Editing Archimedes Noxt


"Do not be fooled by the smokescreens and rumours. Noxt exists, as any who have seen the remains of his victims can attest."

–From the journals of Inquisitor Felroth Gelt: 778.M41

Legends exist even among the criminal networks of Calixis: the Overscum Quorum of Praxilla, who rule the spires from the bottom of the hives; the Flit-Runner League, who can move anyone to any planet, no questions asked and never intercepted; Qeel D’ait, the shadowman whose gelt-throne was bought with a thousand-thousand kills. And then there is Archimedes Noxt, creature of solitude but hidden operator of countless gang networks, faceless and invisible to his minions except for odd messages and even odder messengers---and unknown to almost all, a mutant of the highest degree.

Imperial records have no record of his planet of birth or true identity. Most intra-system Arbites Judges know him only as a criminal of the worst kind, to be captured, interrogated, and executed (preferably in that order). The Ordo Hereticus know more of course; he has been operating in Calixis for many generations under a variety of names and faces, a byproduct of his unique mutation.

Noxt’s flesh is unstable, growing necrotic and falling in clumps as the tissue expires. The only way he can stave off total decay is by replacing the carrion with new flesh, ripped fresh from living humans and implanted where the dying tissue existed. His body can accept entire masses of tissue, including internal organs, limbs, and skin. While the process is extremely painful and it takes time for the new tissue to meld, it does allow him effective immortality. His appearance can vary wildly, but is oftentimes a revolting patchwork of skin tones and musculature even though he attempts to seek similar replacements. As he cannot replace flesh until it begins to decay, he is sometimes forced to exist with legs of differing lengths, eyes of differing colors, and the like. For these reasons, he normally wears very loose clothing, long gloves, and a wide-brimmed hat to cover his often disturbing visage.

Noxt keeps his mutation hidden from all, and has killed without hesitation if any of his allies have even suspected he is not entirely human. Knowing he already has some Inquisitorial attention, he does not want to run the risk of betrayal---even some of the crimelords he deals with have puritanical views on the mutant threat. Those closest to him are led to believe he is either a messenger from the real Noxt or simply an unfortunate opportunist recovering from a brutal assault.

No one knows how long Noxt has truly been operating in the Calixis Sector, and it is likely Noxt himself has either forgotten or cannot remember the years gone by. Certainly he is insane by any standard definition of the term, utterly amoral and capable of the most heinous acts; in order to survive, he is willing to perform any act or butcher anyone he finds.

It is possible that in previous incarnations Noxt was a righteous citizen or even a hero. For now, however, Noxt is certainly no saint and is responsible for some of the most insidious if not outright heretical criminal activities in Calixis. With the only constant to his features being his grotesque collage of patchwork flesh, even genetic or morphic scans are unreliable at best. He is the dark stain throughout the sector, hidden behind myths and underhive legends even as he creates new ones to better cloak himself. Most who encounter him never know who they face, and those who do know rarely live to tell of it. It is believed that he may in some way be linked to a hidden heretical group within the Hippocrasian Sect known as the Caste Necrosis.

[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]]