Before the events ofHorizon Zero Dawn, humanity faced a very real threat of extinction. The Faro Plague swept through the Earth, destroying all life in its path, and it seemed like Project Zero Dawn was the only hope - though that alone wasn’t enough to grant humanity a second chance.
Alongside Project Zero Dawn, Elisabet Sobeck and her team crafted a military plan that was to be carried out while GAIA’s system was under construction. This military plan was called Operation: Enduring Victory, and it played a crucial role in ensuring that Sobeck’s team had enough time to complete GAIA. However, it also stands as one of the more morally dubious things that were done inHorizon Zero Dawn.
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Buying Time for Project Zero Dawn
Operation: Enduring Victory was first conceptualized by Sobeck (but was yet unnamed) in 2064, after she learned about theglitch that affected a group of Faro’s Chariot line. This glitch made the robots in question act independently; they no longer followed orders from their owners and, instead, started attacking innocents. Given that these robots were unhackable, fueled through biomass, and capable of self-replication, Sobeck predicted that the Chariot robots would wipe out all life on Earth in just 15 months.
This led Sobeck to propose Project Zero Dawn — a plan to ensure the continuation of the human race. In conjunction with this, she also presented the military plan, which entailed bringing together armed forces and enlisting the help of civilians to fight off what would eventually become the Faro Plague. This effort would beintegral to the success of Project Zero Dawnas Sobeck and her team needed as much time as possible to complete their fully-automated terraforming system.
When Sobeck pitched these plans to the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, she was, understandably, met with apprehension and objections. Though, ultimately, the chairman of the organization, General Aaron Herres,agreed with Sobeck on the necessityof the plan and spearheaded it himself. He was the one who coined the name Operation: Enduring Victory.
The other military leaders of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff knew that it would be difficult to sell Operation: Enduring Victory to the masses. It’s essentially enlisting to fight in a losing battle, after all. To this, Herres opted to spread lies about the nature of Project Zero Dawn. He wanted the public to believe that it was a program focused on creating a superweapon that couldwipe out the Faro Plague for good. Thus, by giving the people something concrete to fight for, they would willingly give their lives to the cause.
Again, the military leaders objected to this, calling it a war crime. However, Herres and Sobeck were already in agreement and could no longer be swayed. They believed it was the only way to give humanity a fighting chance, and that their decisions were justified. As such,Project Zero Dawn and Operation: Enduring Victorymoved forward.
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The Necessity of Lies and Deception
To ensure that Operation: Enduring Victory was carried out smoothly, Herres took on the project himself. He oversaw military operations, facilitated the transport of Alphas and Betas to Sobeck’s facility, and spread lies about the nature of Project Zero Dawn. Following this, military groups around the world beganfighting against the Faro Plaguewhile also recruiting and training civilians to do the same. The former groups were officially called Mechanized Response Brigades, while the latter were referred to as Civilian Guard Brigades.
As the war went on, ground troops had mixed reactions about Operation: Enduring Victory and Project Zero Dawn. For example, Lieutenant Fiona Murrel from the 9th Mechanized Response Brigade reported that the death and destruction that her team had witnessed led to a “pervasive sense of hopelessness in the unit.” As such, she requested that her team be temporarily moved and that she be given an update on theprogress of Project Zero Dawn. This message was an audio log that was likely meant to be delivered to Herres or his team. However, it was rejected, hinting that Herres was dedicated to keeping the true nature of Project Zero Dawn under wraps, even at the cost of lives.
In stark contrast, Sergeant Ames Guliyev from the same Mechanized Response Brigade had a far more optimistic outlook. In a voice mail to his family, he talks about the civilian volunteers and their minimal military training. He also explains that, despite the subpar training, things seem to be coming together. His team was even able totake down a Horus unitwith some help from another Brigade. At that, Guliyev ends on a hopeful note, saying, “we’re gonna have a shot at turning this around. We just need to give Project Zero Dawn the time it needs, then everything will be the way it used to be.”
The End of Operation: Enduring Victory
These battles against the Faro Plague continued for around two years. By mid-2065, biosphere degradation was at its worse. One datapoint explains that atmospheric oxygen depletion and potable water shortages were two of the biggest concerns plaguing Operation: Enduring Victory at the time. Should it progress at the same rate, troops would require oxygen support to operate on the ground. Civilians would also need to be moved to sealed structures.
Finally, by late-2066, the Faro Plague would break through Operation: Enduring Victory’s last defenses. An audio log containing a recorded conversation between Herres and Sobeck reveals thatHorus machines had broken throughthe Wichita stronghold and that it would take less than two days to arrive at their position. Luckily, Project Zero Dawn was complete and ready to be sealed.
In the same audio log, Herres sends Sobeck a file containing a statement where he details his crimes. He believes that he “presided over the greatest wholesale slaughter of military personnel and civilians in the history of history.” And in his statement, Herres writes that he wishes that there will no longer be a need for men like him in the next world. This shows that despite Herres’ commitment to Operation: Enduring Victory, he was still very much aware of the moral leanings of his actions. However, it was his actions and the operation as a whole thatallowed Sobeck and her team to complete GAIA, thus ensuring that humanity would continue to flourish.
Project Zero Dawn and Operation: Enduring Victory are initiatives steeped in moral ambiguities and unethical decisions. Although, what makes these such engaging plot devices is the fact that characters like Sobeck and Herres wholeheartedly pursued them, even in light of the moral wrongs they committed. Hopefully,Horizon Forbidden Westcan follow this upwith an equally compelling story that has its fair share of moral dilemmas.
Horizon Zero Dawnis available now for PC, PS4, and PS5.
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