# Was the Emperor as xenophobic as his followers?



## Platypus5 (Apr 7, 2010)

Just wondering. Many of the "happy ending" scenarios for the 40k universe involve the newly revived Emperor forming an alliance with the Tau and Eldar.

Also, did he want to see all aliens wiped out of existence? Or did he just want them, as you could say "know their place."


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## murdock129 (Apr 3, 2008)

I always thought myself the Emperor was tolerant of aliens that weren't threatening the Imperium but like the fact he discouraged the idea of gods and religion, this was perverted and ignored when he was placed in the Golden Throne


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## Sephyr (Jan 18, 2010)

It's an interesting questions. I think most of the fluff does sustain the idea that the emperor was openly aggressive regarding the xenos. If for nothing else, they were living on inhabitable worlds the human race could use. Lebensraum and all that. 

However, the continued existence of some races, as well as the varying attitude the remaining Space Marine Legions have regarding aliens (Some chapters have a grudging respect for Eldar or Tau and only get into hacking gear when actual worlds trade hands) suggests a more pragmatic approach may also be possible. I think the emperor wanted humanity to stand on its own and believes that deeper contact with other races would subvert mankind's potential should anything go cosmically wrong, but it is possible that he wanted a galaxy where humans were dominant but not the only sentient race allowed.


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## K3k3000 (Dec 28, 2009)

I've heard conflicting reports. The Emperor wasn't a very tolerant person, but I have heard mention of peace treaties with xenos during the Emperor's time, which certainly wouldn't have happened during the Imperium's run.


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## Platypus5 (Apr 7, 2010)

K3k3000 said:


> I've heard conflicting reports. The Emperor wasn't a very tolerant person, but I have heard mention of peace treaties with xenos during the Emperor's time, which certainly wouldn't have happened during the Imperium's run.


That is good to hear. As I said before, I am one of those people who wants a grand sort of ending where the revived emperor forms an alliance with the Tau and Eldar to face off against the forces of disorder.

I know that hardcore 40k fans laugh at people like me, but it is what I like. Please don't make fun of me.


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

There`s no reason to make fun of that. 

As far as I can venture a guess, there must have been some tolerance between the Emperor and alien species. Eldar were tolerated, being somewhat civilised, but more savage races such as orks and the like would be treated as the vermin they were and exterminated. 

There are a few examples of alien contact under somewhat civilised circumstances in the heresy series, suggesting a measure of respect for each other. That said, these encounters did not end particularly well for said xenos, usually for the stupidest reasons.

So we`re a different species. Big whoop, you wanna fight about it?

What? Yes?! ...shit.


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## Child-of-the-Emperor (Feb 22, 2009)

By all accounts the Emperor was just as Xenophobic as the Imperium is, infact the Imperium is Xenophobic because he was. And he had many reasons to be Xenophobic:

1) Firstly the Age of Strife which had dragged humanity out of their Golden Age and into despair was caused by Aliens (The Eldar Empire). The Emperor saw it that Mankind needed to be in control of the Galaxy, before such another disaster could happen.

2) During the Age of Strife many Alien Races who had signed non-aggression pacts with Humanity, races that humanity could seemingly trust turned their backs on mankind and preyed on their worlds and populations. Xenos were seen as fickle and could turn on Mankind at any moment (like they did, they betrayed Mankind during the Age of Strife), thus they had to be destroyed.

3) It was believed that the Galaxy was Mankind's Birthright, thus Alien Races had to smashed aside.

4) And the most important one for me, involves Chaos. The Emperor's greatest aspiration was to weaken Chaos' grasp over the Galaxy and over Mankind. All mortal races feed Chaos, and this he needed to stop. With Mankind, he could have stopped this relatively easy - and evidence points to the fact he was in the process of doing so; enforcing the Imperial Truth to starve Chaos of worship, uniting all Mankind under his Iron rule so they would do what he said when he said, The Imperial Webway project etc. But this kind of control and obedience he couldn't gain over/from Xenos. Thus to starve Chaos of worship and emotions they had to be destroyed.

And also this theory about the Emperor reviving and allying with the Eldar and Tau is in my opinion absurd. Firstly because the Eldar and Tau are so weak on a galactic scale that it wouldn't make a major difference. In fact the Tau couldn't even fight beyond the boundaries of their empire considering they can't utilise Warp Travel like the Imperium can. And secondly _if_ the Emperor was to be revived, he would be so in the Warp, not in the Material Universe, his mortal presence is dead and has been for millennia.


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

Ah, the harshness of reality (by which I mean fiction).

CotE is probably right. My afore mentioned tolerance would have more to do with priorities rather than understanding.


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## murdock129 (Apr 3, 2008)

Wow, I must say I stand thoroughly corrected


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## GWLlosa (Sep 27, 2009)

I always had the impression that point #4 wasn't that big a deal to him, in that he was more worried about the Human-Chaos interaction than any potential alien-Chaos interaction. The impression I got was always that he advocated for wary distrust, because the alien had already shown his true colors in the gangbanging-backstab of mankind in the Age of Strife. His goals, aside from defeating Chaos, were to return mankind to a position wherein the alien would 'never again' be able to inflict that sort of suffering on humanity. So I think given a position of overwhelming superiority, he would not have found it necessary to go as far as genocidal eradication of the more peaceful/tolerable aliens; he also would not have done any more than Nelson (Bart Simpson's friend, not the British sailor) if they had been threatened by a 3rd party.


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## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

Well in Horus Rising Abaddon almost comes to blows with Horus when Horus refuses to destroy the Interex for consorting with aliens, Abaddon says that the Emperor had issued the command that aliens were not to be tolerated.


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## space cowboy (Apr 3, 2009)

Baron Spikey said:


> Well in Horus Rising Abaddon almost comes to blows with Horus when Horus refuses to destroy the Interex for consorting with aliens, Abaddon says that the Emperor had issued the command that aliens were not to be tolerated.


This.

Plus, I might be one of a few, but I have no desire to see a happy ending for the 40k universe. Even an ending in the first place would be too happy for me. An eternity of war and strife is what the setting is built upon, and I much prefer the struggle to merely get by in the face of that reality to some Ultimate Ending that can be worked towards and achieved.


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## K3k3000 (Dec 28, 2009)

> And also this theory about the Emperor reviving and allying with the Eldar and Tau is in my opinion absurd. Firstly because the Eldar and Tau are so weak on a galactic scale that it wouldn't make a major difference. In fact the Tau couldn't even fight beyond the boundaries of their empire considering they can't utilise Warp Travel like the Imperium can.


I think they'd make more of a difference than you think. Through the far seers the Eldar are able to change the course of major events with quick, precision strikes at key intervals. Now imagine that precision strike delivered with the sledgehammer force of the Imperium's many armies. Yes, far seers are fallible, but as they're the only things preventing the eldar from going extinct I'd say they're right more often than not. 

A few troops from either faction could bolster a space marine unit or a imperial guard regiment, complimenting their strengths and covering for their weaknesses. And then there's the simple exchange of technology. Imagine space marines outfitted with the superior technology of the eldar. Imagine the possibility of the eldar learning enough from geneboosting technology to make their own quasi-eldar astartes. Imagine all the new, specialized races this alliance would find and make use of under the guidance of the Tau. 

Of course, I realize this won't happen, due to the arrogance of both the Imperium and the Eldar. I'm just saying if it did, it would make quite a difference.



> And secondly if the Emperor was to be revived, he would be so in the Warp, not in the Material Universe, his mortal presence is dead and has been for millennia.


I believe the sensei theory states that, if the sensei are sacrificed at the proper time, the Emperor will be revived in person.


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## ajchafe (Aug 13, 2009)

I think they thing about the Emperor is, he was born to be able to see the big picture. That's his purpose. I think he is sort of beyond Xenophobic. He would be a lot like an Eldar farseer. He would have one race destroyed, or one person killed because he knew they might eventually cause some trouble for humans. Or he might let one thrive because they could equally hate Chaos or something.

Anyway, I would say that you can't really nail down what the emperor was as a person, and that the imperium is an extension of what people perceived he was. But that perception has fallen short causing the attitudes about Xenos that are common in the fluff.


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## Barnster (Feb 11, 2010)

I think the Emperor hated all Xenos. Reasons have all ready been posted by others so i won't repeat what already here. The emperor wanted to rebuild the human empire, ANYTHING xenos or human that stood in the way of this was an enemy to be destroyed.

Whether the emperor was tolerant of some xenos was probably due to a lack of resources to exterminate all aliens. In flight of the Eisenstein the deathguard go back to a group of xenos that had already been attacked and beaten back to finish the job as it were. The emperor knew that he'd have to deal with the xenos on step at a time


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