Aging and rejuvenation of Imperial citizens

Average Lifespan in the Imperium of Man

In the grim darkness of the far future, life expectancy is dictated not just by biology but by an individual’s station within the rigid hierarchy of Imperial society. Factors such as social status, access to resources, exposure to corruption, and adherence to Imperial doctrine heavily influence the length and quality of life. Here’s an overview of how lifespan varies across the classes of the Imperium, alongside key factors that determine longevity.

Lower Class: The Laboring Masses

For the countless billions who make up the lower classes of the Imperium, life is short and brutal. The physically demanding nature of their existence, combined with inadequate nutrition, harsh living conditions, and relentless work schedules, results in a physically draining and often miserable life.

  • Common Causes of Death:
    • Industrial accidents.
    • Malnutrition or starvation.
    • Poor sanitation leading to disease outbreaks.
    • Lack of access to advanced medical care—amputation and euthanasia are the most common procedures available.
  • Lifespan Formula:
    40 + (Toughness Bonus x 5) + Corruption Points = Maximum Age in Terran Years.
  • Average Lifespan: 55 Terran Years
    While some may survive longer due to robust health or lucky circumstances, most perish well before their maximum potential.

Middle Class: The Administratum and Professionals

The middle class includes Imperial clerks, small business owners, skilled laborers, and low-level Administratum workers. While their lives are less physically taxing than those of the lower class, the intense mental strain of bureaucratic work and societal pressures often takes a toll.

  • Common Challenges:
    • Chronic stress from quotas, regulations, and constant scrutiny by higher authorities.
    • The prevalence of mental disorders and widespread use of psychiatric medication to maintain productivity.
    • Limited but better access to basic medical care compared to the lower class.
  • Lifespan Formula:
    50 + (Toughness Bonus x 5) + Corruption Points = Maximum Age in Terran Years.
  • Average Lifespan: 65 Terran Years
    Many die from stress-related illnesses or workplace accidents before reaching their theoretical maximum age.

Upper Class: Nobility and the Elite

The upper echelons of society, including nobles, planetary governors, rogue traders, and senior officers, enjoy lives of luxury and privilege. Access to advanced medicae and rejuvenation treatments significantly extends their lifespan, allowing them to live for centuries in relative comfort.

  • Advantages:
    • Routine health screenings and proactive medical intervention.
    • Access to rejuvenation procedures that can slow or halt aging, though they cannot reverse its effects.
    • Lavish lifestyles free of physical or mental stress, allowing greater focus on social and political maneuvering.
  • Lifespan Formula:
    70 + (Toughness Bonus x 3) + Corruption Points = Maximum Age in Terran Years.
  • Average Lifespan: 79 Terran Years
    With rejuvenation treatments, the lifespans of the elite are often extended up to 300 years and some, though they remain vulnerable to political intrigue, assassination, and corruption.

The Important Few: High Lords, Inquisitors, and Space Marines

At the pinnacle of Imperial society are individuals whose lives are deemed essential to the continued survival of the Imperium. These figures, including members of the High Lords of Terra, senior Inquisitors, and genetically enhanced warriors such as Space Marines, often have access to the rarest and most potent life-extending methods.

  • Special Cases:
    • Rejuvenation Archeotech: Advanced and often forgotten technologies that can extend lifespans indefinitely.
    • Space Marines: Through genetic modification and the implantation of the gene-seed, Space Marines do not age in the traditional sense. They often live for centuries, dying only in battle or through catastrophic injury.
    • High-Status Mortals: Reserved for the wealthiest and most powerful, archaotech and rare medicae operations can prolong life for millennia, though insanity, corruption, or political “accidents” eventually claim even the most fortunate.
  • Lifespan Formula:
    70 + (Toughness Bonus x 2) + Corruption Points = Maximum Age in Terran Years.
    However, rare medicae treatments and archeotech can extend this formula indefinitely.

Corruption and Its Role in Longevity

The corrupting influence of the Warp does not just erode the mind but also alters the body, often making individuals more resistant to aging:

  • Lifespan Extension: For every 1 point of Corruption, an individual’s potential lifespan increases by 1 year.
  • Maximum Corruption for Minor NPCs: 10 points, providing a potential maximum extension of 10 years.
  • Caveat: While corruption may extend lifespan, it often comes at the cost of sanity, humanity, and loyalty to the Imperium.

Augmentation and Immortality Through Mechanization

The Machine Trait represents the transition from flesh to machine, common among the Adeptus Mechanicus and certain other Imperial factions.

  • Lifespan Extension: Each level of the Machine Trait grants +100 years to the maximum lifespan.
  • Machine Trait (5): At this level, an individual becomes almost entirely mechanical, rendering them immune to aging as their flesh is entirely replaced by synthetic components.
  • Drawbacks: While mechanical augmentation halts aging, it comes with other risks, such as reliance on external power sources and loss of individuality and when taken too far loss of the soul.

Conclusion

Lifespan in the Imperium is as much a function of status and resources as it is of natural biology. For the vast majority of citizens, life is short and brutal, while the elite enjoy centuries of relative comfort and power. However, even the longest-lived individuals must contend with the ever-present specters of corruption, insanity, and political intrigue, ensuring that no one is truly immortal in the grim darkness of the far future.

Rejuvenation Techniques

The Rejuvenat Adepts are Imperial medical specialists trained to prolong life.

Closely based on the Orders Hospitaller of the Adepta Sororitas, the Rejuvenant Adepts focus not only on healing but also on longevity and sham immortality. As a result, their talents are greatly sought after by the wealthy and powerful within the Imperium. They are found throughout many Imperial agencies, but are of special use to Rogue Traders, whose voyages take decades or even centuries

The Imperium of Man offers a variety of rejuvenation techniques to extend life and slow the effects of aging, though these methods often come with significant side effects and moral, ethical, or logistical considerations. The availability of such treatments varies greatly, often limited to the wealthy, influential, or those who serve vital roles in Imperial society.

1. Chymical Rejuvenation Treatments

Description: These treatments use complex chemical formulations to slow the body’s metabolism, reducing the rate at which cells age. Often regarded as a crude yet effective method, chymical rejuvenation is a staple in many sectors of the Imperium.
Side-Effects:

  • Shriveling of the skin, giving a parchment-like texture.
  • A persistent chemical odor that clings to the recipient, often requiring perfumes or incenses to mask.
    Requirements: Rejuvenation treatments require access to a Rejuvenation Chamber, an advanced archeotech device capable of administering the chemicals with precision.
    Availability: Rare; Rejuvenation Chambers are relics of the Dark Age of Technology and are zealously maintained by the Mechanicus.

2. Steroidal Elixirs

Description: These concoctions are used to counteract the loss of physical characteristics due to aging, such as reduced strength and stamina. By stimulating the body’s musculature and hormonal systems, steroidal elixirs create a more youthful appearance and enhanced physical capabilities.
Side-Effects:

  • Bulging, overly prominent muscles, often unnatural in proportion.
  • Hair loss, often complete baldness.
  • Lactation, due to hormonal imbalances.
    Requirements: Preparation and administration of steroidal elixirs necessitate a Pharmasia component, an advanced laboratory dedicated to pharmaceutical engineering.
    Availability: Moderately accessible in sectors with thriving pharmacological industries, though often restricted to military elites or planetary governors.

3. Anti-Thanators

Description: These advanced treatments target aging cells directly, making them more robust and resistant to the effects of time. Anti-thanators are highly prized for their ability to extend life without significantly altering physical appearance or capabilities.
Side-Effects:

  • Liver spots appear prematurely, even on younger individuals.
  • Skin becomes increasingly translucent, revealing veins and underlying structures.
    Requirements: Anti-thanator treatments demand an Advanced Medicae Deck, a sophisticated medical facility capable of cellular manipulation and bioengineering.
    Availability: Extremely rare, reserved for Inquisitors, high-ranking Imperial officials, or those with access to elite Mechanicus forges.

4. Blood Transfusion

Description: A relatively straightforward method, this involves filtering and replacing the blood to remove accumulated toxins and impurities. While not as comprehensive as other techniques, regular blood transfusions can significantly improve vitality and slow aging effects.
Side-Effects:

  • A temporary, healthy glow to the skin.
  • Occasional nose or eye bleeds due to sudden changes in blood viscosity or pressure.
    Requirements: Blood transfusions require a Medicae Deck component. Advanced facilities may include the capability to produce cloned blood, reducing the need for live donors.
    Availability: Common in well-equipped hives and military installations but may rely on involuntary blood donations in less scrupulous settings.

5. Organ Transplants

Description: This involves replacing failing or aged organs with new, functional ones. Organs can be sourced from cloning vats, harvested from donors, or salvaged from other sources.
Side-Effects:

  • May require immunosuppressive medications to prevent organ rejection, which can weaken the immune system.
  • Poor quality organs can result in reduced physical characteristics or even corruption.
    Requirements: Requires a Medicae Deck component for surgical precision and post-operative care.
    Availability: Moderate; standard in sectors with advanced bioengineering capabilities but highly dependent on the quality of harvested organs. Black market organ trade is a common and sinister alternative.

6. Cybernetic Organs

Description: Replacing failing organs with mechanical augmentations is a favored method for those aligned with the Adeptus Mechanicus or individuals requiring functional longevity over aesthetics. Cybernetic replacements can provide enhanced functionality.
Side-Effects:

  • May require external power sources, batteries, or regular maintenance.
  • Poor-quality cybernetics are cumbersome, reduce agility, and are visibly mechanical, creating social stigma in some circles.
  • Extended use may eventually grant the Trait: Machine, altering the recipient’s physiology and psychology permanently.
    Requirements: Cybernetic organ replacements require a Medicae Deck component equipped with cybernetic integration systems.
    Availability: Common within the Adeptus Mechanicus but less so in standard Imperial institutions, where the stigma around cybernetics may limit adoption.

Ethical Considerations and Imperial Limitations

  • Moral Concerns: Some rejuvenation methods, particularly blood transfusions and organ harvesting, raise ethical concerns within Imperial society. Blood donors are often coerced or entirely involuntary, while organ harvesting sometimes borders on criminal practices.
  • Resource Scarcity: The high cost and rarity of components such as Advanced Medicae Decks and Rejuvenation Chambers make these treatments inaccessible to most citizens of the Imperium.
  • Inquisition Oversight: Certain rejuvenation techniques, particularly those involving cloned organs or advanced cellular manipulation, are heavily regulated by the Inquisition to prevent heretical abuses or deviations from the Emperor’s plan.

Conclusion

Rejuvenation techniques in the Imperium represent a stark contrast between the privileged elites who benefit from near-immortality and the vast majority who toil in ignorance and decay. While these methods grant extended life, their side effects and reliance on rare technology or morally dubious practices highlight the brutal pragmatism of Imperial society.

 

Archeotech: Advanced Biomechanical and Genetic Technologies

The Imperium of Man venerates archeotech, relics of the Dark Age of Technology and other ancient eras, as sacred artifacts. These rare technologies push the boundaries of modern Imperial science, offering extraordinary benefits to those who can obtain them. Below is a summary of some notable archeotech devices and enhancements related to healing, rejuvenation, and bodily regeneration.

Autosanguine

Source: Dark Heresy 2nd Edition
Description: This ancient and revered nanotechnological system courses through the user’s bloodstream as a metallic liquid. It repairs minor injuries and accelerates natural healing processes.
Effects:

  • The character is always considered Lightly Damaged when applying healing.
  • Healing rate is doubled, removing 2 points of damage per day instead of 1.
    Requirements:
  • Activation requires access to an Advanced Medicae Deck or Tech-shrine.
    Limitations: Only repairs minor injuries, making it unsuitable for catastrophic damage without additional support.

Hermetic Infusion

Source: Inquisitor’s Handbook 
Description: A significant enhancement of the Autosanguine system, Hermetic Infusion replaces the user’s blood and related organs with a biomechanical serum filled with microscopic repair machines. This advanced system drastically improves resilience and healing capacity.
Prerequisites:

  • Tech-Priest
  • Autosanguine Talent

Levels of Integration:

  • Common:
    • +10 bonus on Tests to resist toxins, diseases, and radioactive contamination.
    • Gain the Die Hard talent.
  • Good:
    • +20 bonus on Tests to resist toxins, diseases, and radioactive contamination.
    • Gain the Regeneration Trait (healing 1 Wound per round).

Disadvantages:

  • The user’s body no longer utilizes human blood, rendering transfusions and most traditional medical treatments ineffective.
  • Visible greying of the skin and withering of tissue.
  • Severe injuries must be treated by a Magos Biologis or similar advanced specialist.

Prosanguine

Source: Rogue Trader Corebook, edited for Ultima Tectum Campaign
Description: An enhanced interface for the Autosanguine system, Prosanguine allows the user to actively control and accelerate the function of their Autosanguinators through ritual and meditation.
Prerequisites: Autosanguine

Effects:

  • By spending 10 minutes in meditation and passing a Tech-Use Test, the user removes 1d5 points of Damage.
  • Rolling 96–100 on the Tech-Use Test results in system overstrain, disabling Autosanguine and Prosanguine systems for one week.

Requirements: Initial activation requires a visit to a Tech-shrine.

Form Re-Constructors (Ultima Tectum Campaign Exclusive)

Description: This reconstructive nanotechnology allows users to regrow lost limbs or major organs over time. The nanomachines restore the body to its original state as recorded when the system was first activated.
Effects:

  • Lost limbs and major organs are regrown autonomously.
  • The system continually repairs the body, maintaining it at the recorded “ideal state.”

Risks:

  • Exposure to scrapcode (corrupted machine code) can subvert the micro-servants, transforming the recipient into a Chaos Spawn.

Vitaesanguine

Source: Nanotechnology in the Imperium
Description: A closely guarded Standard Template Construct (STC) mystery, Vitaesanguine is a rejuvenation technology studied by the aging devotees of the Micro-Omnissiah. It incorporates advanced nanotechnology to slow aging and enhance cellular repair.
Prerequisites: Prosanguine

Effects:

  • Greatly extends the user’s lifespan.
  • Repairs cellular damage at an advanced level, halting most aging processes.
  • Requires meticulous rituals and incantations to maintain functionality.

Availability: Extremely rare, with most examples held in secretive Mechanicus forges or reserved for high-ranking members of the Inquisition.

Gene-Seed (Exclusive to Space Marines)

Description: A genetic marvel of the Imperial Space Marines, the Gene-seed grants enhanced physiology, including a significant resistance to aging. This bioengineered enhancement is one of the key components of Astartes immortality.
Effects:

  • Space Marines do not age in the conventional sense.
  • Their lifespan is effectively indefinite, with many living for centuries or even millennia.
  • Physical aging is prevented, though long-term stress and mental degradation (often from exposure to the horrors of the galaxy) remain a factor.

Requirements:

  • Implantation is restricted to Space Marines, using the genetic material of the Emperor’s Primarchs.

Proteus Protocol

A semi-mythical type of technology that it is forbidden to research in the Imperium. This ancient heretical technology consists of transferring not only the engramatic knowledge and memory of an organic brain but also the personality and will of the user. This, in effect, allows a user to accomplish mental as well as spiritual immortality through an artificial physical form. The few legends that surround the Proteus Protocol state that the abominations created by it were soulless beings that seek dark desires and alien hungers that can never be satiated. Despite these warnings, many still seek to find examples of the Proteus Protocol in order to become immortal.

The heretic cult known as the Logicians have been known to pursue examples of the Proteus Protocol.

Rite of Setesh

The Rite of Setesh is the name of a device as well as a procedure conducted by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Used by the rich and the powerful, it involves the mummification of the body and placing it within an exo-skeleton that covers that body by use of a mechanical augmetic rig. The dying body henceforth is kept alive by this machinery and prevented from dying of either sickness or old age, well past the normal human lifespan. These mechanical coffins skirt the edge of techno-heresy to the Cult Mechanicus, which frowns on its usage due to both its form and its function.

The Role of Archeotech in Imperial Society

Availability and Restrictions:

  • Most archeotech devices and enhancements are rare, expensive, and reserved for the upper echelons of Imperial society.
  • Their use is often limited by the Adeptus Mechanicus, which tightly controls access to ancient technologies. Unauthorized possession of archeotech can result in severe punishment, including execution.

Ethical and Theological Concerns:

  • Many rejuvenation and healing technologies are viewed with suspicion, as they skirt the boundaries of Imperial orthodoxy.
  • Resurrection, soul transfer, or technologies with connections to xenos or the Warp are outright heretical and subject to extreme censure by the Inquisition.

Anima Mori: Forbidden Methods of Prolonging Life and Defying Death

The Imperium of Man enforces a strict adherence to the Emperor’s decree: “One soul in one body.” Yet, the desperation for survival, immortality, and power has driven individuals to heretical technologies, psychic manipulations, and alien contraband. Collectively referred to as Anima Mori, these methods often grant a semblance of life or prolonged existence at a terrible cost—corruption, insanity, and ultimate damnation.

Imperial Heresies

Anima Recorder-Projector (Dan Abnett: Malleus)

Description: This archeotech device records minds and stores them in crystalline matrices. Stored personalities can later be imprinted onto a servitor, clone, or a mind-scrubbed individual. While its origins lie in the Dark Age of Technology, its use is heretical due to the Emperor’s edict.
Functionality:

  • Allows for the transfer of consciousness, effectively creating a new “host” for the recorded personality.
    Imperial Status:
  • Categorized as heretek due to its violation of Imperial doctrine.
    Risks:
  • Identity instability in the host.
  • Spiritual corruption from violating the sanctity of the soul.

Radium Serum (Ultima Tectum Campaign)

Description: A heretical serum exploiting the corruptive properties of Chaos to extend life. Each corruption point gained through its use grants additional year of lifespan but leads to mutations and spiritual degradation.
Effects:

  • Minor NPCs can gain up to 9 extra years, while major NPCs may gain up to 99 years.
  • Corruption points accumulate with each injection, leading to mutations and eventual insanity.
    Status:
  • Outlawed by the Inquisition and Adeptus Mechanicus.
    Risks:
  • Rapid physical and mental deterioration with prolonged use.

Re-animation

Description: Utilizing heretek devices or Chaos sorcery, re-animation involves returning the dead to a semblance of life. Unlike true immortality, it often depends on an external power source or the will of the re-animator.
Effects:

  • Restores functionality to a deceased body, though at a diminished capacity.
    Risks:
  • Reliance on the re-animator’s power source or will.
  • High likelihood of spiritual corruption or physical decay.

Anima Aura (Dark Heresy)

Description: By integrating forbidden archeotech principles of the Sarcosan Wave Generator, a tech-priest can animate necrotized flesh temporarily.
Effects:

  • Generates a field that animates damaged or decayed flesh, granting the Stuff of Nightmares Trait for 1d10 + Toughness Bonus rounds.
  • Creates eerie, discordant sounds resembling moaning souls.
    Risks:
  • Each activation causes 1d5 Insanity Points and one level of Fatigue.
    Requirements:
  • Prerequisite: Tech-Priest with Potentia Coil.

Chaos Manipulations

Resurrection

Description: Chaos sorcery allows for the resurrection of individuals who have made pacts with the Ruinous Powers while alive.
Risks:

  • Resurrection often binds the individual permanently to Chaos, making them a tool of the gods.
  • The revived body may deteriorate over time without continued sorcerous maintenance.

Reversed Aging

Description: Warp-powered rituals can reverse aging, but the energy required comes at a steep cost.
Risks:

  • Heavy Warp corruption.
  • High likelihood of attracting daemonic attention or possession.

Immortality Through Chaos Rituals

Description: Rituals dedicated to the Ruinous Powers can grant unnatural longevity or even immortality.
Risks:

  • Success requires consistent service to the gods; failure invites torment or annihilation.

Pact with a Daemon

Description: Bargaining with a daemon can grant eternal life or immunity to aging, though the terms are inevitably exploitative.
Risks:

  • Corruption is inevitable, and the individual’s soul is forfeit.

Psychic Vampirism

Description: Rogue psykers can extend their lives by draining the life force of others.
Risks:

  • Creates a dependency on living victims.
  • Often leads to mutation and psychic instability.

Xenos Contraband

Halo Device (Disciples of the Dark Gods)

Description: Alien artifacts from the Halo Stars, these devices grant their hosts near-immortality by manipulating their body and mind.
Effects:

  • Hosts become almost impossible to kill and cease aging.
  • Enhanced physical and cognitive capabilities.
    Risks:
  • Madness, addiction to flesh or blood, and loss of humanity.
  • Hosts often degenerate into monstrous forms.

Adarnian Elixir (Belisarius Cawl: Great Work)

Description: A substance derived from the Adarnian race, this elixir rejuvenates the human body at the cost of agony and eventual deterioration.
Effects:

  • Temporarily restores vitality and healthRisks:
  • Users deteriorate rapidly once the effects fade.
  • The Adarnian Elixir is heretical, as its production requires harvesting organs from sentient beings.

Imperial Verdict on Anima Mori

The Anima Mori methods represent apostate’s desperate defiance of mortality, but all are deemed heretical or dangerous by the Imperium. Whether through Chaos, archeotech, or xenos influence, these techniques ultimately lead to corruption, insanity, or worse. Imperial authorities tolerate no deviation from the Emperor’s decree, and practitioners are hunted relentlessly by the Inquisition.