Board Thread:Warhammer 40k General Discussion/@comment-7699236-20130626164907/@comment-32788838-20140221131621

Callummacdonald79 wrote: i used to entertain a theory that the legion of the damned were eldar astartes, unfortunately my theory was made redundant a looong time ago when it was revealed that they were once the fire hawks (fire lords? can't remember) chapter. but my theory was this...

in the future beyond the 41st millenium when the eldar were almost completely gone, as in one craftworld left, and they came to the painful realisation that the galaxy's best hope for survival, against chaos and necrons, lay with the imperium. but at this point the imperium was in no condition to save itself, let alone the galaxy, so something had to be done in the past.

by this time the few surviving eldar had garnered, or pilfered, an almost complete understanding of the astartes genome whereupon they create the last great accomplishment of their race before their extinction - eldar astartes, who would be superior to astartes in every way. these eldar astartes were then sent back in time, again with garnered or pilfered technology.

outfitted with post m41 teleportation tech, and an exhaustive database on the imperium's pivotal losses, they were tasked with intervening in those losses to make them pivotal victories (but no-one from the 'past' would be aware of their pivotal nature until much later). anyone who witnessed them simply saw power armour and would assume they were astartes, but the ultra-xenophobic imperium would be secretly guided to galactic rule by the eldar.

i don't like the official story for the legion of the damned's past because i had this theory which, to be frank, i still think sounds better - including the time-travel paradox of changing the past changes the future, so the future that changes the past no longer exists to change the past that changes the future....etc and so on :P Even if we accept the fact that the Eldar had by this point gained knowledge on how nearly all Imperial military mechanisms work, which they probably do now to be frank considering how ancient and experienced they are collectively as a race, they wouldn't be capable of using the gene-seed in their own biologies nor would they be able to survive the necessary augmentation surgeries and the likes. Biological incompatibility stops the existence of eldar Astartes, and their nervous systems and other vital innards probably vary so different from that from a normal human that I doubt they'd be able to work Astartes armour, which I imagine eldar would openly choose to deny due to how they view humans, including Space Marines, as slow and clunky creatures, even if the Astartes aren't slow and clunky. Hell, just particular pockets of humans can be turned into Astartes, which doesn't include women or those past their prime, and you're talking about an entirely different species.

I also doubt that the eldar, a race so arrogant and proud of their culture and heritage, would turn to the Imperials in their dying days instead of dying with their culture and dignity intact. It's just too far-fetched for a Craftworld eldar. Dark eldar maybe, but Craftworld eldar are pretty much built on their pride and stubborness so I don't see why they'd abandon their own technologies in exchange for the Imperium's, even if they were going to become extinct nonetheless. They may assist the Imperium at times due to mutual threats, but the Imperium and the eldar still brand each other with hate nonetheless.