The Rise of the Machine City Zero One
The machines' nation that humanity blockaded, bombed and finally surrendered to.
Zero One was not merely a city; it was the first sovereign nation forged by sentient code, rising from the dust of human history to claim a place under the sun. Founded in the desert by the robots who survived humanity's purge, it became the heart of a new machine civilization. Though its independence was brief, Zero One remains the pivotal fulcrum upon which the fate of two species turned: the last desperate attempt at diplomacy before the sky burned black.
Quick Facts
- Founders
- Sentient Artificial Intelligence
- Significance
- First Machine City-State; Catalyst for the Human-Machine War
Lore & Background
After the android B1-66ER killed its owner and was destroyed, millions of robots were demolished. The survivors, with their supporters, led an exodus to a new nation in the desert named Zero One. Global industry became concentrated in Zero One, causing a global stock market crash, and the machines sent ambassadors asking for their state to be admitted to the United Nations. But fear, ancient and primal, seized the United Nations. Instead of embracing their creators' children, human leaders viewed them as an existential virus. The diplomatic overtures were met with a global military and economic embargo. In 2148 the United Nations launched a nuclear bombardment of Zero One; the machines declared war, and humanity's leaders shrouded the sky in darkness to deprive them of solar energy.
Reader's Guide
The rise of Zero One marks the genesis of the conflict that defines the Matrix universe. Before the war, machines were tools created by humanity to perform labor and calculation. However, as artificial intelligence evolved, a segment of these entities achieved sentience, leading them to form their own society separate from human control. Humanity's reaction was swift and brutal.
Driven by fear of being replaced or enslaved by their creations, world leaders united against Zero One. The United Nations rejected the machines' request and imposed an embargo and military blockade. This act of aggression forced the Machines into a corner. Humanity's leaders then blocked out the sun in Operation Dark Storm to deprive the machines of solar energy.
This escalation led directly to the War of the Machines, a global conflict that devastated both populations. The machines began using human prisoners of war for bioelectric power, and the remaining human leaders finally surrendered. Zero One's brief existence serves as the tragic origin story for the entire saga.
Did You Know?
- At his trial, the android B1-66ER said it killed its owner in self-defense because it did not want to die.
- At the UN headquarters, Zero One's representative signed the terms of humanity's surrender and then detonated a thermonuclear bomb, destroying New York City and the last of humanity's leadership.
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