40K RUMORS: The Fragmented Emperor

The Golden Throne may soon have a new occupant.

Gathering Storm III – Rise of the Primarch is just around the corner and the rumor mill is cranking up in anticipation. Here’s the latest on what’s going down in the Imperial Throneroom.

One of Faeit’s birds has been singing.

“Roboute Guilliman will become the Emperor Incarnate, as the Emperor is destroyed and fragmented. Cypher will be at Guilliman’s side.”

Thoughts

What exactly would a “destroyed and fragmented” Emperor look like?

Now for those of you who don’t remember way way way back in 1990 when Black Library was young, Ian Watson’s Inquisitor was published. One of the pivotol scenes in that book was the discovery that the current day Emperor’s mind is fragmented into many thousands of smaller minds each set with some key task needed to keep the Imperium functioning. It was an interesting construct for it’s time but not dwelled upon. It however set up the concept of the Emperor as such a potent psychic entity that he can be in multiple locations across the galaxy enacting his will simultaneously.  Inspiring a Sister of Battle here, guiding an Tarot reading there, providing safe passage to a ship a Segmentum over..

We also have the example of the Eldar Avatar – once a single god, fragmented into many shards; each of which is an small incarnation of his spirit. Each of which is immortal and works to protect and assist his people.

I could see a giant shift in the fluff along these lines:

• Guilliman takes the Throne
• The Emperor’s body is destroyed
• He spirit is freed to travel the warp and aid humanity via many fragments each working independently to aid mankind.
• In effect, the Emperor would ascend and become the first member of the Human pantheon of the warp.
• It would be the second freeing of all the early human shaman’s souls into the warp to assist mankind and perhaps one day coalesce into a new Emperor.

It’s a cool thought experiment and as a GW / Black Library writer – I could see a lot of mileage coming out of that theme.

~What’s your take?

Author: Larry Vela

Dad, Gamer, Publisher, Pilot, Texan. All games all the time since junior-high. I started BoLS Interactive in 2006. I’m a lifelong tabletop & RPG gaming enthusiast, and internet publisher working to entertain and inform my readers every day. I've been playing RPGs and Tabletop Games since the 1970s. I'm been playing and covering Warhammer and Warhammer 40K for over 35 years.