Aloy wakes to the stillness of the humming projection room, somewhere deep into nightfall.
Surprisingly, Beta is not next to her as Aloy moves to sit up on her bedroll.
Today marks three days since Elisabet fell asleep.
According to GAIA, she could theoretically wake up at any moment, seeing as she has successfully passed all stages of the merge. Her chances of survival are quite high, too, though GAIA also said that being in a coma for an extended period of time could be dangerous. That it can cause all kinds of complications, and the danger only grows the longer Elisabet stays under.
Every day, every hour, every minute and moment make it harder for her to wake up.
So, if she doesn’t wake soon, then…
Aloy taps her focus, resuming where she left off in the database of Elisabet’s memories.
After the car crash in the Winter of 2052, Elisabet had woken up severely injured and all alone in a hospital bed. She had understandably been very disoriented and highly anxious, though was nearly hysterical when she learned the awful truth of what happened.
That both Moira and her father died in the crash.
‘No… You’re lying! I…’ Elisabet all but screams. Her breathing is heavy, hyperventilating with panic. ‘Where are they? Please…! Don’t tell me that…’
The complete anguish on Elisabet’s face and in her voice is something that Aloy will never forget. The sound of her devastated sobbing is akin to something Aloy has only seen out in the wilds, when witnessing the destruction that losing loved ones can cause to those left behind.
Seeing it on Elisabet’s face, though… it was too much for Aloy to take.
She could barely watch as Elisabet broke down completely.
Miriam and James had come racing into the room, and Aloy watched as they held Elisabet close that day, and throughout the many more painful days to follow.
Until not even that was possible anymore.
Miriam Sobeck passed away from cancer the following Spring, and Elisabet… was never the same again.
Over the next four years, Aloy watched her wither away from the bright, vibrant young woman she used to be, into the beginnings of the more familiar, secluded person that was recorded during the days of Project Zero Dawn. Elisabet kept everyone at an arm’s length, and threw everything into her work. Her dedication knew no bounds, as if she were pouring all of herself back into the world around her. As a result, her company grew exponentially in a short amount of time, winning countless recognition and awards, but it clearly came at a personal cost.
One that she was willing to pay.
Elisabet grew to care more about her work than she did about herself. She slowly stopped seeing her friends, and shied away from making new connections with others. She began giving away most of her and Moira’s possessions, and rarely slept as she started spending less and less time at home. She hired caretakers to look after the goats and chickens on her property, as well as the animals living at Sobeck Ranch, and rarely made time to visit her childhood home anymore.
It was as if Aloy were watching Elisabet live her life like a machine.
Still breathing, but… barely alive.
It reminded Aloy of herself, in a lot of ways… and she found it all incredibly hard to watch.
However, just like Aloy, Elisabet thankfully had people in her life that weren’t willing to give up on her. James and his wife Sarah visited her whenever possible, along with their daughter Vivian, who became very attached to Elisabet over the years.
‘Aunt Lizzy, can we visit the ranch soon and go for horse rides?’
‘Aunt Lizzy, what’s that new machine thingy you’re making?’
‘Aunt Lizzy, come over tonight. Mama and I made cookies!’
Each time, Elisabet would indulge her niece’s request, and Vivian spent quite a lot of time at Miriam Technologies as a result. There are many clips within the database that strangely seem to come from her perspective. As if they were taken from her focus. There are other clips here too, from James’s perspective, as well as from Sarah’s. Multiple videos and pictures of all of them spending time with Elisabet, whether she wanted them to or not it seems.
While watching through them, Aloy could only ponder where they came from.
‘Sylens wouldn’t have bothered spending the time to find these, that’s for sure.’ Aloy mumbles to herself. ‘So that means Elisabet must have found them. But there was probably only one real place where they could have been…’
Aloy looks toward the ectogenic chamber, trying not to think about it too deeply as she watches a clip of Vivian happily running through the glass doors of Miriam Technologies.
‘Aunt Lizzy, can you show me the dinosaur machine? Pretty please?’ Vivian pulls at Elisabet’s white lab coat during one sunny day after school.
‘How do you know about that?’ Elisabet reaches down to pick up her seven-year-old niece.
‘That guy Travis said so!’
‘Uh huh.’ Elisabet shakes her head. ‘Why am I not surprised?’
Travis Tate was a freelancer back in those days, or so he said.
He and Elisabet met years ago. While she was giving a lecture as a guest speaker for his college. Years later, they met again under rather… dubious circumstances. Aloy was only able to find brief snippets about it. Some top-secret AI projects or something like that. Either way, whatever it was, it must have gone well. Seeing as Travis felt comfortable enough with Elisabet to keep up their professional relationship afterwards.
Whenever he saw fit, that is.
‘I saw him in the cafeteria. He gave me an orange and called me a sweet little firecracker.’ Vivian recounts with a laugh, causing Elisabet to sigh. ‘Then he told me about the new dinosaur machine. Is it a T-rex!?’ Vivian prods her aunt as Elisabet walks, nodding to her colleagues politely in the hallways. ‘Is it gonna bite me if I pet it?’
‘Heavens, no.’ Elisabet shakes her head.
The two of them go through a back exit of the facility and step into a private area outside, where Elisabet puts Vivian down onto the stone walkway. The young girl follows after her to a heavily gated area, wherein three machines can be found grazing the green grass.
‘Come here, girls.’ Elisabet’s voice is light as she whistles, causing the small goat-sized machines to immediately scamper toward her.
They all stomp their feet and bounce around her excitedly, causing Vivian to gasp with glee.
‘Girls??’ Vivian gushes over the cute display and hesitantly reaches out to pet one of them. They are modeled after what Aloy has come to know is a triceratops, with the Miriam Technologies logo stamped onto their underbellies.
‘We’re working on recall.’ Elisabet hums. ‘They need to come when they’re called.’
‘Like your chickens? You call them girls too.’ Vivian grins. ‘Even the boy chickens!’
‘Exactly.’ Elisabet says, watching them interact. Her green eyes are astutely assessing, mentally taking notes.
‘What were they doing?’ Vivian asks.
‘Tending to the soil. Making new plants.’ Elisabet crouches down next to her niece and puts a hand atop one of their heads. ‘We want to make bigger ones soon. Send them out to help people.’
Vivian’s expression suddenly falls as her voice gets quieter.
‘You mean to places like where daddy is?’
James is out west fighting to deal with rising tensions between people and machines. From what Aloy has seen, his job in the military had been growing dangerous and unpredictable in those years, as he’s one of the few who knew how to manually fly a plane rather than relying on automated flight paths. The stories that he’s told Elisabet, while not exactly bright, were undoubtedly only a small fraction of the horrors he’s had to deal with day to day.
‘Yea, Vivi. Just like that.’ Elisabet runs a hand through Vivian’s red hair and stands up. ‘Let’s head inside then I’ll give your mom a call to pick you up later. I’ve got plans for tonight.’
‘What are you doing?’ Vivian asks curiously.
‘Dinner with a friend, I guess you could say.’ Elisabet says, her expression thoughtful.
Aloy lets the video end, her attention going back to the quiet solitude of the projection room.
She turns around when a voice suddenly speaks up behind her.
‘Was that one of the Land Gods?’ Beta asks curiously, apparently holding no remorse about eavesdropping on her sister.
Aloy blinks as Beta sits down next to her.
‘Now that you mention it, I think it was.’ Aloy plays the video back.
She hadn’t been paying them much attention, being more focused on watching Elisabet and Vivian’s interactions. But as she stops the video to look closer, those machines definitely appear to be identical to Plowhorns, only much smaller in size.
‘Did HEPHAESTUS create the Land Gods off of Elisabet’s original schematics, GAIA?’ Beta asks, tilting her head with intrigue.
‘During the process of creating specialized machines to reclaim the biosphere, I recounted Elisabet’s original design for the machines now known today as Plowhorns.’ GAIA admits. ‘They were greatly useful during Elisabet’s time, and were a contributing factor for multiple awards that she won for her work in environmental progress.’ GAIA says. ‘By all accounts, those machines are a part of Elisabet’s legacy, and I felt inclined to allow them to live once more even after her death.’
‘Is that why the ones near Plainsong weren’t taken over by HEPHAESTUS after the Derangement?’ Aloy asks curiously. ‘Because they originally come from Miriam Technologies?’
She always wondered what made the Land God’s so special as to be able to resist HEPHAESTUS’s control to some degree. She knew that their original purpose was to tend to the fields that were intended to be the local food source for the whole region. But by all accounts, Plowhorns are an oddly peaceful machine, the most peaceful of them being around Plainsong. It was only in recent years that they became aggressive, and even then, they usually left people well enough alone if they kept their distance.
‘Yes.’ GAIA confirms. ‘As their design is not one of HEPHAESTUS’s creations, they were able to remain off its radar for multiple years.’ She then waves a hand to access a different database of memories. ‘Elisabet seemed to have noticed this as well.’ She says. ‘Before the merge process began, I was able to access recordings in the databanks of the Clawstrider she inhabited.’
Aloy blinks with surprise and looks toward the sleeping Clawstrider by Elisabet’s chamber. She had no idea that any length of this new lifetime of hers could have been recorded.
‘This datapoint was taken near Plainsong shortly before Elisabet’s arrival at this facility.’
The image of Plainsong comes into view, its now healed soil lush with life. A pink-eyed Clawstrider walks through the fields, the sound of its metal footsteps rhythmic with each step.
As Elisabet further approaches the village, she stops.
Among the grass and crops, a Plowhorn sows the land. Its face and tail are dug deep into the ground as it works. She is standing far enough away from both it and the settlement to not cause a stir, but one or two farmers quickly take notice of her presence nearby, looking at her wearily.
Elisabet merely watches the Plowhorn work, tilting her head with intrigue.
‘Is that?’ She mumbles to herself. ‘It can’t be…’
She stands up a bit straighter.
‘Come here, girl.’ She whistles halfheartedly, no doubt expecting it to ignore her call.
On the contrary, the Land God immediately lifts its towering head and runs toward her, causing the Clawstrider to startle with surprise.
It happily stomps its feet and bounces around her, much like its smaller predecessors.
‘Alright, calm down girl. Yes, I said calm down.’ Elisabet soothes. ‘Let me look at you.’
Elisabet looks at its belly, humming as she spots a familiar Miriam Technologies engraving.
‘I can’t believe it.’ She fondly shakes her head, sounding touched as she turns away. ‘I’ll have to… thank GAIA when I see her.’
The Plowhorn follows after her like a baby duckling through the fields. She lets it do so for a while but turns around once the other Land Gods take notice and start following her as well.
‘Dismissed.’ Elisabet says, the word firm and her command simple. ‘Attend to your task.’
One of them stomps its large front feet against the ground in protest. It is a display that has the nearby Utaru gasping in response to the sudden, seemingly aggressive behavior of one of their Gods.
Elisabet, though, is unimpressed.
‘No.’ She shakes her head and turns away.
The other Land Gods all disobediently mimic the same behavior as the first, shaking the Earth underneath their powerful feet.
‘You haven’t changed at all.’ She says with a halfhearted sigh. ‘Fine, then. If we must.’
Elisabet stomps her foot back, causing the Plowhorns to scatter happily among the fields. Elisabet casually walks after them, and calls to each one with specific whistles so that they fall perfectly in line after her like some strange form of a machine parade. The Utaru watching all have smiles on their faces, also following after her from afar but not daring to get too close.
Their behavior appears to be some sort of… game? More than likely some sort of recall practice Elisabet utilized from the Old World, if Aloy had to guess.
Once all the Land Gods are collected, they bellow and stomp their feet in unison, reminding Aloy of the song they sang when she and Zo installed the reboot code not too long ago. The Utaru watching whoop and holler in response, and Elisabet then whistles low and long, causing the Plowhorns to slowly veer off to attend to their own tasks.
She gives them one last long look, before turning onwards towards the mountains west of Plainsong.
‘They… they remembered her.’ Beta says in awe once the video ends. ‘That’s amazing!’
‘Indeed.’ GAIA concurs. ‘Though Plowhorns are not a one-to-one recreation of Elisabet’s original schematics, they have retained the original record for her voice recognition in their code.’
‘Elisabet’s voice…’ Aloy parrots, leaving words unspoken as she and Beta share a glance.
‘Aloy, you’ve met the Land Gods before.’ Beta points out. ‘Have they ever responded to you like that?’
‘No.’ Aloy shakes her head. ‘But I’ve never talked to them like that before either, so who knows.’
It’s not like she makes a point of baby talking deadly machines, but then again this may be something to test out whenever she’s back near Plainsong.
When no one’s around, of course…
‘I’d like to see them with you someday.’ Beta says as she and Aloy sit side by side on their bedrolls. ‘But I hope she can be with us when we do.’ She looks toward the chamber, the room growing a bit heavier all of a sudden.
‘Me too, Beta.’ Aloy says, her tone soft as she leans her shoulder onto her sisters.
The two of them have spent a lot of time here together in the projection room, waiting for Elisabet to wake up. The others have all periodically come to visit them, asking if there’s been any change, but there’s been nothing at all to report.
Elisabet hasn’t so much as twitched in the past three days.
Zo has encouraged both sisters to come downstairs anyway, to get their minds off things. And while Beta has since reluctantly taken her advice, Aloy hasn’t been able to bring herself to leave Elisabet’s side just yet.
Interacting with the others, with everything that’s going on… it’s hard.
Her first instincts are to push them away. To handle and process this on her own.
But going through Elisabet’s memories today, seeing her clam up and purposefully push away the people who care most about her, Aloy can’t help but be reminded of Varl. And of Erend.
“We fought and bled at your side, Aloy, and you just… disappear? What kind of person does that?”
“Well, consider it a punishment for running out on us on the very same night we beat HADES.”
They were both incredibly hurt by her when she left them after the Battle of Meridian.
At the time, she hadn’t given it a second thought, about how her actions could hurt them like that. She had thought it was better that way, to do everything on her own, but now…
‘Anyway, it’s uh, dinner time.’ Beta brings Aloy’s attention back to the present. ‘Erend made Meat in the Middle. He said it was one of your favorites.’ She says, almost a bit nervously. ‘Will you uh, come down? You don’t have to! But I thought I’d ask? Zo said you haven’t eaten yet… today.’
Aloy pauses, realizing her recent actions. She hasn’t so much as left this room for days.
If Varl were here, she knows that he would try everything he could to persuade her to take a break from all of this, no matter how small.
Aloy takes a deep breath and reluctantly forces herself to stand.
‘Yea… okay.’ She says, not missing the little uptick of her sister’s lips as they both head downstairs side by side.
Aloy receives a call later that night. From Sylens.
Like all of their conversations, it isn’t about anything good.
‘She is not doing well, I’m told.’ Sylens’ hologram turns towards the chamber. Elisabet is seen sleeping inside, with multiple tubes in her arms and a mask covering her face.
‘Her chances are good, but…’ Aloy sighs, crossing her arms.
‘I see.’ Sylens turns to her. ‘You do realize that given the multitude of backups for her logs, that you could simply try again should all else fail.’
‘She doesn’t want that.’ Aloy shakes her head and looks at him suspiciously. ‘But shouldn’t you already know that?’
‘Ah, yes. Her… “wishes”.’ Sylens says with that holier-than-thou tone of voice that drives Aloy insane. ‘I wonder, would those wishes even matter, if the slate were wiped clean of memory?’
‘What?’ Aloy asks, her brow furrowed.
‘She will have no memory of her time in this new world, should the cycle start again for another round.’ Sylens points out.
‘No.’ Aloy says with a tone of finality. ‘We’re not doing that.’
‘You must understand, Aloy, that the chances against Nemesis would be greatly improved with Elisabet’s old world intellect.’ Sylens says. ‘To refrain from extracting that knowledge would be… foolish, at best.’
‘Don’t talk about her like she’s some tool to be left for dead once you’ve gotten your fill.’ Aloy glares at him, her voice low and dangerous. ‘Like what you did to HADES.’ Her body is tense, like a predator ready to strike. ‘Sylens, if I find out that you- ’
‘Rest assured I have done no such thing to your precious genetic mother.’ Sylens cuts her off. ‘Though I am simply stating facts, Aloy. Surely you must realize the secrets Elisabet harbor could be astronomical to our world.’ He continues. ‘Should the wants of one woman really weigh so much?’
‘They will if I have anything to say about it.’
Aloy angrily hangs up the call by ripping her focus off her temple.
Sylens doesn’t bother to call her back after that.
‘So… her name is Tilda?’
‘James.’ Elisabet sighs, picking up on her brother’s teasing undertone right away.
She’s cooking in her kitchen, making some sort of fried rice dish as her brother’s voice floats through a speaker on the counter.
‘I’m just asking, chicken butt.’ James huffs with a laugh. ‘Would you lighten up?’
Elisabet sighs again, the action clearly more dramatic than necessary as she speaks to her annoyance of a sibling.
‘Yes. If you must know, her name is Tilda.’ She confirms.
‘Nice name.’ James hums then goes silent for a moment too long. ‘So? Is she hot?’
‘James!’ Elisabet startles, red coming over her face.
‘Well can you blame me for asking?’ James defends himself. ‘This is the first date you’ve been on in years!’
At this notion, Elisabet frowns.
By now, she’s thirty-seven years old. It’s been over five years since the accident, but Elisabet has never shown an inkling of getting close to someone again in that way.
Until now, that is.
‘How’d you meet?’ James asks curiously.
‘At the summit in Paris a few months ago.’ Elisabet seems more willing to answer this neutral question. ‘The one where I asked if you all wanted to come with me, and you said that you would rather watch paint dry.’
‘Ah, that one.’ James says, holding no remorse. ‘I mean, no offence Lis, but I’d rather not spend my limited time off traveling to who knows where to make small talk with a bunch of stuffs…’
‘Well,’ Elisabet continues, choosing to ignore that statement. ‘She sought me out the morning after I gave my key note address.’ She recounts. ‘Had a feeling she was going to, actually.’
‘So what’d she want? Just to chit chat?’
‘Not exactly. I can always tell when people want to talk my ear off about nonsense.’ Elisabet furrows her brow. ‘She asked me something about intelligence parameters. I can’t remember specifics, but she didn’t seem to like my answer. Or maybe I embarrassed her? I don’t know.’
‘Was it like when that guy from Italy asked about developing AI for something other than terraforming? And you told him in a not so nice way where he could shove it?’
Elisabet snorts, shaking her head.
‘No. Nothing like that.’ Elisabet says, adding chopped vegetables to the pan. ‘Anyway, I noticed by the way she was speaking that she knew more than she was letting on, and that’s when I recognized her.’ She recounts. ‘Tilda Van der Meer. One of the top data brokers in the country.’
‘Wha-? You’re kidding.’ James sounds speechless.
‘No, it was definitely her.’ Elisabet sighs. ‘She made that famous program to detect art forgeries, YCITT. Guess she got into the business from there.’
‘So uh, I’m guessing that’s where the conversation ended?’ James asks.
Elisabet noticeably pauses, and James sighs.
‘Lis. I get that her pretty face probably made your lizard brain explode, but people like that are dangerous.’ He chides, for once being serious. ‘For more reasons than one.’
‘I wanted to know what her angle was.’ Elisabet shrugs, watching oil sizzle in the pan. ‘We left that conversation just fine. But she kept popping up at a few other conferences I’ve gone to.’
‘Think it was a coincidence?’
‘Probably not, knowing what I know now.’ Elisabet hums. ‘Took her a few times of us getting drinks for her to say what she wanted from me.’ She says, sounding contemplative. ‘She said she wanted to take me out on a proper date, and well…’
‘What if she does something to your company?’ He asks, wary.
‘Travis has got that handled, I’m not worried.’ Elisabet waves a hand dismissively. ‘He owes me one for bailing him out at that center in Colorado last year. I swear, one of these days he’s going to end up with a price on his head…’ Elisabet frowns, before her focus pops up with a message. It’s from Tilda. ‘For now we’re keeping it casual, but she has already asked me for a second date.’
‘Well casual or no, I’m proud of you for coming out of your shell for once.’ James’s tone is encouraging. Elisabet shifts in response, uncomfortable. ‘You haven’t been the same since well… everything, and I just… we all want you to be happy. Vivi especially. She hates seeing you clam up.’
‘I know she does.’ Elisabet acknowledges. ‘It was… nice, to go out again. I do like Tilda.’ Elisabet says shyly. ‘She’s smart, very romantic, and passionate about the things she enjoys. So, who knows…’
‘Who knows…’ Her brother parrots.
Erend comes to visit Aloy the next day in the afternoon.
‘There she is.’ He greets her heartily. ‘How you holdin’ up, Aloy?’
‘Hey Erend.’ Aloy greets back, shutting down her focus. She is sitting at her desk, looking over data on Nemesis from the Zenith Base. Her set up has been moved to face the chamber, so that Aloy can always keep an eye on Elisabet.
Erend comes to stand next to Elisabet, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest with each breath.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so quiet.’ He comments lightly with a small laugh. ‘Well, besides that one time you were so quiet we didn’t even realize you were gone.’
Aloy doesn’t rise to the bait and instead quietly comes to stand next to him.
For a few moments the two of them are silent, before he speaks.
‘GAIA told us about it. How you and Beta have to make a call in a few days if nothin’ changes.’ His voice and words are heavy. ‘Aloy, I can’t imagine how hard this has gotta be for you. Really.’ He acknowledges. ‘Specially after all that bull the Nora put you through growing up.’
Aloy lets out a breath, her eyes lost in thought.
If the Nora saw her now, they’d probably praise All-Mother, crying to their goddess about the miracle of how truly blessed the Anointed is to finally be gifted a mother of her very own.
That is, if Elisabet survived this.
If she doesn’t… Well, All-Mother would probably have a reason for that too.
‘Yea, Erend.’ She doesn’t try to deny it. ‘It is.’
Erend picks up on her melancholy right away and stands up a bit straighter, placing his hand on her shoulder. He doesn’t say anything, simply being there to support her.
He’s really… grown so much since Aloy first met him. They both have.
Back then Aloy had just been a girl stumbling through the world for the first time, looking for her mother.
In a lot of ways, that hasn’t really changed…
‘She’s… very beautiful, Lis.’
‘Uh huh. Then why do you look so worried?’
Elisabet and Tilda are visiting Sobeck Ranch. At this point they’ve been together for a while, and it’s taken a lot of time for Elisabet to be comfortable enough with Tilda to finally bring her here.
‘This is Star.’ Elisabet introduces, petting her black and white horse’s neck while Star nips at her hair, same as always. ‘She is my first horse.’ She says, lightly pushing Star’s nose away and receiving a playful nudge in return. ‘She’s known me since the day she was born.’
Star is much older now. She’s retired from riding, but clearly still has a lot of spunk left in her from what Aloy can see. She and the other animals have been loving that Elisabet has been visiting the ranch more often lately, particularly ever since she and Tilda started seeing each other.
Despite everything, Aloy was surprised to find that Elisabet seems… happier, now that she has Tilda in her life, and they both seem to be doing well enough together.
Though, Aloy has noticed a few things.
‘And you’re sure she doesn’t have… fleas?’ Tilda asks, her gaze cold and judgmental.
‘Yes.’ Elisabet rolls her eyes and takes Tilda’s hand, easily putting it onto Star’s back. ‘I never knew you were such a city girl.’ She teases and grabs a brush to comb out her horse’s black mane.
‘Hm.’ Tilda hums, keeping her hand there for a moment, before removing it once Elisabet turns away. ‘Forgive me my shortcomings, then.’
Elisabet huffs and takes care of her favorite horse, before leading Star back into her stall. A beautiful chestnut colored horse is then taken out, along with another that is pure white.
‘That’s Cinnamon, and this is Sugar.’ Elisabet puts her hand on the white horse, who tosses its mane that looks like freshly fallen snow. ‘She’s very gentle, so she’ll do well for your first ride.’
‘Is this another one of your horses?’ Tilda raises a brow. ‘How many do you have exactly?’
‘I have plenty.’ She shrugs, unbothered.
‘You certainly have a way with words as well.’ Tilda raises a teasing brow. ‘Cinnamon and Sugar?’
‘Smart.’ Elisabet rolls her eyes. ‘But I didn’t name them. Cinnamon is Vivian’s horse, and Sugar belongs to Sarah. Though they won’t mind if we take them out for the day.’
‘I see.’ Tilda says, something in her tone less than neutral.
Whenever Elisabet brings up her family, Aloy has noticed that Tilda seems… defensive. Or angry, maybe? James in particular doesn’t seem to be very fond of Tilda, either, which probably doesn’t help things in the slightest. Though they both clearly try to hide it from Elisabet at least. Sarah and Vivian for their part have always been more than welcoming to Tilda, but the sentiment is not reciprocated from what Aloy has seen.
Though that fact doesn’t really surprise her at all at this point.
The two of them go out for a gentle horse ride around the property, before heading inside.
‘This is my parent’s place.’ Elisabet introduces while opening the front door and walking down a hallway towards the kitchen. ‘I’ll see what we have to drink. Have a look around if you want.’
Tilda does so, looking at the various knickknacks and pictures in the living room. She seems uncomfortable, as if she were in a pigsty and not a home that’s clearly well-loved and looked after whenever Elisabet and her brother are away.
‘Who made these paintings?’ Tilda asks, gravitating toward a beautiful collage of flowers.
‘We did it for a girl’s day sort of thing.’ Elisabet says casually from the kitchen. ‘The sunflowers are Sarah and Vivi’s. I have the lilacs. Mom did the rose, and Moira did the water lily.’
Tilda noticeably pauses, her posture straightening. She moves to leave the room but stops dead in her tracks upon seeing a particular photo hung up on the wall.
It’s a wedding photo of Elisabet and Moira. The picture perfectly captures the two of them looking absolutely beautiful and happy as they kiss underneath an altar of multi-colored flowers.
Tilda’s eyes harden as she stares at it for perhaps a bit too long.
‘I have coffee and dandelion tea.’ Elisabet reaches up into the cabinet once Tilda comes into the kitchen behind her. ‘Or there’s raspberry iced tea in the fridge. Which-?’
She turns around, only to be cut off as Tilda puts a finger underneath her chin and moves as if to pull her in for a kiss. Her touch is not gentle as she puts her other hand onto Elisabet’s waist, forcing her back against the counter as she comes closer.
Elisabet puts her hands onto Tilda’s shoulders before they can make contact.
‘What’s that look for?’ Elisabet raises an eyebrow, confused. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Are you sure?’ Tilda asks instead of answering, pushing a stray lock of red hair behind Elisabet’s ear. ‘About marriage?’
At this question, Elisabet looks away.
It’s been almost three years now since she and Tilda have started dating. Lately talk of their future has started to come up, and Elisabet has had to draw her line in the sand.
She doesn’t want to be married again. It’s not something she is comfortable with.
But Tilda, she wants marriage, and she wants children.
Elisabet can’t have children, but even if she could, she acknowledges that at this point in her life, it’s no longer possible. She simply doesn’t have the time she used to have for such things. She’s told Tilda this before, too, but it hasn’t stopped her from toeing the line. Especially since Lis will be approaching forty soon, and Tilda will be turning thirty-five in the next year.
Even Aloy, who has no relationship experience whatsoever, can tell that the two of them want different things in life, and there’s no clear solution to be had if they choose to stay together.
‘Tilda, look.’ Elisabet sighs, removing her hands from Tilda’s shoulders as her expression turns serious. ‘If that’s not an option for you, I completely understand. But if that’s the case then maybe it would be better if we just-’
Tilda cuts her off with a kiss, not allowing Elisabet to speak further.
‘Don’t even say it.’ Tilda shushes, holding her close. ‘I was just asking, love. Not to worry.’
‘GAIA?’ Aloy asks later that night once the recording ends.
‘Yes, Aloy?’
‘Tilda is… really dead.’ Aloy looks up at the AI. ‘Right?’
‘Yes.’ GAIA confirms. ‘Elisabet advised that, following the battle atop the Far Zenith base, she personally swam her ejector pod down into the ocean depths with the use of a Tideripper machine.’ She nods. ‘All inquiries to Tilda’s Zenith implant show that it is nonresponsive as well.’
‘An ocean burial, huh?’ Aloy places her hands on her hips. ‘Well, that’s good news at least.’
Seeing all of these logs played back is… hard to watch, to say the least.
Aloy frowns and puts a hand onto the glass of the chamber, watching Elisabet sleep.
Elisabet has been through so much in her life, losing not only her partner but both of her parents in less than six months’ time. And when she finally found someone that made her happy again, it just had to be Tilda of all people.
Tilda had told Aloy that she loved Elisabet more than she will ever know, and now, after seeing all of this, Aloy knows that fact is definitely more than true.
Tilda did love Elisabet. To an obsessive, almost dangerous degree.
Even back then, she clearly wanted Elisabet all to herself, and was willing to isolate her from everyone, including her family. It was the beginning of the monster that Tilda grew to be over one thousand years later, and is clearly at the core of their not so pleasant reunion back atop the Far Zenith Base.
The only saving grace in all of this is that Elisabet herself has never been one to be so easily cowed, and that she, somehow, was able to break things off between them before the days of the Faro Plague began.
Even so, Aloy has a bad feeling about where all of this is going…
‘It… sure is something, Tilda.’ Elisabet comments, looking around.
The two of them have arrived at an extravagant getaway somewhere in the Netherlands. They are at a fancy restaurant with a glass dome overhead, displaying the brilliant winter night sky and sparkling snowflakes cascading all around in the wind.
‘Only the best for you, darling.’ Tilda kisses her hand before pulling out Elisabet’s chair.
‘Of course.’ Elisabet raises a red eyebrow as she sits down, clearly feeling out of place surrounded by such extravagance. ‘You still haven’t told me for what occasion, though?’ She points out, fidgeting with the skirt of her fancy dress that Tilda insisted she wear for whatever reason. ‘Not everyday that you would ask to take me to the city where you were born.’
‘In time.’ Tilda says in that knowing way of hers, causing Elisabet to furrow her brow.
Elisabet has expressed in earlier logs that something is… off between them, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue their relationship any longer. Everything had been going so well for the first few years, and Elisabet even admitted that she had been developing deeper feelings for Tilda.
But somehow, things started to change.
Tilda was becoming more… possessive. Unpredictable.
One moment she was treating Elisabet with all the love and respect in the world, but at the drop of a hat she would grow cold or even angry with her over the smallest things. Tilda would talk over Elisabet, too, repressing her with words as if she were an incompetent child that needed to be controlled.
Anytime Moira was mentioned, especially, it was as if a bomb went off.
Elisabet never responded well to those moments, and some of their fights were not pretty to say the least. Aloy can tell that Tilda pathetically must have seen Moira as a threat, even though the other woman had been dead for almost a decade by that point.
The whole thing reminded her of what had happened with Talanah, Amadis and Ritakka. Though while Talanah chose to walk away from such a situation, Tilda instead chose to hold on.
Chose to smother Elisabet tighter and tighter, unwilling to let go.
Their meal that night is spent in comfortable conversation. Elisabet mentions being nominated for yet another award for her work green robotics, and Tilda brings up a business trip she’ll be going on soon to a country Aloy has never heard of before.
It’s only when the dinner comes to an end that Aloy realizes why Tilda brought Elisabet there.
Specifically when Tilda takes Elisabet’s hand, and gets down on one knee before her.
‘Lizzy, darling, I cannot express with words how much I love you. There’s no one else that I’d rather spend my life with. Nor anyone else that I’d rather have children with. I…’
The rest of Tilda’s words go unheard by Aloy as she watches Elisabet sit back in her seat, her eyes wide like a Grazer.
‘Elisabet Sobeck, will you marry me?’
Tilda opens a small black box to reveal the most beautiful ring that Aloy has ever seen. It absolutely sparkles in the evening twilight, whole parts expensive and breathtaking as it glitters like glowing greenshine.
‘Tilda…’ Elisabet says, appearing tense and uncomfortable as she notices that many patrons have stopped to stare by now.
To stare at her in particular.
She’s given lectures and speeches just fine over the years, but none of them have clearly been so… invasive as this. In that moment Elisabet looks nothing like the picture of tearful joy and love that had radiated off of her when Moira had asked her that same question years ago.
Made only worse by the fact that Aloy knows that she and Tilda have talked about this exact scenario before. Tilda had expressed that if she was ever going to propose to anyone, that she would do so in public, as a sign of her undying affection. Elisabet, though, has said that the thought of being asked such a personal question in public would be unbearable.
Elisabet isn’t a fan of crowds, something that Aloy has undoubtedly inherited from her. There’s always this pressure to perform, to act in a way that society most expects of her.
Tilda already knows that.
She does. So… so….
Aloy realizes at the same time as Elisabet that Tilda did this on purpose, creating a scenario where she can’t possibly refuse.
A look of betrayal overcomes Elisabet’s face as she gazes at Tilda, looking as if she’s going to be sick. She glances at the people around them as the room goes silent, waiting for her answer.
She pauses, her hands shaking as she closes her eyes.
When she opens them again, Elisabet is not happy in the slightest.
‘No.’
Her denial is abrupt. Final.
It causes an uproar, and the patrons of the restaurant gasp with shock as Elisabet calmly stands and walks out with her head held high.
Tilda, ashamed, is hot in her heels.
The two of them fight for what feels like ages, arguing as Elisabet starts packing to leave.
‘I already told you how I felt, Tilda!’ Elisabet angrily zips up her travel bag. ‘I’m done. I’ve given you enough second chances, I can’t keep doing this anymore.’
‘Can’t you see? There’s no reason the past should impede your future, Lis. Our future.’ Tilda calmly talks over her, clearly not willing to listen to Elisabet at all. ‘What happened was over a decade ago. Haven’t you considered that it’s time to move on? To find a happiness that’s better than the past?’
‘I said no.’ Elisabet glares at her and turns to leave.
‘I’m saying yes.’ Tilda says forcefully, standing in her way. ‘Do you really want to throw away everything that we have together?’
Elisabet looks at her, her chin high and her eyes assessing.
‘It’s not a competition between you and Moira. It never was.’ Elisabet says slowly, ignoring the way Tilda’s expression twists with the mention of that name. ‘I love you both, in my own way. I thought you’d see that by now.’
Tilda also raises her chin, saying nothing, and Elisabet sighs.
‘Goodbye then, Tilda.’ Elisabet says.
‘No.’
When she moves to go past, Tilda grabs her by the arms. Her nails dig into Elisabet’s skin so hard that she flinches and drops her bag. Elisabet looks up at her, her greens eyes frightened, and Tilda immediately releases her, realizing what she’d just done.
What line was just crossed.
It all ended right then between them.
Elisabet left and never looked back, and Aloy couldn’t be happier knowing that Tilda could never hurt her ever again.
A few years later, it was the beginning of the end.
Elisabet met with Ted Faro, and discovered the truth of humanity’s inevitable downfall.
“This isn’t a glitch, it’s a catastrophe.”
“Fully aware. It’s bad.”
“Bad?”
“Jesus, Lis.”
“It’s not bad, Ted. It’s apocalyptic!”
The first person Elisabet called, the first person to know the truth, was her older brother.
‘You-? You’re kidding, Lis.’ James asks in disbelief.
‘I wish I was, James. I really wish I was…’ Elisabet says, her words both heavy and final.
After that, Elisabet planned for the future. Planned for Project Zero Dawn.
It was all here in the memory database. Every single piece of her journey.
Elisabet gathered her team and started building GAIA from the ground up, hoping for a better future when the present was so rapidly dying right in front of her eyes. She went to her childhood home one last time, visited both of her parents’ graves, as well as Star’s, and shut Sobeck Ranch’s doors for good. She said goodbye to each and every animal, and released them all out into the wilds, hoping somehow that they could have some sort of life worth living before the end came.
Elisabet stayed there for as long as she could afterwards, sitting on the stone bench in the front yard. Aloy has seen so many memories of her sitting in that exact spot. Always side by side with her mother, both of them watching the sunrise while the horses and other animals ran in the fields.
Now, Elisabet sat all alone, and wept for everything she’d lost.
‘Aunt Lizzy, what do you mean?!’ Vivian’s now sixteen-year-old voice cries into Elisabet’s focus. She is distraught. Inconsolable. ‘Please go back inside! You have to! The robots. They’re-…’
‘It’s too late now, Vivi.’ Elisabet says. ‘The door is shut. Everyone inside GAIA Prime is safe.’
‘But not YOU!!!’ Vivian cries harder.
‘Lis, you…’ Sarah’s voice cuts in through the call, sounding speechless. ‘Sister… I…’
‘It’s okay, Sarah.’ Elisabet turns to walk down the mountain, leaving GAIA Prime behind. The amount of destruction in the outside world, the amount of death, causes her to pause, but only for a moment. ‘This is what I wanted. Really.’
‘You wanted to die?!’ Sarah sounds angry now.
‘If it means other people don’t have to suffer, then yes.’ Elisabet admits.
‘Don’t say that. James… He…’ Sarah’s voice cracks.
James had died months ago, going down with his squad in the air. He had said he was honored to fly one final time for life on Earth to survive. Though most of all, he was honored to fly for his little sister, who was doing everything she could to set things right.
‘I’m going home.’ Elisabet’s tone is gentler now. ‘I won’t… be able to speak to you both again.’
‘But-! Aunt Lizzy-!’ Vivian’s voice is shaky, cracking with tears and emotion.
‘Listen to your mother, Vivi. And… try to live life the best you can.’ Elisabet says. ‘This isn’t what I wanted for you both. It isn’t what I wanted for anyone.’ She admits, her voice grave. ‘But if I didn’t do this, that door would never close. They would find GAIA, and be able to find you too.’ She says. ‘I can’t… let that happen. Do you understand?’
Vivian only sobs in response, and Sarah is heard taking a deep shuddering breath.
‘Take care, Lis.’ She says. ‘I hope… you make it back home. Say hi to… Say hi to James for me. And mom, dad and Moira too. When you get to where you’re going.’
‘Thanks. I will.’ Elisabet says, before reaching up to end the call. ‘I’m heading out now.’ She says, gazing up at the mountain housing GAIA Prime one last time.
‘… I love you both.’
Days later, Elisabet Sobeck makes it back home. To Sobeck Ranch.
She sits on a stone bench in the front yard, where she and her mother would watch the sunrise.
And dies.
Aloy can feel herself shaking as she comes to the end of the memory database.
Elisabet Sobeck died at her childhood home at the age of forty-six, and now she will die here again over a thousand years later.
At this point she has been sleeping for so long that not even GAIA can understand why, and it was only a matter of time before something had to give.
Aloy looks toward the AI, who has her gaze centered on Elisabet, meticulously tracking her vitals in silence. She then gazes toward her sister, who is sleeping fitfully beside her.
Without a word, Aloy shuts down her focus and turns on her bedroll towards Elisabet’s chamber. She stares at it, committing it to memory, and finally finds the strength to let her tired eyes close, allowing her dreams to come for her once more.
Aloy finds herself walking in a familiar field of flowers, under a brilliant night sky.
The walk seems… longer this time, somehow.
More flowers are littering the field, and there’s this sense of stillness that wasn’t there before. As if the world is waiting for something to happen.
But when she finally reaches the center, it’s empty.
Aloy collapses onto the stone bench, putting her face into her hands. The dream world is silent around her. No blight taking over. No storms raging in the distance.
Only Aloy. Alone once again.
Until… there’s the sensation of something soft and foreign against her forehead.
‘Aloy…’
When the sun rises, Aloy is abruptly awoken by Beta frantically shaking her shoulder.
‘Aloy!!’
‘What?’ She immediately sits up, her hunter instincts kicking in. ‘What’s wrong?’
Aloy’s gaze centers on her sister. Beta is breathing heavily, and there are tears in her eyes.
Her tears are not ones of sorrow.
‘Aloy, she’s awake.’ Beta grins, taking shaky breaths. ‘She’s awake!’
Stunned into silence, Aloy watches her sister quickly run to the chamber, putting her hand onto the glass.
After a moment, weak fingers are seen shakily reaching out to hers.
Aloy gasps and throws her blanket off, scrambling to get up.
Elisabet is awake.
She’s alive.
Bonus Scene:
‘Vivi, what do you have there?’
Elisabet is seen in the camera view, tending to the chickens in her backyard. She turns to the person behind the camera and crouches down to their level.
‘Where did you get that focus?’ She asks, gently reaching towards the camera.
The picture wobbles as Vivian shakes her head and takes a step back.
‘You know you’re too young to have one of those.’ Elisabet raises a red brow expectantly.
‘I know, but um… it helped me find…’ Vivian speaks, her voice almost shy. ‘Um… Happy Birthday, Aunt Lizzy.’ She holds up a bouquet of dandelions, causing Elisabet to blink with surprise.
‘Oh sweetheart, they’re beautiful.’ Elisabet says, taking the flowers and reaching out to cup Vivian’s cheek. ‘Thank you, I love them.’ She says, leaning closer to the camera to put their foreheads together. ‘And I love you.’
‘I love you too.’Beta says at the same time as Vivian, a shy smile coming over her face as she watches the sweet video come to an end.
Dream Eater Allyphant Creations 
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