(TL:DR at bottom, as per usual) Foreword: This theory is best looked at after looking at my theory on the Traveller, the Ghosts and the Speaker (as they complement one another), found here: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/140695654/0/0 In my previous theory, I explained how the Traveller, the Speaker and the Ghost are the main antagonist, and how they manipulate the Tower. This theory, I’m looking at the Exo, and how they complement my previous theory. The best place to start with the Exo is their grimoire card, more specifically the first paragraph: “Built for a long-forgotten struggle, Exos are self-aware war machines so advanced that nothing short of a Ghost can understand their inner functions. They remain ciphers, even to themselves: their origins and purpose lost to time.” A question we have to begin asking though, is why these War Machines were created? According to this timeline (http://i.imgur.com/uFCl26q.jpg), the Exo War Machines were created just after the time the Traveller arrived at our Earth. Now I know what you’re thinking: “But goboy! That timeline you just showed us was made from evidence from the Grimoire cards! How can your theory have any credibility?” Well, dear reader, I propose a thought. Given that most of the hidden lore of this timeline appears in the grimoire cards, aptly named “Ghost Fragments”, how can we be certain that this timeline has any credibility? As discussed in my last theory, I believed that the Ghosts are not only lying to the player/the guardians, but are undertaking both the will of the Traveller and the Speaker, being ill placed. Regardless, why would we need to create these War Machines? They’re not fighting an enemy, as we wouldn’t come into contact with any alien race seen in Destiny until midway through out Golden age, which can be seen (though taken with a grain of salt) in the timeline. The first race we ever encountered was the Fallen, and by their arrival, we already had the Exo war machines, which we used to combat, the Fallen. So why would these Exo need to be created? Why would we need these war machines? I believe that these Exos were in fact a means to try and combat the Traveller. As I said in the previous theory, I believed that the Traveller was the instigator of the Collapse, and the Exos were our means of defence. How could that work, you ask? What could the Exos possibly do to a giant white orb? Well, here’s a main question. Where did the Ghosts come from? How did they come about? Lore tells us that the Ghosts are in fact a creation of the Traveller, forged from it’s “Light”. So what’s to say that the Traveller didn’t create an army to try and eradicate us? What if the Exos were created to try and stop the Minions of the Traveller? To strengthen my theory, we need to step back to the Grimoire card for the Exo, and how it actually already hints to this possibility. The very first line, “Built for a long-forgotten struggle” and the very last line, “They remain ciphers, even to themselves: their origins and purpose lost to time.” History has forgotten the purpose of the Exo, to the point that even they have forgotten. But did they forget though causation, or was it a deliberate memory wipe? The Gunsmith in the tower has a very interesting line of idle dialogue to help support my claims. Note as well that the Gunsmith’s name is Banshee-44. “How many times has my system been wiped? 41, 42… 43?” What purpose would Banshee-44 need to have his memory wiped? The name of every Exo, Banshee-44, Cayde-6, Lakshmi-2, Saint-14, every Exo has this number next to their name, all except the Exo Stranger (Who, for obvious reasons, we don’t know the name to). All these Exos, however, were members of the Tower, be it Vendors or Guardians. But what purpose could these memory wipes have, and why would they need their system and memory wiped? I believe they may have come too close to discovering the truth of the Traveller, and the Speaker. As the Speaker is in control of the Tower, what’s to say he doesn’t have the ability to call in the Exo for a “Routine System Wipe”, to keep their treacherous secret? As crazy as it may sound, what if the Exos were our creation to fight the threat of the Traveller? What if our advancement in Technology, as has always been, skyrocketed us towards our Golden Age, and the creation of the Exos? (TL;DR): We made the Exos to Fight the Traveller, and their memories have been wiped to keep that secret As per usual, this was another of my Essay theories Let me know what you think, and if you guys want any more of my theories! -Goboy3133, your everyday Destiny theorist