Board Thread:Warhammer 40k General Discussion/@comment-8881468-20150204091114/@comment-25618639-20150218231744

The thing is one of the major reasons why the Imperium is dying is the Mechanicus. Since they don't develope new technology(in very rare cases), and solely rely on finding STC models, its has led the Imperium down a dangerous path of stagnation and cultural oppression. Let's say  a tech priest developes a new plasma cannon based on a superior tau model, majority of other tech priests would denounce him as a heretek even though the weapon is actually better than the current model or plasma cannon. All you need to do is look at the Dark Ages after the Roman Empire collasped for an example of the stagnation. After the Roman Empire collasped Europe entered a period of cultural stagantion and superstition, where most people believed that learning new things was bad and that you only listen Church. This is very similar to the Imperium where the Adeptus Mechanicus thinks that any new development in a technology is heretical and  Ecclesiarchy has the ability to denounce any really as a traitor.