Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 738

Chapter 735, Interfering in the entire empire?

The Psionics Order is fragmented.

In name only, the Order was a powerful organization. They had authority over all psykers throughout the Empire, organized psyker corps, and provided all necessary psychic support to other Imperial organizations, from the military to the Inquisition to civil administration.

However, this was only achieved in the early days of the Order’s founding, and subsequently became a dead letter.

For a long time, psychic power was taboo within the Empire, uncontrollable. Those who awakened psychics were severely persecuted, primarily under the jurisdiction of the Inquisition. Most psykers were imprisoned or even executed.

Later, the Imperial Chancellor, known as the Immortal, who had accompanied the Emperor in establishing the Imperium of Man, came to believe that psychic power, while dangerous, could be harnessed. He personally established the Order to cultivate and harness the psionic powers of the Empire.

During that period, the Psionic Order powerfully fulfilled its responsibilities, training vast numbers of psykers and deploying them to various units. Inquisition psionic experts, Astra Militarum psionic troops, the Navy’s navigators and cogitators, and even the think tanks of the Space Marines Chapters, would interact with the Imperial Psionic Order.

It was an era of immense glory for the Psionic Order.

The Psionic Order controlled numerous psionic academies, screening candidates and training psykers. After training, various parties begged the Psionic Order to transfer personnel to them. The Chief Grand Master, directly reporting to the Imperial Chancellor, was a crucial member of the Supreme Council, possessing the most extraordinary powers wielded by mortals in the Empire.

Psykers assigned to external units were supervised by both the Psionic Order and their own units, depending on their academy of origin and their rank within the Psionic Order. A single word from the Grand Master could siphon off the entire psychic power of a unit or assign additional personnel to a specific unit.

The Psionic Order also possessed its own direct military forces, primarily centered around psychic forces, but also boasting a large number of specialized anti-psychic units. These units used psychic forces to counter psychic forces, or assisted the Mechanicus in developing anti-psychic weapons and equipment, employing elite soldiers to form legions.

Such an Order was undoubtedly worthy of the status of High Lord.

However, good times were short-lived. The Imperial Chancellor, supposedly an Immortal, passed away in the post-Emperor Ascension era, slain amidst a massive civil war. Without his support, the Psionic Order lost its most fundamental political power.

Of course, this alone wouldn’t have been such a disaster.

However, in the years that followed, their base steadily eroded.

The core issue lay in the dual leadership of psykers.

Logically, every psyker in every unit was subject to the jurisdiction of the Psionic Order. However, the Inquisition initially objected.

We have so many confidential matters within the Inquisition, many of which are related to various supernatural forces. Handling these matters requires psykers, but how could we allow the Psionic Order to lead? Wouldn’t that lead to a leak?

Even more so, you psykers, listening to the whispers of the Warp every day, could be corrupted and explode any day. The danger is immense, and you absolutely must be supervised.

With the Inquisition as its main force, the Order of Psykers faced constant challenges and suppression in the long years that followed.

Other Imperial factions also had ample motivation to avoid having their psyker units controlled by the Order.

After all, how could a single line of control be comfortable with dual jurisdiction?

The Astra Militarum didn’t want its psyker units suddenly transferred by the Order; the Navy couldn’t bear the thought of Navigators and Cogitators being removed from its ships. The Assassins’ Court, such a mysterious place, never allowed the Order to interfere with the psychic assassins they trained.

The Order of Psykers, of course, would not relinquish its power, engaging in a prolonged struggle with various parties that continues to this day.

However, the outcome of this struggle was clearly unsatisfactory.

The main reason was that, in this matter, the Order of Psykers had virtually set itself against everyone.

If that were all, it would have been nothing more than a loss of a leg.

They also have numerous psionic academies. As long as they can control the training and allocation of psionicists, they still have considerable influence.

But on this point, they are constantly being deprived of their rights.

Psionicists are useful to everyone, so why would they want to be controlled by the Order?

The training of psionicists is not a monopoly, and they must be cultivated within psionic academies. In the past, this was enforced primarily for the sake of control. The Empire had relevant mandatory administrative orders.

Administrative orders, like these, can be overturned and modified.

Each family began to independently train specific psionicists according to their own needs.

To this end, the old psionic system was constantly being compromised.

With too many loopholes, the rules themselves became riddled with holes.

Then, the Psychic Order’s budget was cut, and the Psychic Academies gradually became unable to operate, forcing them to close one after another. Each order had its own specialized psychic units and counter-psychic experts, and the Psychic Order’s own direct forces also gradually withered due to budgetary constraints…

At this point, there are still some Psychic Academies, but their proportion in the overall training of psychics in the Empire is now very small. The direct forces still exist, but their strength is simply not enough to support the Psychic Order.

The Psychic Order is now increasingly becoming a club where psychics in the Empire gather to learn and exchange. Without sufficient actual power, it is naturally difficult to gain a strong political position.

The Chief Grand Master still theoretically qualifies for membership in the Vocational High Council, but the Psychic Order has not been seen among the High Lords for the past one or two thousand years.

This is the current situation of the Psychic Order.

They are undoubtedly unwilling to accept this

situation. Otherwise, they would not have approached Gu Hang.

But this unwillingness, coupled with the desire to maintain the appearance of a powerful central institution of the Empire, led to Salihovich’s subsequent comments about them.

They maintain aloofness, acting as if the Order of Psionics has never declined, striving to maintain a respectable appearance. Yet, they are often flexible, jumping on any opportunity that might connect them, showcasing their value.

How could anyone let go of such an easy target? These pretentious Orders

are implicated in all sorts of shady dealings. If

a key figure goes missing, the Order sends a consultant to investigate whether it’s psionic related. If they find the person, you’re credited, and you’re just an advisor; what else do you want? If they don’t, you take the blame .

If war breaks out, the Order sends out some of its own psionic troops. If they don’t? They have to send some, or they’ll have a reason to deduct even the meager budget.

And that’s all just a side issue. If a psychic disaster strikes somewhere, you’re left with no choice but to take the blame.

It’s like a trash can for any and all dirty deeds, downtrodden, at the mercy of others, feeling humiliated…

pathetic.

That said, their foundation was relatively strong. Several psychic academies within the Empire and on Holy Terra served as a foundation, keeping them afloat.

However, if this trend continued, the Order of Psychic Powers would inevitably collapse in the foreseeable future.

After hearing this, Gu Hang recalled one of the paths Gallardo had arranged for him: becoming the leader of the Order.

At the time, he’d thought, the Order of Psychic Powers was a top-tier organization after all. So, could an outsider like Gu Hang be made the leader?

To his surprise, it was so simple.

No need to fight for it; it was offered to him eagerly!

However, promoting the Chief Grand Master to the position of High Lord was no easy task; it was an immensely difficult undertaking.

Of course, Gu Hang didn’t think Gallardo was talking nonsense. In fact, he could already guess how it would work: simply “selling” his achievements from the Ironclad War.

That wouldn’t work.

Returning to the matter at hand, Gu Hang asked, “So, what suggestions do you have, my ambassador?”

Salihovich had already made his position clear in his gradual narration: “I suggest staying away from them, Your Excellency. Too close to them would be disastrous.”

After a pause, he continued, “The Order of Psychic Powers is now nothing more than a name and a framework. Leading their revival will not only require a massive investment of resources, but will also be fraught with difficulties. Worst of all, the more progress you make, the greater the resistance you will encounter. The stronger the Order of Psychic Powers becomes, the more conflicts of interest it will inevitably create, which will be detrimental to your cause.”

Gu Hang pressed, “What if I only want the name and framework?”

After all, it was a free gift.

With just Gu Hang’s nod, he could obtain the title of ‘Chief Grand Master’ for virtually nothing.

At the very least, it was a top-tier title, one that granted membership in the High Lords’ Council.

Even if a rotten ship still has three pounds of nails, the remaining strength of the Psychic Order is still somewhat sufficient. It still receives tens of billions of dollars in the Empire’s annual budget, sometimes even tens of billions. Being a garbage dump in the center of the Empire, it has more or less won a lot of connections…

“No, that’s unrealistic,” Salihovic said. “Leaving aside other factors, there are also huge problems within the Psychic Order itself. They invited you to be the Chief Grand Master, hoping that you would lead their revival. If you delay any key actions, it will be difficult for them to continue to obey your will. In that case, not only will they no longer be able to help you, they may even hinder you.”

Gu Hang touched his chin, agreeing with Salihovic.

However, during the conversation, he had his own thoughts.

“What if I go to build the Psychic Order?”

“Huh?” Salihovic was puzzled.

Hadn’t we discussed this before?

“Giving up the power of the Psychic Order over all psychics in the empire, isn’t this the biggest conflict between the Psychic Order and other imperial factions?”

Salihovic was also a very smart person. He reacted immediately: “You mean… focusing on building the Psychic Academy and the Order’s direct forces?”

“Yes.” Gu Hang said, “In the future, the Psychic Order will be transformed into a training base for psychic energy. The existing Psychic Academy is a very good foundation, and they have enough talents. As long as resources keep up, the Psychic Academy can expand rapidly. Intensify the training of psychics. They can accept commissioned training from other imperial factions, or train themselves and then send them to the direct psychic forces and anti-psychic forces.”

“As one of the highest-level independent institutions in the empire, I remember that the Psychic Order’s direct forces can, without anyone’s consent, just the order of the Chief Grand Master, and can perform tasks anywhere in the empire that are only accountable to the Grand Master. Is that correct?”

Salihovic nodded: “Yes.”

“Does that mean that I have the power to interfere in any affairs across the entire empire?”

Salihovic reminded calmly, “I’m afraid it’s not that simple. Putting aside strength and the adverse effects of excessive interference, even from a legal perspective, the power of the Psychic Order to handle affairs throughout the empire is limited to psychic matters. Although actions do not require approval from others and are only responsible to the Grand Master, the Grand Master must have a reasonable reason.”

“Ah, that’s a problem.” The smile on Gu Hang’s face became more and more intense, “In this world, everything can be related to psychic power, right?”

“…As long as you want to, indeed.”

A governor who can’t even be described as Alpha-level, a professional psychic organization, what can’t they make related to psychic power?

In other words, what in this universe can’t be related to the subspace?

However, Salihovic was still worried.

“Will the Order of Psychic Power agree? They’ve clung to their glory for thousands of years, dreaming of a return to their heyday, a time when all psychics in the empire would unite under the Order. Giving up this claim would be difficult for them to accept, and you’ll face immense resistance if you push forward.”

Gu Hang’s smile faded. “That’s Grand Master Dou’s job. Why should I go straight for the villain? I hope he can purge the old guard from the Order and hand over a clean Order to me.”

“Let’s postpone joining the Order as Grand Master for now. However, before Dou Zhao left, he said he wanted me to visit the Order for a discussion.”

“Promise him. Is three days enough time to prepare?”

“I’ll clean up his house and provide some assistance.”

With a wave of his hand, Gu Hang lifted the mental veil from his observers.

Normally, Gu Hang tried to be as frank as possible. But when it came to sensitive conversations, it was best not to let them hear.

These observers, armed with anti-psychic methods, had no idea who they were monitoring.

As long as Gu Hang wants, what they can hear and see is what Gu Hang wants them to hear and see.

It’s nothing more than using it as little as possible and at a lower intensity to avoid being noticed.

(End of this chapter)