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At a glance
The Jokaero are one of the great mysteries of the galaxy. They look like orange-furred apes, somewhat like orangutans, with long arms, clever hands and large, unreadable eyes. They have no known language, no known culture and no known history. Yet they possess an instinctive genius for technology that far surpasses that of the Imperium. A Jokaero can take a pile of scrap and turn it into a weapon of astonishing power. It can modify a lasgun to fire beams of unimaginable intensity, or build a tiny weapon that fits into a ring.
The Imperium knows them as Pongo ingenio, and it values them highly. The Inquisition, in particular, employs Jokaero as Weaponsmiths. A Jokaero in an Inquisitor's retinue is a powerful asset, constantly improving and inventing weapons, though its creations are often unpredictable.
Nature & mystery
Technosavants
The Jokaero's talent for technology seems instinctive. They do not appear to learn it, and they do not appear to understand it in the way humans do. They simply build. Their creations often defy the understanding of the Adeptus Mechanicus, whose Tech-priests regard them with a mixture of awe, envy and suspicion. Some Magi believe that Jokaero technology may hold the secrets of the Dark Age of Technology. Others consider it heretical.
Origins
No one knows where the Jokaero came from. Some scholars believe they were created by the Old Ones, the ancient race that seeded much of the galaxy with life. Others believe they are the degenerate remnants of a once-great civilisation. The Jokaero themselves give no answers. They have no known language, and if they communicate with one another, they do so in ways humans cannot detect.
Wanderers
Jokaero live in small family groups of around a dozen, wandering the galaxy in strange starships. They do not appear to have a homeworld, and they do not appear to have any interest in conquest. They simply wander, building and tinkering as they go.
Technology
Jokaero technology is the stuff of legend. Among their most famous creations are:
- Digital weapons: tiny weapons concealed in rings and other jewellery, capable of firing lasers, needles or flame. These are prized by Inquisitors and nobles.
- Defence orbs: floating spheres that protect their creators from attack.
- Spy-flies: tiny drones used for surveillance.
Jokaero also modify existing equipment. A Jokaero might take an Inquisitor's bolt pistol and turn it into a weapon of devastating power, or take apart a servo-skull and rebuild it as something entirely new. The results are often brilliant, but they can be unpredictable. A Jokaero might modify a weapon on a whim, changing its function entirely.
Lattice ships
The Jokaero travel in strange lattice-like starships. Some scholars have noted similarities between these ships and the Blackstone Fortresses, ancient star fortresses of unknown origin. This has led to speculation that the Jokaero may be connected to the same ancient power, though nothing has been proven.
In Imperial service
The Inquisition values the Jokaero highly, and many Inquisitors seek to have one in their retinue. A Jokaero Weaponsmith can provide the Inquisitor and their acolytes with weapons of extraordinary power. In battle, a Jokaero may use its own weapons and defence orbs, and it may repair or improve equipment on the fly.
Keeping a Jokaero is not easy. They are notoriously difficult to contain, and they escape captivity with ease, often by building tools from whatever they can find. They appear to serve willingly in some cases, perhaps for reasons of their own. Their motives are a mystery.
The Adeptus Mechanicus is deeply interested in the Jokaero, though they rarely manage to study one for long.
The Jokaero and the Machine Cult
For the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Jokaero are a deeply uncomfortable fact. The Cult Mechanicus teaches that true knowledge of technology is sacred, a gift of the Omnissiah, and that it must be recovered from the past rather than invented anew. Innovation is viewed with suspicion, and tampering with sacred designs can be heresy. The Jokaero ignore all of this. They innovate constantly, casually and without any visible reverence, and their results are often better than anything the Mechanicus can produce.
Some Tech-priests believe the Jokaero must be studied at any cost, in the hope of unlocking the secrets behind their creations. Others believe that Jokaero technology is tainted, because it is not built according to the sacred rites, and that it should be destroyed. A few radical Magi have been accused of trying to learn directly from the Jokaero, and some of those have been declared heretics for it.
Family life
What little is known of Jokaero behaviour suggests that they live in close family groups. Members of a family work together on projects, passing parts and tools back and forth with no apparent communication. Young Jokaero seem to learn simply by watching their elders, and their gifts appear early. Observers have described Jokaero tinkering in what looks like play, assembling and disassembling devices for no obvious purpose, as if building were as natural to them as breathing.
History
- M32: the Deathwatch of Fort Nullifact attacked a Jokaero star-frame, an encounter recorded in Deathwatch annals.
- The Blackstone Fortress: a Jokaero known as the Tinkerer is known at Precipice, the outpost that clings to the edge of the Blackstone Fortress, where its gifts draw the interest of the desperate explorers who gather there.
- Throughout the Imperium: Jokaero serve Inquisitors and Rogue Traders, and their weapons appear in the hands of the powerful across the galaxy.
Significance
The Jokaero represent the galaxy's deep mysteries. They are a reminder that the Imperium does not understand everything, that there are races and powers far older and stranger than humanity, and that technology can be wielded by beings whose minds are utterly alien. They are also a reminder that the Imperium's rigid control of knowledge leaves it dependent on xenos for some of its most powerful tools.
For an Inquisitor, a Jokaero is a weapon, a tool and a puzzle. For the Adeptus Mechanicus, it is a source of envy and heresy. For the Jokaero, the Imperium may be nothing more than a convenient source of scrap.
Handling a Jokaero
- Never leave your weapons unattended; they may not be the same weapons in the morning.
- Do not attempt to cage one; it will build its way out.
- Expect improvements, but not necessarily the ones you wanted.
- Keep the Mechanicus at a distance; Tech-priests want them for study.
- Treat them with respect; nobody knows what they really are.
Trivia
- The Jokaero are called Pongo ingenio by Imperial scholars.
- They have no known language.
- Their lattice ships may share an origin with the Blackstone Fortresses.
- They can create digital weapons small enough to fit in rings.
- Families of around a dozen Jokaero wander the galaxy together.
- Tech-priests are divided on whether Jokaero devices are marvels or heresies.
- A Jokaero known as the Tinkerer is found at Precipice near the Blackstone Fortress.
