Chapter 354: Displaying Technology
"Lord Sigismund," Akira's voice remained steady, but his tone carried an unprecedented solemnity. "Based on the cooperation we are about to begin, and the profound impact this technology may bring, I have an important request."
Sigismund's projection paused slightly: "Speak."
"I hope to obtain the opportunity to meet Lord Rogal Dorn," Akira said clearly. "I hold in my hands certain technologies that surpass conventional understanding. The importance of these technologies has exceeded the scope of conventional cooperation, and may even concern the future strategic direction of the Imperium. Precisely because of its special nature, I must personally demonstrate it to the Primarch."
Sigismund was silent for a moment, his black helmet tilting slightly: "Are the technologies you speak of related to the research you are conducting on the Death World?"
"Partially related, but it goes far beyond that," Akira responded cautiously. "The matter reconstruction and ecological terraforming technologies involved, if applied correctly, might change the Imperium's strategic model for colonizing Death Worlds. But the potential risks and value of these technologies all require evaluation at the highest level."
Sigismund's mechanical joints emitted a faint hum, seemingly weighing the gravity of this request. Finally, he spoke in a deep voice: "I will convey your request to the Primarch. But you must understand, Lord Dorn currently bears the heavy responsibility of rebuilding the Imperium's entire defensive line. If your demonstration cannot prove its value..."
"I understand," Akira took over the conversation. "I will prepare a complete demonstration plan and technical parameters. At the same time, the equipment research and development work required by the Black Templars will proceed simultaneously and will not be delayed by this."
After the communication ended, Akira immediately began replanning his research priorities.
The opportunity to meet a Primarch was incredibly rare; he had to make the fullest preparations.
The research on the Genesis particles needed to be accelerated. He had to at least produce a convincing, phased result that could be demonstrated within a closed testing ground.
At the same time, he needed to organize another, even more subversive technology, whose importance far exceeded even the Genesis particles—and that was the warp engine technology analyzed from the Star Trek database.
Akira clearly recognized that in the vast and perilous Milky Way galaxy, reliable and relatively safe faster-than-light travel capability was the lifeline maintaining the Imperium's rule.
And the warp engine technology possessed precisely the potential to shake this lifeline.
According to his calculations, reaching Warp 6 would be enough to replace the current shipping system relying on the Immaterium and the Adeptus Astra Telepathica within the scope of a sector; if Warp 8 could be achieved, its range and speed could even support regular traffic between Segmentums. Even long, cross-Segmentum journeys would no longer be an unreachable extravagance.
But once this power was unleashed, it would trigger monstrous waves that would sweep through the entire power structure of the Imperium.
The Adeptus Astra Telepathica would lose its monopoly on transmitting information, the value of the Warp navigation abilities that the Navigator Houses relied upon for survival would plummet, and the Imperium's entire political, economic, and military system built upon Warp travel would suffer a fundamental impact.
Not to mention, the headquarters of the Adeptus Mechanicus on Mars would absolutely not sit back and watch a technology capable of redefining interstellar travel be controlled by a Magos from a fringe Forge World. They would inevitably interfere, seize, or even seal it away at all costs.
Without the recognition and protection of an entity like a Primarch, promoting this technology would be completely out of the question; even safely possessing it would be a luxury.
Rogal Dorn, with his absolute loyalty, pragmatic style, and pivotal status within the Imperium, was the only top-tier figure Akira could currently reach who might understand and support the strategic value of this technology.
Therefore, this meeting was of paramount importance.
He had to meticulously design the demonstration plan. He needed to allow the Primarch Dorn to intuitively understand the strategic advantages brought by the warp engine—for example, how to enable Imperial forces to respond to border threats faster and safer, and how to maintain communication in critical sectors when Warp storms raged.
At the same time, he had to carefully control the amount of information, avoiding the premature exposure of its full potential, while also preparing to deal with the sharp questions the Primarch would inevitably raise regarding the social and political upheavals triggered by the technology.
He handed the subsequent improvement work of the Iron Guard project entirely over to the Nexum team, while he poured the vast majority of his computing resources and energy into preparing for this crucial demonstration.
This was not only to secure research resources but also to gain a foothold in the upper echelons of the Imperium, seeking a sufficiently sturdy patron in advance for the even greater storms that might arrive in the future.
The key to the future was in his hands, and now, he needed to persuade one of the cornerstones of the Imperium to look at the scenery behind the door with him.
Sigismund's operational efficiency was as swift as his swordsmanship.
Shortly after the communication ended, a small shuttle belonging to the Black Templars pierced through the thin atmosphere of the Death World and landed on the landing pad of Akira's base.
Sigismund, clad in black power armor, visited in person, showing just how much importance he attached to Akira's previous proposal.
Akira did not engage in excessive pleasantries or show off other parts of the base.
He directly led Sigismund through heavily guarded corridors to the edge of the canyon where the Genesis experiment was taking place.
Standing on the observation platform, overlooking the vibrant, green canyon below that was entirely out of place with the surrounding deathly still environment, the expression hidden beneath Sigismund's helmet could not be seen, but his slightly forward-leaning body posture revealed his inner unrest.
He could feel the moist, fresh air here and see the lush vegetation; in a world marked by the Imperium as completely dead, this was nothing short of a miracle.
"As you can see, the preliminary application of environmental terraforming," Akira's voice sounded calmly from the side. "But this is not the main reason I requested to meet the Primarch."
He turned to Sigismund and made a gesture, signaling him to have his accompanying Black Templar guards temporarily retreat out of earshot.
Sigismund hesitated briefly, but still waved his hand. The two loyal warriors immediately stepped back, maintaining a vigilant watch from a distance.
Only when it was just the two of them did Akira speak again. His synthesized voice was lowered slightly, yet it carried the weight of a thunderbolt: "Lord Sigismund, what I truly wish to demonstrate to Lord Rogal Dorn is a technology sufficient to redefine the Imperium's borders and its methods of power projection.
"It is about navigation, about speed, and about... breaking free from the absolute reliance on the Warp and Navigators."
He clearly articulated that term: "I have mastered the feasible technological path of the 'Warp Engine'."
He concisely explained the core: "According to the theoretical model, this technology can achieve faster-than-light travel based in the material universe. Upon reaching a certain level, its speed will be sufficient to replace existing Warp engines within a sector, or even a Segmentum.
"The navigation process will take place entirely within the real universe, evading the storms of the Warp and the... threats within it."