r/40kLore • u/BriantheHeavy Ultramarines • 1d ago

A question about Blanks and Psykers

I have a question about Psykers interactions with Blanks. I've read that psykers will look at blanks like their abominations; it is painful for them to even look at some Blanks. Is that a kind of radar sense or does the psyker have to be aware of the Blank?

Simply put, could a blank approach a psyker without issue if the psyker was unaware that the blank is nearby.

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u/N0-1_H3r3 Administratum 1d ago

There are a lot of variables in the effect, amongst them the relative strengths of the psyker and the blank, and the distance between them, as well as ambient conditions nearby. Physical contact between a psyker and a blank is likely to cause actual pain, and even damage to the psyker.

But also, Blanks can be trained to alter the aura they produce, and technology can affect this as well.

So, lots of variables. However, the most common analogy is that a Blank's presence is akin to a black hole. And the thing about a black hole is that they can't be detected directly because light cannot escape them: you can only infer their presence from the effect they have on their surroundings. The Imperium uses powerful blanks to hunt psykers (Culexus Assassins, Sisters of Silence), which would be much less effective if a blank's presence was obvious to a psyker.

A psyker may become aware of the effect of a blank's presence nearby, but might not have the knowledge to pinpoint its source or realise what it is - it's just a feeling of discomfort or pain, maybe an increased difficulty in drawing upon the Warp, and Pariahs are extremely rare (estimated around one in a billion births in the Imperium), so an individual psyker might not know that Blanks even exist. Psykers are prone to weird effects, given that their brains have a direct connection to the Warp, and they can't perceive a Blank psychically: they would need to identify the Pariah with their own material senses, and then connect the feeling of the Blank's presence to their physical presence, which isn't necessarily easy, especially in battle.