For centuries, one vast region of the planet remained untouched by human contact called the Quiet Side. This enormous landmass was deliberately left alone after the Great Collapse a few centuries ago and forgotten. The surviving continents from the other side of the planet agreed to preserve it as a final safeguard for the planet’s natural ecosystems though traveling there will take two and a half days from air.

What began as a pragmatic ecological decision soon became something more mysterious. Old stories persisted among the people: whispers that the Quiet Side was a sacred place, a forbidden zone protected by ancient technology far older than the wars that nearly ended humanity. Some claimed it was the cradle of forgotten gods or the resting ground of pre collapse civilizations far more advanced than our own. For generations, the Quiet Side stayed silent. Dense forests reclaimed old roads, rivers ran crystal clear, and strange lights occasionally danced across the night sky. No one dared disturb it. Until recently...

Driven by growing resource shortages and scientific curiosity, the High Council authorized a limited reconnaissance mission after all theses years. A single advanced research stratosphere aircraft was sent to explore a small coastal section of the Quiet Side under strict environmental protocols from the sky. What they found shattered every expectation. Instead of untouched wilderness and crumbling ancient ruins like what they have been told from all of the old stories that they were taught. The survey teams discovered massive sci-fi-looking hangars seamlessly integrated into the landscape, hidden farmland that glowed with unnatural efficiency, and enormous biomechanical structures that appeared to be both buildings and living organisms.

The closer the recon aircraft moved, the clearer it became. There was no abandoned ruins. We had stumbled upon a thriving, hidden civilization of sentient machines, Living Machines. These were not simple drones or automated relics left behind from the wars. These Living Machines possessed true awareness from the short videos we capture. From what we gathered before we lost contact with the research aircraft and the team, these machines seam to have evolved and adapted to the land.

Some of the images we got resembled predatory tanks roaming around the open fields, others here building that were too blurry to see what they were or do. The final transmission was fragmented, filled with warnings and static. Rescue attempts have not been sent to the Quiet Side from the High Council.

We do not yet know if we have awakened old allies… or started a new war with beings who may be far more advanced and far more alive than we ever imagined.