| abstract | - Yet Explorators tend towards a greater independence of mind and inquisitive thought than adherents of the Cult Mechanicus who serve in more sheltered roles, and they often have their own secret agendas and capabilities far beyond those of their more pedestrian peers. Many Tech-priests, particularly of the more junior and provincial variety, regard the Explorators as dubious outsiders, prone to stray beyond the bounds of the arcane dogma and rigidly adhered-to precepts laid down by the inviolable teachings of the Machine Cult. Whether or not this is true, it is undoubtedly the case that amongst the adherents of the Cult Mechanicus it is the Explorators who are the most likely to be exposed to the proscribed technologies of the alien and the sins of Mankind's dark and hidden past. In truth, Explorators are on the frontline of perils few can understand. There are more than a few Explorators who, in their desire to uncover the secrets of the universe, have fallen prey to some xenos dogma and turned from the rigid technological doctrine of the eight Universal Laws or have become corrupted by the Warp and lost their souls to the abyss of Chaos, becoming Hereteks of the Dark Mechanicus. Others have simply been driven mad from knowing too much. But for Explorators, the risks are worth the rewards. Explorators have found some of the greatest prizes in the Quest for Knowledge, and their role in many other affairs has been key to their success and the Imperium’s continued survival. However, countless Explorators have met with grisly deaths in the hostile galaxy they explore, and on mercifully rare occasions, their ill-conceived prying has unleashed cataclysmic horrors on Mankind. When an Explorator accompanies a Rogue Trader, the arrangement may have come about by some ancient debt the Rogue Trader’s family line owed the Adeptus Mechanicus, hard bargaining, or even pure chance. Whatever the case, the Explorator will be a valued member of the Rogue Trader’s party, bringing with him a wealth of esoteric knowledge and arcane technical know-how quite beyond any other member of the crew, and often, not a little firepower of his own.
|
