[b]This is only part 2, read part 1 first:[/b] https://www.bungie.net/de/Forum/Post/255197288/0/0
Moving away from body modifications, we also get a description of a highly advanced diving suit worn by Maury Yamashita. This suit really gives a good idea of how advanced humanity really was:
[i][quote]At nearly -200 degrees Celsius, the methane is so viciously frigid that vacuum, the acme of pure cold, is actually keeping Maury warm: he wears a softsuit stuffed with microscopic layers of vacuum, packed in turn with crystalline nanostructures that prevent even light from crossing the gaps. This means the chill cannot get in… and his body heat cannot get out.[/quote][/i]
I’m certainly no expert, but this stuff sounds absolutely nuts, but not impossible, which is the genius behind this lore book. Not only is this suit packed with scientific marvels, it’s got wings, literally. In a later passage, Maury uses them to fly out of the water. The air and gravity of Titan are said to make this possible. In the same passage, there’s also a reference to something called “paramuscle”. This is mentioned in Destiny 1 and is said to be used in certain Guardian armor. It’s also an armor perk that increases grenade throw distance. From all that we can gather that paramuscle is probably some sort of synthetic muscle fiber that can be used in wearable equipment to increase human muscle functions. One D1 armor set mentions that paramuscle can even aid in breathing by working as a secluded let of lungs. This is also the first technology mentioned that we know is still around after the collapse. I’m not saying that the others aren’t, but we know for sure with this one.
Lastly on the technology side, we have programmable matter. This is certainly no new concept, as Glimmer is one of the most important resources in the Destiny universe and SIVA is also still a thing. However, the programmable matter mentioned here is something different. It actually seems less advanced than both Glimmer and SIVA, but it’s still interesting nonetheless. It’s called “smart plastic”. This stuff seems to be controlled in a similar way to SIVA. In the Book, Maury makes the plastic disintegrate by sending a specific signal through his glove. I won’t say that there isn’t a connection to SIVA here, but SIVA was definitely already invented, seeing as this book takes place right at the beginning of the collapse.
[b][u]Military:[/u][/b]
Most of the things I’m going to mention here are also some sort of technology, but I’m still making them a separate category.
Based on the lore tab for “Shadow Trespass”, we can assume that the Golden Age was a very peaceful time. Apparently this doesn’t mean that all militaries were abolished. I’m going to make a distinct separation between privat and government militaries here. It’s very feasible that only privat militaries existed at this point in time. The military in the book works for Rasputin and the Brays had their own Exo force. I think the Cosmodrome also had a defense force. As far as I’m aware, there is no mention of countries having a military during the Golden Age, except for the NAE. However, it sounds like their military might only be for display purposes. To reinforce my points, here is this quote:
[i][quote]This was the age of life, and governments did not, ever, use force against human beings. There were always alternatives. Every soul sacred. Every evil treatable.[/quote][/i]
So it’s safe to assume that Golden Age society was indeed very pacifist, for the most part. Take note that this only mentions governments and says nothing about corporations. I also want o acknowledgement that this quote seem to imply that government militaries exist, they just don’t see any action. We also get the term “transhuman infantry” used for the Exos under Rasputins orders. This implies that there is a distinct separation between human and Exo infantry, meaning that humans still served as soldiers and weren’t completely replaced by robots or drones.
Let’s talk weapons: We know that Rasputin had/has incredible weapons at his disposal. This book gives another demonstration of that. Based on the description, it seems like we haven’t seen that kind of weapons in game yet. The specific source of the beam is said to be a warsat. But we also get a small reference to firearms. What kind of firearms might exist in a mostly pacifist society? Non-lethal ones of course:
[i][quote]An eight-legged crate walks out of the air lock behind her, shepherded by two more silent Exos. The beast of burden proffers body armor and firearms: not just bliss rifles or restraint spiders, but actual, lethal, bullet-shooting guns.[/quote][/i]
I specifically want to highlight bliss rifles and restraint spiders, which seem to be the non-lethal weapons I mentioned above. Restraint spiders are probably some kind of self automated restraining mechanisms. Bliss rifle sounds like a kind of tranquilizer gun, probably making the target feel awesome instead of knocking them out. To add onto the pacifist stuffs the presence of lethal weapons is said to be a special situation in the book. Even from the quote above, you can gather that even the military rarely even carried lethal force. To summarize: Militaries still exist, especially private and corporate ones, but lethal force was rarely used publicly. I say publicly, because Exo assassins were definitely a thing.
I think all of these small references are amazing ways of treating us to less explored subjects of the lore. What I analyzed here isn’t even the main attraction of the lore book. Like I said, it mainly focuses on Exos, Rasputin’s morality and the beginning of the collapse of course. So this side lore is extremely fun to dig through, because it’s far from irrelevant. I even left some stuff out. There is much to find, even in other lore books. So take some time to look for smaller details when reading lore, it’ll be worth it.
I hope you enjoyed this post. Feel free to add your own thoughts and start discussions.
[spoiler]So, for those of you that know me, I’m back, making posts again. I’m very exited to be be doing this again, especially since a new season is right around the corner. I’m trying to increase the quality of my posts in the future, so I hope that shows.[/spoiler]
Edit: changed the title
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I can make an addition. Human soldiers were still prominent. You can see that in the D1 lore cards. I can’t recall it entirely but a LT Col (I think can’t remember her name) mentioned that soldiers hadn’t seen any action for a long time. Causing people to question the need for a military. Also the funny thing is....D2 lore makes too much of the world pacifist. Doesn’t explain how so many armaments are spread throughout the world. If actual weapons were such a rarity...caches would be limited in geography and number. Honestly this lore book is filler, more then anything else.