Origins of the Locust - A study of the Lambent, the Sires, the Locust and Myrrah

[Joveus]

I don't believe that Locust actively mutate humans into drones, otherwise their numbers could not hope to be so obscenely high as they are - drones are naturally suicidal, and if they entailed that much effort to create - the race would easily kill itself. The cinema I always take to thought when I think of the Locust is in Gears of War 2, with Skorge standing powerfully over the enormous hordes of drones traveling down the highway... these soldiers are all cannon fodder by definition, and that's exactly why they are numerous like bugs. They are still winning the war, despite the Lightmass bombing. They are not doing this by recently deciding to capture humans - they breed somehow, and on an exponential level. A level comparable to, say, insects.

“Queen Myrrah. It was an odd choice of title. It smacked of termite colonies and ants, an analogy he knew she’d find offensive, but he suspected she’d chosen it in an attempt to make herself feel more embedded in Sera’s history, more Seran than the humans who’d long since discarded their monarchies. You know that’s not true, Myrrah. You know all about your origins. But this is no time to argue that with you.”
- Adam Fenix’s thoughts (The Slab – Chapter 4)

“They breed by rape.”
“What, sir?”
“The Locust. I heard the females – the Berserkers – have to be tied down to mate. They’re not exactly willing.
- Hoffman and Tai (Aspho Fields, Chapter 14)

“Baird here.

I guess this could be an invasion map, but it looks more like a kid's drawing
to me. Li'l Locust, do they have those?

I was just asking Marcus about this earlier... Why aren't there any Locust
brats around here? Figured we'd see some grub's grub somewhere around this
place.

Well, guess if the Berserkers are the females, maybe the males just wised up
and quit laying the pipe to 'em. Man, that would be perfect... Locust go
extinct due to the fugly, homicidal chicks they have to mate with.

Hey, one can hope.”
- Locust Invasion Map collectible (Gears of War 2 – Act 4, Chapter 6: The Best Laid Plans)

“What the hell are the Locust doing taking prisoners?”
“They’re locking people up in these things, taking ‘em deeper into the Hollow. They were gonna process me, man. Whatever that means…”
- Marcus and Baird (Gears of War 2 – Act 2, Chapter 4: Sinking Feeling)

“The mice she’s been using – when they’re injected with Lambent cells, their fertility drops rapidly. Litter size fell to two or three pups and thirty percent of those offspring are sterile // Esther says look at the declining family size in southern Tyrus alone. High proportion of only children and childless couples. Siblings aren’t the norm. We don’t have the data because we didn’t investigate the motives, whether couples wanted fewer children or just didn’t conceive and never sought medical help for it.”
- Adam Fenix (The Slab – Chapter 11)

I'm willing to say that the Queen is 100% most definitely not human by nature - she is Locust.

To say that the Queen was definitely human... I don't know if I could ever say that for sure, but she definitely seems to have more of a human DNA dominance. Maybe they found a way to perfectly bind the DNA in a female subject so that it doesn't mutate into a berserker? That would be a pretty outstanding achievement for the New Hope team, I'd think.

See;

(Myrrah is) a descendant of the scientists who first studied imulsion-infected miners at the outpost in G2.

I do believe that Locust are all mutants. How drones came about is ultimately unclear, but you have to take into account that Berserkers existed before Kantus in canon - their being called drones says nothing huge, except that they were genetically human to begin with.

See;

Without spelling it all out, let's just say that the sires were the first warning that people could become affected/infected by imulsion. The COG didn't want that to get out to the general public, so they took all of the people who were showing signs of this out to the kadar outpost from G2 (new hope facility). Things didn't go well for some of those subjects, and most of you ended up shooting THEM with a shotgun. But the scientists ditched that place long ago and took a large group up of the "test subjects" to kadar, as was shown in that video marcus & dom watched in the rude awakening chapter. Remember, he said they were saving the children. They thought they could save them by taking them deep inside the mountain, never to be found by humans again.

“Baird here.

Just found an artifact that looks exactly like the glyph on the back of that
lovely skin scroll.

From other writings I've found, I think I've pieced it together: This is
something called the 'Trinity of Worms,' and it's probably the closest thing
I've seen yet to a Locust religious symbol. They really worship worms. We so do
not deserve to be alive.

As far as I can tell, there's some kind of mantra on the artifact, about the
queen making drones, drones protecting Nexus... and I'll have to work out that
last part a little later. I don't work well under gunfire.”
- Trinity of Worms Artifact (Gears of War 2 – Act 4, Chapter 5: The Best Laid Plans)

As stated in Beneath the Surface, thousands of humans have been taken by the Locust since E-Day. Using the Locust Runes the Trinity of Worms can be seen to state “The Queen makes Drones, the Drones protect Nexus, Nexus covers the Queen”.

Trinity of Worms - http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisba...1003/lightbox/

I think this theory is the only logical solution, whether Epic meant for them to be human or not - they could never breed a cannon-fodder army from a dying race. They also would not commit genocide, unless they had their own means of breeding - without humans, Locust would die. Kantus are probably the original, and they probably stole children because they could not breed (this is before they had berserkers, probably). Using Kantus genes, which are human, you could easily create drones - humanoid Kantus soldiers, soldiers that can breed with berserkers. I think the most interesting point is the explanation that children of mutated Imulsion miners are genetically Lambent at a cellular level... Queen, anyone?

See;

Without giving away too much of the story, the Locust know english because they are former surface-dwellers.

“Here’s what I don’t understand. They never press home their advantage. Is it won’t or can’t?”
“If we knew that, we’d be halfway to beating the bastards.”
“I think they lack capacity and have to keep restocking their menagerie, for lack of a better word.”
“Is that a guess, sir?”
“An educated guess, I suppose. What kind of force launches a global assault that takes out a quarter of the population in a few days, and then spends more than a decade unable to finish it off despite overwhelming numbers?”
“An enemy with its own supply problems, running out of steam.”
- Prescott and Hoffman (The Slab – Chapter 12)

Ah, but that still doesn't explain why the Locust would ever listen to her. Why would a race of reptilian mutants and/or hybrids ever bother to follow her in the first place? Not to mention, unquestioningly... even the Kantus knights and Skorge are comfortably subordinate to her. When she is gone, they revert to their former shamanistic tendencies and become savage - much like a human would turn stranded, except that they still serve the Queen's orders. I suppose it's possible she's 100% human, but eh - I can't see why they would bother to follow her. They kill and torture humans by nature, yet they serve one as their master?

That's because she was born and raised with the Locust. She didn't just turn up one day and say "Hey guys, follow me". And while seems the be the only human amongst the Locust, she was not the first - all the New Hope scientists were down there in the beginning.

The Sires though, I think they were a specifically human project... they were a creature designed to NOT become Lambent, a creature designed to resist becoming a former when exposed to Imulsion. Sires are human-created mutants, possibly genetic hybrids using the mutated form found within the body of Hollow creatures - very possibly either the Kantus or something akin to rock-shrews. They were mutated, but not LAMBENT... I think these are the forefathers of all drones, hence their distinct nomenclature. Drones are not humans made Locust, they are Locust and are born Locust too.

“And imulsion did cause mutations in humans. He knew that all too well now, as the COG had known for years. But the process by which it changed from an apparently biologically inactive fuel to a live pathogen remained unclear, as did finding parallels between imulsion’s teratogenic effects and its behaviour as a pathogen. Adam suspected they weren’t linear stages of the same thing but evidence that imulsion was evolving, diversifying just like the first life on Sera had done.”
- Adam Fenix’s thoughts (The Slab – Chapter 13)

“But does Lambency kill its hosts? Does it just change them? Is it even a survival advantage?”
“The Locust told Adam that some Lambent began to self-destruct – literally detonate. If you’re thinking it has a future as a defence against the Locust, I suspect you’d have had an interesting conversation with Dr. Samson.”
- Prescott and Bakos (The Slab – Chapter 6)

“Dalyell had always been very cagey about [the Sires] existence and origin. Prescott had been kept out of the loop: it had suited him not to know about mutated humans, poisoned humans, but it was a gap he now needed to fill. All he could do when he took office was keep the New Hope facility quarantined and hope he never had to open the lid.”
- Prescott’s thoughts (The Slab – Chapter 6)

“And given the inarguable evidence of human mutation, this is research we also need to do in humans. Not cell cultures.”
- Esther Bakos (The Slab – Chapter 6)

“// This research into the teratogenic effects of imulsion was sealed years ago, but I think [Adam Fenix] should have access to it // We need to know what happened to the rest of Niles Samson’s New Hope research. The children with abnormalities.”
“If I had it, I would hand it over. We searched for those children for years.”
“We could go back and recover the Sires.”
“No. The facility has to stay locked down.”
“Sir, we know imulsion can cause changes in human physiology, and I think Adam’s established the link between imulsion and the pathogen.”
- Esther Bakos and Richard Prescott (The Slab – Chapter 6)

“Save the children, that’s what they always say. In this case, we’re truly doing it. Or at least, we’re giving it our very best shot. The trip to Mount Kadar won’t be an easy one, not by any means. We’ll have to move during the night, in the snow, and Chairman Monroe won’t even authorise the use of vehicles to transport the subjects. I will be leaving behind a semi-sentient security system to watch over the facility. I would hate for anyone to disturb the Sires’ rest, and we would all like the later opportunity to study them as they grow. I’m almost embarrassed to admit that the security system is based of my personality-”
- A recording of Niles Samson (Gears of War 2 – Act 3, Chapter 3: Rude Awakening)

[Amphedark]

Again, great points - but I think the ultimate point is that there is no truth to the matter. I believe the truth is that Epic was never happy with the final outcome (or the fans weren't), so they left it open-ended. This way the Kantus can be whatever you want them to be, Sires whatever you want them to be, the Queen whatever you want her to be... having ret-conned out the original hammerburst and RAAM being the general of E-Day, I think it's safe to say that continuity wasn't their primary concern.

They provided hints, and these hints just hinted - it never said that the Locust are human, that the Locust are ancient, that they breed by rape, any of that. It's just hints that we have... the equivalent to here-say if you actually lived in universe. Fairy tales, dreams, ideas - nothing was ever really set in stone, and the novels just served to reinforce that about the Locust.

Also, I find that any theory involving formers or sires can be used interchangeably... you can't say for sure what happens to a rust-lung victim. What makes a human Lambent and not Locust? What makes anything "Locust" for that matter? Why do the Lambent attack them, despite their internal lambency? I think you could answer this however you wanted... you could say it's because Locust are living and Lambent are dead, for example. There's no ABSOLUTE truth that doesn't dance around the matter like a fairy.

I kind of like it that way, honestly. xD

[Joveus]

Again, great points - but I think the ultimate point is that there is no truth to the matter. I believe the truth is that Epic was never happy with the final outcome (or the fans weren't), so they left it open-ended. This way the Kantus can be whatever you want them to be, Sires whatever you want them to be, the Queen whatever you want her to be... having ret-conned out the original hammerburst and RAAM being the general of E-Day, I think it's safe to say that continuity wasn't their primary concern.

... Okay. Parting question, though. You have read "The Slab, right?

[Amphedark]

... Okay. Parting question, though. You have read "The Slab, right?

No, admittedly I have not. It's implied that humans and Locust are the same thing numerous, numerous times throughout the lore - but that still leaves enormous room for interpretation, you know? I like that. It almost makes them kind of... Lovecraftian, in a sense. Mythical.

The point I'm making here is that it's fun to theorize about - it probably is really simple, stupidly simple as a matter of fact... but the mystery lets it be as complicated as you desire. I think some people just like a natural monster more than a man-made one, just as some people like animalistic monsters moreso than intelligent ones. This universe has both, the Locust AND the Lambent - intelligence and animal, respectively.

[Joveus]

No, admittedly I have not. It's implied that humans and Locust are the same thing numerous, numerous times throughout the lore - but that still leaves enormous room for interpretation, you know? I like that. It almost makes them kind of... Lovecraftian, in a sense. Mythical.

What I'm saying is that I am not criticizing your argument, merely that I doubt any official answer would ever satisfy the fanbase as a whole. That's why they didn't.

I can understand that. There's certain things that surprise me when it comes to Gears revelations, though. When we went to New Hope in Gears of War 2 and the levels were called "Dirty Little Secret" and "Origins", I thought that was being way too obvious, but a lot of people ignored it. In retrospect, I think a lot of people deliberately ignored it because they had already decided the Locust were an ancient race. While I do believe that my thread is correct (after all, Cliff Bleszinski himself said it was), it is by no means perfect.

- How did the Locust get such large numbers in 100 years? Especially with sterility increasing as imulsion evolved.
- Did the Locust build Nexus? Or is it a remnant of an older civilisation? While I am certain the Kantus are another branch of human Locust like the Drones, Boomers and Ragers, I am not against the idea that someone may have built Nexus before New Hope arrived.
- How does Myrrah communicate with the Locust? Jim Brown said once it was a hive-mind communication across the Locust. Since Myrrah is human, how does this hive-mind communication work?
- If the Locust were going to exterminate humanity, how would they make more Locust? Which is also tied to;
- If Lambency cannot be stopped, why does Myrrah think conquering the surface will change the Lambency inherent in all Locust? They are all going to turn Lambent anyway.

My threads contain all the hints and clues from the series, as well as additional comments from the developers, with as little speculation as possible. But even so, there are questions that arise that I have no answers to, and I remain unable to answer until Epic throws something new my way. I was hoping Judgment would contain something, but apart from the fact that Karn (at the very least) seems to have some sort of spoken Locust language, nothing new has been revealed.

[Amphedark]

You make an outstanding argument, your attention to detail is quite respectable - I'm just a theorist by nature. The fact that Karn looks like a Kantus despite his Theron origins, I think this raises an interesting point - maybe they're all just different degrees of the same kind of mutation, perhaps? That would explain why RAAM is roughly as tall as a Kantus and has a very lambent-sounding voice, for example. Why drudges have a harsh voice akin to Therons, perhaps? Perhaps not! That's the best part. xD

[Joveus]

You make an outstanding argument, your attention to detail is quite respectable - I'm just a theorist by nature. The fact that Karn looks like a Kantus despite his Theron origins, I think this raises an interesting point - maybe they're all just different degrees of the same kind of mutation, perhaps? That would explain why RAAM is roughly as tall as a Kantus and has a very lambent-sounding voice, for example. Why drudges have a harsh voice akin to Therons, perhaps? Perhaps not! That's the best part. xD

In my Kantus thread I argue something similar. This was years before Judgment, obviously, but the main reason I believe that the Kantus are another branch of humanoid Locust evolution is because of the Sires. The one thing that is very clear, in both "The Slab" and Epic developer comments, is that the Sires are "Lambent humans" from the early Pendulum Wars. "Lambent humans" doesn't mean Former, mind you, and it doesn't mean "yellow and glowing and exploding", it just means "mutated by imulsion on a cellular level". That is something that is set in stone, rigid, immovable, incontestable. Everything else has to come from there.

The Sires have Kantus-like legs, and a Kantus-like arm. Kantus also have Berserker-like torsos, and Drone-like heads with the addition of a second row of teeth. Now since the Sires are humans who are "mutated by imulsion on a cellular level" and therefore not half-Kantus, half-human crossbreeds, how else can the similarities between the Kantus and the other Locust be accounted for? If anything, Karn provides further proof of concept. Karn is a Theron, but possesses physical qualities very much like the Kantus (arms and legs), but his teeth resemble neither. If anything, Karn's mouth is closest to that of the Sires.

So what does that mean? What it seems to mean is that while most Locust are Drones, or Boomers, or Ragers, or Therons, or Kantus - not all of them are. Some are outcast, like Karn, who don't seem to fit into any category. A testament, perhaps, to the evolving nature of imulsion within the Locust. Like the Chernobyl population, I think it likely that early generations of Locust could breed, but that sterility and the mutations of live-birth increase through time. I like to think that Karn is representative of the breeding problems faced by the Locust, and his physical characteristics lead credence to my ideas.

[DoomGuy91]

- If the Locust were going to exterminate humanity, how would they make more Locust?

I theorize that they didn't want to wipe out all of Mankind. This could be hinted at by them taking prisoners, and if your theory is correct, it wouldn't make sense to wipe out the lifeforms that creates their pseudo species.

I believe they simply wanted to wipe out all forms of human civilization/armies/resistance/society until the only humans left on Sera (minus Myrrah) basically became the locust "cattle". In other words a group of humans that posed no threat, whose numbers could be contained, some would be taken to be mutated, while others kept normal to breed more humans. Therefore humanity would still exist if the Locust took over all of Sera, but as a shadow of its former self, as slaves.

Though even if that happened, the locust would still have the lambent to deal with. Though maybe if the COG and the rest of human Resistance was wiped out by the Locust, Myrrah would have kept a few humans, perhaps scientists (such as Adam Fenix), not for some breeding/cattle program, but to work on the lambent problem in hopes of them finding a way to wipe out the lambent without wiping out the locust. Of course they could easily run out of time and the lambent would destroy the world because if locust were in total control of the remaining humans, im sure they wouldn't allow any of them to create and use an anti-lambent device that can kill locust to. Though perhaps if Myrrah kept many scientists alive, not just Adam, a solution could have been created before time ran out, a solution that could kill the lambent while sparing the locust.

[GeneralGreasy]

Karn provides further proof of concept. Karn is a Theron, but possesses physical qualities very much like the Kantus (arms and legs), but his teeth resemble neither. If anything, Karn's mouth is closest to that of the Sires.

I always assumed Theron was a rank rather than a species of Locust, and that their different appearance was simply due to age. The reason I think this is because RAAM was a Drone for only a year before becoming a Theron Guard which implies it is a rank. Perhaps all Locust are classified as Drones before being given a rank? For example, I remember reading that the tougher, more aggressive Drones are made into Grenadiers and are notably bulker, brutish, and more reptillian than Drones.

- Did the Locust build Nexus? Or is it a remnant of an older civilisation? While I am certain the Kantus are another branch of human Locust like the Drones, Boomers and Ragers, I am not against the idea that someone may have built Nexus before New Hope arrived.

Here's where I think those old Seran fairytales of Boogeymen come in. I think an older civilization who where also exposed to Imulsion built it and where responsible for kidnapping the children thus spawning the stories. But now the question is, what exactly are the boogeymen? The wiki describes it as a creature from the hollow and boogeymen seems to imply that they're humanoid.



Guesses, anyone?

[Wisdom Thumbs]

I'm glad that this conversation is going somewhere, but I'm still frustrated over here.

Recently, I've been looking at the designs of the various Locust drones - regular, grenadier, theron, etc. - and I've come to the realization that while Epic originally intended them to be various age groups, the only reason they really look different is because Epic is obsessed with over-designing things. That's a really depressing thought. One has to wonder if Epic envisioned the Drones as all looking different from one face to another (I mean, what would RAAM have looked like as a drone?).

Let's just go with Occam's Razor. The simplest possible explanation is that the Locust breed amongst themselves and that they follow the Queen because they consider her one of their own. And they consider her one of their own because she is, at least partially, Locust.

It makes absolutely zero sense for them to be Lambent, but if that's what you want to believe then go for it. The fact that Epic advocates this as the truth, though, infuriates me as a storyteller and world builder. There is zero evidence to back this up besides Epic's fiat evidence of "This is how we say it is." Hit me with your best shot, I guarantee I can show you how you're misinterpreting it.

EDIT:

Actually no. Considering Epic advocates this as canon, no matter how logical and fact-based my stance on the matter is, I'm technically the one who is misinterpreting this.

That makes me sad in a desperate, lonely way.

[Joveus]

It makes absolutely zero sense for them to be Lambent, but if that's what you want to believe then go for it. The fact that Epic advocates this as the truth, though, infuriates me as a storyteller and world builder. There is zero evidence to back this up besides Epic's fiat evidence of "This is how we say it is." Hit me with your best shot, I guarantee I can show you how you're misinterpreting it.

Alright, these are my 4 points;

1 - The Sires are Lambent humans

“Dalyell had always been very cagey about [the Sires] existence and origin. Prescott had been kept out of the loop: it had suited him not to know about mutated humans, poisoned humans, but it was a gap he now needed to fill. All he could do when he took office was keep the New Hope facility quarantined and hope he never had to open the lid.”
- Prescott’s thoughts (The Slab – Chapter 6)

“There’d been classified matters that had sometimes woken him in the middle of the night and left him staring at the ceiling, gut churning and unable to get back to sleep again. There were things he’d quietly dreaded becoming public, background things like the real health risks of imulsion exposure.”
- Richard Prescott’s thoughts (The Slab – Chapter 2)

“And imulsion did cause mutations in humans. He knew that all too well now, as the COG had known for years. But the process by which it changed from an apparently biologically inactive fuel to a live pathogen remained unclear, as did finding parallels between imulsion’s teratogenic effects and its behaviour as a pathogen. Adam suspected they weren’t linear stages of the same thing but evidence that imulsion was evolving, diversifying just like the first life on Sera had done.”
- Adam Fenix’s thoughts (The Slab – Chapter 13)

“And given the inarguable evidence of human mutation, this is research we also need to do in humans. Not cell cultures.”
Prescott thought she was still asking for access to the Sires.
- Esther Bakos (The Slab – Chapter 6)

2 - The children of the Sires were mutated, the result of their parents being Lambent humans

TOP SECRET
TERATOGENICITY STUDY
(SAMSON)

“// This research into the teratogenic effects of imulsion was sealed years ago, but I think [Adam Fenix] should have access to it // We need to know what happened to the rest of Niles Samson’s New Hope research. The children with abnormalities.”
“If I had it, I would hand it over. We searched for those children for years.”
“We could go back and recover the Sires.”
“No. The facility has to stay locked down.”
“Sir, we know imulsion can cause changes in human physiology, and I think Adam’s established the link between imulsion and the pathogen.”
- Esther Bakos and Richard Prescott (The Slab – Chapter 6)

“Were you aware of the health concerns about imulsion?”
“Emissions? Yes. Like any combustible material. Particulates, volatile fractions, that kind of risk.”
“I mean teratogenic. Mutagenic. Have I used the correct terms? Causing malformations and changes at the genetic level.”
“Oh. We suppressed those findings, did we? Can’t upset the imulsion companies with health scares. Share prices are hardly our biggest problem now, I suppose.”
- Prescott and Adam (The Slab – Chapter 6)

3 - The children of the Sires were taken to Mt. Kadar

“Save the children, that’s what they always say. In this case, we’re truly doing it. Or at least, we’re giving it our very best shot. The trip to Mount Kadar won’t be an easy one, not by any means. We’ll have to move during the night, in the snow, and Chairman Monroe won’t even authorise the use of vehicles to transport the subjects. I will be leaving behind a semi-sentient security system to watch over the facility. I would hate for anyone to disturb the Sires’ rest, and we would all like the later opportunity to study them as they grow. I’m almost embarrassed to admit that the security system is based of my personality-”
- A recording of Niles Samson (Gears of War 2 – Act 3, Chapter 3: Rude Awakening)

4 - Lambency does not mean glowing and exploding, it simply means mutated on a genetic level due to imulsion.

“That luminous substance in the jars. Is all imulsion some form of Lambency, then?”
“I think so. It seems to have a long and complex life cycle.”
“So how much time do we have to beat this thing?”
“I only know that it’s spreading. So let’s assume we don’t have long.”
- Prescott and Adam Fenix (The Slab – Chapter 4)

“The mutated shrew was long dead, but the bioluminescent parasite within it was still biding its time, just as Myrrah had said // [Elain had] thought the six-legged shrew was the descendant of a much bigger and extinct animal that had lived on in folk memory as monster myths. She couldn’t have known then that it was a much more recent mutation. She simply recorded the cell changes. This is what Lambency does.”
- Adam Fenix’s thoughts (The Slab – Chapter 2)


Lambency changes over the years - from the completely non-volatile Sires 100 years ago, to the Lambent of Gears of War 1, to the Stalks and Drudges of Gears of War 3. Imulsion evolves, and so does it's effects on other lifeforms. In regards to the Locust, there are two types of Lambency - mutagenic, which involves the subject itself undergoing metamorphosis (e.g. the Lambent we witness throughout the games, Lambent Wretches, Lambent Brumak, Lambent Drones, Formers, etc.); and teratogenic, which involves the mutated subject then having offspring, and that offspring is mutated from birth - not by direct imulsion exposure. Both of these types; mutagenic and teratogenic, were being researched at New Hope. The "Lambent" as we are most familiar with them are the result of mutagenic imulsion contamination, and the "Locust" are the result of teratogenic imulsion exposure.

My aim here is to show that this outcome can be arrived at logically solely by using in-series content, without any input from the Epic developers.

[Wisdom Thumbs]

First of all, before we go any further, I feel I need to stress that none of this matters because Epic advocates your position. But in the interest of continuing to flip the proverbial bird at Epic, here I go...

“And given the inarguable evidence of human mutation, this is research we also need to do in humans. Not cell cultures.”
Prescott thought she was still asking for access to the Sires.
- Esther Bakos (The Slab – Chapter 6)

This is the only quote you've posted so far that had any bearing as evidence. All the rest can easily be interpreted one way or another and don't help anybody's argument. This one, however, finally says straight up that Epic believes the Sires to be lambent humans.

However, I present to you the fact that the word "lambent" literally means "glowing softly." So no, there are not two types of 'lambent.' Marcus Fenix and most other humans on Sera are the products of and are affected by imulsion mutation on humans. It works to make them sterile, it gives them what amounts to lung cancer, and eventually it kills them or turns them into lambent life forms.

Let's face the facts here. Epic doesn't know what the hell they're doing with their own canon. They've showcased that pretty well over the past few years. Logically, the Locust could not be imulsion-mutated former humans. They would be sterile, not capable of breeding so fast as to always outnumber humanity despite a war on two fronts. Even in a hundred years they couldn't have created the ruins that feel "too old." The whole of Nexus is a feat of engineering, and clearly newer than the rest of the Hollow's architecture, and yet it's still grown full of old vines and other passive plant life. Nexus is a new city built on the bones of an older city and re-purposed for war.

Also, New Hope was created to create humans immune to imulsion, because Niles Samson realized that the imulsion was the true enemy all along. So if the Locust were the product of "the children" then wouldn't they be immune to lambency? And why is the Queen immune to lambency if she's supposedly a descendant of human scientists from New Hope? She clearly is, considering she lived above a lake of imulsion for months at the very least. Furthermore, if she was a descendant of human scientists, why would the Locust follow her as their Queen? Why does she have white hair and white eyebrows? Being underground her whole life would only cause her skin to stay pale, it wouldn't affect the color of her hair; if anything, her hair would be darker than most unless she's platinum blonde. And she's not an albino, judging by her eyes and surprising ability to tan lightly under the sun.

Either the Locust breed by raping gigantic Berserkers and creating huge clutches of baby drones, as Epic used to say, or they reproduce by "processing" captured humans. We've already established that the latter makes no sense and isn't viable at all, while the former indicates a species far removed from humanity. And for the record, Tai and Maria were "processed." No signs of mutation there.

And that's ignoring the extreme level of skill with gene manipulation and selective breeding the Locust have somehow cultivated in just 100 years. They use pheromones that for a time were strongly implied to be coming from their own bodies. And honestly, this is the easiest part of the whole fiasco to just handwave and explain away.

[Mysterion Rises]

Lambency changes over the years - from the completely non-volatile Sires 100 years ago, to the Lambent of Gears of War 1, to the Stalks and Drudges of Gears of War 3. Imulsion evolves, and so does it's effects on other lifeforms. In regards to the Locust, there are two types of Lambency - mutagenic, which involves the subject itself undergoing metamorphosis (e.g. the Lambent we witness throughout the games, Lambent Wretches, Lambent Brumak, Lambent Drones, Formers, etc.); and teratogenic, which involves the mutated subject then having offspring, and that offspring is mutated from birth - not by direct imulsion exposure. Both of these types; mutagenic and teratogenic, were being researched at New Hope. The "Lambent" as we are most familiar with them are the result of mutagenic imulsion contamination, and the "Locust" are the result of teratogenic

As u have said the locust are teratogenic therefore I'm assuming the imulsion miners were male and their sperm caused a malformation of their female partners embryo in turn creating mutated humans ie locusts!!!

The evidence is clear throughout the story and u have done a wonderful job collecting all this evidence to prove this theory is watertight! I think the main problem for people is acceptance that their own theory was incorrect and they have been so convinced by their own theory!

The main problem for people is nexus! It looks ancient but who's to say it is people are forgetting how strong locusts are and how that strength they possess can benefit them in regards to building their own city! The deadlands is a prime example of how quickly the locust can build and don't forget they are drones with the hive mind to conquer and accomplish therefore benefitting from adaptation! They possess a far superior body strength to humans! They work together!

In regards towards the different types of locusts we have witnessed in my view it is hard to describe how each one of them possesses their own attributes. From what we are told at new hope the "children" that where banished to mount kadar are the first generation of locusts therefore it is safe to assume that this species evolved creating different breeds in amongst the horde. What power they possess ie kantus (healing ability etc) I can only say that this may be a creation for gamers to endure something more diverse in the games rather than fighting your usual drones, grenadiers etc who only have their standard weapon. There is nothing in the books or the games that state exactly how each locusts looks or acts differently we only know their origin!!!

My view is that due to imulsion exposure at the state of the gold rush many imulsion miners were contaminated with imulsion sickness causing their offspring to be mutated! We all know this!!! Lambency was at its very early stage of its life cycle back then and over years and years it has evolved into a parasite! As lambency was evolving the locust horde was also evolving into the monsters we all know! This is it people there is no other explanation as joveus has proven to many of u epic has confirmed this!

I can understand if people do not agree with this I would never force something onto others but with the evidence that is available, this is the outcome! Yes there is so many unanswered questions and some things that contradict itself that I myself have been left stumped. In my opinion I think it is the way epic presented the locust origin to people that caused such an upset I feel they could have done this in a better way. But to finish off I need to get one thing straight with people!!!!

Myrrah is not a locust, she is not a locust/human hybrid she is just a normal human who is the descendant of the scientists who lived underground with the first generation of locusts! She didn't have any gene splicing or was she immune to lambency she is just a human! And for those who started this new bs......she is not Sofia!!!!!!

[GeneralGreasy]

The main problem for people is nexus! It looks ancient but who's to say it is people are forgetting how strong locusts are and how that strength they possess can benefit them in regards to building their own city! The deadlands is a prime example of how quickly the locust can build and don't forget they are drones with the hive mind to conquer and accomplish therefore benefitting from adaptation! They possess a far superior body strength to humans! They work together!

Who's to say it isn't? The fact is we don't know who built Nexus. Personally I think it's these "Boogeymen" from the legends. They came out of the Hollow to kidnap children in ancient times, and Nexus definitely has that ancient look to it, so my money's on that. You could argue that an ancient civilization would have left traces of their existence, but you also need to remember that Nexus is several miles underground, there's no way anyone would have ever known about the Inner Hollow because even the COG in the modern day didn't know exactly how deep the Hollows where until after the Lightmass bombing.

My guess is that an ancient civilization was mutated by Imulsion and produced these "Boogeymen" which started these legends. Remember that the Imulsion has been mutating this for like...ever, like the Rock Shrews in the Romily story.

And for those who started this new bs......she is not Sofia!!!!!!

Wut.

That's not even reasonably possible. How did Sophia go from a Ginger to a Blonde and gain an English accent?

[Mysterion Rises]

Who's to say it isn't? The fact is we don't know who built Nexus. Personally I think it's these "Boogeymen" from the legends. They came out of the Hollow to kidnap children in ancient times, and Nexus definitely has that ancient look to it, so my money's on that. You could argue that an ancient civilization would have left traces of their existence, but you also need to remember that Nexus is several miles underground, there's no way anyone would have ever known about the Inner Hollow because even the COG in the modern day didn't know exactly how deep the Hollows where until after the Lightmass bombing.

My guess is that an ancient civilization was mutated by Imulsion and produced these "Boogeymen" which started these legends. Remember that the Imulsion has been mutating this for like...ever, like the Rock Shrews in the Romily story.



Wut.

That's not even reasonably possible. How did Sophia go from a Ginger to a Blonde and gain an English accent?

Well I'm only basing this on what evidence we have available and we know the romily story is an old legend not so sure about these bogeyman stories these could have been during the pendulum wars just a guess

In regards to Sofia people have asked in the judgment campaign section on the forums if she is myrrah!!! How in gods name did anyone think that was possible I don't know

[Mysterion Rises]

People go on about these "bogeymen" but my argument with that is this! If these "bogeyman" are the locusts and have apparently been living underground forever then what happened to the "children" from new hope when they where banished to mount kadar???

Where they killed??? Or they joined the bogeyman clan??? Or is it just coincidence that mount kadar is the entrance to the locust capital nexus and was heavily guarded for no particular reason???

[GeneralGreasy]

I don't claim that the "Boogeymen" are Locust we know per say, just another civilization who was adversely affected by Imulsion as a result of living near it. Nexus looks very old, and so are the tales of these monsters coming from underground. The Locust's origin is already explained so they're not the Boogeymen who supposedly have been around even before the Locust crawled out of New hope.

This is all hypothetically speaking anyway. It could just as easily be that the Locust have a thing for making their stuff look all ancient and that they magically built something as colossal as Nexus in 100 years.

[Mysterion Rises]

1st mutagenic effects - sires, humans exposed to imulsion during its first discovery.

1st teratogenic effects - children born with abnormalities, one or both parents exposed to imulsion (before mating) during its first discovery.

The COG where fully aware of the health issues imulsion was causing and rounded all of these children to New Hope. There, scientists attempted to cure there abnormalities and the effects of imulsion exposure. A new species was born, these children continued to mutate into volatile monsters. Due to attacks on employees at the facility and leaked information about the work being carried out, the COG shut down the facility in order to prevent the effects of imulsion being publicised. These test subjects where banished to Mount Kadar.

These children evolved underground, where they bred and where they made a civilisation for themselves. The COG searched for these children but where unsuccessful. All of this is mentioned in The Slab. That book alone confirms the origin of the locusts and introduces us to the strong effects of imulsion and the lambent life cycle.

In real life locusts reproduce rapidly and have different stages of development. I have no idea if Epic used this in regards to our fictional locust in the gears universe but, one can only assume. If this is so then I believe the locust reproductive stage ended due to its war with humanity. We know the locusts could never push their final assault on Sera to the end and as stated in the books, Prescott believed they had to add to their numbers. I believe this was reproduction of the horde.

Lambency causes sterility as we know but, this is confirmed during Adam Fenix's testing 10 years after E-Day not before. This testing is carried out on the lambent parasite not the locusts. It is hard to say if this was the case with the sires back during the gold rush, but they had children so I'm guessing not. 10 years after E-Day the parasite causes sterility nothing has been confirmed if this was the case during the gold rush.

We come to processing now, what exactly is this processing? Is it human exposure to imulsion? Well during the locust/human war we see rustlung. Rustlung infected humans after the lightmass bomb and from we seen it wasn't too great to have that infection. My argument with this processing method that people believe is, if locusts where exposing humans to imulsion then wouldn't these humans need to mate? Or has Myrrah found a way to create drones? This is one thing that we haven't had any evidence on.

I find it hard to believe Myrrah created locusts as the horde itself had to breed over the years in order to populate itself. What I do believe is the locust where desperate during the hollow assault and that they where trying to repopulate quicker by processing humans. One thing for sure is that this "processing" method has never been explained at all.

[GeneralGreasy]

1st mutagenic effects - sires, humans exposed to imulsion during its first discovery.

1st teratogenic effects - children born with abnormalities, one or both parents exposed to imulsion (before mating) during its first discovery.

The COG where fully aware of the health issues imulsion was causing and rounded all of these children to New Hope. There, scientists attempted to cure there abnormalities and the effects of imulsion exposure. A new species was born, these children continued to mutate into volatile monsters. Due to attacks on employees at the facility and leaked information about the work being carried out, the COG shut down the facility in order to prevent the effects of imulsion being publicised. These test subjects where banished to Mount Kadar.

These children evolved underground, where they bred and where they made a civilisation for themselves. The COG searched for these children but where unsuccessful. All of this is mentioned in The Slab. That book alone confirms the origin of the locusts and introduces us to the strong effects of imulsion and the lambent life cycle.

Yes, I know how the Sires and Locust came into being. I really don't see what your trying to do. Are you challenging the Boogeyman thing or.....?

[Mysterion Rises]

I don't claim that the "Boogeymen" are Locust we know per say, just another civilization who was adversely affected by Imulsion as a result of living near it. Nexus looks very old, and so are the tales of these monsters coming from underground. The Locust's origin is already explained so they're not the Boogeymen who supposedly have been around even before the Locust crawled out of New hope.

This is all hypothetically speaking anyway. It could just as easily be that the Locust have a thing for making their stuff look all ancient and that they magically built something as colossal as Nexus in 100 years.

Or that they are volatile monsters whose craftsmanship is very poor as they had no tools to build with only their bare hands?

[Mysterion Rises]

Yes, I know how the Sires and Locust came into being. I really don't see what your trying to do. Are you challenging the Boogeyman thing or.....?

No I believe the romily myth is a legend and that the bogeyman story was only created during the pendulum wars as so many people went missing during it. I have heard so many people saying the bogeyman in the stories are the locusts and have lived underground on Sera forever

[GeneralGreasy]

I...haven't seen anyone address the Boogeymen as Locust, and even if they did they're wrong since the origin of the Locust has been set in stone.

Also the Romily tale isn't just a legend. Joveus himself proved it when he noted the similarities between the "6 legged Demon" from the tale and a Polyp (More accurately, a Rock Shrew). Romily is an ancient Seran fairytale, which would imply that Imulsion has been doing it's dirty work for a long, long time if the Polyp/Rock Shrew is indeed the "6 legged Demon"

[Wisdom Thumbs]

The "six legged demon" was a Corpser of some sort, like as not. Polyps are new. There is not a single shred of evidence saying they were around hundreds of years ago.

Hundreds of years ago, you say? Yes, hundreds of years ago. Those myths and legends about the boogeymen were old. Really old. There's a reason they're described as "Ancient Tyran fairy tales" in the book.

And Mysterion, I'm sorry, but when you use exclamation marks (!!!!!!!) at the end of every sentence I can't help but read everything you say as coming out of the mouth of an exceptionally loud and ignorant kid. I'm struggling to read through your posts, but I'm so OCD that I can't even begin to punch through the first paragraph of any of them without getting a headache from all the excited shouting.

Who came up with this idea that Nexus and the other ancient ruins are just shoddily built instead of ancient? Because that is entirely untrue, and you can tell just by looking with your eyeballs at what's in the game.

First, the architecture is a bit crude, but it's also exceptionally sturdy and practical. Second, it's old enough that it's heavily cracked and weathered, and old roots are literally growing all around and through much of it. Even underground that would take a few hundred years.

There is a difference between shoddy construction and old, practical construction.

[Joveus]

Anything makes more sense than that "Locust are mutated humans" tripe.

I quoted that from another thread, but the point remains. You've made up your mind, you hate the Locust backstory, I get that. I also think it's clear that nothing I, nor anybody else, says is going to change your mind. Even when Epic says it, you don't want to hear it, and that's fine too. Now I am willing to discuss the Locust and Lambent further, in a debate rather than an argument, but is there really any point?

[Wisdom Thumbs]

There really isn't. At this point I'm just going to keep stomping on Epic until they tell me to leave off, because I'm too much of a Gears of War fanboy to take this Locust stuff lying down.

Just keep in mind that Epic had RAAM's Shadow take place shortly after E-Day, even when all they had to do was change the date and everything would have fit perfectly.

You can keep your completely absurd explanations. I'll be over here, almost content in the fact that I have thoroughly disproven them while still nursing a silent, unquenchable grudge.

Also there might be some other people on their way to do some stomping of their own.

Thank you for at least being mature enough to handle all of this. I was afraid I'd be arguing with a religious fundamentalist or something.

[Slayerx18x]

Here's my theory I haven't read the others so sorry if im repeating anything,

I remember a collectable found in the research base talking about how they were experimenting on people and about a girl; there was also a recording on a monitor about how they had sent everyone to the cave in the mountain. Later Marcus and dom go down into that same cave and at the bottom before they cross the lakes there old ruins and up some stairs in the ruins is a big throne...

Don't know if these are related (because the ruins looked really old) but I was thinking maybe this testing was that they had found wretches (since there were wretches locked up in the facility) and were keeping them secret and were trying to combining their DNA with humans (to make a super soldier or as the AI mentions "a perfect being"). I think this girl was the only test subject that actually bonded with the DNA without turning all freakily into a Sire like everyone else did. (That is what I believe the sires are. Failed test subjects of combined human and locust DNA)

Now here is where im doing more guessing than I have facts. Perhaps she was amongst the ones to go down to the cave and there maybe she ran into the locust yet with her new mixed DNA they thought she was one of them and perhaps even thought she was special making her a queen (hence the throne found in the ruins of the cave).

She, being most likely smarter than the drones, would have soon decided to expand and so abandoned the small city at the lake side of the cave and started construction of Nexus. The slaves found working on nexus at the highway might give evidence that the city has been recently constructed and is still in the process of construction.

That's my theory on the queen. As far as the locust themselves go, I think they have just always existed underground all throughout the planet and never had a reason to surface or make themselves know to humans before the lambent problem (which i don't believe became a problem till all imulsion mining by humans. Sence imulsion is living perhaps turning bodies into lambent was its reaction as self deffence).

Once again these are just my random theories based off of content from the first 3 games

[Mysterion Rises]

The "six legged demon" was a Corpser of some sort, like as not. Polyps are new. There is not a single shred of evidence saying they were around hundreds of years ago.

Hundreds of years ago, you say? Yes, hundreds of years ago. Those myths and legends about the boogeymen were old. Really old. There's a reason they're described as "Ancient Tyran fairy tales" in the book.

And Mysterion, I'm sorry, but when you use exclamation marks (!!!!!!!) at the end of every sentence I can't help but read everything you say as coming out of the mouth of an exceptionally loud and ignorant kid. I'm struggling to read through your posts, but I'm so OCD that I can't even begin to punch through the first paragraph of any of them without getting a headache from all the excited shouting.

Who came up with this idea that Nexus and the other ancient ruins are just shoddily built instead of ancient? Because that is entirely untrue, and you can tell just by looking with your eyeballs at what's in the game.

First, the architecture is a bit crude, but it's also exceptionally sturdy and practical. Second, it's old enough that it's heavily cracked and weathered, and old roots are literally growing all around and through much of it. Even underground that would take a few hundred years.

There is a difference between shoddy construction and old, practical construction.

Dude get a grip man were just discussing things no need to be insulting

[The Highest Priest]

Wow I've read all the books and played all the games to their entirety, but I still needed all that stuff pointed out. Thanks bro for taking the time. How thorough.

[Amphedark]

I think the Locust being ancient is very logical and possible, actually - if you take the New Hope experiments as being an attempt to create the perfect humans, who is to say they weren't basing their theories on something already in the Hollow? It's obvious that humans can be physically mutated by Imulsion, and we know for a fact that formers are essentially Imulsion "zombies" by all rights. Take this into thought: what are zombies? They're dead. So are the Lambent, if you care to look - their skulls are exposed and their bodies are bloated with Imulsion.

So, what are the Locust? We don't know. They're definitely living reptilian monsters, but we have no concrete evidence on them. Maybe the "children" of the infected are genetically adapted/mutated to resist Imulsion?

I think this is essentially the whole basis of Gears, without writing a paragraph. Imulsion creates infectious puppets out of humans, COG doesn't want their Imulsion-based economy ruined, they try to create something adapted to Imulsion. Whether Sires are that something or not is unclear, but seeing that they act feral, it seems like they are the first drones. They act like formers, but aren't.

Like I said, being that the native life in the Hollow seems to be the SAME kind of mutations, doesn't this seem logical? They adapted, but lesser creatures like Rock Shrews were still turning. Like the Locust did too. By adapting, though - they just made the zombies all the more powerful and intelligent. Even though drones were resistant, polyps evolved to burrow into their backs in order to turn them into Lambent Drones - able to run, talk, use tactics, and eventually mutate into drudges.



In the end, what are the Locust? Just terrestrial life adapting to an Imulsion world... or attempting to, at least. Imulsion is basically zombies on a planetary scale, with the entire planet dying as a result.

[Mysterion Rises]

I think the Locust being ancient is very logical and possible, actually - if you take the New Hope experiments as being an attempt to create the perfect humans, who is to say they weren't basing their theories on something already in the Hollow? It's obvious that humans can be physically mutated by Imulsion, and we know for a fact that formers are essentially Imulsion "zombies" by all rights. Take this into thought: what are zombies? They're dead. So are the Lambent, if you care to look - their skulls are exposed and their bodies are bloated with Imulsion.

So, what are the Locust? We don't know. They're definitely living reptilian monsters, but we have no concrete evidence on them. Maybe the "children" of the infected are genetically adapted/mutated to resist Imulsion?

I think this is essentially the whole basis of Gears, without writing a paragraph. Imulsion creates infectious puppets out of humans, COG doesn't want their Imulsion-based economy ruined, they try to create something adapted to Imulsion. Whether Sires are that something or not is unclear, but seeing that they act feral, it seems like they are the first drones. They act like formers, but aren't.

Like I said, being that the native life in the Hollow seems to be the SAME kind of mutations, doesn't this seem logical? They adapted, but lesser creatures like Rock Shrews were still turning. Like the Locust did too. By adapting, though - they just made the zombies all the more powerful and intelligent. Even though drones were resistant, polyps evolved to burrow into their backs in order to turn them into Lambent Drones - able to run, talk, use tactics, and eventually mutate into drudges.



In the end, what are the Locust? Just terrestrial life adapting to an Imulsion world... or attempting to, at least. Imulsion is basically zombies on a planetary scale, with the entire planet dying as a result.

I think u should read the slab it covers a lot of questions u ask

[Mysterion Rises]

I quoted that from another thread, but the point remains. You've made up your mind, you hate the Locust backstory, I get that. I also think it's clear that nothing I, nor anybody else, says is going to change your mind. Even when Epic says it, you don't want to hear it, and that's fine too. Now I am willing to discuss the Locust and Lambent further, in a debate rather than an argument, but is there really any point?

You have went to a great extent explaining the locust origin with the evidence u have available and furthermore u have had employees from epic saying similar comments that confirm ur theory. If people aren't willing to believe this then that is their choice.

Wisdom thumbs if u want to believe something else dude by all means u do that but the evidence available from the games n novels proves that this theory joveus put together is accurate. No need to come on these forums and argue with people when ur argument is with epic.

And since you love your exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!

[Amphedark]

I think u should read the slab it covers a lot of questions u ask

I know a lot of the details are in The Slab, but it never fully addresses the main question at hand - no book or game has ever done that, leading to personal interpretation. What are the Locust? They're monsters created by Imulsion, that's all we know for sure. Humans can be mutated by Imulsion, and Locust just so happen to look like humans... so, what happened to make the Locust humanoid? Human genetics. In a case involving a mutagen like Imulsion, it's pretty safe to say that any children you have will probably not be "human" as we define it. They will be altered, mutated, into something barely recognizable as human.

The Locust are just humans and animals that were genetically altered by Imulsion. Essentially, they are "half Lambent" (Lambent meaning the parasitic root organism, not the glow effect). Being half-Lambent, some Locust can even glow like the fully Lambent, but they aren't zombies.

That's more than the Slab could ever tell me, really.

[Mysterion Rises]

I know a lot of the details are in The Slab, but it never fully addresses the main question at hand - no book or game has ever done that, leading to personal interpretation. What are the Locust? They're monsters created by Imulsion, that's all we know for sure. Humans can be mutated by Imulsion, and Locust just so happen to look like humans... so, what happened to make the Locust humanoid? Human genetics. In a case involving a mutagen like Imulsion, it's pretty safe to say that any children you have will probably not be "human" as we define it. They will be altered, mutated, into something barely recognizable as human.

The Locust are just humans and animals that were genetically altered by Imulsion. Essentially, they are "half Lambent" (Lambent meaning the parasitic root organism, not the glow effect). Being half-Lambent, some Locust can even glow like the fully Lambent, but they aren't zombies.

I understand what ur saying its a fictional universe so we are led to believe that male infected imulsion miners back in the gold rush era mated with females and their sperm caused a malformation of the embryo. This is what I think we're ment to believe and the results are the locusts. Remember these are 1st generation locusts who obviously evolved underground.

This is all the evidence we have dude the slab is a good read as it covers a log of Adams work with finding more about the lambent pathogen and his conversations with myrrah. This is all we have on the locust origin so we have to take it as it is who knows maybe over time epic might fully explain their full origin with more depth.

[Slayerx18x]

If they went and flat out told us this is what the locust are then why would there be any reason to stay interested? To keep interest and keep you wanting to know more and find out a little bit more they have to do just that..keep you guessing about them and never give the full explanation.

[Amphedark]

I understand what ur saying its a fictional universe so we are led to believe that male infected imulsion miners back in the gold rush era mated with females and their sperm caused a malformation of the embryo. This is what I think we're ment to believe and the results are the locusts. Remember these are 1st generation locusts who obviously evolved underground.

This is all the evidence we have dude the slab is a good read as it covers a log of Adams work with finding more about the lambent pathogen and his conversations with myrrah. This is all we have on the locust origin so we have to take it as it is who knows maybe over time epic might fully explain their full origin with more depth.

I do think there's an unmentioned piece that goes further back, back before drones existed - Locust lore says that the Queen "brought" drones with her. If she brought them, to whom did she bring them? Who is making up this lore? Obviously not the drones.

This could've been written later by the Kantus, but it could suggest that there was someone already living in the Hollow. Boogeymen? Stealing children in the night and taking them into the Hollow? I think it's pretty obvious that there's something else. Something ancient.

I think it's the Kantus... or something kind of like them. Men, instead of just corpsers or rock shrews - humanoid mutants that need children. Before New Hope, before the Pendulum Wars, even.

[Mysterion Rises]

I do think there's an unmentioned piece that goes further back, back before drones existed - Locust lore says that the Queen "brought" drones with her. If she brought them, to whom did she bring them? Who is making up this lore? Obviously not the drones.

This could've been written later by the Kantus, but it could suggest that there was someone already living in the Hollow. Boogeymen? Stealing children in the night and taking them into the Hollow? I think it's pretty obvious that there's something else. Something ancient.

I think it's the Kantus... or something kind of like them. Men, instead of just corpsers or rock shrews - humanoid mutants that need children. Before New Hope, before the Pendulum Wars, even.

It's hard for me to believe that the kantus where always there in the hollow before the drones and to believe a female human would come and order them around. Tbh I'm still surprised to this day their queen was human lets be real here wtf lol these big genocidal monsters being ordered about by this puny female human lol madness

[Amphedark]

It's hard for me to believe that the kantus where always there in the hollow before the drones and to believe a female human would come and order them around. Tbh I'm still surprised to this day their queen was human lets be real here wtf lol these big genocidal monsters being ordered about by this puny female human lol madness

Is that so hard to believe? If creatures like tickers and rock shrews were living beneath us for so long and we never realized it, who is to say there wasn't a human equivalent? Animals in the Hollow are all mutated by Imulsion, hence why they aren't Earth-like animals. If a human lived there, they'd become mutants too. The Queen is not in the picture until much, much, MUCH later... so, just cut her out for now.


Think about it this way: if animals like cats and dogs live on the surface, why would an animal like a corpser live in the Hollows? It wouldn't. Imulsion made all life in the Hollows the way it is... to be honest, Imulsion CREATED the Hollows via the Riftworms (which are also Imulsion mutants, shown clearly by the fact that they have polyp-like animals living in their bodies with Locust features). Imulsion is basically a recipe for giant toothy monsters with reptile features, the T-Virus of the Gears of War universe.

[Mysterion Rises]

Is that so hard to believe? If creatures like tickers and rock shrews were living beneath us for so long and we never realized it, who is to say there wasn't a human equivalent? Animals in the Hollow are all mutated by Imulsion, hence why they aren't Earth-like animals. If a human lived there, they'd become mutants too. The Queen is not in the picture until much, much, MUCH later... so, just cut her out for now.


Think about it this way: if animals like cats and dogs live on the surface, why would an animal like a corpser live in the Hollows? It wouldn't. Imulsion made all life in the Hollows the way it is... to be honest, Imulsion CREATED the Hollows via the Riftworms (which are also Imulsion mutants, shown clearly by the fact that they have polyp-like animals living in their bodies with Locust features). Imulsion is basically a recipe for giant toothy monsters with reptile features, the T-Virus of the Gears of War universe.

I agree with u on imulsion creating the life in the hollow without a doubt. I was trying to say that a human queen marching monsters against other humans is crazy lol but I'm only messin around man

[Wisdom Thumbs]

Is that so hard to believe? If creatures like tickers and rock shrews were living beneath us for so long and we never realized it, who is to say there wasn't a human equivalent? Animals in the Hollow are all mutated by Imulsion, hence why they aren't Earth-like animals. If a human lived there, they'd become mutants too. The Queen is not in the picture until much, much, MUCH later... so, just cut her out for now.


Think about it this way: if animals like cats and dogs live on the surface, why would an animal like a corpser live in the Hollows? It wouldn't. Imulsion made all life in the Hollows the way it is... to be honest, Imulsion CREATED the Hollows via the Riftworms (which are also Imulsion mutants, shown clearly by the fact that they have polyp-like animals living in their bodies with Locust features). Imulsion is basically a recipe for giant toothy monsters with reptile features, the T-Virus of the Gears of War universe.

Those weren't polyp-like. They were parasites, yes, but they had their own organs and skin. And they didn't explode. Polyps are supposedly the most basic form of Lambency, so there are similarities here, but nothing that would say the Riftworm was lambent.

Remember that imulsion has slowly been filling up the Hollow. It started bubbling to the surface a hundred years before the first game, if the books are to be believed. Furthermore, the area below Nexus was full of imulsion. Why would the Locust build their headquarters over a huge lake of the stuff that they ran away from a few levels previous? Clearly the imulsion below Nexus hasn't been there very long.

[LeoTheGreat]

Dude get a grip man were just discussing things no need to be insulting!!!!!!!!!!!

Fixed


Edit: SPOILER!!!

Epic just confirmed on Twitter that Sophia is Myrrah and came back to kill the leader of Omega 3 because he did not speak up for Kilo Squad when they were on trial even though Kilo Squad saved Omega 3. So Sophia/Myrrah kidnapped Omega 3 leader's father and used him to breed locust with the Hammer of Dawn.

Thanks, oSK KillShotz.