Around the late M25, shortly after the Iron Men Rebellion ended, Nuceria erupted into civil war.
One faction, led by the High Knights, called themselves the Purists. The other, whom they derisively labeled Beasts, were differentiated by only one standard, the degree to which their genes resembled those of baseline humanity.
"Our genetic similarity to the original human genome exceeds 70%, while the Beasts barely reach 10%," Claudia said, unable to hide her contempt. "Five thousand years ago, the war nearly destroyed Nuceria itself. It was we who protected the spark of civilization from the Beasts and xenos alike!"
"Those slaves are all descendants of the Beasts. Their genetic similarity to humanity's original genome doesn't even reach 25%. Aside from looking vaguely human, there's nothing human about them. The blood in their veins stopped being human long ago!"
"Only by uniting the 99% purity in you and the 70% in me can we create the purest offspring. Together, we can purify this world!"
Caelan didn't respond to Claudia's fanaticism, though he already had a thorough understanding of the war between the Purists and the Beasts.
If he were to simplify it, the Purists were akin to mechanical ascension, while the Beasts pursued genetic ascension.
However, the Purists were not as extreme as the Tech-Priests; they didn't turn their entire bodies into machines.
The Praetorians had only one mechanical implant, their silver vine. The High Knights possessed more, such as Claudia's mask, eyes, and wings, yet outwardly they still resembled ordinary humans. They placed immense importance on the purity of the human form and genome.
After the Beast Wars ended, the Purists nearly exterminated the Beasts, driving the few survivors into the wastelands.
Their rule over Nuceria was crude and brutal; they divided humanity into High Knights, commoners, and slaves, according to genetic purity. Commoners with sufficiently high purity might be promoted to the personal guard of a Knight.
Since the genetic database of the Golden Age had long been corrupted, the Nucerians used the most ancient human genome as their reference, the DNA of primitive Terrans.
But this system had long since rotted. Thousands of years ago, the Knights may have enslaved those with lower purity to protect humanity's gene pool. Now, they did it purely for amusement.
Their obsession with genetic purity had become less about safeguarding humanity and more about proving their inherent nobility. It was no longer a faith; it was vanity.
"Join us," Claudia said, extending a hand toward Caelan. "Together we can forge Nuceria's future."
Caelan suddenly asked, "What do you think makes someone human?"
Claudia replied, "You and I."
"You're too extreme." Caelan shook his head.
"If you take M3 as the reference point," he said, "humans from that era shared over 99% of their genome with late-stage Homo sapiens, differences only in single-nucleotide polymorphisms and minor structural variations."
"But move thirty millennia ahead, to M30, and the genetic similarity drops below 40%. By your standard, 99% of the galaxy's human population shouldn't count as human and should be exterminated."
Even though individuals like the Emperor and other perpetuals still existed in M30, humanity as a whole had diverged drastically.
Before M23, such differences were minimal; genetic optimization was still based on human DNA.
But after M23, the Men of Gold began modifying human genes using alien sequences.
It's widely believed they hoped these alien genes would help humanity ascend.
Since this was a species-wide project, it wasn't confined to one world; it spanned all of human space.
During the Golden Age, human civilization was at its peak. Stone Men and Iron Men loyally served their masters, and no world dared defy the Golden Men's orders.
Even though the Iron Men Rebellion later shattered the Imperium, the experiments had already succeeded.
By M30, humanity stood on the threshold of ascending into a psychic species.
Even the Emperor sought not to halt this process but to guide it.
"To become a psychic species, we are taking our final step."
"I have conquered the Cradle of mankind, and soon the entire galaxy, to safeguard our evolution."
"No human can stand aside, lest ignorance doom us all."
"We have purged faith and fear from the human mind, swept away religion, so that no gateway to the Warp remains open."
"Soon, humanity shall travel the stars without Gellar Fields, and communicate without the whispers of psykers."
"Under Imperial peace and law, humanity will stand protected until I lead it to become a true psychic race."
If the Emperor had shared the Nucerians' obsession with "gene purity," the Great Crusade would never have been humanity's triumph; it would have been a genocidal horror disguised as holy purification.
Such fanaticism would twist the dream of human rebirth into the abyss of self-destruction.
"Why?" Claudia whispered, bewildered.
Caelan's tone was sharp. "If we judge humanity by genetic similarity, then what are you in my eyes, with your mere 70%? You think you're human?"
The words cut deep.
Caelan was a native of M3; his genome was purer.
Even in the Golden Age, human genes had been optimized, but they still shared 90% similarity with M3-era Terrans.
By ancient Terran standards, 90% similarity was about the same difference between a human and a monkey.
So, by that metric, Caelan was the monkey.
But even then, humanity's genetic divergence across the stars was vast. Each world adapted differently; some were resistant to heat, others to cold, yet all remained far closer to one another than the High Knights, whose genomes had become alien in all but name.
Even with 70% similarity, Claudia's kind were more the result of experimentation, like the Emperor's creations or the psychic hybrids of the Gold.
"If we go by your purity logic," Caelan said, "then Golden Age humans are human, I'm a monkey, and you're a fish."
"And now this fish is professing love to a monkey, saying together we'll rebuild humanity. Isn't that ridiculous?"
"Why must you insult me?" Claudia's voice trembled. "If even I cannot be called human, then there are no humans left on Nuceria!"
"That's exactly the problem," Caelan sighed. "You push everything to extremes. Genes are just base pairs. Since when did they become the measure of humanity?"
Claudia gave a sharp, bitter laugh. "So you'd rather call those Beasts human than accept a fellow pure-blood?"
"I was just making a point," Caelan said.
"Then what do you use to define humanity," she demanded, "if not genes?"
"Simple, reproductive isolation."
Even Nucerian schoolchildren once knew that's what separates species.
The Emperor's standard was mercifully broad; even the Beastmen could serve the Imperium as auxiliary troops if they were loyal.
And across the galaxy, Terrans and Macraggeans could interbreed freely. Despite all genetic modifications, there was no reproductive barrier; they were still one species.
"Even if two humans have wildly different genomes," Caelan said, "as long as they can mate and bear fertile offspring, the laws of the universe still recognize them as one species."
"Then tell me, Caelan," Claudia leaned close, her eyes burning, "is there reproductive isolation between us?"
"There shouldn't be."
"Then mate with me."
"Claudia, why are you so fixated on this?" Caelan groaned. "There are other Knights with similar purity. Can't you just… pair with them?"
"You think our ancestors didn't try?" Her laugh was cold, self-mocking. "There are consequences to five thousand years of interbreeding within a dwindling elite. Guess what they are."
Caelan's face darkened. "Inbreeding."
Five millennia, two to three hundred generations. The Purists' obsession with keeping their blood "pure" had doomed them to genetic collapse.
Deformities, defects, and infertility, most newborns were culled at birth as "impure."
Cut off by Warp storms, Nuceria had no escape from its own genetic decay.
So when Claudia saw Caelan, she saw salvation: a man with a 99% pure genome. Their offspring could "purify" humanity and save her dying bloodline.
"Wait… so you want me to be your, " Caelan's voice stuck in his throat.
"Exactly," Claudia smiled, eyes glittering with possessiveness. "They want you as a breeding stud for the High Knights. But I want you for the House Octavia. If I can't satisfy you, you may have my sisters, but only I will bear your firstborn."
"If you agree, I'll make you a High Knight of my House. Even if you wish to free the slaves, I'll help you. Ask the boy beside you, I'm not lying."
Caelan glanced at Angron. The boy gave a subtle nod.
"...Damn."
Caelan stared at Claudia for a few seconds, feeling the absurdity of the world crush him.
Claudia tilted her head, batting her lashes with a sweet smile. "Well? Say the word, and I'm yours."
"Not interested."
Her smile froze, eyes flashing cold. "Why?"
"I'll admit, I'm tempted," Caelan said honestly. "If I'd met you years ago, I'd have said yes without a second thought."
Claudia Octavia, High Knight of Dhesia, mistress of one of Nuceria's greatest Houses, was the pinnacle of power and beauty.
If Caelan had met her upon arrival, he wouldn't have had the will to refuse.
But he'd met the Emperor, not Claudia.
"Why?" she asked again.
"I still have a mission."
"Who gave you this mission? What mission?"
"The Emperor. To save humanity."
"I can help you."
"Your kindness is appreciated, but unnecessary," Caelan said. "The Imperium's fleets will soon reach Nuceria. Out of respect for your sincerity, I'll give you advice: if you abandon this narrow genetic dogma, the Imperium will gladly welcome you. There are countless pure humans across the galaxy to choose from."
Claudia lifted her chin, her lips curling in a mocking smile. "The Imperium? How vast is this empire of yours?"
"Far greater than Nuceria," Caelan replied. "Your Knights may wield advanced tech, but to resist the Imperium is a dream for fools."
Even in its early form, the Imperium could still crush a world like Nuceria.
Her smile faltered, then widened again, bright and venomous. "You'd better not be bluffing."
"I don't need to bluff."
"You're right," she whispered, removing her mask and tracing her flawless cheek. "I believe you. I just can't understand, why refuse me? Am I not beautiful enough?"
"You're beautiful," Caelan admitted.
"Then why?"
"Because I have a mission."
Caelan couldn't comprehend her obsession. His rejection only fueled her desire; the more he resisted, the more her fixation grew.
He turned sharply. "Was that your doing?"
Angron lowered his head, guilty.
"What did you do?"
"I'm sorry," the boy murmured. "I was afraid she'd hurt you."
"So you amplified her emotions?" Caelan sighed. "You've got to be careful with that, kid."
Claudia's gaze cut toward Angron like a scalpel. "He is your mission?"
"Yes." Caelan nodded.
She smiled thinly. "Then your Imperium came for him, didn't it?"
"That's right."
Her lips curved into a venomous smile. "So that's why you're here, to protect him. You told the slaves you'd stay in Dhesia for months, to let him grow, to lead them in revolt against us.
"You believe even without you, he could overthrow us. I don't doubt your judgment, so I know he's dangerous."
"But a revolution would take years. That means your Imperium won't reach Nuceria anytime soon. You're alone."
Caelan shielded Angron behind him. "You intend to kill him now, before he can grow."
"No." Claudia smiled radiantly. "Why would I harm you? Think, if your Imperium arrives to find only your corpses, they'll destroy Nuceria in their wrath. I would too."
"And besides, I don't think Nuceria could ever threaten you. If your Emperor sent you alone to protect him, your power must be beyond comprehension. You've already shown that we can't restrain your psychic might. If I tried to kill you, we'd be dead long before he matured."
She raised her hand gently. "So I've changed my mind. You won't join us...Please, let me join you."
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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