How powerful were humans during the Golden Age in Warhammer 40K?
In the legendary Golden Age, human Titans were only used for civil construction. It is said that the Terminator armor of that time was designed for ordinary humans to enhance their strength. It is said that at that time, humans were the masters of the galaxy, and the stars trembled with our will. There are whispers that the Emperor was actually a creation of that era, a runaway weapon… So how powerful were the humans of the Golden Age?
Wonders of the Dark Age of Technology
In the so-called Dark Age of Technology, or what the Empire officially refers to as the human Golden Age, there’s limited knowledge about this era. It’s considered dark because it was not illuminated by the Emperor’s light. Internationally, this period is abbreviated as DAoT, standing for Dark Age of Technology. The technology from this era, much like that of the Necrons, belongs to a category that allows for immense creative freedom, leading to a variety of unusual and incredible inventions:
- The Ark Mechanicus conceals many treasures from the DAoT era, including a type of STC ship capable of launching black holes.
- In a battle between the Eldar and a DAoT ship, the Eldar attempted to exploit their foresight to discover the human ship’s weakness. However, the DAoT ship repeatedly transported the Eldar to the past, rendering their foresight ineffective and securing a final victory.
- In the novel “Death of Integrity” (which I am currently reading and planning to write a review on), an AI-driven DAoT single-person ship named Spirit of Eternity passes directly through a Space Marine Grand Cruiser without stopping.
- This ship also takes control of all the Terminators/Mechs/Machines present and mocks those from Mars by stating, “We have no souls; your Machine God is a lie,” hinting at humanity’s near-ascension at the final moments of DAoT.
- The so-called Men of Iron, AI-controlled robots, possessed nearly the combat strength of the Space Marines and the numbers close to the Imperial Guard.
- Humans had a panacea, making them almost immune to all known diseases.
- Widespread use of anti-gravity devices (for 40K’s Space Marines, anti-gravity hoverbikes are considered relics).
- Firearms capable of time jumps to the past, achieving 105% accuracy rates.
- Almost every planet’s Planetary Defence Force had an abundance of Titans.
- Common humans extensively used Terminator armors (civilian versions) for deep-sea exploration and space mining.
- Ability to attack ships engaged in subspace jumps.
- Faster-than-light travel without the need for subspace.
- Continent-sized snake-shaped machines that could unfold to the size of Saturn’s rings, used for direct planetary destruction.
- Black hole weapons (Event Horizon) capable of devouring entire solar systems.
Given the formidable power of humanity during the Golden Age, one wonders how incredibly advanced the contemporaneous Eldar were.
PS: Most of this information comes from the Martian Holy Scriptures and the Graham McNeill trilogy series, which I plan to write about when I have the time.