Re: [NetEpic ML] Re: On Imperial armies and original fluff

From: Thomas Wildman <tnrw00_at_...>
Date: Fri, 26 May 2000 09:28:50 -0500

> Sorry Peter, but I couldn't disagree more.
>
> First of all, it's a well-known fact that technology is following an
> hyperbole curve - very slow in the beginning, ludicrously fast right
> now. This is due to the "self-supporting" phenomenon - the advances
> in technology allow for the construction of advanced tools which in
> turn help research to advance even more etc. It would take some
> massive world-wide catastrophe to clean the slate. Considering the
> fact that the Imperium starts from an even more advanced state and an
> even more distributed approach, I just cannot see how this could
> happen. While the Heresy arguably WAS a major catastrophe, they STILL
> had trans-light speed at the end. And ten thousand years with such a
> start is more than enough to recover.
>
> Second, it's not even true that progress was THAT slow in ancient
> times. Not MILITARY progress at any rate. And historically, wartime
> is the time in which military research gets huge boosts for obvious
> reasons. I could imagine the Empire not devoting that much effort to
> the welfare of its citizens, but... but... 10000 years of perpetual
> war, and not only they didn't advance, but they couldn't even figure
> out how to rebuild something which they already have in thousands of
> perfectly working copies (e.g: Termie suits)??? Come on, this is
> TOTALLY ludicrous.
>
> Religious mumbo-jumbo... low-level rank and file goons, maybe. But
> when you have 100 different war fronts at any given moment, you'll
> MOST DEFINITELY want high-level competent technicians and
> theoreticians who're getting assigned outrageous amounts of money to
> research new nifty weapons with which to smite your enemies.
>
> Sorry but I'll repeat myself: there's NO WAY than a technically
> advanced civilization, spanning a whole galaxy, and in a situation of
> perpetual warfare is not going to evolve in 10000 years. TEN THOUSAND
> YEARS, for crying out loud!! Billions of planets! Uncountable
> individuals... and not one of them comes up with something new??
> Spare me.

The Dark Ages of in Europe lasted for 700 - 1000 years. It continued for so
long because of the hording of knowledge by the Church, and the constant
rivalry and conflict between various countries and kingdoms. Outside forces
eventually forced a change in outlook in the church and political regimes.
In the Imperium, there has been no truly centrallized authority for 10,000
years, just various parties acting in the "Emperor's" name. Rival factions
such as the Ecclesiarchy, Mechanicus, Arbites, and Marine Chapters have
argued and fought minor battles battles with eachother for the whole time,
each having more or less power in different eras. Constant warfare with
aliens has not united the factions, but rather kept them divided, especially
concerning Chaos. The Church, the Adeptus Mechanicus, consume all technical
information they can find, and dole out pitifully small bit of knowledge for
the rest of humanity. The Inquisition mercilessly persecutes anyone who
varies from the norm, namely blindly following the precepts of the AM. When
a population becomes rebellious(has original ideas), the planet might be
virus bombed or mind-wiped.
10.000 years of stagnation is very possible, and maybe Tyranid invasion and
the return of the Slann might be the things to reawaken the human race.

Tom
Received on Fri May 26 2000 - 14:28:50 UTC