![[geist.png]] *Added to the Codex on* ***December 5th, 2023*** --- ### Quotes "Project Pallas is the future. We've got to go beyond flesh and blood."[^1] - Blackburn "A Geist dies in a soldier's place. Isn't that better? Better than the hell we keep putting each other through?"[^1] - Blackburn "Our synthetics will change the face of warfare forever." - Blackburn "They don't have brains. The synthetics are just, like, robot puppets being piloted around by that AI."[^2] - BSC Guard "Those fucking things haunt us - why do you think we call them geists." - 8838 <br> ### Description Troop numbers for both U.S. and Eastern Forces were on the decline long before the war began. The emergence of the [[No-Pats]] temporarily boosted force levels as militaries began outsourcing their war effort, however No-Pat independence and [[Codex/Key Events/The Blackout|the Blackout]] revelations of 2043 heralded another alarming drop in personnel. If armies wanted to survive, a sustainable alternative was needed. Development of synthetic soldiers began at [[Boreas|Boreas R&D]] labs in the late 2030s. Despite advancements being made, the early models were far from battle-ready. Besides a deficiency of processing power, researchers lacked the requisite data to replicate active combat skills. Project Pallas marked a turning point in production. Once alive human subjects were introduced, progress was rapid. With the birth of [[Aurora Operating System|A.O.S.]], synthetics improved their speed, strength, and skill. They were beginning to outstrip their human counterparts on every metric. The [[Revolt of 86|Unit 86 revolt]] halted development, but under A.O.S.' control, synthetics haven't given up trying to hone their skills hunting down [[Boreas Containment Services|BCS]] staff and the escaped subjects that roam the facility. [^1]: This is one of Blackburn's loading screen quotes. [^2]: Spoken by a BCS Guard in the [[Level Up|"Level Up"]] player card.