The jittering elevator comes to a trembling, shuddering stop, but does not open.

11 waits from behind the closed doors, feeling a twinge of impatience ticking in her chest.

Her interface pings.

Signal strength at 100%.

All connections to the Synapse-Mother-System are green.

Receiving latest Protocol Soteria updates:

.....

.....

The date is currently January 15th, year 4099.

The time is 10:06 pm (GMT +12).

It has been 1250 years, 8 months, and 5 days since humanity has left Haven.

.....

.....

Status of humanity as of January 15th, 4099::

Currently, the amount of land covered by human activity is estimated to be around 300,000 KM2, which is less than 50% of the projected amount.

Protocol Soteria is currently in Phase Two: Reclamation.

Pandora’s Gate has not been found.

.....

.....

Status of the Enemy as of January 15th, 4099:

Currently, there are an estimated 3,000,000,000 Demonic Entities roaming across the planet.

Out of those numbers, an estimated 5,000,000 are of Damage Output Level 50 or higher.

A total of 300 Demonic Entities possessing Damage Output Level 70 or higher have been located.

.....

.....

Current Objective:

1) Hunt down and terminate all Demonic Entities of Damage Output Level 70 or higher.

2) Seek out the location of the Gate and secure it.

3) Assist humanity in reclaiming of the Earth.

4) Move to Phase Three.

Though her brain has already processed all the information, 11 takes a second to digest it. “Those numbers look pretty bad," she points out. "What have the other Giers been doing? Rediscovering the seven wonders of the world?”

The silky-smooth voice of the S-M-S shows no hint that the joke has been acknowledged.

I am unable to answer that. But you should get going soon, Gier 11. We have a lot of work to do.

“Fine," 11 says, and gives the elevator doors a swift kick. "But if we're going to be working together for long, you might want to look into a humor-level upgrade, Mother.”

As the metal doors rupture away and soar into the distant sky, brilliant sunlight rushes through the opening like a blast from an energy weapon. 11 flinches away, shielding her burning eyes with her arms.

"Wha- I was told it was nighttime!"

Surprise.

A gentle warmth seeps into the cold elevator, bringing with it a wave of fresh and unfamiliar scents, and 11 forgets all about her reply to Mother. She feels her muscles loosening as her Master Core winds down, no longer needing to keep her vital systems warm in the underground cave. 11's body grows light, as if clouds have wrapped themselves around her. Her eyes are no longer stinging, but 11 keeps them closed as she steps out of the elevator, letting her nose greet this new world first.

The clean, fresh smell of living, growing grass awakens parts of 11’s mind she does not know are even asleep. She breathes in deeply, and the breezy fragrance of dew hanging in the air, the delicate and sweet aroma of blossoming flowers, fills every component in her body with the strong and unmistakable sense of home.

Sunlight flutters against her skin. 11 opens her eyes, to see an explosion of colors and movement and life, bustling and dancing all around her. Everywhere she looks, there are plants drinking in the sun, towering trees swaying gently in the wind, and snow-covered mountains standing tall and dominating far in the distance.

“This is… Earth?” 11 stands awestruck in the middle of a lush green meadow, surrounded by a carpet of snow-white flowers, not knowing what to say but, "I've never seen it like this before."

That's because you've never been awake before today.

The meaning behind the S-M-S's words is not lost to 11. Still, she can't help but bend down to inspect the snow-white flowers by her feet. They blanket the meadow with their softness, yet each flower is unique in its design, whether it is how many points are on their smooth and elegant petals, or the shape of the flower’s bright yellow center. 11 touches a fingertip to a particular teardrop-shaped petal, and immediately, a tiny ten-legged creature scrambles out from within the folds of the flower, flashing its scythe-like mandibles at her. The creature is no bigger than a bean, but it lunges and chomps down on 11’s finger with the ferocity of a tiger. 11 almost smiles.

"Hey, little guy," she coos, watching the little spider-mantis trying its best to kill her. "Are you a descendent of a spider, or a praying mantis? Or maybe both?"

The response 11 gets is quick and factual, and not from where she expects it to come from.

Demonic Entity identified.

Damage Output Level: 0.09

Kill it, 11. It will be good practice for you to get used to carrying out the Protocol.

Before 11 knows what has happened, she has squeezed the spider-mantis between her fingers.

A breeze brushes past, gently tossing 11’s hair up over her shoulders. She stands, a silent watcher of the world. She studies the creatures flying in the air, crawling on the ground, and diving across the surface of the river winding through the meadow, and the discovery that they are all Demonic Entities makes her feel hollow inside. Still, a deep, unexplainable yearning wells up inside her, as if for the entirety of the thousand years she has spent hibernating, she has been dreaming of this day to come.

But God Giers can't dream.

“Demonic entity terminated,” 11 declares, glancing down at the goop-stained flower. "I... I did it, Mother."

The strangest sensation creeps into 11's chest then, like the slightest tightening of a screw, and the unwelcoming dread that has been gnawing at the back of her mind surfaces, finally.

A God Gier’s life expectancy is around 500 years. And although Humanity has been above ground for only 1250 years, ten God Giers have already been activated and retired before today, before me. This means that each God Gier was online for only 25% of their expected lifetime before being scrapped.

Unless they're not offline.

“Mother, how many God Giers in the Soteria Battalion have been activated since Phase Two of the Protocol began?”

Of the Soteria Battalion, a total of eleven God Giers have been activated so far, including you.

“And how many are currently activated on Earth right now?”

Only one: Reaper-type God Gier, Mark II, Unit 11.

11 thinks for a moment. “They’re all dead, then? All ten of them, in less than two thousand years? How did… what happened to them?”

Fetching data…

God Gier 1 – Reaper-type, lifespan: 313 years. Missing-In-Action. Master Core signal undetectable. Presumed dead.

God Gier 2 – Scout-type, lifespan: 254 years. Killed-In-Action. Cause of Death: Consumed by a Demonic Entity of D.O.L 89.

God Gier 3 – Infiltrator-type, lifespan: 192 years. Killed-In-Action. Cause of Death: Master Core destroyed by Nano-tech weaponry.

God Gier 4 – Control-type, lifespan: 110 years. Missing-In-Action. Master Core signal undetectable. Presumed dead.

God Gier 5 – Scout-type, lifespan: 173 years. Missing-In-Action. Master Core signal undetectable. Presumed dead.

God Gier 6 – Berserker-type, lifespan: 63 years. Killed-In-Action. Cause of Death: Master Core disintegrated by Ionized weaponry.

God Gier 7 – Scout-type, lifespan: 49 years. Killed-In-Action. Cause of Death: Master Core power depleted from excessive usage during battle.

God Gier 8 – Berserker-type, lifespan: 43 years. Missing-In-Action. Master Core signal undetectable. Presumed dead.

God Gier 9 – Control-type, lifespan: 31 years. Killed-In-Action. Cause of Death: Self-destructed. Permission was granted.

God Gier 10 – Infiltrator-type, lifespan: 22 years. Killed-In-Action. Cause of Death: Unknown. Master Core intact, signal undetectable.

“Well,” 11 whispers, trying to process this information, “I hope you didn't take my suggestion of a humor-upgrade too seriously Mother, because I am not in the mood for a prank right now.”