Weal of Baz

The **Weal of Baz** is an aldeia within the Divided Seas region.

## Background

*Unit-A29-# #2\* begin sequence relevant*

*Code 4881: Baz*

*"Baz" signifies organic language designation of original, primary unit*

*"Baz" equates to organic language term, "Savior."*

*Appropriate refrain 923/3K: "All thanks and praise to Baz, whose mercies sheltered us from the merciless world. Power, processing, and storage to him."*

*Analysis: "Baz" synonymous with "machine messiah." Accuracy:9-99987 out of 10.*
Located far out in the Beyond, on the calm shores of the Navae Marica, sentries watch over the only entrance to the Weal of Baz. This hidden refuge is a haven for intelligent machines. Fully organic creatures are allowed access very rarely, and then only for a for a short stay.

Baz was a vastly powerful artificial intelligence that used abilities similar to esoteries to carve out a small town out of a cleft in a rocky cliff face. Only one pass connects it to the outside world, though access across the water is also possible.

It's not known whether Baz survives into the present day.

The Weal of Baz like no other aldeia. The entrance is through a narrow cleft in an overgrown cliffside, concealed by holograms and guarded by a pair of vigilant automaton sentries equipped with vision-enhancing hardware and armed with long-range projectile weapons manufactured in the town.

Many of the automatons and intelligent machines found here exist in various states of disrepair. They are, as a whole, a factious lot, barely able to communicate with one another. Some are more than a million years old. Others claim to be far older, created by different hans for very different purposes. Some are potent and dangerous; others exist in cobbled-together messes of spare parts that barely function. But they all seem to share a single unifying factor: a fear, hatred, or loathing for intelligent organic beings. There are exceptions, however. Rarely, an intelligent machine in the outside world will give a deserving organic creature a small cord, disk, or patch that bears a strange, complex symbol. This symbol is a pass that allows the individual to enter the Weal of Baz.

Inside the community, a traveler will find some of the finest machinesmiths and technicians in the Beyond, as well as an enormous stockpile of spare parts. This stash, known as the Hoard, is probably one of the greatest sources of mechanical and technical parts in the Ninth World. Next to the Hoard stands the Dragon, a tower-sized generator fueled by sunlight. At any given time, dozens of machines gather around the Dragon, recharging their own personal energy through a wide array of cables, jacks, or receivers. For obvious reasons, the inhabitants value the Dragon and revere it as a god.

A few manufacturers exist in the Weal of Baz, producing weapons, tools, and parts needed for some of the machines. Due to technological, resource, and material limitations, they can't produce everything they need, so agents of the refuge journey into the wider world to gather parts for scavenging, trading, or theft. The Hoard is proof that the agents have been gathering for a very, very long time.

Most days in the refuge, automatons wander, relax, communicate with one another, or sift through the Hoard, searching for needed parts. The inhabitants don't have individual homes, so they use communal shelters to stay out of the elements if necessary. Despite the natural harbor, they ignore the great body of water nearby except to watch it for intruders.

Organic visitors to the Weal of Baz won't find any comforts they might normally expect, such as foods and beds suitable for living beings. Still, for those who can find and gain entrance to the refuge, the machines are a nearly endless source of information, assuming they can be convinced to communicate, and assuming a means of communication can be found - only a small percentage of the automatons and other machines here were created to speak, and only some of those speak any known human language.

## References

1. ↑ Cook, Monte, et al. "The Beyond." Numenera Discovery, Monte Cook Games, LLP, 2018, pp. 193-194. Numenera. ISBN 978-1-939979-77-3