Warhammer 40.000 is known for exaggerating everything and placing little value on morality. This combination leads to the fact that even death does not represent something sacred in any form. Those who die somehow continue to serve – this also applies to the superhuman Space Marines.
In fact, death represents something like an end, or, depending on religion, the beginning of something new. In the world of Warhammer 40.000, the afterlife follows certain rules, if one can indeed reach there.
For some people, this path is blocked, not out of malice, but as a special “honor” of being allowed to continue serving the Emperor himself even after death.
If a Space Marine performs special services in life and is celebrated as a hero, the chances are good that instead of dying, he will receive a new body: a Dreadnought. These huge combat walkers are rather brutal constructs, not just for the enemy.
Similar to the Dreadnoughts, the Imperial Knights are controlled by a neural interface, but they are as large as cathedrals. In the series Broken Lance
, you can see one of these knights:
“I serve even in death”
A Dreadnought, also known as a Cybot in German and affectionately called “angry mailbox” by the community, is a combat walker forged from ceramite and adamantium with an embedded armored sarcophagus.
Space Marines as superhuman supersoldiers are hard to kill but not immortal. If it happens that a brother is so severely mutilated that he can no longer be saved, he can be placed in a Dreadnought.
The spirit of the Space Marine is permanently connected to the machine with neural links. He “is” the Dreadnought until his remains inside are destroyed – which is pretty difficult.
Dreadnoughts are heavily armored and nearly indestructible. Among the few weapons that can pose a danger to them, various technologies of the Necrons count. The Cybots themselves are equipped with various weapons, from meltas and heavy bolters to flame and missile launchers to power glaives and other close-combat weapons.
A piece of “living” history
The technology to create new Dreadnoughts has almost completely been lost in the Imperium of Man. Accordingly, most of these walkers are already ancient. Some are said to be so old that they still remember the founding of their chapter.
As a result, Dreadnoughts are not just powerful fighters but also guardians of valuable knowledge that are often consulted for advice. However, this happens rarely, as a Cybot is only awakened in the greatest need.
Most of the time, these war machines spend their time in artificial sleep. This is necessary, as even the brain of a Space Marine cannot withstand the permanent wiring unscathed and would eventually go insane.
How much Space Marine is still in a Dreadnought?
The Space Marine and the Dreadnought can no longer be separated without the “pilot” being ultimately destroyed. In general, this coincides with the destruction of the walker; in rare cases, it can still be salvaged and reused.
Cybots have hardly any human… or Space Marine-like?… qualities left. That this is attempted in the design is said to be quite important. In a thread on Reddit, a user asks why the walkers still have slits for sight.
The community’s answer: the brain of the Space Marine is connected to all the sensors of the Dreadnought and actually wouldn’t need this slot anymore. It is just a redundantly unnecessary backup.
However, there is a certain psychological component. The closer the shape of a Dreadnought is to that of a human (or Space Marine), the less likely it is to go insane. After all, one is still a bit more oneself.
Not only humans are that cruel
By the way, such walkers and questionable techniques exist not only among humans or Space Marines. The battle-hungry Orks with their crude technology have Killa Kans and Deff Dreads, both also combat walkers with a neuro-interface.
Unlike with the Space Marines, no quasi-dead beings are used among the Orks. Fallen Orks travel to Gork and Mork in the Great Green. Instead, a living Ork (or Snot) is literally welded into the machine. Permanently, of course.
The once powerful and elegant Eldar also have similar technology. Their wraith constructs, such as Wraith Knights or Wraithlords, are walkers made of wraithbone powered by the soulstone of a fallen Eldar.
If all of this still isn’t harsh and absurd enough for you, you should look back at the humans, more specifically: the fanatical warrior-priestesses of the Adepta Sororitas. They have Repentia and Penitent Engines, in which the captured deserter or sinner is either strapped naked before the walker to do penance, or must directly control the walker while enclosed in an iron maiden: Forget Space Marines: A Sisters of Battle Order in Warhammer 40.000 is much more impressive because they are “just humans”
