Adeptus Mechanicus

The Adeptus Mechanicus is the official Imperial name within the Adeptus Terra for the Cult Mechanicus or Cult of the Machine. 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. Instead, the Mechanicus follows its own dark and mysterious scriptures and worships the deity they call the Machine God or the "Omnissiah." 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.

History
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 to the Mechanicus) over 10,000 Terran years before the "present" of the 41st Millennium at the dawn of the Emperor's Great Crusade to reunite Mankind, 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
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.

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 millenia 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 Mechanicus. 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 Mechanicus 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. Each forge was ruled by a high-ranking Tech-priest, and the entirety of the Mechanicus' hierarchy bowed to the high priest known as the Fabricator General.

For millennia the Mechanicus 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 Mechanicus 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 Mechanicus agreed to be bound by the Emperor's commandment to never develop certain forbidden technologies such as artificial intelligence. Though the Mechanicus 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 Mechanicus, the Cult Mechanicus 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 Mechanicus. 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 Labrynthus. These Tech-priests particularly chafed at the end of Mars' political independence and the imposition of the Emperor's restrictions upon what technologies the Mechanicus could research and develop. As the Great Crusade progressed into the early 31st Millennium, these simmering discontents would ultimately cleave the Mechanicus just as it would the wider Imperium.

During the Horus Heresy many Mechanicus 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. 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 Adeptus Mechanicus, 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 Labrynthus 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 Cult Mechanicus
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.

The Mysteries of the Cult Mechanicus

 * 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 Warnings of the Cult Mechanicus

 * 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.

Factions
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.

Tech-Priests
Any member of the Cult Mechanicus over the rank of Menial will often be referred to as a Tech-priest, though Magi and higher ranks are usually referred to by their rank. Tech-priests can usually be recognized by their clothing, which unless their work requires otherwise will usually be robes of rust-red or black colouration, and by their cybernetic nature. Some Tech-priests also carry a large wrench-like tool, that doubles as an ax-headed close-combat weapon, adorned with Adeptus Mechanicus imagery upon the head. The amount of cybernetic augmentation found in a Tech-priest is highly dependent on his rank within the Cult Mechanicus; a novice may have only one or two augmetic systems, if any, while very senior members may have only a few biological organs left in their bodies. Common cybernetic augmentations for Tech-priests include:


 * Bionic limbs and organs, which may replace the originals because of an accident or simply because they provide enhanced capabilities or cater to the special needs the Tech-priest may face in his chosen work or scientific research.
 * Bionic eyes, which allow a Tech-priest to see beyond the normal spectrum of human vision, augment or alter electromagnetic input to allow night vision or heat vision, and zoom in to magnify an image.
 * Mechadendrites, bionic tentacles that attach to the spine to afford the Tech-priest greater mobility, greater lifting and manipulation capabilities, an easy neural interface with most other forms of technology and, in many cases, a handy weapon in a fight. These powerful devices are usually customised to suit the work needs of their wearer and can therefore include special features like medical equipment, maintenance tools or weapons. Larger Mechadendrites can often extrude a monomolecular blade or fire projectiles in combat or simply be used as a blunt instrument. A Cortical Implant is also usually required for the Tech-priest to be able to effectively control the additional limbs.
 * Autosanguination, a process by which all the natural blood in a human body is removed and replaced with a more efficient oxygen and waste-carrying synthetic chemical substitute, allowing for the easier healing of wounds and more effective immunological defence against disease and toxins.
 * Cortex Implants, which vary in function from simple memory circuit implants in the neurocortex intended to improve memory function to slim micro-cogitators that provide full computing abilities. Many senior Tech-priests use smaller implants of this type to preserve their mind and memories from the ravishes of time, and to lessen their dependence on fragile flesh. Cortex Implants of good quality are very rare and hard to produce, but provide the wearer eidetic memory and heighten their intelligence and ability to consume and correlate large amounts of data. Among the oldest Tech-priests only a few portions of the original brain tissue remain. The use of Cortex Implants is probably the primary reason why senior Tech-priests live far longer than the rest of the Imperial elite.
 * Electoos, metal circuits embedded in the epidermic skin of Tech-priests to allow them to consciously channel the bioelectricity generated by their own bodies. These can be used in combat, or to revive a recalcitrant Machine Spirit. Those who specialise in the use of these and become essentially a living electricity generator are known as Electro-priests or "Luminen".
 * Electro-grafts, which are similar to Electoos in that they are electric circuits embedded in the epidermic layer of the skin, but are distinct in their purpose. Electro-grafts serve as an interface for the Tech-priest with electronic machinery, particularly sources of digital data like Cogitators (computers). Given the right data-sources, a Tech-priest with electro-grafts can acquire many skills and much specialist knowledge instantly. One example of this are the pilots from the planet Glavia who have electro-grafts in the skin of their hands to enable them to interface with their starships with much greater efficiency.
 * Vox-casters and voice-synthesizers, which often replace the normal speech organs of more senior Tech-priests. The quality of the synthesized voice is highly variable, from stilted and unnatural mechanical voices only as good as or worse than twenty-first century voice synthesizer standards to voices that sound almost entirely natural. The Tech-priests themselves generally do not seem to care what they sound like as long as they are understood. The main benefit of a Vox-caster appears to be that it allows the priest to communicate in what is termed "Binary". Essentially, Binary consists of bursts of coded noise with a twittering quality that can be used as an extremely effective cant known only to other members of the Adeptus Mechanicus (even the Inquisition cannot translate it) or it can be used as a means of datafile transfer.

More uncommon but still occasionally seen Mechanicus cybernetic augmentations include the:


 * Mind Impulse Unit (MIU) - The MIU is a direct neural link between a human brain and a larger piece of external machinery allowing control by thought alone as if the machinery was a part of the human's body. These are most commonly found in massive pieces of technology such as Titans, Knights and starships, and very rarely in a normal Tech-priest. Some rare Tech-priests may use an MIU to control a shoulder-mounted weapon or similar device.


 * Binary Cortex - The Binary Cortex is created during an operation in which the brains of two Tech-priests are joined in one body. Usually used only when two Tech-priests study the same subject and otherwise align very well in their thinking.


 * Rite of Pure Thought - The Rite of Pure Thought is an operation which replaces the human brain's creative, emotional right half with a digital Cogitator (computer). This frees the Tech-priest of any remaining human emotion, basically turning him into a work-obsessed sociopath. However, this procedure is considered somewhat extreme even among the usually unsentimental Tech-priests.

Adeptus Mechanicus Hierarchy
The Cult Mechanicus is ordered in a strong hierarchy, but details on this hierarchy are not always clear. Generally, more highly positioned Tech-priests are expected to have more seniority and knowledge than lower ones, and are consequently more theologically important as greater repositories of knowledge. A tentative mapping of this hierarchy, in order from highest to lowest, will follow below. It should be noted that specialists such as Genetors and Logis may not have any specific rank within the Cult as a group, but rather will be ranked as individuals. Titan crews and Space Marine Techmarines are listed last not because of their actual position within the hierarchy, but because of their relative separation from the rest of the Cult.

The Adeptus Mechanicus Hierarchy (from highest-ranked to lowest-ranked) is as follows:
 * Fabricator General
 * Magos (Magos Explorator and Magos Errant)
 * Genetor
 * Logis
 * Artisan
 * Enginseers
 * Skitarii
 * Menials
 * Servitors
 * Collegia Titanicus Princeps
 * Moderati
 * Tactical Officer
 * Techmarine

Fabricator General
The Fabricator General of Mars is the highest-ranking individual within the Cult Mechanicus (in his capacity as the Magos Mechanicus), and administers not only the Adeptus Mechanicus but also governs the planet of Mars itself as the recognised Imperial Planetary Governor. As befits his position, the Fabricator-General of Mars has a permanent seat on the council that runs the Imperium, known as the Senatorum Imperialis of the High Lords of Terra. Rulers of individual Forge Worlds are referred to as Fabricator Generals as well, but only the Fabricator General of Mars holds a seat among the High Lords of Terra.

Fabricator Locum
The Fabricator Locum is the second highest-ranking individual on the planet of Mars. The Fabricator Locum assists the Fabricator General with the governance of Mars, including the meeting of production quotas and ensuring the correct devotions to the Machine God are observed at all times. The most notable Fabricator Locum was Kane who sided with the Emperor of Mankind during the Horus Heresy and thus maintained at least some crucial Mechanicus support for the Loyalists.

Magos
A Magos is a master of a technological or scientific discipline, having devoted many years of service to the Omnissiah in that area of study. There are many specialist divisions within the Adeptus Mechanicus known as Divisiones. Magi from these are given a rank containing the specialisation of their Divisio, such as Magos Alchemys, Magos Biologis, Magos Technicus, Magos Logis, Magos Xenologis, Magos Lexmechanicus, Magos Orbologis, Magos Cybernetica, Magos Xenobiologis, Magos Astrologicus, Magos Digitalis, Magos Fabricator, Magos Genetus, Magos Physic, and possibly many more. There are two higher ranks within the Divisiones that are variations of the Magos, including Archmagos and Archmagos Veneratus. It is not known what the specific connotations of these titles are, though presumably they are indicative of greater seniority and experience.
 * Magos Explorator: Obsessed with the quest for knowledge, the senior Tech-priests who take on the mantle of a Magos Explorator search high and low across the galaxy for lost Standard Template Construct (STC) databases and ancient human scientific and technical knowledge lost during the Age of Strife. A breed apart from regular Tech-priests, any Explorator or member of his team will willingly walk into forgotten catacombs, even at the risk of death, for mere snippets of long-forgotten knowledge from the Dark Age of Technology. Many Magos Explorator command the Explorator fleets that continue to push outward the frontiers of the Imperium or even serve alongside Rogue Traders.
 * Magos Errant: Something of a jack of all trades, a Magos Errant studies several scientific and engineering disciplines, including chemistry, genetics, metallurgy and more. They are then attached to Rogue Trader fleets and other similar Imperial expeditions by treaty between the Adeptus Mechanicus and the individual Rogue Trader houses or the Imperium itself if the expedition is sponsored by the Adeptus Administratum. In return for the Adeptus Mechanicus' expertise in technical maintenance and science, the Magos Errant is allowed to study interesting sites the expedition comes near, transport sensitive materials and generally make use of the expedition's resources for the greater good of the Machine God.

Genetor
Essentially geneticists, a Genetor is a scholar into all matters genetic and biological. Sometimes referred to as the Magos Biologis, Genetors number alongside the Logis, Artisan and Magos ranks of the Adeptus Mechanicus as its ruling Priesthood, possessing access to knowledge and resources far beyond that of the lesser Engineseers and Lexmechanics. A Genetor's field of study makes him distinct from the majority of Tech-Priests, their professional obsession with organic life often making them seem strange to their more mechanically-inclined brethren. Their interest in the organic not only pertains to the human form, but of the study of the xenos as well. The study of alien genetics, to better understand them and better how to slay them, fall under a sub-sect collectively known as Xenobiologists. Genetors are typically found accompanying Imperial or Rogue Trader expeditions to new or rediscovered worlds to sample previously unknown species' DNA for its potential utility. Genetors also introduce common Imperial animals to the ecosystem, such as the Grox, a large reptilian animal that serves as a common food source on many Imperial worlds.

Logis
The accountants and mathematicians of the Mechanicus, the Logis are statisticians, analysts, actuaries and logisticians. They can accurately predict almost anything with very small margins of error, making them extremely useful to anyone with an artillery piece or seeking to determine interstellar trade flows. Considered prophetic by some, the Logis are also very good at predicting future trends and forecasts and so they are often tasked by the Mechanicus with aiding the bureaucrats of the Administratum.

Lexmechanic
Also known as Calculus Logi, Lexmechanics are the librarians and scribes of the Mechanicus. Their purpose is to compile and rationalise data so it can be entered into a central Cogitator repository. They can work with a computer's speed and accuracy, assembling battlefield reports, economic statistics, planetary reports, and so forth. They may be assigned duties throughout the Adeptus Terra and not just in the Mechanicus like the Logis.

Rune Priest
The Rune Priest's role is to inscribe runes and chant liturgies over machines as part of the Cult Mechanicus ritual of initiation. They are trained in the most arcane branches of scientific lore such as intuitive mechanics, speculation, and improvisation. Rune Priests are famous for their lateral thinking, which may be called upon when strict logic and standard procedures fail.

Artisan
Artisans are exactly what the name implies; they build and design pieces of technology for various purposes, from agriculture to war -- they are essentially the Adeptus Mechanicus' Corps of Engineers. Usually found with an entourage of Servitors, these Adepts command labour forces that could rival small armies in size. They are responsible for controlling the vast corps of Servitors employed by the Adeptus Mechanicus for all of their labour needs.

Enginseers
Enginseers are the technicians of the Cult Mechanicus, specially trained in maintaining and repairing machines. They are often seconded to the Imperial Guard in order to maintain and repair the armoured vehicles used by the Guard's regiments. Although most Guardsmen revere their vehicles enough not to risk annoying an Enginseer through "tinkering", some unique vehicles have been created from spare parts in time of need -- much to the chagrin of the Enginseers present. Among their fellow Tech-priests, Enginseers are afforded little respect, as their labours do not normally contribute to the Quest for Knowledge because they only maintain existing machines instead of building or discovering new technologies. Rather, they are viewed as lowly but essential cogs in the great machine that is the Cult Mechanicus. Most Enginseers have Mechadendrites attached to their back in order to facilitate their repair work.

Techmarine
Techmarines (or Frater Astrotechnicus) are chosen from the ranks of the Space Marine Chapters for their technological aptitude. After being inducted into their Chapter they are sent to Mars for many years of training, and when they come back, they serve the same role with their Chapter as an Enginseer does with the Imperial Guard, maintaining and repairing their Chapter's weapons, equipment, vehicles and space vessels. Although they are not officially part of the Adeptus Mechanicus, they are considered "honorary members" of the Adeptus Mechanicus by both their Chapter and the Adeptus Mechanicus itself. Their Power Armour is modified to accommodate their cybernetic enhancements and their armour's back packs are upgraded with several servo arms or Mechadendrites. Their armour is painted the rust red of the Adeptus Mechanicus, but their Chapter badge is retained and displayed on one of their shoulder plates, so as not to anger the Power Armour's Machine Spirit. Techmarines are able to wear full servo harnesses, which are huge harnesses armed with servo arms, Plasma Cutters, and Flamers. They are commonly accompanied by a full retinue of Servitors, including Gun Servitors, Combat Servitors, and Tech Servitors. They bear a Power Axe with the Adeptus Mechanicus Cog Mechanicum sigil on the head, as both a symbol of their office and as a weapon.
 * Iron Fathers - The Iron Hands Space Marine Chapter has closer ties to the Adeptus Mechanicus than is normal for the Adeptus Astartes, and like the Mechanicus their Astartes consider flesh to be weak, while cybernetic implants are more spiritually pure. The Iron Father fulfills the role of a Techmarine, a Chaplain and an officer in an Iron Hands company.
 * Iron Priests - The Iron Priest is the Space Wolves' equivalent of the Techmarine. Iron Priests look after the many technical systems in the Space Wolves' fortress-monastery on the world of Fenris, The Fang. They supervise engineering projects and all the other complex technical tasks undertaken every day. The skills of these grim and taciturn artisans are both respected and feared by their fellow Space Wolves, most of whom view the mechanical and scientific arts as a dark and frighteningly arcane sorcery.

Transmechanic
Transmechanics are technicians or service engineers who specialize in dealing with communications technology. Like Enginseers, they are often assigned duties in other Imperial Adepta or military services like the Imperial Guard.

Electro-Priest
Electro-priests are techno-zealots devoted to the Cult Mechanicus who have been outfitted with a huge number of electoos. Electro-priests support other Tech-priests in battle. As he goes into battle, the Electro-priest turns himself into a crackling fount of electrical energy, destroying everything he touches before he collapses from the strain.

Skitarii
The Skitarii are the cybernetic infantry forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Skitarii regiments that go to war alongside the Mechanicus' Titans are equipped with various esoteric weapons of war. Part man and part machine, most Skitarii are cybernetically-linked to their personal weapon for increased performance. Skitarii are born into service either as natural-born human Menials of the Mechanicus who are cybernetically enhanced or in some cases as clones or vat-born humans who are cybernetically enhanced from the moment of their accelerated "birth". Skitarii train with their weapon until they are of the age to be sent to a war zone. To guarantee their undying loyalty to the Mechanicus they usually undergo various forms of psychosurgery to wipe their minds of both emotion and personality. Skitarii are often also referred to as the Mechanicus' "Tech-Guard". Some Mechanicus factions recycle the organic portions of the bodies of dead Servitors and Skitarii as raw material for the formation of new vat-grown Servitors or Skitarii.

Menials
As their name suggests, Menials are the menial labourers of the Mechanicus, used primarily for unskilled labour too complex for Servitors to economically perform. Menials are not considered true Tech-priests, but are usually indoctrinated with the beliefs of the Cult Mechanicus in a simplified form. Skitarii and to some extent new Tech-priests are often recruited from the ranks of the Menials on Mars and the other Forge Worlds.

Servitors
Servitors are mindless slave cyborgs, designed and programmed to perform menial, rudimentary or dangerous tasks for the Mechanicus and other elements of the Imperium like the Imperial Guard or even the Space Marine Chapters. There exists an endless variety of Servitors, from heavy mining Servitors to battlefield Gun-Servitors and elite Praetorian Servitors. A Servitor's biological components are obtained either by growing genetically-engineered human bodies artificially in culture vats, or by using the lobotomized bodies of condemned Imperial criminals or failed prospective Space Marines - all are subsequently augmented with mechanical limbs, computer uplink jacks and whatever electronic accessories are deemed necessary to facilitate their ordained tasks. As they cannot think for themselves since their higher brain functions have all been disabled, they are essentially nothing more than partially-organic robots which use a portion of a human brain as their central processing unit. Some Servitors can be installed with combat programs which enable them to function as unswervingly loyal bodyguards. In the battlefields of the game, they often form part of the retinues of Tech-priests, Techmarines and Inquisitors. These are seen on tabletop battlefields as Gun-Servitors, bearing heavy weaponry; Combat-Servitors, armed with close-quarters combat equipment; and Technical Servitors, which are intended to perform repairs and construction duties instead of fighting. Particularly large and heavily armed and armoured Servitors are referred to as Praetorian Servitors. Towering over even a Space Marine, Praetorians are created either from cybernetically-enhanced vat-grown genetically engineered giants or lobotomized Ogryns.

Collegia Titanica
The Collegia Titanica is the division of the Adeptus Mechanius that commands the Titans -- colossal robotic combat walkers which are the most potent ground weapons capable of being deployed by the Imperium. The Collegia was one of the groups of the Adeptus Mechanicus that went over to the Warmaster Horus almost en masse alongside the Legio Cybernetica during the Horus Heresy. The name "Adeptus Titanica" is also used for the corps of Titans fielded by the Mechanicus.

The Collegia is divided into divisions, such as the Divisio Militaris, Divisio Mandati, Divisio Telepathica and the Divisio Investigatus. The most important of these divisions is the Divisio Militaris since it actually includes the Battle Titans, and is itself further divided into the Titan Legions: groupings of Titans such as the Traitor Death's Head Legion, the Fire Wasps Legion or War Griffons Legion. Each Titan Legion is commanded by an officer known as the Grandmaster who may also be the Princeps of the most powerful Titan in the Legion.

Each Titan is manned by a crew consisting of a single Princeps in command of the Titan, assisted by varying numbers of Moderati, Sensori, Steersmen, Tech-priests, Enginseers, and Servitors. The number of each is dependent on the type of Titan.
 * Princeps - The training of a Princeps begins at an early age and ends with eight years at the Collegiate Titanica on Mars. The cadets receive their uniforms and cybernetic MIU implants in the final year, before field-training starts with an attachment to a currently-operating Titan for observational tours. A Princeps commands his Titan through an MIU's (Mind Impulse Unit, see above) cybernetic link to the Titan's artificial intelligence or "Machine Spirit", controlling both his crew's actions and the Titan's movements through his thoughts. The Titan becomes an extension of its Princeps; when it is damaged, he feels pain, when victorious, he feels elation. This link grows so strong that his mental health will slowly deteriorate when unlinked from the machine. He can assume direct control of any system, though it is usually aiming and fire control that is taken. In a Warlord or Imperator-class Titan the Princeps is sometimes placed in an amniotic casket to provide full sensory immersion in order to control the truly massive Titan without difficulty. Regardless, Titans must have both a Princeps and a command crew to function. The Princeps' relation to the Titan is similar to that of a Space Marine within a Dreadnought cybernetic shell. However, Titans are capable of eventually developing their own sentient minds from centuries of experience. The cybernetic link in some cases gets so strong that the Princeps becomes neurologically integrated with the Titan, and cannot be removed until he dies of natural causes. A Princeps who commands a Legion of Titans is ranked as a "Princeps Maximus", though an entire Legion of Titans has very rarely been fielded since the Horus Heresy.
 * Moderati - The Moderati are the officers who comprise the command crew of a Titan that take the Princeps' orders and act on them, monitoring the Titan's auspices and scanners, firing the weapons and making sure all systems are functioning normally. Although they also have MIU links to the Titan like the Princeps, they cannot assume command nor can they interface directly with the Princeps' own dominant neural link, instead using their links solely to provide information about the Titan's state in battle.
 * Sensori - The third-ranking member of the bridge command crew, the Sensori is the Titan's Tactical Officer and controls and monitors all the sensory inputs of a Titan, from the aural sensors to the simple visual inputs. It is also his job to spot and acquire targets for the Moderati (or Princeps) to engage. They also deal with all Titan communications, decrypting or relaying vox messages to the Princeps' display screen on his command throne as necessary.
 * Steersman - The fourth member of a Titan's bridge crew, the Steersman controls the Titan's stability and is essentially the driver of the Titan.

Knight Houses
Knights are small combat walkers of the Adeptus Mechanicus that are piloted by only a single operator and are smaller than even the smallest class of Titan known as the Warhound-class Scout Titan used by the Titan Legions. Recruited from various Feral Worlds, Knights take to the field of war alongside other members of their noble families, known as Knight Houses, serving as an auxiliary for the Adeptus Mechanicus to draw upon when needed. As part of the Adeptus Mechanicus (but not the Cult Mechanicus), the leader of a household is typically a "Baron," though specific titles vary immensely. There are a number of households within a single knight house.

Centurio Ordinatus
The Centurio Ordinatus, a section of the Divisio Militaris, the Adeptus Mechanicus organization responsible for the development, maintenance and operation of the mighty Ordinatus war machines. Every individual Ordinatus is a unique construction and named for the Imperial world on which it was first employed or built. Each Ordinatus is a unique weapon that it is designed for a specific purpose or for a particular battle. This explains why the different Ordninatii that operate these massive war machines of the Machine God are configured for their intended purpose.

Legio Cybernetica
The Legio Cybernetica is one of the oldest sub-branches of the Adeptus Mechanicus and is responsible for deploying fully autonomous robots for both combat duties and support tasks intended to aid Imperial armed forces in the field. The Legio Cybernetica can trace its lineage the time before the birth of the Imperium of Man when Mars was an independent empire ruled by the Tech-priests of the Cult Mechanicus. Its members regard themselves as an elite within the ranks of the Mechanicus, as their Legio has a long history of serving the will of the Emperor of Mankind. However, many of those within the Legio broke faith with the Emperor during the Schism of Mars, siding with the traitorous forces of the Warmaster Horus and fighting alongside his Traitor Legions throughout the Horus Heresy. When this conflict ended the Traitor cohorts of the Legio Cybernetica fled into the Eye of Terror, where they remain to this day, warped and twisted by their exposure to the power of Chaos. The remaining Loyalist elements of the Legio Cybernetica pledged themselves anew to the Imperium, and its members took binding oaths of loyalty more terrible than any taken even by the Astartes. Over the millennia since the Heresy, the Legio Cybernetica has regained the respect and admiration of the rest of the Adeptus Mechanicus as well as the other myriad Adepta of the Imperium.

Collegiate Extremis
The Collegiate Extremis is the judicial branch of the Adeptus Mechanicus. It is similar to the Adeptus Arbites in function: traitors to the Omnissiah are prosecuted and their crimes analysed. At its head is the Lords Dragon, an ancient cabal orchestrating the collegiate, perhaps of archmagi veneratus of whatever divisiones are in the collegiate. The main leaders of the Collegiate Extremis would, in theory, be on Mars, and each Forge World would have a Lord Dragon of its own to command the local members of the collegiate, but this is based on circumstantial evidence. The collegiates will is enforced on Forge Worlds by attached skitarii provosts, as they are known.

Duties Within the Imperium
Besides scientific research and maintaining the Imperium's machines, there are many important duties that the Adeptus Mechanicus performs in order to keep the Imperium of Man working.
 * Caretakers of the Generatorium: The advanced technology of the Imperium requires power and this power is supplied by Generatorums, large, nuclear fusion-based power plants. The creation and operation of the Generatoriums (power plants) containing the Generatorum are the function of the Adeptus Mechanicus and the information behind their operations and construction are closely guarded from outsiders.
 * Caretakers of the Genetorium: Like the Generatorium, the Genetorium is vital to a planet's survivability. The Genetoriums provide a list of all plants and animals that are either on a planet or will be introduced to the planet to make it habitable by Mankind. A Genetorium is normally run by a Magos Biologis and plays a vital role in the Inquisition's activities. Their duties also extend to searching for genetic impurities in baseline human populations and in the hunting down of dangerous human mutants like rogue psykers.
 * Caretakers of the Librarium: All of the knowledge in the Imperium is stored in the vast Librariums of Terra and Mars. Along with the Administratum, the Tech-priests store, guard, and reproduce what knowledge they can attain.In the Age of the Imperium where stagnation is the rule, knowledge has truly become power.
 * Caretakers of the Manufactorium: As with the Librariums, the Tech-priests administer and protect the manufactoriums of the Forge Worlds that ensure that the Imperium is provided with the goods and machines that ensure its survival.
 * Caretakers of the Astartes: All Space Marine Chapters are expected to pay a tithe of 5% of their gene-seed every year to the Adeptus Mechanicus so that the Mechanicus' Tech-priests can monitor the health of each Chapter and facilitate the Founding of new Chapters from existing gene-seed lines whenever the High Lords of Terra decree that the Imperium has a need for new Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes.