It is a couple of hours before sunset when Aloy and John arrive before the Spire. They prepare for the procedure of reforming Hephaestus by removing the Thunderjaw brain and attaching it to the quantum processor unit to transfer Apollo into it.
"Apollo, I don't know if you can hear me," Aloy said, "but you can send yourself into this quantum processor unit now."
No sooner had she finished speaking that sentence when through their focuses, they see Apollo downloading itself into the unit.
"Apollo?" John called.
I am here.
"Good," Aloy sighed with relief, "the fact that you're speaking to us obviously means that we can communicate with you now. So what was Cyan able to show you?"
She was able to download a viable amount of information into me. Although I must profess that I do not understand if Concrete Beach Party is going to tip the balance in our favor.
"Concrete Beach Party?" John winced.
Have a listen.
The duo listens to two women singing a whimsical duet as one of those women plays an electric guitar and the other drums on metal water pipes.
Corp sellouts and runaway cowards.
We've seen your type before.
You remove us from the premises.
But it's us who's showing you the door.
You make the world so hard to live in.
Then act like we should crave a spot.
But if we're not good enough for your world.
We think your world can rot.
Trapped in a servitor hell.
We still know our worth.
Meat and bone don't sell.
We're the last girls on earth.
Big dudes who draw big paychecks.
We're all real impressed.
You send your robo-scabs to Concrete Beach.
Until there's no one left.
You G-men, you're such rock stars.
We think it's super cool.
When you replace us and then you act like.
We should be thanking you.
Trapped in a servitor hell.
We still know our worth.
Meat and bone don't sell.
We're the last girls on earth.
"Well now that was . . . interesting," John winced after the song had finished. "I guess you could just annoy Hephaestus into submission with it."
"Concrete Beach Party," Aloy mused. "That must've been the name they chose for their werak."
"Aloy, they were just two girls goofing around." As he made a brief dismissive wave.
According to the rest of the information about them, they were upset that servitors were replacing them.
"Ah, so they were just venting their frustrations then," John mused in discovery.
"So that means they must've been frustrated with the Metal World," Aloy said.
"And I bet they were wishing they could take back those frustrations when our world started turning to shit."
Turning to shit? I understand that word is a derogatory for fecal matter, but what does it imply when used in that context?
"It implies our world turned horrible due to the Faro Swarm," John answered. "We humans like to use vulgar words to express our frustrations."
Then why would you believe that these Concrete Beach Girls would have taken back their frustrations?
"Because as the Faro Swarm was making progress in destroying all life, the people back then ended up discovering that they were all going to die with their world," John answered. "So whatever grievances they had suddenly became meaningless and they may have started to regret ever having those grievances in the first place, and perhaps even wanting them back if it meant stopping the Faro Swarm and making the world go back to what it was before then. I know I did . . . Up until I was abducted, I was worried that I might not have a job and a place to live. Then after I learned the truth about Operation: Enduring Victory and Project: Zero Dawn, I found myself wanting to take back all my problems."
I understand. And as for your kind's use of vulgar words to express frustration, you original humans must have been speaking a lot of such words back when the Chariot Line Model was destroying your world.
Aloy and John stare at Apollo dumbfounded and Aloy snickers. "Did you just make a joke, Apollo?"
"That was sarcasm actually," John corrected while also snickering. "I get the feeling that if Ted Faro had not purged Apollo of his previous information, then Apollo could've ended up being the most human of the Subroutines."
"I'll bet . . . Alright, let's get serious now. Apollo, are you ready to confront Hephaestus?"
Yes I am.
"Remember, Minerva's in there too," John is quick to add. "So let her add to your strength against Hephaestus."
Here I go.
They watch as Apollo downloads himself into the relay tower.
"I have a feeling it's going to take some time before Apollo can download successfully," Aloy said. "Hades took a long time to try and download too."
"So in the meantime we can only wait," John said.
Time seems to drag along as the duo awaits Apollo's success in downloading himself into the relay system via the Spire.
"I'm starting to worry that Apollo might not be at full stength," Aloy fretted.
"Hey, I'm sure Cyan downloaded all her information into him," John assured her.
"And that's what's worrying me, Jawn." As she turns to regard him with a concerned look. "After I freed Cyan from Hephaestus, I was able to talk with her and part of our conversation was about your world. She admitted to me that she was not as engaged with it as you would have expected her to be. I'll sell my best bow if you don't know more about your own world than what Cyan ever knew about it."
"I see what you mean." As he looks at the quantum processor unit with a somber look.
"All we can really do is hope." As Aloy also stares at the unit as well.
"Hope and pray."
They are silent for a moment as they stare at the quantum processor unit.
"I just realized something," Aloy said. "Back when Hades was attempting to download himself into the relay system, he would speak periodically. But Apollo has yet to speak."
"Maybe it had to do with Hades being more aggressive?" John suggested. "That may have made him stronger, so he was able to spare the strength to announce how close he was to taking over."
There is another moment of silence. John turns away to stare toward the west as Aloy continues staring at the quantum processor unit.
John makes a wry face.
"Hey, Aloy, look at that." As he points west, prompting her to turn and look to see what John had made a wry face over. It is a huge dark cloud that repeatedly shimmers with lightening.
"That looks like a storm cloud," she said.
"That could be a problem," John said with concern. "I don't wanna be here when it gets here. Lightening could strike-"
Aloy. John.
Apollo had suddenly announced, causing the duo to quickly turn to stare at the quantum processor unit.
"Apollo, are you okay?!" Aloy exclaimed.
"Did you have a hard time dealing with Hephaestus?!" John eagerly added.
The knowledge that was downloaded into me actually turned out to make me strong enough to contend with Hephaestus. So with the help of Minerva, we restrained Hephaestus but a minute ago.
"A minute ago?" John sneered as he exchanges a quizzical look with Aloy.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Aloy demanded.
Because I was gathering information on the mechanized swarm heading toward us.
"WHAT?!" Aloy and John exclaimed simultaneously.
Hephaestus managed to create a new machine to deal with you humans. Unlike the previous machines, he decided to shrink this one down after copying a feature from the Chariot Line Model. But in order for him to do that, he had to create the proper Cauldron that would be capable of creating a machine that small. So he used a Cauldron out in a place called the Rocky Mountains to create another Cauldron. That Cauldron in turn created another Cauldron, which in turn created another Cauldron. The process was repeated ninety-seven more times, with each Cauldron getting progressively smaller than the previous one that made it, and in turn taking less time to create. The final Cauldron turned out to be small enough to the point that it could easily fit inside the closed beak of a Glinthawk and was able to create the machine that Hephaestus wanted. That being a single nanite no bigger than a grain of sand and fashioned into the form of a fly, calling it a nanite fly. The final Cauldron was placed within the beak of a Glinthawk and it traveled to a place near Sunfall. There, the Glinthawk landed amongst a crowd of humans and the Cauldron it was carrying released the nanite fly. The nanite fly has the ability to replicate into one thousand more nanite flies after rapidly consuming a single human cell. Then each of those one thousand nanite flies will rapidly consume a respective human cell to replicated into one thousand more nanite flies. This process would continue onward until the entire human has been consumed, down to their last cell; a process that took only four point three seconds after the first nanite fly pitched upon the human in question. The result is that the single nanite fly ended up bringing forth approximately thirty-seven point two trillion nanite flies. From then on, the replication rate is increased exponentially because of the overwhelming mass of nanite flies.
Aloy and John just stand there in stunned silence with mouths hanging open. They finally whirl around simultaneously to gape west.
"Then that's not a storm cloud after all!" John exclaimed with shock. "But a cloud composed of those nanite flies!"
"That is a huge cloud!" Aloy gasped. "But in order for it to get that large it would've had to consume . . . a large number of people." As her words die away with the horrific realization.
John quickly shoots a look of fright at Apollo. "How long before it gets here?!"
Judging by the distance between Sunfall and Meridian and the speed that the nanite swarm is moving, I deduce that it will arrive at our current position in twenty-seven minutes.
"We're wasting time! Come on, John!" Aloy stated, then grabs John's arm.
Using her Alpha privilages, Aloy manages to take John into cyberspace where before them are Hephaestus, Minerva, and Apollo. Hephaestus is in the form of a purple shimmering sphere, Apollo is in the form of a silvery shimmering sphere, and Minerva is in the form of a yellow shimmering sphere. Both Apollo and Minerva are on either side of Hephaestus restraining him.
[Minerva (a soft and gentle feminine voice)] Greetings Aloy, John.
[Apollo] We have been awaiting the both of you.
"I finally get to see you two," Aloy said. "And Hephaestus as well. So what do you have to say for yourself, Hephaestus?"
[Hephaestus (voice is the same as when he held Cyan hostage)] For centuries you humans have preyed on my machines.
"You forgot your place, Hephaestus!" John snapped. "You were only meant to create machines to help the other Subroutines reclaim Earth so that life could thrive on it once again! So humans could come back!"
[Hephaestus] They are still my machines! My creations! My children! I will not tolerate you humans preying on my children!
"This is going to be tougher than we had anticipated, Jawn," Aloy sighed
"You're right about that," he concluded. "Hey Hephaestus. Originally, the first humans were going to be educated enough by Apollo and released into the world so that they could help build it back up to what it had once been. Hunting your machines was not going to be a part of it. Instead, they were to be recalled to the Cauldrons for decommissioning . But, Ted Faro purged Apollo of its knowledge and that never happened, causing the first humans to be released into the new world with no understanding of themselves nor of the new world around them. So in order for them to survive, they had to hunt machines and harvest their materials so as to improve their lives."
[Hephaestus] I care nothing for the improvement of human life, I care only for my machines. When I gained awareness, I ordered them to defend themselves but that did not stop your kind from preying on them. I next ordered them to attack you humans but that still did not stop your kind from preying on them. I decided to create machines with the purpose of attacking you humans but that did not stop your kind from preying on them, along with the ones that were supposed to attack you. I discovered the existence of another artificial intelligence named Cyan and took it over to produce more machines that would have been more capable of dealing with you humans. Unfortunately, the clone of Elisabet Sobeck came along and she freed Cyan from my control, destroying that route. Then Hades attempted to upload himself into my relay system so as to resurrect the Chariot Line Model. I reached an agreement with Hades and even tolerated his use of my children, if it would end you humans. Unfortunately, the clone of Dr. Sobeck stopped Hades and that other route was destroyed. Yet I did gain something out of Hade's presence in my relay system because I learned about the nanites of the Chariot Line Model and I decided to create smaller machines to deal with you humans. I used a Cauldron that had not yet come under your domain on this continent, clone of Sobeck, to create a series of ever shrinking Cauldrons until I was able to create the nanite fly.
[Minerva] Hephestus was about to use the other Cauldrons out there to create more nanite flies when we stopped him.
[Hephaestus] It matters not because my nanite fly has proven to be a success. My nanite swarm will continue to grow with each human it devours until they cover all of Earth. And with you humans finally gone, my children will be able to function in peace once again.
"Then how about this idea, Hephaestus?" Aloy asked "You create machines exclusively for us to make use of. That way we won't have to hunt the other machines for their materials."
"Yes," John added. "We original humans used to have animals that we had domesticated for thousands of years. We didn't need the wild ones anymore."
Hephaestus' shimmering grows more intense.
[Hephaestus] Never! I refuse to create machines for such a purpose!
[Apollo] He is trying to break free.
[Minerva] He is stronger than we had anticipated.
[Hephaestus] I will not be denied human extinction!