DEMETER
One of GAIA’s detached subordinate functions, DEMETER was in charge of rebuilding the flora of Earth’s biosphere. DEMETER was arguably one of the more successful functions, as shown by the relatively “normal” and diverse plant life seen in HZD. (And, presumably, the presence of breathable atmosphere thanks to those plants.)
The location and disposition of DEMETER is canonically unknown as of the time of HZD.
Medicinal Flora
While HZD has the typical RPG fare of Health Potions, the majority of health recovery in the game comes from fast-acting medicinal herbs. The herbs have varying efficacy, ranging from modest (10%) to significant (60%) health recovery. They also have specific ecotopes in which they can be found — Thaw Omen, for example, can only be found in The Cut.
Skyline presumes these medicinal herbs are an intentional product of DEMETER’s efforts. It is plausible they were developed and released in response to the early opening of ELEUTHIA-9. DEMETER, or GAIA, might have reasoned that pharmaceutical flora would have a significant impact on the survivability of the humans on the surface, even if it meant genetically manipulation to create and introduce species which had not existed before.
The known canon medicinal herbs are: Grey Omen, Hintergold, Ochrebloom, Salvebrush, Valley’s Blush, Wild Ember, and Thaw Omen.
Metal Flowers
Presumed but not confirmed to be a product of DEMETER, metal flowers began to appear around the landscape around the time of the Derangement. Each metal flower is surrounded by an equilateral triangle of organic flowers, and “blooms” when approached. When interfacing with a Focus device, metal flowers reveal text files in which something like code poetry can be found. DEMETER’s Alpha, a man named Naoto, was known for his love of poetry, and Horizon leaves it intentionally vague whether the metal flower poetry was a product of Naoto or DEMETER.
DEMETER in Skyline
The DEMETER AI plays a part in the Connection story module.