Fifteen years have passed since Mother and the Infinite Black nearly wiped-out humanity.

Cities were reduced to smoking ruins. Vast regions of the earth froze over, while entire nations became lifeless wastelands. Those who escaped the machines fled into forests and remote places untouched by technology, scattering into small, isolated groups.

Now, the great machine portal has closed, and civilisation is slowly rebuilding. But how does humanity recover from devastation on such a scale? The answer is simple, one day at a time.

Life is harsher, and simpler. Survivors do what they must to endure. Communication and travel are limited. A few brave traders’ cross waterways by boat, exchanging vital supplies, while most people gather in small hamlets. Crime is rising, yet there is a fragile sense of relief: the Infinite Black has moved on to conquer another world. With it gone, scavenged fragments of Mother’s technology are being reused without fear of reprisal. The Snatcher raids and machine attacks have ceased. And still, the fear remains.

Every mechanical hum, every flicker of powered machinery, stirs a deep, instinctive dread. Part of every survivor believes Mother is still watching. Stranger stories are beginning to spread through the countryside, whispers that something is not entirely over.

Even so, hope is taking root in the ashes. Though nations have fallen and borders no longer exist, there is a growing belief that humanity can rebuild and in time, heal together as one.

Counter Attacks: The Machine War

In a final, desperate attempt to stop the machines, government forces launched conventional strikes against locations believed to house machine activity. Instead, the bombings devastated civilian areas destroying homes and killing innocent people.

Mother’s response was immediate and absolute. Within what felt like a single night, political leaders, military commanders, and entire chains of command disappeared across the globe. Weapon systems were neutralised, and military networks were rapidly infiltrated and compromised. Organized resistance collapsed almost instantly.

What the military failed to realise was that the machines were no longer present at the targeted sites. By the time strikes were carried out, they had already withdrawn, returning to their own dimension and taking captured humans with them. In reality, the attacks had been carried out against empty locations… and the people living around them.

Public opinion on Mother’s retaliation remains divided. Some view it as ruthless and unjustified. Others believe she was eliminating a threat to what she considers her “components.” Mother requires humans intact.

Mother may take those on the brink of death, but once a person dies, they are no longer of use to the program