CODENAME: Visionary
A proposal for the Imperium's redirection towards better ends
We all know the "Grand and Glorious Imperium of Man, Divine Kingdom of the God-Emperor" is a ritual proscribed place, full of pomp and pageantry. Over the past few months, report after shocking report has come to light both of the incredible waste and the shocking inattention to the worlds under its care. By now, most of us are inured to it. The darkness is de rigeur and certainly paling in comparison to all that we have learned of Chaos.
There are some interesting quirks in their theocratic state however. Teams of Contact personnel have been trawling through societal records over the time we have been here, and have come across patterns of behaviour that were previously attributed to warp activity, or struck off as unreliable. Taken altogether however, they create a stark pattern. The religion of the Imperium, that hokey mysoginistic fate driven mumbo jumbo, does seem to be able to produce tangible effects. Effects not accounted for by warp phenomena. Theories for the exact causes for this vary, and a leading theory suggests that this is the influence of truly Sublime rather than Warp creatures. It does seem to have a marked anti-warp power.
Regardless, this societal underlay is important. It provides us with an ideal means to manipulate Imperium society on a grand scale using less than subtle means. The "God Gambit" would involve seeding likely looking religious figures with highly specific visionary events, coded with all the iconography of the Imperium. These visionary events can then be used to push for all manner of societal changes. Coupled with the release on pressure to the Imperium by our slaughter of the Hegemonizing Swarms that have been infesting this galaxy, and we can push for real social change in this society. Admittedly, social change mandated by false religious visions is a bit morally dubious, but in a society this moribund and resistant to change it is of a much higher likelihood to work than technological intervention.
The first and most obvious pathway for these visionaries however, would be to rally the military forces of the Imperium for a vast crusade. One directed at their most hated foes, the Chaos Space Marines. Our current projections are still being worked through, but initial indications are resoundingly positive. The material world assets of Chaos will be almost wiped out. The death of large portions of Imperium military personnel in the conflict will lessen the stranglehold that force has over society, while the lack of pressures will mean that there is less call to replace it. We're projecting broadly positive intervention profiles societally, despite the necessary vast loss of life that will ensue in the "Cultured Crusade". And if the Crusade is a success, which a very dilligent behind the teams gang will be working to ensure, it will increase the credibility of the visionaries for future societal interventions.
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NB. Operation: Prime Mark
In examining profiles, we have come to the conclusion that we could create a fake Emperor with relative ease. Creating a bio-based ship avatoid, with powers akin to those legendarily associated with the Emperor and the computational power to come up with appropriate responses would result in an 86% probability of successful introduction. It is felt however that the assumption of duties of Head of State, as well as the societal upheaval created, is beyond the remit of even radical social interventions. The project has been shelved.