Loth Foundry

Few walled cities are as imposing as Loth Foundry, headquarters of Artificial Intelligence Android Army 12 (AIAA-12).

Located on the central plains of what was once Canada, Loth Foundry is a simple symmetrical array of five massive, black pyramids, with one incredible pyramid towering above the others at the array’s centre. Each pyramid glistens during the day, protective shielding reflects the sun like some colossal obsidian megalith. At night, the complex glows eerily, lit only by luminescent power plants within the central pyramid. The five pyramids are linked by a web of passages that intersect in the central pyramid. The entire complex is wrapped by a similarly sleek, black wall, topped periodically by gigantic weapons turrets and communication arrays. The scope of the entire fortress is staggering. Its breadth spans 6 km (3.7 mi) and the central pyramid rises 2 km (1.2 mi) into the lively prairie sky. The mathematical precision of the complex and simplicity of its design are characteristic of its AI builders and residents.

Inside, Loth Foundry is a dark, ceramacrete maze of interconnecting tunnels and massive rooms filled with industrial machinery of every description. The walls and ceilings are completely unadorned, except for an unending web of precisely organised pipes, wires, and conduits. The sounds of machinery and the stomp of constant patrols can be heard through the halls and passages. Tiny drones zip about the floors and climb along the walls and ceilings, avoiding the feet, tracks, and wheels of other drones as they move through the complex. The Foundry is a hive of activity, always alive and constantly abuzz with the hum and pounding of machines.

Each of the five pyramids serves a specific purpose. The first of the exterior pyramids is used for storing raw materials and fuel. The second is used for manufacturing and repairing droids, weapons, and other equipment, while the third and fourth pyramids house droids and equipment ready for action. Finally, the massive central pyramid houses the Foundry’s power plants, critical infrastructure, command, and research and development cells. Deep below the central pyramid, an enormous black vault lies buried, home to Loth, the army’s loaded AI and central mind.

Outside the walls of Loth Foundry lie barren plains, empty for kilometres in every direction, except for the continuous patrols, tests, and drills of the android army.

Few have ever visited Loth Foundry, save the employees of authorised resource gathering companies with raw materials for sale. The android army would as soon kill them as permit them entry, the latter only occurring on authorisation from Loth itself. Loth Foundry exists for its own sake - to protect Loth and to propagate its army; its dealings with other species are extremely grudging and limited. All but the invited are captured for interrogation or killed on sight.