In my Inquisitor Roberto Brake stories, I have coined a large number of special terms to describe the operations and officials of the Inquisition. In future stories I do not intend to explain these terms again, so I have produced this glossary
Admonition Major crimes require Correction to restore purity. Admonition is the process of purification by pure Duress and can be used to expiate minor crimes or sins. It is used solely for purification. Those who are admonished confess voluntarily or submit to admonition to purify themselves from unknown Guilt. Self-admonition, also known as self-flagellation, is often used by members of the Ecclesiarchy to maintain their purity. Many members of the Ecclesiarch expose themselves to constant duress to protect themselves from unknowing sinning.
Altar of Truth A piece of equipment to which a subject is strapped to assist in the Interrogation process.
Armor of Faith A special Blessing of the Emperor that provides an almost invulnerable shield to the faithful. Very, very rare. High Inquisitor Sigismondo has one.
Black Lord The common title, inside the Inquisition, for the office of the Inquisitorial Representative to the High Lords of Terra, and one of their members. This office is not usually held by a single person, for life, like the others. The identity of the black Lord is usually secret. High Inquisitor Sigismondo has been the Black lord at some time in the relatively recent past.
Book of the Word A complete collection of the Emperor’s prayers and words, from his life.
Catechism of Faith There are a series of special prayers used only by the Inquisition’s more senior members. They allow the reciter to draw at will on a little of the Emperor’s power. There are six separate verses, Swift Striking, Certain Retribution, Arms of Might, Purity of Purpose, Glorious Smiting and Righteous Fury. The power called can be difficult to control and can injure the user or even draw them into glorious union with the spirit of the Emperor, at the cost of their own life.
Citations A competitive information retrieval exercise involving the quoting of Verses and the appropriate Counter-Verse. The exercise helps electro-graft efficiency.
Correction Again Duress is used to expiate the Guilt. The subject is encouraged to admit their Guilt and so re-purify their soul. It is very important to the Ordo Veritas that the subject survive the Examination, Interrogation and Correction process, so that their purified soul and body may serve the Emperor further.
Duress Physical, mental, chemical and psychic stress applied to break down will and extract the truth.
Electoo This is a complex metallic tattoo, which may also contain micro circuitry. They may also be subcutaneous and so invisible. Electoos may be simple identification or location devices, or complex bio-computers.
Electro-graft A bio-technical brain enhancing implant. Inquisitor Brake’s is optimized for the analysis of facts. Scriptor Karpus’ is optimized for information storage and retrieval. An electro-graft can be programmed with knowledge directly, without the necessity of learning. They degrade over time and with every reprogramming there is the possibility of complete failure. They are rare among ordinary citizens, but common among the upper echelons of the Imperium in all its branches.
Emperor’s Blessing A prayer which allows the purified soul to be joined with the Emperor following death, or be stored for later joining.
Examination This is the first step in the Way of Truth. The subject is put under Duress and questioned to determine their degree of Guilt or to produce untainted testimony. There are various levels of Examination, based on the degree of Duress applied and its duration. The object of Examination is to determine what to do with the subject. It is an investigation procedure. All employees and servants of the Inquisition are subject to Examination at the time of their induction, and at random times thereafter.
Examiner A Servitor-like part human, part machine, that assists an Interrogator in their tasks. They have little or no free will and are thus immune to corruption by the subjects.
High Any person referred to as High, is the most senior of their rank within the organization. High Inquisitor Sigismondo is the highest ranked Inquisitor in the Ordo Veritas, and thus it’s leader. High Deakon Croton is the most senior of all the Deakons in the Shrine to the Emperor as the Savior of Mankind in Pella on Norcross III.
Interrogation Having determined the degree of Guilt during the Examination process, further Duress is applied to explore all aspects of the Guilt. The object is to determine all that have been touched or involved in the subject’s actions. Correction cannot be stared until all the Guilt has been exposed.
Interrogators Interrogators or Interrogator-Examiners are subordinate members of the Inquisition who supervise the details of the Examination, Interrogation, and Correction process. They are technicians. They are responsible for their own staffs of Examiners, which they create, and also build and maintain most of the Interrogation and Admonition equipment.
Litany of Loyalty A long and complex prayer of three hundred and sixty-nine verses, expressing loyalty to the Imperium of Mankind.
Machine spirit Some sort of computer, logic engine or information processing or retrieval device. May be electronic, crystalline, mechanical, biological or some combination of all the above in function.
Mark of Command Most Imperial Adepts undergo some sort of hypno-conditioning. They are all conditioned to obey anyone who displays the Mark of Command without question. The Mark of Command is usually imbedded as a normally invisible Electoo which is displayed by its bearer. The Mark of Command also has a coded temporal component, in addition to its shape. Higher officials still, have hypno-conditioning to negate the effects of the Mark of Command
Mark of Ease The mark of Easy releases a subject from the effects of the Mark of Command.
Nemesis Squad Personal bodyguard of Retributors equipped by the Inquisitor, not the Inquisition as a whole. If the Inquisitor has a fixed headquarters, the Nemesis Squad usually refers to the bodyguard that travels with his person.
Ocular Implant Enhances vision or sight
Ordo Veritas One of the Ordos or ‘Departments’ within the Inquisition. The Ordo Veritas sees its mission to identify the Guilty and Correct them back into the Emperor’s Grace.
Osmo Implant Enhances the sense of smell.
Pain Frame This device is used to Admonish and Execute the Guilty, so that their soul can be purified before death. Occasionally it is used as a pure Execution device.
Proctor A Proctor is an NCO in the Retributors
Proctor Master A Proctor Master is an Officer in the Retributors.
Reception This is the process by which Visitors are processed at Inquisition headquarters. They are inspected medically to determine the degree of Duress that they can withstand, and prohibited items are confiscated. They may also be given an electoo or temporary skinplant for identification and/or location.
Retributors They are the Inquisition guards which protect their facilities and officials.
Visitor Visitors are witnesses summoned to testify before Inquisition Tribunals. Their testimony must be extracted under Duress in the Examination process. They are held in a secure facility under Inquisition control until they have testified to prevent their fleeing or tampering by the forces of Chaos.
