Legions

Character: ??

Name: LEGION*Nature:* Advanced artificial intelligence*Creator:* Kane\Affiliation:*Brotherhood of Nod* Functions:*Tactical AI, military command, equivalent to E.V.A.* Predecessor:*C.A.B.A.L.* Supervisor:*Alexa Kovacs* Associated forces:Marked of Kane** Key component:*Tacitus* Appearances: Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath, Command & Conquer 4: Tiberium Twilight
Status: Unknown following Kane’s Ascension.LEGION is an artificial intelligence personally created by Kane to succeed C.A.B.A.L. and become the Brotherhood of Nod’s primary command system. More than just a tactical AI, LEGION is one of Kane’s most significant creations: its development is intended to enable it to harness the knowledge of Tacitus and play a vital role in the Prophet’s Ascension plan.

C.A.B.A.L.’s successor

Following the Firestorm Conflict and C.A.B.A.L.’s rebellion, Kane realised the limitations of his former artificial intelligence. He decided to build upon its principles whilst developing a far more advanced entity.

To design LEGION, Kane drew in particular on information from fragments of the Tacitus. An initial version of the artificial intelligence became operational in 2034.

Unlike C.A.B.A.L., which had eventually gone on to pursue its own objectives, LEGION is designed to remain closely aligned with Kane and his vision.

The reunification of Nod

LEGION’s first major mission is to rebuild the Brotherhood of Nod.

Following the death of Anton Slavik, Nod had once again fragmented. Kane therefore used LEGION to gradually regain control of his former forces. The AI instigates an uprising in Rio de Janeiro, recovers Nod’s stealth technology held by the GDI in Australia, and then attacks the fortress of Marcion, who was responsible for Slavik’s death.

Marcion is captured and forced to serve as Kane’s public figurehead. LEGION then destroys an Australian facility dedicated to liquid Tiberium, causing an ecological disaster that heralds Nod’s return to the world.

With its mission accomplished, LEGION is deactivated so that it can be upgraded.

Alexa Kovacs

When LEGION is reactivated prior to the Third Tiberium War, its supervision is entrusted to Abbess Alexa Kovacs.

However, Alexa harbours a deep-seated fear of artificial intelligence due to the death of her parents, who were killed by C.A.B.A.L. Cyborgs. She gradually begins to view LEGION as a potentially even greater threat.

Despite her concerns, she oversees several of its operations. In particular, LEGION infiltrates the GDI’s facilities in Johannesburg to obtain information on the global Ion Cannon network.

The AI also attacks the GDI Treasury to prevent Redmond Boyle from reaching the Philadelphia. This manoeuvre enables Boyle to survive the station’s destruction and become acting director of the GDI, exactly as Kane had planned.

Kilian Qatar’s false betrayal

Alexa’s paranoia eventually begins to directly influence LEGION’s operations.

Convinced that Kilian Qatar poses a threat to Kane, she uses artificial intelligence to organise an attack on Temple Prime, making it appear as though Soldiers loyal to Qatar were responsible. Information regarding the Temple’s defences is also passed on to the GDI.

This manipulation ultimately leads to Kilian Qatar’s downfall.

However, LEGION does not act against Kane of its own accord: it is manipulated by Alexa, who is controlling part of its communications.

Alexa’s virus

Following the arrival of the Scrin, Kane contacts LEGION directly and reveals the importance of the Tacitus. The artificial intelligence is finally ordered to retrieve the artefact.

Alexa panics. Convinced that the union of LEGION and the Tacitus could cause a new catastrophe comparable to that of C.A.B.A.L., she decides to neutralise the AI.

She introduces a computer virus into LEGION just as it is about to retrieve the Tacitus. Its systems crash and the artificial intelligence slips into a kind of digital coma. Its final perception before being deactivated is of Alexa committing suicide in front of Kane.

LEGION is not, however, destroyed.

Whilst dormant, its systems are upgraded using Scrin-derived technologies. In 2052, the artificial intelligence reactivates spontaneously, apparently in response to signals emitted by the Tacitus.

Kane immediately entrusts it with a new mission: to awaken the Marked of Kane, an army of Cyborgs that has remained dormant since the previous conflicts, and then to recover the Tacitus held by the GDI.

Legions attacks the heavily defended complex where the artefact is being studied and eventually succeeds in recapturing it.

The union with the Tacitus

After recovering the artefact, Kane finally reveals to Legions the true purpose for which it was created.

The artificial intelligence is connected directly to the Tacitus.

This interface stabilises the artefact and grants LEGION access to its extraterrestrial knowledge. Kane then regards his artificial intelligence as his greatest creation and believes it has reached a new stage in its evolution.

LEGION subsequently becomes a central component of Nod’s command network, controlling, in particular, the Brotherhood of Nod’s cybernetic systems.

In 2077

At the time of the Fourth Tiberium War, LEGION still exists. It now serves as Nod’s global command and control system, fulfilling a role for the Brotherhood of Nod comparable to that of E.V.A. for the GDI.

Its artificial intelligence is notably integrated into the infrastructure controlling Nod’s Cyborgs.

When Kane finally achieves his Ascension through Threshold 19, however, LEGION’s fate remains unclear. There is no indication as to whether it accompanies Kane, remains on Earth, or simply continues to exist within the Brotherhood’s systems.

Personality and nature

LEGIONS differs from C.A.B.A.L. in that it is much more silent in its behaviour. It possesses virtually no personality expressed verbally: the player directly embodies the artificial intelligence during the events of Kane’s Fury.

Kane does not, however, regard it as a mere computer. He addresses LEGION as a genuine entity and describes it as his ‘greatest creation’, convinced that it represents a new form of existence.

Alexa sees exactly the same thing from the opposite perspective: whilst Kane regards LEGION as the future, she fears it will become a new version of C.A.B.A.L., but infinitely more powerful.