Mars.
Fabricator-General Kelbor-Hal looked down at the immense forging complex of Olympus Mons stretching beyond the limits of his sight. Towering manufactoria, refineries, machine workshops, final assembly hangars, and worker habitation zones covered nearly ten thousand square kilometers.
Within the vast manufacturing Hive City, billions of Tech-Priests ruled every aspect of Mars, from the masters of the forges to the reserves of the planetary defense forces.
The largest structure on all of Olympus Mons was the Temple of All Knowledge, a towering Pyramid built of pink and black marble.
Its summit consisted of a dome made from glittering azure stone and a forest of steel Spires that pierced the sky, endlessly spewing toxic fumes into the atmosphere.
At the base of the temple stood a broad gateway guarded by numerous pillars. Millions of mathematical formulas and proofs were engraved into their marble, many of them discovered by Kelbor-Hal himself.
He should have been proud of his unprecedented achievements. No predecessor had uncovered more technology than he had, and throughout the Adeptus Mechanicus's long history, his rule had seen the longest period of rising production quotas.
Kelbor-Hal's body, eighty-seven point six percent of which consisted of augmentations, possessed neither pride nor most other emotions.
Yet he still felt anger.
Billions of believers below wore grooves into the paving stones of Omnissiah Avenue.
They hoped their prayers would draw the attention of the God of All Machines and earn them its favor.
Many of them believed the Omnissiah was a real being: the golden figure who had come to Mars two centuries ago.
The False Gods had enslaved the Adeptus Mechanicus of Mars with lies.
Kelbor-Hal heard a burst of binary current from the black robot behind him. He turned toward the four priests approaching across the dais.
The black robot had