Amon was silent for a long time. Finally, he spoke.
"What is a psyker?"
Caelan frowned.
"You don't know what a psyker is? Then what do you call people like you?"
"Witches."
"And the power you use is magic?"
"Correct."
Caelan explained, "A psyker is a gift, and also a qualification, the ability to interact with the Warp and draw power from it."
"Non-psychic individuals simply cannot connect to the Warp at all; even hearing its whispers is a luxury."
"According to the Imperium's 24-point psychic grading scale, only Levels 0 and 1 are truly mortal."
"Levels 2 through 7, while unable to actively use psychic powers, are still classified among psykers."
"To hear the whispers of the Warp, you need to be at least a Level 2 psyker."
All psykers, including Level 2 psykers, are potential 'holes'.
Although the chance of them opening is small and they are not conspicuous, the risk does exist.
But these latent psykers are hard to identify, and their psychic level is too low; even using them as batteries wouldn't last long.
The Imperium usually only focuses on official psykers of Level 8 and above, who can actively use their powers.
But if the Imperium were in dire straits, even Level 2 through 7 psykers would be rounded up.
During the Horus Heresy, the Sisters of Silence captured large numbers of these people.
Though their psychic level was low, their numbers were vast, making them perfect for charging the Golden Throne.
The strong, controllable psykers had other duties and couldn't be wasted on the Throne.
In the 30th millennium galaxy, the proportion of psykers above Level 2 is likely higher than anyone expects.
This is especially true for Prospero. Even if the people here haven't shown corresponding psychic gifts, they are most likely psykers.
Amon asked, "What is the Warp?"
Caelan said, "Your understanding of psykers is surprisingly primitive, but I think I understand why."
Even in the Golden Age, not everyone understood the nature of psykers.
On many worlds, mortals simply treated psykers as witches, persecuting them in recurring retro witch hunts.
Over time, psykers themselves came to see themselves as witches.
Though 'witch' is a derogatory term, if they know nothing about psykers, 'witch' is one of the most fitting descriptions.
But the ancestors of the Prosperines were certainly not like this.
"Since your ancestors could perform interstellar travel, establish a proper colony on Prospero, and leave behind ancient devices like the psychic arrays, at least one of them held a high position in human society."
"Someone like that would not be completely ignorant about psykers, yet you, as their descendants, know nothing."
"If your history hasn't been lost, there's only one possibility: they deliberately concealed the truth."
Amon was doubtful, "But why?"
"Because ignorance is bliss."
"The deeper your understanding of the Warp, the more likely you are to invite disaster."
"On a world full of psykers, every single psyker is a potential ticking time bomb."
"Your ancestors perhaps believed that by sealing away the truth of the Warp forever, letting their descendants grow up in ignorance, they could avoid disaster."
Magnus said "In the psychic texts passed down on Prospero, the techniques for using psychic powers are very rudimentary. This has, to some extent, limited the Prosperines' psychic gifts."
Caelan nodded, "That makes sense. Your ancestors deliberately maintained this ignorance to help you survive longer."
Although this practice is no different from burying one's head in the sand, the Warp doesn't care, and danger doesn't disappear due to human ignorance –
In terms of attitude towards the Warp, any action is a risk.
If you actively seek to understand the Warp, it takes only one fool to bring about the world's destruction.
The Psychneuein plague is the price of someone's folly.
In contrast, remaining ignorant, while self-deceptive, at least ensures the continuation of civilization.
This is not the wisdom of the ancients, but a helpless choice in the face of cruel reality.
Perhaps, in the eyes of Prospero's ancestors, they preferred their descendants to be cowards rather than see them sprint toward their own destruction.
The biggest fear for this strategy is the presence of 'exceptionally brilliant mind' people.
Like the 'brilliant' person who summoned the Psychneuein, or Magnus.
A better choice would be to entrust a small group with the truth about the Warp.
If someone knows of the Warp's existence, they can warn psykers when they come into contact with it, preventing them from making grave mistakes.
But for some reason, Prospero's ancestors didn't leave such a safeguard, or perhaps even the safeguard couldn't stop a crazed psyker.
Caelan and the Emperor also belong to the 'compromise' school.
They understand the Warp's dangers, but also know humanity cannot do without it.
So they choose to keep the masses ignorant, letting only a few grasp the truth.
The Imperial Truth carefully weaves a set of lies for the common people.
Only a select few, like the Emperor and the primarchs, know the full truth.
The populace can be blind and ignorant, but the leaders must remain clear-headed, no matter how dangerous.
This way, humanity is neither left to self-destruct in exploring the Warp, nor loses the chance to counter-strike due to collective ignorance.
This certainly doesn't guarantee absolute safety, but it is a necessary compromise.
"I don't understand," Amon said, lost.
Had their long-held beliefs been wrong?
Prospero's ancestors wanted their descendants to remain ignorant, yet also wanted to give them freedom.
There's nothing wrong with that; people are greedy.
But freedom without oversight will ultimately lead to disaster.
Amon fell into a long silence.
Hadn't he come on behalf of the Commune to question Caelan?
'How had it come to this?'
He was actually starting to doubt himself, beginning to agree with Caelan's ideas.
'Was this right?'
Amon didn't understand.
"Be that as it may, let's eat first."
Amon got a meal and sat at the same table as Caelan.
Even in the apocalypse, Tizca's food supply was quite abundant; chicken, duck, fish, meat, everything was available.
No wonder the Tizcans lacked a sense of crisis.
Many of them had never left Tizca in their entire lives, had never even seen what a Psychneuein looked like.
The apocalypse was right outside the city walls, yet it seemed so remote.
"Father, what are you thinking about?" Magnus watched his father's mood constantly; no subtle change in expression escaped his eyes.
Caelan sighed softly.
"I'm thinking, it seems I really have nothing to teach you. I'm resorting to amusing myself by educating others."
Magnus said, "Father, you have already taught me more than enough. But I am still young. I still need your companionship and guidance."
Amon's hand holding the bread hovered in mid-air, his expression complex as he watched the father and son.
'So I'm just your tool for bonding?'
'I probably shouldn't be here.'
Yes, they are father and son, while he was just a mortal who had fortunately raised Magnus.
…
"Prospero," Curze murmured to himself.
Corax frowned deeply.
"What are you plotting again?"
"Another of our brothers is about to return."
"The fifteenth?"
"Why couldn't it be the sixteenth?"
Corax said, "If you admit that brother is the first-found, I have no objection."
"He won't be the first-found, but our brother is indeed earlier than you."
Corax knew who he meant, frowned slightly, and waited for Curze's explanation.
He would explain. His brother never missed a chance to show off.
"When Father found me, my brother was there too."
"Father never mentioned it to me."
"Because Father couldn't see him. He exists in the future, and I can see the future."
"Father doesn't know he exists?"
"He knows now."
"So?"
"So, our father has already found him. And our brother is very cunning; he's been spying on us all along."
Corax's cold gaze pierced Curze.
'You dare say that?'
Curze ignored it.
His brothers always had prejudices against him. He was used to it.
As the first son their father encountered, he endured too much jealousy and misunderstanding.
But he didn't blame his brothers.
Curze said, "My brother learned a lot from his spying. He is far more mature than we were when we first met Father. Mature enough to be heartbreaking."
Corax hit the nail on the head, "Are you jealous of him?"
"I am not so petty. On the contrary, my brother is jealous of me. He called me a madman."
Corax chuckled.
'As if I don't know what you're like.'
As the biggest victim of Curze's paranoia, Corax had ample say, Curze is a madman!
If Curze weren't the Emperor's son, he would definitely be the greatest source of instability in the Imperium.
His damage to the Imperium would definitely far exceed that of any other brother!
"Corax, aren't you curious about our brother?"
"I won't spy on our brother's life like you do."
Curze corrected him.
"I can't. I can't share this gift with you."
"Then should I thank you?"
"You're welcome. We're brothers."
"So, what did you see about our brother?"
Curze answered, "The Burning of Prospero."
"You don't need to see him in person to see his future?"
"How do you know I didn't see him in person?"
"I already told you. He was there when I first met Father."
"You saw his future back then?"
"Yes," Curze said. "I saw the Burning of Prospero back then, saw my brother's final fate. But now, it has changed."
Corax pressed, "What change?"
"Still the Burning of Prospero, but with some differences."
"Last time, it was the Space Wolves who destroyed Prospero. This time, it's the Ultramarines."
"The Ultramarines?"
"The Thirteenth Legion, the 'War-born' now. After their primarch returns, they will be renamed the Ultramarines."
Corax asked, "And our brother? Where is he?"
"That's the problem," Curze said. "I don't see him."
"You saw our brother's future, saw the Burning of Prospero, but you didn't see our brother himself?"
Corax's expression grew grave.
It was no secret among the primarchs that Curze could see their futures.
But Curze always saw the bad futures, not the good.
He always witnessed the primarchs' deaths.
In his prophecies, the primarchs always die very tragically.
Even from our current perspective, those futures were completely illogical, but they were still prophecies relevant to them.
So why is the primarch himself absent from this prophecy about a primarch?
"And the other brother?" Corax asked, referring to Number Thirteen.
Curze said, "He's not there either. I only saw two Legions slaughtering each other."
Corax frowned, "That doesn't make sense. Why would they slaughter each other?"
"Prophecy isn't omnipotent. It's just vague fragments, not a complete puzzle. It may not come true."
"But it has warning value. Even if it doesn't happen, it should be based on reality. Yet where is our brother?"
"Yes, where is he?" Curze's voice became ethereal. "Perhaps that is the most terrifying possibility. When the disaster occurs, our brother has already ceased to exist."
"But you saw his future!"
"I saw his future, yet in his future, he is absent."
And that is the most terrifying thing!
Curze could see the future, even if those futures revealed their deaths.
But those were still possibilities for their future.
But what does it mean if their future does not contain them?
Corax asked, "And the previous time?"
"The Space Wolves destroyed Prospero, and our brothers killed each other."
"Who died?"
"They both died."
Corax's expression darkened sharply.
"Strange, don't you think?" Curze said. "I saw the same future for both brothers: the Burning of Prospero, and they both die."
"Did they kill each other, or did a third party kill them?"
"Corax, I've already told you, the future is not a complete puzzle."
Corax was silent for a long time.
'Prophecy has its limits.'
'If Curze had seen a detailed prophecy, he wouldn't be so cryptic about these things.'
'What he described is what he saw.'
'But why is it like this?'
Curze said, "But like I said, the future has already changed."
"What if it's not a change, but an overlay?"
"You mean, what I saw isn't two different futures, but two stages of the same disaster?"
If what he saw were different perspectives of the same disaster, that might explain why his brother is absent.
Because Magnus is already dead.
But why would the Ultramarines be involved?
That still doesn't make sense.
Curze shook his head.
"That's certainly possible, but I think it's unlikely."
"Curze, has my future changed?"
"No," Curze shook his head.
He didn't see the visions of his brothers' deaths all the time, but if the future changed, he would definitely see it.
Corax suggested, "Then go find our other brothers. See if their futures have changed."
If all their futures have changed, then they should try to find the cause of the change.
Even if none of their futures have changed, the fact remains that Magnus's future has changed.
What their own futures are is irrelevant, because they will all try desperately to prevent them.
The important thing is that a change has occurred.
And in the Warp, the being associated with change is the one who has always been best at manipulating hearts.
Any event possibly related to Him deserves double the caution.
…....
"Check."
Neoth took Malcador's Dragonar with a Citizen.
Malcador moved his piece.
"That one has been very active lately."
"Let Him be. He won't cause much trouble."
"You're confident?"
"I have confidence in him."
"And the other one?"
Neoth said, "I still don't understand what He wants. Check."
"You should call Her," Malcador's eyes held a hint of mockery.
"We can't figure out what He wants, but it's not hard to figure out what She wants."
"That's between Them. Whether They want to get on board or weld the doors shut, Their power struggle won't affect us. We shouldn't interfere, and we can't."
"You can."
"But I'd rather see Them both weakened."
Malcador said, "That will probably be difficult. They seem to be making big moves, but in reality, it's just petty squabbling. She achieved her goal, but He doesn't seem to be in a hurry."
"The most violent One has been lying dormant. We still don't know who He has targeted. He is being too quiet."
"Maybe we just haven't noticed. Patience, Malcador."
Malcador sighed softly.
"We have been patient. But our time is running out."
They couldn't rely on anyone, not even those who seemed to be on their side.
The galaxy is a stage, where countless races take their turn to perform.
If human civilization wants to stay on that stage, even completing the Great Crusade is only the beginning.
Gods are a poison that must be excised from human civilization.
Yet gods are also necessary.
Even Malcador doesn't know the Emperor's entire plan. He only knows the part he needs to know.
And that is perhaps less than a tenth of the Emperor's plan.
His plan is incredibly grand, consuming thousands of years; a mortal would live their whole life unable to achieve it.
To be able to participate, Malcador felt deeply fortunate and proud.
They were doing the right thing.
Only, in the presence of Them, their plan seems so insignificant.
They once hoped the material universe and the Veil would temporarily block Them, but the material universe doesn't seem to be on their side.
They don't know what agreement They reached, but now They have become allies against the others.
Neoth's hand suddenly trembled.
Malcador asked in a deep voice, "What did you see?"
He knew his old friend very well.
Neoth was silent for a long time.
"The future has changed. Our plans have changed."
.....
30 Chapters [email protected]/DaoistJinzu