Destiny 2 Lore - The Vex are having a Civil War! The Conductor's Choral Vex change everything!

[@Rickybobby90907]

Really hoping bungie makes location changes/adaptations into a permanent instance, Nessus is really making me miss Venus and its jungles.

[@glitchyfox8706]

I hope that's why they are splitting episodes into 3 acts. I mean they only drained the radiolarian in that final mission shortly before the final mission of act 1.

[@blackyvertigo]

hope? no, they need to do. I know so many of you don't play other mmorpgs but destiny has the lowest amount of effort put into the actual game and it's locations than any other mmorpg while having one of the highest box prices. Only ONE version of the final shape was offered to me on steam for 99 dollars. one version. one choice. and i exhausted the content availble to me within 3 weeks. i get far more mileage out of any given wow expansion over the years.

[@Skibidirizzler250]

I swear tho if they change the cisterns map barriers

[@TheOneAndTrueHead]

Pre-beyond light locations should all return. Also, i want the leviathan raid bacccccccc

[@H240909]

@@blackyvertigo I find it hard to believe that you were only offered one option on Steam. That makes no sense.

[@jackgammon1490]

I saw a flavor text on a weapon this season that said "Brace yourself. Things only get weirder from here." And I really hope that's the case

[@pullthatup2973]

Weird as in how much more can Bungie milk their player base.

[@Vinsmokesosa]

@@pullthatup2973 or maybe it has to do with the VEX of all factions having a civil war

[@DanYami]

Forthcoming Deviance is from Salvation's Edge tho, but I agree

[@Senriam]

@@pullthatup2973Jesus Christ just stop playing the game if you don’t like it

[@Puddingskin01]

That sounds like something a Tesesto would say... Is it writing on other guns now?

[@rossemklyn401]

Can't believe I was called a 'radiolaria sucker' by a clanker So i'm guessing the musical clefs are a throwback to Vance hearing musical notes on Mercury. That would be one hell of a plot twist for him to be the conductor

[@biohazard724]

Your mother wears boots of an organic origin!

[@rossemklyn401]

@@biohazard724 WTH

[@jasonwolfblood9441]

Dude used the hard r. Mods, ban this man

[@ThisGuysNameIsDan]

@@jasonwolfblood9441 Mods, remove him from the timeline

[@jasonwolfblood9441]

@@ThisGuysNameIsDan siri, show me this guy's balls

[@LifelessTooth]

Elsie had to watch her friends and loved ones die over and over through countless timelines before eventually landing on us, whereas Saint's struggle is being on the opposite end of that. _His_ friends and loved ones had to watch him die, and now he's grappling with imposter syndrome. I really wish they brought Elsie into this story, not only to help Saint through it but also because she's right up there with Osiris as the being the foremost experts on all things Vex related.

[@woundedhealer8575]

You make an excellent point, I hope this picks up in act 2!

[@ccouch713]

@@LifelessTooth it would also make sense since he's having thoughts of just being a copy. Elsie is the same and could help talk him through it in a way nobody else can. One cool way to do it would be if we "lose" saint and then Elise enters the story. And in the climax she's the one to talk him down for something really bad. Either personal like offing Osiris or blowing up Nessus or something.

[@ToyotaCorolla-en2mv]

Very true and a fantastic thing to mention. Hope she's at least mentioned in act 2, we haven't seen much of her since seraph (which I'm okay with cause that prolly means that her and Ana are getting to finally bond again now that they have some downtime)

[@BalloonMerchant]

I wish Elsie was involved because the saga of light and dark is over and we still don’t know who she was talking to or where she went in D1 when she answered that call and left us

[@DanYami]

I also find it interesting that whenever they teleport in, they create a protective dome around them as far as I know, they are the ONLY Vex Collective to do that like they're trying to actually protect the incoming troops from getting spawnkilled

[@richardyes8787]

This new rebellious Vex faction is no longer following the traditional Vex protocols anymore, they're adapting, they're thinking outside the box now. Call me crazy but I believe they're copying our combat strategies, they must have learned this protective dome shenanigan from Saint after fighting him for several centuries in the infinite forest. Take it as a grain of salt tho, I might be talking out of my @ss even though it would be an interesting plot twist, like imagine fighting a bunch of Vex and you break the shield of a minotaur and then It suddenly he casts a protective shield in front of him and starts sprinting like a maniac towards you trying to shoulder charge your @ss back to orbit just like a crayon eater titan.

[@DanYami]

like Saint's bubble huh, damn. I didn't think about that, good point

[@incendium2239]

greetings Byf my name is Guardian

[@grillmeisterkush6396]

greetings My name is Guardian, my name is My name is Hype

[@adamherrick6077]

⁠@@grillmeisterkush6396greetings my name is guardian, my name is hype, my name is my name

[@ap-fr2uz]

@@adamherrick6077 Greetings my name is my name. My name is Marlo. My name was on the street!?

[@GeckoMena4433]

@@adamherrick6077yall made me cross-eyed 😂

[@AnvilJeff]

There.

[@kakkaohjus]

Shoutout to "Ada-1's little studmuffin"

[@johngancarcik5682]

I keep seeing "three screebs in a trenchcoat"

[@stalkholm5227]

A "yoke" (for folks who may not know) is the collar you put around a pack animal, like an oxen or a mule, to guide its direction as it plows. Farming analogies=Gardening analogies? The yoke is also the thing that crushes your skull and holds your headphones on! shakes fist at hifiman

[@glass-ships]

no. clearly yolk as in egg 🍳

[@zelious9464]

Can confirm, my Hifiman Sundaras are indeed very tight!

[@arcanetraveller6304]

Bro coming in clutch with his irl lore

[@stalkholm5227]

@@zelious9464 RIGHT!? Great sound, mediocre comfort.

[@lucid8nightmarelucid8night88]

We've had "The Witness and The Traveler." Prepare yourself for "The Gardener!" 😮

[@hablasetacobell]

A minotaur calling us as asshole is hilarious lmao

[@kane93667]

@@hablasetacobell Minotaur: god damn assholes tryna ruin my evil purpose and evil stuff

[@mono6158]

The choral vex is just a rage against the machine crossover

[@Apt23-v8u]

While lead by a les wacko

[@ShadowEclipse777]

The American Republican Party is the next big bad confirmed

[@christopherm.1258]

"Killing in the name" is their national hymn and plays constantly on their radio!

[@myp3tmonster]

I'm sure it's unrelated but I remember the Vex being hypnotized by the music during the Arecibo adventure on Io

[@archivesEris]

So I'm a sucker for enemies-to-friends storylines, so if the Choral Vex's new degree of autonomy and individuality continues to grow beyond just following the Conductor's whims I'd be all for a potential Sol Accord faction; that is to say, Vex who align themselves with Sol. Hell, maybe even Asher Mir makes a comeback as a prominent figure of this new group. Even if we never get allied Vex and the Conductor themselves is defeated during this episode, having more autonomous and personable Vex *villains* would be absolutely awesome- though I do hope we still get to keep some Vex as the unknowable eldritch machines because they feel like a very unique antagonist.

[@ngoutz00]

The neat thing is is that there are real life radiolaria that live in the ocean. They are microscopic protozoans (basically they aren’t bacteria) that live in the ocean as plankton and form “skeletons” out of silica. A lot of the radiolite samples we collect in game look like some of the real life silica skeletons that these plankton make.

[@life-destiny1196]

Yeah, I straight up didn't know "radiolaria" was a real biological term until this episode dropped lolol

[@stuffandthings617]

@@life-destiny1196 I knew it when I was in a zoo/museum with my kids, there is a wall with many living things through all millenia, and there was one text about Radiolaria, till then I thought that would've been like paracausal, just stuff Bungie made up XD

[@Cpt_John_Price]

I dont know if this is a "no way sherlock" statement but whatever .I think the reason its called vex radiolaria in the first place because it is strikingly similar to the ones on earth, as clovis put it.

[@TwiceBubaigawara-dl5ln]

Imagine how cool it’d be if it were a vex civil war between Mya and Asher Mir both controlling vex.

[@VickyEye]

Oh your on to something.... I like the way you think

[@TwiceBubaigawara-dl5ln]

@@VickyEye thanks I hope so I really miss Asher Mir and Brother Vance may he rest in piece.

[@TheArtisticAlchemist]

And I hope we get a friendly collective AKA asher Mirs collective

[@bandjunkie131313]

Be hard as Asher is merely just a Vex Harpy as this point....unless I missed something and he is in a new body

[@georgebeswick7549]

Asher is dead by the way.... he died during Season of Defiance

[@markricheard1870]

The thing that really makes me interested in this Episode is how Bungie first described this Episode as about “Uncovering a new Civilization” I really hope that isn’t just a fluffy way to describe the Choral Vex. If there is a group of people working behind the Conductor who can take control of the Vex, then this would be a group who has only achieved what only the Witness before them has! And I really wouldn’t be surprised if the Choral Vex Yolkes looking so much like the Ishtar Collective Symbol is a big hint! If the Vex copies of Ishtar Collective personnel are the new civilization, then this means Ishtar Collective has created not 1 but 2 Post-Collapse Transhuman societies! And yes, I’ve seen the Leaks for Act 2 and I GLADLY got “caught up in them” because the Bungie drip feed is *G A R B A G E!*

[@Silencersix]

Spoilers for the “Dynasty” lore book you unlock upon completing Act 1: The “lost civilization” in question is definitely the Qugu. There’s no other reason they would randomly appear in the new lore book. (this is the third time in all of Destiny’s lore that they’ve ever been referenced) I guess this may also imply that Nessus drifted into Sol from one of the four Qugu systems.

[@markricheard1870]

@@SilencersixYeah I was wondering why such an obscure race was being expanded on now and how it relates to what’s going on. Based on other instances of where this happens in Seasons: something otherwise obscure gets a lot of attention due to being involved in the story. Last we heard, the Qugu were extinct. I really hope that just turns out to be another Book of Sorrows Lie, because we have done archaeology of the dead before. I’d love to find some alive!

[@miss_bec]

When I described Act 1 of Echoes to a friend, I think I used the phrase "Vex Protestant Reformation but in reverse" at some point. I really like the broad strokes, even if the pacing is messy.

[@battlexman4741]

drinking game, take a shot every time Byf says "Pattern"

[@DarthSpiderMario]

Eventually I heard it as “It’s the Patton, it’s the Patton, it’s the Patton” Cracked it: the Conductor is Patton Oswalt

[@01Grytz]

call the ambulance 🚑

[@battlexman4741]

@@DarthSpiderMario someone tell the brits to stop with that whimsical accent.

[@LanceizPro]

Great I’m hammered at work on my lunch break

[@robert2german]

For us lore nerds, the implications of the Choral Vex and their new individuality are massive, and frankly quite terrifying. EDIT: The third radio broadcast really hammers this home; Osiris notes that the changes to the Vex are occurring in real-time, when ordinarily such changes would be from a past iteration reaching into the present, as if said change was always the current state.

[@MynameisByf]

Imagine a vex that lives up to their name sake. Imagine that machine engine of godly computational power with the ability to remake worlds... But this time it hates you.

[@aceundead4750]

​@@MynameisByf there is a fine line between love and hate, depending on the future of the choral Vex i wouldnt be shocked if one and an Exo end up falling in love.

[@robert2german]

Indeed. Failsafe even notes how when the Vex initially took Nessus and experimented on her crew, they were ambivalent. Now imagine if they were intentionally cruel.

[@Apt23-v8u]

The vex are the first monsters in existence , that doesnt change

[@life-destiny1196]

@@aceundead4750 Isn't the whole part of Saint's newest character arc an identity crisis about whether he's Vex or not?

[@proudlarry8225]

Chioma Esi's logs did mention Maya died in the Conductor's Chair while studying the Veil with her chorus of puppet Exos.

[@goofyfurball7311]

I haven't seen the leaks, but part of me is kind of hoping the conductor is Chioma, rather than Maya, partially because it's been foreshadowed so very hard that a twist almost feels necessary. Also partly because I got the impression from the last few logs that while Maya died obsessed with the Veil, Chioma didn't die, but entered the Vex network looking for a version of her lover that hasn't gone mad. There's a lot of nods to their relationship in the lore (bits about Merlot, etc), but by the end Maya didn't seem to be very sentimental about Chioma anymore.

[@Xenronnify]

I want to give a special prize to Joy Osmanski, Failsafe's VA talent. Even back in the Red War arc, but even more so now, I absolutely ADORE Failsafe and would take a million and one bullets for her.

[@Light_Buster]

Vex developing feelings for us, even it does hate us, is very surprising. Then again, they did this once (maybe, I could be wrong) when the Taken invaded the Vault of Glass back in the Taken King.

[@ferret3423]

That was less them having feelings, and more them recognising that they can't stop the Taken. Taken are paracausal, so the can't predict them. As such, they called upon an enemy of the Taken who are also paracausal, us.

[@EpslionBear]

Yeah they opened the vault and put a carrot on a stick (Praedyth) to get us to investigate

[@WilliamShinal]

I love how Osiris is trying to hold back laughter at the sight of the Vex brawling with each other.

[@Bugattiboy912]

The normal Vex have no chance at beating the Choral Vex because of their lack of paracausality. That's why like entities like us Guardians and Ascendant Hive, to name a couple, can stand up to them. Maya Sundaresh's faction of Choral Vex having the paracasual power of the Echo is VERY bad news for us because that means the advantage that we've always used to tip the scales and escape the Vex's plans is gone. It's now an even playing field. Yes, we could still win (and will win because video game, but ignore that), but there has not been a single thing in the billions upon billions of years of existence that has won against the Vex when on an even playing field. It's as Byf succinctly put it, "You either get more Vex, or death."

[@Apt23-v8u]

And Maya the wacko is Psycho enough to choice both

[@jcmlink5931]

I'm always here for vex lore.

[@leonlee527]

I'm here for all Byf lore

[@pullthatup2973]

I'm here for my father, he went to get some Vex milk and never came back.

[@Reized]

​@@pullthatup2973Ah, your father might now be Vex, sorry to break it to you.

[@pullthatup2973]

@@Reized Travelerdamn it!! 😠😭

[@cee_ves]

these vex are really their own individuals. weirdly they’ve been noted to run away by other guardians in the field, something smaller vex never really do. they have a degree of self preservation. also a cute little vex started waving excitedly at a guardian and waved with both hands jumping up and down when the guardian who noticed it waved back. before it got killed by a titan driving past. poor little guy

[@EpslionBear]

Banshee wanted rocket kills, sorry

[@Reized]

Those damned crayon eaters!

[@vexile1239]

Gods dàrnit now I feel tempted to re download the game and check it out and I haven't played it since 2020

[@trashjash]

​@@vexile1239 None of that happened in game, it's in a lore book.

[@vexile1239]

@@trashjash gods darnit!

[@JohnnySilverFinger]

They will 100% become friends to the guardians and that guy who had metal arm will be involved

[@celuiquipeut6527]

I hope they bring him back. I miss Io and that dude. He was mean in a funny way.

[@JohnnySilverFinger]

@@celuiquipeut6527 true!

[@Apt23-v8u]

Yeah and the fathers of lots of children Will be back home

[@gargathulothhastur4981]

Yeah its hopelessly predictable and bad writing.

[@vexile1239]

I miss Ashur Mur

[@akvza7503]

I would also like to bring up the lore book "Polyphony" that has come out this season. Page 2 (II. Isolated Incidents) is a recorded log, of incidents pertaining to weird abnormalities within vex on Nessus.

[@Mike6-Gaming]

I love how Saint is casually saying that Titans are not as smart lmao

[@SergeyWaytov]

Just wrote comment about finding it amusing, too

[@allenalfaro6260]

Wild predicto but mark my words: the Conductor is Asher Mir fully integrated as a Vex but not taken over by

[@Drebin169]

I have a headcan theory that The vex can't simulate paracausality because they were part of the original flower game that didn't have paracausality. When the gardener wanted to implement new rules into a separate game to increase diversity in complexity, and then the gardener in the winnower inserted themselves into the game as the traveler and possibly the veil, they they brought with themselves the paracausal powers of light and darkness.

[@EllieEars]

Gotta say that I absolutely LOVE the idea of the vex civil war!

[@thewickedtizy]

I don't know if anyone else has brought this up, the vail and the people in the hidden city, that digitalized themselves, what if that's why Cade came back...the traveler digitalizes the final death of any lightbarer's it's blessed. Saving them for prosperity. And the use them in it's final shape.

[@DemiSamaKun]

The vex are odd, their Greek inspired and always constructing and building. This is funny because they follow a kind of sword logic by winning and getting stronger, they follow the final shape logic of trying to find the best form and structure. lastly tend the black garden as if they're the gardener. They often stay out of conflicts that are political. They engage when it interferes with their goals or tests. They only respected a few entities and never really made a move against the traveler except the vex controlled by exterior entities.

[@valeriem1478]

In Veil Containment, Research log 11, Chioma describes how Maya was found "Dead" in the "Conductor's chair". I know everyone has pretty solid suspicions right now, considering the Insight Terminus ghost mission, but it's a fun bit of extra hinting and lore or w/e.

[@toalogan]

They really need to make the changes to Nessus show up in the patrol. It’s super weird how sometimes they do this and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they leave things in the patrol like the Leviathan in orbit above the moon from Haunted and Caiatl’s tank on Nessus from Chosen, and other times they don’t like the Siva damages in the Cosmodrome from Rise of Iron and the Lucent Hive architecture from Risen on the Cosmodrome and the moon.

[@zachsouth314]

1:20 YOU GET A BLADE, YOU GET A BLADE, F*** IT EVERYONE GETS A BLADE!" 😂

[@justcallmeness]

The logs from Veil Containment, the "Choral" Vex, the "Conductor,"...and the fact that those yokes look like the Ishtar Collective symbol... interesting. I haven't seen any spoilers, but yeah. I have my ideas.

[@supr3m3panda]

9:17 Truly, the Vex have sent their mightiest champion: Tim

[@skoly3030]

The call out to music makes me think back to when Rasputin was playing music through those nodes and the Vex were srot of worshipping them.

[@ShortSquatch27]

Should read up on Polyphony, the Vex are…up to unusual, strangely adorable behavior…

[@strifenineteen]

Came here to say that myself, could we get friendly vex?

[@philsquishem7663]

The verbiage and wording of everything this season is so similar to the unveiling lore with Maya and lakshmi. Can’t wait to see what they’re up to and if I can turn them into a gun!

[@VideoMaster40K]

I am guessing it is Resputin or some part of him. He is the only AI music lover that I know that bungie would risk bringing back. Maybe even kill again and bring back as a guardian.

[@ParanormalAcids72]

Last time the Vex Collective had a part of it section off... We got the Sol Divisive. This feels similar... But potentially much more dangerous

[@Coffreek]

The Vex finally got a Borg Queen, huh?

[@DiamondPanda207]

Seeing the vex evolving is fascinating, a lore book entry from week 3 of the first act is filled with incident reports to the vanguard regarding anomalies in vex behavior. One includes a group that was building sandcastles, another mentions a goblin who looks at the guardian and waves in a friendly manner

[@Cheerwine091]

One detail I’m surprised nobody at all is talking about is the fact that the word that is used to describe some of the choral vex is “Uplifted”. An example of this is the “Uplifted Choral Cyclops” (in this video, one appears at 3:05). This struck me as odd, as afaik, the term uplift is specifically tied to what the traveler does to the civilizations it visits. Given that a shard of the traveler is involved here, and the vex seem to be developing into something new… I almost wonder if the “echoes” that are being sent out are specifically packets of the bounty that the traveler brings. That it uses to “Uplift”. It also makes me hope (though I know there’s no realistic chance of this, because it wouldn’t really make sense) that we somehow get Vex Guardians.

[@bestwaifu3852]

All this stuff on music makes me think back to when Rasputin disoriented the vex with it. So there's something about music that has a strong influence on the vex. All of this is possibly referencing the philosophy of "musica universalis" which states the movement of our solar system is a form of music. The "pattern" of the universe 🤔

[@wmbedsole1]

After all these tears listening to you, I have to say…. I’d read ANY audio book read by you. Great voice Byf

[@tinktink360]

So when we gonna have Vex allies?! It felt weird that were the only ones who didn’t help to fight the Witness!

[@PixelleHearts]

The choral Vex were also notable moving backwards in the retreat pattern that the strike comms mentioned. Most Vex will tread in formation towards you, run directly at you to push your territory, or simply teleport to gain an advantage. All the ones in the mission seemd to slowly fire at you while doing the encircling position you would see in guerilla warfare like how the Colonial army of the Thirteen Colonies started to do instead of doing firing lines during the Revolutionary War.

[@Blu_Moon_Owl]

I always wondered how big a “vex” is? Like one single vex or is that not even possible

[@carspn1]

Honestly, this video reignited my interest in this story. While act I was rough, it really has an exciting prospect about how the vex are changing

[@kailuun]

I am equally interested at who is commanding the Shadow Legion on Nessus. Following their assault on the Insight Terminus, it is clear someone is in charge. But who?. Is it Yirix? Or is someone else in charge now. It is safe to assume their target is the Conductor and the echo, which I suspect is the collar like thing around their neck in the promo image. It would be a bad thing for everyone if they succeeded and possibly gained command of the Vex.

[@aq5426]

Apropos of nothing else, I just want to say that I love Failsafe so friggin' much. Seriously, I am so glad that she's back at the fore in the game.

[@awesomeguy9513]

With the conductor looking to be maya sundaresh with the ishtar symbols and her veil experiments whats her endgame here? Saint mentioned a new golden age when he was possessed so is she trying to use the vex to revive a golden age or manipulate time to weave the golden age into this timeline, to that will we end up killing her off or will we have an alliance with her and the vex she has? These possessed vex are said to be acting different with their own individuality so here’s a crazy idea could Maya be putting exo minds or personalities into vex frames? There’s exos exposed to the veil, people trapped in the vex network, and captain Jacob or Asher have been in vex frames before so this would be to out there

[@IvoryTempestCandleOfStories]

We have the in lore answers to this. Read the Spectrum Ghost Shell Tab (This one confirms the Conductor’s identity), and the Polychroma Tab (This one reveals her plans). I also made a video covering this (but it’s not exactly that great, so best check it out if you don’t want to read the lore tabs yourself).

[@life-destiny1196]

@@IvoryTempestCandleOfStories A couple notes on Spectrum: 1. The backstory the Conductor describes here sounds almost more like Chioma Esi than Maya Sundaresh; crossreference the last Veil Containment log, where Esi apparently commits suicide by Vex, or the one prior to that where Sundaresh goes and does a wild experiment (I think the one that made Lakshmi? who got namedropped in the Mesmerize mission) basically as soon as Esi leaves to get some space. I mean, it's probably still Sundaresh, but she almost seems TOO obvious. 2. It also very clearly states that the Conductor has an accomplice, someone who isn't human (so not someone like Clovis Bray or Asher Mir), who uses male pronouns and has a calming and reassuring disposition. Almost sounds like Misraaks??

[@IvoryTempestCandleOfStories]

@@life-destiny1196 Replying to Note 1: Chioma didn't lead the vision, hence did not have expect anyone to "align" with it. Maya did have the vision, the vision of her discoveries in the Veil, and did in fact expect her to follow the vision (Though I'll admit, Maya was dead before Chioma left to commit suicide, so it is rather odd that she would make reference to something she did not live to witness - lest she simply figured it out later in time). Another reason to conclude it isn't Chioma is due to the nature of the ship lore, the Conductor's aspiring goals and nature to follow them. She emphasizes the fact that it is never the whole that counts, but the individuals that matter; and beyond that, the Conductor is focused solely on the progress she'll make in her operation regardless of what gets in the way (with very little morality). Chioma is a person who cares about everyone, enough to put them above progress and discovery. She literally destroyed all their findings on the Veil research to make sure the children of Neomuna could live in a beautiful future without the horrific blood on her hands. The Conductor simply fits all the aspects of Maya's nature, and little none of Chioma's nature as a character. So she's crossed out. On note 2: I highly doubt it's Mithrax for one reason, and that's due to his nature as a character. Like Chioma, Mithrax cares for everyone and for how they feel. He would not support an operation like this, and would do very little to even get close to following such horrific means to an end. No, he's not the accomplice, that much is certainty. But it is also most certainly not the Winnower either, too early for that (And a formless one doesn't exactly count in the traits of (biology and culture). I only have one loose idea as to the accomplice, and only one source to tie this suspicion to. For the Dynasty lore book received it's first entry at the end of the Act, and there appear to be two more, for the next two Acts. This lore book follows the story of the Qugu, and events that lead to their demise (Based on my initial impressions of the entry). Yes, I am saying it's likely that whoever is partnered with Maya is either a Qugu, or something tied to them. And only due to my assumption that the lore book is relevant to the Episode (Which is based on the fact that we get a new entry by the end of every Act). Now, those are simply my observations. It is a slight possibility that Chioma can turn out as the Conductor, but it makes no sense due to her nature as a character to me. But I could, of course, be mistaken. Let's see where this story goes.

[@johnathanmonsen6567]

The Polyphony lore entries we're getting are also really interesting: the second one, I believe, gave a bunch of field reports of odd Vex activity, and they kept sounding like _children_ running around. Hobgoblins waving at Guardians, Goblins trying and failing to march in military file and getting scolded, a bunch of things that make it seem like they're developing sapience, but are not yet sure what to do with it.

[@justinmagbanua5376]

If you haven’t yet (I’m sure you have) check out the lore tab Dusk and Dawn > Polyphony > II. Isolated Incidents. It talks more about weird Vex behavior that guardians are reporting in.

[@demolition3612]

Coral is also mentioned in a new lore book, with a race known as the “Qugu” I think and they link together similarly to the vex inorder to controll their fleets of “pearls”

[@unnameddude9325]

so im not too sure, but during a run of VoG the other day I noticed that some vex in the gatekeeper and atheon encounters had the new faction symbol next to their name. also not sure if that means anything

[@johngancarcik5682]

Wait really?

[@IHearTheDrums2]

Byf has a way of adding weight to the narrative. I would’ve seen “The Guardian Slayer” and thought nothing of it. Until now

[@Typicaldork]

I did a bit of a deep dive on this but im just gonna comment that there are A LOT of times song is mentioned alongside darkness or users of darkness. Between that and the sounds you hear next to the veil, (the music actually sounds like what happens if you connect fungi to some sort of audio projecting device.) I think there is something to sound or music and darkness

[@ethanpiper2505]

It’s honestly very interesting to see how the vex are changing in such a drastic way. I’m pretty sure I’m not the first person to know this but the time trial mission that we get to do whenever you reach a checkpoint and take a note of your radar, you can see a little conversation being held , it’s more or less fragments but nonetheless, and then you slowly take notes. They are holding mostly encapsules every day human stuff. They’re signs bases classes, and such it almost seems as if the vex themselves are also trying to build a culture based off of the enemy us like they’re trying to make a normal Life. I might be looking too far into it, but it definitely seems interesting that they are choosing music as a form to organize.

[@beaudoullahoblongatta]

Didnt they mention something about a chorus in the veil containment files? The ones talking about Maya / Lakshmi-1. I though they mentioned her set up was called a chorus but maybe im not remembering correctly

[@GoodGuyDex11234]

I think more importantly, as the vex are changing we are seeing (like saint) exos changing to due to radiolaria being a key component in there construction, i believe that the conductor and the choral vex aren’t just solely reaching out to other vex factions but exos across the system to. This could be through they’re dreams or something else entirely like the symphony and the voice saint-14 heard that lead him to Nessus without the choral vex even thinking of attacking they’re greatest enemy. We could see them try and breach into the last city again with this in mind but the sky’s the limit with the conductor at this point In time. But that’s what I think

[@MelancholicBodhisattva]

"Perhaps The Final Shape is not silence, it is a symphony."

[@balding-boat3652]

Was mopping up some missed “Veil containment missions from last season, and I caught numerous references to “conductor” and “chorus” in reference to maya sundaresh, and lakshmi-2. Thoughts?

[@codylujan]

I cannot tell you how much I raced here after these episodes. I had the "ok, what's really going on here."

[@maximglanzer]

if you remember back in destiny 1 their was one time that the vex didn't even attack us in the house of wolves when skolas attacked the vault of glass

[@stuffandthings617]

I thought for a long time that Radiolaria would be something Bungie madu up just for the game, but then we went to a zoo/museum with the kids and there on a timeline of living things on earth was one picture with text about Radiolaria.

[@aeloswindrunner]

Maybe that "guardian slayer" swearing at you is a bit of fun tongue in cheek, but it's still great for the implications around vex behaviour

[@feralprocessor9853]

It's like how from Hollow Knight, the Pale King arrived and made his Hollownest Civilization by uplifting the minds of simple bugs and giving them intelligence in turn for eternal fealty back to the Pale King.

[@Dynasty1818]

Maya Sundaresh returning will be interesting given she's clearly controlling this

[@TheK1ngBNazty]

Oh my lord... 😳 Thank you Byf.. After watching those 2 leaked cutscenes from Act 2 & this video.. I think I've pieced together what the ultimate plan of the "Conductor" is.. And wow, it could be on scale of Cosmic proportions. I won't spoil anything tho. But sheesh, Bungie's story team is probably the best part of this entire franchise 👏🏾

[@ironwolf9141]

Byf missed the boss from the save Saint mission who was falling back. They even make mention of how his behavior is uncommon for regular Vex. Using human tactics and changing strategies

[@BrucetheMantis]

The vex somehow discovered Rage against the Machine and decided to enter a rebellious phase

[@ivanoflavender9523]

This is, conceptually, THE most excited I’ve ever been for a Vex story. Hands down. I just really hope Bungie will showcase it better as the episodes go on

[@CurtisDoesStuffOnline]

I think that it's pretty unanimous that the Conductor is an iteration of Maya Sundaresh, but consider how many of them there are. And we know Laskshmi-3 was another iteration of her mid. Let's not forget msund12, from the Nessus strike. What worries me is that one of Maya's iterations folded and adopted the Vex way of belief, much like a Stockhold Syndrom suffering hostage believes the way their abusers do.

[@Silkie_Dragon]

Side-tangent: 99% sure each axis mind of each vex faction is subservient to a single greater mind that oversees Sol vex operations, and the differing methods by which the vex go about achieving victory is simply the greater collective’s way of exploring all options, with each collective specializing in a different form of simulation. Then the conductor in this case has cut off the vex’s connection to the axis mind, rerouting it through the echo

[@dynojackal1911]

The lore entry we got from the second week's radio blurb details a plethora of incidents with very human-like behaviors.

[@Retrophoenix-]

It really cool seeing this change in the vex. One of the biggest problems with storytelling involving them is that they don't have any key figures since they all act as one. Panoptes and atheon might be the exception but even they still are just made for a specific purpose. Here we're seeing them be angry, talk amongst themselves and give themselves titles. And now the conductor might be our very first true vex villain that we've had.

[@SergeyWaytov]

To be an odd one out -- the continued perpetuation of jokes about "Knucklehead Titans" makes me snickering quite some 😂😂

[@someguy6534]

Maybe with the echoes they are clusters of the witness’ minds made manifest. This one being the actual artistic/symphonic cluster put towards making the final shape. It’s picked up by the conductor who spreads this creativity and individuality of a universal symphony (previously final shape) to create individuals among the vex hive mind.

[@RavebirdRock]

Didnt Chimoa Esi mention the Conductor and the chorus in her logs during lightfall?

[@valzicplayz3845]

Now thinking of it the Vex in a old Bungie concept art had space ships. Imagine the Vex having a fleet of ships like the Kylon from Star Trek. Just popping out of a vex portal decimating the coalition fleet.

[@DeathReaperFour]

I don’t know if anyone else noticed, my buddy mentioned the thing around their neck looks pretty much like the Ishtar symbol.

[@joshuasymons3327]

i hope the story somehow has ties to rasputin's music which he used on the vex back on io, someone using the concept/tech then either bad guys combining that with the echo which made the choral vex stuff OR good guys using it to counter the conductor and the choral vex i think asher mir and the vex network + rasputin and his sound tech + the echo would be cool af and it kinda makes sense, it would be a interesting twist if asher was conductor, above everyone else and controling the 'lesser'. sounds like him. but msund12 gotta be in the story so not likely, secretly rooting for evil/corrupted msund12 and asher helps and becomes the new conductor plot

[@celuiquipeut6527]

They say these Vex dont act like normal...But their AI is EXACTLY the same. Their behaviour. Their sound. They are the same thing except that halo they have. Its lame.

[@life-destiny1196]

Unfortunate gameplay and story segregation, unless you count the Mesmerize mission (it's pretty rare to have to chase a Vex down, the only other time I can think of offhand was a Hydra in one of the Lightfall missions, or maybe the GOS boss harpy but Sol Divisive are already weird canonically). Lorewise, there's a bunch of written lore tabs where people witness the Choral Vex acting in unusual, almost humanlike ways. There's also that room in Enigma Protocol where there's a room that's basically a database of a bunch of random human objects, like the ramen shop sign.

[@dandojo9317]

I mean they do spawn in with a protective field around them. They also have been seen retreating which is something the vex dont do. Sure they fight the same but theyre the same units with the same capabilities. But their behaviour is different.

[@houseofcards3293]

Hey Byf, I would recommend giving the lore tabs of the ghost shell, sparrow, and ship from the Season Pass a once-over. Pay special attention to who the author might be, and consider who that might make their "associate".

[@SplizzzR6]

I think it’d be very interesting to see the conductor as Rasputin… being that he was a big enthusiast of music being him playing it throughout his vaults. Very slim chance though considering that he pretty much offed himself.

[@ghostlyrazgriz5228]

Just going to point out. That the choral vex changing to their surroundings. Opens up a chance for a friendly group once they are no longer under any outside control.

[@Kroekestop_NL]

Do you mean with all the hints to the music, this maybe harkens back to the music of the spheres and the power that lies within them? I mean, everything in the universe is in some state of vibration. Some slow, some fast. Controll over these vibrations means controll of almost everything. So that would mean control over the music of the universe gives control over the universe. All in all, this change to the vex is one of the most interesting changes in the universe of destiny in regard to the enemy races we have see thus far.

[@shadeeghost2534]

This vex lore jus reminds me of a certain awoken who became one with the vex network, might even jus be sitting deep in the vex core jus running his own simulations(experiments) on the vex

[@HasanBabasi]

The witness kept talking about entropy and the end of the universe where everything just stop existing all the stars blow up, the last black hole dies, to me it sounds like the vex know this and it freaks them out so they want to make sure this never happens.

[@ShadowEclipex]

This is all fascinating lore implications. Though I am still hoping that one of these Vex seasons will start wit us getting a distress signal from the Vex to discover Asher has somehow turned himself into a Vex Mind. Would be fascinating to see potentially allied Vex, and I am hoping these no changes in the Vex will take us one step closer to that idea.

[@digunder14]

guess that makes the song they used on saint-14 one of existential dread, given it had him questioning his right to exist, and has so far not as far as we know recovered with osiris a bit unsure how to help his lover

[@FTGN7]

9:00DID THAT VEX JUSCT CALLL ME A NID AH HELL NAH YOU GOING to be a gunn so soon BOI

[@spiffyspecimen]

I'm pretty sure the latest entry in the new lore book that depicts Mithrax experiencing some kind of painful vision

[@aaronvandyke2002]

Could we get a video about Failsafe getting a physical body? She mentions is a bunch in the first week of the episode and I think we see it in the launch trailer under the hand of the conductor. No one is talking about it.

[@tysonkrunek4132]

How the Vex are spoken of changing tactics to copy cabal, eliksni, or guardians speaks to their changing. Also notice how lots of seasonal weapons all have music tie ins like “pitch perfect” I don’t know if you have unlocked the lore book about the Qu’Gu but they talk of an ancient war against the hive.

[@Sargescarecrow]

ada's little studmuffin what a name!😂