At Altar One, twenty-nine Magi centered themselves on Kivior-2, and the language of technology surged through the room.
The machine tongue, formed from zeros and ones, contained every piece of data the Vostonia System had on Nimrod: footage from cameras across the Hive Cities, partially corrupted scan data...
The amount of information contained in that ocean of data was beyond any Tech-Priest who had not been fully mechanized. They could not even process it, much less keep up with the further calculations and deductions of the Magi's logic engines.
Eleven minutes later, the ocean of data receded, and the Magi reached a consensus.
[Continue supporting Nimrod//Report to Mars.]
Kivior-2 used the language of technology to send a message to Magos Kivior-15.
[You are to board a vessel immediately/return to Mars and report.]
At the Nightfall Troupe, when the banquet celebrating Nimrod's ascension as King of Vostonia began, Kivior-15 boarded a vessel and set course for the Solar Segmentum.
At the Rini Troupe, when the banquet ended, Nimrod issued his first command as king.
"Every noble must have eleven children. Those who fail to do so within thirty years will lose their titles."
"From this work cycle onward, the necessary condition for becoming a noble is to have eleven offspring."
Vostonia's population of roughly one billion was too small. It had to be increased drastically.
The nobles had the means to raise children, so Nimrod set a higher standard for them.
Normal acts of procreation would not increase the risk of Slaanesh's Corrosion. What drew the "Dark Prince" was extreme pleasure and perverse indulgence.
The nobles all froze at that. They had not expected the king's first command to be about encouraging births.
No one raised an objection. Although having children increased their financial burden and inheritance risks, the trouble could