Gimme a sec... I'll just leave this here. [quote]Please be patient with me as I convert formatting to fit these forums: This post is a follow up to /u/Artificis_Vix and his reddit post,[url=https://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/3175va/vexing_origins_an_interestingly_humorous/] Vexing Origins[/url] that some of you may be familiar with. [b]This post lead to the most interesting and possibly most accurate insight into what the Vex are than anything that has been posted before[/b]. We had ourselves a nice chat over in /r/RaidSecrets and this post will summarize what we discovered thus far: First off, the TL;DR on the original post is that the fluid inside of the vex core is referred to as a "Milky Radiolarian Fluid". A quick search reveals what radiolaria actually are, which lead to a series of fascinating discoveries that finally put several pieces of mystery to rest. In short: The Vex either are, or are related to a form of prehistoric plankton. In this edition we're going to start with Kabr in the Vault of Glass, as there seems to be quite a bit of misinformation about what happened to him there. I still highly encourage you read /u/Artificis_Vix's post, as it will make a lot of this much more clear. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kabr was [i]consumed by the vex[/i] inside the vault in an attempt to [i]consume them[/i]. He fashioned armor out of them and they, in turn, invaded his body, [i]literally[/i] (fits quite well with the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiolaria]Radiolaria[/url] theory). In some sort of desperate attempt to find the weakness of the Vex, he may have [i]literally [/i]drank the fluid inside the Vex mind cores, which would have tasted like a briney ocean. [quote]I drank of them. [b]It tasted like the sea.[/b][/quote] His last words: [quote] [b]I have destroyed myself to do this[/b]. They have taken my Ghost. [b]They are in my blood and brain[/b]. But now there is hope. I have made a wound in the Vault. I have pierced it and let in the Light. Bathe in it, and be cleansed. Look to it, and understand: [b]From my own Light and from the thinking flesh of the Vex I made a shield[/b]. The shield is your deliverance. It will break the unbreakable. It will change your fate. Bind yourself to the shield. [b]Bind yourself to me[/b]. And if you abandon your purpose, let the Vault consume you, [b]as it consumed me[/b]. Now it is done. If I speak again, [b]I am not Kabr[/b].[/quote] These suggest he was aware of this transformation before pouring his dying light, life, and all that was left of him into what we know as the relic, Aegis. Somehow through his assimilation he was able to create the weapon that allows us to conquer the vault. Kabr is certainly no meat-head titan stereotype. His fireteam members were [i]erased[/i] from time, yet [url=http://destiny-grimoire.info/#Card-603020]he used logic[/url] to remember that he had companions with him at some point. Kabr shows us that he is keenly aware of himself and his surroundings on multiple occasions, this being no exception. The hunter VoG set description references the possibility of vex armor attaching to and changing the wearer, which further supports this theory [quote]Forged from the cores of Hezen Vex. If you feel a sense of revelation, remove immediately and inject anti[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entheogen]entheogens[/url]. Forged from the remnants of broken Vex. Some of the component matter is older than the solar system. Forged from the ruin of Hezen Vex armor. The sensory interface feels more natural than bare skin. Skinned in the membranes of the Hezen Vex. There is [b]very little risk they will become permanently attached to your body[/b].[/quote] The note on Anti[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entheogen]entheogens[/url] is really interesting, and reveals some insight into mindset and thought process of the Vex organisms. Additionally, the warlock set has similar ramblings about the effects of wearing vex armor and how they invade the wearer: [quote]The helm's nerve interface incorporates Vex cells. [b]They're dead, of course. But not too dead to dream...[/b] Capable gauntlets. Extremely effective. I have only one piece of advice: [b]never touch a living Vex[/b] Slept in the armor last night. Woke to feel my heart stuttering to the pattern of an unknown signal. Rumor has it that the exile Osiris came too close to understanding the Vex.[/quote] Paraphrasing from /u/Artificis_Vix here: This line about dead Vex cells would then point to [url=http://www.morphographic.com/Gallery/Images/Image_Radiolarian.jpg]Radiolarian Skeletons[/url], which are [url=http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/protista/radiolaria/radmm.html]silica-based[/url], potentially usable to make[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_dioxide#Precursor_to_glass_and_silicon] [i]glass[/i]-like structures[/url]: [quote]Silica is used primarily in the production of glass for windows, drinking glasses, beverage bottles, and many other uses. The majority of [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_fiber#Communication]optical fibers[/url] for telecommunication are also made from silica. It is a primary raw material for many ceramics such as earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain. [/quote] [url=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Quartz,_Tibet.jpg]Quartz[/url] [url=http://www.tidymart.com/images/Quartz_SiO2_Silica_1crystals.jpg]Fused Silica[/url] [url=http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/10/09/article-2450798-18A07EB800000578-503_634x414.jpg]Naturally Occuring Silica Glass[/url] [quote]"Iridescent glass baubles that seem to contain inscribed Vex logic..." --[url=http://www.destinygamewiki.com/images/d/d9/Axiomatic_beads1.jpg]Axiomatic Beads[/url][/quote] The bead icon is definitely made to look like Radiolarian "skeletons." So these Radiolarians are inscribing the Vex logic onto their little "skeleton" networks. If they're a separate organism living symbiotically, that's a pretty damn big task to give to a third party. Seems like the Radioarlia are acting on some level as DNA. The giant glass throne in the Vault of [i]Glass[/i] could be billions of radiolarian skeletons built up over many many years. We see in the [url=http://i.imgur.com/shQzzdF.jpg]Past Portal [/url]that the structure does not yet exist, while in the [url=http://static.squarespace.com/static/51232371e4b0cbd2cf2d7ee5/544c9de6e4b016cfe4b0f99b/544c9e49e4b0e23b98de2c81/1414307405538/1920_jessevandijk_vog.jpg?format=1500w]Present[/url] it is clearly constructed, and in the [url=http://i.imgur.com/6QUvoHc.jpg]Future Portal[/url] as well. This could be a massive amount of transcribed data onto radiolarian skeletons, thereby allowing it to serve as the massive computational machine that the Vex would need to write themselves into the fundamental laws of the universe. And why would we not want to touch a [i]living[/i] vex? Would there be a risk of the creatures reactivating the armor of their dead brethren? This could be what happened to Kabr's own Vexen armor and been another reason for him to be cautious about his own identity while he slowly lost control. What we see of the Vex habitat also closely resembles radiolaria remains in the form of Chert which builds in layers over thousands and thousands of years: [url=http://i.imgur.com/bp3SvB9.jpg]Vex Architechture[/url] [url=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Radiolarian_chert%2C_San_Simeon_state_park.jpg]Layers of radiolaria sediment[/url] It gets even weirder when you look at [url=http://www.ucl.ac.uk/GeolSci/micropal/images/radi/raddiag02.gif]radiolaria cross section diagrams[/url] and the [url=http://i.imgur.com/RMOdP6E.jpg]symbols[/url] that we see the Vex have carved into their landscapes. It makes them seem pretty narcissistic to be putting up portraits of presumably themselves everywhere they go. Ultimately this raises a few more questions which we will likely see revealed in the future of the Destiny Franchise, but for the next decade here's some questions to ponder: Are the radiolaria and Vex symbiotic species, where one controls the other? - If so, did the creatures invade an AI and re-code it? - Or do the AI use the evolving radiolaria to encode data in ways that allow for the thinking process of the Vex themselves to constantly evolve? [i]Or[/i] did the radiolaria become manipulators of technology and build the vex as vessels using minerals from fluid and soil around them, and are they therefore a single organism by design, with a collective biological conscience within a collective robotic conscience? There's something so fascinating about the fusion of machine and primitive lifeforms that makes this concept [i]really[/i] intriguing! - Feel free to discuss, and thanks for reading!! [url=http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/screen_kubrick/1197/11970954/2350951-trailer_spongebobplankton_launch_20131022.jpg]TL;DR[/url] Edit: wow thanks for big response! In the recent podcast with Deej he said some things that confirm some of this to an extent, check it out!![/quote]