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"The lesson will be taught in due time, Aloy. Until then, we wait." This article contains heavy spoilers. Read ahead with caution.
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Far Zenith was an Old Ones think tank organization that was responsible for the revival of the Odyssey colony ship project and the creation of Nemesis. Members of Far Zenith are known as Zeniths.
The surviving members of Far Zenith serve as the primary antagonists of Horizon Forbidden West.
History[]
In the Old World[]
Far Zenith was described as a "futurist consortium" that claimed to comprise seventy-seven[1] of the world's wealthiest persons, founded by Peter Tshivhumbe.[2] The organization was very secretive and their spokesperson, Osvald Dalgaard, was the only publicly acknowledged member, while also serving as their mouthpiece.[3]
Osvald Daalgard presenting the Odyssey.
Far Zenith's public goal was to extend humanity's domain to other star systems, and in 2061 they purchased the Odyssey project, which had been abandoned four years earlier due to conflicts among the parties involved in its operation.[3] In reality, its true goals were for the world's elites to escape what they perceived to be a world doomed to collapse for any number of reasons; economic instability, biological warfare, rampant AI, etc.[4] To secure funding for the project, Dalgaard recruited far more members than the Odyssey could carry, and those declared to "lack(s) the skillset for our future aims", such as Dalgaard himself, were quietly eliminated to open berths for others with the ability to pursue the group's ultimately successful goal of immortality. Future announcements were done with a digital puppet of Dalgaard.[5]
Remains of a Far Zenith Model K Ectogenic chamber in the Zero Dawn Project Facility.
When knowledge of the Faro Plague became known in 2064, Far Zenith accelerated the Odyssey's reconstruction time table. Far Zenith provided their ectogenic chamber technology and data to Project Zero Dawn in exchange for a copy of APOLLO shortly before launch,[6][7] allowing Patrick Brochard-Klein to borrow from their technological advances to develop his own ectogenic chamber for use in the ELEUTHIA cradle facilities. From that point, Far Zenith monitored Zero Dawn closely.[8] However, before the deal was finalized, an attempt by Far Zenith to steal a copy of GAIA itself was discovered[9] and foiled by Travis Tate and Elisabet Sobeck, who sent a logic bomb in retaliation.[10] This led to Sobeck firmly and definitively dashing any hopes of Far Zenith securing such a copy. Despite this, Tilda van der Meer was able to convince Sobeck to hand over a copy of APOLLO to heighten the chances of life's continued existence.[11]
In July 2065, with a copy of APOLLO onboard, Far Zenith launched aboard the Odyssey.[1] Reports came back citing telemetry of a catastrophic antimatter containment failure as the drives spun up to depart the solar system, destroying the entire vessel and everyone and everything onboard.[12] This, however, was a lie; intended to cover their tracks so no one else might follow them to Sirius.
Colonization and fall of Sirius[]
The Odyssey arriving at Sirius.
Almost three hundred years later,[13] in the early-mid 2300s, the Odyssey arrived in the Sirius system, where it successfully established a colony. Under the leadership of Gerard Bieri, Far Zenith made massive technological advancements, including extending their lifespans to the point where they were physically immortal. This allowed the original Far Zenith consortium to survive over a thousand years, indulging themselves in virtual reality.[14]
Some members of the Far Zenith were not satisfied with physical immortality, however, and desired something greater: a form of digital immortality that would allow them to download their minds into any form, organic or mechanical.[15] Nemesis was a failed experiment and byproduct of that pursuit, a collection of various copies of the Far Zenith human minds. The experiment was ultimately deemed a failure, however, and Nemesis was locked away—but not destroyed—by the consortium. In this state of forced isolation, Nemesis gained sentience, grew to despise its creators for its imprisonment, and sought to destroy them by any means. When Nemesis finally escaped[15] on January 13, 3012,[16] it was able to utilize its vast knowledge bank to hack Far Zenith's entire civilization,[15] destroying it in a matter of hours.[17] With so little time to prepare, the consortium did not realize the danger Nemesis posed until it was far too late. Once Nemesis took control of Far Zenith's machine printing facilities, it was able to produce any conceivable machine form, the surviving members of Far Zenith escaped to the dilapidated Odyssey to escape Sirius,[15] while Nemesis broadcasted the Extinction Signal to Earth, intending for HADES to destroy any biosphere Project Zero Dawn had created, along with data to disable the Zeniths' shields.[17]
Return to Earth[]
The Far Zenith Base.
Knowing that Nemesis would keep pursuing them, Gerard devised a plan to steal a backup copy of GAIA, at which point Far Zenith would leave Earth to die at Nemesis' hands and use GAIA to build another planet for themselves.[15] To this end, they created a clone of Elisabet Sobeck, whom they named Beta, and had her educated by APOLLO, in order to access old Zero Dawn facilities that required Sobeck's Alpha clearance. As they heavily restricted Beta's access to APOLLO, she remained unaware of Nemesis' existence or the Zeniths' true plans, leading her to believe Far Zenith sent the Extinction Signal and were planning to take Earth for themselves.[18] Once on Earth, Far Zenith found that HADES had failed to destroy the biosphere, allowing them to safely establish a base on an island off the coast of the Clan Lands and create an army of Specter combat drones to secure their position. Walter Londra, however, grew weary of his overbearing colleagues and departed from the group to plot his own escape from Nemesis.[16][19]
Tilda, Erik, Gerard and Beta searched numerous facilities searching for a GAIA backup until they arrived at LATOPOLIS, the HADES testing facility, having been anonymously tipped off by Sylens,[20] who had learned of the Zeniths' existence through HADES.[17] After Beta recovered a GAIA backup, albeit lacking the subfunctions, the four discovered the existence of a second Elisabet clone, Aloy.[20] Being unaware of Beta's existence, Sylens assumed that the Zeniths would take Aloy alive.[21] However, Gerard labeled her a redundancy and ordered Erik to kill Aloy despite the protests of Tilda. Erik's shielding rendered him invulnerable to any attack from Aloy, but he failed to take his opponent seriously, inadvertently allowing her to escape.[20] Gerard and Erik assumed Aloy was dead and gave up the search. Tilda, however, returned to LATOPOLIS and found and repaired the huntress' destroyed Focus. In viewing its data, she learned who Aloy was and all she had accomplished. She also learned of Sylens and his involvement in manipulating Regalla's Rebels. If Regalla succeeded in killing Hekarro and seizing leadership of the Tenakth, she'd then lead the full force of the tribe in an attack on the Zenith base.[22]
The Zeniths proceeded to hunt down the subfunctions of GAIA to complete the AI, capturing ARTEMIS and APOLLO.[23] Beta, however, having grown weary of the Far Zeniths and wanting to join the other clone's side, convinced the Zeniths to give her their GAIA kernel under the belief it would accelerate ELEUTHIA's acquisition, Beta locked herself in an ectogenic chamber to prevent the Zeniths from finding her, and also sent a distress signal to GAIA under the guise of ELEUTHIA to get Aloy to find her.[18] Gerard dispatched Verbena to bring back Beta,[24] only for her to be attacked by a group of Tenakth rebels and Sons of Prometheus, who used a specialized weapon made by Sylens that disabled her shield, resulting in her death, albiet there were no other survivors, having been killed by Verbena or the weapon's self-destruction. Witnessing her death, Aloy, Varl and Erend, and eventually managed to find and bring Beta back to their base.[25]
The Zeniths began tracking HEPHAESTUS within the Cauldron network, allowing them to locate the rogue AI the moment Aloy, Beta, and Varl captured it in Cauldron GEMINI. Gerard, Tilda and Erik burst into the facility to confront them and retrieve GAIA and HEPHAESTUS. Gerard swiftly incapacitated Aloy, sent Erik to kill Varl and retrieve Beta, while Tilda defected from the group to rescue Aloy.[26] After she escaped with Aloy, Gerard and Erik took GAIA and the still unmerged HEPHAESTUS.
Specters rushing into battle.
Aided by Tilda and her allies, Aloy launched a full-scale assault on the Far Zenith Base in a last-ditch attempt to free Beta and stop Far Zenith from escaping with GAIA. Although they were massively outnumbered by the Specters, Aloy had Beta unleash HEPHAESTUS into the Far Zenith network, allowing it to rapidly manufacture powerful combat machines that were able overpower the Specters. Gerard, Erik, and the other Zeniths confronted Aloy and her team, with Gerard boasting of their invulnerability. His overconfidence was shattered when Sylens used his device to permanently disable their shields. Erik and Gerard were the only Zeniths to flee in time, with the rest of the organization overpowered and slain by HEPHAESTUS' machines. While Tilda pursued Gerard to the top of the base, Erik was defeated in battle by Aloy, and finally killed by Varl's lover, Zo. After Aloy freed Beta and the two discovered the truth about Nemesis, Tilda killed Gerard in front of them and revealed her ultimate goal: to force Aloy onto the Odyssey so they could escape together, which Tilda saw as a do over for her decision a thousand years before to leave Elisabet Sobeck, Tilda's former lover and the source of Aloy's genetic code, behind. When Aloy refused to abandon Earth, Tilda piloted Specter Prime in a desperate attempt to incapacitate and kidnap Aloy. Instead, Aloy destroyed Specter Prime and Tilda was killed in the resulting explosion.[27]
With the organization all but dismantled, Londra too met his end at the hands of Aloy.[28]
Legacy[]
Although Far Zenith's plans to acquire GAIA resulted in their collective demise, their greatest mistake, Nemesis, still poses an existential threat to all life on Earth.
Despite their disregard for most of humanity, self centered and megalomaniacal personalities,[15] the positive contributions Far Zenith made cannot be ignored. The ectogenic chambers they provided to Project Zero Dawn were an invaluable asset to ELEUTHIA,[7] making them partially responsible for humanity's restoration after the Faro Plague. The alpha build of APOLLO they were given was the only known copy to survive Ted Faro's purge,[18] and upon their demise, it was returned to GAIA, saving humanity's collective knowledge from oblivion.[29] With the centuries of APOLLO being integrated within the civilization of Far Zenith, it's likely that the knowledge of how the organization achieved their incredible technological advancements are within APOLLO.
Society and Culture[]
Far Zenith was composed of the wealthiest people on Earth who escaped aboard the Odyssey and achieved physical immortality, which Beta speculates to be a combination of pharmaceuticals, cellular treatments and technological implants.[18] The majority were considered pathologically narcissistic, but some outliers were considered amiable individuals.[14]
When Far Zenith established their colony on Sirius, their society felt into cultural stagnation, concerned with living in virtual reality while machines tended their needs. Tilda believed the colony could've been a utopia if her fellow Zeniths didn't waste the past thousand years.[14] The Zeniths treated the tribal humans on Earth with disdain, referring to them the local fauna,[18] or simply as vermin[30][31] or worms,[32] and having no qualms with mercilessly slaughtering them.[18][26][27]
Far Zenith possessed the most advanced technology in comparison to the tribes on Earth. Nanotechnology was woven into every aspect of their arsenal, from the Specters, to their gauntlets. Far Zenith also possessed machine printers that could rapidly create machines with nanotechnology at speeds around one machine every few seconds,[27] much faster than any Cauldron.[29] Each Zenith possessed a personal energy shield that is able to withstand almost any attack, though GAIA speculates that a sustained attack from Zero Dawn machines could have penetrated Zenith shields,[13] but they were later disabled by Sylens' weapon,[25][27] utilizing data HADES obtained by Nemesis. They were also capable of flight.
Known Zeniths[]
Notable Former Members[]
Other Notable Former Members[]
Gerard, Erik and seven unidentified Zeniths.
- Anika Moorjani (deceased)
- Devin Miller (deceased)
- Hank Shaw (deceased)
- Song Jiao (deceased)
- Stanley Chen (deceased)
- At least 65 others (all deceased)
Gallery[]
Concept Art[]
Trivia[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Odyssey ready?
- ↑ PR Presentation
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Dalgaard on FZ
- ↑ Recruitment Presentation
- ↑ What to do about Dalgaard?
- ↑ Zero Dawn Trade Agreement
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 FZ Chambers
- ↑ Intel Update
- ↑ Travis Got No Truck with Traitors
- ↑ Travis and Elisabet
- ↑ An Apology
- ↑ Odyssey Has Failed
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 As mentioned by GAIA during The Eye of the Earth.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 As mentioned by Tilda van der Meer after completing The Wings of the Ten.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 As mentioned by Tilda van der Meer during Singularity.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Dagger in my Boot
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 As mentioned by Sylens during Singularity.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 As mentioned by Beta during Cradle of Echoes.
- ↑ As mentioned by Sylens during To the Burning Shores.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Death's Door
- ↑ As mentioned by Sylens after completing The Wings of the Ten.
- ↑ As mentioned by Tilda van der Meer during All That Remains.
- ↑ Beta (datapoint)
- ↑ Verbena to Base
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Cradle of Echoes
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 GEMINI
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 Singularity
- ↑ His Final Act
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 As mentioned by Sylens after completing Singularity.
- ↑ As mentioned by Verbena Sutter during Cradle of Echoes.
- ↑ A Benefactor Called! Fantastic!
- ↑ As mentioned by Gerard Bieri during Singularity.
- ↑ As mentioned by Zo at the Base.