‘They will be staples in a wound. Cawl does not yet understand how the pylons function completely, but the actions of the test devices here will further his research. Eventually, he will be able to replicate the technology, and he shall bring the Rift under control, parsec by parsec, until the Great Rift is at last sealed. This he swears, my lord. He shall dedicate the remainder of his life to it.’

Guilliman scratched his face thoughtfully. His chin was stubbly. He had neglected his personal grooming these last few days. ‘Encouraging words.’

‘I am instructed to offer a cautionary note, my lord,’ replied the machine. ‘The culmination of this research is a long way off. Nevertheless, now Archmagos Belisarius Cawl has fulfilled his oaths to you and delivered the Primaris Space Marines as commanded, he has more available cogitation power to put to this task. The principle of the pylons is sound. The technology is proven. With what little remained of the pylon network around Cadia, he came close to sealing the Eye of Terror. He will not give up now.

‘The devices that are en route to 108/Beta-Kalapus-9.2 are untested. They may be unstable. They may work for a while before failing. They may not work at all. They are inferior to the technologies of the necrons in every way. Our understanding of metaphysical science is hopeless compared to theirs.’ The Cawl Inferior uttered the blasphemy as easily as it might bid good day. The idea that alien technology was in any way superior to that of humanity was anathema to the machine cult. ‘Without testing, Archmagos Belisarius Cawl cannot be sure of the efficacy of their design. With time, and should the Conclave Acquisitorius be successful in its quest to find an intact planetary pylon network, he will be able to refine the design.’

‘If these designs do work, surely we can make use of them now,’ said Guilliman. ‘Assuming Cawl’s pylons are functional, how long will it be before we can establish stable corridors to the Imperium Nihilus? That is a matter of pressing concern.’

‘Decades, at least,’ said the machine. ‘Possibly centuries. This trial will better inform Archmagos Belisarius Cawl, and he will better inform you, my Lord Guilliman. But Belisarius Cawl will triumph. The ancient races held the answers: the Old Ones, the necrons, the aeldari. Soon we shall hold all the pieces to the puzzle that they held only in part. We shall fit them together. We shall succeed where they failed, and overcome the monsters spawned by our own minds.’

Again, there was a flash of emotion in the Cawl Inferior’s words, that of determination and anger. The technologies that sustained it hummed.

‘Trafficking with xenos. The usage of forbidden technology. Your peers in the Cult Mechanicus will not take kindly to this.’