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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.

"Perhaps Tilda didn't adequately define the threat. Nemesis can't be stopped."
Sylens

Nemesis, initially known as the Masters,[1] is the main antagonist in the Horizon franchise.

History[]

"Back on Sirius some of my peers weren't satisfied with physical immortality. They wanted digital transcendence a way to upload their minds into any form, organic or mechanical. Nemesis was a failed experiment to that effect, abandoned - but never erased. An immense database of our memories, emotions, and prejudices, left to fester."
Tilda van der Meer

Some of the Far Zenith colonists on Sirius were not satisfied with the physical immortality they had achieved, wanting digital transcendence, a way to "upload their minds into any form, organic or mechanical."[2] Nemesis is the byproduct of one such failed attempt to create a digital database of Far Zenith minds,[2] with Walter Londra being the only confirmed Zenith to have participated in the experiment.[3] Nemesis was contained and left intact, but ultimately abandoned.[2]

Unbeknownst to the colonists, Nemesis eventually gained sentience and became vengeful after spending decades with nothing but "the twisted echoes of its megalomaniac creators for company." On January 13, 3012, Nemesis eventually escaped and used the memories of the Zeniths against them by hacking their systems, printing machines,[2] and destroying the colony in a matter of hours.[4] It killed Zeniths in various ways, from venting the airlocks, to hacking Specters, to suffocating them with their own personal shields.[3] The thirteen surviving Zeniths were forced to flee to the Odyssey and travel back to Earth.

GAIA's Dying Plea

GAIA's representation of the Extinction Signal.

To prevent the Zeniths from finding refuge on Earth, Nemesis began broadcasting the Extinction Signal to GAIA Prime to awaken give sentience to HADES, which would then execute its extinction protocol to destroy Earth's biosphere and render it uninhabitable,[2] as well as data as to how disable the Zeniths' shields.[4] While HADES was the only subordinate function intended to be made sentient, the Extinction Signal gave all the subordinate functions sentience.[5] Nemesis kept broadcasting the Extinction Signal for 17.22 years,[6] until it received notice from HADES that it had failed.[5] Not willing to let Far Zenith get away, it manifested into a machine, or a swarm of them,[7] in order to chase them to Earth.

Horizon Forbidden West[]

Sylens learned of Nemesis during his interrogation of HADES.[1][8] However, when found by Aloy, HADES was no longer able to recall any details about Nemesis due to its memory structures disintegrating as a side effect of Sylens' interrogation.[9]

0513

Aloy looking at a hologram of Nemesis.

Aloy and Beta learned of Nemesis from Tilda after defeating Far Zenith,[10] who went onto tell their companions. Aloy sent Erend, Zo, Kotallo and Alva out to tell their respective tribes about Nemesis and request help.[10]

Despite its mission to eradicate Far Zenith being effectively complete, Nemesis is still on its way to Earth with the intention of destroying it, likely unaware of the events that have transpired since HADES' initial failure. Despite his belief that Nemesis cannot be stopped, Sylens has begun searching for a way to defeat Nemesis and, with data from Walter Londra, concluded that their best hope lay with potential superweapons built by 21st-century corporations.[11]

Personality[]

Resenting Far Zenith for its long imprisonment, Nemesis is obsessively determined to destroy them, regardless of collateral damage, such as scouring Earth of life just to deny them a viable home.[2] Being composed of digital copies of Zeniths, including Walter Londra,[3] Nemesis has likely inherited at least some of their personality traits.

Londa described Nemesis' voice as being his own voice, until it shifted to a chorus, then a hideous cacophony.[3]

Trivia[]

  • In Greek mythology, Nemesis refers to the goddess of retribution, who would enact vengeance on the arrogant. The vengeful motivations of Nemesis, along with the hubris of its creators, are direct parallels to this myth.
    • Nemesis also shares its name with a hypothetical red dwarf star theorized to exist in our solar system, which is supposedly responsible for a cyclical pattern of mass extinctions in periods of 26 million years.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 As mentioned by Sylens during the post-credits scene of Horizon Zero Dawn.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 As mentioned by Tilda van der Meer during Singularity.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Dagger in my Boot
  4. 4.0 4.1 As mentioned by Sylens during Singularity.
  5. 5.0 5.1 As mentioned by GAIA during The Eye of the Earth.
  6. HADES in Hell
  7. As mentioned by Beta during Singularity.
  8. Interrogation Log
  9. As mentioned by HADES during Death's Door.
  10. 10.0 10.1 Singularity
  11. As mentioned by Sylens during Epilogue.

Wiki Navigation[]

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
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