Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 196: Servant Transformation

In a sense, the population of the Empire is similar to the most ideal androids in 3K-era science fiction works: huge numbers, standard labor force, and hardworking qualities...

In fact, perhaps contrary to what some people imagine, the Empire is not incapable of automated production.

The Mechanicum is indeed restricted in the development and application of abomination intelligence for various reasons, but the existence of the Thinkers can still replace AI to manage equipment.

Apart from anything else, there is absolutely no problem in achieving the level of intelligent and automatic production in the 3K era. The Mechanical Church has this technology.

However, compared with the convenience brought by the use of automated technology, for the empire, using manpower is a cheaper, safer and more stable approach.

After all, for the empire, the huge population calculated in trillions would be a pure burden to the empire if it was not consumed in this way.

Although it sounds cruel, the vast majority of ordinary people are of no value to the empire, and only a very small number of them are meaningful to the empire.

This is of course slightly different from the universal values ​​of most people in the 3K era. Although the vast majority of people in the world in the 3K era actually did not have much significance and contribution to the world as a whole, the perception that people are above all else is still deeply rooted in people's minds.

At least that was the case for a certain Eastern power in the 3k era.

However, for Chen Xi, although he received education in the 3k era, and his values ​​and outlook on life were also established in the 3k era, but from the perspective of his current work, it is impossible for him to implement the values ​​of the 40k era in the 3k era.

It’s not that people should be cruelly exploited in this era, but many things are not suitable for this era.

For example, now, Sage Christen from Gria has blocked Chen Xi in his office and asked him to provide her with at least 100,000 people so that she can transform these people into mechanical servants for the construction of the orbital star ring.

"I'm sorry, Sage Christen, I refuse this request." Chen Xi naturally couldn't agree to this request. His conscience and moral values ​​wouldn't allow him to agree to this approach: "I can provide you with workers, and you can also require them to install implants to work better, but you want to transform them into automatons, which is beyond my tolerance.

They are the Emperor's subjects, and every life is the Emperor's currency. Of course, transforming them into servitors can increase their value, but the Emperor's currency is not to be wasted like this."

If it were a normal hive world or other imperial world, the governor might really agree to Christen's request.

After all, it was common in the Empire for the Governor to owe money to the Mechanical Church and use the population of the planet to pay off the debt.

For the Mechanicus, conventional population actually doesn't have much effect.

They do respect life, but that's with the idea that 'killing it like that is a waste of resources'.

Rather than respecting life, it is better to say that they respect the value of human beings as a means of production.

It is precisely because of this that, for the Mechanicus, transforming humans into mechanical servants is a way to upgrade the means of production and preserve their value.

Even on the forge world controlled by the Mechanicus, transforming a person into a servitor is considered a 'reward'. Only loyal old employees who have performed well in the Mechanicus' factories and have worked and served for many years can receive this honor.

When they were too old to work, they would be transformed into servitors, then welded to their former jobs to continue serving until they were worn out and could no longer work. And for the Empire itself, transforming people into servitors was, in a sense, not a punishment, but a reward.

For example, if one does not wish to kill the Astra Militarum soldiers who witnessed the Grey Knights' actions of exterminating demons, transforming them into servitors is a merciful and appropriate approach.

After all, these people can continue to serve the empire instead of dying in vain and meaninglessly.

Therefore, in Christen's opinion, transforming the people of Rostov into mechanical servants is a reward, even an honor.

Of course, it was also a manifestation of her giving concessions to Rostov.

But Chen Xi obviously didn't think so. There was a difference in the two sides' perceptions here.

Christen didn't think there was anything wrong with this. She changed her perspective and advised Chen Xi, "Of course, retaining their human nature can satisfy your morals, but from an efficiency perspective, transforming them into automatons is the most appropriate choice.

Through the transformation of mechanical servants, a large number of implants will be implanted in their bodies, allowing them to better adapt to their jobs. They can also better accept the commands from the mechanical priests, saving the waste caused by the communication links.

As long as they are transformed into mechanical servants, they will be able to make better contributions to the empire.

This is the best option for themselves, the empire, and the planet."

The so-called servitor, in simple terms, uses the human body as the basic body, and undergoes surgical modification according to different needs. A series of implants are implanted, including but not limited to hydraulic clamps, servo arms, power fists, grenade launchers, etc., and then the brain of the body is partially removed and modified to turn it into a mindless semi-robot.

Because of the Iron Man Rebellion, the Empire has completely banned the emergence of artificial intelligence and robots with self-thinking capabilities. Mechanical servants are one of the few humanoid robots that the Empire can tolerate.

However, due to the lack of intelligence of these guys, someone needs to frequently maintain and correct them in actual use, otherwise the mechanical servants will fall into a strange self-loop.

The Mechanicus can install signal interfaces for the Servitors during the modification process, so that the Mechanicus can simply control a large number of Servitors through signals.

This is exactly what Christensen aims to do, to obtain a large number of high-quality laborers in this way, and then use them to speed up the construction of the orbital ring.

The completed mechanical servant construction team can also be used for the construction of other star rings in this sub-star region in the future.

After all, one of the biggest reasons why Chen Xi was able to close this deal with Gria was that he promised to build more star rings.

It was also because of this that Christen discussed the matter with him in a friendly manner instead of using a more Mechanicus approach to solve the problem.

But after some consideration, Chen Xi finally said, "I can't hand over my people to you, but I can provide you with a group of criminals."

(End of this chapter)