Mechanicus Insights

For those members of the laity in our contingent who seek to better comprehend my brethren and the Omnissiah, I provide these most basic concepts, simplified to aid in your understanding, if at cost to greater nuance.

First, the 16 Universal Laws, divided into the 8 Mysteries and the 8 Warnings:

The Mysteries of the Cult Mechanicus:

1. Life is directed motion.
2. The spirit is the spark of life.
3. Sentience is the ability to learn the value of knowledge.
4. Intellect is the understanding of knowledge.
5. Sentience is the basest form of Intellect.
6. Understanding is the True Path to Comprehension.
7. Comprehension is the key to all things.
8. The Omnissiah knows all, comprehends all.

The Warnings of the Cult Mechanicus:

1. The alien mechanism is a perversion of the True Path.
2. The soul is the conscience of sentience.
3. A soul can be bestowed only by the Omnissiah.
4. The Soulless sentience is the enemy of all.
5. The knowledge of the Ancients stands beyond question.
6. The Machine Spirit guards the knowledge of the Ancients.
7. Flesh is fallible, but ritual honours the Machine Spirit.
8. To break with ritual is to break with faith.*

*Magos Techsorcist Voss Alpha-1 posed an interesting question regarding the relationship between this warning and the rituals of techsorcism, which often require a degree of adaptability and improvisation. I responded that the Omnissiah, all knowing and all comprehending, would know of and sanction those rituals which we had yet to discover.

Next, concerning the names and naming conventions of Techpriests, though the customs observed are both multitudinous and nuanced in the highest degree, rendering this explanation a most rudimentary summation of practice.

It is generally expected that a techpriest, with time and experience, shall choose and alter elements of their name to demonstrate their relationship and form of service to the Omnissiah, as well as their brothers and sisters. To understand this may aid in understanding those you interact with. Such names can be functionally delineated into the following categories:

Praenomen—Indicates one's given name (including surname). There is no expectation that a praenomen be discarded, though some choose to do so, completely or in part. (Examples: Eizen, Cassius, Fexibaan.)

Nomen—Indicates one's chosen name(s), often inspired by a particularly resonant idea, device, or concept; you may think of this as similar to your "virtue names." Nomen are what the laity tend to think of as "traditional" Mechanicus names, and occasionally they are correct (if not in the intended sense) as many nomen are indeed more common than others, favored as sensible, practical, relevant, or auspicious in their particular field. The nomen "Opticon," for instance, is fairly common in the Explorator Fleet. There are even a few cases of nomen legatum, or "legacy names," the specific meanings of which have been forgotten but are still used due to favorable associations. (Examples: Vector, Kelvin, Sojourner, Kolabite, Voltaire.)

Cognomen—Indicates one's commitment to a particular school of thought or intellectual philosophy, as well as its purpose within the Mechanicus. Typically, a cognomen is taken from the name of a notable leader (such as an Archmagos or Fabricator General). Cognomen are somewhat rarer than other name components, and sometimes difficult to identify without more advanced knowledge of the Machine Cult, as they may simply appear to be the surname of a praenomen or extended nomen. Some cognomen are handed down with more intentionality between Techpriests, often indicating an exclusivity or prestige inherent to the lineage, similar to noble titles. (Examples: van Flange, Omega, Wakes.)

*Note: there is some ongoing controversy about the use of cognomen in some sects of the Mechanicus, largely concerning the potential for personal loyalties ingrained in one's identity acting as a foothold for heretical tendencies or as resilience against them.

Agnomen—Indicates an expression of individuality and personal experience within the Mechanicus. It is hypothesized that these modifiers may have once been assigned, rather than chosen, to indicate differentiation between Techpriests with the same nomen, similar to how a nicknames may be used to differentiate between individuals in a social group who share a name. Regardless, it is now uncommon for a techpriest to forgo an agnomen, though new initiates are naturally not expected to have accumulated the experience to choose one. (Examples: 22, c53, 62-Ø, 111, 19-A, 77-b.)