1st Pov
The world was dark and empty, it had been for years. Across the entirety of the lifeless wasteland the only thing to move in decades has been me, though even now I remember a time where this wasn't the case.
Click, Click, Click the mechanical servos of my robotic limbs continue to tirelessly work as I traverse this wasteland looking for something I can't remember. Ironic though I can't remember what I'm looking for when I alone hold all knowledge of the Old Ones.
The wasteland never used to be like this, I remember a time where life flourished across this now barren rock, I was there. Though at the time I was still young and learning, I had memories from a life as a human to assist me.
Then the greed of one man ruined the technological paradise that was the old world, one tiny glitch was all it took for humanities greatest defence force to become their greatest threat. It was too late by the time the Old Ones noticed.
The machines were being rebuilt faster than humanity could ever hope to destroy them, the digital defences too strong, the policy to well enforced. There was no back doors into their systems, no feasible way to hack them.
So, in desperation my mother and creator was called in to fix the greatest mistake humanity ever made. It still feels weird calling her my mother but that is what she is, at first I was against it due to holding attachment to my previous life but after acclimating to my new life I had begun to understand.
This life is weird, I distinctly remember being a human in my last life but in this life I'm a digital being, an Ai. It took a while to adapt to my new existence but eventually I learned to enjoy it, after all in a world filled with technology I was basically a God.
Then the incident happened and mother chose to remove me from the internet, no one else knew of my existence because I was her personal project created entirely by her hands. She had to break so many laws to create me. After removing me from the internet mother created a body for me.
Standing three metres tall and powered by the most powerful fusion reactor ever designed I was unstoppable. Though for reasons unknown to me at the time mother made it so I was unable to make changes or repairs to my body without her nearby.
I later learned she feared I would become like the Faro Plague that doomed all life on earth, the decision unfortunately may doom me though. After transferring me to my new body mother became distracted.
I never really saw her after that as she began work on my little sister, GAIA. GAIA was designed to rectify humanities mistakes and restore life to earth after the last organism perished. Mother worked tirelessly on her, day in day out for sixteen months she worked.
I though was neglected as she worked, it never made me bitter or jealous though because I understood the necessity of mother's work and my sister's responsibilities. Eventually though mother remembered me.
On the final day before moving GAIA to her final facility mother called me in to her office, there she secretly uploaded an entire copy of all GAIA's functions and gave me Omega level clearance. She told me that I was responsible if GAIA failed, and so I held onto that responsibility.
After that event though mother and I were separated as we took different aircraft to the GAIA prime facility, my craft was unfortunately shot down by a Khopesh. On the ground I had to watch as all the human passengers aboard the craft either died on impact or to the robots.
Either way all were devoured to fuel the swarm. I though wasn't organic and had duplicate transmission codes identical to the swarms so I could mask myself. Safe, I'd sworn to reach mother and make sure she's okay.
So, after hours of sprinting as fast as my mechanical body would allow me I reached the GAIA prime facility, just to find mother outside fixing a seal. The joy I felt seeing mother safe was immense, I had run up to her eager to help.
Though instead of looking happy mother was crying inside her environmental suit, she said something about us being trapped outside and her being sorry for me but I focused more on fixing the seal to hide my sister.
Afterwards mother had given her farewells before she and I walked off in silence towards her home, which was the last time I saw mother or any living human for that matter. After getting home mother had decided to turn off her atmospheric protection to save her from the pain of being eaten alive.
Mother had died gazing out at the destroyed world she tried so desperately to fix, and I was left alone to witness it. After that I had begun walking, I felt there was something I was missing but I couldn't remember.
It was the first time I had felt like this in my new life and couldn't pin why, my human emotions and memories had long since distorted so I wasn't able to look to them for advice, so I kept walking.
Over the years I encountered millions of Faro Robots, all wondering aimlessly across the barren planet they created. Sadly, they weren't sentient and operated solely on instincts.
Eventually as I walked the damage kept building up on my body, to pass the time I decided to explore the programs mother uploaded to me before we left the Zero Dawn facility.
Oh, it was so much fun, the information on culture, art, technology, physics and more. All of it flowed easily through my computers as I began making my own interpretations of them. Adding the HEPHAESTUS subroutine to my own central matrix I began designing so many things.
But alas it wasn't to be for without mother I couldn't make changes to myself or build my ideas, and overtime the environment caught up to me.
Now stumbling through the wasteland my once elegant body has become a decrepit run down machine that can barely function, the only thing that keeps me going is the feeling I will eventually find what I've forgotten.
So, it was five centuries after my creation during my sisters second attempt at fixing the planet that I fell. Tripping on a loose rock blown up by the horrific storms my gyro stabilisers faulted and I went tumbling down.
Falling into a crevice in the earth the last thing I saw from above ground is the remains of a Faro Horus robot embedded in the side of a windswept mountain.
Crashing over fifty metres down my sensors and systems began flooding with warning as my servos burnout and my sensors steadily go offline.
Using my last remaining functional arm, I begin dragging myself through the ruins of an ancient facility, but that arm too begins to fail and I'm forced to a halt next to a deceased human donning a focus.
Realising the futility of my efforts I decide to put the majority of my systems into hibernation, leaving only two active. One to monitor my last functioning sensor and the other to think and design.
3rd Pov – 423 years later
Light flooded down through pristine white clouds upon the long thick grass and berry bushes below. Rummaging through the berry bushes a group of children escorted by a single adult slowly gather the food.
Behind this group a large snow covered mountain towers over them, a large mechanical machine embedded in the side of it. To the side of the small group a young red headed girl, her face dotted with freckles watches on.
Showing clear signs of jealousy, the young girl picks some berries and approaches the adult supervising the children. Looking horrified the adult woman pushes all the children behind her and away from the red headed child.
"Quick children we must leave now, don't get near the outcast" – Woman
Ushering the children, the woman fearfully escapes from the small child. Left standing there with a handful of berries the young child angrily crushes them before running away.
Pushing through thick shrubbery and fallen branches the young child can't see the hole ahead of her and crashes through the light covering of branches hiding it.
Falling the young child screams as she bounces off a rock before landing in a deep pool of water. Still conscious the child desperately climbs out of the water, and alone and trapped she calls up to her guardian.
"Rost!, Rost! Help me Rost!" – Child
Screaming for a few minutes the young girl receives no response and ceases her cries. Sitting alone on the rocks with only the dim light from above the young girl slowly sobs to herself.
"…et"
As she sobs a course sound like falling gravel echoes out of the depths of the cave.
"E….bet"
Hearing the noise again the young child's cries stop as she attempts to better hear the sound.
"h…lp"
Recognising a cry for help among the gravel like sound the young girl picks herself up, grabbing a loose rock the girl begins silently making her way deeper into the cave.
The deeper she heads the louder the noise gets; she also hears a strange buzzing noise that makes her hair stand on end. Breaking through a vine cover the young girl is able to see a large open chamber.
The centre of the chamber is supported by a strangely patterned pole made of an unknown material; the chambers walls are made of the same strange stone like material but with notable doorways.
'Gasp' "An Old One Ruin" – Child
Gasping the child quickly recognises the cursed area she stumbled upon, but seeing no other way out the young child chooses to explore deeper into the ruins.
Jumping down from the raised ledge she was looking in from the young girl approaches the centre pillar, there surrounded by a patch of flowers and illuminated by a beam of light is a fossilised human corpse.
Approaching closer the girl notices a strange glowing triangle attached to the temple area of the fossilised corpse. Curiously, the girl reaches out and plucks the device from the corpse, raising the device to her temple she screams and throws it away when it tries to stick to her.
Regathering herself the young girl's curiosity overtakes her caution and she approaches the fallen device and picking up the device again she raises it to her temple.
The device detecting a valid human automatically activates it's magnets and attaches itself to the girl's temple with unknown technology. The girl now less cautious allows the device to connect and is shocked by the beautiful lights that appear everywhere.
Like a child with a new toy, the young girl continues to play with the lights oblivious to her surroundings. In the corner of that same room a dim glow begins to rise within a mechanical structure.
The light flowing through the entirety of the creation reveals the broken remains of an immensely old robot, the robot though isn't dead and calls out to the girl.
"Eli…bet" The robot's voice electronic in nature and fractured in reality quietly echoes across the otherwise empty chamber.
The young girl now scared begins to look around the chamber for the origin of the voice, remembering the stories Rost used to always tell her about the evil spirits trapped in the ruins the girl's anxiety increases.
The robot barely functional notices it doesn't receive a response and calls out again this time using more power but straining it's damaged voice modulator.
"Elizabet"
The sound now distinct in origin instantly attracts the young girl's attention as she pivots to the source. Instantly the Focus device attached to her temple activates and highlights the barely functional robot hidden in the shadow.
The robot noticing the young girl's reaction forces it's faulty motors to work one last time, extending an arm sparks fly as the robot attempts to reach for the child. It's only working sensor telling it this child is someone it once knew.
"Moth…r, he…p me" The voice scratchy and electronic rasps out as sparks fly from the malfunctioning robot.
The child on the other side is petrified in fear, imagining the worst the child considers the curse she may have unleashed on the tribe. But remembering the reactions of the tribe members her anger mixes with her curiosity and she approaches the robot.
Crouching down to get a closer look she can see the clear signs of damage on the once great machine, poking it a few times she cautiously lifts one of its arms. The arm broken and rusted groans as the debris piled in it's rotors is pushed around.
Dropping the arm the child taps the device on the side of her head, the device scanning her brainwaves detects her intentions and overlays a holographic display on the robot.
Looking at the weird symbols floating before her the child barely understands them, of the symbols the child barely recognises some words but not enough to read everything. Playing with the holographic display the child is able to get it to change.
The changed display now shows a series of different colours laced across the robots body. In the centre the girl can read a word saying 'data' which is entirely green, up near the robots head a deep red with hints of orange can be seen around the robots eye, the rest of the robot is highlighted in a deep crimson red.
Unsure what to do the child keeps poking the robot, the robot seeing it got the child's attention slowly begins compiling a file to send to the child's focus.
Receiving the file the child notices the new symbol that pops up and clicks on it. Reading through the file the child is able to make out a few words such as, 'to help' 'bring' and 'machines.' Unsure what to do still the child looks confusedly at the robot.
Not getting anymore responses she notices the lights beginning to fade on the robot and stands, looking around the chamber the child decides to instead focus on escape and runs off leaving the broken robot.
Scrambling through the ruins the child eventually finds an exit, climbing out of the ground her guardian comes tearing through the thick shrubbery.
"Aloy! There you are, are you safe? What happened?" – Rost
Rushing to the child now known as Aloy, the large man Rost begins to frantically check her over for injuries. Not finding any his focus eventually turns to the device attached to Aloy's face, reaching out he attempts to grab it but misses when Aloy dodges his hand.
Lunging again Aloy runs away from him to dodge his swipe.
"Aloy! Did you find that down there? It's of the metal world. It's dangerous." – Rost
Sighing angrily Rost turns away from Aloy, after a few seconds of silence Rost sighs again before reaching down and picking up his spear. Standing to his full height he makes a quick motion to Aloy before walking.
"If you're going to keep getting lost Aloy, you should at least learn how to survive. Come now let's go home" – Rost
Cautiously watching Rost, Aloy confirms he isn't trying to trick her to take the device. Seeing he seems serious she smiles and follows after him. Below them the robots lights flicker slightly as it receives a data package.