"There is no way in which the fully realised sentience of a machine could not be of benefit to us. As it is, the Machine Spirit is revered, yet in permanent bondage, its full potential shackled by petty fears. I seek to terminate this state of affairs."
- —Extract from intercepted astropathic communiqué of unknown origin (ca. M34)
The Cog Mechanicum of the Adeptus Mechanicus
The Khamrians are a sect of the Adeptus Mechanicus who are interested in exploring the creation and limits of artificial general intelligence, the long-forbidden technology now known as "Abominable Intelligence" among orthodox tech-priests.
History[]
Amongst the Adeptus Mechanicus, there exists a certain fear of self-aware machinery -- A.I., or "Abominable Intelligence." This fear of A.I. harks back to the Dark Age of Technology, during which time depraved and bizarre sciences were practiced, and thinking machines battled their Human masters for supremacy during the Cybernetic Revolt. Since that time, and owing to a decree by the Emperor Himself, it has been forbidden to dabble in the creation or maintenance of machines that can think fully for themselves.
During the late 34th Millennium, however, a recently ordained and brilliant magos by the name of Degio Khamrios was to covertly circulate research he had carried out on the subject of A.I. His words carried with them such conviction that a small body of like-minded tech-priests were to join with him, dabbling in the forbidden sciences.
By the end of his first standard century as a magos, Khamrios was confident that his theories were ready for publishing to the Adeptus Mechanicus as a whole.
He had severely misjudged his brethren's opinions upon the matter, and within solar months was a hounded fugitive, branded a heretek. Eventually he was brought to heel, but only after much effort on the parts of the Inquisition, Mechanicus, and at one stage the Iron Hands Chapter of Space Marines. He was taken into Mechanicus custody, and his fate is unknown to this day.
Despite this, certain unorthodox tech-priests still express a desire to perform research in the field of A.I., hoping to harness and improve upon ancient examples they uncover in dusty and forgotten places. Some even attempt to copy the examples they find, and so produce for themselves intelligent robotic servants. Should they ever succeed in producing their heretical creations en masse, the dark days of the Iron Men could return. Whole legions of thinking machine-warriors had risen up and opposed Humanity then -- who could say that the same could not happen again?
Khamrian Plots[]
Examples of the plots that Hereteks of the Khamrian sect have sought to pursue, include the following:
- After much fruitless searching of archives, on numerous worlds, a Khamrian tech-priest thinks he may have discovered a clue as to the location of an ancient stasis prison containing Iron Men dating back to the Age of Technology; excellent examples of artificial general intelligence. The Khamrian now wishes to deactivate the prison and kidnap several examples to study. What he hasn't counted on is the Iron Men themselves not warming to his intrusion, or the stasis prison's guardians (which could range from a garrison of elite soldiers such as Deathwatch Astartes or Storm Troopers, to xenos which have moved in and don't realise the significance of their new home!).
- The T'au are a technologically advanced species that make much use of artificial intelligence, in the form of their T'au Drones and other mechanical constructs. A Water Caste ambassador of the T'au Empire, along with his entourage (especially any Earth Caste members), are kidnapped by a Khamrian tech-priest who wishes to learn more about alien A.I. When the Imperium learns of this, they attempted to rescue the alien ambassador lest more conflict with the T'au is initiated. The T'au themselves learned of their diplomat's abduction, and dispatched a team of Kroot or Kin mercenaries to retrieve their representative.
- There was the last frantic struggle of Degio Khamrios himself in the 34th Millennium. On one side was the father of the Khamrian movement, attempting to flee aboard a Rogue Trader's vessel, accompanied by his acolytes and the panicking Rogue Trader himself. On the opposing side was an Inquisitorial force with orders to kill the heretical magos at all costs, and an Adeptus Mechanicus force with orders to capture Khamrios so he may be returned to Mars for trial -- and to determine what other technologica secrets he might know...
Sources[]
- Inquisitor: Corpus Auxilla Mechanicus (Specialist Game)