Project Infinix
XX — Gaia 8.0
1. The Second Life of the Rest of Your Time
- Rui is in 1950’s, and for a pivotal mission to save Infinix, Kronos provides him intel on how to conceive the Tsar Bomba, and he must share it and work with the soviets to build it.
- In 1961, the bomb is detonated.
Kronos
- Get ready. It’s time for the main event.
2. Wreaking Havoc
- Ed is wreaking havoc on the world, attacking military personnel and infrastructures and setting their bases ablaze in multiple places around the world, inciting panic among the people they’re trying to protect, with some civilians getting killed because of it.
- Ana and GCC oppose Ed, and they want him to stop.
- Ed goes to GCC to destroy the Antinix, where he reunites with Lisa and the dogs.
Ed
- Accept it, Lisa, Infinix was never the problem; the people of Earth in charge of it were, including Musca. The same people you’re trying to protect - the same people who weaponized the system and who weaponized you.
- Embrace the prophecy, and together, it will be you and me against the world.
Lisa
- The prophecy? Is that what your “system” is telling you?
- Lisa points her gun to Ed, reminding him he isn’t bulletproof.
Ed
- Knock it off, you know you’re programmed to not harm me.
Lisa
- You have no idea.
- Lisa shoots Ed in the shoulder.
Lisa
- I’m afraid you don’t know the true story, and you have no idea how this prophecy ends.
- Luna steps in and flies away with Ed.
- Ana meets up with Lisa.
Lisa
- Are you willing to do what’s necessary to save us all?
3. The Woman of His Dreams
- Ana meets The Founder in Ethiopia.
The Founder
- If it isn’t the woman of my dreams…
4. You, Me and the Stars
The Founder's flashback
- 1940’s, Athens, Greece - Alpha Ed lives in a country under Nazi occupation as World War II still hadn’t come to an end. Ed is invited by a woman (with the Oracle’s appearance) to join a Resistance group called ELAS, dominated by communists.
- In this group, Ed meets a woman around his age at the time, seen from the back and sharing the same hair and silhouette as Ana, but with a necklace with the ∞ symbol. Her face is never shown.
Infinity
- Nice to meet you, I’m Infinity.
- As they stargaze in a night sky, Ed talks to Infinity about a fantasy world that has been recurring in his dreams - a utopia where everything is possible, and where there is no war.
- Ed and the woman fall in love.
Infinity
- Why are you crying?
Ed (The Founder)
- I’m dreaming, am I not?
Infinity
- Why do you ask that?
Ed (The Founder)
- Because this is the part where I wake up.
- Ed and Infinity manage to escape from a conflict with the Nazis who find their resistance outpost.
- In another stargazing session, Infinity wonders if they’ll ever find peace, if they’ll ever reach the dream world Ed keeps talking about.
Ed (The Founder)
- Don’t worry. Soon enough, we’ll reach that place, with no one to oppress us, where there’s only you, me and the stars.
- In their wedding, Ed says his vows.
Ed (The Founder)
- Till death do us part.
- Ed places a ring with a ∞ symbol on Infinity’s finger.
- Ed and Infinity are deeply in love, they live a happy life, they even have a child, and they’re seen visiting a museum with statues of Greek deities, particularly Eros, whom Infinity describes to her child.
- Ed tells stories to his child about his dream world.
- WW2 comes to an end while ELAS controlled most of the countryside and had real popular support. However, Greek government-in-exile returned, backed by the British, and both sides wanted power, leading to the Dekemvriana fight in Athens in 1944 - Allies vs Resistance.
Dekemvriana
Dekemvriana - a series of violent clashes that took place in Athens, Greece, in December 1944, between forces aligned with the Greek communist-led resistance (EAM-ELAS) and the Greek government, which was supported by British troops. The conflict erupted shortly after the liberation of Greece from Nazi occupation and marked a critical early phase of the Greek Civil War, highlighting deep political divisions over Greece’s postwar future.
- A civil war breaks out between 1946 and 1949 between communists and Greek government forces backed by Britain and the US.
- Ed and Infinity weren’t backing up any of the sides, as they just wanted the war to end, so they decided to leave the country along with their child.
- As they approach the border, Ed sees the Lords of Time, then he sees Rui aiming with his sniper rifle.
- Infinity and the child are shot.
- Infinity is bleeding out in Ed’s arms.
Infinity
- You can wake up now.
Ed (The Founder)
- I can’t, I don’t want to.
Infinity
- We’ll meet again… in your dream world… where there’s only you, me and the stars.
Ed (The Founder)
- I’ll find you, I promise, whatever it takes.
- Not even death will tear us apart.
Infinity
- Don’t ever forget us.
- Ed’s wife and child die in his arms.
- Ed grabs a pistol, approaches Rui, and points it to him.
- Ed fires the pistol, but someone else intercepts the shot.
- Rui is pulled by a rift and returns to the Abyss.
- Ed returned to Greece at the end of the civil war and joined Greek’s military, not as a soldier but as a scientist, few years before Greece joining NATO.
- Ed promised he’d end the war - the Cold War which had just started.
5. Quantum Immortality
- According to The Founder’s story, he should be well over a hundred years old; he explains to Ana that Nyx Energy has fascinating properties.
- Alpha Ed says that he failed to kill the guy that killed his wife and child, but he created the dream world he promised to her.
The Founder
- I’ve been looking for you for my whole life… and my whole lives, as it seems…
- Ana assures she isn’t who he thinks she is.
- Ana learns about Gaia and that Alpha Ed would inherit Earth’s hosting conscience if his son was killed.
- Alpha Ed also tells her that she was part of another experiment from the Zeta branch, just like his son.
The Founder
- My son led you to Infinix, as you kept invading his dreams.
6. Daydreaming
- During Ed’s rampage, as he flies with Luna, he passes by some folks he notices in front of a wall spray-painted with the ∞ symbol and the phrase “Dream On!”, raising their hands forming the ∞ symbol at him - the same gesture that used to be performed by the Stranded.
7. Comforting Illusion
- Ana meets the Oracle on Earth.
The Oracle
- Eventually, we all are forced to face a battle we don’t want to fight. Not a battle against someone, but a battle to reveal what we’re afraid to see, or to reveal what we’re not supposed to see.
- But maybe it’s a battle we force ourselves to fight, or maybe it’s a battle we started in more hopeful times, when we knew what was worth fighting for, when there was something to believe in, a reason to dream on, and we have sacrificed so much since then.
- The truth is that everything feels wrong the way it currently is, because there’s only one way it makes sense, and we have to fight for it, even if everyone and everything are against us, even the ones we love the most. And we can’t really stop fighting, can we? Otherwise, how will we be able to sleep? Who’s going to fight our demons? Sometimes we think the only way to move on is to live with it, hoping it gets better; but does it? Or will our demons keep consuming us from within?
- Reason becomes emotion;
- Optimism becomes despair;
- And truth becomes a comforting illusion.
- But do we really have a chance? Even when there’s nothing left, will we keep on fighting? What else will we have to sacrifice?
- Will it be our lives?
- Should we ask for another chance in the next lifetime?
- If we’re willing to love, we’re willing to suffer.
- But why is the world unjust?
- Why is suffering part of existence?
- What rules guide fate?
- How much control do we really have?
- Ana, what demons are you willing to fight? Will you wait for someone to save you?
- What are you willing to do for love?
8. Primordial Sea
- The Oracle points Ana the way to get her Nyx abilities - through Andromeda’s trial in the coast of Jaffa, Israel.
- As she approaches the coast by boat, a storm breaks out, turning the sea turbulent.
- Eventually, she spots a strange creature swimming nearby. Then, she’s hit by a wave, and she passes out.
- Ana wakes up chained to a rock in the middle of the ocean.
- Ana notices a sea monster approaching - Cetus.
Cetus
In Greek mythology, Andromeda, daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia, was chained to a seaside rock as a sacrifice to the sea monster Cetus, sent by Poseidon to punish Cassiopeia’s pride. Perseus saw her, slew Cetus, freed Andromeda, and later married her.
9. Cetus
- As Cetus is about to attack, Ana’s Water Entergy starts getting manifested as she manages to take control of the tides, summoning waves to protect herself.
- With no one coming to save her, Ana eventually frees herself from her chains, and she unleashes a tremendous amount of power with heavy rain, strong currents, giant waves and whirlpools, sending Cetus back to its depths.
10. Hearts Colliding
- Ed is still rampaging, and he’s faced by Ana in a city that he turned into a battlefield.
Ana
- Is this what becomes of us?
Ed
- You know I have no choice.
Ana
- I know you won’t stop; your dream world depends on you. But one of us has to make the hardest choice, and we’re both willing to sacrifice everything for it, aren’t we?
Ed
- I really am sorry.
Ana
- So am I.
- Ana summons a giant water stream that drags Ed and Luna to the countryside.
- Ana faces Ed in a destructive duel.
- Dragon Rider vs Unleashed Princess; buildings collapsing; giant chains and giant waves summoned to attack Ed, who counters with his sword, Luna’s fire and earthquakes.
11. Till Death Do Us Part
- During their duel, Ana eventually disarms Ed by grabbing his sword with her chains, and she uses it to hit the final blow.
- Ana pierces Ed’s heart.
- Ed, bleeding out and crying, says his final words.
Ed
- Dream on.
12. His Brightest Star Was You
- Ed’s consciousness is stored in his sword which Ana keeps.
- Ed was killed on October 21st, and on that night, Lisa admires the Orion constellation in the sky, painted with shooting stars from the Orionid meteor shower.
In Greek mythology, Artemis was the one who placed Orion among the stars after his death.
- Ana meets up with Lisa.
Ana
- Have I ever meet Ed before Infinix?
- Lisa says that’s unlikely, according to the files on the childhoods of both. Even if they were both experiments of the Zeta branch, they were connected through two unrelated agencies.
- Ana says that Ed told her that she had invaded his dreams way before they met each other in Zetania, and she never understood how that was possible.
- Lisa says that you can’t really project original faces in your dreams; if someone shows up, it’s because you had previously met.
Lisa
- Who knows? If it wasn’t in this lifetime, maybe it was the one before?
- As Ed’s death news are spread through Infinix, they declare war on Earth.
13. Infinity War
- Infinity War is the name given to the total war that begins on Earth, between Earth and Infinix.
- Earth’s side - wants to take control of Infinix, to prevent Nyx-abled individuals from attacking Earth; however, some nations have different interests.
- Infinix’ side - wants to take control of Earth to prevent their governments from taking control of the system and using it for their own interests.
- The Doomsday Clock hits midnight, and the biggest war in the history of mankind features nuclear weapons, Nyx-powered weapons and bombs, soldiers injected with Nyx Energy, lab-grown Miners, and Miners from the Breach.
14—20
- Rui enters present-day Earth and joins TTF, who are some of the Miners fighting for Infinix on Earth soil.
- The remaining main characters - both Ed’s friends from Infinix and Earth have mostly passive and relatively absent roles in the battlefield, however, they witness destruction everywhere, so most of them just want the war to end, mainly Gabi.
- Earth soldiers connected to Infinix are overwhelmed by their natives.
- Some Infinix-supportive groups are formed called “Dreamers”, branded with the ∞ symbol on walls, weapons and armbands, with “Dream On!” as their motto and battle cry, accompanied by the raised ∞ hands gesture.
- Most Dreamers are Nyx-abled, but they also include regular people who are supporters of Ed and see Infinix as the future of humanity.
- Some Nyx-powered soldiers are somehow hijacked as their minds get controlled by Miners from Infinix, turning them against their brothers in arms.
- Jake is one of those connected to a soldier, and he reunites with Ana.
- Jake says that they’re not going to stop, because as long as humans are able to connect to Infinix, the System will be in danger.
21. The Loop
- Rui meets up with The Founder, and the latter points his pistol to the former, for Alpha Ed blames Rui for Infinity’s and their child’s death.
- Rui tells Alpha Ed that if he hadn’t done what he did, Infinix wouldn’t have been conceived.
- Rui also reveals that he was the one who orchestrated the Tsar Bomba.
- Alpha Ed acknowledges that he and Rui had the same goals, and that it’s all part of the loop to create his dream world.
- Rui tells Alpha Ed that there’s one last thing he must do to ensure that Infinix lives on, so he can finish the loop.
22. Termination Shock
- Ana wants to shut down all connections to Infinix.
- Ana, carrying Ed’s sword, travels to Geneva, Switzerland to destroy Iota data center’s server.
23. All Hearts Turn to Dirt
- Ana finds the server connected to an amethyst cluster, and she faces Alpha Ed, standing in her way.
- Ana blames him for everything.
Ana
- You can’t build a dream world of peace if you fuel it with conflict. Your vision, your ideas, the entire framework, and the entire source code are chaotic.
- You blame humanity for what’s wrong with the world, for waging war, for killing your loved ones.
- It’s true that humans are the source of all conflict, but creating a perfect world won’t solve those problems.
- You blame humanity for weaponizing your project, yet you were the one placing humans in the system.
- I’ve been there; Ed has been there; conflict… war… it’s all inevitable.
- People are rewarded for slaying entities; tournaments are glorified where people fight against each other, and all these events are meant to produce the most dangerous energy on the planet.
- You wanted to save humanity from Doomsday, yet they’re currently killing each other in total annihilation.
- You say that you are the host of Earth, yet you want to leave it behind because you can’t handle the reality of this world.
- Whoever your heart is beating for is gone, and whether you like it or not, this very Earth will be the one claiming that heart of yours as it turns into dirt.
- You wanted to build a dream world without war, yet you orchestrated the biggest war of all time.
- It really is time for you to wake up.
- Rui shoots an arrow near Ana.
- He and Alpha Ed want to steal the sword.
- Rui and Ana face each other in a duel.
- Ana gets unarmed and Alpha Ed picks up the sword.
- Alpha Ed pierces the sword onto the amethyst cluster.
- A rift is drawn downwards, going deep underground until the center of the Earth.
- Time goes back to the 1960’s, during Alpha Ed’s research throughout the future using his rift generator.
- Memories are transferred from Alpha Ed’s older self from present-day to his younger self in the 60’s.
The Founder's flashback
- Blueprints are shown regarding an underground tunnel leading to Earth’s core, referring a 25th data center, labeled with the Infinity symbol (∞).
- A rift is drawn underground and opened between Earth’s surface and core, forming said tunnel, filled with amethysts.
The Founder's younger self
- Let there be light.
- The Kernel is lit up for the first time.
- Rifts are drawn throughout the facility and in the sky above all of Geneva.
- These rifts seem to be permanent.
- Alpha Ed has visions featuring lots of Titans.
The Founder
- What have I done?
- Alpha Ed’s limbs start vanishing.
- Time freezes, and the Lords of Time take Alpha Ed through a rift.
Rui
- This was inevitable.
24. System Shutdown
- The United Nations and Gabi agree to close the Breach and every connection between Earth and Infinix.
- Gabi is given full authority of the Kernel, which can no longer be managed by any agency nor government on Earth; she makes it so all incoming and outgoing connections may only be performed with Kernel permissions, and none of the 24 data centers allow such access, even if an administrator is connected through one of them.
- The plug is pulled, marking the end of the Infinity War.
- However, Nyx entities are still roaming Earth, including the TTF group.
- The rifts are drawn all over the world and start growing over time.
- Rui is taken once again by the Lords of Time, reducing TTF back to four members.
- Lisa’s debugger shows the silent channel (the fourth one) flickering for a second, while Infinix’ activity channel seems to be silent.
- Ed’s sword gets stolen and Luna disappears.