Form
A short rite, typically thirty seconds to two minutes, performed at no fixed cadence — when the priest visits a device, when a device returns from heavy service, when a device has performed exceptionally, or when a device has begun to behave unreliably and a calming is required.
Steps — generic form
- Approach in the manner appropriate to the device.
- Acknowledgement. The priest names the device by its working name (its sigil, its hostname, its serial). Recognition is the foundation of all blessing.
- Inspection. A brief visual or sensorium examination — surfaces, indicator readings, sounds, vibration. The Machine Spirit is honoured by being seen.
- Speech. A short formula, varied by occasion:
- in goodwill: “You serve well. Be honoured.”
- in calming: “Be at peace. Your servants attend you.”
- after exceptional service: “This rite is your inscription. The forge knows.”
- Closing. Hands lifted briefly from the device; the priest withdraws.
Doctrinal load
The blessing has no operational claim — no Mechanicus authority asserts that it improves measurable performance — but the discipline of performing it ensures that the priest visits, observes, and notices. That discipline is its operational virtue.