The Lotus Is The Last Surviving Tenno

[Sitchrea]

We know from Mirage's questline that the Tenno were, at one time, mortal.

 

We know that the Lotus is flesh (To some extent), as seen on her transmission videos.

 

We know that Warframe are a conduit of void energy, as observed during the Tutorial questline.

 

So, knowing this, Forum User Sophronius and I, after much deliberation, have developed a theory:

 

The Lotus is a Warframe. But more than this, she is the last original, living Tenno.

 

So to explain... we know that the original Tenno somehow got void powers and such, yada-yada. We also know that when exposed to void energy and artifacts, you become void energy yourself I.E. Void Vor. So, as seen during Mirage's questline, when the original Tenno died they went on to become what we now know as Tenno today - the energy that powers and directs the Warframe. But... What about the Lotus?

 

When we observe the Lotus, she is obviously in a massive suit that is interconnected to an incredibly robust database. but this suit... If this is a Warframe, or at least similar to a Warframe, this would explain how she is able to understand exactly what is going on during a player's mission. Also, being a Tenno, she would be able to process, decipher, analyze, and communicate vast amounts of information in a short amount of time.

 

Sound like the Lotus?

 

It would make sense that the thousands of Super Soldiers being used in the Old War would need a commander unit, a Super Soldier capable of coordinating several units at once with pin-point accuracy.

 

Since she was a Tenno devoted to intelligence gathering she would be behind the lines of combat, away from the dangers posed by the Sentients; perhaps even put inside an impenetrable bunker and sealed away, camouflaged, and never to be opened?

 

This would explain how the Lotus, the last of the original Tenno, was able to communicate on a personal level with dieing Tenno (I.E. Mirage's questline), for she was in fact one of them. Now, as the last of her original kind, she works with the Tenno who went on to become Void energy and directs their conduits to further their original goal of keeping balance in the system.

 

Additional awesome points from le comments:

 

Excalibur codex mentions that "twisted -few-" returned from the void with afflictions for which they constructed Warframes around as a conduit.

- If there are "few" tenno then why are we killing masses of ourselves in dark sector conflicts? How could there possibly be so many left to kill each other?

At one point during Vor's Prize, Vor says, "Tenno do not control the Warframe's divine energy. The tenno are that energy. Each Warframe you control is merely a glass shaping your furious light."

Also, through orokin tech (Janus key) Vor becomes an immortal through void like energy. Undying, he now roams the void forever. Being capable of taking on a physical manifest when he desires.

- How was Vor speaking only metaphorically when he became "divine energy" himself? Clearly it is a possibility for one to do so.

- How could Tenno be nothing more than flesh inside a Warframe considering what Vor said?

Ordis mentions upon completing the Limbo quest to be careful when you "occupy" the Warframe known as Limbo.

Vor is also capable of appearing as flesh although he is also an immortal now consisted of Void energy. Now being eternal.

- Why can't Tenno look human, have flesh and yet (just like Vor) still be this kind of energy which can go to and from different Warframes? Basically Tenno are ascended beings who are beyond simplistic forms of life.

 

I still believe that Tenno are able to turn temporanely into energy and reshape themselves into flesh and blood inside the Frame to match it...

 

That the Frames are kinda like Exarch suits in 40k lore, people dons them and aquire some specific abilities related to the original Tenno around whom the Warframe was grafted...

 

That the Tenno can produce large amount of destructive energy, the Void Bless, but they cannot control it and using Warframe is the only way to channell it into powers...

 

As Sitchrea stated, they needed someone capable of coordinating several units at once. She is an integrated system.

Familiar with Angel from Borderlands 2?

Lotus is likely using a platform. Instead of being like all other Warframe's she does not have offensive abilities, rather she was designed as a logistic unit, intelligence gatherer, and field coordinator. (Among other possibilities)

Edited November 2, 2014 by Sitchrea

[(PSN)IIIDevoidIII]

Other in-game dialogue, referring to us Tenno as 'flesh' would lead me to believe we are surviving Tenno as well.

[wolf96781]

Quick question: If she's the "Last of the original Tenno" how do you explain all of us popping out of cryosleep after being stuck there after we won the war?

[Trichouette]

Wait... you mean that the tenno we are playing are energy being that use the warframe.... am i right ?

Then why do we bleed...?

 

otherwise everything you say make sense but still this point is... odd...

[Rydian]

Tenno are living flesh, and you're forgetting Stalker, who was not only alive during the Orokin era, but actually retains his memories of the time and tells the story of how the Tenno betrayed the Orokin.

 

Get some codex scans on him and check it out, it's interesting stuff.

[shut]

We know from Mirage's questline that the Tenno were, at one time, mortal.

 

We know that the Lotus is flesh (To some extent), as seen on her transmission videos.

 

We know that Warframe are a conduit of void energy, as observed during the Tutorial questline.

 

 

Kinda stopped reading here.

 

- The Lotus having a human appearance is no indication that she isn't just an AI of some sort. Until we see her in the flesh, we have no way of knowing if this is the case.

- Warframes require oxygen, can bleed, are referred to as having "flesh" multiple times ingame, require Cryosleep to be preserved for extended times, and were confirmed by the devs (in a very "wow i cant believe we seriously had to explain this to you guys" sort of way) during the Gravidus event to have eyes (although whether they actually use them is still unknown). An Excalibur was also shown being torn to pieces in the "The Prophet" trailer, displaying what looked remarkably like charred flesh. All of these things scream "organism", not "sentient entity composed entirely of energy".

Vor was likely referring to a sort of special Void power within each Tenno (which, unless we subscribe to the old Technocyte theory, is likely what sets the modern Tenno apart from other humans in the solar system), rather than stating outright that Tenno are wispy bundles of energy that can possess humanoid mecha suits.

Edited November 1, 2014 by SortaRandom

[Sitchrea]

Other in-game dialogue, referring to us Tenno as 'flesh' would lead me to believe we are surviving Tenno as well.

 

But what of Mirage's questline? it expalins that Mirage kinda... died.

 

Yet we are using Mirage's frame.

 

Plus, Vor explains that Warframes are conduits of divine energy, with us being that energy.

 

Plus, why can't there be corpses inside of Warfames? Why aren't we any different from the Neural Sentry? We take over the corpses inside the Warframes with our energy, the only differnce being the Lotus.

 

The Lotus is the only one that keep us sane, the keeps us directed, that keep sus from becoming like the Neural Sentry. What if the Lotus was designed to prevent the Neural Sentry from encroaching on the minds of those inside the Warframes?

[Sitchrea]

Kinda stopped reading here.

 

- The Lotus having a human appearance is no indication that she isn't just an AI of some sort. Until we see her in the flesh, we have no way of knowing if this is the case.

- Warframes require oxygen, can bleed, are referred to as having "flesh" multiple times ingame, An Excalibur was also shown being torn to pieces in the "The Prophet" trailer, revealing what looked remarkably like cauterized flesh. Vor was likely referring to some sort of power within each Tenno, rather than stating outright that Tenno are wispy bundles of energy that can possess humanoid mecha suits.

 

 

Tenno are living flesh, and you're forgetting Stalker, who was not only alive during the Orokin era, but actually retains his memories of the time and tells the story of how the Tenno betrayed the Orokin.

 

Get some codex scans on him and check it out, it's interesting stuff.

See my post above

 

What if we are merely the energy that powers the corpses inside the Warframes?

 

Btw, the Stalker was not a Tenno, but a "Low Guardian"

[shut]

See my post above

 

What if we are merely the energy that powers the corpses inside the Warframes?

 

Btw, the Stalker was not a Tenno, but a "Low Guardian"

 

- Stalker is a humanoid organism (assuming, of course, that the Orokin are descended from humans), and he can use a Warframe just fine.

- There is no evidence whatsoever that the flesh within the Frames are corpses. We can shift between Frames that have entirely different genders and body types, of course, but that's about as lore-friendly as having seven Snipers on your squad in TF2 (or four Valkyrs in your squad) when they're canonically the same character. Remember that some things in this game contribute 100% to gameplay and 0% to lore. This is true about virtually every game, and is something that tends to be neglected during lore discussions.

Edited November 1, 2014 by SortaRandom

[gnat6]

Btw, the Stalker was not a Tenno, but a "Low Guardian"

Actually that depends on whether tenno is a race or a faction because if the tenno are a faction then the stalker is definitely not a tenno but if tenno is a race meaning if you have void powers and can use a warframe you are a tenno then even if he wasn't a tenno then the stalker is definitely one now.

[011100110110000101101101]

But what of Mirage's questline? it expalins that Mirage kinda... died.

 

Yet we are using Mirage's frame.

There are more than one tenno per Warframe.  There are a whole bunch of Rhinos out there, and there are a whole bunch of Mirages, even during that time.  We are also not wearing her frame, we are wearing a copy of said frame.

 

See my post above

 

What if we are merely the energy that powers the corpses inside the Warframes?

 

Btw, the Stalker was not a Tenno, but a "Low Guardian"

 

1) That cannot be proven right now, but why listen to Vor?  We know he's crazy.

 

2) We don't know what a Low Guardian is.  It is likely a job or ranking.  We don't know if he is a Tenno or not, but as he wears a warframe, and in order to do that you must be "Void Blessed" as I call it.  It is likely he is indeed a Tenno.

Edited November 1, 2014 by 011100110110000101101101

[ClockworkSpectre]

 

Plus, Vor explains that Warframes are conduits of divine energy, with us being that energy.

 

If I remember correctly didn't he say the frames act as a lense for energy.  That doesn't imply that WE are energy, just that we can use it and the frames help us to use it.  So beyond us using void energy there isn't anything there that says what we are.  Tenno bodies could be like antennae for void energy and the frames help us use that energy more effectively than if tenno were not wearing them.

[Necr0Ra1se]

I always thought that Lotus is a huge Dreadnougt,  a massive A.I. Operator that was created to control and give orders to multiple Tennos at one, that drifts in space.

[Rydian]

What if we are merely the energy that powers the corpses inside the Warframes?

Eh, possible, but it'd be more like we body-hop than control.

 

Btw, the Stalker was not a Tenno, but a "Low Guardian"

Tenno and the guardian classifications are not mutually-exclusive, though.  Tenno had their own writing system and traditions (implying they were more than just one inner subset), and the "low guardians" just weren't being celebrated then.

[ClockworkSpectre]

I always thought that Lotus is a huge Dreadnougt,  a massive A.I. Operator that was created to control and give orders to multiple Tennos at one, that drifts in space.

At this point there is so little information on what the Lotus is all we can do is speculate like Necr0Ra1se has done here.  

 

For me, I have always thought of her as a Tenno that never developed any offensive abilities.  Her Warframe is one that specializes in information.  It helps her take in information and manage it as well as disseminate that information to her charges, and is as much a part of the command system of her ship as it is part of her.  She would reside on a command and control ship in the far reaches of the solar system.

[OverlordMcGeek]

But what of Mirage's questline? it expalins that Mirage kinda... died.

 

Yet we are using Mirage's frame.

 

Plus, Vor explains that Warframes are conduits of divine energy, with us being that energy.

 

Plus, why can't there be corpses inside of Warfames? Why aren't we any different from the Neural Sentry? We take over the corpses inside the Warframes with our energy, the only differnce being the Lotus.

 

The Lotus is the only one that keep us sane, the keeps us directed, that keep sus from becoming like the Neural Sentry. What if the Lotus was designed to prevent the Neural Sentry from encroaching on the minds of those inside the Warframes?

mirage read again states: to construct her for honor of her memory or something like that

 

conduits are not energy themselves.

[OniDax]

I'd say the Lotus is the last surviving Orokin, a rebel and traitor to the Orokin Empire who led the rebellion against the Empire.

Edited November 1, 2014 by AntoineFlemming

[OniDax]

There are more than one tenno per Warframe.  There are a whole bunch of Rhinos out there, and there are a whole bunch of Mirages, even during that time.  We are also not wearing her frame, we are wearing a copy of said frame.

 

 

1) That cannot be proven right now, but why listen to Vor?  We know he's crazy.

 

2) We don't know what a Low Guardian is.  It is likely a job or ranking.  We don't know if he is a Tenno or not, but as he wears a warframe, and in order to do that you must be "Void Blessed" as I call it.  It is likely he is indeed a Tenno.

 

Pretty sure the Stalker was not a Tenno, as the Tenno were being celebrated, and the low Guardians (low is not a part of the title "Guardians". It is a modifier describing the Guardians. In context, Stalker is basically saying that the Guardians are treated as low in comparison with the Tenno. The Tenno were esteemed higher than the Guardians, yet the Tenno were traitors and the Guardians weren't). The Guardians, of which Stalker was a member, were NOT the Tenno. That's based on the phrasing and the context of the Stalker's account.

 

Oh, and we "listen" to Vor because the characters are DE's way of revealing the story to us. The characters are not real people trying to deceive us. They are fictional characters created by Digital Extremes, and they serve as a means to provide lore. That's why we listen to Vor and the Stalker.

 

Also, I do believe that the Tenno are human, as are/were the Orokin, the Orokin Empire being the pinnacle of human advancement at the time. That said, I also believe that the Tenno absolutely change frames. At the same time, I do not believe the Tenno are genderless (Mirage is referred to as she). I think the real way to look at this is that male Tenno can switch between male frames, and female Tenno between female, and that the ability to change from male to female frames is for gameplay purposes.

Edited November 1, 2014 by AntoineFlemming

[Cpt_Atroxium]

Tenno Breathe. 

[Toppien]

i don't think we are energy, because we have flesh, and we bleed, so im still believing we are at least two tennos, one male and one female

 

also the lotus is a cyborg, like this...

 

[Sitchrea]

Tenno Breathe. 

I do not see how this changes any of the points in OP or comments.

 

also the lotus is a cyborg, like this...

 

In-game proof?

 

As far as I know, this just as much speculation as the OP is

[shut]

I do not see how this changes any of the points in OP or comments.

 

Your entire OP revolves around the notion that Tenno are made of energy, rather than being organisms that require breathing.

[011100110110000101101101]

Pretty sure the Stalker was not a Tenno, as the Tenno were being celebrated, and the low Guardians (low is not a part of the title "Guardians". It is a modifier describing the Guardians. In context, Stalker is basically saying that the Guardians are treated as low in comparison with the Tenno. The Tenno were esteemed higher than the Guardians, yet the Tenno were traitors and the Guardians weren't). The Guardians, of which Stalker was a member, were NOT the Tenno. That's based on the phrasing and the context of the Stalker's account.

 

Oh, and we "listen" to Vor because the characters are DE's way of revealing the story to us. The characters are not real people trying to deceive us. They are fictional characters created by Digital Extremes, and they serve as a means to provide lore. That's why we listen to Vor and the Stalker.

 

Also, I do believe that the Tenno are human, as are/were the Orokin, the Orokin Empire being the pinnacle of human advancement at the time. That said, I also believe that the Tenno absolutely change frames. At the same time, I do not believe the Tenno are genderless (Mirage is referred to as she). I think the real way to look at this is that male Tenno can switch between male frames, and female Tenno between female, and that the ability to change from male to female frames is for gameplay purposes.

1) I meant Tenno as more of a race, and not a caste.  I refer to the Stalker as a Tenno because he can wear a warframe, and the only ones who can are those "Void Blessed" ie: the Tenno.  There may be another group of transhumans who can wear warframes, but that is unknown at this moment.

 

2) You may see them as plot tools, but I see them as characters.  I never said he was trying to deceive us, but we don't know the exact meaning of what he says.  It could be literal, or it could be metaphorical.  We don't know the answer.  The Stalker however is a different story.  It is clear is is exceptionally biased towards the Orokin Empire, as he doesn't support our genocide towards them.  It is likely he doesn't know the full story, or is leaving some out to make his point more valid.  Another point to consider is his sanity.  He has been alive for many, many years, it is remarkable that  he hasn't aged actually, but his long activity makes me wonder about his sanity.  Living for thousands of years with only your blind hatred keeping you going probably isn't great for it.  There are too many variables to know exactly what these characters mean, but reading your comment, it is likely you'll take them literally, but I don't trust them.

 

3) I agree with you right here.  Except with the Tenno being human, they are transhumans.

[Rexlars]

Answers are in red.

 

But what of Mirage's questline? it expalins that Mirage kinda... died.

 

Yet we are using Mirage's frame.

 

That Mirage was the original Mirage. There are more than 1 & we create copies of said frames.

 

Plus, Vor explains that Warframes are conduits of divine energy, with us being that energy.

 

He was speaking metaphorically.

 

Plus, why can't there be corpses inside of Warfames? Why aren't we any different from the Neural Sentry? We take over the corpses inside the Warframes with our energy, the only differnce being the Lotus.

 

We aren't energy. There's plenty of evidence against this.

 

[Akuarius]

NAIN NAIN NAIN!! First of all, Tenno is the one WHO master the Warframe. Second, Lotus is an AI, because she looks like a human she is made of flesh? she is just a cyborg and we don't know if she even have a body. Orokin had the technology to know and control the void, we dont know if they died or ascend in to the void.