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What is Fabius File talking about in this quote and why?

'I would guess that it has been here for some time. Longer than humanity has prowled the stars. In certain aeldari texts, it speaks of a great war in heaven. Most of it is allegorical nonsense, as could be expected of such a culture, but if you compare it to other xenos records there are… hints. Star-gods and cannibal suns. Warp-spawn and soulless legions that were more monstrous than any Abominable Intelligence. Machines that devoured entire worlds for fuel, and vampiric entities that drained the energy from stars. Cannons that could split reality with a single shot.' Fabius smiled. 'A war that laid waste to every galaxy in the universe. A war our existence has yet to recover from.'

He goes on to say it is true when he answers someone's question about it with "What is truth but the perception of fact?"

This does not mean the WIH took place in other galaxies, but that it devastated other galaxies.


And I have heard that the Celestial Orrery is much more of a "gardening trimmer" than a weapon, meaning the Necrons can build something much stronger. But why? Why would the Necrons need a "gardening trimmer" to destroy stars?

Onething123456 wrote:
And I have heard that the Celestial Orrery is much more of a "gardening trimmer" than a weapon, meaning the Necrons can build something much stronger. But why? Why would the Necrons need a "gardening trimmer" to destroy stars?

Well, if you want to view the Celestial Orrery as some "gardening trimmer" and stars and other celestial phenomenon as resources, you need a good "gardening trimmer" to keep your "garden" healthy, strong and productive.

epronovost wrote:

Onething123456 wrote:
And I have heard that the Celestial Orrery is much more of a "gardening trimmer" than a weapon, meaning the Necrons can build something much stronger. But why? Why would the Necrons need a "gardening trimmer" to destroy stars?

Well, if you want to view the Celestial Orrery as some "gardening trimmer" and stars and other celestial phenomenon as resources, you need a good "gardening trimmer" to keep your "garden" healthy, strong and productive.

So they destroy stars that are not needed?

Onething123456 wrote:
So they destroy stars that are not needed?

Well if they farm stars for energy to fuel their empire and their wars, they probably used a device like that to manage star nurseries, destroying stars that were too weak or too powerful for their purpose and insurring everything was running smoothly. Apprently, playing on such a level was very risky as it could create a cascade of problems and as such probably used it with great care and parsimony to avoid a galactic sized disaster.

Firstly, it's quite amusing that Fabius has such disdain for the language and style of the ancient Eldar texts and legends, when he then talks about a war laying waste to every galaxy in the universe, which is just as overblown and nonsensical. Anyway, looks like the Orrery is pretty much just a plot device. It's basically an easy way to get the Necrons involved in the 13th Black Crusade.

It's theoretical purpose is up for debate, but it's essentially a weapon of mass destruction and super-accurate map all in one. Presumably there might have been other uses for a device that can remotely manipulate stars across the whole galaxy, possibly involving herding the C'Tan to where the Necrons wanted them to be, as they fed on the stars themselves. That would be pure speculation though.

Bare in mind that every star in a galaxy is linked via gravitational field destroying even a single star could alter the orbit and position of a planet on the other side of the galaxy just enough to push it too close or far from its own sun to render it uninhabitable.

This interdependence is why the Orrery was rarely used as an active weapon, the calculation required to make use of it would be enormous, a the height of the Necron empire it was probably a damned site easier to use with a galaxy that was far more stable, these days you could accidentally knock a planet into a warp storm, imagine playing pool with 600 balls on the table and 8 or 9 cats wandering around while trying to make a called shot for the corner pocket...

No wonder they don;t use it much.

Slipspace wrote:
Firstly, it's quite amusing that Fabius has such disdain for the language and style of the ancient Eldar texts and legends, when he then talks about a war laying waste to every galaxy in the universe, which is just as overblown and nonsensical. Anyway, looks like the Orrery is pretty much just a plot device. It's basically an easy way to get the Necrons involved in the 13th Black Crusade.

That quote is from Clonelord (no amazon link this time. OP must be slipping). In those books Bile is a combination of Rick Sanchez, people from r/Iamverysmart and every insufferable atheist you've ever met.

It would help if the OP actually provided context with is quote dumps but Bile is an atheist through and through and has the disdain for religions that comes with it. His base of operations is also a defiled maiden world in the EoT, so his direspect for their race goes a fair way. He even goes far as to literally eat their ancient texts so one of his SM organs can divulge their history and knowledge.

 Grimtuff wrote:
He even goes far as to literally eat their ancient texts so one of his SM organs can divulge their history and knowledge.

What? Every time I think the lore has reached the peak dumb, I learn about some BL author who is so proficient in fatuousness that they have managed to reach completely new and hitherto uncharted levels of nitwittedness.

 Crimson wrote:

 Grimtuff wrote:
He even goes far as to literally eat their ancient texts so one of his SM organs can divulge their history and knowledge.

What? Every time I think the lore has reached the peak dumb, I learn about some BL author who is so proficient in fatuousness that they have managed to reach completely new and hitherto uncharted levels of nitwittedness.

This is why I take none of the BL work seriously, even though by all accounts there are a handful of gems in the roster.

 Crimson wrote:

 Grimtuff wrote:
He even goes far as to literally eat their ancient texts so one of his SM organs can divulge their history and knowledge.

What? Every time I think the lore has reached the peak dumb, I learn about some BL author who is so proficient in fatuousness that they have managed to reach completely new and hitherto uncharted levels of nitwittedness.

The problem with giving Space Marines so much powers and to such a level means that once in a while you end up with really dumb things being written about them. Comic books have the same problems with the bigger, more powerful superheroes. It probably comes from the fact that Space Marines have indeed an organ that allows them to access the memories of things they eat (though I think they only learn stuff if they eat the brain). I suppose it works on warp magic. It's not exactly useful either. I suppose its how scouts are supposed to gather intel: kill a guy, eat its brain and learn the enemy battle plan.

 Crimson wrote:

 Grimtuff wrote:
He even goes far as to literally eat their ancient texts so one of his SM organs can divulge their history and knowledge.

What? Every time I think the lore has reached the peak dumb, I learn about some BL author who is so proficient in fatuousness that they have managed to reach completely new and hitherto uncharted levels of nitwittedness.

Um, that's been a part of the background since I started in 2nd ed. The Omopheaga allows a SM to access the memories/content of someone or something by eating it.

 Grimtuff wrote:

Um, that's been a part of the background since I started in 2nd ed. The Omopheaga allows a SM to access the memories/content of someone or something by eating it.

Accessing memories by eating brain cells is dumb, but tat least within a touching distance of of space opera plausibility; accessing contents of a book by eating it is just an absurd joke. It's like ripping a page from Macbeth and shoving it on your DVD player and expecting a play to appear on the screen.

And illustration of the Space Marine training program according to Josh Reynolds:


Damn, they should just feed Space Marines USB drives packed with knowledge! Imagine the things they could learn over one dinner!

Been a bit since I read it but here's the quote-

“He dragged a tray of aeldari scrolls, salvaged from the craftworld by the Twins, towards him. Fabius studied the parchment for a moment before tearing a strip from it and popping it into his mouth.
Catching sight of Alkenex’s grimace, Fabius smiled around a mouthful of shredded parchment. Swallowing, he said, ‘Some among the aeldari inscribed their knowledge on a type of vat-grown dermal extrusion. It “remembers” the information, in much the same way as the human brain. After much trial and error, I managed to train my omophageac implant to synthesise and interpret the information grown on this sort of parchment

So it's skin. Didn't remember that bit- slightly less divvy but explained away nicely imo.

Right. That's completely different. It is just not any skin, it is tissue where the information is coded in the same way as in the brain, presumably in the nerve cells.

 Crimson wrote:

 Grimtuff wrote:
He even goes far as to literally eat their ancient texts so one of his SM organs can divulge their history and knowledge.

What? Every time I think the lore has reached the peak dumb, I learn about some BL author who is so proficient in fatuousness that they have managed to reach completely new and hitherto uncharted levels of nitwittedness.

"RIP CRUMPLE CRONCH MONCH NOM NOM NOM *GULP*"

"Ok lets see what my space marine organs can make of this."

"Hmmmm...It seems that either the text said a;lsdhglkjhadkhgtiwyeporiuclk;lkhgyrouer, or, alternatively, the act of tearing, crumpling and chewing this ancient piece of paper with symbols that only convey meaning when arranged in a particular order renders the existence of this space marine organ COMPLETELY fething POINTLESS."

Suggestions of an intergalactic War in Heaven have a long pedigree:

'Galaxies had lived and died by their masters' [Nightbringer's] command.'
Nightbringer, pg.8 [Omnicient Narrator]

'...he [Corteswain] claimed to have been taken to a world beyond this galaxy by a being of unimaginable power he called a god.'
Nightbringer, pg.202

'It [Void Dragon] had... been worshipped as a god in a thousand galaxies.'
Mechanicum, pg.353

'The galaxy will bleed the stench of death into the void, and it will attract the others of their kind [C'tan/Necrons].'
Codex: Necrons, pg.21

''I have seen the doom of the universe.''
Codex: Necrons, pg.62

'The Old Ones' intergalactic network was breached and lost to them...'
Codex: Necrons, pg.26 [Omnicient Narrator]

Slipspace wrote:
Firstly, it's quite amusing that Fabius has such disdain for the language and style of the ancient Eldar texts and legends, when he then talks about a war laying waste to every galaxy in the universe, which is just as overblown and nonsensical. Anyway, looks like the Orrery is pretty much just a plot device. It's basically an easy way to get the Necrons involved in the 13th Black Crusade.

It's theoretical purpose is up for debate, but it's essentially a weapon of mass destruction and super-accurate map all in one. Presumably there might have been other uses for a device that can remotely manipulate stars across the whole galaxy, possibly involving herding the C'Tan to where the Necrons wanted them to be, as they fed on the stars themselves. That would be pure speculation though.

Fabius said it was true.

Necrons and Pre Fall Eldar played with stars. Even DAOT humanity could shrink stars. Sorry if I misunderstood you.


Dark Age of Technology tech that can shrink stars to a sub-atomic level:

"Time, Madeline, time. Please hurry," Roth said, reminding her of the battle that threatened to overrun them.

"These are not the exact words. But it seems to suggest that when the planets are not in alignment, the embryonic star is in a stasis state of condensation, shrinking towards itself. It becomes dense matter. They describe it as coiling slumber."

"Please, for us laymen?" Captain Silat asked.

"Dense space matter becomes immeasurably heavy. You would not be able to budge this silo anywhere with all your industrial machines. It would also be in a stasis-state of reduction."

"I see. So what does it say about when the Medina Corridor is in the correct alignment?" Roth asked.

Madeline shrugged her suit. "I can only gather from what I read here. When the polar lines are in alignment, it changes the polar alignment of planets. The embryonic star contained within goes into a state of expansion, and its mass becomes less dense. Light enough to be transported in its state of stasis."

"Transported and perhaps released from stasis?" Roth said. He flexed the lead-lined leather across his neck to smear the sweat away. It was cold in the chamber but he was sweating profusely. A by-product of too much adrenaline.

"Correct. Once the stasis state of this star is broken, it will continue to expand and expand and expand."

"The Archenemy do not need this star to destroy the Medina Worlds. That would bring them nothing. But once the stasis is broken, they can transport this star anywhere, even to Terra, or the Cadian Gate. Better it here, than anywhere else." Captain Silat was thinking strategically, as he had been taught to.

Madeline left that statement unchallenged. For a while nobody said anything. Within that silo, captured in stasis, was an embryonic star. This was just one of the Old Kings that pre-Imperial Medinians had worshipped. But this one they had plucked from the sky with the help of the Early Sentients. This was the angry god they would unleash if ever their civilisations were threatened.

The very same angry god who had been unleashed in the Reclamation Wars. The star hadn't been in expansion then, the polar conduits had not been carved to the precise schematics ordained by the Early Sentients. Instead the gamma flare as the star sparked and returned to stasis had eroded Aridun's ozone and caused the mass extinction. This thing was a destroyer of worlds.

"I'll break it."

Everyone turned to look at Roth.

"I'll break it from stasis right now," Roth declared again.

Madeline opened her mouth to speak but Roth silenced her with a wave of his hand.

"There's no time to think about it. The Archenemy will take this and they will use it on the Bastion Stars. I cannot allow that. Better I release it from its sleep here. How big can a star get?"

"Big enough, probably, to consume the entire Medina Corridor. It's impossible to tell," Madeline suggested.

"Medina is gone. Chaos has subjugated the whole damn system."

Roth turned to face the silo, patting it gently with his Tang-War gauntlet. With one swift motion he pushed the silo over. It yielded like a ripe fruit and toppled from its base with a clang that echoed around the perfect amplification of the cubic chamber.

"Go now. Or stay if you must. I'm going to open this here."

Madeline moved towards Roth, but Captain Silat stopped her and tried to usher her away by the elbow.

"Professor de Medici. Your service has been invaluable to me," Roth said.

The inquisitor stood over the bell silo. He tugged the mitten off his Tang-War gauntlet and allowed his weapon to charge. He took one last look at the artefact that had cost him so much. The Old King, the Star Ancient, the astronomical body worshipped as something it had no right to be. Roth lifted his power fist and fractured the silo in one clean strike.

The tomb bell was split, opening a chasm down its centreline. Inside was the star, now released. At first it was subatomic, an infinitesimal particle invisible to the naked eye. Yet its existence was undeniable as it bathed the entire chamber in an ambient green glow. It was like a microbial sun casting its light for an interior universe, colouring the sweeping map of the Medina Corridor, illuminating the mathematical lines.

Roth could feel its energy, thrumming harmonics in the air, prickling heat upon his skin. He waited in reverent silence as the star continued to grow. Soon it was as large as a fist, a boiling sphere of emerald gas. The interior casing of the broken tomb bell began to scorch and bubble into molten slag. The temperature and radiation accelerated so quickly that Roth could wait no longer. Without a word, the Task Group scrambled for cover as the star began to awaken.

DURING THE SIXTY-EIGHTH hour of the Last War, the embryonic star was roused from its dormant state.

At the centre of the four hundred-kilometre wall of Fortress Chain, a swirling disc of light could be seen, even from orbit by the 9th Route Fleet. It appeared as a whirling nexus, the energies of thermonuclear fusion spearing outwards with solar flares. The pulses even disrupted communications equipment on board the Carthage at high anchor.

The last Naval craft to leave Aridun tried to evacuate as many personnel as it could carry from the excavation site. Brigade commanders and staff generals were crammed alongside shell-shocked privates and NCOs. The Naval pilots simply tried to get as many bodies into their hangars before the Ironclad overran the perimeter.

Inquisitor Roth - all that remained of the Conclavial Task Group - along with a Professor Madeline Rebequin Louise de Medici boarded the last flight out of Aridun. A Marauder fighter-bomber was risking one last sortie to evacuate Roth. They carried him up on a stretcher, the Guardsmen parting the crowd for Inquisitor Roth as he was rushed up the landing ramp. Already some of the NCOs nearby were barking at the younger soldiers to make way for "their general".

The CantiCol still fought, up until the last hour of the planet's existence. The resistance, however, was largely pyrrhic. Pockets of CantiCol Guardsmen who had been scattered during the Archenemy siege continued to resist. Wallowing through the smoke, Guardsmen sniped at Ironclad formations. For the many who had run out of ammunition, they took themselves out into the middle of the streets, clutching unpinned grenades to their chest. They walked out into the night to find a suitable patch of rubble and lay down to die. It was in the hope that they would fall asleep and release the grenade, or the Archenemy would disturb them. Either way it was as quick and dignified a death as they could manage.

Before the fourth dawn of the Last War, the CantiCol no longer existed as a fighting regiment of the Imperial Guard. But by then, the entire Medina Corridor was well on its way to extinction. The embryonic star had convulsed into a rapidly expanding swirl of dust and dark matter. It glowed and flashed like the heart of a scarlet hurricane. Cones of contrasting green gamma flashed from its pressure gradient as expanding gas clouds boiled around it in smoky wreaths. The incalculable heat and pressure entirely consumed the planet of Aridun, and as it gradually gyrated into an expanding sphere, it consumed Cantica, Orphrates and Kholpesh. Within the end of the lunar cycle, the star had expanded into a fully-fledged white sun.

Please. Stop. Doing. Huge. Excerpt. Dumps!

Where is this from? There's no citation. All you're doing is just dumping walls of text and fething off with no comment. You see the quote that I put ITT? That is sufficient to get the message across. Practically posting full chapters from novels just pisses people off.

Alright. I'll stop. You guys can talk.

Onething123456 wrote:
Alright. I'll stop. You guys can talk.

Will you really? Because honestly I doubt it. You follow the same cycle of "Alright, I'm leaving bye" in full chatroom mode before promptly starting off another thread so you can talk/quote dump about the same things over and over. Even when you're temp-banned, you don't learn your lesson, because you repeat the exact same "questions"/statements on Reddit. He even created a thread on Reddit airing his dirty laundry about Dakka when one of his recent threads was deleted:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/a32y8p/what_is_it_with_people_on_places_like_dakkadakka/

You've deleted it, but it shows how you really don't understand why you're being treated with such hostility here.

You want to show you've changed or learned? Take a break from posting new threads and try to respond or engage with other people's threads, one not involving you just quote dumping but actually engaging and discussing topics outside of your immediate interest. You may find people will actually want to talk to you more civilly then.

The mods have been exceedingly patient with you and I think you should respond in kind.

And with that parting message I'm locking this up.