64: Chapter 64 Vera's Psionic Probe

Vera sat in the corner, her pale gray eyes staring intently at the flickering headlights. Her lips moved slightly as the psionic fluctuations around her became increasingly chaotic. In her psionic world, the voices grew more numerous and noisy; countless invisible 'souls' whispered in low, blurred, and fragmented dialogues that seemed nonexistent if one did not listen with absolute focus.

Gluck's voice continued to drift over, still in that unhurried and relaxed tone, as if he were recounting something perfectly natural: "Currently, dozens of small settlements have formed around Icarus. People are no longer just huddling at the edges of the Industrial City; they have begun to explore every corner of this world along the Equatorial Mainline."

Sister Superior Ludmilla looked out the vehicle window and saw crude but orderly houses stretching along the Conveyor Belt Mainline. Small clusters appeared at regular intervals, like chess pieces placed according to some invisible rule, neat and organized.

"They discovered that there is a signal tower at set intervals along the mainline," Gluck's tone became more solemn. "That is Icarus's early warning system, used to monitor Orks newly hatched from spores. As long as any Greenskins invade, missiles launched from the Industrial City will strike with precision within seconds, giving them no chance to approach the settlements."

"This has given people an unprecedented sense of security."

Sister Superior Ludmilla silently chewed on the word 'security' in her heart. In the Imperium, security was always a luxury. Even the nobility living in the highest spires of a Hive City could never truly possess it—in this dark and cruel universe, danger was everywhere, and no one knew from where destruction might come in the next second.

Yet here, those elderly people sitting on the lawns basking in the sun and those children running under the sunlight briefly possessed this luxury, enjoying a peace never before seen in the Imperium.

"Some bolder individuals have begun to travel upstream along the conveyor belts to find the Large Mining Machines scattered across the continent," Gluck continued. "They found that near each mining machine, there are two High-frequency Laser Towers and three Gauss Machine Gun Towers standing guard, forming a natural safe haven sufficient to repel small-scale Ork attacks."

He paused and added, "Next to the mining machines, there are usually small storage bins. These were originally intended by Icarus to handle mineral accumulation overflows when the mainline routes were being adjusted."

"But after discovering people were settling there, Logistics Dispensers were installed on these small storage bins. People only need to press a button, and transport aircraft from the Industrial City will deliver food, water, and basic supplies on time."

"Gradually, villages formed around these mining machines. We are considering whether we can issue Gauss Rifles to the civilians. They currently cannot venture too far from these outposts; it's too dangerous. There are still some daring fellows who explore the world and perish upon encountering Gretchin."

"The population of Vulcan-IV is now only 87 million. Therefore, we feel the pain for every single person lost now."

Sister Superior Ludmilla understood this time.

In the Imperium, if a world's population dropped to such a number, even the Inquisition would evacuate. Even if that world truly rebelled, they wouldn't even bother to reclaim it.

Because such a world could no longer provide resources to the Imperium, it had lost its value; it wasn't worth it.

At the same time, she also heard what Gluck had left unsaid—the people of this world no longer looked to the Imperium. She recalled his answer to her inquiry when they first met: 'Is this still Imperial territory?' The word he had used was:

"Sort of."

At this moment, that answer received a clearer explanation.

They were prepared.

Prepared to refuse the return of Imperial nobles, to refuse those who once abandoned them and now wanted to harvest them, and to refuse any attempt to re-establish administrative bodies under the banner of the Imperium.

They were only prepared to pay the tithe.

There was indeed a regulation in the Lex Imperialis: as long as a world paid its tithe in full and on time, the Imperium would not interfere in its internal affairs.

The Imperium didn't care who was ruling, didn't care what songs the people sang, and didn't care if the machines were anointed with holy oils. It only cared if you paid your taxes.

He was stating facts, then reminding her that she wasn't particularly welcome here, subtly warning her not to cause trouble.

But this 'matter-of-factness' made Sister Superior Ludmilla feel increasingly uneasy.

Gluck's words came to an abrupt halt. The silence in the carriage was suffocating.

Only the noise of the vehicle moving reminded everyone they were still traveling.

Sister Superior Ludmilla stared at those red-roofed settlements outside the window, at those people who didn't need to pay a Breathing Tax, and at those children running in the sun.

Suddenly, a thought pricked her consciousness like a needle.

They were practicing Imperial Truth.

But it shouldn't appear here. It shouldn't appear in these people who perhaps should be called 'heretics'.

Yet she could not refute it.

They were simply... living with all their might.

Living in the way the Emperor once promised, the way humanity was meant to live.

Sister Superior Ludmilla closed her eyes.

She didn't dare look anymore.

Warhammer: Alien Echoes of Volga - Chapter 3: Psionic Whispers and the Uncooled Past

Vera changed her posture, curling her knees up to her chin, her pale gray eyes half-closed.

Her psionic perception began to function in a way she had never experienced before.

She was trying to touch the voices of those souls who had been noisy. Her Sister Superior had fallen into unease. She wanted to find a new solution for the squad from another direction.

Usually, such an act was extremely dangerous—the Warp was always filled with a turbid flood of human emotions, brimming with pain, longing, tyranny, desire, and resentment. Being washed by such a flood would cause her soul to feel extreme agony.

She should be vigilant, she should be afraid, and at this moment of entering the fringes of the Warp, she should recite the 'Soul Bulwark Prayer' to ensure her soul was not corrupted by the Warp.

But here seemed different.

When she carefully expanded her perception and cautiously probed with her consciousness, she only saw the gentle blue she had seen in the void.

It was a world composed of grid matrices, with a giant blue orb of light in the center emitting a warm glow.

Countless pieces of pure information flowed within the grid matrices: 0s and 1s, on and off, yes and no, true and false. They traveled, converged, reorganized, and separated at speeds far exceeding human understanding.

Then the voices began to appear.

Thousands upon thousands of voices communicated here, like white noise—noisy but not annoying, instead possessing a power that soothed the soul.

Thousands upon thousands of voices were speaking, calculating, deciding, and responding simultaneously. Every voice was in its proper place, doing what it was supposed to do.