A little piece of practice writing in character, -- the hymn is a compilation of quotes -- given life by HMKids ''Adeptus Mechanicus'', which, although described as 'metal' (a genre I have no time for) captures how I imagine the Mechanicum perfectly.
LIBRARIUM INQUISITIONIS VIGILI SULLAE
+++++ Category: Adeptus Mechanicus, Lingua-Technis
+++++ Item Ref. : 060010919
++ Date Entered: 4028990.M41
Clearance Level: Light Magenta
+++++++ Author: Inquisitor Ollanius Vale
The Tersancta, the morning chant of the Mechanicum on the Forgeworlds of the Agrippa sub-Sector
***
Notae Inquisitionis
The
Tersancta consists in a triple recitation of the
Credo Omnissiah with the interpolation of three doxologies, the first in Low Gothic, the second in the Gimel tech-cant* spoken by the forge-serfs and by the priesthood in dealing with them, and the third in High Gothic or 'Tech' ( the languages seem to have been chosen in ascending order of sacredness – that of the Imperium, that of the forge-serfs and finally that of the initiated priests of the Omnissiah).
It is chanted every morning, before the first day-shift begins in the forges, in front of an altar of the Omnissiah set up so that the assembled labourers can see it.
Lingua technis is considered too sacred for even these solemn public rites and is in any case unintelligible to the mostly unaugmented labourers. The tech-cant is ancient, with only a few merely phonetic links to High Gothic (see
Phonetica Gothica Alta by Sister Chrysostoma O.L for sound-changes into other dialects which seem to be mirrored in Gimel tech-cant) and contains many unique elements. My own understanding is exceedingly limited.
The tech-cant may be useful in attempts to decipher the
lingua-technis. The idea evidently occurred to another member of the Holy Orders as I have since found a partial grammar and vocabulary, though a millennium old and possibly outdated, in the
Supplementum Secretum pro usum Inquisitionis to the standard
Lexica Dialecti Segmenti Pacifici , v. cli ch. cci. The litany appended to the end of the hymn is a commonly used one.
The great devotion of the forge-serfs is audible in their voices, pleading and begging. The cries and prostrations from the assembled labourers, struck down by shame at their sinful flesh, when the
Credo Omnissiah is recited and throughout the rite, are most edifying.
* I devised this name myself. The principal forge-world of the sector is Quaternary Gimel. The others are lesser filiations all traceable to Quaternary Gimel.
***
BEGINNING OF RECORD
There is no truth in flesh, only betrayal.
There is no strength in flesh, only weakness.
There is no constancy in flesh, only decay.
There is no certainty in flesh but death.
Holy Machine,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy and Undying
Have mercy on us.
There is no truth in flesh, only betrayal.
There is no strength in flesh, only weakness.
There is no constancy in flesh, only decay.
There is no certainty in flesh but death.
Agia e Mekhana
Agia Ischyra
Agia Athanata
Eleison imas.There is no truth in flesh, only betrayal.
There is no strength in flesh, only weakness.
There is no constancy in flesh, only decay.
There is no certainty in flesh but death.
Sancta Machina
Sancta Fortis
Sancta Immortalis
Miserere nobis.From the weakness of the mind, Omnissiah save us.
From the lies of the Antipath, circuit preserve us.
From the rage of the Beast, iron protect us,
From the temptations of the Fleshlord, silica cleanse us,
From the ravages of the Destroyer, anima heal us,
From this rotting cage of biomatter, Machine God set us free.
END OF RECORD