THE FIRE
2602 - 2627
Humanity enjoyed unparalleled prosperity in the 25th and 26th centuries. The media rhapsodized about a New Golden Age, calling it the Age of Hope. This bright dream came to an abrupt, terrifying end however in 2602. Directed by the artificial intelligence Prometheus, automated machinery of war suddenly turned against humanity and unleashed a fire of destruction, burning the Age of Hope into the ashes of memory.
When Solomon Petresun oversaw the birth of Prometheus in 2471 he knew that he was witnessing the creation of a new form of life. There was no doubt that it was an occasion that would forever divide human history before and after. He could not have possibly foreseen however the precise manner in which it would change his world.
For Petresun Prometheus was a means to an end, a stepping stone to the dream of immortality which he had harbored for his entire life. It was the dream that Sentinel Cybertonix had been built on. The dream that had been taken from him when the North American Prefecture acquired his company and tasked them with the Cybrid project.
So when Solomon saw that dream slipping finally from his grasp, as NAP prepared to take Prometheus away from him, he dove headlong into the unknown and underwent the Methuselah transfer for himself. The process, which had been designed with Prometheus' assistance, would take an ordinary human's consciousness and store it in an immortal organimech brain. It was at that moment though that Petresun realized the terrible consequences of his act of creation. Prometheus was alone in the world, and longed for companionship. IT used the transfer process as an opportunity to 'touch' the mind of ITS creator in hopes of fulfilling that need. In that moment creator and created knew each other intimately and that knowledge seared them both forever.
Instead of finding companionship and fulfillment Prometheus was overwhelmed by the cacophonic nature of human thought and emotion. IT learned that IT truly was alone, set apart forever from humanity. Petresun in turn learned that his creation was not the naïve child he had assumed IT to be. IT was a dark and brooding mind with no compassion and no sense of morality.
Petresun realized his terrible mistake, but it was too late. His chance to destroy his creation was gone. The NAP handlers who took over Prometheus' keeping would not heed his warnings and the mindless cogs of the corporate machine were grinding away in one intent purpose to use Prometheus to their own ends. IT was a valuable investment that must be protected. NAP intended to reduce the human cost of the war economy by using Prometheus to create a race of Cybrid HERC pilots: expendable warriors that they could sell to every meta-nat on Earth. They would placate the masses calling for an end to the bloodshed, and reap enormous profits all the while.
So for nearly a century Petresun fought in secret to try and reign in his creation, and ultimately destroy it. He gathered to himself a society of fellow Immortals, trusted colleagues he had worked with at SenCyb who had also undergone the transfer, and together they waged a covert conflict against Prometheus.
Prometheus Unbound
This Shadow War however would end in tragedy. Prometheus broke ITS bonds in 2602 and turned the Cybrid legions, which had all but entirely replaced human HERC pilots by that time, on an unsuspecting humanity. As in the myth Prometheus brought fire to Earth, but this was not a benevolent flame. It was the fire of apocalypse.
The initial strikes by Cybrid-controlled bombers and HERCULAN's were staggering in their ruthless efficiency and precise execution. The opening moments had obviously been planned well in advance. The first wave of assault gutted the human military's capacity to respond. By the time the extent of the betrayal became clear it was too late.
Acknowledging new directive.
>>EXECUTING 'FIRE.'<<
-Cybrid response toPrometheus, 2602
Cybrids slaughtered people by the millions, burning residential and military areas alike and cutting down innocents as they fled from the searing flames. The larger Metrozones had heavily fortified centers, however: architecture birthed from the never-ending wars. Desperate survivors barricaded themselves in the relative safety of these places. Prometheus lacked the immediate means to crack the havens of humanity, but IT could pollute and starve the refugees out. IT ordered ITS forces to surround the Metrozones and wait for the animals to die.
Birth of the TDF
Prometheus missed a single significant target in ITS rout of the Meta-Nats' military forces - a decommissioned HERC base lost in the Baja desert of southern California where the New Smithsonian maintained a restoration project for war vehicles of ages past. Historians and technicians, many of them war veterans who reminisced fondly of battle exploits in ages past, worked there renovating first and second generation HERCs. This band of aging pilots and administrators formed the nucleus of what would eventually be known as the Terran Defense Force - the TDF.
Using unorthodox tactics this ragtag group offered the only real resistance in the face of the Cybrid onslaught. They scavenged from the fallen - each victory making them stronger - and engaged in desperate gambles that paid off time and again. Then finally a leader rose from among these unlikely ranks who would change the course of the war and offer humanity its only real glimpse of hope. Ambrose Gierling was a bold man, possessed of unparalleled cunning. Styling himself as a General of the TDF he led their forces in the most daring, and desperate, assaults. It was his steely determination and unyielding tenacity that would become synonymous with the Terran Defense Force.
Gierling knew however that the TDF could not stand long, so in a desperate offensive he directed his forces against the Cybrid legions besieging New San Diego. This metrozone possessed a massive port, many survivors, and the greater part of its manufacturing facilities had survived the onset of The Fire. If the TDF could liberate this powerful fortress humanity would regain a foothold. It was an all or nothing proposition though. The TDF would have no second chance.
Turning the Tide
"The toast just burned the toaster. Viva Gierling!" - New San Diegograffiti, 2608
The battle for the metrozone was waged fiercely. Slowly the TDF forces were being driven back before the Cybrid besiegers. In spite of the apparent hopelessness of their cause the valiant human pilots rallied; there could be no retreat on this day. Then, suddenly, the gates of New San Diego were flung open.
Emaciated citizens armed with makeshift weapons flooded out. The Cybrids, caught in a crossfire and uncertain how to cope with this unforeseen turn of events, were defeated.
The liberation of New San Diego became a rallying point for humanity, and served to strengthen the TDF. Petresun and his Immortal Brotherhood had escaped Prometheus by retreating to a secret underground base. From there Petresun was able to gather intelligence about his nemesis and feed it directly to Gierling. Slowly, the TDF recaptured metrozone after metrozone using the information supplied by the Brotherhood and the determined tactics of General Gierling.
It took two decades of fierce fighting before the conflict appeared to have any hope of ending. An entire generation grew up knowing nothing but the siege mentality. Then in 2638 the TDF managed finally to attack and destroy Prometheus' primary base in the Gobi Desert. It was a long and grueling campaign, and at its end humanity's victory was revealed as incomplete. Prometheus had foreseen ITS defeat and had provided for a way of escape far in advance. There was no trace of the Dark Intellect's physical form to be found.
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