Chapter 119: Vhorx's Terms
"Joric, it is good to see you return intact." Vhorx's voice rasped, a mix of aged gravel and electronic static. The formulaic rigidity was lessened, revealing a casual familiarity, even a hint of warmth, as if greeting a trusted subordinate. "The Omnissiah's wisdom guides us, even when the path is choked with thorns."
"Archmagos Vhorx. Following your guidance, the preliminary exploration is complete." Joric responded with the standard Mechanicus salute, his crimson optics steady, waiting.
After the brief pleasantries, Vhorx wasted no time and cut straight to the point.
His organic eye narrowed slightly, as if recalling a memory, while a mechadendrite waved, projecting a massive star-chart and data-manifest above his desk.
"Joric, your return is timely. The situation... is less optimistic than during our last communion." Vhorx's voice carried a heavy, nostalgic tone. "You saw the unfinished works in orbit, and passed through the increasingly silent manufactorums below."
"Recall the Great Crusade... those were glorious cycles. The Imperium's borders expanded endlessly, the Warmaster's fleets were invincible, and the forges of Nexum burned day and night, crafting unbreakable armor for the Emperor's warriors. The roar of our hammers echoed across the sector, a testament to the Omnissiah's glory."
His tone shifted from nostalgia to grim reality, his augmetic eye locking onto a blinking node on the star-chart. "But now... the wounds of Horus's betrayal run deeper than our initial projections. The Imperium heals, but the order has changed. Our most stable pillar... is trembling."
Vhorx's mechadendrite swiped across the chart, calling up a clear data-stream.
A thick band of light, labeled "Legio VII - Imperial Fists," dominated the historical data, its flow so strong it eclipsed all other minor contracts.
"Observe," Vhorx said, his tone carrying a deliberate, factual distress, like stating an unavoidable law of physics. "From the moment the first foundation was laid, Nexum's blood has been coded to serve the VII Legion. The sons of Dorn are our bedrock, the reason our forges are designed as they are. Their demands are our production-directives."
The tip of his tendril tapped on the chart where the light-band began to noticeably narrow and fork in recent decades, making a metallic click-click. "But, you see the situation. Roboute Guilliman... before his misfortune... pushed the 'Second Founding' with all his might. Breaking the Legions, shattering them into independent Chapters."
He paused, his human eye showing a complex emotion—regret, perhaps, or resignation to the inevitable. "At the time, Primarch Dorn was adamantly opposed. He believed that while the Imperium's scars were fresh, keeping the fist clenched was the only logic. But... fate is cruel. After Guilliman fell, Dorn became the most steadfast executor of this policy. He sees it as completing his brother's unfinished work, the price paid to combat Chaos."
"Now, the splitting of the Imperial Fists is unstoppable." Vhorx's worry became more concrete, tinged with a calculating complaint. "What does this mean? It means the single, massive contract that fed our core production lines is being sliced into dozens, maybe hundreds of pieces, scattered across the galaxy."
"The new Chapters, the young ones, have their own temperaments. Some have been making eyes at Forge Worlds near their homeworlds; others seek the 'blessing' of older, more famous Forges..."
"And us? Alas, our orders have tangibly shrunk by nearly forty percent. I will not hide it from you: the expansion of the Star-Ring is indefinitely suspended. Below, one-third of the secondary furnaces have gone cold. If this continues, we will struggle even to maintain the equipment of our current Skitarii."
On the chart, the once-thick data-stream had splintered into dozens of thin tributaries, many now pointing towards the sigils of other Forge Worlds.
"Order volume is projected to plummet by over thirty percent, and that is the optimistic estimate." Vhorx's mechadendrite dropped limply onto the desk with a clang. "Do you understand what this means? It means extinguishing forge-fires. It means production lines halting! It means Tech-Priests and laborers with nothing to do. It means Nexum's status and resource-allocation within the Mechanicus will slide further!"
Vhorx raised his single human eye, a light mixing expectation and shrewdness locking onto Joric.
"Therefore, Joric, when I received your report and carefully reviewed the data on that 'Ancient Logic-Core'... I realized. This may be a glimmer of dawn in Nexum's darkness. A potential key to break the deadlock."
His tone became lively, pragmatic, even a bit mercenary. "That 'core'... I had it dissected by an absolutely reliable internal unit. The results... are intriguing."
"Yes, it does exhibit a degree of autonomous logical judgment. Its data-processing patterns differ significantly from our standard cogitator systems. The style is... quite archaic, perhaps even alien."
"But!" He paused for emphasis, his mechadendrite making a cutting motion in the air. "We must, and we absolutely can, define it strictly on a technical level—its intelligence tier is far below the unforgivable red line of 'Abominable Intelligence'."
"It is more like... a structurally complex, highly efficient automated logic-unit. A 'not-smart-enough' tool. You understand my meaning. It lacks true 'intent.' Its behavioral patterns remain confined within pre-set parameter frameworks, only this framework is... a bit more flexible than the standard template."
Another mechadendrite moved dexterously, as if weighing invisible chips. "The key lies in the subsequent 'packaging' and 'guidance.' We can emphasize the architecture's 'archaeological value' and 'historical uniqueness'."
"Highlight its superior efficiency in processing specific complex data-types—like environmental perception, production-line optimization, or ballistic trajectory prediction. Simultaneously, carefully handle the 'non-standard' parts of its logic-path, explaining them as features of a lost technical school."
"Ultimately, we can position it as a new type of high-performance, specialized cogitator core. A unique product capable of bringing a technical highlight to our Forge World!"
(End of Chapter)