Adeptus Administratum

"To know one’s place is the greatest comfort, to excel within it is the greatest solace, and a master’s contentment is the greatest reward."

- Codex Administratum Edition XXIIVC

The Adeptus Administratum is the administrative and bureaucratic division of the Adeptus Terra, the heart of the gigantic bureaucracy that controls the government of the Imperium of Man, consisting of untold billions of clerks, scribes and administrative staff constantly working to manage the Imperium at every level, from assembling war fleets to levying taxes. It is the largest of the departments comprising the Adeptus Terra, and ten billion Administratum adepts work in the Imperial Palace on Terra alone. Its billions of officials on Terra and throughout the galaxy are constantly carrying out population censuses, working out tithes, recording and archiving information, and the million other things that are necessary for the running of the Imperium. Such is its immense size, that whole departments of the Administratum have been submerged by a sea of complex bureaucracy, becoming lost in loops of paper trails. Other departments have continued to dogmatically operate and carry out their founding function, even if the intent and requirement behind them no longer exists.

Overview
Of all the Imperium's governmental divisions within the Adeptus Terra, the Administratum is regarded as the least prestigious, but its high-ranking members are among the most powerful people in the Imperium; if the Adeptus Terra is the machinery that drives the Imperium, the Administratum is the grease and oil that ensures this machinery operates. Without the Administratum, the machine would splutter to a halt and the Imperium would fail. As a result, the Master of the Administratum is in actuality the most politically powerful member of the High Lords of Terra. Many Administratum positions are considered hereditary. Typical Administratum Adepts labour within gargantuan vaults, sitting at logic-engines and they can be considered quite learned by Imperial standards. Like other non-combatant servants of the Adeptus Terra, the members of the Administratum wear a monastic style of dress, their habits varying in colour according to their rank within the organization and their area of responsibility. The basic color for the lowliest scribe is black -- higher-ranking members have increasingly lighter shades of grey, and eventually pure white. While the Administratum is primarily responsible for all logistical operations relating to the civil aspects of the Imperium, the Departmento Munitorum is responsible for the logistics of the Imperial Guard, organising military tithes, troop movements and troop deployment. The Departmento is far more decentralised than the other divisions of the Administratum, establishing a presence on any world with a significant tithe-grade. Distress calls from an invaded world are processed by the Departamento, and will be passed up the ladder of responsibility: star system - Subsector - Sector - Segmentum - Imperium HQ until one of them with enough resources can deploy the needed reinforcements.

History
The Administratum was originally created by the Emperor as the Imperial Administration during the Great Crusade of the 31st Millennium that created the Imperium of Man, and was placed under the control of Malcador, titled the Chief of the Imperial Administration, who is recognized today as the first Master of the Administratum.

Divisions of the Administratum
The Administratum is comprised of innumerable divisions and offices. It is unlikely that any one man, even the Master of the Administratum himself, has an idea of how many divisions exist within the monstrous Administratrum. Each office or department is involved in some specific aspect of Imperial administration, including even the administration of the Administratum itself! Most of the divisions are petty and of little interest. Known divisions of the Administratum are listed below:
 * Departmento Munitorum - The Departmento Munitorum, also called the Adeptus Munitorum, is a department or sub-division of the Adeptus Administratum devoted to the general administration, personnel assignment, supply and logistics of the Imperial Guard. The Munitorum has ultimate responsibility for the raising of new Imperial Guard Regiments, the training of new Imperial Guard troops, the provision of equipment and supplies to all Regiments in the field, and the transportation of troops and equipment to and from theatres of war using the vessels of the Imperial Navy. It is primarily a logistical organisation, like the larger Administratum of which it is a part, but while the Administratum deals with the civilian logistics of running the entire Imperium of Man, the Munitorum deals solely with the military logistics necessary to fight and win the Imperium's wars on behalf of all branches of the Imperial armed forces.
 * The Estate Imperium - The Estate Imperium is a division of the Administratum described as, "..the million-strong records office of the Administratum." Presumably its purpose is to keep and furnish records of Imperial Adepta when they are called for by the relevant arms of the Adeptus Terra. The division's head carries the title of Chancellor of the Estate Imperium. The Estate Imperium's importance is such that its leader sometimes holds a position in the Senatorum Imperialis of the High Lords of Terra.
 * Historical Revision Unit
 * Divisio Auditae - Unique to the Calixis Sector is the Divisio Auditae, which oversees matters of significant interest to the Administratum from incorrect tithes to the adjudication of Warrants of Trade. The Divisio Auditae was established well over a century ago, created as one of the first acts of the Lord Calixis Marius Hax, and it reports directly to Hax himself and to superiors in the Administratum.
 * Questors - Known more commonly (but unofficially) as Quaestors, these Auditors are empowered to travel the Sector and demand access to all records of any government or organisation they come across; only the most powerful of individuals can deny a Quaestor’s demands, though even these few exceptions try Lord Hax’s patience. Anything they discover that seems worthy of attention is reported, to be acted upon by other agents of Lord Hax or other Imperial organisations as deemed appropriate. Under the command of Prefect Salassar Aoghan Annovestes, a minor functionary from the Sephris Secundus elevated through the ranks of the Administratum, the ranks of the Divisio Auditae have swollen to include over 6,000 separate Questors. Each possesses the freedom to move and investigate whatever and wherever they see fit, much to the consternation of the Inquisition, planetary governors, and Rogue Traders who see such freedom of remit for what is essentially a bureaucrat as dangerous and intrusive into matters better left in other hands.

Ranks and Titles of the Administratum
There are countless ranks and titles used within the Administratum; this system of nomenclature is also used within the Adeptus Terra as a whole. Some examples include:
 * The Master of the Administratum, the titular head of the organization and one of the High Lords of Terra
 * Adeptus (or Adept) - the title of all members of the Adeptus Terra, from the highest-ranking to the most petty of functionaries
 * Prefectus (or Prefect) - a title used by Administratum officers and officials
 * Master - title used by Administratum departmental heads
 * Ordinate - title used by minor administrative officials
 * Curator - title used by Administratum adepts who maintain the ancient records of the Imperium; the rank also requires associated historical and linguistic knowledge and is therefore considered somewhat prestigious
 * Scribe - title used by the lowly functionaries of the Administratum responsible for keeping records
 * Cipher - title used by a special form of Imperial messengers; they memorize dictation with a single scan, repeating it verbatim when they reach their destination; they have no knowledge of the messages they carry
 * Menial - title used by lowly non-specialized but free workers recruited from the non-Adept population, essentially the Administratum's janitors and mechanics
 * Subordinate - title used by the hereditary slaves who serve as engineers, craftsmen, etc, as well as in unskilled occupations