Manual of the Planes

twelve squads (each with twelve troops and a noncommissionedofficer called an NCO) and three officers.Each of the eight regular companies in a regiment isfurther divided into two wings plus a headquartersunit. Special units of messengers, shock troops, and thelike may also be attached to a company’s headquarters.In all, a standard regiment consists of 70 officers, 192NCOs, 252 messengers, and 2,628 line troops, for a totalof 3,142 modrons.Despite the regimented order of their armies, modronsdo not fare as well in war as other planar beings.When it comes to combat and the sheer cruelty thatoften accompanies warfare, modrons usually come outthe losers.THE GREAT MARCHOnce every Grand Cycle (seventeen cycles, each ofwhich is about seventeen years—the time it takes forthe largest gear on Mechanus to turn once), a horde ofmodrons spills out of Mechanus and marches throughthe planes. Why? Nobody knows for sure, although itseems as if they’re gathering information as theymarch.The modrons cause all kinds of havoc in the planesthrough which they march. They don’t stop for anyoneor anything, trampling right through towns and overany inhabitants who are too slow to get out of the way.It is ironic that these lawful automatons can be thecause of so much chaos. When they reach the LowerPlanes, the conflict begins in earnest, with the inhabitantsattacking the invaders from Regulus every step ofthe way.When the much-reduced force returns toMechanus, the few remaining troops march straightto their superiors to report. What they say in thismeeting is the subject of much speculation: Someclaim that they report on the progress of the modroninvasion; others insist that they merely describe thestate of the planes. Granted, this seems a difficultway to gather knowledge, but perhaps the modronmind sees some particular logic about it. Whateverthe case, the report is inexplicable to everyoneexcept modrons.Over the centuries, the inhabitants of the other planeshave grown accustomed to the March. PreviousMarches are well documented, and an adventurous fewhave roughed out some of the probable routes forupcoming ones.OTHER CREATURES OFREGULUSThe modrons share Regulus with two other unusualcreatures: the moignos and the coggles. These creatureshave their own functions within the rigid structure ofmodron society.MoignosNext to modrons, the most common creatures in Regulusare moignos, two-dimensional mathematical constructsthat act as calculators for modrons. The tiny,strange moignos are devoted to finding the exact valueof pi, which is widely acknowledged as an endless task.During pauses in this endeavor, they also perform avariety of calculations regarding gear movements andpass this information on to the modrons.CogglesCoggles resemble the great, coglike gears ofMechanus. They move about the plane at will, addingthemselves to the workings of Mechanus here andthere for short periods, then moving on. Coggles rangein size from only a few hundred feet to almost a mileacross. A large one can serve as a transport for an entirebattalion of modrons. They may serve other purposes aswell, though these are beyond the comprehension ofthose not native to Mechanus. Coggles can speak andunderstand the modron tongue.5