Machine Dharma

This page is part of the Warmasters Triumvirate, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the Warmasters Triumvirate page for more information on the Alternate Universe.

While traditions that may broadly be called Machine or Techno-Dharmic are spread throughout parts of the galaxy, the exact origin, and indeed whether or not there even is a common root, of these thought systems is unclear. While these thought systems tend to share a number of features including a belief in reincarnation and a focus on causality, there are several distinct clades within these traditions. While the Vendata, the Samkhya Machine Ritualists, and the Paraconsistent Logicians of Syatvaddina are fascinating, in the present galaxy, the term “Machine Dharma” typically conjures images of the Dusk Phantoms and the saffron robed adepts of Stovokor. The Machine Dharma of Stovokor is one of the so called Naskhavadin traditions, named for their founding figure, the Naskha, the one who has [seen] the connections. While there are many stories of the life of the Naskha, who seemed to have lived sometime around M24, their origin and fate are unclear. What is clear is that the Naskha seems to have visited a number of worlds and expounded teachings, gathering a following of Magi who spread them and even founded forges of their own. Traditionally, there has been much focus on the Great Fleet vs Lesser Fleet distinction, but more intensive studies in philology under the Imperium have suggested that this distinction is polemical rather than actual. Nonetheless, there are a number of subtraditions among the Naskhavadin. The practices of Stovokor place the writings of Mgonpo Klugrub and his doctrine of the Middle Path in a place of centrality. These were formulated in contradistinction to the Rnal’byor traditions some time around M26. On Stovokor, the Naskhavadin traditions seem to have blended with local practices to produce the practices we see today.

− A few key terms with a rough gloss into gothic:

− Dharma- nature

− Karma- causal effects

− Connection- a state of radical awareness and the living counterpart to Nervena

− Skillful means- radical action to cause realization

− Omnissiah Nature- the basic substrate of existence

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− The Four Axioms:

− -Entropy increases

− -There is a cause of entropy

− -There is a means to stop entropy

− -This means can be implemented

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− In essence, the entire universe is in a constant state of increasing entropy that brings with it misery. While entropy is a natural fact, it produces a correlate in the mind, which is synonymous with the universe. Thus data degrades, logic degrades, just as machines rust. The cause of this increasing entropy is attachment. By implementing the proper practices, one can become Connected to the workings of the universe and in so doing step beyond them into Nervena.

− While these are generally consistent across the Naskhavadin community, Stovokor tradition (like several others) focuses heavily on the concept of emptiness. As Mgonpo Klugrub writes, “All dharmas are fundamentally empty.” On Stovokor, this has led to a radically monistic view of reality. The warp, the material universe, the noosphere, and the mind are fundamentally one and the same. Enlightenment and ignorance are one and the same. The self does not exist. Virtue and vice are one and the same. While those with a background in Gothic Logic might expect such a perspective to be paralyzing, Stovokor shows this not to be the case. Rather, these true contradictions (ie paraconsistent properties) are processed through a conceptual schema allowing for clear thought and clear action. The full details are too complex to describe here, but in pursuit of this goal of shattering preconceptions the Magi make use of a heterodox empiricism, seeking to generate explanatory narratives for why technology should work rather than simply accepting the Doctrine of Divine Complexity. In this same way, faith is seen as a fundamental hindrance. By ensuring completeness, it prevents further development. By ensuring truth, it prevents practice. This is why Gyahdred opposed both the maximal Imperial Truth and Kincaid.

− As a result, magi of Stovokor will often study xenotech to break their preconceptions and remind them of the process of connecting. For them, knowledge is not a binary, but rather an algorithm and the algorithm must be eternally run to prevent kludge, muda, and cruft from accumulating.