S Engine

S Engines are a category of technology designed to transmute certain souls into technological devices and/or materialise souls.

Description
The term 'S Engine' refers to a category of technological devices, and as such can vary wildly in shape and design, but all such devices share common components. An S Engine possesses a 'binder' that is a device for holding the soul in place, alongside a transmutation device (usually consisting of specialised Brethren Orbs or Void based technological devices such as Protean Husk patterns) and a chamber for the transmutation to take place. The size of these devices and chambers can range from microscopic all the way to AU and light-year sized megastructures, depending on what they are meant to transmute. Anything larger requires an array of such megastructures to convert. S Engines are known to have no effect on any being with specific measures protecting their soul, including beings that have been implanted with a Godseed.

History
The S engines have been in existence since the first forays of the old Brethren into universes outside of the Timeless Eternities. During the initial waves of expansion, the Brethren took several species as client races. Among these were the species known as the Inda, whom had a strong tradition of ancestor worship, and were able to commune and even phsyically interact with the souls of their departed. By the time the Brethren had arrived within their territory the Inda had long since lost the ability to commune and interact with their dead. In return for sovereignty over the Inda, the Brethren agreed to find a way for them to interact with their deceased.

Among the foremost proposals on how such could be done was the materialisation of souls, granting them a physical presence and thus the ability to interact with the physical world. Such metaphysical constructs are usually formed of some kind of energy with little ability to directly interact with the physical world, and thus granted little use once the original physical vessel has been destroyed or lost function. The first successful results of this research were the original S engines, which could grant soul a physical presence by materialising it. Inda souls once again became able to interact with their living cousins.

With this achieved, the Inda were integrated under the first Brethren empires. For a time, these devices were seen as sacred and thus were heavily regulated, given their purpose and function. The demands of civil war, however wore away at these regulations and during the First Aeon War these engines were repurposed for warfare.

The first major advancement in modifying these engines occured during the leadup to the First Aeon War, when an arms race between the future combatants was executed to its fullest. The S Engines were now relooked at, now that research into metaphysical augmentation was being accelerated. This accelerated research led to the ability for the materialised souls to be converted into technological devices, ones which retained all the abilities and powers of the souls alongside their intelligence. The results of such conversions rapidly became used as intelligent weapon systems subservient to the ones that converted them. Such systems demonstrated great effectiveness in the First Aeon War and the conflicts that followed it, resulting in one of the most widely used technologies of the Weave.

Mechanism
The S engine transmutes a soul loaded in the transmutation chamber into a durable, regenerative and translucent substance by using a dedicated Protean Husk pattern or Brethren Orb. This material is impervious to kinetic impact and heat transfer, while still vulnerable to reality warping abilities and effects. This substance is extremely versatile, able to be formed into processors, sensors and other complex technology. The material most important aspect of this material, however, is that it can greatly enhance any prior qualities of the transmuted soul such as abilities and powers. These are augmented to an extent exceeding the abilities exhibited by fully fledged Transcends and matured Old Brethren, allowing the resulting device being more effective at its intended function than most other methods available within the Weave and its remnants.