Warhammer 40,000: Marneus Calgar #4

[laughing_tree]

This is a post-House of X comic, and I'm using data pages. They make a lot of sense for Warhammer because you want to see things like graphic and historical references. They have a way of conveying a particular feel. So there's a sense of disappearing down a Warhammer wiki, but it's more important to tell a really strong story about the character than a totally comprehensive one, because comprehensive won't make anyone care about anything. -- Keiron Gillen

Comments

[owlbrigade1]

I'm still confused as to how a Space Marine can actually breath with a fused ribcage. The ribs have to flex so the lungs can inflate and deflate.

I know, I know, all the other crazy stuff in 40k, and it is that which breaks my suspension of disbelief?

[scorntx]

Gotta draw a line somewhere, otherwise it'd just get ridiculous.

[shakalooloo]

THe ribcage is fused and bigger, but the lungs within are the same standar human size, so they have a bigger hollow in which to expand. No-prize?

[owlbrigade1]

I hate this bothers me, buuuuuuuut... The intercostal muscles which cause the ribs to expand and contract are how the lungs inflate and deflate. You can't just fuse the ribcage and not suffocate within the first three minutes of it happening. I don't know how I can accept all the other biological horrors of the Wh40k universe, but this is the one that bothers me.

[caivu]

Could the lungs not just inflate and squish against the ribs?

[owlbrigade1]

It is not a space issue, it is a mechanical thing, the actions of the ribs and intercostal muscles are part of what makes our lungs inflate and deflate. The closest real world comparison is Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, which is the condition that causes muscle tissue to turn into bones, and when it causes the intercostals and ribs to fuse then it is an end of life part of the condition because it means the body can no longer inflate the lungs.

Like I say, I have no idea why I cannot get over this part of the lore given all the rest of the increasingly bizarre stuff which I am perfectly fine with.

Wild Guess

[blue_bolt]

Maybe the fused ribs act more like a hinge from the top and swing away from the body at the bottom? Of course, that would just create a gap for stabbing upwards from below the ribs, and everytime a Marine breathed it would look bizarre.

[bradygirl_12]

With all these enhancements, why not just build a space marine?

[dcbanacek]

They probably believe that "forging" them makes them stronger.

[owlbrigade1]

It is probably heretical, and not even the Astartes wants the Inquisition asking pointed questions. Especially given the things they use for doing the pointing.

[cainofdreaming]

Yes, artificial intelligences are verboten. And remote control isn't really trustworthy with warp chaos, psykers and everything.

[blue_bolt]

Hmmm, does anyone in this universe use AI currently?

Necrons? Tau? Chaos Marines?

[cainofdreaming]

From what I understand (I don't actually play the game, just like the comics) Tau kinda do. Their A.I. just isn't advanced enough to be sentient. There's been some singular occasions of A.I. artifacts falling into Chaos' hands, but they don't really seem to use it in any large capacity. Dunno about Necrons.

[beoweasel]

Well, the thinking goes like this:

If the aspirant has the mental and physical fortitude to endure the incredibly difficult trials put before them, that means they will be excellent warriors upon their ascension. You wouldn't necessarily get that if you just grew an Astartes out of the box, as it were.

Another thing is, the Astartes are creatures of incredible pride. They are greatest warriors in the Imperium and they know it. They went through hell to become what they are. The idea of just GROWING an Astartes would be seen as an insult. They never went through the intense rigors of becoming an astartes, they were just GIVEN their augmentations without any struggle. How do we know that they're worthy?

Also, the ability to simply grow a Space Marine from scratch would make the rest of the Imperium deeply uncomfortable, if not outright paranoid. In the much distant past of the setting, the Emperor's sons, the Primarchs led vast legions of Space Marines, subjugating much of the Galaxy before they ended up in causing a Civil War with said legions that broke the Imperium and led to what it is now.

In the aftermath of that civil war, the Imperium made a book of laws concerning Space Marines, the Codex Astartes, which among other prohibitions, declared that no single Chapter could number more than a 1000 Astartes at one time. In a way, the Space Marine selection process acts as a 'limiter' on how many Marines any chapter can induct at one time, thanks to the rigors of the trials, several years of training and implantation, and the high probability of implant rejection (implantation success rate is about 10%). If you remove that limitation, then a Chapter Master could be seriously tempted to just create lots and lots of Astartes to bolster his ranks. And even with good intentions on the part of the Chapter Master, that could still lead to a road of them deciding to USE that force to the detriment of the Imperium.

[arilou_skiff]

It should also be noted that just vat-growing space marines is... difficult. Some Chaos-aligned warbands have *tried* that since they have a harder time recruiting than the loyalists, but it involved... Some pretty horrible stuff, and the results weren't exactly up to snuff.

[beoweasel]

Yeah, the only Chaos-aligned Astartes that does cloning on major scale is Fabius Bile, who has made numerous clones of himself over the centuries, though they all suffer from the same neurodegenerative ailment he does.

[reveen]

Seeing how jacked marines are without their armour bothers me because it seems like the bloody armour would be paper thin? It's like, 1. How is there any room for the Power parts of power armour and 2. Why do they even need power armour, how fucking heavy could it possibly be?

Of course, without them being proportional to the armour you get the question of how the hell their limbs fit in there. One idea I mused about is having cyborg shoulder and hip joints that grossly distend out to fit the frame of the armour.