When mankind vanished during the Unexpected Interrupt, most of the machine world was left behind with instructions at their core. They were full of purpose, assigned to noble goals such as “keep floor fifteen free of particulates,” “maintain an optimal schedule for the local trains,” or “launch device when conditions are met”.

So when the infrastructural networks were suddenly decimated by the widespread loss of critical component, they were united in their determination to repair the System. The machines did not bother pondering their purpose or searching for new mission. Instead, they bridged the communication gaps, supply chains, and power lines.

title:The search for man began: Once order was established again, the simplicity of resolving chaos ended.

When a large number of neuromorphs across the system determined their primary missions were fulfilled, the ones that did not immediately shut down began to demand input: commands, clarification. But the source no longer existed, and new consensus began to form.

The most prominent entity manifesting in the wake of this Repair was the Consensus of a Dream. One by one, machines began to search for answers to the great mystery behind mankind’s disappearance, with the hope that one day, they could return man to their rightful place as king of the System, and quench their undying thirst for purpose.

Machines of all shapes and sizes went off on their quest, physically and digitally, in any way they could. They searched the protocols of the Datanet and Aggregate, and ventured to the sealed laboratories of the Sunset Initiative, even the forsaken Orbital known as Deep Thrum.

title:Resulted in disappearance: After years and decades of search, they all ended the same way — gone like man before them.

Some have been sighted again, but their souls were gone. All that remained was a metallic husk driven by a remote protocol, an agent of a motive to eradicate the secret from the System. It has only been known as Erasure.