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So, many times in the lore, the Inquisition and Grey Knights end up killing their allies after a battle to keep the knowledge of Chaos limited. Is the Inquisition that successful that the vast majority of the Imperium has no knowledge of Chaos and Psykers? How widespread is the knowledge of xenos? Since the only people that even have access to interstellar travel are Peers of the Imperium (including Rogue Traders who are not expected to hang out in Imperial space for very long), in the employ of the Imperium with a need to know and a need to travel, or never expected to go back home again (IG and Ecclesiarchy pilgrims).

Is it possible that most people (90%+) have no idea about aliens or psykers or cults or chaos, or really anything at all so that when space monsters show up everyone freaks out. I would assume that planetary governors would be in on the secret, but Imperial governorship can range from very hands off to insanely oppressive. Neither extreme really forces the Imperial leadership to tell the populace anything, so could a planet be a functional, technological part of the Imperium without knowing about anything about xenos or psykers (for their own protection)?

-STS

Most people know xenos exist, but their perception would largely be of a similar level to the Uplifting primer - seeing orks as stupid brutes, Tyranids as mindless beasts, etc.

The population is aware of psykers and daemons as vague nebulous concepts. The Fede Imperialis - the 40k analogue to the Lord's Prayer or Atayat includes the line "from the be getting of daemons, our emperor deliver us."

The ecclesiarchy talks vaguely about daemons as creatures of sin and heresy in the abstract in the same way that modern churches do. What isn't- EVER - admitted to is the idea that they're real, and you can potentially summon or encounter them in reality.

Knowing about psykers is more normal. The Imperial tithe includes a duty to identify and surrender psykers born amongst your population, so to have a fighting chance of identifying them people HAVE to know what they are looking for, and sanctioned astropaths are a critical part of a sector's infrastructure.

Whilst some -like redemptionists - think the only good psykers is a dead psyker, the overall official line is that SANCTIONED psykers are okay, the phrase 'witch' refers to untrained and unsanctioned psykers.

With xenos, they know that they exist but they have an extremely uninformed viewpoint. For example Doom of Mymeara has a member of the nobility refuse to send soldiers to Betalis III because he thought the Eldar were made up. Even amongst the more knowing people like generals the distinction between Dark Eldar and Craftworld Eldar is expert knowledge.

In one of the Cain novels he has to brief Guard commanders (Captains and above) about Chaos as none of them know anything about it, and IIRC a Tallarn Colonel has a mini-breakdown has to be taken away by his own Commissar.

Yeah, normal folks know xenos exist.

That they're out there and people need protection from them (even if they are inferior) is one of more straightforward propaganda tools of the Imperium.

Mind you, knowledge of psykers and xenos does vary depending on the tech level of planet. Some feral worlds that are hands-off administered from orbit might know nothing at all. But those aren't typical imperial worlds.


Chaos and suchlike, not so much. That they do try to keep secret.

I doubt most citz know anything at all about any other races, until they come calling. Farmer bob or hive scum jaqandris might get told about stupid orks, but probably not much else.
Theyre told to hate the alien, mutant, heretic. But all those labels can apply to other humans.

they know the names of races but what they know is propaganada and absurd, Orks are stupid and easily gunned down by guardsmen, Eldar are spindly and die easily, no real threat. etc

BrianDavion wrote:
they know the names of races but what they know is propaganada and absurd, Orks are stupid and easily gunned down by guardsmen, Eldar are spindly and die easily, no real threat. etc

They're half right - Eldar Avatars die easily.

I think there has to be made a distinction between what the Ecclesiarchy wishes them to know, and what knowledge is really available to the curious mind. Information control is easier to imagine, than to pull off, especially if obvious contradictions between official narrative and actual experience regularly pop up and need to be hushed over.

The Imperium is an interconnected organism, with enough reliance on trade to allow entire planets to specialize their productions on specific tasks, If such a structure takes losses, losing citizens, cities or entire planets, it's hard to silence every witness. Also, if you want to keep protective meassures against those threats somewhat effective, you need to pass on enough information to those, that are supposed to enact those meassures.

Off course, there will be some fools, that just delusionally believe everything they are told by authority, and real expert knowledge will be had only by a few experts, but my guess is the width of society will know astonishingly much and anticipate even more.

 AuntHerbert wrote:
I think there has to be made a distinction between what the Ecclesiarchy wishes them to know, and what knowledge is really available to the curious mind. Information control is easier to imagine, than to pull off, especially if obvious contradictions between official narrative and actual experience regularly pop up and need to be hushed over.

The Imperium is an interconnected organism, with enough reliance on trade to allow entire planets to specialize their productions on specific tasks, If such a structure takes losses, losing citizens, cities or entire planets, it's hard to silence every witness. Also, if you want to keep protective meassures against those threats somewhat effective, you need to pass on enough information to those, that are supposed to enact those meassures.

Off course, there will be some fools, that just delusionally believe everything they are told by authority, and real expert knowledge will be had only by a few experts, but my guess is the width of society will know astonishingly much and anticipate even more.

I doubt it's that widespread. It's not like your average Hive Citizen can Google it or go to the local library to look up Xenos. There's also the fact that they live in a society that puts a lot of emphasis on obedience, duty and generally not questioning things, there's no empathy or interest in others. Hell, relating to other people is a sin in the Imperium.