Do Space Marines Die of Old Age?

[Nabterayl]

Are they? Not even the original Dark Angels were sure how many Fallen "escaped" into the Warp. Ten thousand years later they are still hunting an unknown number of "traitors" whose identities were never certain to begin with, and they justify this by pointing to the prisoners who confess, at point of torture, to being Fallen.

I'm convinced :P

But seriously, who knows where the Fallen, assuming any are left, spend their time?

[Alpha Omega Protocol]

well you have a point. However in the second omnibus of space wolves there is a fallen dark angel that is hunted. Anyone know approximate time frame of that story in the warhammer 40k timeline? Book: SONS OF FENRIS is the book in the second omnibus. So there is proof. ^.^

[Dlatrex]

Well, I'm not sure about these super long lived marines you guys speak of... I've always thought Dante was the oldest canon marine?
As for the immortality question - yes.
Marines are functionally immortal, they don't die merely continue on, although their effectiveness in combat seems to drop past their 4th or 5th century nowadays except in rare cases it seems.
The original founding marines were probably as the Emperor intended - immortal, unendingly tough and the perfect shock troops. 10,000 years on I reckon the Mechs struggle to keep the process going as well as He did.

This is kind of tangential to the discussion at hand, but it is worth mentioning that even when their body appears to be 'failing' they can still be apparently immortal due to the Sus-an Membrane

Initially implanted above the brain, this membrane eventually merges with the recipient's entire brain. Ineffective without follow-up chemical therapy and training, but with sufficient training a Space Marine can use this implant to enter a state of suspended animation, consciously or as an automatic reaction to extreme trauma, keeping the Marine alive for years, even if he has suffered otherwise mortal wounds. Only the appropriate chemical therapy or auto-suggestion can revive a Marine from this state. The longest recorded period spent in suspended animation was undertaken by Brother Silas Err of the Dark Angels, who was revived after 567 years.

[Cpt Codpiece]

Aren't you guys forgetting the Fallen? Those dark angels that betrayed the lion? They are still alive or the Dark Angels chapter would've stop going after them already...

the fallen may not all be 10k+ years old though, they were thrown, through time and space. so some of them the heresy was happening yesterday.
where as others appeared only a short time from the heresy.
again my theory of t'chulka the warp engine at play, throwing the 'loyal' (to the lion) troops away from caliban and its traitors to save the lion from hurting (t'chulka is shown to have an emotional bond/crush on the lion). thus the reason for the interrogators and the 'hunt' for the fallen and covering up the tracks.

but that all has nothing to do with the functional immortality as explained in 1ksons and i think galaxy in flames (though it may have been fulgrim...... yeah i think it was, as its a marine telling the tale to the remembrancer which states marines have not died of old age, only war).

i really dont see how this debate is still going, it has been stated that in multiple books of the HH series that marines do not die of old age. and in current codex canon dante and cassius are the oldest non-dreadnaught loyalist marines alive.

[Wolfshade]

the fallen may not all be 10k+ years old though, they were thrown, through time and space. so some of them the heresy was happening yesterday.

Damn beat me to it!

[pgarfunkle]

I've always thought of the Marines as exceptionally long lived rather than immortal. To a normal human they would appear immortal as they would not age significantly over a humans lifespan.

During the Heresy they referred to themselves as immortal as they were all only a few hundred years old at a maximum and generally died from combat before they noticed any aging. Having said that however the Heresy books do mention some of the oldest Marines who as they have aged have slowed and become slightly less formidable compared to their younger "brothers".

Therefore as the marines become older and less formidable they are more likely to be killed in combat reinforcing the idea that they don't die of old age.

I reconcile this with the Blood Angels being the oldest lived marines through the idea that they do not age as fast as other marines and so maintain their vitality longer enabling them to function at full strength and survive for longer. (Of course the longest lived idea did originally come from the vampire in space idea but has become less applicable as all marines came to be view as immortal as the fluff/story/etc was fleshed out).