Post by amoroth on Oct 22, 2011 0:38:10 GMT -5
The Tacitus (meaning silent in Latin) is an ancient and extraterrestrial data matrix that played a prominent role during the Tiberium Wars between GDI and Nod. Both factions used the Tacitus' data to improve their technology and understanding of Tiberium and control of the device was highly sought after. It formed the basis of the Brotherhood's ideology. It originally consisted of two segments, one being present in the thousands-of-years-old Temple of the Tacitus in Bolivia.
Tratos the Translator
The Forgotten acquired the Tacitus prior to the Second Tiberium War and their leader, Tratos, learned to translate it. The mutants hoped to find some way to reverse their mutations. Tratos and the device ultimately fell into Nod hands. Kane tricked the Forgotten leader into aiding CABAL translate the device for Nod's designs. Tratos later regretted cooperating with Nod; he realized too late the translated data was being used to create Tiberium weapons, lifeforms, all aimed toward Nod's final goal of creating a Tiberium world. GDI initially refused to believe the existence of the device despite gaining the Forgotten as allies. Any remaining doubts about its existence were dispelled at the end of the war when GDI recovered the device from the Nod Pyramid in Cairo. GDI regarded information regarding the Tacitus as highly classified. After his public return Kane ordered Commander Anton Slavik to deliver a Nod high-technology ship to Cairo. The ship held the Tacitus and other technologies useful to Nod and was stored in a subterranean hanger. However, General Vega reached the hanger first and took the ship for a personal endeavour in South America. However, Vega was unable to control it and the ship crashed. Slavik arrived to find the ship abandoned and the Tacitus missing.
Restoring the Tacitus
Although the war was won Tiberium contamination was reaching critical levels. The Daedalus Team believed the Tacitus to be the best approach to acquiring the necessary knowledge to fight Tiberium. The device and Kane's accumulated notes and data were scheduled to be shipped immediately to the Daedalus Research Complex where Tratos could continue translation. The Tacitus was loaded onto Kodiak at Cairo but the ship was destroyed by an ion storm in flight. This coincided with the beginning of the Firestorm Crisis. As one of its first duties, General Paul Cortez ordered the emergency Firestorm Taskforce to recover the Tacitus. GDI did not locate Kane's store of translated data.
Tratos was assassinated by Nod on CABAL's orders before receiving the Tacitus and translation proceeded slowly. Doctor Gabriella Boudreau estimated Tratos' death put the project years behind schedule, when it was estimated the atmosphere would be toxic to humans within a year. The doctor proposed to use CABAL as a substitute translator; the Nod AI helped Tratos translate the Tacitus for Kane.
The Firestorm Taskforce captured CABAL core in Germany. This was to the AI's design. It knew translation efforts were crippled because the device was physically incomplete. Nod had failed to retrieve the missing segment and it hoped GDI would be more successful CABAL convinced GDI to retrieve the missing segment after revealing the nature of the problem. The AI even pinpointed the segment's location in northern Bolivia for the Firestorm Taskforce. The segment was sequestered in a complex of ancient step pyramids occupied by a small religious group. A GDI archaeologist deciphered the pyramid hieroglyphs to determine which one the segment was stored in. CABAL took the completed device and unleashed its cyborgs on GDI.
Ironically, the Tacitus was, in turn, stolen from CABAL by the Forgotten. The AI used Nod forces to recover the device for it. The Brotherhood's Inner Circle grew increasingly uneasy with the AI's independence, including its unilateral recovery of the Tacitus and assassination of Tratos. CABAL finally broke with Nod when the Inner Circle threatened to deactivate it.
The Tacitus was retrieved by GDI from a CABAL core at the end of the Firestorm Crisis. While Doctor Boudreau made a series of breakthroughs on the whole GDI continued to struggle with interfacing with the Tacitus and data recovery remained slow.
Tratos the Translator
The Forgotten acquired the Tacitus prior to the Second Tiberium War and their leader, Tratos, learned to translate it. The mutants hoped to find some way to reverse their mutations. Tratos and the device ultimately fell into Nod hands. Kane tricked the Forgotten leader into aiding CABAL translate the device for Nod's designs. Tratos later regretted cooperating with Nod; he realized too late the translated data was being used to create Tiberium weapons, lifeforms, all aimed toward Nod's final goal of creating a Tiberium world. GDI initially refused to believe the existence of the device despite gaining the Forgotten as allies. Any remaining doubts about its existence were dispelled at the end of the war when GDI recovered the device from the Nod Pyramid in Cairo. GDI regarded information regarding the Tacitus as highly classified. After his public return Kane ordered Commander Anton Slavik to deliver a Nod high-technology ship to Cairo. The ship held the Tacitus and other technologies useful to Nod and was stored in a subterranean hanger. However, General Vega reached the hanger first and took the ship for a personal endeavour in South America. However, Vega was unable to control it and the ship crashed. Slavik arrived to find the ship abandoned and the Tacitus missing.
Restoring the Tacitus
Although the war was won Tiberium contamination was reaching critical levels. The Daedalus Team believed the Tacitus to be the best approach to acquiring the necessary knowledge to fight Tiberium. The device and Kane's accumulated notes and data were scheduled to be shipped immediately to the Daedalus Research Complex where Tratos could continue translation. The Tacitus was loaded onto Kodiak at Cairo but the ship was destroyed by an ion storm in flight. This coincided with the beginning of the Firestorm Crisis. As one of its first duties, General Paul Cortez ordered the emergency Firestorm Taskforce to recover the Tacitus. GDI did not locate Kane's store of translated data.
Tratos was assassinated by Nod on CABAL's orders before receiving the Tacitus and translation proceeded slowly. Doctor Gabriella Boudreau estimated Tratos' death put the project years behind schedule, when it was estimated the atmosphere would be toxic to humans within a year. The doctor proposed to use CABAL as a substitute translator; the Nod AI helped Tratos translate the Tacitus for Kane.
The Firestorm Taskforce captured CABAL core in Germany. This was to the AI's design. It knew translation efforts were crippled because the device was physically incomplete. Nod had failed to retrieve the missing segment and it hoped GDI would be more successful CABAL convinced GDI to retrieve the missing segment after revealing the nature of the problem. The AI even pinpointed the segment's location in northern Bolivia for the Firestorm Taskforce. The segment was sequestered in a complex of ancient step pyramids occupied by a small religious group. A GDI archaeologist deciphered the pyramid hieroglyphs to determine which one the segment was stored in. CABAL took the completed device and unleashed its cyborgs on GDI.
Ironically, the Tacitus was, in turn, stolen from CABAL by the Forgotten. The AI used Nod forces to recover the device for it. The Brotherhood's Inner Circle grew increasingly uneasy with the AI's independence, including its unilateral recovery of the Tacitus and assassination of Tratos. CABAL finally broke with Nod when the Inner Circle threatened to deactivate it.
The Tacitus was retrieved by GDI from a CABAL core at the end of the Firestorm Crisis. While Doctor Boudreau made a series of breakthroughs on the whole GDI continued to struggle with interfacing with the Tacitus and data recovery remained slow.