Catamount, on 23 December 2011 - 12:06 PM, said:
10,000 years ago when the Imperium was in its Golden Age, directly after the Dark Age of Technology and the Age of Strife. This is the civilization you speak of.
This is the reality of it all.
In Warhammer 30,000 it wasn't any different.
If you were religious in Warhammer 30,000, you'd be persecuted and not uncommonly beaten to death. If you didn't accept the secular Imperial Truth you were just as persecuted as you are in Warhammer 40,000 for not bowing to the Imperial Cult. In Warhammer 30,000 the people rejected the notion of spirits, daemons and super natural forces as completely impossible. They were just as close minded about things science couldn't prove as the Imperium is in Warhammer 40,000 about issues going against the Imperial Creed.
Do you have any idea how many species of aliens were exterminated in Warhammer 30,000 for being non-humans during the Emperor's Great Crusade? They have entire museums of preserved aliens in stasis to catalogue the civilizations they've annhilated.
Not much has changed in the mentality of the way the Imperium operates. It's just a switch from rationalism to fundamentalism.
Take for example during the book "Horus Rising", the main character(Loken) has a conversation with his mentor about the ethics of forcing Imperium rule on civilizations through military force. He asked if it was right to force their way of life on people, what if they want to live their own way Loken asked. This was their little debate. "If you see a boy drowing in a lake what do you do?" "I jump in and save him." "What if the boy is afraid of you and doesn't want to be rescued?" "I save him anyways, it's for his benefit." "Isn't that the same issue with the people we bring the Imperial Truth to?"
There is no better world many people believe existed in Warhammer. It's just a change in philosophy, the governing and mentality remains intact. In Warhammer 30,000 the people were just ignorant to the inevitability of Chaos.
The Imperium shuns the technology of other species as a defense against Chaos. All machines have a "Machine Spirit" and the equipment of alien species could have tainted machine spirits which could introduce Chaos corruption into the Imperium's ranks. Does it slow down their research of technology? Yes. But defense against chaos is drastically more important than technological advancement because technology doesn't help you fight Chaos.
That is the truth about the before and after of the Imperium of Man.
The Imperium of Man is the essence of survival. It's easy to say they're backwards if you don't have a thorough understanding of Warhammer 40,000.
When it comes to Star Trek, I admittedly know as much as the next guy who watched the TV shows. But when you talk about Warhammer 40,000 you are stepping onto my side of the field, and I have a wealth of knowledge about the lore of Warhammer 40,000.
Edited by Miles Tails Prower, 24 December 2011 - 02:21 AM.