Title: The Inductee Program: War Effort or Desperate Measures? Part 1
The Warhammer 40,000 universe is a vast and complex one, steeped in lore and mystery. One such fascinating aspect is the labor of the legions’ apothecaries during the War Master’s Rebellion. The legions loyal to the Emperor faced unimaginable hardship during this time. Their forces, battered and depleted, had to constantly battle against forces under Horus’s banner, who were hell-bent on breaching the defenses of the Imperium and toppling the Emperor’s Throne.
This rebellion was not a quick skirmish. What was thought to be a swift conflict transformed, over time, into a prolonged, murky war that seemed unending. Each delay in the warmongers’ advance was a precious respite for the defenders of the Imperium. They used this time wisely to fortify defenses and regroup. The aim was simple: encircle Horus and his Fleet, and crush the traitors’ forces with superior numbers.
In this era of total war, practical considerations began to overshadow good intentions. Safety and tradition were relegated to the background in favor of survival. This led to the launch of what came to be known as the Inductee Program. The program varied widely within the legions, depending on the availability of supplies and appropriate conditions. The methods were dictated by the commander’s morality, or lack thereof, and were limited only by the debased notions of those who considered themselves more audite than the Emperor.
The inductee program involved two main practices: shortening the training period and modifying implantation methods. The former was the simplest and least expensive option. The training of the early inductees was similar to what was conducted before the Betrayal of the War Master. It predominantly consisted of combat shooting combined with tactical theory. Many of the early battles of the Horus Heresy became ideal proving grounds for the new legionaries. These brutal engagements forged excellent fighters from the survivors.
As the war escalated, finding safe training locations became increasingly difficult. The only exceptions were the most stable regions like Ultramar or War Master’s Dark Imperium. To overcome this, more expedited methods were developed, chief among these was the use of Hypno-indoctrination. This psycho coding process involved the rapid infusion of knowledge into the subject’s psyche. It was used to varying degrees by almost all Legions during the Horus Heresy.
The extent of Hypno-indoctrination, as well as the level of training, varied greatly depending on the needs of individual strike forces. For example, the inductees of the Imperial Fists on Terra were instilled with siege defense tactics necessary for the protection of the Imperial Palace. Conversely, the Hypno-indoctrination packets extracted from the Ravengard inductees in Segmentum Obscurus heavily relied on the transmission of infiltration tactics.
However, the practice of Hypno-indoctrination was not without its drawbacks. It was noted that many Space Marines, both Loyalists and traitors, exhibited signs of minor to severe neuronal degradation. This was a recurring side effect of Hypno-indoctrination exposure. Other side effects such as personality dissociation and scarring of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were also observed.
Stay tuned for the next installment in this series where we delve deeper into the effects of Hypno-indoctrination and the desperate measures taken during the War Master’s Rebellion.
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