Comprehensive Guide to the Origin Question in the Warhammer and
Warhammer 40K Universe
[Introduction] [Part 1 - Chaos] [Part 2 - The Old World] [Part 3 - Sigmar] [Part 4 - The Tyranid]
The Origin of the Old World
Copies of Lustrian Tablets
Among the many treasures stolen from Lustria by Tilean explorers over the last 1000 years are some curious clay tablets. These tablets are surprising for several reasons, not the least of which is their apparent lack of value. They are written on, well, clay. No gold, or bronze, or any other form of valuable decoration grace their surface. The circumstances under which they were bought to Tilea are uncertain, but the best guess is that they must have been stored with other, more valuable (to the Tileans) goods, and were taken simply for completeness. These tablets are also curious because the language in which they are written differs from that appearing on any other known tablet. Nothing like it has ever been seen.
In truth, even the Slann from whom these tablets were stolen are unable to read them. Only the Slann of the First Spawning knew this language, for it was the language of their teachers, the Old Ones, the spacefaring Slann whose name they adopted after their masters left this world. Lord Kroak (before he became the Venerable Lord Kroak) enjoyed these writings, for they reminded him of his long-departed masters. He ordered these entries copied every hundred years, that they would not fade or be broken, so he could enjoy them at his leisure. His skink aides continued following this order long after he had passed on, even though they did not understand why. The loss of the tablets has not caused much consternation among the lizardmen, for none other than Lord Kroak had an interest in these tablets. In fact, the skink servants have continued to make their copies, simply using an older copy that had not been stolen.
As neither the Tileans nor the lizardmen have a strong interest in these tablets, it was a simple matter for me to get a copy, thus to share that information here. Fortunately I can translate old Slann.
A word or two of explanation must precede the actual entries. The headings give this project a name, and I translate that as 'Project Mirror.' However, the actual word used also has connotations of 'Reflection,' and 'Reality.' There is no direct translation in English. This is a situation that recurs several times in the journal - the author goes into considerable technical detail, and there simply aren't English translations. In some cases I have simply omitted those passages, for they really do not add anything significant to the narrative, and we are unlikely to be able to duplicate their experiments even if we understood the details. In others I have made my best guess as to what they meant, and used terms similar to those of Dr. Tribblestrom's lecture (see Origin of Warhammer Pt. 1).
Finally, I should note how this journal is organized. There were many directors of this project, although given Slann organization, the term 'director' may be misleading. Each time a director left the project, it would make an entry in this journal, describing what was accomplished during its tenure. Many took the opportunity to also describe significant events during that same period, and these are often of much greater interest to us. Sadly, the Slann are atypically careless in providing dates for these events. I have sometimes put in my best guess for the period each entry covers. Hopefully you will find these entries as enlightening as I have.
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Project Mirror Logs
Selected Entries
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First Entry (~200,000 BC - ~100,000 BC)
Project Mirror has begun, and is well underway at the time I depart. The greatest effort of the project during my tenure was simply finding an entrance into the stable pocket of space surrounding this world. At this time, the space surrounding the world has been mapped, and a stable gate constructed, giving access to the world through a warp passage gate
[Considerable technical detail follows, presumably concerned with entering the space, and constructing the gate. A few non-technical passages are included, and are excerpted for general interest. ]
Birth of Tzeentch
The project began with destruction. While the potential of high order warp entities was known to exist, it was generally believed that our stabilization devices were sufficient to prevent the creation of anything more than a 3rd order creature. The sudden beginning of a creature tentatively measured as an 8th order creature, which has name itself Tzeentch, stunned every one. It occurred at a time of fluke circumstances, an instability that existed for only a few instants, but though the probability of such an event occurring was low, it happened, and for maximum results. A large number of stabilization devices were destroyed, and that entire project was set back by millenia.
This occurrence has further annihilated the Jokaero, that marvelous civilization that has grown near our own. Their minds are destroyed, and in a way that brings sadness to any who see them. No longer able to speak, or work together, their civilization is truly ended. But they remain unquestionably clever, and their mechanical aptitude is, if anything, increased. Enough of what they were remains to remind us, and them, of what they were, while providing no possibility they can ever regain those heights.
Though this has caused us to lose much more than we have gained, we have nevertheless made some small gain. The disruption caused by Tzeentch's creation has revealed many previously unknown stable pockets of space. The stable pockets are holding pens for large amounts of pseudo-mass, and many seem to have strange, and in some cases useful, properties. At least one pocket, the focus of Project Mirror, has condensed into a planetary system. Its isolation from warp space will allow us to perform experimentation there that we could not risk in the larger universe.
Entering the Stable Pocket
Entering the stable pocket proved extraordinarily difficult. The spatial metrics resist tampering, and the usual methods for forming warp gates are effectively useless here. We had to spend many centuries living in warp space while trying to open a passage. The warp has been disrupted since the creation of Tzeentch. There are eddies in the warp that did not exist before, requiring a nearly constant application of engine power. It remains uncertain whether this is merely a result of the destruction of so many stabilization devices, or whether it is a now permanent addition to the warp.
Description of the Old World
Entrance to the stable pocket revealed a stellar system, precisely as expected. It also revealed a large surprise - we could see the stars from that system. It took nearly 1,000 years to solve this problem. This pocket actually exists in real space. However, the stable pocket bends that space around the system. The result of this is that, while we exist in real space, it is not possible to reach this spot from real space, or to travel from here to anywhere else in real space, except by passing through the warp. Only when the stable pocket collapses will this system rejoin the rest of the universe, instead of being destroyed itself. That event will occur in 2.46 billion years.
When we arrived, the planet of interest was bare rock, without a usable atmosphere. We altered the core, provided an atmosphere, added liquid water, and introduced plant life sufficient to sustain life. The project is now ready for the next phase.
Second Entry (~100,000 BC - ~40,000 BC)
Project Mirror has been delayed due to the discovery of warp interaction in the system, previously thought impossible. Initial life encoding has begun.
Lizardmen added
The amount of work required on the Mirror world required the addition of a labor force. A class of servants has been created using genetic stock from our home world, modified to be capable of following complex orders. Although they were created with minimal warp sensitivity in mind, it has been decided not to introduce them into the outside universe. They will be isolated on the Mirror world, and permitted only minimal development.
These creatures have, despite their limitations, proven of great use in the project. The amount of labor involved in creating a viable, controlled ecosystem was drastically underestimated. The creation of new hands to work with was invaluable. I strongly recommend their inclusion in the other projects.
Discovery of Magic
The greatest delay in the project came with the discovery that there was warp interaction in the Mirror world. One of our servant classes, skinks, proved capable of sensing the warp in this world. Our instruments were able to confirm this, although the warp properties are significantly different than they are in the wider universe, which is why it was missed in the earlier scans. Project advancement was halted while this development was investigated.
After a large amount of research, the properties of this new interaction have been categorized. Warp access was found to be much more difficult, and would be more susceptible to training. The properties that allow access were categorized, and a new servant class developed to test these theories. The new class, Borbs, was successful, with 100% access to the warp. They were given class 3 sapience, and will be used as intermediaries in overseeing the other servants. No reproductive capabilities were included, as this class is to be strictly limited.
Research on the properties of warp access advanced, but is still continuing at this time. Each property is taught to the Borbs as it is developed. They have proven adept at its use, and can use it to aid in directing the underlings. A pattern of warp energy has been overlain on the Mirror World for them to use in transportation.
Creation of Dwarves
A permanent race has been added to the Mirror world. They had begun developing from pre-sapient fauna. We took advantage of the opportunity to modify them against warp access, in fact to make them resistant to warp access. Since access to warp powers is likely to be evolutionarily advantageous, great care had to be taken to ensure that their stable state remained inaccessibly. While occasional bursts of access ability are likely, each such event should damp out over time.
One side effect of modification is a marked preference for caves and underground dwelling. The reasons for this are unclear, and deserve further study. It makes observation of this race more difficult, and must be avoided in the future.
This race is added to Project Mirror, despite not existing in the outside. Their immunity to access makes them a valuable control element, and they may be introduced to the outside at a later date in order to observe how that immunity translates to the outside warp properties.
Third Entry (~40,000 BC - ~10,000 BC)
Project Mirror has begun acting on its core imperative. Two races have been modified, introduced, and observed.
[Considerable technical detail about the modifications follow. Those portions I could follow have been excerpted and condensed. This particular Slann used much more jargon than his predecessors. ]
Modified Eldar and Orks
The Eldar race has been introduced into the Mirror world. Their lifespan has been shortened, and their warp sensitivity reduced. They have received training in magic arts, in order to aid their survival.
The ork races have been introduced into the Mirror world. Their reproduction has been slowed, and altered to be more consistent with other species native to the world. Their warp sensitivity has been retuned to the specifics of this world, but continues to operate along similar principles. Implanted knowledges have been removed entirely. Three intelligent species have been transported, the original Brainboyz species, their first warrior creation, gretchin, and their final warrior creation, orks. We have decided not to undo the Brainboyz fall, and to leave them nearly unmodified, as so-called snotlings. Supplementary races, in the form of squigs, have also been imported.
Fourth Entry (~10,000 BC - ~0 AD)
Project Mirror has been modified extensively due to the calamitous events of the last 10 millenia.
New Chaos Gods
The long period since the creation of Tzeentch allowed us to believe we had regained control of warp space, despite the now obvious signs to the contrary. Our best efforts had not ever eliminated the rogue creation, nor had warp space returned to its previous state of clam, despite a near tripling of the stabilization devices. Smaller entities were created on a regular basis now, but these smaller entities were up to 4th order creatures, where once 2nd order was rare. The Eldar alone had a whole host of gods, some of whom were up to 5th order, and Khaine appeared to be 6th order in some respects. The ork entities, Gork and Mork, have proven resistant to classification, but are estimated at 5th order.
In a rapid series of calamities, 2 new entities, each of roughly the same strength as the original Tzeentch, have been created, in a period of less than a single millennia. While no race was destroyed in the same manner as the Jokaero collapse, each of the two creations did display the same worst-case nature as the original, doing massive damage to the stabilization network, which now hangs by a thread. The new entities, first Nurgle, than Khorne, have altered warp space in ways that we know now cannot be reversed.
It has taken heroic efforts to prevent them from actually touching the Mirror World. New generations of Borbs have been created, to be supervised largely by their elders, in order to reinforce the warp gate, and to protect the old travel lines. Considerable thought has gone into deactivating the travel lines, but they are still more of a boon than a detriment. In the future that may change, and the project must keep a watch on those lines.
Introduction of Warp Entities
In the most controversial decision of the project, some of the warp entities have been introduced to the Mirror world. It appears inevitable that the stabilization project shall fail. When that happens, the full force of the warp entities, the so-called Chaos Gods, will descend on this project. They know it has been our work that has inhibited them for so long, and so we know we will be prime targets, and thus unlikely to be able to protect the project ourselves.
Instead, we have taken those entities that appear to serve as racial protectors, and allowed them to copy themselves, that copy to be introduced into the mirror project, after some appropriate modification. For the elves, we have taken Khaine, Isha, Kuournos, Asuryan, and others of the vast Eldar host of Gods. For the orcs, Gork and Mork have both been introduced.
It is our hope that these entities, strengthened by years of familiarity with the project, will prove able to resist the warp intrusion when it comes. It must be recognized that this greatly diminishes the effectiveness of the project in evaluating the race's resistance to warp intrusion in real space. The length of the project must be increased by at least a factor of 8.
Fifth Entry (~0 AD - ~5,000 AD)
A new race has added themselves to the project, changing it in ways even more fundamental than the introduction of warp entities.
The Warp Child
The human race has attracted our interest. They are entering the wider universe just as we are tiring of it, and their energy and enthusiasm is a refreshing sight. Their resistance to the warp is minimal, but they also have little access to it. They do have enough to cause damage, and original simulations predicted a very short lifespan for this species.
That changed with the discovery of a form of protection. One human exists who interacts with the warp on a level we cannot duplicate, and can barely measure. He acts on the warp in some ways as our old stabilization devices did, only he acts on the warp as it is now, where our devices in their vast numbers prove barely adequate. He is able to shield his entire race for now. Our simulations now show that their warp access will grow faster than their resistance, which will eventually create a crisis state for this being. We are unable to understand him well enough to know how he will react.
Addition of Humanity
Without understanding how it happened, a colony of humans appeared in the Mirror world. We surmise the Warp Child placed them there, though he did it without using the warp gate or any other form of entrance of which we are aware. They have not been modified by any of our procedures. Their ability to access the warp here is less than it is outside, but it does exist.
We have decided to accept the humans as part of the project. They will not be modified, but will be accepted unchanged as part of the project. The Warp Child will join the Eldar as our successors in fighting the warp entities, and so we shall accept his judgement on adding humans to the experiment. We shall begin to change the world to suit them, instead of changing them to suit the world. We have issued orders to that effect to our Borb servants.
Sixth Entry (~5,000 AD - ~10,000 AD)
The project has ended in disaster. We are not what we were, and no longer part of the fight. We will continue to live only until we finally die. Corruption of the Eldar
Many of our hopes have long ridden on the Eldar, who appeared to be our successors in the great battle. An apparent resistance balanced their great warp sensitivity, but it seems now that the resistance was merely a great form of mental discipline. And discipline can be broken. The rise of a mercenary attitude among them, along with increasing concern for pleasure, has shown their weakness.
Our elves have been altered enough that they do not show the same weaknesses, but we have begun to doubt our judgement. We debated destroying their line, in order to protect the orcs and humans, and the dwarves as well. We chose against it, and now it is too late to reverse that decision.
Birth of Slaanesh
The Eldar corruption revealed itself in the birth of a new high order entity, Slaanesh. Again occurring under the worst possible circumstances, the entire stabilization project was blown away. Our warp gate into Project Mirror became a gaping maw into the warp. Those of us who have not left already will soon offer ourselves to the advancing warp entities, in an effort to spare our servants, who deserve better than what we have given them.
Some few of our race survive outside the project, I know. They saw what was coming, but not in time to warn us. They retuned their own minds, that they may still access warp space safely. But the cost was to remove themselves from the fight, for they are no longer capable of effecting warp space either. With the Eldar fallen, and possibly suffering the same fate as our long lost friends the Jokaero, all our hopes for the future now rest on the Warp Child. Humanity here must be protected. But it will not be by us, for we go now to die.
Written by: Drew Garrett