Iterator

The Iterators were a body of the early Imperium dedicated to speech, diplomacy, and communications. These were the guys that helped the Imperium absorb worlds via diplomatic means rather than warfare. There were quite a few worlds taken in this way in the Great Crusade, but in the Grimdarkness of the far future there is only war scenes. So while they accomplished quite a bit for the Imperium, they weren't considered relevant enough or exciting enough for the focus of the Horus Heresy series to even be close to these guys. Their job was also to justify to themselves and to conquered peoples everything that the Imperium did.

They were largely dedicated to using nonviolent means, which means many of them probably were killed or remained loyalist during the Horus Heresy due to an inherent inability to Rip and Tear. However some did follow Horus, who did see the value of keeping some diplomats on-hand to sway undecided worlds which didn't require the impersonal touch of a subversive agent, or where and invasion would be too demanding for the long run.

In the years following the Heresy, they were eventually dissolved since, ya know, only war; though this was probably more due to circumstance pulling the iterators in different directions, rather than a blatantly outrageous decree to have the Iterators expunged. Many see the Commisarriat as a martial adaption of the Iterators reinforcing morale and orthodoxy within the Imperial Guard (the Imperial Army at that time), which later naturally expanded to doing so with bolter rounds due to the nature of their work environment. Many also see the Ecclesiarchy having their roots with the Iterators, especially with the influence of Kyril Sindermann, an Iterator attached to the pre-heresy Luna Wolves and chaperone to the first Imperial Saint. This helps explain the Ecclesiarchy's role within the Imperium as simultaneously being charismatic demagogues and pompous assholes.

During the Great Crusade, and possibly afterwords, the Iterators found themselves in a shrinking role in the galactic stage, as warfare and superfluous genocide became standard doctrine. The role of professional diplomats and ambassadors was increasingly seen as nonessential roles within the post-Heresy and post-Emperor Imperium of Man.

Notable Members of the Iterators

• Kyril Sindermann - Primary iterator of the Imperial Truth, until he saw a Daemon and became a founding member of the Imperial Church.