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The Sacrifice of self: an analysis of the process and psychological modification of a human to an Adeptus Astartes. "They are more than human, they are steel and doom", one short line perfectly defines the Adeptus Astartes. It may seem like common sense but when you consider what a space marine actually is, you must start to consider what humanity has truly wrought. We must remember two things, one an Astartes is a biological weapon two it is a weapon that possesses a soul. The initial idea for modified humans appears early in the galaxies history as cultures that were separated by warp storms or extreme distance manufactured their own version of defenders. Things that would be able to tackle the horrors of the Galaxy. Yet only with the coming of the Emperor and the primarch project do we see this process streamlined to produce hundreds of thousands of genetically modified trans-humans. I want us to consider the following, the Emperor always knew he needed an advantage over the other galactic civilizations. His power was near infinite but even he couldn't persecute his conquest alone. His first attempt with the thunder warriors was.......problematic. Humans who were heavily modified to be little better than berserk monsters. knowing these forces were unreliable and in many ways unpredictable he focused on the next generation of enhanced bio weapons. The thing he was right about is that humanity always responds better to something that is similar in appearance. Yes the Thunder warriors were brutal beyond measure but they were still essentially human, and needed a very specific control mechanism. The Adeptus Astartes are more akin to an assembly line soldier than a gene-modified barbarian, the specific organs that are introduced into their system rapidly change the baseline human into a pure weapon. Then there is also the matter of the legion/chapter life that the new instrument of war is introduced to. They are removed from basic human society and become one with a body that is genetically and culturally based on a very specific source. The psychological conditioning that takes place is rather fascinating, as many of the Adeptus Astartes view their Primarchs as being "fathers", that is an amazing cultural construct. We have to remember that in most cases an Aspirant is taken at a very young age, their potential identity is supplanted by what the Legion/chapter requires them to be. The introduction of the concept of a Primarch would be staggering a mind that is still in the process of forming, to explain to them that these beings are responsible for the transformation into a near perfect warrior would naturally create a psychological conditioning where said individual would see this being as his father, because they are literally reborn through their genetics. The problem with this is that you are fundamentally creating a creature that is not human in the strictest sense. We have many examples were Astartes are unable to understand basic human etiquette or humor, even more examples where standard conversation is as alien to them as a xenos tongue. In the process of protecting humanity, the Emperor manufactured something that doesn't fully grasp humanity. Yes they are our defenders of that there is no doubt, but did anyone ever bother to wonder why Chaos always manages to seep in and claim more and more of these warriors? The answer is simple, the age when an aspirant is selected is a time when morality, ethics and even culture are continually introduced to them. Once you deprive an human being of that and link them to a strict pseudo-culture they will always be unsure of what they truly are. Naturally they will know no fear, but they will also fail to grasp a myriad of balancing human emotions. The actual biological modification process is truly miraculous, just think of the number of grafts and organs introduced into a still developing system. All these things are designed to make a nearly unstoppable killing machine, be it a secondary heart, the ability to spit acid, even the ability to obtain the memories of the dead from consuming their tissue. In many ways this becomes the most dangerous aspect of the Adeptus Astartes conditioning, not because of the possibility of rejection, although that happens often enough, no it;s the temporal difference this creates between humans and trans-humans. Astartes are functionally immortal, that means they can and in some cases do live for thousands of years. This again creates a very dangerous difference between a human being and a space marine, once they undergo the augmentations they view baseline humans as "mortals", that word in itself is very dangerous because the basic meaning behind it is that an Astartes is beyond us, more than mortal. While accurate in purely a biological perspective it also grants the idea that baseline human lives rarely matter. This of course varies from chapter to chapter, with extremes going in both directions such as the Vlka Fenryka and the Salamanders to the Iron hands and the Marines Malevolent. We must also consider how baseline humans view Astartes, they are literally seen as the angels of the Emperor, across the Imperium viewed as lords and demi-gods, does it really surprise anyone why this occurs? the answer harkens back to the time of the great crusade and the Horus heresy. We have heard the term transhuman dread thrown around in various heresy novels. The concept that the human mind was not ready to accept such creatures that seeing them move or act instantly halted our fight or flight responses leaving humans little better than target practice. This can also relate to another idea "Transhuman Awe" by which I mean that humans naturally become completely enraptured by the idea that this giant is here to protect them. From our own cultures we have encountered stories where people feel a sense of awe when dealing with someone who has great gifts or a physical presence that cannot be matched, now amplify that to 7.5 or 8 feet and add on enough armor and weapons to depopulate entire cities in minutes. The question then becomes why are such thing required. If humanity was truly worthy of inheriting the stars, why did it need to build such warriors. there are several trains of thought that come to mind with this. One is that unmodified humans are simply not truly capable of standing up to what the universe has in store. The other argument is that because we have advanced to a point where we can manufacture such creatures we now have the right to unleash them. I'm sure we can all see the problem with that particular argument, however in terms of propaganda it is a near perfect one to make. My view is more akin to the former, the galaxy is vast and in truth the threats that constantly emerge can and do annihilate baseline forces. The Adeptus Astartes basic lack of humanity allows them to defend us because most of the weaknesses have been bred out of them. This does not make them perfect it merely makes them extremely viable and efficient killers. I am certain the Emperor knew there were threats that humans would not be able to comprehend, be it the warp or extra-galactic invaders, we needed the Astartes because of an inherent weakness in our species. We needed monsters to save us from worse monsters. The horror of the situation is humanity put their faith in these bio-weapons never fully realizing that the lack of the basic characteristics that make us human would be the downfall of many.
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Jul 8, 2017 06:03
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Jul 8, 2017 06:36
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Our reality balls touched.
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Jul 8, 2017 07:08
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Jul 8, 2017 07:10
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I'm glad GW worked out what their audience wanted and released a 5 inch tall beefcake kit.
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Jul 8, 2017 11:02
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wait wheres the nipple horns??
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Jul 8, 2017 11:08
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Atlas Hugged posted:This is the Rad Thread. The Death Thread is the old Dead Thread, but I guess now it's an Undead Thread? The Tomb Kings thread became the new Mantis undead thread and then I got confused
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Jul 8, 2017 13:58
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evilmiera posted:The Tomb Kings thread became the new Mantis undead thread and then I got confused 
NTRabbit fucked around with this message at 14:11 on Jul 8, 2017 |
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Jul 8, 2017 14:08
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Undead Threads tend to lose their plots.
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Jul 8, 2017 14:15
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drat mantids are bad rear end
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Jul 8, 2017 19:07
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FiestaNinja posted:I'm glad GW worked out what their audience wanted and released a 5 inch tall beefcake kit. https://twitter.com/GamesWerkshop/status/834153375101046784
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Jul 8, 2017 22:45
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No visible testicles. Other companies have them beat. GW not king of the hill no more.
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Jul 9, 2017 00:09
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more like Games Twerkshop! hahaha
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Jul 9, 2017 00:22
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Moola posted:more like Games Twerkshop! 
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Jul 9, 2017 01:03
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Shake shake shake Shake shake shake Shake Roboute
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Jul 9, 2017 01:31
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Gravitas Shortfall posted:Shake shake shake  
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Jul 9, 2017 02:07
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I'm the rear end with the Khornate frat mark.
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Jul 9, 2017 02:08
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Kaiju Cage Match posted:I'm the rear end with the Khornate frat mark. Best spring break EVER
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Jul 9, 2017 12:54
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So I realized that the car we bought off of a dying uncle a few months back is Space Wolf Gray. Anybody know where I could find some Space Wolf car decals? Two color high res images would work too, Ma-in-law can print white decals.  TLDR backstory: He's dead now, and itr wqas really his wifes car, who died a couple of years ago. Car is 5 years old and has less than 25k miles. Score. It's my wifes relatives so I can be pretty callous about it.+ DiHK fucked around with this message at 23:33 on Jul 9, 2017 |
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Jul 9, 2017 22:18
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DiHK posted:So I realized that the car we bought off of a dying uncle a few months back is Space Wolf Gray. Anybody know where I could find some Space Wolf car decals? Two color high res images would work too, Ma-in-law can print white decals. youre a loving gross person
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Jul 9, 2017 22:59
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I gave that family a little bit more than blue book value for that vehicle. And IRL i would never talk about it like that. My wife was very close with the aunt whose car that was and she was a very nice person. We both regret that she never met her great-nephew. Her husband was a alcoholic ex-navy man, he was a good dude and suffered a terrible slow demise at the hands of big C. However this is a death thread in goonland. Do you need me to hold your loving hand through the nice bits or can I just talk about my space wolf car without emotion you candy rear end.  E: says the fucktard who has a hitler loving some dudes rear end in his loving av DiHK fucked around with this message at 23:34 on Jul 9, 2017 |
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Jul 9, 2017 23:30
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I thought this was the w40k 8th edition thread.
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Jul 9, 2017 23:43
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DiHK posted:I gave that family a little bit more than blue book value for that vehicle. And IRL i would never talk about it like that. My wife was very close with the aunt whose car that was and she was a very nice person. We both regret that she never met her great-nephew. Her husband was a alcoholic ex-navy man, he was a good dude and suffered a terrible slow demise at the hands of big C. 
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Jul 9, 2017 23:47
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Xarbala posted:I thought this was the w40k 8th edition thread. It's the 8th Editlon thread. Skeleton.
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Jul 9, 2017 23:48
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its the weird meltdown thread
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Jul 9, 2017 23:50
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Moola posted:its the weird meltdown thread I melted down. Apparently my reactor rejects beer as a cooling mechanic. But I'm not sure about this so let me get another beer and test this theory further. E: I'd also like to note that my boss has gotten on to me about having SA threads up where some douche bags hitler AV is visible. Hitler is a loving joke to some of you dick wads and yet I'm the gross dude. 
DiHK fucked around with this message at 23:58 on Jul 9, 2017 |
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Jul 9, 2017 23:51
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Homey the gross part is the space wolves
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Jul 10, 2017 00:04
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DiHK posted:I melted down. 
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Jul 10, 2017 00:09
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That's Putin right? What a glorious leader.
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Jul 10, 2017 00:19
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DiHK posted:I melted down. 
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Jul 10, 2017 00:19
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DiHK posted:I gave that family a little bit more than blue book value for that vehicle. And IRL i would never talk about it like that. My wife was very close with the aunt whose car that was and she was a very nice person. We both regret that she never met her great-nephew. Her husband was a alcoholic ex-navy man, he was a good dude and suffered a terrible slow demise at the hands of big C. Nice meltdown
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Jul 10, 2017 00:21
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I'm the Hitlercock
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Jul 10, 2017 00:37
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DiHK posted:I gave that family a little bit more than blue book value for that vehicle. And IRL i would never talk about it like that. My wife was very close with the aunt whose car that was and she was a very nice person. We both regret that she never met her great-nephew. Her husband was a alcoholic ex-navy man, he was a good dude and suffered a terrible slow demise at the hands of big C. No1curr
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Jul 10, 2017 00:37
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Who What Now posted:No1curr Is that the slogan of the silent majority? "Not one curr"? Like "No child left behind"? Still miles ahead of Bush. Kung Fu Fist gently caress posted:youre a loving gross person He cared? soooooo, now I know what does.
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Jul 10, 2017 01:09
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Are we splitting down arbitrary heresy lines already? So soon. Figures it's the loving space wolves player screwing everything up.
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Jul 10, 2017 01:10
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Pidgin Englishman posted:So soon. 18 pages in? Also I play Blood Angels.
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Jul 10, 2017 01:22
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DiHK posted:18 pages in? Usually a chill thread can go dozens of pages before some unchill dude starts getting salty over nothing. quote:Also I play Blood Angels. lmao
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Jul 10, 2017 01:36
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Who What Now posted:Usually a chill thread can go dozens of pages before some unchill dude starts getting salty over nothing. I'm p sure I could debunk the gently caress out of that if I cared enough to go thread diving. 'Lotta goons are touchy snowflakes. Myself included.
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Jul 10, 2017 02:09
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Jul 10, 2017 02:26
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DiHK posted:18 pages in? poo poo, I started with BA. Brother against brother. Grim. Dark. In other news: Holy cow, after taking a (decade long) break from 40k and diving into some other systems, is it just me or are 40k players the most melty snowflakes out there? e: like, a leaked pic of the new DG tank has just lead to a million 'what is this disgusting garbage that I will boycott GW over?!?' posts across every FB group.
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Jul 10, 2017 02:49
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