The planet was named Mordaxis, and after cross-referencing everything he had read, Bastion discovered it was abnormally large for a habitable world. The measurements suggested it was comparable in size to Jupiter, if not larger.
Its immense size allowed it to serve multiple purposes for the Imperium. With a population exceeding 253 trillion—and possibly more—it was a major recruitment world.
Due to its abundant resources and the presence of the Mechanicus, it was also classified as a forge world, required to produce billions, if not trillions, of tons of ammunition, combat vehicles, and other war materiel annually.
Additionally, the resource tithe extracted billions of tons of resources from the planet each year.
From his calculations, the Imperium was surprisingly humane in its approach—while the methods of extraction and production were undeniably inhumane, they still left enough for the planet's survival.
The Imperial tithes on Mordaxis came in three main forms. First was the Manpower Tithe, which claimed approximately 1.3% of the total population, spread over ten years. This translated to roughly 323.9 billion recruits leaving the planet annually.
Second was the Forge Tithe, which mandated the production of billions of weapons, trillions of rounds of ammunition, and billions of tons of vehicles and other equipment each year.
Third was the Resource tithe which demanded millions of tons worth of resources annually.. The exact amount wasn't constant and depended on total amount of resources mined… usually around 10%
Then there was the Eccelsiarchial tithe which was mostly in normal things like gold, soldiers for the Fritaris Militia etc.
Bastion had also recently learned that he wasn't involved in the day-to-day governance of the planet. His primary duty, along with his deputy, was to ensure the tithes met Imperial standards.
The Magister-Adjutant—Selene, in this case—was responsible for the planet's daily administration, effectively serving as his prime minister.
"Elara, send these to the Lord Consul. Also, are the rest of the documents here?" Bastion asked as he approached his room.
"Yes, my lord," Elara replied, bowing as she collected the documents from him. As soon as she did, she opened the door for him and hurried off to carry out his orders.
Once inside, Bastion resumed his reading, but this time, the scene was different. Normally, he would be seen with a small book, jotting down anything he found interesting.
However, the room now housed a cogitator and several data slates. After locking the door, he quickly began sifting through the information on the slates.
Though his memories were fading—or mostly gone—he could still identify the flaws in the cogitator.
In this world, a cogitator was the equivalent of a standard computer, but unlike the modern world, where miniaturization was the norm, the average cogitator here was as large as a jukebox.
Beyond its size, the controls were rudimentary at best, embodying inefficiency of the highest order.
"For a bunch of machine-worshippers, they're highly inefficient," Bastion muttered, but he continued his studies nonetheless.
Given the nature of his existence, he understood that one day he would likely be exposed as a "heretic" and executed—historical records showed the Inquisition had done the same to many of his ancestors.
Whether this was a method of curbing his power or simply tradition, he didn't know. But he had no intention of dying anytime soon.
Despite its flaws, this life was enjoyable. He was waited on hand and foot, with an entire planet at his command.
However, to maintain this, he needed to master many things—chief among them, technology. Hence, his relentless reading.
Though he appeared to be scrolling through the data slates carelessly, his mind absorbed every detail. Like a computer—or perhaps something more—he cross-referenced the information, generating theories that were almost always accurate.
Anticipating this, Bastion had prepared an empty data slate to record his findings as systematically as possible. Even as he wrote, his mind revised and generated new theories.
This process brought him a sense of satisfaction, as it highlighted what the Imperium lacked: innovation. Everything he had read so far was fragmented, bogged down by religious dogma and rituals.
It was becoming increasingly clear that the magical aspects of this world influenced everything, stifling progress.