In Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, everything revolves around the titular Space Marines. However, they wouldn’t be able to display their strength in battle against Tyranids and Chaos if they didn’t have diligent helpers. One of the helpers seems to stand out among the rest. A player asks why – and gains deep insight into the world behind Space Marine 2.
What kind of NPC is this?
- On your battle barge, there are many NPCs in red robes, some in ordinary clothing, and strange cyborgs with mechanical limbs and other augmentations.
- While all servants are generally treated with respect, even when they address you as “Lord,” one of these cyborgs receives only unfriendly responses – and speaks a bit strangely himself.
- Anyone unfamiliar with Warhammer might initially be put off by this – even if they have read the helpful lore summary.
This is why the NPC is treated so poorly: A user on Reddit felt this exact confusion and asked: “Who is this guy and why is the other treating him like a robot and as if he were dumb?”
In the world of Warhammer, these creatures are called “Servitors.” Servitors are a fusion of human and machine and are no longer truly cyborgs, but rather something like living robots. Human bodies in Servitors are so heavily augmented with devices that they are living tools, where the term “living” is broadly defined.
Because Servitors are essentially lobotomized, meaning: Their free will is completely erased. Usually, criminals or heretics are turned into Servitors through “Servitude Imperpituis” to render some service to the Imperium before they die. Sometimes, however, ordinary citizens who have said something wrong are also affected…
As machines, they require maintenance and can no longer make independent decisions. They are repaired and cared for by the guys in red robes, the Adeptus Mechanicus, and receive their tasks from them. Servitors are typically used for simple transportation tasks and heavy labor.
“Autonomous machines need a human brain”
On Reddit, users provide further explanations as to why such cruel treatment is even necessary. In short: The Imperium would not be able to operate autonomous mechanical helpers otherwise.
Artificial intelligence, as we know it, is banned in the 41st millennium of the human Imperium. This is because during the “Dark Age of Technology,” artificial intelligence rebelled against humanity, quite similarly to the Terminator movies.
This is why it is forbidden in Warhammer 40,000 to build machines with their own intelligence. The “machine spirit” that is often mentioned is presumably a remnant of the old AI, which can still be found in almost all human technology, Hype59 explains on Reddit.
As a small bonus, fans provide some lore about the Orks and how technology is handled there: If they believe strongly enough in something, it works. Gluing two weapons together? Makes sense, double firepower. Red stripes on the tank make it faster, of course. And purple Orks are naturally camouflaged, or have you ever seen a purple Ork?
Whether any of this is true is, as is customary with Warhammer, not entirely clear. And Ork technology only works for Orks; if a human were to use it, it would be utterly useless. In Space Marine 2, the lore may not play a significant role in gameplay, but the story itself could become quite important: The ending of Space Marine 2 could massively influence the future of Warhammer 40,000
