CogitatorThe black cogitator you are looking at is clearly not Imperium technology. With its unnatural curves and a surface smooth like solid mercury, nothing about this machine suggests sacredness. The device has no vid-screen, but you notice the presence of dry, rust-coloured spots on the control panel.
YOU[Touch the control panel]
Cogitator(sequence)
Marazhai"...or does it?"
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CogitatorYou touch the leather-bound buttons. In an instant, tiny needles sink into your fingers, and the machine greedily absorbs the seeping blood. A whisper-like mental echo rustles in your head: access has been granted.
YOU[Touch the control panel]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[View the logs]
YOU[Open the spherical prison]
YOU[Destroy the foul machine]
CogitatorIn one swift movement, you draw your weapon and rid the world of the corrupting xeno-abomination.
PasqalPasqal's vox lets out a mournful binharic groan. "The rite of sacred diagnostics has been interrupted. Cause of interruption: a primitive method of disposal was employed against the object of study..." The Tech-Priest's visor flashes red before dimming wearily. "...which had a ninety-eight percent chance of being of anathematic origin."
Eogunn"Colleague, I register regrettable lacunae in your knowledge which the sacred diagnostics of this xeno-object are unlikely to ever complete. However, if you will permit it, I stand ready to transmit a portion of my wisdom to you, provided you swear the appropriate data-vows."
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YOU[Step away from the cogitator]
end of branch
Cogitator(sequence)
Pasqal"Contact with the object is categorically forbi— undesirable!" Pasqal's mechadendrites freeze, scanning the foreign code greedily. "Or so it was. Omnissiah authorise and preserve us."
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Eogunn"Pray continue your experiment, Rogue Trader. After all, what are the torments of the flesh if they serve the Quest for Knowledge? Nuncius and I can always furnish you with worthy augmetics in the event of loss of limb or irreversible nervous degradation."
end of branch
YOU[View the logs]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the spherical prison]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Destroy the foul machine]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Step away from the cogitator]continues where this line first appears above
Cogitator(sequence)
PasqalPasqal's augmetics become instantly more animated, clicking, whirring, and flickering ecstatically. "Initiating observation log. No data-connectors or sacred Noospheric corona detected. Tech-nature: unknown. I declare Category Epsilon-Alpha secrecy. In accordance with the Canon of Technological Security, this object must be isolated and subjected to the rite of sacred diagnostics. All witnesses will be extermi— warned."
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EogunnThe Manipulus uses his auspex to scan every contour of the machine's casing with unhurried attention. "The ergonomics... are far removed from the sacred canons of the STC. It is evident we are in the presence of xenos technology. Yes, Nuncius, let me be more specific: the xenos in question is the Drukhari species. If my hypothesis holds true, this blasphemous device is governed by the nociceptive systems of a living donor. In other words, the machine is powered by the pain of another."
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Cassia"No!" Breathing heavily, Cassia covers her eyes with her hand as crimson tears seep through her thin, trembling fingers. "Such rotten, rusty colours cannot possibly exist... It's all madness and lies. A mockery!"
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HeinrixHeinrix raises his eyebrows. "If only every xenoheresy were as blatant as this one... I hope I don't need to spell out what must be done with this perverse construct."
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Idira"That thing — it pretends to be silent, then explodes with echoes of voices. Then, it goes quiet again... And then comes another flash of pain... The pain of another! It knows something, keeps it inside. And... it wants to show it to you, I think."
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Yrliet"The very sight of that... mechanism... defiles us. One moment of stupidity will spell an eternity of cursed existence for all of us. Is that what you want, elantach? We must destroy it! Before the darkness of this creation touches our souls."
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MarazhaiMarazhai grins at the sight of the peculiar machine, then glances at you. "A most curious item. What are you waiting for, [Name]? Come closer. It does not bite."
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Entry point 2 of 14
Cogitator(sequence)
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Entry point 3 of 14
Cogitator(sequence)
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Entry point 4 of 14
Cogitator(no text)
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Entry point 5 of 14
Cogitator(no text)
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Entry point 6 of 14
CogitatorThe needles slide deeper into your palm. Pain flashes through your spine like a jolt of energy, and you feel a drop of cold sweat run down your back. A string of data surfaces from deep inside the machine: it is awaiting your next orders.
YOU[Open the first log]
CogitatorA cacophony of screams explodes inside your head. Images swarm in your mind's eye — bodies... lots of bodies... your hands covered in warm blood that is not your own — the memories of the machine's first owner. The images flicker out as suddenly as they appeared. The machine has sneaked its way deep inside your consciousness, where it awaits your next command.
YOU[Open the first log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the second log]
CogitatorA mental image comes to life: you are on your knees, your hands tied behind your back. Your wrists are painfully swollen, and your face stings with numerous abrasions. A finely dressed man stands with his back turned, but it is clearly you he is talking to. "Did you think you could betray me and get away in one piece? You were never smart, but I had no idea you were an idiot. There's nothing wrong with a bit of greed, my dear fellow. Stupidity, on the other hand... Think of this as me doing you a favour." You barely have time to register the glint of a weapon in the captain's hand before a burst of pain shatters the traitor's skull — your skull — and your mind is released from the grip of the shared memory.
YOU[Open the first log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the second log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the third log]
CogitatorYou remain standing next to the cogitator. The panel is being fed by your pain, and you send a request: "Shut down life support systems." Instantly, you see — or rather sense — several people inside a crew cabin gasp for air, then sink to their knees, turn blue, and collapse lifeless to the floor. A quick death would have been too good for those traitors. You can feel their pain. You open your mind to it... The memory ends abruptly.
YOU[Open the first log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the second log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the third log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the fourth log]
CogitatorYou are lying in a fetal position, surrounded by pitch darkness. From all sides, the metal walls of the spherical prison bear down on you, their cold surfaces scalding the raw lesions on your skin. They are separating you from the world outside. Worse still, they have cut you off from the warp. The deafening silence presses down on your skull, making your mind scream in agony. You are aware of your body still existing, but your consciousness is already slowly dissolving inside a cocoon of emptiness... and then, the sphere opens up slightly. Blue light comes flooding in, blinding you. You hear a grating, non-human voice: "A disappointing result. The amplifier has next to no effect. The test subject is too weak. Leave him." The sphere slams shut again, and you are forcefully ejected, or so it feels, from the memory.
YOU[Open the first log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the second log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the third log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the fourth log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Take your hand off the panel]
CogitatorThe machine is refusing to let you go. It drives its needles deeper still into your flesh, trying to reach the nerve endings, and drinks greedily. You are overcome with a sensation of boundless hunger. When at last you manage to jerk your hand free, a fan-shaped splash of blood hits the panel. The machine's agony retreats from your consciousness.
YOU[Touch the control panel]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[View the logs]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the spherical prison]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Destroy the foul machine]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Step away from the cogitator]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Take your hand off the panel]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the fourth log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Take your hand off the panel]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the third log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the fourth log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Take your hand off the panel]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the second log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the third log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the fourth log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Take your hand off the panel]continues where this line first appears above
Entry point 7 of 14
CogitatorYou place your hands on the panel and transmit a series of mental commands into the machine, bidding it to open the sphere. Immediately, dozens of tiny needles shoot into your palms. An acrid liquid spreads through your veins. Then, a whispering thought forms in your head: access has been revoked.
YOU[Touch the control panel]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[View the logs]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the spherical prison]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Destroy the foul machine]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Step away from the cogitator]continues where this line first appears above
Entry point 8 of 14
CogitatorThis machine is controlled by pain, and you have fed it sufficiently. You place your hand on the panel — only for an instant — and send a single thought into the cogitator: "Open up." A barely audible click rises from the sphere's shell, and the walls of the prison move slowly apart, revealing a desiccated corpse. The dead man's body has stiffened in a huddled-up position, his fingers wrapped tightly around a metal object.
YOU[Touch the control panel]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[View the logs]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the spherical prison]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Destroy the foul machine]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Step away from the cogitator]continues where this line first appears above
Entry point 9 of 14
Cogitator(no text)
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Entry point 10 of 14
Cogitator(no text)
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Entry point 11 of 14
Cogitator(no text)
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Entry point 12 of 14
Cogitator(no text)
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Entry point 13 of 14
Pasqal(no text)
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Entry point 14 of 14
CogitatorThe needles slide deeper into your palm, and you feel that your pain is no longer the only thing they are collecting. The thought that the accursed machine is draining the very life out of you makes you break out in a sweat. The pain remains, but the strange sensation is succeeded by weakness. From deep inside the device, a string of data surfaces: the machine is awaiting further orders.
YOU[Open the first log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the second log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the third log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Open the fourth log]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Take your hand off the panel]continues where this line first appears above