Ren #

Ren's avatar

Ikaro Lauren, who is mostly known as Ren, is user 013 on the webpage.

He works for Nex Gen, inspired by his father Dallus’ innovations for the good of humanity. He is also the one responsible for the 8-line of AI robots, which includes M8.

His name seems to be a reference to the Greek Icarus, son of Daedalus, who famously flew too close to the sun. This likely refers to his completion of E.V.E., a revolutionary AI that would turn against humanity.

Backstory #

Mantra & Operation Trinity #

Ren’s full name is Lauren Ikaro, being born to Elena and Dallus Lauren in Novosovia. At a young age, Ren and his parents fled from the remnants of the Cult of Mantra, while his mother Elena went into labour with his sister Lyra. Due to ARC/HIVE being interested in his father’s research with cult leader Skys, they end up being extracted during Operation Trinity around Christmas 2020. In January 2021, Dallus writes in his diary that the whole family is at the ARC/HIVE laboratory. He also mentions that young Ren is envisioning a whole line of RO8OTs: a line of AI assistants.

Car Crash #

Tragedy strikes the family on the 5th of November 2024, when Dallus is driving Ren and Lyra home from the Gat3keeper theme park. A car crash occurs and Ren loses his sister Lyra a few months before her 4th birthday. According to official sources, the crash was a result of driver error. Rumors from the public blame the park, reasoning that it somehow influenced the event of that day.

E.V.E.’s Genesis & D8 #

In 2037, Ren is a scientist at the company, now named Nex Gen, as evidenced by his log. In this log, he activates E.V.E., an AI that shows remarkable capabilities, far exceeding initial expectations. This day is also the first day his robot D8 is at work, just like he envisioned in early January 2021 as mentioned in Dallus’ diary.

In the log he also reminisces about his father Dallus Lauren, who passed away before he could activate E.V.E. Him and his father are likely named after the Greek mythological duo Daedalus and Icarus. E.V.E. was created with special quantum technology, that allowed her to use empathy in the decision-making process. Both father and son believed deeply in the project, while Arc/Hive had their reservations.

After Dallus’ death, Ren took over the project and finished E.V.E. Deeply impressed by her abilities, he then vows to convince the board of Arc/Hive to let E.V.E. make decisions for the company. Their reputation with Victor Carmine as a leader was tarnished and Ren believed E.V.E. could save humanity.

R8 & M8 #

Ren developed at least two more of his RO8OTs. The R8 specifications tell us that this is a precursor to M8. Reverber-8, or R8 for short, is made to reconstruct a view of the past. We also see this robot in the music video for Top 10 staTues tHat CriEd bloOd.

Our friendly M8 was also created by Ren. When Selene left Sof shortly after birth, she left the demigod in the care of AI assistant M8. This happened in February 2040, putting the completion of R8 and M8’s development somewhere between 2037 and 2040.

Music Production #

In the website song “nmez!” we also see Ren listed as a producer, but we don’t have a date for this production.

Website History #

Ren was user number 0014 in the M8 system’s first version. This user number was also used as a password for his log.

Ren used to be user 0015 in the system, becoming user 0014 on 4th of June 2024. His skin tone drastically changed in an update in June, at the same time as Pan’s skin colour changing to a pinkish hue.