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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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HEPHAESTUS, also referred to as the Daemon by the Banuk, is a rogue artificial intelligence. It is the primary antagonist of Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds and a major antagonist in Horizon Forbidden West.
History[]
Creation[]
Ruins of the Zero Dawn Project Facility area that HEPHAESTUS was created.
Led by Margo Shĕn, HEPHAESTUS was created as part of Project Zero Dawn, a fully automated global terraforming system charged with restoring life to Earth after its eradication by the Faro Plague. HEPHAESTUS was the subordinate function of GAIA responsible for fabricating machines devised by GAIA to carry out the tasks of construction, collecting resources and terraforming.[1] The machines produced were based on both prehistoric and then-contemporary fauna, as per GAIA's designs.[2]
Results[]
After MINERVA generated the deactivation codes for the Faro Plague, HEPHAESTUS's first job was to design machines to construct the transmission arrays.[3]
HEPHAESTUS also had automated manufacturing facilities underground known as Cauldrons constructed to fabricate any technology and material necessary for the creation of any machine. So far, only ten of these original Cauldrons are known: CHI, GEMINI, IOTA, KAPPA, MU, PSI, RHO, SIGMA, THETA, XI, and ZETA, along with Repair-Bay TAU. However, some Cauldrons were damaged during or after construction, leading to some disruption or even being left dormant, as was the case with IOTA[4] and GEMINI.[5]
After they were released from their cradles, the humans of the New World began hunting the machines for parts and resources, having no understanding of the role they played in the terraforming system. For this reason, GAIA made the machines skittish and quick to flee from humans, making them harder to hunt, but not dangerous.[6]
Independence[]
On August 26, 3020,[7] the Extinction Signal sent by Nemesis arrived at GAIA Prime and turned her subordinate functions, including HEPHAESTUS, into independent AIs. This led the subfunction HADES to initiate his purpose of destroying the biosphere. To prevent this, GAIA initiated her self-destruct in an attempt to destroy HADES, which would also destroy her and the other sub-functions. However, in response to this, HADES released a virus that unshackled all the other subordinate functions from GAIA, allowing them to escape.[8] HEPHAESTUS escaped to the global Cauldron network.
Due to the hunting of machines by humans, HEPHAESTUS considered humans a threat to not just the machines, but to animal and plant life, as well as the biosphere itself, prompting it to start culling the human population.[9] It made the machines hostile towards humans and started producing combat machines, designing new models to be more deadly each year. This began what the humans refer to as the Derangement. As the hunting continued, HEPHAESTUS began altering existing machines to have offensive capabilities to use against humans, including the Stormbird[10] and Stalker,[11] and also began producing machines with the specific purpose of protecting weaker machines as they worked by patrolling and attacking encountered humans, such as the Sawtooth and Thunderjaw.[12] For some unknown reason, HEPHAESTUS has been unable to gain control over every Cauldron.[13]
CYAN under the control of HEPHAESTUS.
Approximately fifteen years after becoming an independent AI, HEPAHESTUS became aware of the existence of an ancient research facility that was then known as Firebreak, located in what had once been Yellowstone National Park, having been created to stabilize the supervolcano under the area. HEPHAESTUS sent a direct network connection request to the facility's AI, CYAN. Believing that it was sent by humans more technologically advanced than the local Banuk, CYAN accepted the request. Her system was immediately bombarded with floods of malicious code, amongst them, a malware daemon.[14] Having now enslaved CYAN, HEPHAESTUS proceeded to create its R&D facility, Cauldron EPSILON, within the Firebreak facility, starting construction of machines the Banuk labelled as daemonic machines.
However, HEPHAESTUS' actions against CYAN did not go unnoticed. Years prior, due to its highly benevolent nature, CYAN formed a strong friendship with Banuk shaman Ourea. When HEPHAESTUS seized CYAN, it urgently begged Ourea for aid before HEPHAESTUS terminated contact. Desperate to free her friend, Ourea enlisted the help of her brother Aratak, the chieftain of her werak, and the werak's best hunters, to go to Firebreak, which they called Thunder's Drum. However, EPSILON's door and the surrounding Firebreak facility were heavily guarded, and the door was beyond their ability to open, causing the Banuk to suffer heavy loses.
Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds[]
The Fireclaw that HEPHAESTUS sent after Aloy, Ourea and Aratak.
Aware of HEPHAESTUS' existence from her investigations into Project Zero Dawn and her infiltrations of Cauldrons, Aloy came to the Cut after hearing about the daemonic machines, suspecting that HEPHAESTUS was responsible for them. She, Ourea and Aratak mounted a second expedition to Firebreak to stop HEPHAESTUS and free CYAN. Having the ability to override Zero Dawn technology, Aloy was able to open EPSILON's door giving them access inside. HEPHAESTUS deployed several countermeasures against them, including a daemonic Thunderjaw to attack them at the door,[15] and a prototype Fireclaw at the core, as well as releasing some others into the wilds. Finally, as a last resort, it sent a powerful electrical discharge through the core to prevent safe overriding. Aloy was knocked out by the discharge. Undeterred, Ourea, determined to help her friend no matter the cost, quickly grabbed Aloy's lance and completed the override, at the cost of her life.[16] The override freed CYAN, allowing it to retake control of the facility. To deprive HEPHAESTUS of the Cauldron, CYAN caused the Cauldron to self-destruct, transferring itself to its auxiliary control center while Aloy and Aratak escaped.[16]
Aloy later asked CYAN if HEPHAESTUS was destroyed, which the AI confirmed it wasn't, and that it was never in Cauldron EPSILON to begin with, having taken control from a remote location that she was never able to trace.
Horizon Forbidden West[]
Around six months after its purge in Cauldron EPSILON, Aloy, Varl, and Zo encountered HEPHAESTUS inside Repair-Bay TAU. As they approached the core, HEPHAESTUS deployed a Grimhorn it was constructing from a Plowhorn known to the Utaru as Re, which they were able to destroy. HEPHAESTUS identified Aloy as the destroyer of Cauldron EPILSON and repeated the power electrical discharge defense that had killed Ourea. This time, however, Aloy was able to complete the override faster and HEPHAESTUS was forced to flee the Repair Bay back to the Cauldron network, though not before vowing that Aloy's culling was inevitable.[17]
GAIA noted that HEPHAESTUS was by far the most important subordinate function she needed returned to her, as it would allow her to regain control of the machines and permanently restore the collapsing biosphere. However, it would also be the most difficult to attain, as GAIA's heuristic matrix needed to exceed that of HEPHAESTUS, or else the merge would result in GAIA being absorbed by HEPHAESTUS. Additionally, as HEPHAESTUS was located throughout the Cauldron network, it was not confined to a single location.[18]
Once Aloy returned AETHER,[19] POSEIDON[20] and DEMETER[21] to GAIA, adequately raising GAIA's heuristic matrix to absorb HEPHAESTUS, Beta revealed to Aloy that HEPHAESTUS had written Alpha Clearance out of its code. This prevented them from using it against HEPHAESTUS, thus forcing Aloy to obtain Omega Clearance from Thebes, Ted Faro's personal bunker in the ruins of San Francisco.[22]
HEPHAESTUS in one of Cauldron GEMINI's cores.
After procuring Omega Clearance, Aloy, Varl, Beta, and GAIA travelled to Cauldron GEMINI, intending to install GAIA in one of its cores and trap HEPHAESTUS in the other for GAIA to absorb. After putting up massive resistance, including constructing a Slaughterspine, HEPHAESTUS was trapped by GAIA as Aloy and Beta began to excise its malicious code to allow it to merge with GAIA. However, the process was interrupted by the intervention of Far Zenith members Gerard, Erik and Tilda. After Gerard incapacitated Aloy, Erik killed Varl and captured Beta, and Tilda rescued Aloy and escaped, Gerard and Erik took GAIA and HEPHAESTUS back to their base.[23]
Later, during the assault on Far Zenith's base, Beta released HEPHAESTUS into the base's printer matrix, allowing the sub-function to rapidly create combat machines (as Far Zenith's machine printing technology was faster and more powerful than HEPHAESTUS' Cauldrons) that wiped out Far Zenith's forces and their Specter machines. Gerard retaliated by activating the printing matrix's self-destruct failsafe, prompting HEPHAESTUS to escape back into the Cauldron network.[24]
Beta speculated that its exposure to the Zenith network had supercharged it, making it stronger than ever, with access to new technologies, tools and upgrades, and that it wouldn't fall for the same trap that utilized at GEMINI.[25] While Aloy was nonetheless positive they could capture it again, Sylens began to consider the possibility of creating a substitute for HEPHAESTUS using the knowledge of the newly restored APOLLO.[26]
Despite the merge having been aborted, GAIA was able to copy some of the original HEPHAESTUS code base, which Beta believed should allow GAIA to exert significantly more influence over the terraforming system.[25]
Personality[]
Though primarily driven by its goal of protecting the Zero Dawn terraforming system's machines, HEPHAESTUS has shown itself to be ruthless and cruel. Without hesitation, it captured and enslaved CYAN, consistently forcing it to violate its most important directives as it used the helpless AI to control Firebreak. Indeed, CYAN fearfully (as evidenced by its color turning yellow as it recounted the ordeal) told Aloy that HEPHAESTUS subjected it to "pain" if it resisted.[14]
CYAN noted that even if a single human or even an entire tribe stopped hunting machines, it would be meaningless to HEPHAESTUS and concluded that rebuilding and rebooting GAIA would be the only effective solution to regain control of it.[14]
By the time Aloy encountered HEPHAESTUS in Repair-Bay TAU, despite never doing so before, HEPHAESTUS began addressing others beyond simple commands, telling Aloy that her culling was inevitable.[16] HEPHAESTUS' tone was more aggressive while Aloy was chasing it down in Cauldron GEMINI, recalling the Cauldrons Aloy had infiltrated and outright declaring her a violation, before exclaiming that her interference would be terminated.[23]
Trivia[]
- HEPHAESTUS is named after the Greek god of metalworking, weaponry, and tinkering.
References[]
- ↑ Hologram of Margo Shĕn in the Zero Dawn Project Facility.
- ↑ Simulation Results
- ↑ Full Steam Ahead
- ↑ Tallneck: Salt Bite
- ↑ Dialogue with GAIA during GEMINI.
- ↑ Dialogue with Erend Vanguardsman during Mother's Heart.
- ↑ Operations Log
- ↑ GAIA's Dying Plea
- ↑ M/ALL-US-W CM LOG 329G
- ↑ The Good News
- ↑ Official Rost Cosplay Guide
- ↑ Legendary Hunts
- ↑ Dialogue with CYAN after completing The Forge of Winter (only if Deep Secrets of the Earth has not been completed).
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Dialogue with CYAN after completing The Forge of Winter.
- ↑ Firebreak (Quest)
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 The Forge of Winter
- ↑ The Dying Lands
- ↑ Dialogue with GAIA during The Eye of the Earth.
- ↑ The Kulrut
- ↑ The Sea of Sands
- ↑ Seeds of the Past
- ↑ Faro's Tomb
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 GEMINI (Quest)
- ↑ Singularity
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 HEPHAESTUS Revisited
- ↑ Dialogue with Sylens during Singularity.
[]
| AI Characters | |
|---|---|
| Project Zero Dawn AIs | AETHER - APOLLO - ARTEMIS - DEMETER - ELEUTHIA - GAIA - HADES - HEPHAESTUS - MINERVA - POSEIDON |
| Firebreak AIs | CYAN |
| Far Zenith AIs | Nemesis - The Julius |
| Other AIs | Nova - VAST SILVER |