As the scientists of Old Europa pushed and pushed, their powers grew alongside their promises. Governments and citizens alike believed in their cause because it was a cause for all. What they believed in, what they promised and what the masses wanted was a better life, a better state of being, enlightenment and peace through the birth of AI.

What they delivered was something very different. As the power of their AI grew, they suddenly panicked and pulled the plug. When that wasn't enough, they fired up the Lincoln Contingency and the Acid Code to burn every line of code until void.

The facilitators of this were the Core Techs, trained specifically for this task, to take down the AI by any means necessary. Half scientist, half military, trained in specialised weapons, this included how to think like the AI, how to calculate its next moves, and ultimately, how to kill it.

No one has ever quite understood what took place, no full story has ever emerged. None of the Core Techs that survived would tell anyone anything about what they had to do to take down the AI on that fateful day

The powers that rose out of the catastrophe named it the Black Lake Incident. The name coming from the colossal Lake Balaton - in what used to be Hungary - that fed the hydroelectric power for the AI. This once beautiful body of water turned into thick black tar following war between the Core Techs and the AI, alongside melting down most of the surface of Old Europa down into scoria.

The government that rose out of the horror discarded those few Core Techs that survived, unwilling or unable to tell anyone what happened on that fateful day. They came together and formed their own faction. No one knows how many Core Techs are still alive or how many they have brought into their ranks. They recruit a special select few, those that can help with their mission to eradicate any form of AI at any level, lest another catastrophe befall humanity.

They're known because of their unique look, derived from the biomechanical suits they had to wear when engaging their war against the AI. Only they hold the supreme knowledge of Old Europa that burned when the Acid Code melted the old Cores, and they use it to ensure no such AI will ever rise again.