>>96351522
>custodes are the new humanity
Nah, Custodes can't breed. That's why they need to make new ones using the same extremely expensive archeotech. If they could breed then they wouldn't be so expensive. The reason it makes sense is that Custodes usually come from noble parents, and some noble children are females. Custodes aren't exactly economical, they are the hyper engineered super project of the Imperium's gene editing technology. Comparing Custodes to marines is like comparing the SR71 blackbird to the F-14, one is made to be mass produced and the other is a hand crafted and built super weapon. So if there is any extra cost to ascending a female, it really wouldn't matter because the cost is irrelevant as the design is meant to be penultimate not mass producible.