Horizon Zero Dawn: Each Function of GAIA, Explained
GAIA was the powerful AI that Elisabet Sobeck and the rest of her team created for Project Zero Dawn. Despite being a virtual entity, GAIA played a major role in Horizon Zero Dawn, essentially starting life anew through a complex terraforming system. To do this, GAIA utilized nine subordinate functions, each of which had a key role to play in reseeding the Earth.
Though not separate AI systems during creation, GAIA’s subordinate functions were complex programs shaped by some of the most intelligent characters in Horizon Zero Dawn. As such, GAIA could rely on these subroutines to assist in reconstructing the biosphere.
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MINERVA was the subroutine tasked with cracking the deactivation codes that GAIA could use to contain the Faro Plague. It’s named after the Roman goddess who was the patron of strategic warfare and wisdom. The lead developer — known in-game as an Alpha — assigned to MINERVA was likely Ayomide Okilo, a military captain skilled in codebreaking. Though there is no definitive evidence of this, it is hinted in datapoints within the Project Zero Dawn Facility.
After Zero Day, MINERVA began deciphering the Chariot machines’ deactivation codes. According to Sobeck, this process would likely take around half a century to complete, given the sheer complexity of the robots’ security protocols. Once MINERVA finalized the deactivation codes, the system built transmission towers above ground and broadcasted the codes to stop the Faro Plague. GAIA’s other subroutines would not be able to work until the Faro Plague had been dealt with, meaning MINERVA’s role was crucial.
HEPHAESTUS was the subroutine responsible for creating robots
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