NomosEvery person on the bridge freezes in astonishment, watching the remarkable procession approach your throne. Officers and enforcers are glancing at you questioningly but do not interfere until they are ordered to.
Nomos"We have come to speak with you, [Name]. You gave us food for consideration by revealing the mystery of our origin. From then to now, we observed, calculated, sensed. And we discovered that a great change is coming. A trial."
Nomos"We see a threat to that which the Imperium brings. The intricate plexus of tenets, the determined advance of myriads through darkness by the will of the golden light. All the things that were strange to us yet in whose embrace we were born and raised. All of it is in danger. At least within the bounds of the Koronus Expanse."
Nomos"You are the one who can stop it. And Nomos must help you. We are an unidentified thing spawned from chance. But we want to justify our existence by serving the light."
YOU"Wait! What is this coming threat?"
Nomos"Nomos cannot say. Something changed after you helped us remember our birth on Epitaph. We now sense the liberation of something vast, which is actually a mere fraction of something limitless. It is seeping through a breach, its shoulders pushing against the walls of its prison that are about to give. But what it is, we do not know."
Nomos"We must say... It frightens us to think about this unknown something that is trying to break free. It is so vast. Too vast to measure or explain."
Nomos"But however frightening or all-powerful it may be, we are ready to face it. Rise against it. Even if it destroys us, it will be a sacrifice for the sake of redemption."
YOU"Wait! What is this coming threat?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What do you wish to do?"
Nomos"Wait until the unknown threat appears before you. Then face it. We do not know where or when it will happen. We do not know what we will face. But we know that we want to be there with you."
Nomos"There is something we require to do it. Nomos are tethered to the shell of this ship. We can only follow you outside by using servitors as our shell. But they are... lacking. Only a modicum of us can enter such a primitive vessel. And our power is likewise limited."
Nomos"We need a vessel. A body. But very few things can house us. That is why we have come to ask you. Magos Asclepius has offered his shell to us. It might do."
Asclepius"Indeed I have. I cannot think of a prouder end to my pilgrimage than the liturgy of synchronisation with the great spirit. I will become a vessel for the Omnissiah's favoured child and step beyond the confines of wretched living existence and into the halls of the eternal machine song."
YOU"Wait! What is this coming threat?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What do you wish to do?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You would sacrifice yourself, Asclepius?"
Asclepius"I desire it more than anything."
Nomos"Why are you asking him? He is guilty by the word of the Imperium. Now you decide what to do with his body."
YOU"Wait! What is this coming threat?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What do you wish to do?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You would sacrifice yourself, Asclepius?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I have heard you and made my decision."
Asclepius"We await your word, master of the ship."
Nomos"Please. Give us freedom, and we will stand with you in the hour of great need."
YOU"Take the Daemon Engine's body, Nomos."
Asclepius"I grieve that this honour is not mine. But all it means is that my service is not yet done."
Nomos"How sweet is the wait and how coveted the moment."
Nomos"Thank you, [Name]. You have given us a good toy. We will leave you for now — we have yet to subdue that which occupies our future vessel. But know that when the great trial comes, so will we."
end of branch
YOU"You can take Asclepius's body."
Asclepius"Praise the Omnissiah. I kneel before His favoured child and humbly offer this shell as a gift. May I become a temple to the machine and a vessel for its great spirit."
Asclepius"How... interesting. We feel restricted, but not as much as inside servitors. Some work must be done on the new shell. Then it will be ready for journeys to the outside."
Asclepius"We will leave you for now, [Name]. But in the hour when you stand before the great trial, we will return and stand with you, side by side."
end of branch
YOU"You do not have my permission to claim another vessel for yourself."
Asclepius"My grief is without end."
Nomos"If you do not want to help us, we cannot help you. We are saddened. We are leaving. For a time... or forever."
end of branch
Nomos"We asked him many times because we did not want to hurt him. Nomos would not have proposed it if the human was against it."
YOU"Wait! What is this coming threat?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What do you wish to do?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You would sacrifice yourself, Asclepius?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I have heard you and made my decision."continues where this line first appears above
Nomos"Why are you asking him when you can take what you want and use it how you want?"
YOU"Wait! What is this coming threat?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What do you wish to do?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You would sacrifice yourself, Asclepius?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I have heard you and made my decision."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I have heard you and made my decision."continues where this line first appears above
Nomos"There is another option. The scion of machine and the dark light. The one you took from Kiava Gamma. It would be a pleasure for us to go into the bowels of the ship where its anger is imprisoned and rip out its raging essence to subjugate its steel shell."
YOU"Wait! What is this coming threat?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What do you wish to do?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You would sacrifice yourself, Asclepius?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I have heard you and made my decision."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You would sacrifice yourself, Asclepius?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I have heard you and made my decision."continues where this line first appears above
Nomos"But we now know that living souls are the same. They are always larger than they seem. And no capacity can calculate their potential. This makes us believe that we, Nomos, and you, [Name], can step beyond the limit of calculations. There, we will face the unleashing horror without faltering."
YOU"Wait! What is this coming threat?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What do you wish to do?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You would sacrifice yourself, Asclepius?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I have heard you and made my decision."continues where this line first appears above
Nomos"It excites us. It makes us eager. The greater the danger, the stronger the craving for triumph."
YOU"Wait! What is this coming threat?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What do you wish to do?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You would sacrifice yourself, Asclepius?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I have heard you and made my decision."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What do you wish to do?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You would sacrifice yourself, Asclepius?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I have heard you and made my decision."continues where this line first appears above
Nomos"But you are not someone who can stop it. You have no light and no resolve. For this reason, we have decided that we should not help you any longer."
YOU"Wait! What is this coming threat?"
Nomos"Nomos cannot say. Something changed after you helped us remember our birth on Epitaph. We now sense the liberation of something vast, which is actually a mere fraction of something limitless. It is seeping through a breach, its shoulders pushing against the walls of its prison that are about to give. But what it is, we do not know."
YOU"Wait! What is this coming threat?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"It is not yet time for us to part ways."
Nomos"Nomos have decided. We are leaving. We are glad to have received what we have from you, but we cannot and do not want to stay any longer."
end of branch
YOU"If you do not want to help, then don't!"
Nomos"Nomos have decided. We are leaving. We are glad to have received what we have from you, but we cannot and do not want to stay any longer."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You will be destroyed for this insolence."
Nomos"Nomos have decided. We are leaving. We are glad to have received what we have from you, but we cannot and do not want to stay any longer."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"It is not yet time for us to part ways."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"If you do not want to help, then don't!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You will be destroyed for this insolence."continues where this line first appears above
Nomos"We see the potential for a great disaster. It is already ripening. The wave could crash down upon the Koronus Expanse and, perhaps, extend beyond it. We are headed for suffering and death."
Nomos"You are the one who can prevent the disaster. And we want to help you. We do. Let us help. Nomos are not human, but we have learned to see people as more than shells. We want to save them. Protect them."
YOU"Wait! What is this coming threat?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What do you wish to do?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You would sacrifice yourself, Asclepius?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I have heard you and made my decision."continues where this line first appears above
Nomos"But you are not someone who can defeat the disaster. Even if you do, you might become the next disaster. There is no light in you, no desire to protect, and for this reason, we have decided that we should not help you any longer."
YOU"Wait! What is this coming threat?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"It is not yet time for us to part ways."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"If you do not want to help, then don't!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You will be destroyed for this insolence."continues where this line first appears above
Nomos"We see that the future has... potential. A great wave that sweeps everything away, a probability of deaths and ruin. And with them comes a probability of ascension. Of claiming. Of an infinity of possibilities."
Nomos"Nomos await this feast eagerly. We wish to share it with you. You are the one who can ride the wave with us."
YOU"Wait! What is this coming threat?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What do you wish to do?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You would sacrifice yourself, Asclepius?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I have heard you and made my decision."continues where this line first appears above
Nomos"But you are not someone who can use this potential. You are weak, and your soul and mind are bound in chains. We see no reason to help you. We are no longer interested."
YOU"Wait! What is this coming threat?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"It is not yet time for us to part ways."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"If you do not want to help, then don't!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You will be destroyed for this insolence."continues where this line first appears above