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flamingkillamajig wrote:It's an odd sort of society to us but sometimes it works. I guess we just wouldn't understand this sort of thing but it's worked for 10,000 years apparently (well not really but it existed that long) so not everything could be terrible. Right?

This is a good point. Perspective is important - we can even see this right now here on our own planet with numerous people in the western world complaining about how they can't afford their car or whatever, whilst in some third world country the average citizen can't even afford a bed to sleep in and lives in constant threat of violence. If we go back in time, I'm sure most people living in medieval Europe didn't feel like their lives suck, even though compared to today's standard of living we would totally think so.
In a perfect display of usual Warhammer'esque irony, in the 41st millennium, it is the Church of Religious Nutjobs that plays a major role in keeping people happy. Ignorance is bliss.

 Lynata wrote:
If we go back in time, I'm sure most people living in medieval Europe didn't feel like their lives suck, even though compared to today's standard of living we would totally think so.

Ok, bit of a tangent this, but - you have NO idea how right you are. I will suggest looking into a comparison of the average working commoner's day (ie a farmer, fisher, blacksmith or so on) compared to today, it's a very interesting comparison.

It just so happens that I just read an article about physicians in that time on Monday, perhaps that is why the thought occurred to me in the first place. Horror stories, I tell ya!

http://www.spiegel.de/spiegelgeschichte/mittelalter-haeufig-schadeten-die-aerzte-ihren-patienten-a-913943.html

German article, but maybe an online translation makes it somewhat readable.

I will second orks living in a kind of utopia.

They were born to fight and kill and die, and they love every moment of it.

Leadership is merit-based, justice is clear and absolute, and the population is whole-heartedly devoted.

Absolutely. The way it works is everybody has a norm. This norm changes over time and things that happen to said person. This is why things such as 'raising the bar' kind of do exist as well as 'lowering the bar'. I mean i used to come home from camping while in boy scouts when i was young and let me tell you i was never so happy to see 'burger king'.

@ImotekhTheStormlord: This is off-topic but i think it'd be funny if superman and his cape in your avatar was in the whole 'marilyn monroe dress being blown up by a steam vent' pose .

Commorragh!!!!

You're going about this all wrong for your assignment. If you want to look at anything like a Utopia, you won't find it in WH40k. Yes, they have some high tech reserved for the elite and the military, but everything has a horrible underside to it that can't really be separated.
If you want a basis of Utopia start with Star Trek, Mass Effect or any of the other "Everyone has hi-tech and all the species are treated as equals," type settings. You run the risk of having contradictory themes and information in your report if you use WH40K as a starting off point. Heck, Even Dune wouldn't be a good place and that's a much nicer place.

I thought there existed Paradise worlds where the very rich and aristocratic nobles get to live a life of pampered luxury.

As someone already said, this does not make 40K any less of a dystopia, in fact it underscores the point that billlions suffer and die daily. In this case, for the benefit of a privileged few.

This Paradise world is one fo the safest places in the galaxy to live! . . . . Because two systems over, millions of Imperial Guard die each year to stalemate an orkish Wauughh. Recruitment tithes have depleted the sector and the nobles are complaining about the rising cost of recruits needed to keep the orks away from their golf courses and jetskis (40K equivalents).

The Paradise world has the very best in Imperial technology and resources! Because they hold 3 hive worlds and a dozen agri worlds in indentured slavery; every time a baby is born, the newborn is presented with a bill summarising his cost of birth and productivity lost because his mom was pregnant for 9 months and couldn't work in the factory. Oh what's that, you want baby food? Here's the bill for that as well . . . The baby will then spend the rest of his life working off a debt that can never be paid again for the benefit of the 'utopian' Paradise world.

It'd be funny if you wrote your paper that way, I wonder how your prof would react

They're actually called pleasure worlds, not paradise worlds. True to their name, they tend to have Slaaneshi cults, though (although whether or not it's enough to be a threat varies from planet to planet). But hey, in the eyes of Slaanesh, that just makes then Paradise PLUS.

Their main purpose is to be vacation resorts for high ranking Imperial officials. And sometimes they're shrine planets as well. Presumably they're REALLY rare in the grand scheme of things though because I imagine the Imperium can't afford to devote many planets to be vacation resorts instead of something more practical.

Ultramar is run closer to the Imperial model of the Great Crusaed, so if anything in 40K is going to be a "utopia", it's Ultramar.

But to call Ultramar a utopia would be to overstate just a bit. It's still more or less an autocratic state under the master of the Ultramarines, just with some of the trappings of a republic in its day to day functioning. It's a militaristic state, just without the overbearing bureaucracy and religious oppression of the Imperium.

Except it still has the religious oppression of the Imperium, because the people of Ultramar are not worshiping Calgar, or Guilleman, as a god. The Ecclesiarchy goes wherever the people of the Imperium does.

I think I read something about Space Marine fiefs (homeworlds) being exempt from certain decrees such as tithes (possibly excluding the Psyker tithe) and Ecclesiarchal ministration. Since Ultramar as a whole is under direct administration of the Ultramarines, this status would exist for all of its eight worlds.

I could be wrong about this, though.

 Psienesis wrote:
Except it still has the religious oppression of the Imperium, because the people of Ultramar are not worshiping Calgar, or Guilleman, as a god. The Ecclesiarchy goes wherever the people of the Imperium does.

Not on Space Marine worlds.

You may have missed how well the Sisters were treated upon arriving on Fenris to exert their "authority".

 Lynata wrote:
I think I read something about Space Marine fiefs (homeworlds) being exempt from certain decrees such as tithes (possibly excluding the Psyker tithe) and Ecclesiarchal ministration. Since Ultramar as a whole is under direct administration of the Ultramarines, this status would exist for all of its eight worlds.

I could be wrong about this, though.

It's a reasonable guess. I can corroborate your statement about having read about exemptions form the Imperial Tithe. As I recall it the Adeptus Astartes are basically exempt from everything, being unanswerable to anyone but the Emperor himself until his internment on the Golden Throne. Even after power to rule was passed to the High Lords of Terra, they specifically ordered that he Astertes be given immunity of sorts from the "Imperial Creed". The Adeptus Astartes and Adeptus Mechanicus are the only two organizations within the Imperium that are free to practice their own "religions", by which I mean that they are not called to uphold the sanction of the High Lords. This is why you see such variation between the chapters.

See: Cult of the Emperor

to the OP: I truly do not mean disrespect, but if you are even looking for a "good side" of 40k than are probably playing the wrong game. A common term used to define the game is "grimdark". Look it up. Some people prefer to call it "Dystopian" but I feel that such a term is inadequate and robs the game of its uniqueness. For my part "grimdark" in 40k relates to the players that the game is not full of people who are good or bad, righteous or evil, or even right or wrong. The point of "grimdark" is that it robs us of our ability to make good or reasonable choices. In reality, we can use common reason to resolve most of our differences, and we are never expected to chose between the value of life by quantity. Within the game setting however, those choices are very real, and very common. Is it good, or righteous, or right to kill 1,000 men to save 1,000,000? Does that mean it doesn't have to be done?

This game will beg those questions. If you find yourself thinking that people like the Emperor, or Space Marines, or factors like the Ecclesiarchy or Inquisition are bad, or evil, or wrong for doing what they do, than the grandeur of this game is being overlooked and you should seek out more familiar or relatable material. If however, you can come to terms with the fact that the Emperor, or Space Marines must occasionally commit terrible wrongs to accomplish a greater right, than you may eventually stop worrying about finding the "Good side of 40k".

I hope I haven't offended you or come off as too preachy, but this content is not for everyone.

C:WH listed Astartes Chaplains preaching an "incorrect" version of the Imperial Creed as a narrative hook for why WH armies would fight Space Marines.

The Astartes, specifically, are not bound only to the Emperor. They are, like every other Imperial citizen, under the authority of the Inquisition, and their military operations are dictated by the HLoT.

 Psienesis wrote:
C:WH listed Astartes Chaplains preaching an "incorrect" version of the Imperial Creed as a narrative hook for why WH armies would fight Space Marines.

The Astartes, specifically, are not bound only to the Emperor. They are, like every other Imperial citizen, under the authority of the Inquisition, and their military operations are dictated by the HLoT.

I would like to politely request that you provide a source for that information? In what publication is it stated that the Inquisition has "authority" over the Adeptus Astartes? And by "Authority" I mean the ability to exercise direct control.

I'd echo what others have said, in that you can't really find a utopia in 40K simply because everything has a dark undertone. For example, the closest thing to a utopia I can think of in 40K is the Tau empire, and even that hold subtle suggestions of mind control, censorship and misrepresentation/ propaganda of certain information (Farsight as a traitor to the Empire), as well as ruthless expansion in the name of manifest destiny The Greater Good.

40K makes an excellent case of a dystopia with Gothic themes, but not much of a case the other way, as you might expect.

En Excelsis wrote:I would like to politely request that you provide a source for that information? In what publication is it stated that the Inquisition has "authority" over the Adeptus Astartes? And by "Authority" I mean the ability to exercise direct control.

He's got a point there. A lot of Marine players aren't aware of this and firmly believe the Astartes are supposed to answer to no one, yet this aspect has been in the fluff since ... uh, forever, starting with the blurb in the Rogue Trader rulebook about Battle Sisters inspecting Marine Chapters for purity control tests.

"Each Inquisitor is a peer of the Imperium, one of a finite elite who hold ultimate authority over Mankind. As such, an Inquisitor can recruit any military or civilian force in the pursuit of Imperial duties, from hive world security details through to entire Space Marine Chapters, Titan Legions, and vessels of the Imperial Navy."
- 5E Rulebook, p.121

"Upon declaring such a chapter Excommunicatus, an Inquisitor will attempt to determine the root cause of the rebellion in order to gauge the potential obstacles to neutralising it. Should he suspect that Chaos as the reason for the chapter's fall from grace, the Grey Knights may be mobilised. Should doctrinal heresy prove the immediate cause then the elite of the Adepta Sororitas may be the only force considered capable of prosecuting a War of Faith against the wayward chapter. On rare occasions, alien intervention may be suspected, and the highly skilled servants of the Ordo Xenos brought in to investigate. Such an event is of such import as to attract the attention of the High Lords of Terra themselves, and no Inquisitor would bring such accusations without very convincing evidence indeed."
- WD #303

"This was not enough to deter the Celestial Lions from their course and they continued to demand an investigation into the extermination of Khattarn's population. Their efforts were to prove in vain however. The Inquisition answers to no-one but the Emperor himself. With the outbreak of the third war for Armageddon, the Celestial Lions were ordered to mobilise their entire Chapter and deploy their forces in Hive Volcanus. Within a month of their deployment, the Celestial Lions had suffered appalling casualties. Intelligence provided to them on the Orks strength and disposition proved to be woefully inaccurate and each battle found the Space Marines vastly outnumbered and cut off from support. Several of the higher ranking officers within the Chapter began to suspect that this was deliberate, but could prove nothing and had no choice but to continue their attacks on the Orks as before. [...] Only ninety six brothers of the Celestial Lions survived, and even worse, the last of the Chapter's Apothecaries took a bullet in the head within hours of arriving at Hive Volcanus."
- Armageddon 3 Global Campaign Website

" A cell of Inquisitors backed up by the fleets of no less than four Chapters of Space Marines and an Emperor class battleship descended upon the Relictors' fortress-monastery and demanded they hand over De Marche and all recovered Chaos weaponry or be destroyed. Faced with destruction, the Chapter had no option but to obey. As penance for dealing with heretical weaponry, the Chapter was despatched on a century long penitent crusade. De Marche was taken by the Inquisitors and executed as a heretic. [...]
After the Inquisiton censured the Relictors for the actions of Inquisitor De Marche, the Chapter lost its feudal rights to Torva Minoris, which meant they could no longer recruit from amongst its feral tribes. The Relictors were forced to gather potential acolytes from amongst the populations they encountered during their penitent crusade. The Inquisiton has ruled that no Adeptus Astartes Chapter may recruit from Torva Minoris, and it is believed the Ordo Malleus keeps a close watch on the world to ensure its ruling is adhered to. The superstitious natives of Torva Minoris now believe the God-Emperor has forsaken them, and every year their ceremonies of abasement grow more extreme in their attempts to atone for whatever fault has caused the emissaries of the Emperor to turn from them."
- WD #295


However, the Inquisition isn't the Ecclesiarchy, and just because a Marine Chaplain preaches something the Ecclesiarch doesn't agree with does not automatically make it heretical in the eyes of the Inquisition. The Space Marines still enjoy a considerable degree of leeway - it's just that there is still a line that can be crossed. In this, the Space Marines are granted an exception from the Ecclesiarchy's influence in a similar fashion to how nobody attempts to enforce its decrees on the Forge Worlds of the Adeptus Mechanicus:

"Because of their importance to the Imperium, the Adeptus Mechanicus was allowed, in quiet discord, to continue following its own mysterious strictures. The Cult Mechanicus does acknowledge the Emperor as the Master of Mankind, although they do not recognise the authority of the Adeptus Ministorum, despite its official sanction. While other religions were named as heretical for such acts, the Adeptus Mechanicus has been granted an unusual autonomy, a freedom of worship unparalleled save for that granted to the Space Marines for their unusual practices."
- 6E Rulebook, p.402

EDIT: Ninja'd by Lynata...


Also, note that the GK is the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Malleus and the Deathwatch the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Xenos. The Minotaurs are also the lap-dogs of the HLoT.

I recall the Minotaurs bit was just inference based on their actions - but there are a number of Marine Chapters created under orders and direct overwatch by the Inquisition. The Exorcists, the Flame Falcons, the Black Dragons .. the list goes on.

Lynata's already given the sources and explicit details, so I'll just sum up my point thusly: a lot of people assume that the Inquisition has either total control over the Marines, or none. Instead they have a limited degree of power through political positioning and threats.

Namely - they can't always directly force a Chapter to do something (see the Space Wolves!) but repeated refusal is seen as asking for trouble, and may get you investigated and declared renegade or excommunicate or even turned traitor. At that point, you're no longer technically Imperial Marines and so the Inquisition can ask all those other Chapters who still co-operate to hunt you down.

The end of Space Marine (the videogame) handled this quite nicely.

In terms of authority, a Space Marine Chapter is no different to the Inquisition than a random regiment of the Imperial Guard. Both should officially follow an Inquisitor's orders if demanded. Both could in theory also simply refuse to follow such orders. However, unlike with the IG regiment, where such blatant insubordination would quickly result in firing squads, commissarial investigations, and other disciplinary action (if the regiment is allowed to remain in existence at all), an Astartes Chapter is a much more precious resource that was painstakingly created over the course of many decades if not centuries, and represents a much less replaceable asset for the Imperial defense.

Due to these special circumstances, Inquisitors tend to be more careful when dealing with Marine Chapter Masters, much more prone to requesting their assistance rather than ordering them to - all depending on the circumstances involved, the individual Inquisitor's personality, and the importance of the Chapter. In spite of the community-hearsay about them blowing up planets left and right via Exterminatus (which may be just as unfair as the "flashlight" moniker for the lasgun), Inquisitors are supposed to be extremely powerful but also extremely responsible people who would not make decisions such as excommunicating a Marine Chapter lightly, so it is common procedure to call a conclave if the fate of a Chapter needs to be discussed. Inquisitors are judged by no-one but the Emperor and their own peers, but this also means that an unjustful excommunication would invite a lot of pressure from said Inquisitor's rivals, possibly resulting in charges of treason or heresy.

Or at least that is how I've come to see the "metagame" between individual Inquisitors, or the Inquisition as a whole and other Imperial organisations.

Though an Inquisitor has the power to decree Excommunication all by him- or herself, a conclave serves as a "backup" to make sure this action would not backfire. Take the Sons of Malice, for example. I deem it possible that Inquisitor Pietas, had she not died upon storming the Chapter's Chapel, may have eventually found herself charged and punished by her colleagues for ordering an attack on the Marines that casually.

"The relationship between the Adeptus Astartes and the Adeptus Ministorum is at times strained, as some Chapters adhere to their own views of the Imperial Creed. In any other organisation this would result in excommunication, but the Space Marines are of course a rather special case. However, the Ordo Hereticus still maintains a watch over those Chapters who they suspect of having diverged too far from approved dogma. In such cases, a Conclave of Inquisitors will decide upon a course of action, and should an armed response be required this will often be entrusted to the Adepta Sororitas."
- CJ #49

This is also one of the "battle narratives" in the 3E Witch Hunters Codex that Psienesis mentioned earlier, by the way. An Inquisitor being like "pls help", then the Chapter Master responds "bust off", an important world gets lost, and the Inquisition subsequently moves to arrest him.
If said world would not have been lost, nobody would've said a thing aside from quietly muttered complaints, but as soon as somebody can pin reckless negligience upon a Chapter, even argue that its inactivity has caused it to stop being an asset for the Imperium, then heads will roll.

First Founding Chapters are granted considerably more leeway here than others, possibly explaining why the Space Wolves are still around, even though they've given pretty much everyone the finger by now.

"Whatever the effect, the servants of the High Lords are always vigilant against the signs of mutation, and the Inquisition is keen to punish any such signs of deviancy. This puts them into conflict with a great many loyal chapters, not least among them the Blood Angels and Space Wolves chapters whose geneseed is known to be as flawed in some respects as it is undoubtedly superior in others. The long and proud history of these and other ancient chapters has to date shielded them from the attentions of the Ordo Hereticus, but other, less renowned chapters are not so immune to the Inquisition's scrutiny, and they may find themselves under investigation should an Inquisitor suspect serious heresy."
- WD #303

 Lynata wrote:
In terms of authority, a Space Marine Chapter is no different to the Inquisition than a random regiment of the Imperial Guard. Both should officially follow an Inquisitor's orders if demanded. Both could in theory also simply refuse to follow such orders.

Still too fond of Inquisitional authority?

The Imperium is led by.....not the =I=.

Why? Because they are a " secret police ". Not the military or administrial head.
The answer of the =I= to big E, why the IoM had an apostasy, had a nova terra split, etc would be interesting to watch.

Thank you Lynata for posting the sources, even though it endangers the point I put forth.

As I comb through some of the codices and the rulebook, I would like to point at Dawn of War and quote Captain Gabriel Angelos (interesting character put perhaps the most unimaginative name in the game).

For all the powers granted by is office, taking command of a Space Marine Legion is not one of them

This doesn't directly contradict your statement, since we can both agree that the Inquisition cannot simply order Space Marine Legions to a specific task, but they can "put in a request" so to speak. Due to the nature of the Inquisition, and their tendency to regard disobedience or noncompliance as heresy, it would behoove the Chapter in question to simply adhere to the request unless there were unique circumstances.

The best analogy that I can come up with is that of a US Citizen and a Police Officer. In this analogy the Space Marines are the citizen and the Inquisition is the Officer. The citizen is free to do whatever he usually does - in this case it would be the day to day work of being a Space Marine. The Police Officer has no real authority over the citizen unless specific conditions apply. No officer can walk up to a citizen and just tell him what to do. That is outside the scope of their office. If however, that same citizen were to commit a crime, or even be suspected of committing a crime, than the Officer has the power to take certain actions. There are a lot more specifics involved in the law that don't apply (Officers can commandeer a person's vehicle for example, but still cannot make the person take specific actions).

I must admit the analogy is not perfect but it's a tough part of 40k to create real-world connections with.

1hadhq wrote:Why? Because they are a " secret police ". Not the military or administrial head.

A "secret police" which, apparently, has been granted the right to demand obedience from any Imperial organisation in the pursuit of its duties. And a "secret police" which, apparently, has the power to judge entire Chapters of Astartes, revoke their recruitment privileges, exile them from their homeworld, or condemn them to extermination. And a "secret police" which has started to experiment with and create its very own Pet-Chapters of Astartes.

1hadhq wrote:The answer of the =I= to big E, why the IoM had an apostasy, had a nova terra split, etc would be interesting to watch.

As the rulebook says, the Inquisition cannot be everywhere, and there is actually some fluff in GW's Thorian Sourcebook (PDF ) regarding what they were busy with during the Age of Apostasy.
Maybe it helps to see the Inquisitors as a bunch of "Mini Emperors" all tasked with peeking behind the veil and make sure the machine that is the Imperium keeps running as smoothly as possible. Yet sometimes you just underestimate a threat or information reaches you too late - just like with the Big Emperor.

En Excelsis wrote:This doesn't directly contradict your statement, since we can both agree that the Inquisition cannot simply order Space Marine Legions to a specific task, but they can "put in a request" so to speak.

Ah, but they can order a Space Marine Chapter to do a specific task - at least officially. That is quite simply how the fluff in the rulebook specifies it, and it is pretty blunt about it. No way around it. The Marines can say "no" in much the same way that a Guard Colonel could say "no", they just may not be as likely to suffer the consequences.

This is also why the Inquisition has arranged to keep its very own formations of Space Marines around, though - to (ideally) not even come into the situation where they'd have to demand support from a Chapter, have its leader say "no", and then possibly deal with both the initial issue as well as a rebellious bunch of Astartes. Because that's just awkward.

If Captain Angelos believes that the Inquisition is not officially authorised to exert this power, then he is either mistaken or (more likely) the computer game just doesn't follow GW's fluff too closely in that regard. It's certainly not the only case of one of Relic's 40k games conflicting with minor details from the original source material.

And just to insert the usual disclaimer, this doesn't mean that Dawn of War is "wrong" here, just that it offers a slightly different interpretation. Each of the sources is equally valid, though they may tell us different things. That I'm preferring GW's own material over anything else is simply personal preference, and I do not expect anyone to follow suit.

Fair enough. I certainly didn't mean to imply that the Inquisition was powerless in regards to the SM Chapters. But there are limits to the power it can apply to them. The SM do enjoy a healthy degree of autonomy from the rest of the IoM.

Getting back on topic though, I think it is common for people to associate the Inquisition with negative imagery from our reality. The common education of today paints religion in a pretty negative light, and the very Inquisition has some particularly unsavory connections to our understanding of history. Most people who not religious see religion as a form of oppression. Combine that with the traditional fictions of 1984 and other Dystopian iterations of Big Brother and you have what your modern person would basically identify as the Imperial Inquisition.

However, as I stated in a previous post, the conditions of our reality are quite different than that of 40k. The every day dealings of that world are so vastly different from our own that we can not judge them by the same moral standards. If the Imperial Inquisition from 40k were to exist on Earth as we know it today, it would be decidedly evil. As it exists in 40k, it is a Saintly organization that stands as a bastion between mankind and the destruction we would otherwise bring down on ourselves. They are literally our guardian angels.

I find it sort of flippant that they could be used to create a case for the evil within the Imperium. The Imperium is not evil. They are good, honest men who have been forced by time, circumstance, and their collective enemies to do unimaginably dark and terrible things in order to survive.

I see it as "shades of grey". Most of the Imperium's policies are rooted in necessity, yet there is also an unspeakable amount of senseless violence, genocide and discrimination going on, and there most certainly are countless powerful individuals who revel in the harm they inflict upon others. Take Necromunda's nobility, for example, which hunts the common people for sport. It could most certainly be better.

However, the people are shaped by the times they live in and the vast majority does not even see the possibility of alternatives, whilst the few who do often find themselves becoming pawns for the agents of the Ruinous Powers - in turn reinforcing the perception that things really have to be this way.
See the rulebook quote I posted in the spoiler on page 1.

The Imperium is not evil. They are good, honest men who have been forced by time, circumstance, and their collective enemies to do unimaginably dark and terrible things in order to survive.

And then you have Spyrer gangs, the AdMech (and the =I=) turning people into Servitors because they were acquitted of a more-serious crime, "heroic" individuals who will command the deaths of entire cities on the *chance* that they might be corrupted, and similar events.

Humanity is no longer "good", but almost no one in 40K is entirely "evil", either. Most of the factions have justifications (I won't say that these are necessarily justified, however) for doing the things that they do, and so we're left with factions all colored various shades of dark grey, with only a very few being solid black.

I think that you have to keep in mind that there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of planets inhabited with roughly the same population as current earth. I think of life in the 40th millennium as kind of like now, that if you are in the right place you are fine, but if you are unlucky enough to be born on the fringes of imperial space then life will probably be short and crappy. But with trillions and trillions of people in the galaxy and there only billions civilians horribly killed on average per generation and a few hundred planets in the last 10,000 years that have been really screwed up your chances of dying horribly are relatively low.

Also, 10,000 years is a loooonnngggg time. When you think about it not much actually happens that often considering that there have been 300 generations of people since the heresy there is only like one big war every 2 generations or so.

To summarise, I think life is probably pretty good if you can get used to the soviet union-esque oppression.

This setting used to be quite a free one, with plenty of place for any fantasy you wanted to introduce in it. So, feel free to create any utopya you need. If you want something more "official", have a look at Necromunda (I think it's still freely downloadable from GW site). In Hive Primus, most of the population lives in Victorian Industrial conditions with asymetric access to high-tech (massive black market helps a lot here, if you have the money to buy that odd skull-chip, water purifier or second-hand bionic limb). Under them, bazillions of outcasts and desperados try to make a living in the Underhive's, which is far west with mutants and lasguns. On the top spires of the Hive, capitalist aristocracies live lifes of unbelievable luxury, with access to all the marvels of the galaxy. Alien and very high-tech caprices are usual to them. Have seen Elyseum? Just the same story.
I like to think that the Imperium somehow reflects our current world: most of the population lives in poor to miserable conditions, subjected to dictatorship and violence more often than not, a decreasing percenteage of us is lucky enough to be medium-class and very few have the power and richness to truly taste the best humanity has to offer in material terms.