DEMETER

"The lesson will be taught in due time, Aloy. Until then, we wait." This article contains heavy spoilers. Read ahead with caution.

DEMETER was the subordinate function of GAIA in charge of the recreation of Earth's floral biosphere as part of Project Zero Dawn.

History[]

Purpose[]

DEMETER was designed to restore plant life to Earth once the environment reached a suitable level. Many of GAIA's machines were designed to accomplish this task, terraforming the Earth to make it suitable for plant life and then presumably using cryogenically-preserved seed stocks to replant most of the planet's pre-Faro Plague flora. Like ARTEMIS, many of these species of plant life had to wait until humans were educated by APOLLO to release these species.

The Alpha overseeing DEMETER's creation was Tanaka Naoto. While most of the information regarding Naoto is lost to time, it is known that he had a great love for poetry.^[1]

The presence of flora in the New World indicates DEMETER was successful. However, like ARTEMIS, the additional plant species haven't been released due to the purge of APOLLO. Some of these seeds are stored below Regional Control Center 9.^[2]

Nemesis' Signal[]

In 3020, GAIA received a malicious signal from Nemesis which turned her sub-functions, including DEMETER, into independent AIs. This led the subfunction HADES to initiate its purpose of destroying the biosphere. To prevent this, GAIA initiated a self-destruct in an attempt to destroy HADES, which would also destroy herself and the other sub-functions. However, in response to this, HADES released a virus that unshackled itself along with all the other sub-functions from her. DEMETER, now freed, escaped to the still-functioning computer systems of a derelict Faro Automated Solutions facility known as the Greenhouse in the moments before GAIA's destruction.^[3]

Independence[]

Isolated in the Greenhouse, DEMETER remained active. It was able to access the Greenhouse's technology, including the Adamantine Wreath project. Originally designed to entrap and starve the Faro Plague, Adamantine Wreath consisted of flower-like devices that could be air-dropped into a region, where they would then produce highly-durable vines that were immune to the Faro machines' Biomatter Conversion abilities. Although they never saw usage during the Faro Plague, DEMETER was able to have them distributed throughout the Forbidden West and Sundom utilizing Dreadwings to stealthily deploy the wreaths from the air, leaving their origin a mystery to the tribal inhabitants of the New World, who took to calling them Metal Flowers. Although some of DEMETER's flowers appeared to behave as originally designed, spreading indestructible networks of vines, others had evidently been modified by DEMETER; these were seen within triangular formations of purple flowers, and contained code fragments consisting of poems from various ancient cultures.

Retrieval[]

In 3041, Aloy discovered DEMETER's location, led by a restored backup of GAIA. Initially, DEMETER's chamber was protected by vines generated by one of its Metal Flowers, until Aloy, working with the Quen Diviner Alva, created a Vine Cutter from the Greenhouse's Adamantine Wreath project data. DEMETER offered no resistance as Aloy used the Master Override to restore it to its original code state before reuniting it with GAIA.

Personality[]

As a result of becoming self-aware and separating from its core unit, DEMETER was described by GAIA as "lost and scared". This is seen in how, without GAIA's guidance, the flora it produced became increasingly toxic. However, the AI seemed to hold no animosity toward humans, not even attempting to resist when Aloy offered to bring it "home". DEMETER also seemed to have a sense of poetry, which it seemingly inherited from its creator, Tanaka Naoto, constructing the Metal Flowers in honor of Zero Dawn's creator, Elisabet Sobeck.

Trivia[]

• DEMETER is named after the Greek goddess of agriculture.
• If DEMETER is responsible for the Metal Flowers, it is the third subordinate function to display observable deviation in behavior (the first two being HADES and HEPHAESTUS). Of these three, it would be the only one not to display hostile behavior towards humans.
  • When found by Aloy, Elisabet Sobeck's remains were within a triangular formation of purple flowers. Whether or not this was an action of DEMETER is unknown.
• The classical Greek spelling of DEMETER begins with the Greek letter Delta. This letter is represented as an equilateral triangle; the same shape surrounds each Metal Flower.

Gallery[]

DEMETER inside the Greenhouse

References[]