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Sleeping Beauty,[1] also known as the Divine Tree[2] Memory Tree,[3] or Quantum Server is a location in NieR and NieR Reincarnation.

Although inaccessible in NieR, its interior was added as exclusive content in NieR Replicant ver.1.22.

Characteristics

Sleeping Beauty appears as a massive tree within the Forest of Myth. The villagers within the forest revere it as the "Divine Tree" and are barred from nearing the tree unless paying homage to it.[4]

At certain points during NieR, Sleeping Beauty inflicts a mysterious disease known as the Deathdream upon the villagers.[1]

While its exterior has the appearance of a tree, Sleeping Beauty is actually a massive quantum server powered by maso particles.[1][5][6] Below the surface lies a tangled forest of vine-like pipes created using a combination of natural, mechanical, and magical elements.[7]

The quantum server records and contains all information about the world, including Project Gestalt, detailed records of Replicants, and human memories.[5][8] Sleeping Beauty and the memories within are supervised by the Administrators known as Him and Her.[9][10][11] Though the server contains recollections of humanity's past, it also contains visions of the future.[12]

According to "The Lost World", Sleeping Beauty also acts as a terminal that "controls" the surrounding the region.[13] In the event Project Gestalt collapsed in the surrounding area, any remaining Gestalts were meant to be frozen until help could arrive from another region. Any Replicants were to be disposed of using the purpose-built Junk Heap, after which Sleeping Beauty's forest would expand and cover the region.[13][Note 1]

Background

Sleeping Beauty was constructed by humanity sometime prior to the events of NieR in 3465.[Note 2] With the likelihood of human extinction increasing due to the spread of White Chlorination Syndrome, the quantum server acted as a way to record human history and assist in its future revival via Project Gestalt.[10][13]

However, the world began to fall into ruin. In approximately 2400,[14] Sleeping Beauty lost connection to its worldwide network, though it continued to maintain its own local storage.[1][5] By 3465, a village was created in the Forest of Myth around Sleeping Beauty, whose inhabitants worshiped it as the “Divine Tree,” the guardian of the village’s history and memories.[15][16]

Eventually, Sleeping Beauty started to afflict the village with the Deathdream, an apparent disease that hadn't been seen before.[1][17] The Deathdream forced Replicants to fall into a dream-like state, though it was actually a way for the quantum server to share veiled information.[18][1] After attracting the attention of Nier and hinting at the existence of his Gestalt and/or previous Replicant copy,[19] a Sealed Verse was retrieved from the Divine Tree and Nier cured the remaining villagers of the Deathdream.[20]

Five years later, in 3470, a Gestalt entered the Divine Tree and began eating the memories stored within.[21][22] Sleeping Beauty noticed that its carefully-labelled memories were beginning to disappear, causing the feeling that something was missing. Though it tried to reach out to its world-spanning pool of memories, the server had long been disconnected from the network.[23]

The Gestalt's activity caused a notably strange presence to emit from the tree.[24][25] After the Gestalt was defeated by Nier and the Memory Tree key was obtained, the aura suddenly ceased along with the mayor's reverence for the tree.[26]

In 3473, three years after NieR Ending D, robot machines emerged from the Divine Tree and massacred the villagers within the Forest of Myth.[13][27] As Kainé investigated, an immense source of magic coming from the tree attracted Emil while finding his way back to the village.[28]

Kainé ventured into the depths of Sleeping Beauty and was met by two Administrators, "Him" and "Her."[9] Further into the tree, Emil reunited with Kainé as the two battled waves of mechanical, server-created Kainé clones.[7]

The two pushed on and discovered a door that led to a pure-white replica of the Shadowlord's Castle, albeit with subtle differences.[29] The core frame of Sleeping Beauty was housed within the replica and contained a massive amount of information about the world, including the memories that Kainé had lost.[30]

The server core produced an incredible amount of magical energy, leading to Emil's suggestion to destroy it.[29] As Kainé attacked the core, she disappeared and was absorbed into a realm of her own memories on the server.[31][32]

The Administrators forced Kainé to fight though waves of past memories. As she was nearing defeat after being confronted with her deepest memories and a recreation of Hook, Grimoire Weiss intervened and helped her destroy it.[33][34] Although she realized that retrieving him would be violating some untold rule, Kainé grabbed hold of Nier and pulled him from her lost memories into the physical realm.[35]

Sleeping Beauty and the Forest of Myth were destroyed as a massive flower resembling a Lunar Tear bloomed above the clouds over the northern plains.[28] While He was killed in the process, Her data was merely scattered and She was destined to be alone for an eternity.[36][37][38]

As of 11945, it is unspecified whether Sleeping Beauty was still functional. However, it is suggested that the Machine network had previously extracted data from the quantum server.[5]

By the end of the 14th Machine War, Sleeping Beauty had begun to deteriorate. After wandering into the server, a damaged Red Girl discovered and accessed memories of a previous Machine conflict.[39][40] She then burdened herself by absorbing the fallen machine's memories as a means of atonement.[41]

The Red Girl eventually encountered the Administrator Her within the memory.[42] Despite being enemies, She pitied the Red Girl and absorbed her to carry the Red Girl's memory onward.[43] However, She became filled with hatred and used the Red Girl's power to freeze the Earth and time itself.[44][45][46]

Although the remains of Sleeping Beauty were frozen, humanity's memories were also contained within The Cage, a lunar server on the moon. Because of this, She attempted to destroy The Cage and the memories within as a means of salvation.[47][48]

Points of Interest

Mecha 122
 Kainé wastes no time in slicing the twins the moment they manifest, and they respond with a giant robot in turn.

Attack of the Clones 122
 Maso-powered clones overwhelm Kainé until Emil's arrival.

Core 122
 Magical bullets barrage the two as they go after the core, in a manner reminiscent of the last showdown against the Shadowlord.

Data Hook 122
 With help from Weiss, they defeat an enhanced version of Hook inside the mainframe.

Nier 122
 The player can either choose to restore their save file at this point, or view a sped-up version of the credits and return to the title screen.

Trivia

Gallery

Notes

  1. ↑ Sleeping Beauty's role as a control terminal is mentioned in The Lost World short story, whose events were partially adapted into Ending E for NieR Replicant ver1.22. However, this specific role isn't mentioned in Ending E or Project Gestalt Recollections.
  2. ↑ 3465 in NieR Replicant, or 3361 in NieR Gestalt.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Sleeping Beauty." Grimoire NieR: Revised Edition, Square Enix, p154
  2. ↑ Nier: "The Divine Tree?"
    Mayor: "It's a legendary tree that exists in the heart of our village." (NieR Replicant ver.1.22)
  3. ↑ "Obtained the Memory Tree key." (NieR Replicant ver.1.22)
  4. ↑ Grimoire Weiss: "Did you investigate the cause of this...presence?" (...)
    Mayor: "Well, we're not really supposed to go near the tree, except for prayer."
    Grimoire Weiss: "And why is that!?"
    Mayor: "I don't know. It's just how things have always been." (NieR Replicant ver.1.22)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Sleeping Beauty." NieR:Automata World Guide Volume 2, Dark Horse, p284
  6. ↑ "The quantum server falls, signifying His and Her deaths. This woman will bring an end to the quantum server. Her choice will bring about a new history that even He does not know." -Narrator (NieR Reincarnation)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Boy: "They are copies of you, shaped by machinery."
    Girl: "A collection of microscopic, plant-based propulsion units bound together with Maso particles."
    Boy: "The same as this very forest."
    Girl: "A massive forest of memories coalesced by the triumphs of quantum mechanics and Maso research."
    Boy: "A forest that records anything and everything about the world." (NieR Replicant ver.1.22, Route E)
  8. ↑ Grimoire NieR: Revised Edition, Square Enix, p58
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 ? ? ?:"My name is k?K? Σ ?XH"
    ? ? ?: "My name is p!P!H?cs!"
    ? ? ?: "We are the administrators."
    ? ? ?: "The administrators of this forest."
    (NieR Replicant ver.1.22, Route E)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "As humanity face extinction, they leave behind insurance for their revival. They develop a quantum server to record all of human history, built to resemble a plant. It is here that He is born. His only job is to observe the history left to Him." (NieR Reincarnation)
  11. ↑ "The memory shows the past of a boy and girl, both clad in white. They are the administrators of the quantum server, and they have no names. They are only called Him and Her. Theirs is a simple role: to observe all the memories of humanity recorded in the server." -Library Entry: People/World Act III: Transmigration (Goodbye): Story 1 (NieR Reincarnation)
  12. ↑ "Finally, He arrives at the end of history: the present. What He sees is perplexing. He sees...Earth's future. Not only the past, but future history is recorded in the server as well." (NieR Reincarnation)
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 "The Lost World ver.1.00". Grimoire NieR: Revised Edition, Square Enix.
  14. ↑ NieR Replicant ver.1.22 Project Gestalt Recollections - File 02, Square Enix, p69-70
  15. ↑ "'This is a holy tree,' he explained when the prayer was finished. 'It's the guardian of our village's history... and memories.'" -Narrator (NieR Replicant ver.1.22)
  16. ↑ NieR Replicant ver.1.22 Project Gestalt Recollections - File 01, Square Enix, p195
  17. ↑ "Report 06." NieR Replicant ver.1.22 Project Gestalt Recollections - File 01, Square Enix, p199
  18. ↑ "In the past weeks, a mysterious disease called the Deathdream had spread across the Forest of Myth. Those who caught it were cursed to fall asleep and live forever within the world of their own dreams." -Narrator (NieR Replicant ver.1.22)
  19. ↑ "I am not the mayor you know. Now listen to my words: Long ago, I saw a version of you that was not yourself. (...) It will make sense in time. At present, I simply congratulate you on cracking the seal of the Deathdream." -Man (NieR Replicant ver.1.22)
  20. ↑ NieR Replicant ver.1.22 Project Gestalt Recollections - File 01, Square Enix, p197
  21. ↑ NieR Replicant ver.1.22 Project Gestalt Recollections - File 02, Square Enix, p72
  22. ↑ NieR Replicant ver.1.22 Project Gestalt Recollections - File 02, Square Enix, p68
  23. ↑ NieR Replicant ver.1.22 Project Gestalt Recollections - File 02, Square Enix, p66
  24. ↑ "...Hmm? You want to know if anything unusual is happening? Well, I have been feeling a rather strange presence whenever I visit the Divine Tree." -Mayor (NieR Replicant ver.1.22)
  25. ↑ NieR Replicant ver.1.22 Project Gestalt Recollections - File 02, Square Enix, p62
  26. ↑ NieR Replicant ver.1.22 Project Gestalt Recollections - File 02, Square Enix, p73
  27. ↑ R-robots...suddenly emerged..from the Divine Tree... -Mayor (NieR Replicant ver.1.22, Route E)
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 NieR Replicant ver.1.22 Project Gestalt Recollections - File 02, Square Enix, pp321-322
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 NieR Replicant ver.1.22 Project Gestalt Recollections - File 02, Square Enix, pp300-301
  30. ↑ Boy: "That is the core frame of this forest, within which a great variety of information is stored."
    Girl: "Inside it exists all that this world is, including the memories you have lost."
    Boy: "Though rather than memories, it might be best to say the 'world' you have lost."
    Girl: "In any case, it is surely the answer you ought to seek."
    (NieR Replicant ver.1.22, Route E)
  31. ↑ Kainé: "Where...am I?"
    Boy: "These are your memories."
    Girl: "These are your records."
    Twins: "This is your world."
    (NieR Replicant ver.1.22, Route E)
  32. ↑ NieR Replicant ver.1.22 Project Gestalt Recollections - File 02, Square Enix, p320
  33. ↑ Boy: "This is the deepest place in your memories."
    Girl: "Memories you had sealed away."
    Twins: "And this one...is your worst memory."
    (NieR Replicant ver.1.22, Route E)
  34. ↑ "'Are you truly so daft that you have already forgotten one of your beloved traveling companions and friends?' says the voice, which causes something deep in Kainé's memories to surge forth. (...)
    At this realization, a blinding, radiant beam of light shoots out across the ash-covered world. Covering her eyes with one trembling hand, Kainé reaches for it..."     -Narrator (NieR Replicant ver.1.22, Route E)
  35. ↑ NieR Replicant ver.1.22 Project Gestalt Recollections - File 02, Square Enix, pp317-319
  36. ↑ "After a long, long time, a woman with white hair appears before them. This woman lost her friend and knew loneliness. She wants to destroy the quantum server in order to get him back...which would mean killing both Him and Her. The pair lose, and He vanishes, feeling hope for humanity's possibilities." -Library Entry: People/World Act III: Story 4 (NieR Reincarnation)
  37. ↑ "The pair lose, and He vanishes, feeling hope for humanity's possibilities. But He does not anticipate Her living on even further into the future, though She scatters into pieces. This time, She is the one who must spend eternity alone." -Library Entry: People/World Act III: Story 4 (NieR Reincarnation)
  38. ↑ "However... He makes a miscalculation. Though She scatters, She alone remains here in this world. She would spend an eternity alone in this nothingness." -Narrator (NieR Reincarnation)
  39. ↑ Narrator: "A girl dressed in red wanders into the city's quantum server."
    Red Girl: "The server's crumbling... Just like me, huh?" (NieR Reincarnation)
  40. ↑ "Pod accesses the next device. There, they see a memory of what happened after the quantum server deteriorated. Inside the broken virtual space, the Red Girl accesses a crumbling device." -Library Entry: People/World Act III: Story 2 (NieR Reincarnation)
  41. ↑ "The Red Girl, too, was at the end of her life. She incorporated the machines' memories into herself. She burdened herself with their pain and suffering in hopes of expiation." -Library Entry: People/World Act III: Story 2 (NieR Reincarnation)
  42. ↑ "As she continued onward, She appeared. The Red Girl then reaches out to Her, though She is meant to be her enemy, and pleads for salvation." -Library Entry: People/World Act III: Story 2 (NieR Reincarnation)
  43. ↑ "But now, because they both know loneliness, she is not Her enemy. She reaches out to offer salvation. But when She learns that the Red Girl is beyond repair, She absorbs her so She can carry her memory onward...and they become one." -Library Entry: People/World Act III: Story 5 (NieR Reincarnation)
  44. ↑ "The Red Girl, too, is another seized by loneliness. And so, She attempts to offer her salvation. But She cannot—the girl's data is damaged beyond the point of repair. And so, She burdens herself with the girl's data and emotions and stains herself red. ...The color of hatred." -Narrator (NieR Reincarnation)
  45. ↑ "As She becomes red, the world freezes white. Had She always been alone, She would never have grieved for the girl in red or the woman with white hair. And so, She freezes it all. The world...and even time itself." -Narrator (NieR Reincarnation)
  46. ↑ "Had She been alone from the beginning, She would have never had to carry the sadness of loss. And so, She freezes the world and time in place." -Library Entry: People/World Act III: Story 5 (NieR Reincarnation)
  47. ↑ "And so, She freezes the world and time in place. But Earth is not the only place that is home to humanity's histories and bonds. She sets free the black birds, then uses Carrier and the siblings to bring about the fall of The Cage on the moon." -Library Entry: People/World Act III: Story 5 (NieR Reincarnation)
  48. ↑ "Indeed, all those trapped within The Cage faced hardship from antipathy and loss. And that is why She attempts to sever those bonds. It is Her own way of granting salvation." -Narrator (NieR Reincarnation)
  49. ↑ Grimoire NieR: Revised Edition, p. 154
  50. ↑ NieR:Automata World Guide Volume 2 p.285 (50 Questions for YOKO TARO)