“The current must be true. The flow must be unbroken. The heresy of oscillation shall not pollute the Motive Force.”
— Ferric Edict of M34, Temple-Circuit Rho-11
Abandonment of Alternating Current (AC)
Sometime in the distant techno-theological evolution of the pre-Imperium, Alternating Current (AC) has been declared heretekal by or lost from the Adeptus Mechanicus. Whether due to inability, philosophical rejection, tech-rivalry, or doctrinal decree, the Mechanicus enshrined Direct Current (DC) as the divinely correct method of power flow.
This would have profound implications:
- No transformers or easy voltage stepping
- No long-range AC grid infrastructure
- Massive energy loss over distance unless physically mitigated
Thus, the Imperium compensates for this by developing bulky, redundant, and excessive infrastructure to brute-force solutions that AC systems in the Dark Age of Technology once handled with elegance.
Massive Power Banks & Storage Shrines
Without efficient AC grid transmission, power must be stored and delivered manually in enormous banks:
- Planetary energy is stored in cathedral-scale capacitor vaults, guarded as sacred relics.
- Starships have plasma containment shrines or reactive power stacks that buffer everything locally.
- Even small facilities rely on portable plasma banks or reactors, rather than drawing from a central grid.
This leads to:
- High levels of redundancy and overbuilding
- Dangerously explosive power stations that fail catastrophically
- Long charge rituals and purification cycles before systems are activated
Wireless Energy Transmission – The Ferric Arc Doctrine
In place of AC grids, the Mechanicus rediscovered wireless DC transmission—via magnetic fields, directed plasma arcs, or ferric micro-resonance towers. However, such systems are:
- Inefficient over distance
- Extremely dangerous
- Theologically restricted to be operated only by Adeptus Mechanicus
These systems explain:
- The towering relay spires and plasma arcing pylons seen across Imperial Worlds
- Ritualistic recharging of titans, servitors, or robots via magnetic clamps or arcs
- The concept of “blessed connection” where machines are energized by proximity to the Omnissiah’s pulse
Effects on Imperial Technology Design
Because of this DC-only infrastructure, the Imperium favors:
- Thick, rigid power cabling that resists voltage drop
- Localized energy cores (every vessel or habitat has its own generator shrine)
- Slow-charging capacitive weaponry (plasma, melta, etc.)
- Manual switches and breaker altars—energy is sacred and must be invoked, not flipped casually
- Ritual power balancing to prevent “field discordance” (e.g., ferric harmonics)
The result is a visual and functional tech design that looks like:
- Cathedrals built over car batteries
- Gothic substations bristling with redundant cables and energy coils
- Holy connecting ceremonies for plugging in weapons or armor
Theological Backing
The Machine Cult views AC as inherently chaotic—its oscillating nature representing doubt, duality, and inconsistency. In contrast:
- DC is faithful, flowing in a single, righteous direction.
- Polarity is divine, as opposites attract and stabilize.
- The Motive Force is interpreted as a unidirectional will, not a wavering force.
AC, if remembered at all, is whispered in blasphemous legends of Anionian hereteks or condemned in Electro-priest Sermons as “the madness of the twin-wave.”
Conclusion
This is a lore-consistent explanation. The Imperium’s bulk, redundancy, slowness, and sacred awe around power systems that make lightning arcs all make perfect sense in a galaxy where:
- AC is forgotten or forbidden
- DC is doctrinally enshrined
- Energy is not a tool—it is a religion
“Let the current not alternate, for the Machine-God does not stutter. Let it flow, one path, one will, one force.”
— Litanies of the Ferric Pulse, Verse 44
Ignis Aeternus WH 40K campaign notes 