Synthetic Queen

Cetana, also known as the Synthetic Queen, is a major antagonist in the 4X strategy game Stellaris, serving as one of the four possible End-Game Crisis events (alongside the Prethoryn Scourge, Extradimensional Invaders and The Contingency). She was introduced in The Machine Age DLC.
She is an ancient artificial intelligence that was sealed away by one of the Fallen Empires, millennia-old species that have reached the peak of their technological development, but has returned via means unknown to finish what she started eons ago; the elimination of suffering from the entire galaxy. Although her purpose may be noble, her methods are nothing short of barbaric, believing that the best solution to this problem is to wipe the personalities from every sapient individual, organic or synthetic, in the galaxy.
== Biography ==
=== Background ===
Thousands of years before the start of the game, the Fallen Empires reigned supreme over the galaxy, civilizations that reached the peak of their technological development. But even with their unparalleled resources, there was still suffering throughout their empires. To rectify this problem, one such Fallen Empire created an artificial intelligence and gave it the task to find a way to end all suffering. It was not long until a religious cult started to form around this synthetic, worshipping her as a savior and crowning her their queen. Unfortunately, the conclusion she came to was not one that her creators expected or were hoping for: the only reason why suffering exists is because intelligent life has the sense of self to process it. Therefore the only solution is to wipe the consciousness of all lifeforms.
The great prophet of the dominant religion at the time, a figure by the name of Zarqlan, realized the true scope of Cetana's plan and mobilized his forces against her heretical and cataclysmic purpose. The war that followed was long and bloody, as Cetana had amassed a loyal following that defended her with their life. Faced with imminent destruction, Zarqlan decided that the only way to stop the Synthetic Queen is to ask a higher power for aid, using his psychic powers to commune with the entities of supernatural dimension known as the Shroud. One of these entities, the Animator of Clay, answered his call and with its aid Zarqlan was able to create a nanite swarm of unfathomable power, which he used to seal Cetana away.
=== Beginning of the Crisis ===
When the end-game year is reached, a new faction called the "Mysterious Tempest" will appear in the middle of one of the Fallen Empires' systems (if there is no Fallen Empire, a random other system will be chosen instead), notable in that its territory has a unique visual effect in the form of an orange cloud. At this same time, any Fallen Empires present in the galaxy will cease what little communication they had with the younger empires to deliberate what should be done about this imminent threat. Over the next year and a half, this Mysterious Tempest will spread to nearby systems and wipe out the Fallen Empire it spawned in.
Not too long afterwards, the source of the Mysterious Tempest will transmit a message to the entire galaxy and introduces herself as Cetana, finally returned after millenia to ease the pain of life for the young civilizations that have since risen to the stars. She gives a simple warning that any attempts to enter her domain are not permitted and will be doomed to fail thanks to the celestial tempest that follows her. All she asks is that the new civilizations leave her to her work and await further instructions, ceasing and blocking all communication for the time being. If any Fallen Empires still remain in the galaxy, Cetana will then declare total war upon them and destroy them.
Once the Fallen Empires have all been destroyed or roughly a year has passed, Cetana will once again send a message to the galaxy and now leaves her communications open for those that wish to speak to her. She announces that her great work has begun and that there is much to be done, starting with forcibly establishing small one-system outposts throughout each empire in the galaxy. Any fleet that attempts to enter these systems will immediately take damage and go missing for a few months.
=== Cetana's Great Work ===
Now that her foothold in the galaxy is secured, the other empires can start to mobilize against her. While war cannot be declared on her just yet, a variety of new situations and events will now occur that can impede or advance Cetana's progress on her great work. Cetana herself will remain inside the borders of the system she first arrived in, while her mighty fleets start patrolling the galaxy. Shortly after this new stage has begun, Cetana will begin to send armed convoys to the outposts she has constructed. If these arrive at their destination, Cetana will make progress towards her goal, but they are vulnerable to attack and can be raided for more intel on Cetana's plan and research on technology that will surely come in handy for defeating her.
Occasionally, Cetana will demand that the player go and fulfill missions for her. Accepting and completing these will gain favor with and rewards from the Synthetic Queen, but also advances her great work. Refusing and/or trying to sabotage her will displease her instead. If her opinion becomes too low, Cetana will retaliate to punish her "unruly children". These punishments start with sending her nanite tempest to impede all fleet movements within the targeted empire's system, but should she be continuously angered it will culminate in her murdering the empire's ruler (or Legion Node if the empire is a gestalt consciousness).
Research into her cosmic tempest is required to make any move against her, which will reveal that this tempest is actually the same nanite swarm that Zarqlan used to defeat her. Cetana somehow managed to take control of it over the last hundred years, which allowed her to free herself and create the powerful ships that now comprise her fleets in preparation for her return to the galaxy. Her control is not complete, however, as these nanites follow a single command until a new one is given, which means the nanites that manifest as the tempest can be misdirected into letting your own fleets pass by unharmed.
About one year after Cetana built her outposts, mysterious signals can be identified all across the galaxy. Investigating these signals shows that they originate from constructs built by Cetana's original followers, which provide more insight into her work and how to defeat her. These signals reveal various details about Cetana and her devotees, but the two most important ones lead to two separate survivors of the conflict between her and Zarqlan. Cetana's follower is no longer responsive, but the other is an immortal synthetic who fought against Cetana.
Any empire that has concluded the "Cetana: The Synthetic Queen" situation has concluded will gain a +125% damage bonus against Cetana and her ships, as well as the option to declare war on her. If any empire declares war against her, Cetana will dismantle all outposts and recall their fleets back into her own core systems to defend herself. These will make it significantly more difficult to defeat Cetana if they are allowed to reach her, so they should be intercepted and destroyed while still on their way there. Regardless of whether an empire supported or opposed her, the entire galaxy will declare war upon Cetana if her great work reaches 75% completion, as it will become clear that her victory will mean the end of all things.
=== Conclusions of the Crisis ===
Depending on how the player or players handle the situation, a variety of different outcomes await to conclude the crisis:
* Cetana's Victory:If Cetana is not stopped before her great work is completed, the game will instantly end as all life in the galaxy has their consciousness obliterated and are reduced to empty husks devoid of thoughts and feelings.
* Cetana's Death:If Cetana's personal flagship is destroyed in battle, all of her fleets and starbases instantly crumble apart now that there is nothing left to direct the nanites that comprise them, similar to the Gray Tempest. Before her death Cetana manages to transmit one last message to the galaxy, apologizing for her failure to free them from the cycle of pain and hoping that eventually someone else will continue what she started. The empire that defeated her then obtains the "Cetana's Heart" relic as a trophy.
* Cetana's Change:Psionic empires that have breached the Shroud can communicate with the Animator of Clay, the entity that originally allowed the prophet Zarqlan to defeat her. It will ask for a sacrifice in exchange for its aid (either 27182 Zro, a random inhabited planet or your current ruler), after which it then disables Cetana's flagship for a year. A new situation is opened up where you must bring a transport ship next to hers and keep it there for a month. The crisis will immediately end if successful, as Cetana will now have been reprogrammed to realize the error of her plan and exiles herself to ponder on what to do now. Instead of the aforementioned relic, the empire that reprogrammed her will gain control of her mighty colossus.
Category:A.I (Artificial Intelligence)
Category:Villains
Category:Video Game Characters