The contradiction found between Eliksni culture and evolution is most highlighted by what I refer to as “Hard” and “Soft” progress. Hard progress is in reference to the development of a species as a whole, as seen in evolution and how it coincides with complex tool usage. Primates are able to use crude tools, such as sticks to reach bugs within tree bark. Their brains have developed the necessary components required to comprehend the idea that an object can aid in a given task as well as how to use said object appropriately. The Eliksni mind is obviously well evolved enough for complex tool usage, they’re some of the greatest mechanics in the system, it’s obvious that some serious Hard progress has been made. As for Soft progress, that’s where things start to diverge. Soft progress is something that isn’t inherent about a species, such as cultures, talents, trades, language. Typically, as Hard progress advances, Soft progress will continue along side with it, only stoping once Hard progress has stopped. For the Fallen, Soft progress seems to be way farther behind the Hard progress they’ve made. They are evolutionarily fit to be more complex as a culture, yet they aren’t. Which begs the question; Why are they like this? The best solution I can think of is that the Traveler used the “From Scratch” approach to the Eliksni home world. Taking a closer look at the Eliksni physiology, you can see signs of the streamline evolution that the Ammonites experienced. Examining what physical features the Eliksni still possess that aren’t evolutionarily relevant, we can also determine what type of animal the Eliksni used to be (which I will be doing, so this might be a bit of a tangent, but still a main point of the post). Some of the more noticeable features about the Fallen is their teeth and jaw. The teeth the Eliksni possess are narrow and needle like, typically seen in fish but are more or less meant for holding on to any living prey that they manage to get a bite of. Their split jaw, on the other hand, is rather hard to diagnose. Not many species on Earth possess a split jaw. Most insects have two mandible pincers and the Reef Awoken seem to think that the Fallen are bugs, but if the Eliksni evolved from insects they’d likely loose any semblance of pincers if they made the switch to an actual jawline, meaning their jaw was closer to that of a snake’s, who would unhinge their jaw to better swallow prey. Obviously these features aren’t useful to the Eliksni anymore, unless they still hunt without weapons and eat their food live (entirely possible, just not probable), if not then these definitely point us toward the “From Scratch” approach of the Traveler. Taking a look at these mouth features, one would make the assumption that the Elkisni used to be a predator species, but certain features suggest otherwise, particularly their eyes. There are all kinds of eyes in the animal kingdom, but typically they’ll fall into two different classifications; predator and prey. Predators will have front facing eyes as well as pupils that narrow vertically to better aid in their perception and judgment of depth (a trait needed for hunting and pursuing), as well as giving them a better sense of focus in their sight to keep their eyes on whatever they happen to be hunting. Prey will have eyes oriented towards the sides of their head with wider, more round pupils that gives them a better field of vision to evade predators easier. Looking to the Eliksni, it seems obvious that they display the prey style eyes. Based on the angle and position of their eyes currently, it’s possible that they had a longer snout or muzzle back in the day, with their eyes spaced further back towards the sides of their face. They’re already angled towards the side a bit, but it would have been much more defined in this way. Their second set of eyes were likely positioned further away from their first, granting them a larger field of view and minimizing their blind spots. I know some might ask that if the Eliksni were a prey species, then why do they have claws and sharp teeth and the split jaw? Well, Eliksni are definitely carnivorous and likely did have some hunting tendencies in their lesser evolved form, with their first set of eyes being centered closer towards one another acting as their depth preceptor, but their diet probably consisted of insects or smaller prey they could swallow whole, slippery critters that would need those needle like teeth to keep them in place if they were going to be eaten. As for their claws, another big trait we can observe about the Fallen is that they are most comfortable in caves or just underground in general, suggesting that they were a partially subterranean species back on their home planet. If so, their claws wouldn’t have been used for hunting, but for digging and burrowing. Their front/upper set of arms would have acted as their primary diggers and their back/lower set would have been their grabbers, meant for for carrying their young or scavenging for objects. Given that their lower arms are regenerable, they likely would have made excellent scavenging appendages to place into dark, unknown crevices that any number of meat eaters could’ve resided in as well as incredible adept at shielding their children if confronted by a larger predator. The Eliksni also possess outward facing hind spikes, where out of the three clawed toes on their feet, one faces backwards. A claw like this is typical for burrower species and is used in cases where they can’t turn around to fight, like if a predator were to find it’s way into the burrower’s tunnel and the burrower if facing the opposite direction, it can still kick at the predator to fight it off. What does all this tell us, I hear myself asking. In short, that the Fallen are basically Space Prairie dogs the Traveler came across and decided to start a civilization from scratch with. It blessed them with it’s Streamline Evolution, causing their Hard progress to far exceed their Soft progress, but the Traveler intended to lift them up to the pinnacle of their society’s potential like it did with the Ammonites, thus evening out the Progresses. The Whirlwind came before any of that could happen and the Eliksni culture never got a chance to catch up to the it’s evolutionary potential. The now-Fallen switched to a more survival oriented frame of mind, struggle and renaissance are unsustainable together after all, and set out to go find the center piece of their entire existence. (Dos go di, that was way longer than I meant it to be. It’s not much longer, I promise.) The Fourth society everyone should already be familiar with. Humanity. Humans don’t fall under either the “From Scratch” or “Helping Hand” method in the way the Traveler approached them (the “Hurry Along” method I mentioned earlier would probably fit nicely). In fact, the way the Traveler approached them is rather unusual in it’s very nature. It waited. It came to Sol and hopped around, from planet to planet, and waited. If my thoughts on the Eliksni are even somewhat close, they wouldn’t have had to find the Traveler. The Harmony would have been on every planet in their system so they likely didn’t have to find it. The Ammonites definitely didn’t find the Traveler if the Eliksni didn’t either. But Humanity did, and I think there was a reason for this. We know that the Traveler was in the system for around four years before contact was made, possibly longer if it went undiscovered for a prolonged period of time. You’d think that making contact with a system’s animal life as soon as possible would be the Traveler’s top priority, given the Darkness was only a few centuries behind, but it lingered out in the stars for some unknown reason. I think it was because the Traveler was looking for potential in the system. You see, the Traveler always seemed indiscriminate in the species it chose to bless, it would partner with one until it’s work was complete, then move on to the next. Obviously, this caused a lot of problems. It seemed to choose what it saw first, ignoring everything beyond the surface. The reason the Hive crusade began was because a few lesser beings felt they were being ignored by something greater, being shuffled off of this mortal coil for the amusement of a power much larger than themselves. The Traveler’s carless galavanting across the system, granting Light to any society that would have it, destroyed more species than it nurtured. It was a comet with a tail made of cosmic slaughter. It was obvious a change needed to be made. Then along comes Humanity. (End of Pt 2) Pt 1: https://www.bungie.net/nb/Forums/Post/247423213?sort=0&page=0 Pt 3: https://www.bungie.net/nb/Forums/Post/247423356?sort=0&page=0