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The Unforgiven—the Legio Dark Angels and their successor chapters—hold the secret of Luther’s betrayal of the Lion and Caliban at the heart of their identity as a chapter; even to the point of prosecuting friendly forces for stumbling upon the shameful secret. While this is not unique to the Dark Angels—with the Blood Angels and …
This presentation builds on previous research relating to narrative state transitions and nemein-seeking behaviour by applying this context to the various narratives present within Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 fictional universe. By reference to Tzvetan Todorov’s theory of the minimum complete plot this presentation identifies and explores how narrative state transitions are managed within the 40k …
Alternately revered and reviled for their suicidal devotion to duty, the Death Korps of Krieg constitute an indisputable paragon of rampant nationalistic fervor—so much so that, in order to restore collective honor after their planetary governor betrays the God Emperor of Mankind, the Korps progenitor (the infamous Colonel Jurten) reduces their home planet to a …
Jaques Derrida is quoted as saying, “The end approaches, but the apocalypse is long lived.” The lore of Warhammer 40K is an apocalyptic myth created explicitly in the image of the Roman Empire. But the obvious connections to Imperium Romanum are only part of the picture. WH40K portrays an extension of the cycle of apocalypse …
In his 1984 study Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life—published shortly before the first edition of WH40K—philosopher Albert Borgmann provided an analysis of modern technology centered on the dichotomy between things and devices. For Borgmann, a device is an object that provides a commodity (energy, information, entertainment, etc.) while making the mechanism of that …