Journey into the Forbidden West by E. E. Nalley

April 22nd, 3040

Aloy riding the Strider when a message arrives, one of the corrupted files from GAIA Prime has been patched. She says to play it back, the voice is her own, or rather that of the one she is a genetic duplicate of from 1k years ago. The recording of a voice sounding young and unsure of herself. Boy, the ranch still standing at all after all this time is something else.

The char of the fire is still visible a thousand years later in the same spot, is that possible? 6 years old and did this; she was too young to know better. Oof, dead baby birds from a nest that had been in the pine tree, that is a lesson that will stick with her. Elisabet, you should be thankful for a kind and gentle mother.

Aloy finds a bench and, what the! A figure on it with their back to her. Ivy growing over the figure, so not someone alive.

“She said I had to care,” Dr Sobeck informed the program. “She said, 'Elisabet, being smart will count for nothing if you don't make the world better.'”

If only more people would learn this lesson.

On the bench was an Ancient environmental suit. The same suit Elisabet had been wearing in the hologram she had watched at the memorial Dr Ronson had made for her sacrifice. The suit was still intact, the head slumped over as if the wearer had fallen asleep on the bench, looking at the house she had grown up in.

Oh crud, please don't let Aloy have found the remains of Dr. Elisbet Sobeck. Crap, no such luck.

She had no children, and talks about what she would have wished for her child if she had one. Gah! Elisbet's body hasn't decayed.

“And willful; unstoppable even, but with enough compassion to...heal the world... Just a little bit.”

With her wishing her child to be curious and these things, she got them in Aloy, alright. A globe of the Earth on a necklace, a legacy for Aloy to have of the mother she never got to know.

September 16th, 3040

6 months since Travis Murray came out of cryostasis into the changed Earth. Frank Olmstead, the man who saved many with stubborn determination in the face of doomsday. Sleep for a thousand years, I still wonder how many woke up with a crick in their neck. Ted Faro, if there were a way to bring him back to life to face justice for his numerous crimes, I would see him left in the worst location on Earth to fend for himself.

Return from stopping HADES, and still so much to do. Rebuilding society is a full-time job. I hope they can meet up with Aloy sooner rather than later. Raiders, it doesn't matter what kind of post-apocalypse future Earth you have; there will always be those who seek to prey on others.

40 men charged the wall at dusk, 2 guards with arrow wounds, with one only just clinging to life. At least they took out the bandits.

Travis had stewed for a long time before he finally had given the order not to bury the bandits, but to have scaffolds erected for the bodies to be tied to and placed at the edge of the AmSci land as a grim warning.

Anyone who doesn't take that as a warning is foolish, arrogant, or has a death wish. Frank, if you don't send a direct message like this, it will just get worse for your people. This isn't 1k years ago, you have to do what you can to survive.

Dang, that is something you want as part of the wall to protect a base. 'The Tree House', cute.

Travis sighed and nodded. “Believe me, sir, I find it just as distasteful as you, but these people are still coming to understand the concept of the Rule of Law. Might Makes Right here, and I have to protect our people.”

“Do we even know who these attackers were, or who might take offense at our defense?”

If they take offense instead of seeing it as a clear warning, they need to check their priorities. Good, so far it sounds like no one will take offense to the use of corpses as a warning defense.

Jordi has 50/50 odds. I hope he pulls through.

“I understand your thinking with this, Travis, but, we're better than that. We have to be.”

“Sir, if we don't show that we will not be fucked with, you're guaranteeing more attacks.”

Frank, I understand, but until you have your defenses more secure, you need any deterrent you can use. And a written warning as well, Frank, if they take a warning as a threat and attack, they are to blame.

Clear out the raiders' nest in Pioneer Museum, Travis, listen to Frank on this. If you don't, they will just keep attacking over and over, regrouping and learning what you are capable of to better plan each future attack. Oof, replacing ammo, always the issue in these kinds of situations. 10k primers for each type, but no powder or primer industry to replace them once used, ouch.

You want my honest opinion, Frank? I think we need to investigate this 'Cauldron' ENID found out at Black Mountain. We know some of these machines are being armed with twenty millimeter cannon. I've seen those rounds myself. We've heard that some of the smaller machines have machine guns. If GAIA was using NATO frequencies and NATO standard cannon shells, chances are really good she also was using NATO standard small arms.”

I wouldn't be surprised if the means of manufacturing powder and primer, along with existing ammo, will be found there.

Oh boy, Nakoa is upset Travis didn't tell her they are going to Daytower himself. Tight denim jeans, oh boy, don't get distracted while on the mission, Travis. Seesh, she is dressed to make Travis get all riled up. Oh boy, she is upset he was going to sneak off without telling her. That is one way to stop an argument.

“Yes, I'm pregnant, not an invalid,” she told him, touching the tip of his nose with her finger tip. “Women have been having babies for a very long time on this planet and it hasn't kept most of us from continuing to live life in the meantime. Even Doc says I can't be more than a month and a half along.”

Overprotective husband worried about his wife and unborn child, that will never change. He doesn't want to risk her, but she won't start showing for that long.

He frowned at her. “That's dirty pool,” he objected. “And who taught you to be so emotionally manipulative?”

Her grin became impish. “You think I haven't learned by watching you and all the other AmSci in my time here? I see what your women use on their men, what works and what doesn't, and I know you very well indeed!”

Travis, there is no way you are leaving Nakoa behind. Just give up now and admit defeat on the matter.

“What good would that do me?” he wanted to know. “You win all our fights.”

The impish grin spread from ear to ear. “He can be taught!”

I like her, she's silly. *winces* Well, that is some message for the signs Travis has thought up. The Cauldron will go a long way to shoring up their defenses.

“There are other machines than Thunderjaw's that have distance weapons. We can track and hunt a Stalker for it's dart gun or mine launcher and you can see if it is the same. No sense going all the way to Black Mountain if we don't need to, right?”

The mind launcher would be brutal against the bandit camp.

September 17th, 3040

Black Jack and Snow Flake, I hope their Striders survive this adventure. A storm like that, I would avoid leaving any secure structure to go out into that. Buck and Olara are already there. Disposing of human remains is never an easy task, no matter who they were. Doc is on her way. Wait, riding hard to get to Daybreak ahead of the storm, are you nuts!?

Wind was already picking up that soon, and the faster they could canter, the worse the weather would get. Travis thinks to pick up the pace to try and beat the storm, but why did Nakoa give that signal? A Tearblast arrow, this is serious. Crap! How did she see that thing, let alone hit it? Taken down fast thanks to her and Travis' teamwork.

“Stalker,” Olara informed them. “They have a way to blend in with their surroundings. Almost invisible.”

A panther-like robot, an appropriate name for it. A SAW and pretty advanced one, Buck and Travis recognize it. And the ammo can be used with the ARs, very good news.

The rain started to fall just before they reached Daybreak, at least it wasn't when they were a lot further away. Got into the Inn just in time, the wind outside is howling. All that from one Stalker, they need to get dozens of them, the smoke grenades will make hitting the bandit camp a lot less dangerous.

“Something is making new machines at these Cauldrons,” Doc added. “And since they're new, it's something with purpose.”

20 years ago, who was behind this and unleashing killer robots back onto Earth?

“We know that the HADES sub-routine gained sentience from GAIA's last transmission. And she did say that it had affected all of her other sub-routines.” He paused for a moment, then snapped his fingers. “ENID sent me a recording at the celebration at Meridian after the Battle of the Alight. One of the people in it was Margo Shen, which ENID said was the 'Alpha' of the HEPHAESTUS Sub-routine. Hephaestus was the Greek god of blacksmiths, it is probably the architect of these new machines.”

Darn it! Why does it seem that 4/5 times when humans name computers after Greek gods that they go haywire somehow? Captain Balahn, good to see him again. Resolved Furahni, dispatched by the Sun King to seek out Travis. Good news, I hope.

Good, the Sun King won't mind the bandits being taken out. And the Oseram as well, no love for the bandits. Sent by Blameless Marad on the authority of the Sun King. Banuk tribe, in the Cut, that is new.

Furahni nodded. “A mute, stubborn people; tight as a closed fist and caring only for survival. Their land is a wide valley dotted with hot springs with boiling water and steam that erupts from the ground through vents, lined with yellow minerals and the stench of rotten eggs.”[/quote[ They live in the Yellowstone Caldera. Darn, at least Furahni made it out in one piece.

“The bandits?” she guess and he nodded grimly. “Whenever you like, I can write out your sign in both Carja and Oseram gliphs, though I'll have to defer to your women as far as the Nora goes. I don't know their writings.”

Well, that saves a lot of time and travel.

Her demeanor became grave again. “On the Summer Solstice there was an...incident...on the Alight. For a brief moment a red light came from the sphere that the Metal Devil HADES occupied, then it rose up the Spire and flashed away to the west.”

Don't tell me HADES somehow survived by transferring himself or a copy to another unit. And now they have a new task to accomplish.

Time to call Frank and discuss this new situation. Travis wants to learn their manner of writing, always good to know more than one language. Come at once, ack.

Olmstead was aghast. “That psychopathic AI is loose?” he demanded. “I thought we stopped him six months ago!”

Yeah, that is what I hoped, too. Yeah, stopping HADES if it survived is priority right now. Boy, the Focus network sure makes communications a lot easier.

Yeesh, sounds like borderline to just below hurricane with the description of the winds. Furahni showed up right when they needed her; those signs might deter raiders in the future. A Strider sent for Furahni, just how many of them have they taken control of so far? A Storm Bird taken out by six lightning strikes in a row, guess that exceeds their limits. A supercell thunderstorm and Nakoa has never seen something like it before. Are we sure HADES hasn't taken control over the terraforming system and is messing with the weather to target them?

GAIA not controlling the terraforming system seems likely, but it seems too coincidental to me after that report about the red light from the HADES installation. Good grief, newlyweds.

September 18th, 3040

Good, the storm has gone down to an annoying soaking rain. The new Strider has arrived, good thing Travis is awake to tell the guards it is with him. Nice inn, fresh bread made for breakfast. Coffee isn't known to these people; the only bushes on this continent's soil are the ones the AmSci planted seeds for earlier that year. Boy, once they start trading in that and explain how to process it into a drink, people will fight over it. Coffee bushes take a few years to mature; I didn't know that.

Boy, that letter from Frank, the Sun King, already likes Travis, and this will cement the alliance between the Carja and AmSci. Ian overrode a Stormbird! Rats, no way to ride them for humans. Cloud-seeding technology, no wonder they fly close to storms. Okay, that is a scary weapon. Fit a saddle on it, that shop boy would fit right in Whateley's Workshop.

Furahni comes downstairs and is told about the Strider and Focus she will use. Aloy has a Focus; I wonder where she got hers. Yes, don't try to use the Focus the tie any other machines to it. 'Augmented Reality', leaving that on all the time would give me a headache. From a week's walk to 2 days on Striders at a comfortable pace.

September 20th, 3040

They're on the road to Meridian. Sorry, couldn't resist. They've cleaned up most of the rubble from the battle with HADES, impressive. 6 months, they have been working hard to restore all the damage and destroyed structures. Blameless Marad greets them, luck or fate that they met with Resolved Furahni when they did.

The machines Alloy and the other Nora had defeated at the battle were still in the process of being scrapped and the ceremonial buildings that had been damaged in the battle were being repaired, but in the center of the colonnade, on a three meter pedestal made to resemble the broadcast tower stood a statue of the Nora huntress Aloy.

I would melt down the machines to use the metal for themselves, but I guess metallurgy hasn't advanced that far yet.

“She...modestly...complained she felt her task unfinished and therefor was unworthy of the honor,” he admitted tactfully. “The Sun King, however, insisted.

I don't think Aloy will visit here for a while yet.

“I apologize that the speed of word was not swift enough to save you the journey. In fact, she left this morning. But, what we learned was the Devil HADES somehow escaped the orb and was headed west. The Savior climbed the tower and spoke with someone, a Banuk Shaman named Sylens as I understand it. It was evidently he who engineered the Devil's escape.”

Darn it! Now I suspect the storm was made deliberately to delay them so they wouldn't meet up with Aloy on time. And she went West. More chasing after Aloy and not catching up to her once again.

The Tenakth sounds like a formidable alliance.

“Sounds like a new Sparta,” Buck mused to himself. At the Spy Master's inquisitive glance, he elaborated, “An Ancient tribe, ancient even in our time, that consisted of fanatical warriors who trained constantly, becoming legendary soldiers from ancient history.”

Ugh, just what the world doesn't need. Aloy goes where she wants to. I doubt an army could stop her if she is determined enough. An exchange of prisoners for tribute is sickening. So they have a few weeks to catch up to Aloy. The Nora War Chief's son, Varl, another ally going the same way, always helps.

Buck tries to interface his Focus with the tower and hopes it recorded what Aloy saw. Hehe, I like Blameless Marad's reasoning. Can't be upset about a gift being delayed if he doesn't know about it in the first place. Furahni still gets to travel with them on the quest. Ugh, Sylens is an arrogant prick. Precious knowledge, the threat of HADES isn't worth any amount of knowledge, you nutbar!

“You're the one who wanted to purge HADES before it's precious knowledge could be...extracted. The mysterious signal that woke it, for example. Or where to obtain one of those GAIA backups you've been having such a hard time finding.”

Wait, he isn't the one who sent the signal that woke up HADES?

Entirely necessary deception is something said by the arrogant to excuse why they tried to do it all on their own, never informing others who could have used the information for the better. Great, he gave her no other choice but to find him in the Forbidden West to get the information she needs.

Olara put a hand on her hip and gestured at the blank space where the hologram had been. “Do you remember your mad scholar?” she asked Buck. “Who built the scaffolds and wanted so desperately into the door at GAIA Prime?” The big man nodded, a wary look on his face. “I'd bet all I have, that was him.”

That makes him a bigger threat than I thought.

Nice to have Varl on the team again. A full beard over the summer, don't tell me the summers aren't as hot there. A feast in the Sun King's apartments. So that is what Varl has been up to: tracking Aloy and finally catching up to her at a launch facility. An unlaunched spaceship and the launching tower had 3 Slither Fangs coiled around. *shudders* Giant snake machines, creepy. They spit acid that deadly! Corporation of billionaires called Far Zenith, a bunch of cowards, wanted to escape into space and abandon everyone else. 'Elites' wanting to save themselves and fly to another star, SIrius, not surprised.

Aloy dropped the shuttle on the Slithers, and the tower came down as well, but she got down safely. A fake copy of GAIA, rats. Travis Tate left behind a logic bomb, which is the kind of hacker I can't stand. Can Aloy just hack machines like Chargers directly if she can sneak up on them? Information on the Slither Fangs, who knows how many might be in the Forbidden West? Darn it, Aloy, let your allies help you!

Hawk Ligan of the Hunter Lodge. Gah! The Slither Fangs are a nightmare.

“No shit!” rumbled Buck as he saw the rendering. “Kind of a sick cross between a King Cobra and a rattle snake!”

“Taken to the usual obscene scale,” Doc added a shudder.

50-60 feet long, made of metal, and a mix of those two snakes. Run away!

Ligan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “The acid sacks are noted in green on the drawing and can be pierced by most arrows. This will douse the machine in it's own Metal Bite acid and remove the spitting attack, but be weary! The sack is under considerable pressure and will burst with some force.”

Please, let no one die to that acid, the description of what it does is enough.

September 23th, 3040

3 days of hard riding, ouch. Boy, those mountains and the valley would be some view. *shudders* They have to ride that, that makes some of the things to get around in Germany look less stressful in comparison. Sparks from steel, that is an interesting saying. Aloy only went down the platform a couple of hours ago, so close to catching up with her. Karhn, and he was told by Erend of what they did to help defend Meridian.

Good reason to use the Chain Lift, keeping the Tenakth from overrunning everyone else is vital.

“The Daunt,” he proclaimed. “The whole valley, is infested with a new machine. They're called Bristlebacks, nasty things, huge, angry, acid...” he gave a dismissive gesture. “Weird thing is they're not native to the Daunt, but an entire herd of them just showed up from somewhere yesterday. I'm under strict instructions not to let anyone down until they're dealt with. Until I hear the whistle blow down in Chainscrape it's all clear.”

Why is Aloy an exception to letting people go down there, then? A quarter from Buck and it is a coin of the Ancients to Karhn. Time to go down two Striders and two humans at a time, Travis and Nakoa first. Zion Lodge and this used to be Zion National Park, boy, what a thousand years will do to a place.

The Sun Priest, who is supposed to run the Embassy, is still at the landing after being brought down yesterday. What is the holdup? No soldiers there, so be on their guard for threats. Who is this Commander Nozar?

“The gates between Barren Light and No Man's Land are hereby ordered shut and sealed in expectation of the imminent Embassy. None are allowed passage either way until further notice. No exception will be made, regardless of clan, house or tribe. Based on previous grievances and misunderstandings, let it be clear that no exceptions will be made for the Oseram either. Any outstanding arrangements made pertaining to passage are hereby declared postponed or void, depending on the nature and timing of the arrangement. No Exceptions will be made. Again, to eliminate any doubts should they remain: ALL OF THE ABOVE PERTAINS TO THE OSERAM REGARDLESS OF CIRCUMSTANCES, EXCUSES, OR SO-CALLED BINDING CONTRACTS! Any complaints and/or restitution (if at all applicable) can be addressed to Captain Lawan, my second-in-command. Signed in the Light of the Sun, Nozar Arin Khuvaman, Commander of Barren Light.” Travis chuckled to himself. “Sounds like a charming fellow.”

Is this guy trying to stop the Embassy, or am I misreading the message he left? Hehe, Travis intends to go into Barren Light in the morning, ignoring the order.