge.
• Intellect is the understanding of knowledge.
• Sentience is the basest form of Intellect.
• Understanding is the True Path to Comprehension.
• Comprehension is the key to all things.
• The Omnissiah knows all, comprehends all.

• The alien mechanism is a perversion of the True Path.
• The soul is the conscience of sentience.
• A soul can be bestowed only by the Omnissiah.
• The Soulless sentience (i.e. Necrons) is the enemy of all.
• The knowledge of the ancients stands beyond question.
• The Machine Spirit guards the knowledge of the Ancients.
• Flesh is fallible, but ritual honours the Machine Spirit.
• To break with ritual is to break with faith.

Despite the never-ending thirst for knowledge of all branches of the order, most Tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus have lost the ability to innovate. No longer the master of its creations, the Cult Mechanicus is enslaved to the past. It maintains the glories of yesteryear with rite, dogma and edict instead of true discernment and comprehension. Even the theoretically simple process of activating an engine is preceded by the application of ritual oils, the burning of sacred resins and the chanting of long and complex hymns. Should mechanisms break down, as they often do in service to the Adeptus Mechanicus war effort, a replacement must be found, or knowledge of how to repair the existing one must be learned. Across the galaxy, thousands upon thousands of armies and fleets are already searching, guided by a database begun before the birth of the Imperium. Once found, such items and knowledge are confiscated at all costs in the name of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Factions

An Organicist Genetor

There are numerous religious factions within the Adeptus Mechanicus, including the Khamrians, who pursue the forbidden science of artificial, or "abominable" intelligence which has been forbidden since the catastrophe caused by the Iron Men who attacked humanity during the Dark Age of Technology; the Omnissiads, who seek to summon the Machine God into a physical avatar other than the Emperor; and the Organicists, who see biological enhancement using genetic engineering as equal to the more common cybernetic enhancements for which the Tech-priests of the Mechanicus are best known. Some of these sects are accepted as legitimate interpretations of the Omnissiah, others are persecuted by the broader Cult Mechanicus and the Inquisition as Heretics.

The portion of the Adeptus Mechanicus that split off to serve Chaos and the Chaos Space Marine Traitor Legions during the Horus Heresy is called the Dark Mechanicus. These Chaos-worshiping Magi seek to combine the power of the Warp with that of the Machine God in the name of the Ruinous Powers, who they view to be the true expression of the Machine God since they offer knowledge that the Emperor forbids. They are also responsible for constructing the majority of the war-machines for the Chaos Space Marines. Such creations include the Stalk Tanks of the Blood Pact, the Hell Talon fighter-bombers and the gargantuan Harbinger bomber recently deployed by the Forces of Chaos. It is also believed that some Dark Mechanicum Adepts have split into the Chaos faction known as the Obliterators.