40K Deep Thought: Marines Were a Mistake
After 30 Years of reading of the woes of the Horus Heresy, and the Grimdark it’s clear – Marines were a terrible mistake.
OK, so stay with me because we are going to go over some big picture concepts here, lay out some fluff facts and see what you think.
The Early Days
Way back in the era of the Unification Wars, you (the Emperor) have a problem. Terra is divided up into several powerful and utterly ruthless empires. Some of them are technologically advanced, some use the powers of the warp in battle, and other are just teeming with endless soldiers. You have all the Emperor geno-data and immortal wisdom but are a relative nobody on the world stage. So what do you make right off the bat to conquer the planet? You make Custodes to defend your person, and you make the most individually badass super soldiers humanity has ever seen – Thunder Warriors. You conquer the planet. Your soldiers are hardened against psychic attack and can kill practically anything they encounter on the battlefield. You do have that one teensy drawback – they all burn out their enhanced bodies in short order and die off after you conquer Terra.
The Golden Era
Fast forward to the era of the Great Crusade. You probably think everyone is working pretty well. Terra is fully under your control, and with 20 18 Primarchs leading their legions of millions of Astartes humanity is tearing across the galaxy building the most perfect empire mankind has ever known. You have made the Primarchs and their Astartes descendants almost immortal outside of violence, and have utter faith and trust in them keeping to your vision of a greater perfect humanity. What could go wrong Golden Boy?
It All Goes South Fast
Oops, it turns out half your children have turned out to be big disappointments, and have a *different* view of what the future of humanity should be. These rebel Primarchs take all their Astartes legions with them and attack their brothers. In only a decade your entire galaxy spanning empire is in ruins, you’re stuck in a gilded hospital bed for eternity being kept alive on a 1000-psyker-a-day drip line and worst of all – remember how those Astartes are effectively immortal. You have sticky problem that isn’t going away on it’s own.
Why Marines?
So you’ve had 10,000 to think about it on your throne, your wayward sons and their Traitor-Astartes sons are fighting their way back to Terra to finish you off once and for all. Marines – maybe not the best idea?
~If you were the Emperor, I have to ask: with 20/20 hindsight would you have ever made the marines in the first place?
