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how are they 'fed' to the emperor?

I don't think that it is explained. Some sort of machine.

Or maybe there is a McDonald's next door that makes McPsykers.

They are lead into the chamber containing the Golden Throne and bear witness to its psychic radiance. Those who survive are generally blinded (thus becoming Astropaths), or suffer some other kind of stigmata, while those that don't either disintegrate or are left blasted, withered husks.

This is how it is described in one of the FFG books, anyway, and may have been mentioned in Codex: Daemonhunters.

I have read that psykers die just to send a message. Maybe they just get forced to focus all their energy onto something and it drains them to death but transfers the energy much like they transfer messages... maybe.

just a bs theory being chucked out.

 Psienesis wrote:
They are lead into the chamber containing the Golden Throne and bear witness to its psychic radiance. Those who survive are generally blinded (thus becoming Astropaths), or suffer some other kind of stigmata, while those that don't either disintegrate or are left blasted, withered husks.

This is how it is described in one of the FFG books, anyway, and may have been mentioned in Codex: Daemonhunters.

what are astropaths

Astropaths are the only method of FTL communication that the Imperium has, as they have the ability to send psychic messages to astropaths on other planets.

champagne_socialist wrote:

 Psienesis wrote:
They are lead into the chamber containing the Golden Throne and bear witness to its psychic radiance. Those who survive are generally blinded (thus becoming Astropaths), or suffer some other kind of stigmata, while those that don't either disintegrate or are left blasted, withered husks.

This is how it is described in one of the FFG books, anyway, and may have been mentioned in Codex: Daemonhunters.

what are astropaths

They are how long distance communication occurs.

Astropaths are positioned at regular intervals on Imperial planets and outposts. They then relay important messages back and forth between planets.

Messages can take months or even years to reach their final destination(but its still faster than taking a ship)

Basically a long distance e-mail system.

They don't last very long though. Being soul bonded to the Emperor disintegrates their very essence over time and they eventually die from the strain.

Astropaths are the weakest of "useful" Imperial Psykers. These are the poor slobs who live in their own regulated Choir-communities at the beck-and-call of anyone of any importance whatsoever in the Imperium and send and receive long-distance (that is, from one star-system to another, or from one starship to another that is more than, like, a light-minute away).

Remember, the Imperium has no means of long-range communications that is not based in magic psyker-power. Astropaths are the psychic telegraph-machine people that permit the far-flung worlds of the Imperium to talk to one another... and this is why the Shadow In the Warp caused by the Tyranids causes planets to simply drop off of the communications grid... the telepathic messages can't get out.

ETA: Ninja'd! =p

 Swastakowey wrote:
I have read that psykers die just to send a message. Maybe they just get forced to focus all their energy onto something and it drains them to death but transfers the energy much like they transfer messages... maybe.

just a bs theory being chucked out.

Some astropath are killed by daemonic forces -- an unlucky sod who simply got noticed by a daemon, and died during the encounter; why the daemon did not posses said astropath is anyone's guess; mind you, many astropath died simply by exposing to very potent warp presence, i.e. Hivemind, or deliberately killed off like in the case of what Magnus did on Fenris. They are using the power of the warp, and just like all psykers are always in danger of getting backfired by their power (magic)

And the Big E, being Big E, can do almost everything; 'cept for the times he didn't/couldn't.

I once read that they seemed to be seated in a stadium like place and are hooked up to "arcane machinery". And are then drained of their life force.

I believe those are the ones used to power the Astronomican, which is actually a separate bunch of Psykers than the thousand a day who are fed to the God-Emperor.