Summary of the Emperor's Goals & Contingency Plan: Why current 40k may not be as bad as it seems (With Excerpts) (Warning: Super Long!)
Kicking off the party with the post that pulled me into this grimdark universe. I am not the original author. Reposting here for historical posterity:
Original author: parasadi
Note this post is made in response to the other thread by u/Call_Down_For_What found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/a7bi10/in_our_zeal_to_discuss_where_there_emperor_and/
That thread triggered something I'd been I thinking about for a while after reading all the recent Dark Imperium Novels. I've posted bits of these thoughts in various but never got around to connecting all the dots until now. So anyway, here's my take on why it's feasible to argue that current 40k timeline is probably something of a contingency that the Emperor planned for:
The Emperor & Malcador's Checklist
First things first, let's set out what the the Emperor and Malcador's goals were so we can measure how they did. I argue that they set out with the following primary goals in mind:
- Reunite Mankind's old empire and regain their dominance over the stars;
- Kill the Ullanor Empire ASAP before the Orks evolve to the level they were during the War in Heaven (200 year deadline);
- Cull most of the Primarchs and Astartes so they don't think they can rule over humanity; and
- Set up the Imperial Webway as a means of travel to remove mankind's reliance on the Warp, thereby starving the Gods and protect mankind from the Warp gods while they evolve psychically.
Now, they may have had other goals but I think the four outlined above is generally accepted to be canon insofar as they are supported by various works and publications throughout the years
There was one path, one shining path where the Emperor gets to have his cake and eat it too. Where He completes all the goals and meet the ideal victory conditions. One path where all the hassle of having to sit in a chair for 10,000 years in psychic agony could've been avoided. This path was denied to him when Magnus did nothing wrong.
I will address their checklist 1 by 1 set out the reasons why I think this was their goal, what their plans were, what went right and then set out where I think where it all went so terribly wrong. I will then outline what the Emperor did to try and salvage the situation.
Goal 1: Galactic Human Empire
It is a time of Legend. Mighty heroes battle for the right to rule the galaxy. The vast armies of the Emperor of Earth have conquered the galaxy in a Great Crusade – the myriad alien races have been smashed by the Emperor’s elite warriors and wiped from the face of history.
The dawn of a new age of supremacy for humanity beckons.
~ Horus Heresy Novel Opening
This is the official mission statement for the Great Crusade, it's self-explanatory and the post is long enough as it is.
Goal 2: Ork Empire
He understood now. Laurentis understood. He understood why past eras of mankind had lived in fear of the greenskins for centuries, why the frontier wars had raged forever, why the periodic Waaagh!s had been threats that had caused the entire populations of colonised systems to evacuate and flee, why the prospect of a credible warboss and his horde was something that could make a sector governor or a warmaster quake. He understood why, more than any other accomplishment of the Great Crusade, the God-Emperor had been so determined to stop the greenskin threat dead at Ullanor.
~ Excerpt from I Am Slaughter
Chaos Gods notwithstanding, I believe the Orks were the primary reason for the 200 year deadline. Various works over the year emphasize over and over that the Emperor HAD to launch his crusade when he did. He couldn't wait for all Primarchs to be recovered and properly house-broken, he couldn't wait around for the Mechanicum of Mars to be absorbed the old fashioned way, he couldn't wait while Lorgar dilly-dallies around sermonizing. He was on a deadline. Miss it and Chaos Gods be damned, the Orks will kill everything.
The Emperor knows what they're capable of when they hit critical mass. This is why he risked his life to personally kill the Emperor of Gorro, using the same psychic blast that he only reserved for the worst of his enemies (as far as we know the only other time he ever used that move was against the Pantheon-Empowered Horus).
This is why he prioritised the death of Ullanor over all else. If they had waited any longer, the Orks would have spawned Brain Boyz and Prime-Orks en masse, uplifting their otherwise ramshackle empire to the level that they were during the War in Heaven. This 200 year deadline was ever-present in the Emperor's mind and goes some way to explain some of his impatience (and thereby treatment) of some of his sons.
Sources:
Wolf of Ash and Fire Short-Story
War of the Beast Novels
Goal 3: Civil War and Planned Obsolescence
_ 'the Imperium is not for the post-humans but for mankind. You know this Sibel. You helped me to manage them, to direct their efforts. The legions and their sires are conqueror's tools and nothing more.'_
'You mean...the Thunder Warriors?' Sibel asked weakly.
'Like them, burning brightly but briefly. But the Emperor and I could not conduct the Great Crusade with genhanced mortals. We needed something greater, something stronger to reclaim the stars. And in order to control it, we needed a lifespan of the Legion Astartes that had nothing to do with aging or timed infirmity. Believe me when I say it Sibel Niasta, this was always intended to be the final act of the Crusade. We wanted the Primarchs to turn against one another, against their father.'
'Be assured, we maneuvered each of them from the moment of their rediscovery. Pitting them against each other, stoking their brotherly rivalries with his unequal favour. It was not difficult, no more so than positioning pieces on a Cheops board. Those who could not be managed -- well -- they would never reach the endgame.'
~ Malcador, First Lord of the Imperium Audiobook
The Emperor and Malcador knew a civil war was coming and even planned for it as a means to cull the Primarchs and Astartes the way they did with the Thunder Warriors. The Thunder Warriors had faults installed within them so their lifespans are limited. He couldn't do this with the Primarchs and Astartes since these faults would've made then unsuitable for the tasks that he needed them to do.
Astartes and Primarchs were never the goal, they were means to an end. Malcador and the Emperor always always intended for humans to govern themselves in the end. This is why he treated half his Primarchs like shit (Angron, Lorgar, Kurze, Perturabo, Mortarion, etc). He knew half was going to fall anyway so he might as well rig it to get rid of the damaged ones. Horus himself lamented the fact that the brothers he's got on his side are all bargain bin, bottom-of-the-barrel Primarchs.
Sources:
Outcast Dead Novel
The Board is Set Short Story
First Lord of the Imperium Audiobook
The Last Council Short Story
Goal 4: Tying it all together, the Imperial Webway, Starving the Gods and Human Evolution
+I have conquered humanity’s cradle-world. I have conquered the galaxy, in order to shape mankind’s development as it at last evolves into a psychic race. No isolated pockets of our species may remain free, lest in their ignorance they invite destruction upon us all. I have shattered the hold of faith and fear over the human mind. Superstition and religion must continue to be outlawed, for they are easy doors for the warp’s denizens to enter the human heart. This is what we have already done. And soon I will offer humanity a way of interstellar travel without reliance upon Geller fields and Navigators. I will offer them means of communicating between worlds without reliance on the warp-dreams of astropaths. And when the Imperium shields the entire species within the laws of my Pax Imperialis, when humanity is freed from the warp and united beneath my vision, I can at last shepherd mankind’s growth into a psychic race.+
~ The Emperor, Master of Mankind Novel
The purpose of the Imperial Webway is not controversial, nor is the Emperor's goal to starve the Chaos Gods and shepherd the Human Evolution so I won't get into that.
In fact, it was all going swimmingly -- Great Crusade is basically done, they managed to kill the Ullanor Empire on time, the seeds of the heresy has been planted by the treatment of his undesirable sons and all he had to do now was set it all off. And so, to push things over the edge, he appointed an arrogant, but well-liked Primarch by the name of Horus as Warmaster then retired home to finish the Webway, knowing full well that doing so will probably trigger the Primarchs to fight amongst themselves, and bait the Pantheon to claim half of them now that they think he's not paying attention.
Yep, everything was going great! But then... Magnus... Magnus went ahead and did nothing wrong.
Where it all went wrong
None had ever seen such a dreadful apparition, the true heart of a being so mighty that it could only beat while encased in super-engineered flesh.
The Emperor alone recognised this rapturous angel, and his heart broke to see it.
“Magnus,” he said.
“Father,” replied Magnus.
Their minds met, and in that moment of frozen connection the galaxy changed forever.
~ Excerpt from A Thousand Sons: the exact moment when Magnus did nothing wrong
Magnus was never supposed to fall, he was the one Primarch that the Emperor needed on his side. That's why he paid special attention to Magnus (even when he was still a foetus), having long heart-to-heart chats with him, flying with Magnus in their Astral forms, etc.
Even the Nikaean edict I think he only did as a bandage measure to keep the crusade chugging along to meet his 200 year deadline to kill the Ork Empire before they really got going.
This is why the Emperor never really bothered enforcing the Edict. Think about it! Do you really believe he doesn't know that the Thousand Sons were still practicing sorcery after the edict? That he doesn't know the Stormseers and Rune Priests of the V and VI Legions are playing with warp powers? He knows full well his some of sons were outright ignoring the edict and he let them carry on. Why? because it was all show to appease Mortarion and his cronies so they stayed loyal a little while longer to meet the deadline.
Hell, even after he did nothing wrong, the Emperor STILL told Russ to just bring Magnus back in one piece so he can help fix the problem (that was totally not his fault).
The civil war was completely and entirely manageable but for Magnus.
Think about it, Horus's alliance was fragile as fuck. He was desperate to break Terra before his forces implode into infighting. As it is, Horus barely makes it to Terra on time and even then, he still failed to finish the job.
Had the Emperor not been tied to the chair to keep Magnus' (non)Folly from consuming Terra he could've assisted with rebuilding Corax's legion, dispelling the Ruinstorm, co-ordinating with Guilliman/Sangui/Lion, quelling the Martian Rebellion, etc. He would've easily broken Horus before they got anywhere near Terra.
Sources:
Magnus the Red: Master of Prospero Novel
Deliverance Lost Novel
Scars Novel
A Thousand Sons Novel
Wolfsbane Novel
Slaves to Darkness Novel
Contingency Plans
The path had taken much out of him, perhaps even some mote of his soul, but he told himself it had been worth it. Fate had been rewritten.
Feeling weary beyond his years, Eldrad closed his eyes and let the vision come. He watched the future unspool before him, a mere observer to fate, a passenger to destiny. He watched the ending of the war and he saw what followed, some ten thousand years hence.
And he wept.
~ Old Earth Novel
Ok, so Magnus did nothing wrong and that retard Lemon has made him my enemy. This is bad. At this point the Emperor knows he can no longer have his cake and eat it too. The shining path is now barred and so he knows complete victory was no longer attainable. So what does he do? I argue this is when he began implementing plan B (Source: Outcast Dead) to just... stop an overwhelming victory by the other side.
He co-ordinated with Eldrad to defy the prophecies of both the Cabal and the Pantheon, to set events in motion that takes 10,000 years to come to fruition (Source: Old Earth Novel, Armour of Fate). The details of these plans have not been fully revealed but there are suggestions here and there that the return of Guilliman and the events of the Dark Imperium is part of it.
Fate Unraveled
Roboute Guilliman’s return vexed Kairos deeply; according to every omen, every foretelling and strand of fate visible to him, it should not have occurred. Yet it had, and the resurrected Primarch now loomed large over all of Kairos’ schemes. The Lord of Change could not dare to wait and see how Guilliman might skew the paths of fate; the Primarch had to be dealt with, and swiftly.
~ Rise of the Primarch
In the recent Dark Imperium Novels and Rise of the Primarch book it's made abundantly clear that Guilliman was never supposed to rise. The Pantheon never saw this coming (as Kairos Fateweaver and Mortarion pointed out). The comfortable patterns of the last 10,000 years were broken with him coming back and all of a sudden, the ending that was pre-ordained is no longer guaranteed. That's why all the big names are now coming back to play the game again.
This theme is also made clear in the novel Lords of Silence. Nothing is set in stone anymore, for the first time since the siege, the remnants of the Traitor Legions are free to do whatever they want. The paths ordained to them by the Pantheon were broken with the fall of Cadia.
My guess is that these events are a part of what Eldrad and the Emperor was setting for all those years ago. Everything is up for grabs again.
The Emperor never planned to sit on the chair forever, just long enough for 10,000 years of a quintillion souls worshipping to truly make him a God in the immaterium strong enough to challenge the Pantheon.
He never wanted to be a God (despite it being easier to just let it happen), he chose only Godhood when no other alternative was available to him to preserve mankind.
Think about it, for all we know the Emperor is 50,000 years old, sitting in a chair for 10,000 years is like a serving a 10-year prison sentence to him.
To take the analogy further, he plead guilty to a crime he didn't to protect his family from the mob bosses. He's been serving his jail sentence while lifting weights and planning his revenge for when he gets out.
Yes, his house and family has fallen apart while he was in jail, yes everything has turned to shit and half his sons were recruited by the mob families. But the alternative was was worse. Besides, after 10,000 years his sentence is almost up, one of his sons has woken up from a coma and is starting to set some of his affairs in order. His lawyer and accomplice Eldrad has been working behind the scenes in accordance with their plans all those years ago and some of his other sons who've serving abroad in the military is coming home soon to help him take his revenge!
Abaddon
‘We have an abundance of freedom. The spaces between worlds are emptier than ever before. I see symmetries in the equations I have never seen before.
Abaddon has unpicked something profound, hasn’t he? You know what he’s done, don’t you?’
~ Philemon of the Lord of Silence
‘Why are your eyes gold?’ I ask Abaddon.
He closes them for a moment, touching his fingertips to them. ‘I looked into the Astronomican for a long, long time, listening to its verses and choruses. The Emperor’s Light did this to me.’
‘Does it hurt?’
His answering nod hides more than it reveals. ‘A little. No one ever said enlightenment came without cost, Khayon.’
~ Iskandar Khayon, speaking to Abaddon in the Novel Talon of Horus
If you're so conspiratorially inclined you can then also fit in the theory that Abaddon breaking Cadia is part of the Emperor's plan. A few things actually support this theory:
Abaddon has been staring at and been hypnotised by the Astronomican for so long that his eyes are permanently bleached gold. Who knows what kind of sub-sub-sub conscious, inception-style indoctrination has been implanted into his mind during this period. (Source: Talon of Horus)
He was basically gifted Drach'nyen by a Golden Warrior (likely Ra Endymion) as a means to kill the Emperor and thereby releasing him from his throne. Drach'nyen is fated to kill the Emperor anyway, so the Emperor figured he'd rig the game so that he only dies after he's become a God. (Sources: Master of Mankind, Black Legion Codex)
Abaddon has been taking private advice from the Prophetess of the Black Legion Moriana. Moriana is a renown thorian resurrectionist who turned ""traitor"". Khayon outright said that he doesn't trust Moriana because he believes she has ulterior motives. She does. She's in on the scheme to resurrect the Emperor. It's been stated multiple times that Moriana's goals are her own and she is utterly indifferent to the schemes of the Pantheon. (Source: Black Legion, The Thorians Sourcebook)
To top it off, the Emperor manipulating the Chaos Gods' Warmaster, Abaddon to serve his own goal is a poetic retribution for how they manipulated the Emperor's Warmaster, Horus to serve theirs. Hell, he might even set off a chaos civil war just when they're about to take their final victory and call it The Abaddon Absolution
Conclusion
So there you have it folks! We can see from the above that there is some evidence that the current 40k timeline is not as hopeless as you might've thought.
The Emperor has a backup plan, I'm convinced of it. Don't know what it is exactly and it may still all be fruitless in the end but there is yet hope. The past 10,000 years, while not ideal has been foreseen by both Eldrad and the Emperor and I do believe the alternative was worse. As it stand, I think there will be a final reckoning soon as their plan bears fruit.
I'm guessing all this will be revealed towards the end of the Siege of Terra series, but until then I've got this all written down now so I can compare notes when they do reveal it.
Anyway, that's all I got, sorry for the wall of text. Was bored at work nearing the Christmas break so there's not a whole lot to do!
Hope you enjoy it. Any thoughts/comments, let me know!
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