(PSN)RedfieldFanboi

Also have this issue. Cannot claim a Naramon Eidolon Lens from my foundry. It shows I have 2 of the same lens completed but I cannot claim them. "Unknown Error".

Precisely. My theory is that while Eternalism is a central point in Warframe (or at least something the characters believe to be true) it's not necessarily the only principle present - allowing for every player to be that central "hero" Tenno, all within the same space. Each player is a character who, as far as they are concerned, went through all the solo challenges of each quest to become the Tenno they are at present. It's a very intriguing and unique concept for an MMO - especially one that has a single-player-style quest system. A true hybrid system which the meta-narrative can actually be used to explain functional mechanics of the game itself.

I definitely hear what you're saying with that - my theory is specific to how the story as shown through the quests only ever indicate one possible Tenno that has been awoken. There could certainly still be countless others in pods who all control Warframes - but in order to be a Tenno out in the wild (showing up as either an Operator or Drifter) they would need to have experienced very specific beats in the story, such as the Second Dream, War Within, Sacrifice, New War, and the Duviri Paradox. The key moments in all of these quests assume the player is the only unique Tenno/Operator/Drifter who can perform transference without the need for the Somatic pod - but Eternalism unchains our rigid perception of possibility, leading to an infinite number of permutations. Each Tenno simply represents a new permutation of events.

This post is more a dumping ground for some thoughts, theories and interpretations that have formed over my 80 days playing Warframe. There will be spoilers. I am not a Warframe lore expert, nor do I study theories of time or the universe. I would like to establish though, that while DE have specified that Eternalism is critical to the WF universe it is simply a theory of Time and does not exclude other theories, such as the Many Worlds theory from also being present. So why is this important to specify? After playing up through Angels of Zariman and reading up on, and watching videos on the expanded lore for the game I have not come across someone else who has expressed similar thoughts as myself, in regards to the lore of Warframe - but I've seen plenty of posts, videos, etc that have covered the different aspects of my theory, albeit disconnected and not fully articulated. Let's start with what we know to be true: The game started as a live service game where we all play as space ninja in quick, addictive gameplay modes, solo or in squads of 4. Then came story which explained we are really a child in a pod on Lua, who controls the Warframes through a sort of quantum telepathy referred to as Transference. We learn of the Void, a sort of extra dimension with variable laws, the Man in the Wall, etc. We get more story, more lore and overall we're introduced to the concept of Eternalism whereby the past, present, future are all equally "true" and accessible. We meet a version of "us" who is older, and never rescued from the Zariman. And loads and loads of history and lore. But with all this something struck me as odd on reflection: It's never treated as strange that there are hundreds of Tenno out there controlling Warframes in the fight to bring order to the Origin System, yet the story quests make it very clear that there is only One Tenno who has been awoken - going all the way back to the very first quest in which Lotus implies that you are the final attempt to wake a Tenno and that all the others were lost to Vor and his goons. This continues through every quest as you are treated in canon as the only Operator/Drifter who has escaped Lua, survived the Queens, been mentored by Teshin, freed Umbra Excalibur, etc etc. This is where my theory comes in - that it can all be explained as one giant meta about Eternalism and Many Worlds theories; all time and possibilities being accessible at all times. That it can be both an MMO with hundreds of thousands of Tenno - and also be a story with a singular protagonist. Thanks to the Void and the nature of Eternalism, each player is a unique Operator/Tenno/Drifter but all coexist in the same story. In short, my theory is that every time we load into a mission or open world area and see other Tenno we are using our Void Powers (or the Void simply makes it possible) for us to interact with and team up with different Tenno who were awakened in our place. They got the deal with Wally on the Zariman instead of us, but most importantly none of us are any more or less valid as the singular protagonist. All possibilities, realities; past, present, future - are all true. I love how insane and cool it all is. Warframe is such an incredible universe to play around in, narratively (and literally)! Many criticize DE for the writing, and while the game's strength is more in the gameplay and more departments, I don't feel like Eternalism is a cop out in any way and that the story is certainly intriguing at worst, and emotionally compelling at its best.