The Astra Telepathica, the Astronomican and the Great Tithe

Before expanding the Great Crusade to the stars beyond Sol, the Emperor first ordered the construction of the Astronomican on Terra. Huge numbers of Tech-Priests were brought from Mars to oversee the project and the majority of the Terran population was drafted to construct the towering machine-building or support this labour. At the time, the Astronomican was the single largest artifice on Terra, and the sole purpose of this colossal endeavour was that the entire device was merely a focus through which the Emperor could direct His fathomless psychic energies to generate a partly self-sustaining signal (although few involved were aware of this fact). The psychic navigational beam which the Astronomican generated was able to cut through the Warp and those attuned to its unique frequencies and modulations, the Navigators, were able to use it as a beacon and pole star when plotting journeys through the Immaterium. By this the Warp could be travelled at speeds and with a margin of safety that had been unprecedented —although risk of course could never be fully mitigated— and this was an incalculable boon to both the Great Crusade and the fledging interstellar domain it was creating. Such was its effect that even then some referred to it as the 'Divine Light’, or the 'Emperor's Light’, often without fully realising the literal truth of those words.

在將大遠(yuǎn)征拓展到太陽系外的群星間之前，帝皇首先下令在泰拉上建造星炬。數(shù)量龐大得技術(shù)神甫們被從火星帶往泰拉監(jiān)督項(xiàng)目進(jìn)行，泰拉上的主要人口都被抽調(diào)去修建這臺(tái)高聳的機(jī)械，或者支援這項(xiàng)工程的建設(shè)。在當(dāng)時(shí)，星炬上泰拉上最大的單一人造物，帝國付出巨大的努力也有一個(gè)目的：這整個(gè)裝置僅僅是一個(gè)聚焦器，帝皇可以通過它來引導(dǎo)自己磅礴無比的靈能力量，以形成一個(gè)能部分自我維持的信號(hào)（不過只有極少數(shù)參與者知道這一事實(shí)）。星炬產(chǎn)生的靈能導(dǎo)航光束能穿過亞空間，那些適應(yīng)其獨(dú)特頻率和調(diào)幅度的人類——導(dǎo)航者們?cè)谝龑?dǎo)星艦在非物質(zhì)宇宙中的航線時(shí)，能夠?qū)⑵溆米鳠羲蛯?dǎo)航星。通過這種方式，人類可以在前所未有的安全邊際內(nèi)從亞空間快速通行（當(dāng)然，風(fēng)險(xiǎn)并不能被完全減輕），對(duì)大遠(yuǎn)征和人類由此正在群星間開拓出的新疆域而言，這都是不可估量的福音。星炬是極其高效的工具，甚至有人稱之為“圣光”、“帝皇之光”，但他們往往沒有完全意識(shí)到這些詞在字面意思上的真相。

In addition to this invaluable beacon among the stars, the Imperium would not have been made possible without the creation and continuation of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica. This special corps of inter-stellar communicators was created by the Emperor during the final months of the conquest of Ancient Terra, as the Emperor had foreseen their absolute future need. For the most part the Emperor did not favour the use of psychic talents in others; as a psyker Himself ，albeit one of unprecedented power and control, He was well aware of the dangers inherent in contact with the Warp. Furthermore, the Age of Strife on Old Earth had its own 'witch-kings'?and possessed psykers to attest to those dangers, some of whom the Emperor had personally slain. However, He was able to identify those who were strong enough and so with some prudence, certain psykers were employed in a variety of specialised roles within the Imperium, and the astropaths were to be such an exception, being needed not in their hundreds, but tens of thousands. It was to feed this need that the Great Tithe was first envisioned.

除了這座閃耀在群星間的無價(jià)燈塔，星語庭的創(chuàng)建和延續(xù)也是讓人類帝國成為可能的必要條件。帝皇在征服古老泰拉的最后幾個(gè)月中創(chuàng)建了這個(gè)負(fù)責(zé)星際通訊的特殊團(tuán)體，因?yàn)樗呀?jīng)預(yù)見到這個(gè)部門在未來絕對(duì)會(huì)被需要。在大多數(shù)情況下，皇帝并不贊成在使用其他人類的靈能天賦；他本人就是一名靈能者，而且擁有著前所未有的靈能力量和控制力，但他也知曉與亞空間進(jìn)行連接的潛在危險(xiǎn)。另外，在紛爭(zhēng)紀(jì)元中，舊地球本土上也曾出現(xiàn)過“巫師之王”，著魔的靈能者們就是這種危險(xiǎn)的例證，其中某些（甚至）是被帝皇親手殺死的。不過，帝皇也能識(shí)別出那些足夠頑強(qiáng)的靈能者，所以在保持一定謹(jǐn)慎的情況下，特定的靈能者也可以在帝國中承擔(dān)各種特殊角色，星語者就是這樣的一個(gè)例外，而且帝國對(duì)他們的需求量不是數(shù)以百計(jì)，而是數(shù)以萬計(jì)。正是為了滿足這種需求，帝國第一次設(shè)想出了什一圣稅。

The Astropaths

星語者

An astropath is an 'astro-telepath', an individual capable of communicating with others of their kind over vast interstellar distances through phantasmal visions, empathic transmission and vision allegory rather than through words. This is an essential talent as the inhabited worlds of Mankind are many light years apart in physical terms and the only practical way for the Imperium to maintain any semblance of unity is by such communication, however temperamental it may be. All astropaths undergo a special process that moulds their powers and at the same time strengthens them against psychic danger. This is called the 'Soul Binding'?ritual, which shapes the mind and cerebral structure of the subject with the Emperor's own psychokinetic force as a potter shapes wet clay. Unfortunately not all candidates survive this ritual— some are driven insane, and all have their personalities altered to some degree. The raw energy of the Emperor's will also has another effect. So powerful are the forces involved that many of the more delicate sensory nerves can be damaged, especially the optic nerves. Consequently, almost all astropaths are blind, whilst many also lack a sense of smell, touch or hearing, a stigmata which sets them as a breed apart even as their sacrifice binds the Imperium together.

一名星語者就是一名“星語傳訊員”，這些個(gè)體彼此同類之間能夠跨越廣闊的星際距離進(jìn)行交流，交流手段是幻覺、移情傳輸和視覺寓言，而非文字。這是一種至關(guān)重要的天賦，因?yàn)槿祟惖母鱾€(gè)定居世界在物理層面上都彼此相隔數(shù)光年之遙，帝國維持任何統(tǒng)一表象的唯一可行方法就是使用星語通訊，不過星語信號(hào)也可能是變化無常的。所有星語者都要經(jīng)歷一個(gè)塑造他們能力的特殊過程，他們對(duì)于靈能危險(xiǎn)的抗性同時(shí)也會(huì)被增強(qiáng)。這就是所謂的“靈魂綁定”儀式，帝皇會(huì)利用自己的靈能致動(dòng)力量塑造接受者的思想和大腦結(jié)構(gòu)，就像陶工給濕粘土塑形一樣。不幸的是并非所有候選者都能從儀式中幸存——有些人會(huì)被逼瘋，而且所有接受了儀式的靈能者們都在某種程度上改變了他們的個(gè)性。帝皇意志那未經(jīng)雕飾的能量也會(huì)產(chǎn)生其他效果。所以，幾乎所有星語者都雙目失明，同時(shí)大多數(shù)人也會(huì)缺失嗅覺、觸覺和聽覺。盡管他們的犧牲將帝國團(tuán)結(jié)在一起，但這種恥辱也使他們成為一個(gè)區(qū)別于普通人類之外的人種。

The Great Tithe

什一圣稅

In order to fuel and provide manpower for the creation of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, a vast and intricate organisation was created, the Divisio Astra Telepathica, and many of the resources gained by the initial conquests of the Great Crusade were diverted to its establishment. It was vast in scope and its key function was to execute one of the fundamental goals the Emperor Himself had set for the Great Crusade; the marshalling and regulation of all human psykers across the ever expanding worlds of the Imperium. This seemingly incomprehensible task required hundreds of thousands of functionaries and technicians, billions of tonnes of raw materials to construct specialised facilities, and most significantly, an absolute concentration of a body of psyker lore on a scale perhaps unknown before in humanity's long history.

為了給星語修會(huì)的創(chuàng)建提供人力，帝國設(shè)立了一個(gè)龐大且復(fù)雜的組織——星語院，大遠(yuǎn)征初期征服所獲取的資源有很多都被用于該組織的建立。星語院的工作內(nèi)容龐雜，主要責(zé)任是執(zhí)行帝皇本人為大遠(yuǎn)征制定的基本目標(biāo)之一：從帝國不斷擴(kuò)張的領(lǐng)土上對(duì)所有人類靈能者進(jìn)行編組和監(jiān)管。這是一項(xiàng)看似無法理解的任務(wù)，需要數(shù)十萬名工作人員和技術(shù)人員，數(shù)十億噸用于建造專業(yè)設(shè)施的原材料，以及最為重要的:一座對(duì)大量靈能知識(shí)進(jìn)行了絕對(duì)集中的資料庫，其規(guī)模在人類漫長(zhǎng)的歷史上可能前所未見。

While the astropaths remained the major focus of the Divisio, within the Great Tithe's shadow grew scores of sub-organisations: administrational blocs, logistical corpus, dedicated techno-cults and arcane academic faculties, all shrouded in deep secrecy to maintain their absolute security. These included most notably the chambers of the Scholastica Psykana, an institution of bound and bonded psykers who were deemed strong and stable enough to induct and train others of their own kind into the Imperium's service. Suborned to them were new organisations such as the fledgling Primaris battle psyker programmes, the training of the mentally conditioned truthsayers of the Administratum, and much that went unseen.

同時(shí)星語者仍是星語院的主要關(guān)注點(diǎn)，并什一圣稅的陰影下組建了數(shù)十個(gè)次級(jí)組織：它們的政務(wù)集團(tuán)、后勤語料庫、專門的技術(shù)教派和神秘的學(xué)術(shù)機(jī)構(gòu)，這些部門全部躲藏在森嚴(yán)的機(jī)密中以維持絕對(duì)的保密性。其中最為著名的就是靈能經(jīng)院，這個(gè)機(jī)構(gòu)由被束縛綁定的靈能者們構(gòu)成，他們被認(rèn)為強(qiáng)大和穩(wěn)定到足以引導(dǎo)和訓(xùn)練其他同類們?yōu)榈蹏?wù)。靈能經(jīng)院還派生出了新的組織：比如新生的高級(jí)戰(zhàn)斗靈能者培訓(xùn)部，為政務(wù)部訓(xùn)練精神被調(diào)控的真言師的部門，還有許多常人看不到的部門。

Above all of these sub-groups and of vast practical importance was the League of Black Ships, a dedicated fleet of specialised, purpose-built interstellar craft, their masters and crew fashioned to carry out the harvest of humanity. From the start however, it was clear that the Divisio would also need its own militant wing specialised not only in conducting the Great Tithe of psykers the Emperor had decreed, but in combating the very evils the tithe sought to prevent directly. The onus of this dread task fell upon the newly- formed Divisio Investigates.

在所有這些次級(jí)團(tuán)體中，具有巨大實(shí)際重要性的是黑船聯(lián)盟，這支專門艦隊(duì)由為特殊目的而建造的星艦組成，艦船上的主管和船員們都被訓(xùn)練塑造成收捕人類的專家。不過，很明顯從一開始星語院中就有屬于自己的激進(jìn)派系，他們不僅專長(zhǎng)于征收帝皇宣布的靈能者什一圣稅，而且擅長(zhǎng)于對(duì)抗什一稅所試圖直接阻止的邪惡之物。這項(xiàng)可怕的任務(wù)就落在了新成立的調(diào)查部身上。