# Priests of Mars [spoilers]



## randian (Feb 26, 2009)

One tidbit I found very interesting. The master computer of the explorator ship claims that one of its previous names is "Grammaticus". I wonder if that's any relation to John Grammaticus of _Legion_ fame, and if so what that relationship is.


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## piemelke (Oct 13, 2010)

I assume that is a coincidence
still I really enjoyed the book, it gave a great insight in how the mechanicus can work. Graham really gives great descriptions of the mechanicus. I enjoyed the first half of the book very much sort of like an adventure movie thing, the same feeling I had when watching the fellowship of the ring. The section at the space station, I thought that was rather crap, fortunately the end was really great. However things no longer make sense to me. The way the mechanicus is described is actually technically really really advanced, ok a lot of lore has been lost but still the current tech level is tantalizing, this is in strong contrast with the often retarded description of the mechanicus. Even taken unto account that a more liberal fraction of the mechanicus has been portrayed. I mean based upon what I read in the book I do not doubt they can still make terminator armour dreadnoughts, titans and what not, I would be under the assumptions that this is conflicting with the slow tech development often encountered in books. Furthermore the speranza has been brought to Mars, i cannot imagine that the fractions of Mars would allow such a risk to such a tecnical wonder without first stripping it of all it technical lore. In the end for me a great book, significantly better than the emperors gift and about at the same level as void stalker. I also recently read wrath of Iron and that does not even come close, the book had a really refreshing feel about it, sort of like an adventure story, actually a spark of hope in a dark and grim universe


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## randian (Feb 26, 2009)

The end presages a sequel, since the story is obviously not finished.

I think Mars had a problem, in that demanding that an explorator not be used for the job of exploring is somewhat antithetical to the Martian creed, even as debased and conservative as it now is. I can also see how all the advanced Magos would likely turn themselves into AIs were it not for the ban on inorganic intelligence. They are perilously close to that state as it is.


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## piemelke (Oct 13, 2010)

I actually feel they should have first secured the new lore found in the speranza and than allow it to explore strange space stuff,


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## Freakytah (Nov 20, 2009)

Spoilers

I thought it was a good read as well. The ending did come up out of nowhere though, I thought we would get at least a few chapters beyond the Scar.

What was the deal with the Letter of Marque at the very end of the story? Does it being fake present some revelation that I completely missed? I read a lot of BL but sometimes the subtle things go completely over my head.

I wondered that same thing about the Grammaticus reference. I also enjoyed the Peter Pan reference at the very end.


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## randian (Feb 26, 2009)

Freakytah said:


> What was the deal with the Letter of Marque at the very end of the story? Does it being fake present some revelation that I completely missed? I read a lot of BL but sometimes the subtle things go completely over my head.


It's unclear what it means. For example, we don't know that the Captain knows it's fake. We don't know who in the Mechanicus faked it (I presume only they could).

We still don't know what causes the Halo stars. My first thought was "giant Chaos zone", like the Eye, but the psykers survived so I guess that's out.

Now that they've gone through the Halo stars, I see no point to them repeating that horror in reverse. Take the time to go around.


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## Alhom (Aug 17, 2012)

randian said:


> One tidbit I found very interesting. The master computer of the explorator ship claims that one of its previous names is "Grammaticus". I wonder if that's any relation to John Grammaticus of _Legion_ fame, and if so what that relationship is.


Like you, I asked myself this question but in the others old names of the Ark Mechanicus there is also the name ok _KABAN_.

And it's this name in particular who disturbed me.
There is a link to the Kaban Project (short novel from McNeill available in the artbook The Horus Heresy : Collected Visions)?
Kaban appears also in Mechanicum if I remember correctly.

What do you think?


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## Alhom (Aug 17, 2012)

Alhom said:


> Like you, I asked myself this question but in the others old names of the Ark Mechanicus there is also the name ok _KABAN_.
> 
> And it's this name in particular who disturbed me.
> There is a link to the Kaban Project (short novel from McNeill available in the artbook The Horus Heresy : Collected Visions)?
> ...


Nobody has any idea about it?


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## Matcap (Aug 23, 2012)

Alhom said:


> Nobody has any idea about it?


I believe the Kaban Project and the Kaban in Mechanicus are the same entity. It being referenced in Priests of Mars (which I did not care for) might be an easteregg.


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## Xisor (Oct 1, 2011)

I read it last week; really enjoyed it. 



*Spoilers for Mechanicum follow*

The Kaban/Grammaticus/Akashic thing hints, to me, that it ties directly into the Heresy and the ending of _Mechanicum_ - Totha Mu-32 is surely a descendent/agent of Rho Mu-32, the Protector to the Guardian.

But exactly how? Well, Kaban's an AI. It almost became the Guardian of the Dragon, but didn't. It's forbidden by the Emperor. The Golden Men seem to be indicated to be the Necrons, in a manner, with the Martians having 'co-opted' part of that mythology and legend as their own account of the Dark Age of Technology, effectively conflating the War in Heaven and the Dark Age. That ties into a main theme of _Prospero Burns_: what caused the Age of Strife?

We know the Emperor imprisoned a sliver of the Dragon under the Labyrinth on Mars. We don't know how much remains there or how much as escaped with Caxton & Zouche and the book they stole from Semyon (from the Cave of the Dragon/Cave that is the Dragon).

We don't know who first built _Speranza_, why it was stopped or what was included. We don't know much about Galatea, 'cept that he's monstrous and freaky (much like Azurmagelli!).

So, it's a broad and open spectrum. Grammaticus is there, there's the Kaban project, the Akashic device of Zeth's (which seems to 'basically' be a variant of the Emperor's Golden Throne?), there's C'tan (formerly Star Vampires!) and so forth... and there's AI!

The C'tan, however, seem to be the overarching hint here. The Halo Scar, or strictly the Halo Zone is implied to be the home-space of the Necrons, their 'dwelling place'. Makes sense: the Macharian Crusade halted at the cusp of the Halo too (the terrors of 'beyond the Astronomican' were too much for the already unprecedentedly triumphant Crusade). So in this region, it's not at all improbable for such monstrous things to dwell here.

But look at the astronomic clues. 3rd Ed Codex: stars ageing and dying before their time. Stars 'going out'. The closer the Tychons get to the Halo Scar the older and deader the stars appear to be: but not as one would expect based on conventional physics: they're undergoing accelerated ageing.

What feeds on stars? Star vampires, nascent star gods which consume the stars. Well, that's not a given, but that seems to be the implication.

So, conclusions:
1- The Halo Scar is a C'tan nursery/lair of the escaped Dragon
2- Spenanza is an AI of the kin of Castigator and Kaban.
3- The AIs themselves have a relevancy to divinity in the broader 40k Metaphysics: the Emperor, the Akashic, the Cabal and so forth are all in some manner plausible connections, especially given the events of the Horus Heresy we know of so far.


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## Alhom (Aug 17, 2012)

Xisor said:


> So, conclusions:
> 1- The Halo Scar is a C'tan nursery/lair of the escaped Dragon
> 2- Spenanza is an AI of the kin of Castigator and Kaban.
> 3- The AIs themselves have a relevancy to divinity in the broader 40k Metaphysics: the Emperor, the Akashic, the Cabal and so forth are all in some manner plausible connections, especially given the events of the Horus Heresy we know of so far.


Realy nice speech dude, I love your reflexion.
The point I don't understand is "lair of escaped Dragon".
I'm okay with your theory about the Halo Scar is a pantry for C'tan.
Also about the Sperenza is the spirit of Kaban, but what is the relationship between the Dragon and the Halo Scar?

An other point, there is the artefact named _The Breath of Gods_ which eat stars.
So, is _The Breath of Gods_ an object? Or a C'tan?


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## Xisor (Oct 1, 2011)

Alhom said:


> Realy nice speech dude, I love your reflexion.
> The point I don't understand is "lair of escaped Dragon".
> I'm okay with your theory about the Halo Scar is a pantry for C'tan.
> Also about the Sperenza is the spirit of Kaban, but what is the relationship between the Dragon and the Halo Scar?
> ...


Thanks man, most welcome! 

With regards to 'Lair of escaped Dragon': I suspect that the 'Halo Scar' may only have come into existence *after* the events of _Mechanicum_, that the Dragon may have escaped from Mars in some form (as a shard?) and in doing so began to feast and 'ooze'/'leak' out of Mars and reform within the Halo Scar.

In that regard, the Dragon/C'tan could be allegorical: it could be real, it could be an analogy to aid everyone in comprehending the other C'tan (which aren't the Dragon? Offspring of the Dragon, perhaps?). In any case, I expect the _Breath of the Gods_ to be elaborated on, but whether it's a red-herring or not... well, it'll be exciting to find out, I hope!


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