2 The Warp as The Force

A few hours after Andre saved or maybe captured me, I found myself in his office looking through one of the books that he gave me before telling me to kill some time while he fixed some heresy.

He had quite a unique sense of humor, but I could see how different he was from the usual commissars that would rather put a bullet in your skull than make a joke with you about the lives of some heretics.

The book that I was reading was about a strange way of seeing the warp as something that gives birth to life and, at the same time, takes life, as if it were some kind of circle of life and death. And if that wasn't enough, the fact that the author named the Warp as the Force would surely put him on the most wanted list for the Inquisition.

As I continued to read page after page, I could feel how wrong I was about the Warp and how stupid our way of harnessing its power was. One particular paragraph made me understand that maybe we could sue the Warp less dangerously, thus making the Warp something that could help us more than a last resort.

"All that surrounds us is the foundation of life, the birthplace of what your science calls midi-chlorians, the foundation of what connects the Living Force and the Cosmic Force. When a living thing dies, all is renewed. Life passes away from the Living Force into the Cosmic Force and becomes one with it. One powers the other. One is renewed by the other. "

All of us have these things called midi-chlorians, but only a handful of us could actually use the Warp as a way of creating something impossible. While it's really interesting to see another perspective, not to mention the fact that it kind of explains why only some people could use the Warp. At the same time, the book also explains some basic methods of harnessing the warp through what it is described as using meditation to connect with the Force. For me, this method means that I would have to connect to the Warp and slowly let the Warp flow through my body without doing anything other than Sensing the Force, then controlling it, and finally altering it. Of course, that would take some time to master, maybe years, but I believe it would be better than what we are doing right now. After all, now that I look back at what we are doing with it, it seems that harnessing the raw Warp is both dangerous and very life-threatening if one of the so-called Gods feels you through the Warp.

Putting the book on the table, I made myself comfortable on the sofa, and slowly, I let myself feel the Warp. My first instinct was to harness its raw power, but contrary to what I thought, I fought my instincts and as I let the Warp flow through my body, I could feel its power tempting me to use it for my own benefit, no matter the cost or the consequences.

Such a seductive proposal, but I couldn't let myself become the very thing we were trained to kill, so without wasting any more time, I started to control a very small portion of the Warp and it amazed me how easily it was to use the Psychic Ward, another power that any respected psyker should know. It was easier than before, but at the same time, I could understand why it would need me years of training to properly wield this power without any dangerous risks like becoming a daemon or summoning one.

As soon as I was removed from the Warp, I heard someone clapping at my display. My guess? Andre Black was back, and he saw me using the Warp. Turning my head toward the source, I was right. Andre was standing close to the door with a short blonde woman. From her outfit, I could see that she was a medic.

"At least my hobby is helping someone. So what was your first proper touch? Better than doing it like you are used to? "

"Strange, but at the same time better and less dangerous than before."

Only after I spoke those words, did I understand the meaning behind his words…

"You should smile more, kid. After all, how would you pick up girls in your next life? Anyway, this is Judy Smith, one of our best medics, so treat her well and let her check you up. "

I could only nod at him. After all, what can I say? He's the leader, and I'm grateful to him for saving me from a horrible death, not to mention that I would get a free check-up from an actual medic and not a self-learned one.

After an hour and several small tubes of blood, I was listening to the doctor discuss my current state and how bad or good I was.

"Let's see, you are all right. No internal or external damage found. You are safe from any kind of diseases that people usually get down here. And while it's most likely related to you being a psyker, your brain is quite different from other people's. Here, I want to mention that it appears to be slightly different from your normal brain, It's like your brain has an almost transparent shield-like membrane covering it. It's my first time seeing something like this, and believe me, I saw quite a lot of strange things on the frontline, but something like this is a first for me."

"Mam, maybe this member is a mutation? You know, I'm a clone, or at least that was the plan to be the clone of Ciaphas Cain, and with him doing his best to prevent things like this from happening, couldn't that prove my mutation? And it's harmful? "

"It doesn't appear to be, as I said, that the membrane acts like a shield protecting your brain. For now, we can't be sure, but in time we will find our answer. "

After she explained to me how healthy I was, she left in a hurry, mumbling something about psykers and their weird behavior. Now that only I and Andre remained in the office, I've decided to ask him why he saved me.

"Sir, may I ask you why you put your life and the lives of your soldiers in danger by saving me? Wouldn't letting me die there be a better idea than bringing me here? "

Hearing my question, a smile appeared on his face, and before I could react, I felt his pistol muzzle on my forehead once again.

"You are too young to think about the risks that I take daily, and believe me when I tell you that you aren't dangerous to me or my soldiers. "Do you really think we didn't fight a daemon and that you could be the first?"

"I see. I'm sorry for doubting your actions, sir. I also want to ask you how you found me. "

"It wasn't easy, to be honest, and if not for our detour, we could have been searching for you even today. Be thankful that we are the ones to find you first and not some crazy cult or, even worse, The Inquisition. Those bastards are capturing every single psyker they find and transforming them into mindless puppets with no desire other than to serve the Emperor, and while I'm not against those things, I wouldn't want one of the soldiers to become something like that. I rather put a bullet in their skulls than let them become just another weapon. As for the reason why I was trying to find you, I'm dying and I promised Cain that I would give a ship to his son or daughter if he ever has one. When I thought that I would die without honoring our agreement, I grasped every single life tread of mine to keep myself from dying of old age, and after I found out that you were born, I knew that I could finally honor my part. Before I die, I will train you to become the man I wanted my own son to become when he was alive. No matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice, you must succeed! That's our regiment motto, and God protects me if I don't take this motto to my grave. "