afab boyfriend @princessasterion.bsky.social
ME READING WARHAMMER 40K BOOKS IN 2018: this setting is so fucking dumb. No way a society would let their entire technological infrastructure be controlled by a handful of fanatics that have convinced themselves that computer code is literally God
ME NOW: Ah,
I don't know if they actually clone brains to use, but I certainly know that most transgressions in the imperium are punished by getting turned into a servitor, essentially a lobotomized cyborg usually only fit for specific tasks. Then there are also servo skulls, basically a small drone assistant, except its a human skull with augmentations. That being said I am at best a novice in the lore so this might not be entirely accurate
I know Cherubim and some Skitarii are cloned. But yeah they do also use a lot of brains from regular AdMech people for servo skulls, and use criminals' brains for servitors. My understanding is it's an honour to be turned into a servo skull, a bit like getting entombed in a dreadnought.
In general though they tend to use electromechanical solutions first. They only use cybernetics for more complex use-cases. Or for things that require complex sensor input. I've heard it joked before that the sort of automatic sliding door you see at the front of a modern supermarket would be a servitor in 40k, but I don't think that's accurate. They have access to laser rangefinders and simple electronics.
And they do have simple "computers" called cogitators, but these are electromechanical computers like those of the 1960s. They don't use integrated circuits or the like.
"Build routine seven two one initiated."