Golden Age Question

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**Muhr**

Somebody once told me that everyone during the golden age was superhuman. When I asked if he meant that they were like primarchs he said that the primarchs were like astartes versions of them.

Does anybody know anything else about this or must I be mistaken?

**Psienesis**

Not everyone during the Golden Age, but everyone of whom legends and such remain in the current era of 40k.

The Emperor, the Primarchs, the Space Marines, etc. The average Imperial citizen was pretty much the same as they are now.

**KamikazeCanuck**

There was no Imperium during the Golden Age - whatever that is.

**Laodamia**

The "Golden Age"???

Maybe you're referring to the Dark Age of Technology? It can be described as a golden age, although it is not its official designation.

Anyway, humans under the DAoT were not "superhumans" similar to the primarchs (let alone the SM). Incredible technological feats were achieved at that time (the creation of the Iron Men for example) and mankind reached the height of its glory and power, but we were still normal humans.

**purplefood**

I always wondered why they called it the dark age.

**Kravox**

It's because that's when the primarchs were up and around

**purplefood**

Kravox wrote:It's because that's when the primarchs were up and around

That doesn't make sense and isn't true...
Go figure...

**Kravox**

It's when the legions were there, which means the people of the Imperium were exposed to more space marines rather than just the loyalists, and the primarchs were still alive, and you're like a ninja with the replies

**purplefood**

Kravox wrote:It's when the legions were there, which means the people of the Imperium were exposed to more space marines rather than just the loyalists, and the primarchs were still alive, and you're like a ninja with the replies

Not like a ninja. I am a ninja.
At any rate you are thinking of the wrong age...
At least someone is...
The Age where humanity was doing really well was the Dark Age of Technology (Named because Technology is all magical now)
The Age where humanity was doing quite well was the Great Crusade Era AKA the Age of the Imperium.
The Legions were created just at the start at the Age of the Imperium, they were unablle to exist before they existed...

Here is a shiny link for everyone to have: http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Dark_Age_of_Technology

There is no Golden Age...

**Revenent Reiko**

Erm purplefood...
*cough* From your link, 5th paragraph down..... Golden Age..... *cough*

**SomeRandomEvilGuy**

purplefood wrote:I always wondered why they called it the dark age.

Presumably the same reason the Middle Ages are sometimes called the Dark Ages; we don't have much knowledge from that time (and possibly also because of the whole AI thing they had going on that would be frowned upon afterwards).

**Revenent Reiko**

SomeRandomEvilGuy wrote:
purplefood wrote:I always wondered why they called it the dark age.

Presumably the same reason the Middle Ages are sometimes called the Dark Ages; we don't have much knowledge from that time (and possibly also because of the whole AI thing they had going on that would be frowned upon afterwards).

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071129211203AAM2xBk
The Dark ages were before the Middle Ages.
But the point is still valid, there is very little knowledge to go on AFAIK.

**purplefood**

Revenent Reiko wrote:Erm purplefood...
*cough* From your link, 5th paragraph down..... Golden Age..... *cough*

Shush

Golden age tends to be used as a general term for 'Good stuff was happening here'
It is known as the Dark age of Technology.
And apparently is called such because people started worshipping technology during it which is totally heresy and stuff... yeah.

**Revenent Reiko**

purplefood wrote:
Revenent Reiko wrote:Erm purplefood...
*cough* From your link, 5th paragraph down..... Golden Age..... *cough*

Shush

Golden age tends to be used as a general term for 'Good stuff was happening here'
It is known as the Dark age of Technology.
And apparently is called such because people started worshipping technology during it which is totally heresy and stuff... yeah.

Really? i thought it was because of the Iron Men wars, which lead to a devastated Human Civilisation and a massive dip in knowledge at that time?

**purplefood**

That to...

**Revenent Reiko**

*warm feeling of actually knowing something helpful and interesting*

(and fictional.....DAMN!)

**purplefood**

Get used to it... it only gets worse from here on in...

**Revenent Reiko**

purplefood wrote:Get used to it... it only gets worse from here on in...

QFT. *sigh* at least it should remove all traces of my degree. Wait..... thats not a good thing....

**Brother Coa**

Laodamia wrote:The "Golden Age"???

Maybe you're referring to the Dark Age of Technology? It can be described as a golden age, although it is not its official designation.

The age before that was refereed as the "Golden Age of Humanity". The age Humans colonized the galaxy and research stuff, little after they left Earth. After that goes DaoT and after that goes the Age of the Imperium.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

purplefood wrote:I always wondered why they called it the dark age.

Because noone remember what was back then, almost all knowledge is lost what was happening during that era. That's why they call it Dark Age.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Muhr wrote:Somebody once told me that everyone during the golden age was superhuman. When I asked if he meant that they were like primarchs he said that the primarchs were like astartes versions of them.

Does anybody know anything else about this or must I be mistaken?

I doubt that everyone was genetically enhanced back then. Maybe only wealthy individuals...

**HiddenPower**

nope it was called the Dark Age of Technology because at the time, the machines and tech were not guided and sanctified by the glorious touch of the Omnissiah.

At the time the great Deus Mechanicus was not worshiped properly and its great gifts squandered. For lack of respect and hubris the golden men? created the men of iron? Forgot how that story goes.....well anyway as I remember its remembered as dark because of religious reasons

**Pilau Rice**

purplefood wrote:
Kravox wrote:It's when the legions were there, which means the people of the Imperium were exposed to more space marines rather than just the loyalists, and the primarchs were still alive, and you're like a ninja with the replies

Not like a ninja. I am a ninja.

This is true

purplefood wrote:There is no Golden Age...

That's isn't though

The Journal of Keeper Cripias

Dated in the year of our Emperor 993.M41

And so it was that in the First Age of Man, the Golden Age, there is the Emperor Unseen and unheralded he prepares the Old Earth for the coming of Mankind and he watches and he waits. He is joined by the First Men of the Golden Race, fine of limb and strong of mind, yet still the Emperor is content to wait in shadow.

For the next 5.000 years, the Stone Race lives through the Dark Age of Technology. Little can be determined from the Dark Age of Technology, for the majority of existing records concerning that period are gathered in the Librarius Omnis of Mars, and none outside the highest ranks of the Adeptus Mechanicus can gain access past its most determined Guardians (Keeper Malrubius tried once, but to no avail. We have surmised that during the Dark Age of Technology, the Men of Ston create the Iron Men to help them in the building of their Great Empire. At first, the Iron Men are as servants, willing to do the bidding of their masters with no thoughts.

So we had The Golden Age, The Dark Age of Technology, The Age of Strife, Unification Wars, The Great Crusade, Horus Heresy, The Scouring etc

**purplefood**

I think the Golden Age IS the Dark Age of Technology...

**Pilau Rice**

purplefood wrote:I think the Golden Age IS the Dark Age of Technology...

OOh your a tough one sometimes

To watch and learn from Mankind, the Golden Race spreads across the face of Old Earth, multiplying and establishing Order and Civilisation on the anarchy of Nature. In time, the Second Men of the Stone Race appear, and in their wake come many miracles and marvels of technology that strengthen to Sone Men’s power, but are also harnessed by those of th Golden Race. Although physically inferior to the Golden Race, and not of philosophical temperament and disposition, the Stone Men have in them the conjurations of great artifices and mechanisms. In time, the Golden Race looks to the stars to expand their dominion. The Stone Race builds great machines of power that send both Men of Stone and Men of Gold into the Ether. However, once the burgeoning race of Mankind has taken its first steps into the greater cosmos, the Golden Race dwindles in influence through their dependence on the artifices of the Stone Race. This the Golden Age comes to an end and the Stone Men prevail.

Our calculations, from the most distant and archaic records, and through constellar comparison, have dated the end of the Golden Age at 20.000 years previous to our present time.

Current time being

Dated in the year of our Emperor 993.M41

**purplefood**

Fair enough.

**KamikazeCanuck**

So the Golden Age is the Time of Colonization/Great Exodus then I reckon.

**Omegus**

KamikazeCanuck wrote:So the Golden Age is the Time of Colonization/Great Exodus then I reckon.

That's actually more of a transition period between the Golden Age and Dark Age of Technology.

I'm guessing it flows more like so: Golden Age (time of myth and legend, where gods strode the earth, blah blah blah) --> Age of Terra --> Stellar Exodus --> Dark Age of Technology --> Age of Strife --> Unification Wars --> The Great Crusade --> Horus Heresy --> Great Scouring --> Age of Rebirth --> (Nova Terra Interregnum -- questionable significance except as set up for: ) --> Age of Apostasy --> Age of Redemption --> The Waning --> The Age of We're All Totally Screwed (i.e. now)

**huntho21**

As far as i know the DAoT was called so because the "modern" imperium has forgoten like evrything

**Laodamia**

Pilau Rice wrote:

To watch and learn from Mankind, the Golden Race spreads across the face of Old Earth, multiplying and establishing Order and Civilisation on the anarchy of Nature. In time, the Second Men of the Stone Race appear, and in their wake come many miracles and marvels of technology that strengthen to Sone Men’s power, but are also harnessed by those of th Golden Race. Although physically inferior to the Golden Race, and not of philosophical temperament and disposition, the Stone Men have in them the conjurations of great artifices and mechanisms. In time, the Golden Race looks to the stars to expand their dominion. The Stone Race builds great machines of power that send both Men of Stone and Men of Gold into the Ether. However, once the burgeoning race of Mankind has taken its first steps into the greater cosmos, the Golden Race dwindles in influence through their dependence on the artifices of the Stone Race. This the Golden Age comes to an end and the Stone Men prevail.

I'm getting confused. Who (or what) are these golden and stone men? I've heard of the Men of Iron, but not of these dudes before.

From this text they don't sound like machines but rather like different "social classes", separated by something so great they were regarded as two completely different races.

**KamikazeCanuck**

Laodamia wrote:
Pilau Rice wrote:

To watch and learn from Mankind, the Golden Race spreads across the face of Old Earth, multiplying and establishing Order and Civilisation on the anarchy of Nature. In time, the Second Men of the Stone Race appear, and in their wake come many miracles and marvels of technology that strengthen to Sone Men’s power, but are also harnessed by those of th Golden Race. Although physically inferior to the Golden Race, and not of philosophical temperament and disposition, the Stone Men have in them the conjurations of great artifices and mechanisms. In time, the Golden Race looks to the stars to expand their dominion. The Stone Race builds great machines of power that send both Men of Stone and Men of Gold into the Ether. However, once the burgeoning race of Mankind has taken its first steps into the greater cosmos, the Golden Race dwindles in influence through their dependence on the artifices of the Stone Race. This the Golden Age comes to an end and the Stone Men prevail.

I'm getting confused. Who (or what) are these golden and stone men? I've heard of the Men of Iron, but not of these dudes before.

From this text they don't sound like machines but rather like different "social classes", separated by something so great they were regarded as two completely different races.

Short answer: Don't know. http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/30/366207.page

**Pilau Rice**

I think that the Gold Men would be people like us, just the best of us, people like the Emperor. Then the Stone Men possibly could be the early Mechanicum, who had a talent for machines and the Iron Men were their creation.

But yeah .. we don't know