Chapter 52: Psionic Infusion
"Buzz—Buzz—"
Inside the vast biological laboratory, the low, droning hum of hundreds of machines running simultaneously assaulted the ears.
Before the central culture tank filled with green nutrient solution, the massive mechanical body of Belisarius Cawl moved like a spider weaving its web. Dozens of mechanical tentacles danced rapidly across the control panel, so fast that they blurred into afterimages.
"Culture temperature—stable."
"Gene sequence import port—activated."
"Suppression field—maximum output."
Cawl's three different voices overlapped in the air.
With the final command entered, a precise mechanical clamp slowly lowered the tiny, ancient-looking red fragment—Sample Fourteen from the "Sangprimus Portum"—into the bubbling nutrient solution.
"All physical parameters optimized."
Cawl spun around, his sensor-covered head leaning close to Eileen as his red electronic eyes flashed with fanatical light.
"It's like a pile of dry tinder waiting to be ignited. It needs a spark—the guidance of psionic energy."
Cawl pointed toward the incubation tank.
"Inject psionic energy, Miss Eileen. Not too much—just enough to stitch together the conflicting or missing sections."
Eileen nodded.
She took a deep breath and walked to the psionic transmission interface installed on the control panel.
She didn't shout out attack names like she did on the battlefield, nor did she strike exaggerated poses.
(Those habits had all been taught to her by Old Huang.)
Instead, she quietly extended her right hand and placed it on the cold crystal panel.
"Old Huang, we're starting."
She spoke softly in her mind.
[Received.]
The next moment—
"Whoosh—"
The airflow throughout the laboratory suddenly stopped.
Eileen's long flaxen hair slowly floated upward, freed from the pull of gravity.
Her eyes snapped open.
The brown pupils vanished, replaced by flowing golden flames.
Even though she released no offensive power, an overwhelming aura of divinity still pressed down like a mountain.
"Thump… thump…"
The dozens of service mechs transporting supplies nearby immediately detected the presence of this aura. Their logic circuits interpreted it as an "encounter with a divine entity."
One after another, they knelt down, pressing their foreheads against the metal floor.
"Beep—Beep—Beep—!!!"
Countless detectors on Cawl's body erupted into shrill alarms. Needles on the dials jumped wildly, and some instruments even burst apart.
"Oh! These readings!"
Cawl showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, he waved his tentacles excitedly, emitting a metallic screech of delight.
"The purity of this psionic energy…! Is this the whisper of the Omnissiah?! Praise the Machine God! This is magnificent!"
Deep within Eileen's consciousness—
Old Huang extended his senses through Eileen's palm into the tiny petri dish.
To him, this was now a microscopic world.
In his "vision," the red genetic seed was no longer a piece of flesh and blood, but a piece of extremely complex, precise, yet ancient and weathered… code.
[Is this the Primarch's original code…?]
Old Huang examined the double-helix structure like a programmer inspecting a server's backend.
[I have to admit, even if I don't fully understand it, whoever designed this thing was a genius.]
[But…]
His "gaze" focused on several nodes within the gene chain.
Tiny grayish-black specks were scattered there.
Some were genetic defects. Others looked like traces of deliberate tampering… or perhaps imperceptible contamination from the Warp.
After all, the sample had been aboard Cawl's ship for ten thousand years. Even perfect preservation couldn't completely isolate it from Warp influence.
[Looks like poorly maintained farm produce.]
Old Huang clicked his tongue internally.
[So this is the so-called perfect sample? That smooth-talking tin can oversold it. The details are still a mess.]
[If we used it directly, the resulting body would probably have bugs—and it might even be vulnerable to corruption by those Chaos freaks again.]
[Well, since I'm already here to "customize the face," I might as well clean everything up while I'm at it.]
"Sizzle—"
In reality, Eileen's hand resting on the panel suddenly radiated a layer of platinum light.
The light carried an indescribable sense of order.
It flowed through the tubes and into the culture tank.
The nutrient solution instantly began to boil.
The dark red seed floating at the center trembled violently.
Wisps of gray-black smoke were forced out from within it, instantly vaporized by the platinum-gold radiance.
Impurities accumulated over ten thousand years—potential sources of mutation—were gradually purged.
As the impurities were expelled, the seed's color began to change dramatically.
The originally dark blood-red mass slowly became crystalline and translucent, eventually transforming into something like a ruby heart, with golden threads flowing inside it.
"Thump… thump… thump…"
A powerful, rhythmic heartbeat echoed through the thick glass of the tank.
"Omnissiah above! This… how is this possible?!"
Cawl's mechanical arms grabbed the holographic screen, nearly crushing it.
"Genetic sequence stability… breaking the threshold!"
"60%… 75%… 90%… 95%?!"
Cawl's three personalities cried out simultaneously in overlapping voices, sounding eerie.
"This defies biological law! It shouldn't work! How is this possible?! Genetic optimization that would normally take centuries has been completed so easily?!"
"This is alchemy! This is the Omnissiah's divine alchemy!"
The light gradually faded.
Eileen's hair settled back onto her shoulders, and the golden glow in her eyes dissipated, returning to a clear brown.
She withdrew her hand and shook her slightly numb wrist.
"Done."
Eileen yawned.
"Old Huang said he just wiped the dust off."
"Wiped… the dust off?"
Cawl glided closer to the tank, his enormous electronic eye nearly touching the glass.
The seed pulsed joyfully, each beat radiating a golden halo.
It was no longer a simple genetic sample.
It looked more like an embryo nurturing a sacred life.
"This is simply… a work of art."
Cawl murmured, momentarily forgetting everyone else.
He turned toward Mortarion, who stood nearby—his excitement evident even in his spirit form.
"It succeeded, Lord Mortarion."
Cawl's voice carried undisguised amazement.
"The seed has been activated. And under the influence of… some unknown power, its quality has surpassed its original theoretical limits."
"That's enough for now. It needs time to adapt to the change."
Cawl waved his tentacles and began configuring the next procedures.
"For the next few months, you won't need to come every day. To avoid energy overload, Miss Irene should perform this… infusion and stitching once every two weeks."
"At this rate… perhaps in just six months, you will have a completely new body."
Mortarion floated toward the incubation tank.
He extended his translucent hand and gently pressed it against the glass where the golden-red seed floated.
He could feel the life force within.
Clean. Pure. Powerful.
"Thank you."
Mortarion murmured softly. It was unclear whether he was speaking to Cawl—or to the being inside Irene.
"Alright, brother. This is how family should be."
Roboute Guilliman stepped forward and patted one of Cawl's mechanical arms—the only place not currently busy.
"Now that the first phase is complete, let's not interfere with Archmagos Cawl's work."
"For the time being, your King of Explorers will remain with the expedition fleet until the body is fully formed."
He turned toward the others.
"Fleet—set sail immediately."
"Destination: Macragge."