Chapter 1223 The New Blood of the Legion (Part 1)
Jacob was lying on the surgical altar. He raised his head and saw the pharmacist's face that was pale from not seeing the sun for a long time. He could hear the vague work of the nearby machines. The servitors made strange chanting sounds, and from time to time there were screams or howls, or the sound of a scalpel cutting into the body.
The table beneath him was stained with his clotted blood, its smell rushing into his nasal cavity along with many chemicals, and his fingers fidgeted uneasily on the metal handle on the edge of the operating table.
Then he took a deep breath to keep himself calm.
After the Chapter returned from the battlefield of Pai Mao Star, they, as the fourth batch of recruits of the Chapter, finally began the transformation surgery.
First, the pharmacists performed many strange medical rituals on him, and then everyone was scanned by many technological engines. The pharmacists poked him with sensing devices, put on a sensing helmet on him, and attached surveillance to his limbs. patch.
Before this, their diet had been changed to some kind of synthetic product, which had a strange chemical taste caused by many drugs, but he guessed that these things were for his own good, so he didn't worry.
And there is no point in worrying, because he knows that everyone lives completely under the mercy of fate.
At least he is alive, but not all candidates have.
Many, many of his friends, the boys from Armageddon, would never come back.
Some people call the orphans of the fallen soldiers that they, the Astral Knights, took away from Armageddon the "Orphans of Armageddon," but he prefers the name "The Sons of Armageddon."
Soon, Jacob pushed these distracting thoughts to the back of his mind. He didn't want to think about it anymore.
After his early transformations, his body had become a perfect fusion of genetic technology, ready to proceed to the next step in making him one of the Astartes.
He's ready to implant what they call a gene-seed.
Death or sanctification, that is the only step left.
Jacob took another deep breath and tried to stay calm.
He instinctively dislikes this. He hates being bound, imprisoned, and being influenced by the will of others.
But there is nothing he can do about it now.
When he turned his head slightly, he saw a pharmacist walking over. He held a glass with both hands respectfully, which contained a meat ball with many warts and tissues protruding from it. Tube.
At this time, the chanting of the surrounding servitors became louder and more rhythmic as the pharmacist approached.
That's the gene seed.
Jacob was reminded of what he had learned over the past few weeks, the most important component that any Astartes possessed, allowing him to continue his transformation into a fully superhuman being.
Although it looks a bit ferocious and terrifying on the outside, it is really a sacred thing. This bloody mass of flesh was born from another glorious Astartes, and is also related to the ancient times. A direct link to the god who became the Primarch.
Jacob was excited to think that soon he would have a part of God in his body.
As the pharmacist drew closer, Jacob felt a needle prick into his arm, which to his enhanced senses felt like being stabbed by a sword.
After a brief period of pain, coldness flowed into his blood vessels and spread from the place where the needle was inserted.
This thing may be an anesthetic, but it seems not, because the pastor once said that they will not inject anesthetic drugs during the transformation, which may cause adverse reactions.
After a while, he relaxed and became numb. He felt as if his body was a distant thing, and his soul seemed to be floating on a frosty cloud, watching what happened to his body. Soon, he felt his skin begin to tremble, a slight pressure appeared on his chest, and the pharmacist reached out and cut him open with a saw.
In an instant, the muscles separated and blood flowed out.
Jacob doubted even being struck by an ax would be anything worse than this, but he felt only slight discomfort now.
Finally, he saw the pharmacist making a complicated gesture above the container containing the gene seeds, and then pulled out the ball of flesh with one armored hand.
The gene seed made a strange sucking sound when it was placed into his chest, and began to connect to his nerves, blood vessels and muscles.
This strange feeling was unlike anything he had ever experienced before, as if a living thing was crawling in his chest.
He imagined tentacles extending from the thing, blood vessels growing like roots from a seed, nerves connecting to his own.
The next second, images filled his mind as another needle thrust in, pain began to flow through his body, beyond the cold, and his consciousness fell into the dark abyss.
The last remnant of his consciousness was only an echo.
It turned out not to be an anesthetic -
A few days later.
Jacob was kneeling in the meditation room. He felt better now, and his chest no longer felt uncomfortable due to the gene seed.
Although it had only been a few days, the scars caused by the ritual had begun to fade, and he only felt a slight sensitivity when touching those soft places.
He found himself probing with his fingers every day, like a man licking the cavity of a fallen tooth with his tongue. It was still hard for him to believe that these scars and tender spots were signs of the Emperor's favor. , but he knew this must be the case.
Then he pushed these thoughts away and focused on the podium.
The priest stood in front of the candidates again, guiding them to start the ceremony. Jacob cleared his mind as he had learned and began to recite the strange prayer silently.
He felt himself relax and reached for the Crown of Knowledge, a strange ancient thing made of brass and steel, connected to the Knowledge Engine with brass and glass cables.
The priest told them that this crown of knowledge was the first time the Chapter had used it for recruits. It was a very advanced and efficient device. The huge machine it was connected to recorded all the history of the Chapter, as well as many more ancient ones. story.
In fact, these are ancient devices that were just brought out from the legion's flagship. They were used for rapid recruit training in the past. They are very different from the existing brainwashing devices. Soshiyang also made the decision after careful consideration. Put it on trial.
By wearing the tiara, knowledge can flow into the recruits' heads at an extremely fast speed, faster than anyone can memorize using ordinary methods - this can save them a lot of time spent in the library.
Jacob found this process both terrifying and miraculous. After putting on the crown and the priest reciting the correct prayers, knowledge emerged.
Not only in the form of words and memories, but also in the form of sounds, images and emotions.
He felt like he was being drastically changed by the machine, but he didn't care: the knowledge was worth the price.
Jacob learned so much in just a few days, which in itself is of great significance.
The more he learned, the more he understood the Space Marines and the Chapter, and the more he wanted to truly become a part of them - but this obviously still needs time to settle. .
(End of this chapter)