Wild Speculation On Functionality of Orokin Architectural Features

[TwoWolves]

ITT we throw open the doors of imagination and identify and speculate what some of the Orokin rooms are for in a non-game mechanics context. I'll start, with apologies for the length of the OP.

So this chamber is one of the ones I love because of the use of light. I suspect that the Orokin were advanced enough for fusion generators, and not only that, it would be nothing for them to build structures around a fusion generator, with portholes into the fusor chamber itself. That EMF in the form of light and heat and radiation would, I imagine, pass through filtering and turbine machinery around the perimeter of the "window" to draw even more useful energy out of it, while also using it to provide heat, sunlight, and life support.

And before you poo-poo this idea, notice the light is so bright that it's literally streaming out:



Also, notice the aperature itself with the rotating electronic gizmo around it...

The reason I think it's pure sunlight through a fusion reaction is because Orokin structures are huge, and forming a tiny star in a fusor chamber would be nothing for a class V civilization. Plus, they use a lot of the glowing white root structures, which I suspect are bits of engineered bio-technology that produce oxygen and other trace gasses necessary for life. Those plant like structures are seen throughout, and I can't imagine the Orokin, as advanced as they were, not having a purpose for every single detail and feature used in these levels. I fully believe that the Orokin probably found a way to combine functionality with beauty to an extreme degree (due to their ostentatious style reflected in their architecture). Also, notice the water present in every room (or nearly). Take note of the "vents" in the water trough, too. Most likely, there's sub-piping under the floor that draws off this water trough to feed those white root structures.

The water is always flowing, or bubbling, which oxygenates the water while allowing for evaporative cooling and humidifying. Not only that, it also gives up gas in the form of hydrogen and oxygen in the form of pure evaporation from the sunlight flowing through the aperatures into the fusor chamber. Those "windows" are present in a lot of rooms that have water features, and also have the added benefit of sterilizing water through UV radiation. That water also could serve as a source of food (aquaponics) and nutrient solution for the white root structures.

Not only that, in the Solar Chamber (as I am calling it), notice the use of gold (an excellent conductor) forming a cavity in the ceiling where what looks like cooling/heating pipes are exposed. Those could be pipes full of water being heated by the infrared radiation from the fusor aperature (since heat rises, especially in rooms with 80 foot ceilings) to be used elsewhere:

See? It could easily be 120F or more up there, and there's no openings or vents in sight to remove the hot air, nor are those proper vents above the tops of the support columns.

Still think the Orokin use of water was just decorative? Pfff. Here's one not-so-hidden chamber that's under a platform in the middle of water. Notice the computer equipment and how the water flows through the floor grates under the platform before flowing out of its sides. Most likely, this is some type of filtration/water quality monitoring area to filter out debris and contaminants:


 

Another chamber that features a lot of water and bubbling is this one:

Here, you notice a lot of root structures, as well as four towers: two with windows that clearly contain turbines of some kind, and two with emitters on top that emit "smoke," which I suspect is actually steam/oxygen (which you can see to the left of my character's shoulder below):



For all we know, those spinning, floating orbs could have some purpose as well, possibly as some kind of absorber? Like, perhaps tuned to certain gasses to absorb them to filter the air? Those floating balls are almost always found around water as well, so I think it's safe to assume they're tied somehow.

Those root structures, however, are not just decorative. No way. No one wastes that much space just to decorate with something that has no other purpose than ostentation, especially when life support is a concern. Every cubic foot of space that has to be filled with oxygen has to be accounted for. It would make more sense with the soaring grandeur of Orokin architecture that those root structures serve in a life support capacity, emitting oxygen and nitrogen for a breathable atmosphere:

You'll also notice in this chamber, too, that the root goes down into a cavity where there's a secret room. Both cavity and the secret room have...wait for it...water! So clearly, these "plants" are living organisms of some kind if they require water (though they might not require sunlight as they emit their own light and pretty sure photosynthesis is not a concern here.

This is to say nothing of the Orokin use of plasma flowing through the giant tubes in the other room (not pictured, the one with the elevator at the end that has a hidden chamber) for whatever possible purpose that could serve. Point is, the Orokin, as advanced as they were, would have done nothing without purpose. Same applies to the way they built these structures.

I would love to see DE expand on this (even though it has exactly zero effect on game play mechanics) because Orokin technology is supposed to be awe-inspiring, anyway, and adding more detail to some of these rooms, or making new ones with things like an aquaponics pool, would deepen the mystery of the Orokin and add to the background lore, making the levels even more fun to explore and try to identify the purposes of. In fact, a whole story plot off-shoot could be developed along these lines. Even just adding more Corpus working on dissecting rooms before the neural net takes over their minds would be cool to see. See corpus engineers using a torch to cut away wall panels and expose more of the behind-the-scenes tech that makes it all work would add a level of whoah-factor to void missions. Have a mission where a Tenno has to go in and attempt to "fix" something the corpus screwed up royally in their attempts at reverse-engineering before the whole thing blows--a sabotage mission in reverse. There's so much here that is just waiting to be exploited! DE! Are you listening??! lol

Anyone else have favorite rooms or theories about what some of the rooms and their features are? Would love to hear them! If nothing else, maybe we'll provide some fodder for the devs at DE.

Edited November 17, 2019 by TwoWolves