Games - Immaterium

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	Games - Immaterium

The Immaterium (also referred to as the Empyrean or Warp) is an alternate dimension in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Superficially, it is the Warhammer 40,000 solution to the problem of faster than light travel, an equivalent to the Star Wars Universe's hyperspace. This is achieved by the Immaterium being a domain of pure energy, with spacecraft navigating between streams, as in an ocean.

The energy that makes up the Immaterium is believed to be the direct result of sentience. Considered to be a dark reflection of the material universe, it is an ocean of chaos, raw emotion given form. Stirred by emotion and action, the Immaterium is the realm of Chaos, home to the dark gods and their followers. It also houses the spirits of the dead, and therefore can be considered the "Hell" of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Warp Travel

The realm of the Immaterium, while not ideal, is able to be used for faster-than-light communication and travel. Vast amounts of energy are required for a vessel to enter the Immaterium, and while within it, they are often at the mercy of the currents and eddies that make up the dimension.

Time also proceeds a great deal slower in the Warp than in the material universe, creating a form of stasis. While to external observers, journeys can take months or even years, to the crew and passengers only weeks seem to pass. The timing itself is unpredictable due to the very nature of the Immaterium, and on several occasions a fleet of reinforcements will emerge from the Immaterium to find that the war they were sent to fight in has long been lost.

Necessities of Warp Travel

Several things are necessary for travel within the Immaterium. Primary among these is the ancient device known as a Geller Field, a psychic ward that protects the starship. Without this arcane techno-magic, the souls of those travelling within the Warp would be exposed to the many daemons and creatures that inhabit the twisted realm (a concept fully utilized in the sci-fi movie Event Horizon and later in the computer game Doom 3 to some extent).

For jumps any longer than a handful of light-years, a member of the mutant psyker breed known as Navigators must be aboard. These mutant humans are able to 'see' the currents of the Immaterium, and are able to guide a ship to its intended destination with much greater accuracy than normal humans. However, for a Navigator to fulfill this role, he needs a reference point, which is provided by the Astronomican.

Dangers of Warp Travel

The Immaterium is far from a safe place to travel through. Great currents and storms can blow starships into uncharted areas of the galaxy and make travel through certain regions impossible. Warp Storms that last for centuries can isolate sectors and leave fleets becalmed within the material universe. Even worse, ships could find themselves becalmed within the Immaterium itself, a terrible fate for its passengers as they become playthings for the dark creatures that inhabit that diabolical realm. Sometimes a ship will emerge from warp space centuries after they left yet only have experienced a few days onboard, while many more vanish without trace.

The Realm of Chaos

The powers of Chaos and their servants are known to inhabit the Immaterium. Daemons are only able to exist within the Immaterium, unless certain conditions are met within the material realm. The Immaterium is where the servants of the four Dark Gods (Khorne, the Blood God, Slaanesh, the Dark Prince of Pleasure, Tzeentch, the Architect of Fate, and Nurgle, the Lord of Decay) gain their power from, and their followers will undertake any action to increase this power.

Along with the powers of Chaos, the Immaterium is inhabited by many strange creatures, foremost among these being the species known as Enslavers. They are formed by the shifting energies of the Warp from the nightmares of sentient species, and prowl the Immaterium like sharks. They come in many forms, but all are mindless, and all are predatory, seeking out unprotected souls to feed on.

The Psychic Realm

The Immaterium is a dimension of the spiritual, created and influenced by mortal emotion and action. The mind of every sentient creature leaves an imprint within the Immaterium, and although the signature of one mind is almost insginificant, when the imprints of an entire race are combined they have a huge impact on the very nature of the Warp. (This seems to imply that the Immaterium is not chaotic by nature, but has been made so by the chaos and war in the material realm) When an emotion or faith grows strong enough, it becomes one of the denizens of the Warp. Many of these beings vanish when the emotion that creates them passes, but the strongest become self-perpetuating, spreading the thoughts and events that grant them form and power. The strongest of these beings become the gods associated with a group, and almost every single race or force of will is represented, be they Chaos, Eldar, Ork, or Human.

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