The Emperor’s Angel of Death

When the laboratory doors opened, Soryan saw Bangura and a group of bio-sages marveling at the massive creature within the stasis field.

Hearing footsteps, they all turned around, and the bizarre sages bowed their heads.

"No need to be so formal."

Soryan raised his hand to stop their greetings, then walked to Bangura's side and turned to look at the thing.

It was the Genestealer Patriarch captured by Rogzim in the depths of Terra!

"Oh, I can hardly imagine, Legion Commander, this is the first time I've seen a living specimen of this bizarre alien. This is the Patriarch, right? The leader of an alien brood."

Bangura finished speaking and looked at a sage who was three meters tall, covered in cables and small mechanical arms, resembling a giant spider.

"Sage Francis, I remember you've been researching these aliens that infect human gene sequences?"

The sage rubbed his chicken-claw-like metal hands, making a chainsaw-like sound.

"Gah, yes, yes... they are amazing, fascinating. Their genes are full of secrets, blasphemous secrets. They are generally called Genestealers, a dirty scar left on humanity by the Tyranids, but they can enter human cells, forming an uneasy bond between the familiar and the alien, producing something unique."

Soryan had a deep understanding of these fanatical tech-enthusiasts, so he warned:

"I am entrusting you with these samples in the hope that you can crack the weaknesses of these filthy aliens. The Tyranids are a terrifying threat, and unlike Orks, Necrons, or even Dark Eldar, they show no emotion or tactical intent. That's why we have almost no real understanding of them. The Storm Bolter Sector has been very uneasy recently. I fear these are the precursors to a large-scale Tyranid invasion. Your job is to crack them, to help us eliminate these aliens, not to conduct dangerous research and experiments."

"Of course, of course..."

The sage was still wringing his hands, staring intently at the Patriarch with his nine visual sensors.

"I want to obtain some of its blood, tissue, brain tissue... many experiments, yes, many..."

Soryan doubted whether the other party had even heard his words.

At this moment, another sage spoke, like a broken record player.

"Legion Commander, biology is also a kind of machine. We can make it obedient, predictable, nail down the variables with numbers, calculations, and reproducible results. We will tame it, like a beast, like some xenos animals. Humanity is superior, aliens are weak. The best way to eliminate a threat is to control it. This kind of gestalt network biome is often very easy to control. Perhaps we can start with their mind control network, if..."

"I once captured a living Genestealer in the Ghoul Stars, but it was of a lower rank. I tried to connect it to a modified mind-servitor via brainwaves."

Hearing this, Soryan and Bangura turned their heads to the speaking sage. He did not appear tall, and he carried a huge jar on his back. His left side had a mechanical prosthetic, and his legs had enhanced walking devices, but there were still many fleshy remnants on his face, indicating that he was not young.

Bangura's expression was somewhat astonished and shocked.

"Sage Cornelius Medici, when did you conduct such a dangerous experiment!? Such a risky experiment needs to be reported. Although I am not a bio-sage, I also know that the Tyranid neural network can resonate with its kin over extremely long distances. You are placing the Forge World before the aliens."

The other party hissed in response:

"Forge Master, there is no need to worry. That was a hundred standard Terran years ago. The Forge World was transferred not long after the experiment."

Soryan then asked:

"So, Sage Medici, what effective information did you obtain?"

"Legion Commander, a very powerful malice is lurking in the dark outer reaches. The mind-servitor could not withstand the strong alien signal, but it still allowed us to confirm some things."

As he spoke, the sage raised his head and looked at the Patriarch.

"The original thoughts of these aliens are only reproduction, infection, and survival. But once parasitized, they are highly consistent with the host's thoughts. If the host is human, then they will also fear, be greedy, be timid, and think about benefits. It's just that their thoughts can be constrained by a huge consciousness network, which is close to a kind of psychic witchcraft..."

"Psychic? Do you mean that the Tyranid consciousness network is built on the basis of psychic power?"

"At least, the Genestealers are. Their psychic power is abnormally active, which means they are very sensitive to psychic energy. But this is the most interesting point. In the current understanding of science, psychic energy is extremely dangerous. Untrained psykers often invite warp disasters when blindly using their powers, but this does not seem to apply to these aliens. They drive psychic energy as safely as using firearms. This is the focus of my current research. How did these aliens obtain such safe psychic abilities? What role does their hybrid gene play in this regard?"

"You are still researching it now?"

The sage immediately bowed to Soryan and said:

"Lord, please believe me, I don't have any living Tyranids on hand now, because dissection and experimentation have completely killed its flesh. I just took out its infected brain and continued to study it."

"So what else can you tell us?"

"Lord, I often go out to study and collect data on Genestealer broods. I can basically be sure that most of these aliens are not aware that they are aliens. They are the unconscious vanguard of the Tyranid fleet. According to my deduction, when their numbers in a world reach a certain scale, the collective mental network they establish may generate a highly directional and almost interference-free signal in the warp, and the Hive Fleet may formulate its invasion route based on this signal."

After he finished speaking, another sage immediately raised an objection.

"There is currently no evidence to prove this theory. The Tyranid Hive Fleet has a strong desire for biomass. The mainstream view that determines their invasion route is still that they are attracted by a large number of life signals. And if Genestealers contact the Tyranid Hive Fleet with warp signals, why would the choir of astropaths on the planet be unaware?"

"Because this signal is very special. The psychic sensitivity of astropaths is not enough to detect it. The messages in the warp are chaotic and noisy. Astropaths need luck to even receive signals from humans themselves, let alone such a secret signal."

"Do you think the psychic level of this race far exceeds that of humans?"

Soryan immediately stopped the following words.

"Everyone, let's only talk about academic issues, don't put on big hats, and don't attack from a standpoint."