Destiny 2: Everything You Need to Know before Echoes: Act 2

Summary

• The Vex, led by Maya Sundaresh, are changing under the influence of the Conductor.
• Vex now exhibit individual decision-making abilities due to the power of Light and Dark.
• Maya’s expertise with Exos influences the Conductor’s actions, seeking answers on humanity.

Act 1 of Destiny 2‘s first Episode, “Echoes,” reveals that the Vex are more complicated than ever thought possible; they’re changing under the leadership of “the Conductor,” Maya Sundaresh. While it’s not explicit that Maya is the Conductor, there are a few key pieces of evidence that suggest this truth. Lore Books introduced in Season of Defiance alongside dialogue and imagery introduced in “Act 1: A Familiar Voice“ are more than enough to conclude that the new leader of these renegade Vex is, in fact, Ishtar scholar Maya Sundaresh.

The Vex have been presumed to exist since the original Garden, where the Winnower and the Gardener played their Flower Game that eventually led to the creation of the known universe. Like the Winnower, the Vex strive for a world that is uniform and intentional, infecting worlds and solar systems with their technological and unfathomable simulations. Now that the Vex are changing, and with Ishtar researcher Maya Sundaresh (or her simulated copy, Lakshmi-2) at their helm, the Vanguard needs to be at its best to face this new threat.

The Vex Are Changed By The Power Of Light

After An Eternity Of Similitude, The Vex Begin To Change

In an epic battle in the Excision mission of Destiny 2, Guardians wielded the Light to defeat the Witness once and for all, but no one could have foreseen the consequences of their victory. A few months after the Witness’ demise, reports started coming in of odd energy and erratic behavior displayed by the Vex on Nessus, alongside an influx of Cabal and Fallen soldiers all combing the verdant planet for some unknown treasure. Thanks to Failsafe, Guardians were able to locate an Echo, a fallen remnant of the Witness that combined with the Guardians’ Light to make something new.

An aurora spreads across the stars, and from within its shimmering confines, a mysterious object materializes and falls to the surface of Nessus. Travel to the planet and begin your search for this object, known only as an Echo.

As the Guardians fight their way towards the Echo in “A Rising Chorus,” Failsafe notes that the Vex are acting strange. This, as it turns out, is because of the power the Echo is emitting. This energy created by the combination of Light and Dark is giving the Vex here the power to act outside of their hive-mind; instead, it seems that individual Vex are becoming capable of making their own choices.

Who Is The Conductor, Leader Of The New Vex?

With The Conductor At The Helm, What Do These New Vex Want?

To understand why the Conductor is either Maya Sundaresh or a copy of her consciousness like Lakshmi-2, first, it’s important to know about the Ishtar Collective. This was a group of Golden-Age scientists who were dedicated to studying the Vex and understanding them. Their symbol can be seen throughout the “Enigma Protocol” activity. During the Collapse, the Collective sent out Exodus ships to ensure the survival of the species. One such ship, the Exodus Indigo, made it to Neptune where researchers Maya Sundaresh and Chioma Esi founded the city of Neomuna.

As they built up the city, they discovered the Veil, which is a parallel to the Traveler and its Light. The Veil wields Darkness, and the Ishtar scientists began to study its power. At the same time, Maya continued to study the Vex, who remain on Neomuna even now and are the main enemy in the Vex Strike Force public event. As revealed in the Veil Containment Logs from Season of Defiance, Maya Sundaresh and her team began trying to find a way to commune with the Veil using a method they called “The Chorus.”

Chioma Esi describes The Chorus in “Research Log: Veil Interface,” with game footage posted by Destiny Lore Vault on YouTube. Chioma explains, “The system’s designed like an orchestra, with a central “conductor” directing a symphony of minds to act like a distributed network. The… idea came to us by watching how collective networks like SIVA and the Vex operate.” Inspired by the logic and structure of the Vex hive-mind, Maya was able to successfully connect The Chorus to the Veil.

Unfortunately, it is revealed in later logs that Chioma Esi found Maya Sundaresh dead in the Chorus’ conductor chair after she attempted to commune with the Veil alone. It’s unknown what her goal was in doing this alone, but it’s no coincidence that the Conductor who kidnapped and interrogated Saint-14 shares a name so similar to the place where Maya was found dead. Based on how she was found, it’s likely that Maya was at least partially successful in communing with the Veil and is now using its power to take control of the beings that fascinated her for so long.

More information about Maya Sundaresh and Chioma Esi’s research into the Veil can be found on
Reddit
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Saint-14’s Encounter With The Conductor Connects With Ishtar Research On Neomuna

Exo And Vex Are Made Of The Same Radiolaria; Maya Is An Expert

In Maya’s research into the Veil, one of her experiments involved using braindead Exo frames as a sort of filter between the Veil and the Chorus, a way to make the data gathered from the Veil more palatable to human minds. The full Veil Containment Log above, from Destiny Lore Vault on YouTube, explains how Exos were used in Maya’s research. In this process, Maya gained a great understanding of how Exos operate. Using this understanding, Maya-turned-Conductor is now learning how to parse her new and unfamiliar sense of “being” and power.

”
They measured my humanity, my legitimacy.
” – Saint-14

When Guardians are sent to rescue Saint-14, they find him being bombarded by questions from the Conductor. Saint later described this experience, telling Osiris that “It was not like any Vex [he has] seen. It connected to [his] mind and called itself ‘the Conductor.’” Furthermore, Saint indicated that the Conductor was not interested in intel on the Vanguard, but rather that “They measured my humanity, my legitimacy.” Conductor Maya is looking for what it means to be “real,” and as what is possibly a copy of the “true” Maya Sundaresh, it’s no wonder the Conductor is looking for answers from an Exo.

Maya’s Exo Expertise Influences The Conductor’s Actions

Saint-14 Is The Conductor’s Touchstone For Humanity, But How “Human” Are They?

Maya’s history with both Exos and the Vex are evident in the Conductor’s modus operandi, and her goal is clear; Saint tells Osiris that “A new Golden Age is coming, free from falsities like me.” This indicates that not only does Conductor Maya believe that Saint-14 is a pale imitation of some “true” Saint-14, but also that she will be the one to usher in a new Golden Age using the power she has gained from both her experiments with the Veil and the power of the Echo.

Interestingly, if the Conductor really is a Veil-empowered Maya Sundaresh, she would also be a “copy” like the Conductor accuses Saint-14 of being. Whether this hypocrisy is an oversight from a megalomaniac or something more nuanced is yet to be seen.

With this new threat to humanity on the horizon, how will the Vanguard respond? As the Cabal and Fallen join the race to control the Echo, Guardians will learn more about the Conductor’s plans with the Vex. In the meantime, the Vanguard will keep note of new Vex behaviors, which, as of now, indicate that the Conductor intends to step into the power vacuum left behind by the Witness’ death. A July 9 Bungie livestream on revealed more details on Destiny 2‘s Echoes: Act 2.

Source: Destiny Lore Vault|YouTube