It wasn't long before Bastion turned his attention to the data slate he had brought with him. Transferring his notes to the cogitator, he immediately began compiling code to overhaul the slate's operating system.
The slate was running on a basic OS that only allowed data storage, transfer, and viewing—nothing more. For now, that was all Bastion needed, but he also wanted to optimize its speed to fully utilize the device's hardware capabilities.
About 30 minutes later, Bastion lay on his bed, scrolling through the data slate and reading the files he had stolen from the Noosphere.
"So, it really is a tear in space," Bastion noted as he continued reading.
The records from the Noosphere were far more enlightening than he had expected. Initially, he had thought of Mordaxis as just another important Hive-Forge world with an Exactis Extremis-grade tithe.
However, the presence of the Great Rift—known as the Cicatrix Maledictum—changed everything.
The rift meant Mordaxis could operate with near-full autonomy. Travel and communication across the rift were nearly impossible, and even communication within the Imperium Nihilus, the sector of space Mordaxis occupied, was a challenge.
However, it also meant Mordaxis bore the brunt of every warfront the Imperium faced. If Bastion had to guess, the primary threat came from what was spilling out of the Great Rift.
The people of this world called it the Warp. Bastion had never heard the term used in this context before. The documents he accessed described it as a means for faster-than-light travel and communication.
However, the Mechanicus files painted a darker picture: the Warp was an underlying realm existing alongside theirs, filled with corruption and taint.
This interpretation might be biased, as the Warp harmed their machine spirits and was home to demons that could possess their technology.
Everything he read solidified his understanding of the magical side of this world. While he didn't know exactly what resided within the Warp—the Mechanicus didn't record such details—some things became clear. Chaos was a faction within the Warp, not the entirety of it.
However, their influence was so pervasive that they might as well dominate the entire realm. This much he could deduce from the blood contract and the existence of machine spirits.
The machine spirits also suggested the Warp had something to do with souls. After all, they were described as souls, functioning like limited or rudimentary AI, which implied they were, in fact, souls.
Dropping the slate, Bastion's mind raced through every possible route to achieve his goals. Yet, the more he thought, the more he circled back to the nature of the magical side of this world.
The rest of the day passed surprisingly peacefully, considering he had essentially hacked one of the planet's most critical infrastructures.
…
The next day, Bastion was back in his office, this time with a group of people standing before him. Each was dressed as extravagantly as possible, clearly holding high positions on the planet.