"Listen, this machine may not look like much, but it works like a charm. And the only downside to something this good is that it's expensive.
"Of course, how can expensive be a downside? That's not my problem—it's yours, Little Sz!"
Staring at the flesh machine before him, which looked as if it had crawled straight out of a nightmare, Szarekh simply couldn't associate it with science.
"I don't understand (in a Fenghua accent). Why does a machine have to eat? What's with that look? It just looked down on me, didn't it?"
The bizarre creation Szarekh was referring to was the fifth-generation Rick production machine, the result of years of Hogg's painstaking research. In short, the Rick Mark V.
Compared with the first-generation model, the Rick Mark V kept the best and discarded the rest. It had a higher production rate and consumed less Psionic Energy. It was even rather small and cute, with a footprint about the size of a Mastodon Transport. Hogg had also fitted it with two adorable big eyes.
"Fool! You can doubt my character, but you can't doubt my creations. Don't worry about what it looks like—as long as it works, right? It barely eats, and it's adorable. You're just picking a fight for no reason."
To put it in perspective, Hogg's Rick Mark V production machine was the equivalent of the Biotransference device the Necrontyr had used. It was certainly a good machine, but to Szarekh, it looked downright hideous.
And with Hogg being a C'tan, the whole routine gave Szarekh an inexplicable sense of déjà vu. The last time, the Deceiver had said the same things to him.
Perhaps sensing the Silent King's misgivings, Hogg promptly produced an enormous sheet of parchment bearing the Emperor's blood and that of every Primarch.
The