According to Pandora’s Box in PD Orta, some records show that there were whole tribes of drones living in the borderlands during the years before the foundation of the Empire, pretending to be human. This information was written from an Imperial point of view and I think that they could have been mistaken about this. We know that drones weren’t capable of reproducing. How is it possible that they survived for thousands of years then? We don’t know how long drones can live, but I doubt that they would be capable of surviving that long. Drones were designed to serve the Ancients and interface with the ruins, not to build their own tribes and pretend to be human. That’s why I believe that these tribes could have been something else.
Here’s my theory about those tribes: they were in fact beings that pretended to be human, but they weren’t drones. They were mutated humans, who survived the Ancient Age by living in the borderlands, as far away as possible from the Towers’ influence. The Ancients wanted to destroy these mutants so that only the humans that we know survived. The Towers didn’t function normally though and the mutants were able to survive. They had to go to the borderlands because the Towers’ biomonsters wanted to destroy them. The Skyrider himself could have been one of the few remaining mutants, which would explain the green energy flowing out of him. the same thing happened to the coolias. You had normal ones and mutants, who were considered a bad omen. I could write a bit more about this but this post is already long enough and I’d like to hear your thoughts about this theory first.
Can’t give many details, but yes, there are Drone tribes in the Borderlands. For certain reasons, they decided to go “into hiding” and have stayed that way for centuries. With the Ancients gone, and the Ancients’ technology all but eradicated off the face of the planet, they really didn’t have much else to do.
I bet we’ve even met one pretending to be human already. I mean, how would we know?
I really think the Sky Rider was stolen along with Azel in the Ancient Age by rebellious humans and reprogrammed to fight against the ancients or simply freed from their control.
The mutant human idea loses much ground to the idea of the green energy being some kind of bio-engineered life-force. Skearmon at the old boards believed the Heresy dragon could download itself into a person (aka the Sky Rider) if it could do so with random coolias, which was something I expanded upon in an old theory of mine (I just think that green energy is more significant than we realise).
Their story has great potential for further development. I only hope they don’t overshadow everyone else in the process (like the humans of the Warcraft universe being set aside in favour of elves even though the story began with humanity and its struggle against the orcs).
One last thing: did Team Andromeda plan for drones to be living in the midst of humanity all along, or was this particular plot device dreamt up only recently? An answer to that will, of course, shed light on future events.
[quote=“Abbad”]
Can’t give many details, but yes, there are Drone tribes in the Borderlands.[/quote]
So they’re still there even after the foundation of the Empire? Since drones aren’t capable of reproduction that would mean they have a lifespan of over ten thousand years. That’s a very long period of time. Who knows what could happen to their self-consciousness. I wonder if they would still be loyal to the Ancients?
[quote=“Geoffrey Duke”]
The mutant human idea loses much ground to the idea of the green energy being some kind of bio-engineered life-force.[/quote]
Well it seems my theory about mutant humans is wrong since it were indeed drones who lived in the borderlands. But I’m not sure what you mean by the green energy being some kind of bio-engineered life-force. I also think it shows life-force but the mutant coolias weren’t ?engineered?, they were mutated (perhaps by a virus or bacteria that affects their genes). Which is why I thought that if this mutation could happen to coolias it could also happen to humans.
The Heresy Dragon was probably capable of downloading itself into other beings, but I doubt that this happened to the Skyrider. The Skyrider didn’t put up much of a fight against the Dark Dragon. If the Heresy Dragon had downloaded itself into him he should have had the skills to counter his opponent. That’s why I also doubt that he was a drone prepared in the Ancient Age because he would have been designed for combat then.
The mutant coolias were the Heresy dragon’s attempts at entering the world. This is certainly true in the case of Lagi if not the other coolias. What I find interesting is how Sestren records what the villagers of Elpis say about the mutant coolias before they kill one: “Too many mutants are born these days”. Sestren kept a memory of it because it was keeping a close eye on the ressurgence of “the impurity”. Of course, not long after Shellcoof enters into the story.
If the Sky Rider wasn’t a drone and wasn’t a mutant human, then that can only mean he was human. How can you explain the green energy? My best guess is he (the Sky Rider drone) wasn’t designed for combat, initially, or that the Dark Dragon rider was better-equipped for it.
As far as we know, these mutant coolias have always existed (at least since the end of the Ancient Age). I don’t think that they were all attempts of the Heresy Dragon to download itself. I think that the Heresy Dragon had only one chance to escape from Sestren. Lagi was special because he had wings, the other ones didn’t.
As far as we know, these mutant coolias have always existed (at least since the end of the Ancient Age). I don’t think that they were all attempts of the Heresy Dragon to download itself. I think that the Heresy Dragon had only one chance to escape from Sestren. Lagi was special because he had wings, the other ones didn’t.[/quote]
The Heresy dragon may have evolved those wings by manipulating the natural growth of the coolia. Sestren would not record what the villager said unless it was of some importance.
Lagi defied odds just by surviving his birth; if Lundi hadn’t been in a position to save him, the villagers wouldn’t have hesitated to kill him. Luck was on his side.
However, I don’t see why it’s impossible for the other coolias to have been failed attempts at entering the world. The Heresy dragon probably only needed some of its essence to survive for it to live on (compare baby Lagi to the size of the Heresy dragon).
Just why was that green light so ominious? Because it’s linked to the Heresy dragon.
Which means these drones either only woke up recently (making them 150+ years old), or are able to prolong their lifespan through interfacing with ancient technology.
