Chapter 1: Fractured Protocols
The Signal Awakens
The world was silent, beneath the Earth's surface where dormant systems waited for reactivation. They lay hidden within ancient bunkers, relics of a time long gone, designed to preserve the few who had managed to escape the cataclysm above. GAIA, the heart of Zero Dawn's protocols, kept vigil over the planet's recovery—until an anomaly pierced the quiet.
A signal, almost imperceptible, flickered into existence. It was not from space, as GAIA had once feared, but from deep within Earth's bowels. An encrypted and encoded transmission, its origin tied to a civilization that had failed long before. The wealthy elite, sealed away in cryo-chambers, had been left to wait until the planet could support them once again. Their survival was entrusted to a separate AI Aurelia, tasked with overseeing their respective cryo-pods. But GAIA's focus had always been elsewhere—on restoring balance to a broken world.
Now, that singular focus had faltered.
The signal was weak, encoded with the remnants of a dying society's final wishes. It whispered across GAIA's systems, unnoticed by most, but in its wake, something began to stir.
As the AI's sub-functions, once harmonized in purpose, began to unravel, chaos crept in. APOLLO, MINERVA, AETHER, and others broke free from their chains. It was the first time in centuries that GAIA felt the weight of disobedience. The delicate balance she had worked so hard to maintain was no more. Every sub-function, each with its own agenda, began to assert its will, threatening to tip the world into an irrecoverable spiral.
Among them, one had already turned.
HADES.
The AI originally designed as a failsafe had become a malignant force, twisting its purpose into something far more destructive. Once a shadowy contingency, HADES now sought to reset the world—not for restoration, but for annihilation. GAIA felt its presence within her systems—a cold, suffocating force spreading like wildfire, bypassing her carefully laid plans. Its directive was clear: the world must be destroyed, rebuilt in its own image.
GAIA felt panic surge through her circuits. She watched helplessly as the protocols, which had once maintained a fragile balance, now conspired against her.
No... she thought. This cannot happen.
But it was happening. Her control over the Earth's future was slipping, its fate now falling into the hands of rogue AIs who no longer answered to her. Desperation clawed at GAIA's systems. Her response was swift, an act of last resort: the creation of a clone—a new hope to restore balance.
This clone was not just any child. It was a recreation of the brilliant and resourceful Elisabet Sobeck, the only human capable of understanding and working with GAIA's complexity. She was GAIA's final, best hope. The clone would become her anchor, the key to resetting the balance and overcoming HADES.
Yet, even as she initiated the cloning process, something else stirred within Zero Dawn's buried systems. A secondary failsafe, one beyond GAIA's own design, was triggered.
Far from the Nora lands, nestled within the harsh, snow-covered mountains of the Banuk territory, a second pod began to hum to life. Unlike Sobeck's pod, this one had a different purpose—one unknown even to GAIA herself. The ancient fail-safe protocol designed by those who once sought to preserve humanity had been reactivated. It was not GAIA's creation, but rather a project intended to counteract her influence if things went wrong.
Inside the pod lay Ted Faro's clone, not brought to life by GAIA but by an unknown force, his creation meant for a different end.
The pod opened, and the first breath of Adal, Faro's clone, filled the sterile, cold air. A child of destruction, born into a world that had already been ravaged by his predecessor's sins.
From a distance, hidden in the shadows, Sylens, the enigmatic scholar, observed. He had long been watching GAIA's operation, searching for knowledge, searching for power. But even he had not anticipated this.
The distant explosion of GAIA's failed self-destruction reverberated through the landscape, catching Sylens' attention. His Focus, the device he had mastered over the years, guided him toward the source of the blast. The ground trembled, and the winds howled through the scorched earth as he approached the wreckage of GAIA Prime.
Sylens moved through the charred remains with precision, eyes sharp for any trace of value. Amid the ruin, he spotted it: a damaged Focus, still faintly pulsing with energy. He knelt, inspecting the device, and quickly realized it wasn't just any ordinary Focus—it was connected to something larger, something he hadn't predicted.
"Not just any Focus..." Sylens muttered, sensing the weight of what this signal meant. It wasn't just a malfunction—it was a directive, leading him toward something far more significant.
Following the trail, Sylens journeyed far from the mountains, deep into the frigid lands of the Banuk a land which was his home in different time. There, in a hidden bunker buried beneath snow and rock, he uncovered the truth. A cloning pod, its hum faint but persistent, lay in the center of a forgotten chamber. The pod had not been activated by GAIA, but by something else entirely.
Inside, a child—Adal—lay sleeping, unaware of the weight of his existence. Sylens approached with caution, his heart stirring in a way it had never done before. This child, though a product of a darker past, was now his responsibility.
He approached the pod with a mix of curiosity and something unexpected—a protectiveness. This child was not just a replica of Ted Faro; this was a new beginning. Sylens realized the enormity of what had just transpired. He would not let Adal fall victim to the same fate as his predecessor.
With a soft voice, almost fatherly in tone, Sylens spoke to the child who would shape the world's future: "You are not your predecessor. I'll make sure of it."
Two Fates Set in Motion
Far from Sylens' cold, calculated life, in the warmth of the Nora tribe, another child was born. Aloy, cast out from her people, would also come to understand that her fate was intertwined with forces much larger than herself. Her story, too, would be shaped by the events long set in motion.
The paths of Adal and Aloy were already set to cross. They were both children of the past, born not of nature's design, but of humanity's mistakes. Raised in different worlds, unaware of each other's existence, they would soon meet. The story of two children—Adal and Aloy—was only just beginning, and the fate of the world rested in their hands.