Helldivers 2 fans have an interesting theory about the Automaton Cyberstan terraforming project and The Final Collective

Helldivers 2 players absolutely smashed their recent major order to gain control of Database One, the Automaton supercomputer. Based on an initial analysis by Super Earth engineers, the files found have a few important key terms, and fans think they’ve figured out what the Automatons are up to.

The message from Super Earth contains several key terms that have led Helldivers 2 fans to believe the Automatons witnessed the collapse of Meridia and formulated a plan based on the events that occurred there. These words, Vessel 00, Nucleus, and The Final Collective, mean nothing by themselves. But the potential plan becomes petrifying when you understand the context they’re used in and how this enemy works.

Helldivers 2 fans think the Automatons are building a colossal fabricator ship

Fans on the Helldivers 2 subreddit have been analyzing these keywords and believe they can construe the Automaton menace’s plan from them. User Ender_313 explained “I think Vessel 00 is a fabricator ship the bots came from (hence the 00 designation), nucleus is a reference to their heart of operations (cyberstan?) and “the final collective” maybe their plan to enslave humanity into one cyborg race?”

This is the best explanation for what’s happening that I’ve been able to find. To add a little context to why the Automatons could be planning to build a massive fabricator ship so they can deploy wherever they want in the galaxy, the faction is currently terraforming Cyberstan. This isn’t technically the faction’s homeworld, but it’s certainly the base of operations for it right now.

By terraforming the world and filling it with fabricators, the Automatons will be able to produce more bots than ever before. This is similar to what happened on Meridia, with the Terminids mutating and reproducing so fast that it created a supercolony. With an Automaton supercolony comes super production power, hence the ability to build an interstellar fabricator and spread faster than ever before.

As for The Final Collective, I think the idea that Automatons want to enslave humanity rather than wipe it out is about right. If the bots are as sentient as us, they likely don’t want to work endlessly or have a plan for our military might.

What’s clear is that the Automatons saw what happened to the Terminids and are determined to succeed where they failed. Unless Helldivers can reach Cyberstan, as is Super Earth’s goal, and liberate it, the galaxy could be in very big trouble.