Quote: (Moscovian @ 29 May 2009, 11:25 )
What ePilgrim is saying is that the Demiurg ARE (on a genetic level anyway) Squats.  We're getting into minutia here and churning to the surface a lot of creative ideas that we're hoping to present later, but suffice to say...
There isn't enough OFFICIAL material on the Demiurg to classify them as NOT related to the Squats or as related to the Squats.  It isn't off-canon because there is no canon.  And based on Jervis' comments there will never be anything canon (at least for the foreseeable future).  His comments don't legitimize the work on the Demiurg, but they do justify the ability to work on a blank slate that GW never intends to use.
Trust me, I would never allow the work to go to print if I felt it would be contradictory to GW IP.  This is one of the fundamentals of our amateur printing guidelines that we must follow (no friendly Dark Eldars drinking beers with Space Marines, no Commissars allowed to become officers in Tyranid armies, etc.). ÂÂ
If anyone can find OFFICIAL GW references to the Demiurg in any capacity, then please email or PM to me and I'll share it with the group.  If it affects the project, so be it.
Obviously the best source is BFG Armada.
There's very little there, but enough for me to conclude that the Demiurg are a separate, Xeno species rather than abhumans. They're referred to as "Aliens" several times, and Imperials would never refer to abhumans as aliens.
"Unfortunately, less than scrupulous planetary governors have been known to employ Demiurg forces to bolster their own positions, inviting Inquisitorial censure for their truck with
aliens."
"Aside from the Tau, who appear to have the strongest known connection with the Demiurg, a number of races have on occassion been reported as having made contact with these
aliens.
"“They are
aliens, granted."
It also mentions how they "avoid Imperium-claimed space scrupulously unless specifically invited in."
Interestingly, there's nothing in Armada to even suggest they have a dwarf-like stature.
As you say, there's nothing
definitive to say they're not related to the squats, but no evidence at all that they are. They're just as likely to be related to the vespid.