BIRTH
Cherubim are Servitors, despite being cuter and more
independently-minded than most other Servitors. They are made
of vat-grown tissue and given artificial-life by the bio-priests of
the Adeptus-Biologicus. The creation of life, even the crudest
Servitor parody of life, is no simple task. There are musculature
and skeletal-structures, circulatory-systems and internal-organs
to worry about, not to mention the 'spark' that must provide
animation. The most complicated of all tasks though, is to form
nervous-systems (even the most extensively programmed bionicbrain
is useless without neurons to translate its programming
into actions).
Mono-task Servitors have the simplest form of neural-system
possible, meaning reactions are slow, movements preprogrammed
and responses limited. Multi-task Servitors must
have a greater range-of-movement and control, requiring more
complex and fine nerve-clusters. Cherubim have the most
complex of all Servitor neural-systems because their Masters
expect them to fulfil a variety of tasks and to move fully,
mimicking child-like mannerisms and even display appropriate
emotional-responses. Unlike other Servitor-creations Cherubim
are never mass-produced; almost all are tailor-built for their
Master. It is no wonder then, that they are the most expensive
and status-laden Servitor-constructs in the Imperium.
NEPHILIM
Cherubim are without-doubt the most complex Familiarconstructs
routinely created in the Imperium, but not all
Cherubim are created equal. Some are more complex and
versatile than others. Some are Nephilim.
Nephilim is a term used to describe any advanced-form of
Cherubim; this could be caused by a quirk of the tissue-growth
tanks, the work of a Master-Magos, a specially commissioned
design or even the God-Emperor smiling upon His newly-created
servant. Whatever the reason, Nephilim function at a highercapacity
than other Cherubim.
There is no consistent way to get a vat-grown Nephilim, it is as
much a matter of luck and skill as any work of art and often it
may not be apparent whether a Cherub is 'advanced' until it has
been in service to its Master for some-time.
Nephilim is a term used almost exclusively by Adeptus-Biologicus
Adepts and Cherubim-connoisseurs and is an abstract-label for
an ideal not a class of Cherubim; even most Masters of Nephilim
are unaware of the distinction or terminology.
Nephilim is a high-gothic word and literally-translates as 'Half-
Breed' (though it has connotations of holiness). The reason for
some Cherubim to be called this name is unclear even to most
Biologicus-Adepts. Those who do know the origins of the term
generally keep-quiet because the truth is less-than palatable.
TRUE NEPHILIM
Originally the term Nephilim applied only to a very-small
number of Cherubim who were created not from vat-tissue but
from children enslaved into Servitors, hence the practice of
referring to them as an angelic 'half-breed'. Because Nephilim
created in this way have already formed a natural neural-system
that is infinitely more complex than any created by the Adeptus-
Biologicus, they tend to produce the most advanced and capable
Cherubim and eventually the label was corrupted to indicate any
high-functioning Cherub.
To create a True-Nephilim, the child must be below age-6, due to
problems with bone-density after this age. The child is then, for
lack of better-terminology, lobotomised and embalmed. They are
fed growth-retardant chemicals and what brain is left, is
thoroughly mind-scrubbed. A set of wings is retrofitted to the
spine, which must be severed in several-places before being respliced.
Finally, they are implanted with inhibitors, fitted with
cranial-pacifiers and other bionic-equipment as required.
The procedure is not without its problems though; there have
been recorded-incidents where the embalming-process has
resulted in death, as the skin suffocates under the chemicaltreatment.
Other problems have led to persistent-vegetativestates
of the brain-stem so that not even an entire bionic-brain
replacement will work, effectively leaving the child as an
artificially-sustained carcass. Luckily the procedure is not
common and there are only twenty-two recorded-cases of
Nephilim being created in this manner in the last 4-millennia. In
all but one case the procedure was done for the Master's
personal-reasons, not to create better Cherubim. Some
recorded-examples of True-Nephilim include:
