Chapter 244: What is Humanity's Glory?
Dawnstar - Third Imperium Starport - Astartes Order Garrison
The First Imperium Starport was a heavily guarded military facility, not open to the public. The Second Imperium Starport was for the various Astartes Chapters and Imperial departments, and was full of secrets, so it was naturally not open to the public either. Only the Third Imperium Starport was open to the citizens of the Imperium, and various organizations also placed their diplomatic facilities here to facilitate communication between all parties.
As for why it was still called the Imperium, it was mainly because the name "Imperium of Man" was quite good, and it didn't necessarily have to have an emperor. The domain of humanity, the Imperium of Man.
As the capital of the Dawnlight Sector, Dawnstar had not experienced any major incidents, aside from one accident five years ago. As communication became more frequent, Dawnstar was now a prosperous place. The war had long been decided. Although many factions were still watching, and although there were still hawks who held a hostile attitude, prosperity does not lie. The sector government did not care about the Adeptus Mechanicus's prohibitions. The Dawnlight Sector was thriving without them.
The black and red uniforms of the Wardens of Steel were wandering in the trade district of the starport. These grassroots mortal members were walking in the streets in groups of two and three, using their generous stipends to promote economic circulation.
"The Prince said there will be no internal wars before April. The next phase of work will be taken over by members of other organizations."
"Finally, we can rest for a few months. Our squadron lost sixty percent of its men. I need to go to the Schola Progenium and contact an old friend."
"Hahaha, I'm going to get married first," a hearty laugh suddenly erupted from the back of the group. A burly man had his arm around a companion, his mechadendrite arm resting on his shoulder. He patted the new medal on his chest, the metal hand and the sword-shaped ribbon clinking together. "When the time comes, I might have to transfer to the Pioneer Wing to be with my wife, and check on the descendants of my old comrades."
"You'll have your hands full then," a lanky man leaning against a vending machine said, taking an energy drink. He popped the can and downed it in one go. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the bustling central hall outside the isolation window.
"What's there to worry about? It's not like there's no post-war pension and resettlement. So many departments are watching. If there's really a problem, I'll go have a word with the Departmento Munitorum."
"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about raising a child. If you're not planning on just dumping that responsibility on a schola orphanage," he said, pointing to a group of children playing by a fountain. "Trust me, kids this age are a handful."
"...That's true."
Watching the battleship under construction in the Dawnstar orbital shipyards, which was already beginning to take shape, Aglaia, who had just returned with Arthur, felt a sense of vertigo.
With the sector government having completely taken control of the personnel of the various planets, Romulus had turned his attention to expanding their living space and exploring the overall potential of the star system. Void-stations, orbital habitats, and even planetary rings were all included in the construction plan. The construction of orbital habitats and rings was aimed at shifting the industrial center to space and relieving the pressure on the planets. The void-stations orbiting the planets, meanwhile, would draw resources from the planets' interiors to provide the lifeblood for the construction of star-fortresses and the production of charter fleets.
And with these measures, the environment of the planetary surfaces, having partially recovered, began to produce food. The sector government had drawn a red line for all systems, aside from those that needed to maintain their military status. Food and various basic industrial goods had to be self-sufficient. Even if they were not as good as the products of other systems, they had to have the production capacity. The purpose was to increase self-sufficiency, to ensure that even if a planet lost its external supply, it could still rely on the resources within its own system to maintain the overall operation of the human population.
Such a measure was a far cry from the long-standing policy of the Imperium. The High Lords had always liked to keep certain important planets in a state of extreme dependence on external supplies, to make it easier to quell rebellions. Many planets, after choosing to rebel, would completely collapse in a short time if left alone. This was probably also a planning model inherited from the Dark Age of Technology. At that time, the warp routes were relatively stable, and the high degree of specialization of the planets was conducive to the construction of various small federations. But the warp storms that had swept the galaxy since M25 had severely disrupted communication between the various planets, leading to an all-around regression for almost all branches of humanity.
So the Primarchs were doing this because they foresaw that a similar disaster might occur in the future?
Standing in the reception hall, Aglaia rubbed her slightly cold hands. It had been three years since she had left. Coming back, she really felt as if she had been in another world. But then again, this was Dawnstar, under the rule of the Primarchs. "Ever-changing" could not even describe its rapid development. For a species like humanity, with its slight deficit in lifespan, to be able to live here and see all kinds of new things, was it not a good thing?
"There is no need to add a sentimental internal monologue for me. I believe I can live for a very long time, Mr. Trazyn," Aglaia said, a hint of disgust on her face as she looked at the figure in front of her, dressed in a green robe, who at first glance looked like a Fabricator-General, but was in fact encroaching on her own ecological niche. There was also a faint hint of envy. It couldn't be helped. The other party's goods were too pure. And he could even make a real-life replica of an exhibition hall. She didn't have the means for that.
According to Lord Arthur, this guy likely had a large collection of artifacts that had carried human history since the dawn of civilization. Some of the so-called 'authentic' pieces in the Imperial Palace might not be as authentic as his. The Palace has one, I have one. The Palace doesn't have a record of it, I have a record of it. This made the Inquisitor, whose job it was to discover and record human history, feel an unprecedented insult.
"Oh, are you referring to three hundred years, or five hundred?" Trazyn teased, looking at the defiant little Inquisitor.
"Heh, it's none of your business, xenos."
"What xenos?" Trazyn sat down opposite Aglaia and produced a document signed by a High Inquisitor from who-knows-how-many-years-ago. "This is a superior's concern for a subordinate. I wrote many of the handbooks in the Ordo Xenos, you know, Grand Master of the Ordo Originatus."
"..." Seeing the Rosette on the document, and the metal face that was identical to Trazyn's current appearance, and after confirming all the details were correct, Aglaia couldn't bear to look. They really didn't kill enough people back on Terra.
"My lifespan is none of your concern," she replied, her tone flat.
"It seems you are very content," Trazyn said, slightly surprised. Contentment. As time went on, it was a rare emotion to sense in a human. The madness that was now etched into the bones of this race was something even Trazyn himself could not fathom. Especially this group of Inquisitors. They were the representatives of the current Imperium's extremism and madness.
"A path that walks alongside history. Why should I not be content?" Aglaia's answer also surprised Trazyn.
She looked at the magnificent scene outside the window, at the Victory-class battleship that was under construction. The Victory-class was a rare and powerful battleship used by the Imperial Navy. It was a capital ship with lances as its main weapon, and was one of the few battleships in the Imperial Navy's configuration, aside from the out-of-production Apocalypse-class, that was equipped with a Nova Cannon. Its design was very old. Because the advanced technology used to build the Victory-class's lance turrets had now been almost forgotten on most forge worlds, the number of these ancient ships had gradually decreased over time. However, it was known that the Victory-class was one of the few battleships that had appeared since the beginning of the Great Crusade and was still in production by the Imperium.
The Dawnbreakers' thinking was open when it needed to be, but unusually conservative at other times. They had rejected Cawl's idea of developing new, advanced ships, and had instead begun to produce these old models. This also indirectly confirmed that Aglaia's judgment was correct. Compared to the social level, where they relied on establishing a more efficient government and distribution system to improve the overall production level of humanity, in terms of technology, especially military technology, the Dawnbreakers were very conservative. Their limited research and development capabilities were focused on more secret research.
After all, the design and application of new weapons required all sorts of long and troublesome experiments. In this process, the debugging of the machine-spirits of the various components alone could take a hundred years. And it was not once or twice in Imperial history that a new design of warship had had problems in batches. The lords were more inclined to follow the existing, stable production methods, step by step, to improve the Imperial Navy's strength, and to gradually accumulate the sector government's construction experience. They were in a race against time.
"My duty is to replicate history, to re-weave the past of the human race, to interpret the glory of humanity," Aglaia said. "But to this day, aside from the obsession that has been passed down through the Ordo for generations, I don't even know what the so-called glory of humanity is."
She looked away from the magnificent warship and down at the scene below the reception hall. In the star-ring that almost encircled the azure planet, a constant stream of people flowed. As the planet where the four 'living' Primarchs resided, the number of pilgrims coming to Dawnstar's orbit was endless. Due to the sheer number of pilgrims, the sector government had made proper arrangements for them.
Those who did not have an economic basis were arranged in hydroponic farms in the orbital rings. They produced and lived there, and could go to the surface for pilgrimage activities. In this process, they would receive the necessary gene-testing, and sufficient food and water to allow a human to live with dignity. They would receive this treatment until their visas expired. And after their visas expired, those who wished to continue on their pilgrimage, the sector government would connect them with pilgrimage ships. Those who wished to stay would also be properly settled by the sector government.
Due to the planet's own定位, Dawnstar could not accept an endless population, but under the overall regulation, it was not a problem to settle the population in the various regions of the Dawnlight Sector. They would not be ignored, nor would they be left to their own devices. It could be said that, when they had the ability, the Dawnlight Sector government could be responsible for every human who entered it.
Care, love, and respect. This was the tenet of the Church of the Dawn, and it was also a requirement written into the sector's constitution.
"Rational, enterprising people miss the past. Fanatical, dogmatic people believe in the present. I have delved into the ancient Terran documents, hoping to understand what the glory of humanity is from the vast sea of classics. But—"
A hint of fanaticism appeared on Aglaia's face. "The classics will always have errors. History is always concealed by people. What can compare to real history, to walking alongside living history?"
What is the glory of humanity? At first, Aglaia thought that glory was the vast territory of the Imperium, the fleets that blotted out the sun, the sea of soldiers, the dominion over the entire galaxy. Without a doubt, no race in the galaxy today was greater than humanity. The Imperium of Man was undoubtedly the personification of 'glory'. But as she looked back at history, at the Imperium of today, she felt something was wrong.
If the humans of that era were truly open and enterprising, then why couldn't the Imperium of today do the same? Why had all blind faith been abolished, and why was it now being picked up again?
For this reason, after getting to know the Primarchs and gradually experiencing everything, Aglaia had taken her eyes from history and turned them to these beings who were gradually turning those fantasies into reality. They were interpreting something very new, and perhaps very old.
"If I can walk down this path, then my questions will surely be answered," the Inquisitor said. This was also the reason she had not chosen to leave. If she missed this opportunity, there would never be a better one. Where else could she find four Primarchs gathered in one place? Other Primarchs would not care about the feelings of humanity. Other Primarchs would not be close to mortals. Other Primarchs would no longer care about humanity's problems. And the only one who remained in the Imperium's sight, his chances of awakening were very slim. Only the Dawnbreakers, only the four lords of today, would do this.
Seeing Aglaia's expression gradually become fanatical, Trazyn couldn't help but scratch his head. 'I was just making a joke to get closer to her. Why is this sister taking it so seriously?' These guys who were shouldering the ideals of humanity, every one of them was like a mind-control device. The number of fanatics under them was simply wholesale.
"I know that witnessing history has an unprecedented attraction for a sapient being with an excellent sense of aesthetics," Trazyn said, following Aglaia's words. "I believe you can certainly understand my feelings."
Aglaia returned from her reverie and glanced at Trazyn. "What are you up to now?"
"Are you interested in sharing your experiences of these years with your dear superior?" Trazyn couldn't help but rub his hands together. He was recently setting up a new exhibition in his museum, called 'Humanity's Glory Endures.' He was short on a personal touch.
"Get lost!"
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