?Undying Emperor

The following account is based upon information gathered during the interrogation of the disgraced captain of the 8th Expeditionary Fleet vessel Lex Principium.

基于審訊第8遠(yuǎn)征探索艦隊(duì)中的艦船——“原則律法”號(hào)那位可恥艦長所收集到的信息，我們形成了下文中的報(bào)告。

Among the men and women of the great Imperial war effort, the majesty of the Emperor and the grandeur of His galactic vision was often a topic of?discussion. Invariably, such talk also veered into the realms of the Emperor's longevity. In the early years of the Great Crusade, the Emperor had existed as a presence in the galaxy long enough to become legend, with records surviving for many families of their distant ancestors having met or fought alongside Him in mythical times on Ancient Terra. Many speculated as to His age, for had an Emperor-like being not fought on Terra a thousand years before even the Great Crusade had begun? To a few, regardless of?what He may have claimed to the contrary, the Emperor was an immortal being who could never die; He had conquered death itself and would live to conquer the very cosmos. This was the idea upon which the Cult of the Undying Emperor was shaped.

在效勞于偉大帝國戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的男男女女中，帝皇的統(tǒng)治權(quán)（地位）和他對(duì)于銀河系的宏偉愿景經(jīng)常成為討論話題。而不可避免地，此類談話（最終）也轉(zhuǎn)而探討帝皇的長壽。在大遠(yuǎn)征早期，帝皇存在于銀河系中的時(shí)間漫長到足夠成為一個(gè)傳說，很多（貴族）家庭存留下來的記錄表明：在古老泰拉上的神話般（過往）時(shí)代中，他們遙遠(yuǎn)的先祖曾經(jīng)遇到過帝皇或與之并肩作戰(zhàn)。很多人都在猜測(cè)他的年齡，因?yàn)樵诖筮h(yuǎn)征開始的一千年之前，難道就沒有某個(gè)類似于帝皇這樣的人在泰拉上奮戰(zhàn)嗎？對(duì)于少數(shù)人而言，無論帝皇可能會(huì)說什么來否認(rèn)這一點(diǎn)，他都是一個(gè)永遠(yuǎn)都不會(huì)死亡的不朽存在；他征服了死亡本身，而且還會(huì)活著去征服整個(gè)宇宙。不死神皇教派便是依照這些理念形成的。

Deifying the Emperor was not entirely uncommon, with discipline officers and iterators tasked with suppressing it; however, this early cult of Emperor-worship gained traction quickly. It is thought to have originated almost from the declaration of Terran Unity, and spread quickly among the Expeditionary fleets before vast distances were between them. Beginning with an idea that was agreeable, it was adopted as a belief by large swathes of Imperial personnel, even if it was not openly spoken of，and required no organised ritual. This idea only became harmful when within the 8th Expeditionary Fleet unscrupulous individuals exploited it, peddling supposedly holy trinkets and pendants of the Imperial Aquila in exchange for supplementary ration tokens. An industry of relics formed, through misinformation and myth, soon trading in the misbegotten teeth and bodily fluids of'martyrs' who had died for the Emperor, stolen from post-Compliance medicae encampments and war graves.

神化帝皇并非是一種完全不常見的行為，盡管紀(jì)法官員和負(fù)責(zé)（政權(quán)）更替的官員們會(huì)壓制這些活動(dòng)；然而，這些崇拜帝皇的早期教派很快便發(fā)展壯大起來。我們認(rèn)為，這些行為幾乎就是起源于帝皇宣布泰拉統(tǒng)一時(shí)，而且在遠(yuǎn)征探索艦隊(duì)們彼此相隔廣闊的（空間）距離之前，它便在艦隊(duì)間快速傳播開來。崇拜帝皇最初（只）是一種討人喜歡的想法，之后則被大量的帝國人員采納為一種宗教信仰——即便這種情況未被公開談?wù)撨^，而且不需要有組織的儀式。只有當(dāng)?shù)?遠(yuǎn)征艦隊(duì)中一些寡廉鮮恥的人利用它，兜售所謂神圣的小飾品和帝國天鷹的吊墜來換取額外的配給券時(shí)，這種想法才變得有害。通過錯(cuò)誤的信息和神話，這些人形成了一套圣物產(chǎn)業(yè)（體系）；很快，他們就做出了可鄙之事：從已歸順世界的醫(yī)療營地和戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)墓園中偷盜那些為帝皇而死的“殉道者”們的牙齒和體液來用于交易。

This macabre trade soon came to support other unsavoury activists, who found a ready source of human viscera required for their own rituals. Under the guise of the Cult of the Undying Emperor, practitioners of warpcraft came to support this trade and gather the materials required to summon their gods of hell into reality. To cover their activities, they spoke of the Daemonic in terms of the sanctic, and of their gods as angels and saints, perverting the language of the Imperial Truth, adapting it to become in itself a religious credo - for it stood to reason that with the use of the blood and bones of martyrs who died serving Him, they could open the gates to an illuminated heaven of the Emperor's creation. This operation became well known among believers, and with the help of a sympathetic captain they formed an area of openly unholy consecration within the bulk freighter Lex Principium, whereupon they called all of their followers to gather for the rituals to begin. When they opened the Empyrean within the bowels of the ship however, their lies unravelled. The cultists knew not what powers they invoked, nor how to contain them. The ship's captain was alerted by the screams of his Astropath and Navigator, neither of whom would survive the night. Unable to reach his security detail, he locked down the bridge and signalled distress to the fleet.

這種令人毛骨悚然的交易很快就開始支持其他令人厭惡的積極分子，后者找到了一種現(xiàn)成的人類內(nèi)臟來源以用于自己的儀式。在不死神皇教派的偽裝下，亞空間飛船上的從業(yè)者們開始支持這一交易，并收集必要的材料來將他們的地獄之神召喚到現(xiàn)實(shí)中。為了掩蓋自己的行動(dòng)，他們以圣潔的說法來稱呼惡魔，將其稱為自己的神明、天使和圣者，并且扭曲了帝國真理（中）的語言，使其本身成為一種宗教信條——他們以此推論出：通過利用那些為帝皇而死的殉道者們的血液和骨骸，他們就能打開帝皇所創(chuàng)造的光明天堂的大門。這一行動(dòng)在信徒中廣為人知，在一位同情他們的船長的幫助下，他們?cè)诖笮拓浥灐霸瓌t律法”號(hào)內(nèi)建立了一個(gè)公開的不潔獻(xiàn)祭場(chǎng)，他們召集所有的追隨者聚集到此地來舉行儀式。然而當(dāng)他們?cè)陲w船深處打開至高天（入口）時(shí)，謊言也就崩潰了。教徒們不知道自己召喚來了怎樣的權(quán)能，也不知道如何控制它們。星語者和導(dǎo)航者們的嚎叫向艦長發(fā)出了警報(bào)，前兩者無人從這次暗夜中幸存。由于無法聯(lián)系到自己的安保人員，艦長封鎖了艦橋并向艦隊(duì)發(fā)出求救信號(hào)。

A Sokar pattern Stormbird was immediately dispatched, containing a small contingent of the Iconoclasts of the XVIIth Legion and the Corpse Grinders of the IVth Legion. Together, the two dour strike teams went about the grim work of purging the ship, finding it to be filled with lunatic cultists and grotesque xenos spawn, whom they dispatched with equal effect. The immediate threat neutralised, the XVIIth Legion, having already earned a reputation in the early years of the Great Crusade for the unremitting destruction of religious cults, undertook a short campaign of cleansing, their reputation alone prompting Imperial citizens to identify the guilty relic traders and give up any known remaining cultists. Ironically, when reuniting with his Legion, Lorgar would study the same report, and it is understood by Imperial scholars that some of the ritual terms first used by the Cult of the Undying Emperor to beguile their members as to their true intentions were included in the Lectitio Divinitatus.

艦隊(duì)立刻派出了一艘索卡爾型風(fēng)暴鳥炮艇，其上裝載了第十七軍團(tuán)“圣像破壞者”和第四軍團(tuán)“尸體研磨者”組成的小規(guī)模分隊(duì)，這兩支陰沉冷酷的打擊小隊(duì)共同承擔(dān)起清理這艘飛船的殘酷任務(wù)；星際戰(zhàn)士們發(fā)現(xiàn)船上滿是精神錯(cuò)亂的教徒和丑陋怪異的卵狀物，他們將其趕盡殺絕。在消除了直接的威脅后，第十七軍團(tuán)進(jìn)行了一場(chǎng)短暫的清洗運(yùn)動(dòng)——該軍團(tuán)在大遠(yuǎn)征早期就已經(jīng)因?yàn)閳?jiān)持不懈地摧毀宗教教派而贏得了聲譽(yù)，只是他們的名聲就能促使帝國公民識(shí)別出有罪的文物商人并交出任何已知的殘余信徒。諷刺的是，珞珈與自己的軍團(tuán)團(tuán)聚之后將會(huì)研讀相同的報(bào)告；帝國學(xué)者們認(rèn)為，最初被不死神皇教派用于欺騙其成員的某些儀式術(shù)語被納入到了《圣言錄》中。

Addendum: Emperor Worship

補(bǔ)遺：帝皇崇拜

It has been many years since this account was first conceived in secret. I know now that I will not live to see what becomes of?our Imperium, and so may therefore write without regret or the apprehension felt by those who, like me, remember walking by the Emperor's side during the Great Crusade. I refer to the new Imperial cult which openly worships Him, the existence of which is contrary to His will.

自從我第一次構(gòu)思這篇報(bào)告以來，已經(jīng)過去很多年了?，F(xiàn)在我明白，自己是不會(huì)活著看到人類帝國變成什么，所以我在寫作本文時(shí)不會(huì)感到遺憾，也不會(huì)像那些如我這般仍記得在大遠(yuǎn)征期間與帝皇并肩前行的經(jīng)歷的人們那樣感到憂慮。我指的就是那些公開崇拜帝皇的新帝國教派，后者的存在違背了帝皇本人的意志。

In the long decades since Ullanor, when the Emperor ceased to command His armies across the stars, His frightened subjects nave clutched ever more desperately for solace in what they have perceived to be His words and works. Their desire for His presence in their lives has led to the creation of?a new belief variously called the Imperial Faith or the Faith of the Emperor Our Saviour; which is rooted in the text of?the Lectitio Divinatatus, spawned from the ravings of thrice-damned Lorgar Aurelian. These foolish souls worship the Emperor as a god and it can only be imagined what bitter amusement the Golden Primarch, should he yet live, derives to see that the very matter over which the Emperor chastised him is become the foundation of?His kingdom.

自從烏蘭諾大捷之后漫長的數(shù)十年中，當(dāng)?shù)刍什辉伲ㄖ苯樱┲笓]他的軍隊(duì)穿越群星時(shí)，他驚恐的子民們便更加絕望地從自己所能感知的東西——帝皇的言語和著作中尋求慰藉。他們渴望帝皇自己的生活中，這種期望導(dǎo)致了某些新宗教信仰的誕生，并且擁有各種不同的名稱：帝國信仰、帝皇信仰或吾等救主信仰——這些信仰根植于《圣言錄》中的文本，而這些內(nèi)容是出自備受詛咒的珞珈 奧雷利安的瘋言瘋語。愚蠢的靈魂們將帝皇作為神來崇拜，我們只能想象，如果那位金色的原體（倘若他還活著的話）看見帝皇為之而對(duì)其進(jìn)行懲罰的事情成為了人類帝國的基礎(chǔ)，他會(huì)感到何等苦澀的可笑。

Such worship of?the Emperor is a step towards the use of faith as a tool with which to pervert His designs. The new lords of Terra do not act to halt its spread, but rather use it as a means to meet their own mortal ends. It is now more imperative than ever to remember the ascendance of?the empirical, secular Imperium He created. Knowledge of the Great Lie does not diminish the value of the Truth; the threat of the Daemon can be understood and countered rationally using the artifices of technology. His sons are marvels of?science, not the demi-gods of?myth and, could He speak, the Emperor would be the first to deny His own divinity.

這種對(duì)于帝皇的崇拜是（某些人）將之用作工具來扭曲帝皇本人意志的第一步。新任的泰拉領(lǐng)主們也并未阻止這種崇拜行為的傳播，而是將其用作滿足自己凡俗目的的手段。現(xiàn)在，人類比以往任何時(shí)候都更需要記住帝皇所創(chuàng)造的經(jīng)驗(yàn)主義世俗帝國的優(yōu)勢(shì)。彌天大謊（機(jī)仆：帝國真理）并不會(huì)減少真相的價(jià)值，我們可以理解惡魔的威脅，并理性地使用技術(shù)手段來對(duì)抗它們。帝皇的子嗣們是科學(xué)奇跡，而非神話中的半神；倘若帝皇能講出話語，那他就會(huì)是第一個(gè)否認(rèn)自己神性的人。