In what year is this set [SPOILERS]

[Kumagoro]

I'm trying to figure out the correct in-universe date of the game's events.
We get a few specific dates and we know the exact amount of time that passed between a specific event and the present.

I've started with this: we know exactly 355,510 days have passed since Elisabet Sobeck missed the last meeting with Ted Faro. It's stated by the automatic greeting system triggered by Aloy when she visits the ruins of Faro Automated Solutions. But when was Elisabet supposed to meet Ted and didn't?

One possibility is November 3, 2064. It's when we see her call Ted while flying to US Robot Command to brief the Joint Chiefs of Staff about the situation. Perhaps Ted expected her to show up in person on that date. And after that, she never set foot in FAS ever again, since she was busy with Project: Zero Dawn. They only meet via hologram or elsewhere, and Ted's automatic agenda in FAS was never reset.

This would give us the current date (at least for when Aloy is exploring FAS) as March 13, 3038. This is contradicted by another information we have, which is Aloy being probably born on April 4, 3021 (it's the only specific date we get from an incubator in the All-Mother Mountain. Aloy and Sylens comment that that's where Aloy was born. I don't know how they would know exactly from which incubator she came from, but that seems a way for the game to give us Aloy's birth date).
But if she's born on that day, then she's not even 17 when she's in FAS, and we know she had to be 18 to compete in the Proving.

So which date was the automatic system referring to, in which Elisabet was expected in FAS and didn't show up? Is it possible it counts virtual meetings as well? So maybe some day in 2065 or even 2066, when the world was near the end?
It has to be a date that places the current time a little after April 4, 3039.

[Eye of Newt]

My thought is that the automated system is indeed counting virtual meetings, or maybe a final scheduled in-person meeting which Elisabet blew off because Ted kept trying to make worse than useless suggestions for Zero Dawn while it was under way.

[Kumagoro]

I also just found that we have the complete certainty April 4, 3021 is indeed Aloy's birth date. There's a log where the mentioned incubator code is used in reference of Gaia's order of gestation for a Sobeck reinstantiation. She was conceived August 26, 3020. We can also see the remains of the servitor that brought her outside the door the day she was born, where the Matriarchs would find her and give her to Rost.

The same document also states the date of release of the population that would become the Nora culture as March 16, 2326. Their civilization is about 700 years old.

[Rin]

https://horizon.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline

[Kumagoro]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Toast:

https://horizon.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline

Thanks, but there are too many spoilers for Horizon Forbidden West on that page. Which is why I wanted to figure out the answer independently.

[Kumagoro]

Also, just by looking at the year of the Proving from that timeline, it's given generically as 3040, but there's no source for it. Aloy definitely wouldn't wait to be 19 before taking the Proving. She was basically living for it since she was 6. Unless the ceremony would take place before April 4, which is unsubstantiated – the season in the Embrace at the beginning of the game certainly doesn't look like winter, so it had to be late March at the latest, which would be needlessly unfortunate for her. (Also, in reality, most of these rites of passage take place during the year the subject is coming of age, not the year afterwards.)

I guess it's still possible the date was retconned in Horizon Forbidden West for some reason.

[Xautos]

Aloy was conceived around the same time GAIA lost control of its sub-ordinate VI's which turned into AI's after a signal was received from the outside, GAIA tried to keep them from escaping but it was too late and the self-destruct at the main facility didn't trigger soon enough as the various AI escaped.

Just before GAIA activated the self-destruct, it activated its contingency in the ELEUTHIA-9 facility at the end of August 3020 to create the clone of Elisabet Sobeck, as a result Aloy was born in early April 3021 and had the clearance to access the Zero Dawn facilities in order to find a way to stop HADES and rebuild the project. Aloy was 19 when she went out into the world away from the Nora clan, so 3040.

By the time Aloy arrived in the Forbidden West half a year later on from the Battle at Meridian, she was 20, so 3041.

[Xautos]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Kumagoro:

Also, just by looking at the year of the Proving from that timeline, it's given generically as 3040, but there's no source for it. Aloy definitely wouldn't wait to be 19 before taking the Proving. She was basically living for it since she was 6. Unless the ceremony would take place before April 4, which is unsubstantiated – the season in the Embrace at the beginning of the game certainly doesn't look like winter, so it had to be late March at the latest, which would be needlessly unfortunate for her. (Also, in reality, most of these rites of passage take place during the year the subject is coming of age, not the year afterwards.)

I guess it's still possible the date was retconned in Horizon Forbidden West for some reason.

Nora have no concept of the Gregorian/Julian calendar, they wouldn't know when she was born or when she turned 19, she's an outcast up to that point, the Tribe wouldn't care to notice anything about her. Aloy was much too focused on become a physically strong youngster that can take on the rigours of the proving in order to be adopted into the clan and given legitimacy she has craved since she was young. Aloy may have figured out over time that she was 19 through the device on her ear, but i doubt she was aware of it before this, as the device wasn't connected to ELEUTHIA-9's systems and thus she wouldn't have any records about her own birth.

[Kumagoro]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Xautos:

as a result Aloy was born in early April 3021

April 4. There's a log in the incubator and then another log detailing Gaia operations. I explained it above. Conceived August 26, 3020, delivered April 4, 3021. This is not up for debate.

Aloy was 19 when she went out into the world

But there's no source for that. I have no idea from where people get this fact. If it's stated in a data point, please tell me where.

so 3040.

By the way, she was still 18 in 3040, until April 4.

[Kumagoro]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Xautos:

Nora have no concept of the Gregorian/Julian calendar

It doesn't matter the way they use to count years (why would they even use Julian? lol). We know they count years because Rost and Teersa said a Nora gets the chance to compete in the Proving and become a brave when they turn 18. And of course they know how many years have passed from that very momentous day Aloy was found. Even the more primitive tribes in our world count years by using moon cycles or seasonal cycles. They perfectly know when it's the 18th spring since Aloy was found. And they use math for trades. And repeatedly used the concept of "year" in conversation.

Aloy may have figured out over time that she was 19

So by the same logic she may have also figured out when she was 18. Which is when she could take the Proving. She wouldn't wait longer.

through the device on her ear

How? As you said, it wasn't like her focus had her log-in credentials. (In fact, her focus was more likely to log her in with Elisabet Sobeck account). At any rate, she had it since she was 6, so if her focus would help calculating her age, perhaps through some sci-fi evaluation (after all, we've seen it establish structural integrity and such), then she's known since a long time exactly how old she is.

[Kumagoro]

Also, I don't remember exactly how we know Aloy is six in the tutorial at the beginning. It's possible Rost said it out loud, which is another proof they count years just as we do (I also distinctly remember Aloy later saying she was 6 when she found the focus).

I'm more than willing to accept the idea that their years might differ and not be precise, if they're based on basic astronomical observation. But over such a short span like 18 years, the difference is minimal, a matter of days.

[Xautos]

you are looking for the burden of proof and you created this whole idea based on some number of days in a facility that had not only fallen into a state of disrepair but it's almost certainly not working correctly (and i doubt you can get hard proof to confirm it was working correctly). you use those days as you non-negotiate source for everything else and wrapped a confirmation bias around it make sure that you won't be interested in another point of view.

now you want proof that you aren't wrong in your confirmation bias and that everyone else is wrong. is this your way of saying, "change my mind?" because it's not my mind to change and if this what you want to believe, then by all means believe it.

If you want me to help you figure this out, i'd be willing, but only when you re-evaluate what you have, starting from the beginning with the facility and days counted and then you can go from there.

[Kumagoro]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Xautos:

you are looking for the burden of proof and you created this whole idea based on some number of days in a facility that had not only fallen into a state of disrepair but it's almost certainly not working correctly (and i doubt you can get hard proof to confirm it was working correctly). you use those days as you non-negotiate source for everything else and wrapped a confirmation bias around it make sure that you won't be interested in another point of view.

now you want proof that you aren't wrong in your confirmation bias and that everyone else is wrong. is this your way of saying, "change my mind?" because it's not my mind to change and if this what you want to believe, then by all means believe it.

If you want me to help you figure this out, i'd be willing, but only when you re-evaluate what you have, starting from the beginning with the facility and days counted and then you can go from there.

Just tell me where you get your information about Aloy being 19 at the beginning of the game. You jump to that conclusion without citing any source or rationale. Why is she 19 in your opinion? Please elaborate.

I used a scientific approach, simple as that. Just information gathered and analyzed, based on what the game gives us and what the history of humankind suggests. You say the tribes don't count years, that is objectively false both due to in-universe details (they refer to years having passed, they count stuff) and from real-word customs of similar or even less advanced societies.

I honestly can't have the confirmation bias you suddenly accuse me of having because I don't have anything to confirm. I don't know how old Aloy is at the beginning of the game, because I don't know what year it is at the beginning of the game, hence the original post. I'm still waiting for someone to give me a theory to prove or disprove. Just stating she's 19 is not a theory, it's a wild guess. The wiki doesn't seem to have data in this regard, which makes me think it's possible it's not established conclusively, but again, I don't want to stumble into spoilers for Forbidden West. I want to know if there's something in the original game that gives us a clear answer that I missed during my playthrough.

But of course, if one starts questioning information the game provides through a data point, it becomes impossible to establish anything. Why would they put false information there? The data points are meant to help the player figure out what happened. How would the facility not working properly change the content of an old log, anyway? I'm at a loss here, I'm sorry.

[Semipalmated Plover]

GaiaPrime exploded 20 years ago. Sylens mentions it (as he went to investigate it).
Gaia's last act before self destructing was to inititate the gestation of Aloy. There are logs in the incubator saying that Gaia is now non-functional during the gestation process. So Aloy is in her 19th year.

[Kumagoro]

I also don't really understand why are you suddenly questioning the incubator data points. It's the same information you used above. We're not having a debate about Aloy's birth year.

[Kumagoro]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Semipalmated Plover:

GaiaPrime exploded 20 years ago. Sylens mentions it (as he went to investigate it).
Gaia's last act before self destructing was to inititate the gestation of Aloy. There are logs in the incubator saying that Gaia is now non-functional during the gestation process. So Aloy is in her 19th year.

"20 years ago" is clearly an approximation, otherwise the current year would be 3041 (which, if understand correctly, is contradicted in Forbidden West?).

And yes, the logs in the incubator are among the information I consider certain. It's reported here: https://horizon.fandom.com/wiki/Operations_Log

The key entries are:

3020-AU-26 08:45 - GESTATION ORDER RECEIVED

and

3021-AP-04 09:30 - #LK1A1-4510 DELIVERED

LK1A1-4510 is Aloy.
This is one end of Aloy's timeline. As far as I know, we're missing the other end. I know it's "about 20 years later". But I wanted to see if there was something as specific in the game regarding exactly when.

But I don't even think Aloy's age is the correct line of inquiry here. Instead, it might be more fruitful to pursue the very specific length of time expressed in those 355,510 days since the last time Elisabet had a meeting with Ted. If one of the data points established the date of that meeting, we could determine the exact day Aloy enters the FAS ruins.