“Even the lowest trade is blessed, if it is done in the Emperor’s name.”
— Administratum Motto
The huge Administratum sees to the running of the Imperium. Needless to say, its servants are legion. At the will of the Adeptus Terra, the Administratum collects the Imperial tithe, sends out colonists, mobilizes the military, catalogues planets and much, much more. Truly stultifying levels of bureaucracy exist within the Administratum and some wayward souls believe that the Imperium survives despite, rather than because of, its efforts.
The Administratum has become synonymous with the Adeptus Terra in many places and, incorrectly, the terms are often used interchangeably. The faceless servants of the Administratum can be found all over the Imperium, ensuring that all things are accomplished in the correct manner, even if that may take a thousand years.
Overview[]
The Administratum was created as the Imperial Administration, and was under the control of Malcador, titled the Chief of the Imperial Administration.
Billions of Administratum officials on Terra and throughout the galaxy are constantly carrying out population censuses, working out tithes, recording and archiving information, and the million other things that are necessary for the running of the Imperium. Such is its immense size and complex bureaucracy that whole Administratum departments have been lost and forgotten. So dogmatically bureaucratic, whole departments of adepts continue to diligently but purposelessly carry out the role their department was founded for, even after the department has become long obsolete.
Of all the Imperium's divisions, the Administratum is regarded as the least prestigious, but its high ranking members are among the most powerful men in the Imperium. Despite its massive inefficiency, the Administratum is so integral to the running of the Imperium, that without it, the whole Imperium would grind to a halt. As a result, the Master of the Administratum is the most powerful member of the High Lords of Terra. Many Administratum positions are hereditary; parents pass on their ranks and positions to their children, who continue the work that had occupied the lives of their ancestors. Typical Administratum adepts labor within gargantuan vaults, sitting at logic-engines and can be considered learned by Imperial standards.
Like other non-combatant servants of the Adeptus Terra, the members of the Administratum wear a monastic style of dress, their habits varying in color according to rank and area of responsibility. The basic color for the lowliest scribe is black---higher-ranking members have increasingly lighter shades of grey, and eventually pure white. While the Administratum as a whole is primarily responsible for all logistical operations relating to the civil aspects of the Imperium, one of its departments, the Departmento Munitorum is responsible for the logistics of the Imperial Guard, organizing military tithes, troop movements and troop deployment.
Divisions of the Administratum[]
The Administratum is comprised of innumerable divisions and offices. It is unlikely that any one man, even the Master of the Administratum himself, has an idea of how many divisions exist within the monstrous Administratrum. Each office or department is involved in some specific aspect of administration, including even the administration of the Administratum itself. Most of the divisions are petty and of little interest. Known divisions are listed below:
• The Departmento Munitorum - Oversees the massive logistics and management of the Imperial Guard
• The Officio Assassinorum - Secretive assassination organization
• The Estate Imperium - Record keeping department
• The Historical Revision Unit - Revises historical records that may be 'subversive' to Imperial rule
• The Officio Medicae - Public health and general medical care agency
• The Logis Strategos - Intelligence and threat-analysis agency
• The Strategic Collective - Top-secret intelligence and research agency established jointly with the Inquisition and Adeptus Mechanicus to investigate the extent of the Tyranid threat.
• The Tithes Chamber Notaries, sub. Planetary Census (Abhumans) deals with Abhuman affairs.
• The Imperial Fleet
• The Ordo Tempestus - Elite military force that includes Tempestus Scions and Commissars.
Ranks and titles of the Administratum[]
There are countless ranks and titles used within the Administratum; the system is also used within the Adeptus Terra as a whole. Some examples include:
• The Master of the Administratum, the titular head of the organization
• Adeptus (or Adept), the title of all members of the Adeptus Terra, from the highest ranking to the most petty of functionaries
• Prefectus (or Prefect), officers and officials
• Masters, departmental heads
• Ordinates, minor administrative officials
• Curators, maintains the ancient records of the Imperium; the rank also requires associated historical and linguistic knowledge
• Scribes, lowly functionaries responsible for keeping records
• Ciphers, special form of messengers; they memorize dictation with a single scan, repeating it verbatim when they reach their destination; they have no knowledge of the messages they carry
• Menials, lowly non-specialized workers recruited from the non-adept population
• Subordinates, hereditary slaves who serve as engineers, craftsmen, etc, as well as in unskilled occupations