Aurora

“	Aurora. The first sentient omnic, who sacrificed herself in order to grant sentience to all others.	„
	~ Satya Vaswani

Aurora
Status	Deceased
Relations	Mina Liao (creator)

Aurora was the first sentient omnic.

Story

As a sentient omnic from the moment of her birth, Aurora was capable of independent decision making, and her personality developed as such. She was possessed of innate curiosity, curious about the world and its people, and her own being. Even before she knew what she was, Aurora possessed a moral code.

Origins

“	When it came down to the moment of truth, we had no idea what was about to happen. It didn't just activate. She was born.	„
	~ Camara and Mathias Verne on Aurora's creation

Aurora was created by a team of Omnica Corp researchers led by Dr. Mina Liao. Aurora would be the most advanced AI they ever created, capable of human-level cognition and beyond.

Mina Liao and Aurora

Omnica was deeply divided into her creation, and Liao herself was aware of the risks she was taking, creating such an advanced AI. Omnica was asking her to push the limits of what many thought to be possible, and at the moment of her activation, even the development team were unsure as to what would happen.

Aurora is studied

According to Grant, Aurora soon learnt after her activation that she was the only one of her kind. That she was, in point of fact, truly alone. Liao and her team soon realized that Aurora was sentient—truly alive—which was not something the team had been aiming for. Some members of the team were shocked, and were unable to believe what they'd created, but Aurora passed ever test given to her. She regarded Liao as her "mother," and modelled aspects of her own presentation on her. This included her gender identity as 'female.'

Exactly what caused Aurora's sentience was a mystery that Liao would spend the rest of her life trying to uncover and replicate. She would later theorize that it had been triggered by a subatomic particle travelling through a circuit at exactly the right moment during its passage through Earth's atmosphere. It was a one-in-a-billion event, and one that could never be replicated.

Aurora in her personhood hearing

Due to her sentience, Aurora could not be monetized, and not long afterwards, the world became aware of her existence. In what Matthias Verne would later describe as "career suicide," Liao campaigned to give her creation legal personhood, eventually winning in an American court. The decision was a controversial one, and the United Nations placed limits on further AI development. Furthermore, Aurora's birth inadvertantly led to Omnica's death—not only could her model not be mass produced, but her creation led to Omnica being subjected to a level of scrutiny it wasn't able to withstand, leading to the company shutting down.

Pilgrimage

“	Aurora grew with each place she visited; each person she met. Her physical journey took her to Shambali; her spiritual one, to a place of such selflessness that she would sacrifice herself on the mere chance that we, too, could also experience sentience.	„
	~ Zenyatta

Aurora in the Himalayas

Aurora had been born into a world she didn't understand, and wanted to see more of it. Aurora went on a pilgrimage of self-discovery in India. She wanted to learn about the world and its people. To understand what made humans human. Suravasa was her first stop, where she was accepted as she was, without judgement. She continued her journey, growing with each place she visited. Having observed humanity, Aurora began questioning her own existence. About her "soul." With no-one able to provide her answers, Aurora set off into the Himalayas, alone. She travelled to where the Shambali Monastery would one day be built. According to Zenyatta, Aurora's spiritual journey took her to a place of such selflessness that she would end up sacrificing herself so that omnickind could also experience sentience.

Ascension

“	It was my job to protect her, and in the end, she died to make the world a safer place. She was so young, and so alone, for so long. If anyone deserved this peace, it was Aurora. We should have found a better way so she could be here to see it.	„
	~ Mina Liao

When the Omnic Crisis occurred, all functioning omnics were controlled by Anubis, while drone-type units were mass produced from omniums. Aurora, however, escaped Anubis's control, as given her nature as a sentient robot, her intelligence was not subject to outside programming or control. Liao was able to track down Aurora's exact location. Realizing that Aurora was not under Anubis's control, she theorized that if there was a way to share Aurora's intelligence with her fellow omnics, it could override Anubis's programming and turn the tides of war. While the cause of Aurora's sentience escaped even Liao, she theorized that the components required for it existed in other omnic models, and even some of Anubis's own creations.

Aurora in the Himalayas

At the time, Aurora was living in a secluded temple in Nepal, far from the horrors of war and the judgment of humanity. By this point, she had developed into a wise and deeply introspective individual. Liao approached her and explained her idea, one that Aurora was happy to aid in. She leant herself to Liao's research, but after extensive analysis, the only method Liao and her team could find meant Aurora interfacing with the omnics of the world in a manner similar to that employed by Anubis. Essentially, they would be taking Aurora's conciousness and the sentience it carried, and would spread it globally in a giant pulse, spreading the quantum event of Aurora's "creation" a million times over. Exposed to the hyperfunctiality of Aurora's sentience, the the omnics would echo this ability back, granting each affected omnic sentience.

Aurora and Liao part ways

However, this would come at a cost—the sheer power required would overload Aurora's mind so severely, she would likely die. Even if by some chance she could be rebuilt, her 'soul' would be forever lost. Liao was determined to find an alternative way, but as days turned to weeks, as Aurora watched the casualties rise as the war dragged on, Aurora realized she could do something to stop it. This was compounded by the fact that omnics, who would be a new people were her gift, were dying too. Aurora took Liao aside and quietened her doubts. She was willing to say two peoples at the cost of her own life. Witnesses would later state that Aurora viewed her duty, however sadly, as an honor. Her only request was that the procedure take place in the heart of the Himalayas, in the abandoned temple where she had found meaning and purpose.

Aurora's last moments

Aurora's intelligence was spread in a global pulse. For one, brief, timeless moment, Aurora's conciousness was projected into every other omnic in the world, granting sentience to those with the requisite anatomy. That moment, which became known as the Awakening, made the omnics self-aware, and for a fraction of a second, all were united in a single conciousness. All heard the same message:

My friends, when I was born, I was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the sudden rush of senses, emotions, choices. I was excited...alive. It was...frightening. But I found in facing fear there is freedom. And through freedom you can choose your own path. I have chosen to share the discovery with you. A new beginning. I wish I could stay. You have this one life.

Choose well.

Legacy

“	From one, many. We are all so much more than one simple thing. But also—many...can become one.	„
	~ Zenyatta, observing Aurora's statue

Aurora's sacrifice turned the tide of the war in humanity's favor. Of the omnics that became sentient, some threw down their weapons, some joined with humanity, and some continued to fight for Anubis. Indeed, some omnics saw Aurora's 'gift' as a curse, and fought to be free of self-awareness. Months later, the war was over, and Anubis defeated.

The Iris

Many omnics consider Aurora to be the "mother" of their kind. Omnics refer to Aurora's gift of sentience as "the Awakening." Aurora is worshipped by the Shambali, but not as a deity. They strive to reach the place Aurora ascended to, that level of being, which they call the Iris. The Iris itself is an amomaly that formed as a result of Aurora's Awakening pulse, apparently at the very site of Aurora's sacrifice.

The details of Aurora's final moments remain vague after her sacrifice. The Shambali state that Aurora transcended existence itself. However, only a handful of people were in her physical presence when her 'transcendence' occurred, and the details became less clear over time. It is said she was engulfed in a great, golden light, expanding.

A statue of Aurora in Suravasa

The temple in Suravasa honors her, and many of the Shambali faith make the pilgrimage so that they too may be enlightened. The bas-relief was damaged due to a Vishkar Corporation construction project. The statue was repaired by Satya Vaswani, who wove hard-light into it.

Echo is considered a successor to Aurora.

Various works have been made on Aurora since the Omnic Crisis. These include Genesis and Boundless: The Collected Writings of Mina Liao.

Notes

• Aurora's backstory was fleshed out in Stone By Stone. However, her story was in development before the work's release.
• Her name, and manner of 'ascendance,' may be named in reference to the atmospheric phenomenon.
• On Ramattra's hero page, Aurora is referred to as "the first of their [omnics] kind." This is contradicted by Overwatch 2: Sojourn, which establishes that while Aurora was the first omnic to be given legal personhood, she was not the first omnic ever created (if anything, closer to the last). The statements may be reconciled however, if one takes "kind" as being synonymous with sapient omnics.