Hi Guys-
Listen: I have a fairly well developed set of Background
Cosmologies (including several different versions of the
Creation Myth {Eldar and Harlequin versions, mostly} that I have
developed for my ongoing (since 1989) 40K RPG-
It iborrows Heavily from quite a few sources
(and thus is 'true' to the aesthetic set by RT's [
Dune+TolkienxMoorcock=40K ].... IMO)
Including (but not limited to):
1) the cosmologies of Bruce Sterling's 'Shaper vs. Mechanist'
story cycle (republished in his book 'Scismatrix'')
-(This is the Key Idea: although the other references provide
aesthetic expansion, the "Shaper" vs "Mechanist" concept is the
Core of the concept...)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaper/Mechanist )
2) Jim Henson & Brian Froud's movie 'the Dark Crystal',
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Crystal
(This becomes an almost word for word ' Eldar Myth-telling' of
the Cosmology, and in my RPG Campaign, is 'unpacked'
extensively in the central teachings of the Harlequins)
3) a pinch of Kilgore Trout's '
(ne' Phillip Jose Farmer's) 'Venus on the Half Shell'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_on_the_Half-Shell
(The character of 'Bingo' was lifted directly: the Oldest Being in
the Universe...)
4) and a heavy revision based on the sheer Grandeur of
Babylon5's Vorlon vs. Shadow war-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_War
The Gist of the History:
(sorry for the sing-song patter that Follows:
I study Oral history for a living, and it just comes out this way)
...at the Beginning of time (or maybe slightly before...)
The Universe Spawned Two sets of conciousnesses:
"Left brain-Mechanistic-Skeksis-Shadows"
and
"Right Brain-Shapers-Mystics-Vorlons"
...As the two civilizations spread across the stars, Conflict was
Inevitable. War erupted based on Mutual incomprehensibility,
Loathing and Fear.
The "Left brain-Mechanistic-Skeksis-Shadows" used their
Superior linear algorithmic processing, concrete-oriented,
greater perception of counting/measurement, present and past,
and superior grammar/words and pattern perception to create
Mighy Machines, capable of Bending both Space and Time.
So Great were their Machines, the Machines themselves
achieved Conciousness, becoming the third
(...or was it the Fourth...?)
Concious Race in the Universe...
Meanwhile: the "Right Brain-Shapers-Mystics-Vorlons" used their
Superior holistical algorithmic processing, abstract-oriented,
greater perception of shapes/motions, present and future, and
superior abilities of intonation/emphasis and spatial perception
to Unlock the very Machinery of the Universe: their own Genetics,
and their own Conciousnesses...
So great were there Experimentations, that they diversified into
the Fourth, and Sixth, and Eighth Concious Races in the
Universe (or was it the Third, Fifth, and Seventh...?)
The Power that was Unleashed when these two Mighty
Civilizations sought to eliminate the other caused Time itself to
Unfold, and History was Born.
The Power that was Unleashed when these two Mighty
Civilizations sought to eliminate the other caused the Universe
itself to 'awaken' , and the Warp was Born.
The Power that was Unleashed when these two Mighty
Civilizations sought to eliminate the other caused Time, Space,
and the Universe to shiver in Nightmarish Fever, and the Entities
known as C'Tan, and the Entities known as Chaos, stirred...
Inevitably: the Primal Races were nigh destroyed, not by Each
Other, but rather By The Works of Their Own Hands-
The New Races, children of their Primal 'Father' and 'Mother'
races, arose and threw down the Works of their progenitors.
The "Left brain-Mechanistic-Skeksis-Shadows" were
Bombasted by their Nightmares:Incarnate, and their Servants
swept away and rebuilt the Remnants of their civilizations...
Thus: the Slaan were Consumed, and the C'Taan and Necrons
were Born...
The the "Right Brain-Shapers-Mystics-Vorlons" were Absorbed
by the very Forces they had Created, and their Children
consumed the very memory of their Civilization...
Thus: The Zoats vanished from Memory, and the Tyranids and
Warp Powers were born...
I have a whole section explaining the nature of the WHFRP
world, the idea being that it is a 'Homeopathic Crystal Ball' used
by the Slaan to gauge the Likely course of History, but I;ll leave
that aside for the moment (along with the Detailed stories of the
Warp Powers and C'Tans creation)
Whadd'Ya Think...?
Too Much...?
--- In netepic_at_yahoogroups.com, "Bruce Scott" <B.Scott@...>
wrote:
>
> I don't think there needs to be any association or comparison
in
> ordinality between Slann and C'tan at all. Have an
independant group
> of "loyal" Necrons stumble upon the Ancient C'Tan in
incorporeal form
> draining power from the sun. The Necrons capture the C'tan
and
> encase in a metal exoskeleton. C'tan learns about all the stuff
> going on in the Universe of which it/they were previously
oblivious
> to. Talks to his C'tan mates, gets them some exoskeletons,
and they
> take over their Necron discoverors and decide to use them as
tools
> for a genocidal purge of all life in the Universe that is not
> C'tan......
>
>
> --- In netepic_at_yahoogroups.com, Joshua Raup
<deaconblue3_at_> wrote:
> >
> > Nils has some interesting ideas. However, I think it would be
> better to keep the Slann as the progenitors of life in the
universe.
> As such, my basic idea is to have the Slann "create" or "evolve"
the
> C'tan to be their main assistants. The C'tan then "revolt"
against
> the Slann, taking Slann technology and using it against them
(ie
> Necrons). The Necrons would have originally been tomb
guards, used
> to prevent the new races from getting hold of Slann technology
before
> the right time, as well as guards for high ranking Slann. The
C'tan
> revolt would then have the C'tan reprogramming the Necrons,
and
> adpating the Necrons to use against the Slann. This allows for
the
> stand alone Necron list (C'tan modified), and will show why the
Slann
> were reduced so greatly, and why the C'tan have disappeared.
> >
> > "No matter where you go, there you are." - B. Bonzai
> > Homepage: http://home.earthlink.net/~deaconblue3/
> >
>
Received on Thu Mar 22 2007 - 06:46:15 UTC