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Stalkers were first identified and named by the Carja machine hunter Ghalidid, a Hawk of the Hunters Lodge. In an escalation of the phenomenon, HEPHAESTUS began producing combat machines, including Stalkers it apparently created Stalkers from an unknown pre-Derangement Stalker-like machine. This began the phenomenon that the tribes call the Derangement.
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When GAIA self-destructed, HEPHAESTUS became hostile toward humans for their predations on the terraforming machines for parts and resources. Unlike the Zero Dawn terraforming machines, which were designed and controlled by Zero Dawn’s governing AI GAIA, the Stalker was designed by the AI HEPHAESTUS, which had previously manufactured the machines under GAIA’s direction.
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