Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 176 Old John

Old John is a devout Anglican. He is 30 years old this year.

According to the understanding of the 3k era, this should still be an age that can be called young people.

But in the Empire, if you are not a middle nest or even an upper nest noble, then most ordinary lower nest people can only live to the age of forty.

They usually have a childhood where they have to help with housework at a young age and supplement the family income by doing jobs such as picking up trash.

Then, in her teens, she married a person of the opposite sex from the same background and soon had a child.

Usually more than one, the population of the empire is very fertile and reproduces quickly.

But usually the parents have to bear the burden, and it is not easy for the empire to support a large family.

So usually they are drained of energy around the age of forty and then die from various reasons.

And their children will repeat the process.

Unless one of them can pass the genetic testing of the Mechanicus, or is lucky enough to become a member of the state religion or the Sisters.

Although it sounds unrealistic, for ordinary citizens of the empire, this is indeed a way to change their own destiny.

The Mechanicus conducts large-scale genetic screening in the corresponding areas every few years in order to detect whether there are apprentices who meet the requirements of the Mechanicus.

Children who pass the genetic screening will be gathered together by these oil men for education. Although it is not free, as long as they are willing to learn and can pass the graduation exam, they can usually become a qualified mechanical priest.

This is how the Empire's large number of grassroots mechanical priests came about.

Although most of them serve in the lower-level Mechanical Temple or related departments such as the Astra Militarum, and are very different from the Mechanical Priests who truly focus on academics, it has to be admitted that this change in their lives can almost be called a class leap.

The entry threshold for the state religion is relatively lower (or possibly higher). As long as you have a devout belief in the Emperor and have a strong enough will, you will have the opportunity to become a member of the state religion.

Of course, if you think these thresholds are too high, you can also choose to become a member of the Star Army. This is almost the lowest threshold way to change yourself, provided that there is a recruitment office of the Ministry of Military Affairs on your planet.

But for Old John, he didn't get any of them.

When I was young, I encountered the Astra Militarum conscription. The recruiting officer once shouted to the crowd through a loudspeaker: "Men who bear arms for the Emperor will have their entire family's rations doubled!"

Old John looked down at his bony hands, only to be grabbed by the hem of his clothes by his crying brothers and sisters behind him: "Brother, we are hungry."

In the end, he didn't make it into the registration queue.

Although the state religion opens its doors to everyone, it is just an open door. If you want to become a member of the state religion, you still have to work hard, and old John, who is burdened by his family, obviously does not have this ability.

He once knelt at the door of the Anglican church and pleaded with the priest: "Sir, I can work sixteen hours a day before I come to pray."

The priest simply pressed the holy book against his forehead and said, "My child, serving the God-Emperor requires a whole soul, not a broken body."

As for the Mechanicus... well, poor bastards are not worthy of becoming noble mechanical priests.

When the Mechanicus' detector scanned Old John's eldest son, the Red Priest's mechanical arm suddenly emitted a shrill beep: "The genetic sequence does not meet the standards."

Old John held the child and asked, "Sir, is this test..."

The red light in the priest's eyes flashed twice: "Don't waste the holy oil, you scum from the lower nest."

So old John, who is over thirty years old, is just a hard-working hive worker, living in the lower hive and working hard to support his family.

He had originally thought that he would rot in the hive for the rest of his life, like his ancestors, burning out their lives for the Empire. But the State Church gave him a chance, and gave his entire family a chance as well.

The empire needs to open up new territories, and the state religion is organizing devout believers to immigrate and settle in those newly opened imperial worlds.

Although those worlds had nothing, no warm, solid hives, no corpse starch to fill their stomachs, and no purified water to drink...

But there is a bright future there.

Old John knew it was a difficult decision.

Leaving their familiar nest and heading for an unknown new world means they will face countless challenges and difficulties.

Yet he also understood that this was his family's only chance to escape the cycle of poverty and despair and build a better future for their children.

So, he mustered up the courage and signed up his family for the Anglican immigration program.

In the days before departure, Old John and his family were busy preparing.

They packed up their few belongings, said goodbye to their neighbors and friends, and their hearts were filled with anticipation and anxiety about the future.

Although Maria, John the Elder's wife, was worried about the hardships ahead, she believed in her husband's decision and the emperor's blessing.

Their children were full of curiosity and excitement about the upcoming adventure, although they could not fully understand the significance of this migration.

Finally, the day of departure arrived.

Old John and his family, along with other immigrants, boarded the Anglican transport ship.

The cabin was packed with families who shared the same hope as them, and everyone's face was filled with longing for the future.

Old John knew that they were about to embark on a journey full of unknowns, but he also firmly believed, or tried to convince himself, that as long as they united as one and had devout faith in the Emperor, they would be able to find their own happiness in the new world.

During the long interstellar journey, Old John and his family experienced countless tests.

They learned how to live in a small cabin and how to support each other with limited resources.

Whenever they encountered difficulties, Old John would lead the whole family in prayer, asking for the Emperor's guidance and protection.

Their faith becomes stronger during the journey, making them braver in facing the unknown.

Finally, after several months of wandering, they arrived at their new home.

A new planet called Zaporizhia, the latest mining planet developed in the Rostov sub-sector.

Here, the Mechanicum has established basic mining facilities and refineries, but these factories are short of workers.

When Old John and his family walked out of the spaceship, they were greeted by a biting cold wind and a gray sky, and the air was filled with the smell of metal and engine oil.

The huge mining machines are digging the earth like giants, and the crushed ore is being continuously sent to distant refineries through conveyor belts and transport vehicles.

All this shocked Old John and his family. This was a scene they would never have been able to see in the hive.

But for some reason, Old John did not feel afraid. He just held tightly the Emperor's holy image hanging on his chest and prayed devoutly to His Majesty the Emperor, asking him to grant his family a life where they could fill their stomachs.

(End of this chapter)