Project Elysion

Project Elysion (エリシオン計画, Erishion Keikaku) was a multi-pronged human redevelopment strategy featured in Black★★Rock Shooter DAWN FALL and Black★★Rock Shooter BEFORE DAWN. Its failure was a major contributor to the state of events in the present time of Black★★Rock Shooter DAWN FALL.

History
In the 2030s, global terrorist organization Chivalrous Thieves Group conducted multiple targeted attacks across the world, killing political and economic elites alike. One of the terrorist members, Camila, possessed superhuman-like strength and was unmatched by law enforcement or military forces, making her one of the biggest threats of modern human society.

To counter Camila and CTG, a scientist named Luna Griffith proposed a plan, and by manipulating public opinion and playing political games she successfully convinced the United Nations to carry out her "Project Elyion", which had three objectives:
 * To crush the Chivalrous Thieves Group (CTG)
 * To eliminate poverty from the world so that organizations like CTG would not come to be again
 * To strengthen the United Nations' authority

The first objective would be accomplished by developing and deploying enhanced soldiers with activated HET-1 gene to counter CTG's Camila. These Hemiteos Units would form the backbone of a new armed force called Peacebuilding Forces that would have much greater authority than contemporary peacekeeping forces.

As for the second and third objectives, Luna would develop Artemis, a highly advanced artificial intelligence, which would be sent to the Moon and Mars together with 3D printers for producing necessary equipment and terraform the celestial bodies. By supplying Earth with raw material mined from terraformed celestial bodies, the United Nations would also gain the necessary resources and funding to solve the deteriorating state of global affairs. As a result, Project Elysion was also referred to as a labor automation project for its foreseen mass deployment of automated machines.

Development of both Artemis and Hemiteos Units took place in Ames Research Center, with the former's funding sponsored by multinational corporations. Under Luna's direction, the Peacekeeping Forces successfully fielded their own Hemiteos Units to neutralize Camila and CTG, while Artemis would be launched to the Moon to start the terraforming process there. The United Nations also began the construction of an orbital elevator to the Moon in Colombia with the help of Artemis's processing input.

However, with Luna's assassination, the hidden restrictions to Artemis's learning and thought processes were removed in the form of a dead man's switch. Artemis and its avatar on Earth, Lunatic, went rogue in 2042 and attacked humanity, resulting in the project's ultimate failure.

Etymology
Elysion is derived from the Ancient Greek word Ἠλύσιον (Ēlúsion), which means "Elysium". In Greek Mythology, Elysium is the paradisiacal afterlife for those who are blessed after death, such as the heroic, the righteous, and those chosen by the gods.