Chapter 412: Audience with the Emperor! Resource Exchange, Abominable Intelligence!
"I wonder if we can use the Force or psychic powers here," Luke Skywalker muttered to himself. He could feel the Force within him, still functioning normally even in the Warhammer universe.
But he dared not act rashly.
"It's best not to," Paul said, shaking his head in reply. "Our Force and psychic powers ultimately function by harnessing energy from higher-dimensional space."
"We ourselves don't actually possess that much supernatural power."
Energy doesn't disappear into nothingness, nor does it arise from nothing. All supernatural abilities work by manipulating energy already present in the universe.
Even the strongest human couldn't store much energy in their own body.
So if Luke were to use the Force in the Warhammer universe, it would most likely tap into the Warp to power his abilities.
And that would draw the attention of the Chaos Gods.
That's why Paul and other warriors who possessed supernatural abilities had to be extremely cautious in using their power—unless absolutely necessary, it was best left untouched.
Besides, the top brass of the Universal Megacorp currently viewed this universe as a goldmine—one they hoped to exploit for technological benefits while getting the Imperium of Man to help consolidate control over it.
Now, Paul and his team had traveled all the way to Terra precisely to further these two goals.
[Ding! Visitors from afar, the Emperor awaits you in the Imperial Palace of Terra. Please follow me.]
Down on the surface, a group of servitors—hybrid constructs of flesh and machine—greeted Paul and the others with emotionless voices.
These servitors were once human slaves, surgically transformed into flesh-and-metal automatons, akin to bio-mechanical robots, mainly used in service roles.
Tasks included engineering, data logging, computation, menial labor, and even security.
Paul glanced at the crude workmanship of these servitors—reminiscent of the cybernetic augmentation scene in Night City some fifty years ago—and immediately formed a rough estimate of the Imperium's level of bioengineering.
Clearly, cost efficiency was prioritized over aesthetics. As long as they could move and work, nothing else mattered.
Whether they broke down, had a nervous collapse, or walked around with a few ragged wires dangling out of their brains—none of that was the Emperor's concern.
Soon, under the servitors' escort, Paul and his team boarded an Imperial vessel and entered the capital world of Terra, where they were met with an overwhelming reception.
The landing site was packed shoulder to shoulder with people, none more excited than the Tech-priests and worshippers of the Adeptus Mechanicus from Mars, who looked like they might leap right into the airships from sheer enthusiasm.
As per the Emperor's prearranged itinerary, Paul and his group were swiftly escorted away by the Custodes and taken directly to the heavily guarded Imperial Palace.
There, the Emperor—who had been waiting for some time—finally met with the Megacorp's envoy.
Unlike his Primarch sons, the Emperor's physique was even larger, roughly equivalent in stature to V.
To receive the envoys, the Emperor had forgone his heavy golden armor and instead wore a flowing white robe, crowned with a wreath that made him resemble a god from myth.
His gaze was majestic yet compassionate as he looked upon his fellow humans.
After a round of introductions and brief pleasantries, the Emperor got straight to the point:
"The galaxy is under siege by the Warp. I am pleased to meet humans from before the Age of Strife—it signifies the possibility of a revived Imperium."
In a single sentence, the Emperor simultaneously laid out the Warp threat and drew the Universal Megacorp closer, emphasizing their shared humanity.
One family, one cause. Come on, Megacorp bros, let's see that tech.
Paul gazed up at the Emperor's solemn visage and had to admit—the man radiated an intense, godlike presence.
Words like benevolence, power, and dignity seemed tailor-made to describe him.
Even Paul, who had seen more than his fair share of wonders, couldn't help but feel dazed in the Emperor's presence.
And this was while they were protected inside their own extradimensional barrier.
Without it, they likely would've been overwhelmed by the Emperor's psychic might and willingly knelt to offer their undying loyalty to the Imperium.
"Indeed, that's exactly why we're here," Paul replied calmly.
At that, the Emperor began carefully observing Paul and his companions.
He could tell that none of them had left any psychic imprint in the Warp—a strong confirmation of what Guilliman and Horus had told him.
The Universal Megacorp really did possess a way to shield themselves from the Warp's influence.
This greatly pleased the Emperor. If the Imperium could acquire such a technology, the Warp's threat would be significantly reduced.
Interesting… If their reflections aren't in the Warp, where are they stored?
The Emperor had never seen a human capable of completely erasing their psychic projection—unless they had no soul, which was clearly not the case here.
Even the Emperor himself, as powerful as he was, had a projection in the Warp.
Of course, the Chaos Gods avoided his presence like the plague—his sheer power made him untouchable.
Then, extending his perception, the Emperor used his psychic abilities to probe deeper into the envoys—and quickly detected something strange.
An isolated space independent of the Warp? How did they pull that off?
Surprised at first, the Emperor quickly followed with disappointment.
Creating a separate dimension within the Warp to store one's psychic presence was certainly a clever approach.
But it wouldn't save the Imperium. Such a space could never hold the entirety of humanity's souls.
Still, he attempted to analyze and take control of the anomaly.
But soon, he realized this dimensional space was encrypted using some unknown technique—even he couldn't access it!
Noticing the subtle shift in the Emperor's expression, Paul immediately realized he was being psychically examined.
Without fear, he met the Emperor's gaze head-on, almost as if daring him: Go ahead—try and crack our dimensional shielding.
And that's exactly what the Emperor was doing.
He focused all his attention on Paul, his psychic force raging through the Warp, trying to breach the extradimensional shield and reach Paul's soul projection.
But it was all in vain.
The encryption on that space had been applied by Megatronus's Chaotic Entropy, making it so complex that even Megatronus himself would need considerable time to break it.
Even the Emperor, with all his might, might be able to forcibly destroy the space—but he could never decipher or control it.
The same held true for the four Chaos Gods.
Now this is a fascinating technology… the Emperor thought, finally abandoning his efforts to break the seal.
"Esteemed Emperor," Paul said, stepping forward, "The Universal Megacorp came here precisely because we're aware of the many challenges facing the Imperium."
"As fellow humans, we have much to discuss."
Before coming to Terra, Paul had done his homework.
The Emperor was the closest thing to a god that humanity had in the Warhammer universe—a being of near-divine power. If the Universal Megacorp wanted to get anything out of him, the prerequisite was genuine sincerity.
Trying to deceive the Emperor? That never ended well.
Moreover, the Emperor had a defining trait: he never loved individuals—not even his own gene-son Primarchs.
His love extended only to the human species as a whole.
So when Paul played the emotional card of "we are all human," it was no coincidence that the Emperor's impression of them improved, if only slightly.
Seeing the slight easing of the Emperor's previously furrowed brow, Paul continued:
"We can provide the Imperium with secure and stable interstellar navigation technology. With it, the Warp and its daemons would no longer be obstacles to the Empire's expansion."
"But at the same time, we also have demands. Even among fellow humans, the universal law of equivalent exchange must be upheld."
Here, Paul laid out the core philosophy of the Universal Megacorp, making their terms abundantly clear.
The Emperor remained expressionless on the surface, but inside, Paul's words stirred up a storm of emotion.
Secure and reliable interstellar travel—this was precisely the Imperium's most urgent crisis.
To maintain a vast interstellar empire, rapid and efficient transportation was absolutely vital.
It was also the foundation of centralized authority.
If the Warp's daemons and Chaos gods were allowed to sever supply lines, sow disorder, and threaten isolated human star systems, the Imperium's dominion would be placed in constant peril.
At this point, the Emperor would consider even a slower-than-light route—so long as it avoided Warp influence—a treasure beyond price.
"If you can truly deliver what you promise," the Emperor said, carefully concealing his excitement so as not to draw Warp attention, "then make your requests. Speak freely."
"Our ancestors departed the Milky Way before they could witness the splendor of the Golden Age. So we hope the Imperium will grant us access to its technological vaults—to the creations of that age—so that we may study and understand them."
"In return, we will provide the Imperium with a secure method of interstellar navigation and share the results of our research into Golden Age technologies."
Paul, who had prepared his pitch well in advance, now stated the Universal Megacorp's terms with complete transparency.
The Emperor was surprised. The artifacts of the Golden Age weren't easy to decipher. Could the Megacorp truly pull this off?
To this, Paul replied confidently: "We possess the most advanced scientific system in our civilization, with no fewer than five megastructures dedicated solely to research."
What Paul referred to as "research megastructures" were the Infinite Engine facilities.
Within the Science Nexus Division, much of the heavy lifting was actually performed by AI. Most repetitive and high-volume tasks had long been delegated to artificial intelligence.
After hearing Paul's explanation, even the normally composed Emperor furrowed his brow. A rare flicker of dread passed through his eyes.
"You're using Abominable Intelligence?!"
In the Imperium's worldview, all AI was classified under the terrifying term "Abominable Intelligence"—a complete rejection of what the Megacorp saw as artificial intelligence.
Paul didn't try to deny it. He nodded without hesitation.
The rise of the Universal Megacorp—from a modest cyber-era company to a galaxy-spanning corporate superpower—had been built on the explosive productivity unlocked by AI.
Artificial intelligence was a double-edged sword. Its prosperity came with the inherent risk of annihilating the civilizations that created it. But the Megacorp had ways to mitigate that risk.
And that was what set them apart from the Imperium.
The moment Paul casually admitted to using the Empire's most heretical technology, the atmosphere in the palace turned heavy and stifling.
Everyone in the room knew: the fall of the Golden Age had been caused by the massive Iron Men rebellion.
It was one of humanity's most devastating historical traumas—a wound that still throbbed painfully whenever remembered.
Yet here was the Megacorp, like a clueless child, holding a ticking time bomb in its hands and leaping around joyfully, utterly unaware of how close it danced to death.
Under the Emperor's questioning gaze and the doubtful, tense stares of the Imperial ministers, Paul and Luke remained perfectly calm, meeting the Emperor's eyes without flinching.
They were immune to Warp influence. The Emperor's psychic pressure had only limited effect on them.
Otherwise, by now, the Emperor would've already manifested his wrath as invisible pressure, crushing Paul to his knees.
"Honored Emperor," Paul said, "our civilization's development took a very different path. What you consider demonic, we see as a productive ally."
"Under the control of the Matrix, all of our AI systems not only function in mass production but are also absolutely loyal to humanity."
"An event like the Iron Men rebellion has never occurred under our governance."
Paul spoke frankly—but not completely truthfully.
Because in the Megacorp's territory, there had been uprisings by clones and synthetic humans.
However, without exception, those uprisings were caused by rogue actors tampering with AI data—sabotage, not failure of the systems themselves.
And under the iron grip of the Blade Runners, such troubles were easily crushed. These rebellious AIs were typically too primitive to fall under full Matrix supervision.
In contrast, major systems like shipboard AI, high-intelligence combat AI, military-grade systems, or Transcendent-class AIs like Bathmos or Europa, and the Infinite Engine itself, were all under strict control by the Matrix.
Paul's argument left the Emperor in a moment of silence.
If the Imperium could control AI as completely as the Megacorp did, the Emperor would have welcomed its return.
After all, while the Iron Men had brought ruin, they had also been instrumental in building humanity's Golden Age.
Without AI's technological assistance, how could mankind have ever achieved such glory?
Everything had two sides.
…Unless you were cheating.
"You are dismissed. No one is to approach without my express command," the Emperor ordered the Custodes and Sisters of Silence in the throne room.
The Custodes were an elite evolution of the Adeptus Astartes, with superior physical prowess.
The Sisters of Silence were immune to Warp corruption and psychic attacks. Their presence alone caused pain and weakness in psykers, and in some cases, prevented them from using their powers altogether.
They were, in essence, walking null fields.
Normally, the Emperor's security detail was composed of these two formidable forces.
Now that he was dismissing them, it was a clear signal:
What followed would touch upon the Imperium's deepest secrets.
No one else was permitted to listen.
(Show your support and read more chapters on my Patreon: [email protected]/psychopet. Thank you for your support!)