ONN: A Threat From the Past
To view other news releases, visit MediaNet Archives.
Originally Published on May 17th, 2488
Orbital News Network/Grant Jones Reporting
For the past 36 hours, returning scavengers from Earth have returned bearing reports of hostile AI's in popular scavenger hotspots.
It should be noted that Earth has been used for a long time as final resting place for discarded AI's from all kinds of corporations, these AI's are oftentimes malfunctioning and instances where they become openly hostile are not exactly unexpected, the denizens of the Surface are also known for reprogramming these AI's, or even completely re-purposing them. Matters like these are the reasons why Scavengers and would-be adventurers are asked to extreme caution, although our former home hardly houses any life these days, it has never stopped being a dangerous place for those who venture within for the first time.
ONN has sent several probes to the designated scavenging hotspots in hopes to obtain not only answers, but confirmation or clarification, to what returning scavengers claim.
Of 10 probes that were sent, three were immediately destroyed by what we can only assume were locals, however, the remaining seven managed to bring back a grim sight: While these were AI's as expected, they looked older, and far more aggressive than discarded AI's, following militaristic patterns and formations. Further investigation into history databases reveals that these hostile AI's match the description and behavioral patterns of long thought destroyed Mech Units from the Transcendence War.
At the moment, we are unsure what, if any, entity has managed to reactivate these long forgotten and deadly Mech Units, but they seem to be acquiring abandoned weaponry, retrofitting it to themselves and becoming increasingly hostile not only to outsiders, but to locals as well.
ONN recommends future scavengers to extreme precautions and to go scavenging only under their absolute risk. We will keep informing on this story as it develops.