Hypothesis: Tenno Are Cybernetic

[Spacetronaut]

I partially agree with the "bleeding" theory. However, cybernetic organisms are just that: organisms. They have robotic parts, but are or were ultimately living natural beings. The Grineer bleed but they're humans that modify the majority of their bodies with technology. The same applies with poison; they have organs and bloodstreams that they still need to survive. Oxygen: some Grineer might be able to modify themselves with oxygen supplies, but our 'Frames are lightweight and an oxygen supply that we carry around would be bulky.

When the New Loka say "It's not too late to cleanse yourself", pay attention to the wording. "Not too late" implies that the Tenno underneath are already modified artificially in some way. The same applies to using "cleanse yourself" rather than using something like "save yourself" to mean that your Tenno is innocent and unmodified but can be in the future.

I am not saying they're machines. I completely agree with Tenno being organic somehow under the 'Frame.

I'd analyze your videos but I'm not able to look at them right now so I'll give you those for now. >:c

To add on, the original Tenno could have been (probably was) the original or one of the original Tenno. However, over the years, their culture could have created technology for new suits but couldn't find the proper shapes for the suits, so they modified their bodies to morph to the proper shape needed to host another 'Frame at will.

Also, the Tenno could be partially infected with the virus thing from Dark Sector (haven't played it in awhile so I can't remember its name or if it was a disease or aliens or what) and, as far as memory goes, the "virus thing" could shift to whatever form it pleases, which explains the drastic gender swaps and body morphs that are caused by switching from a Rhino to Nekros to Nyx and so on.

[Berserkerkitten]

I think they're mostly made of wood. And about 3.8% sausage.

[VampirePirate]

If one of the Tenno armor types is Flesh, that means that Tenno are not fully robotic. However, Mutalist Alad V called his infested Warframe experiment his "Mutalist Warframe". As far as I know, the term "mutalist" is only used on robotic Infested (Infested MOAs, Ospreys). I believe this implies that the Tenno under the suits are cyborgs of some type. I doubt the suits alone can be infested unless it has a natural and NOT artificial nervous system of its own, which also implies that Warframes are living beings on their own. Tenno being cybernetic also closes the door on how they can "change form" to fit into different gender-styled Warframes. Thoughts?

When your warframe gets shot by Grineer, the Tenno inside bleeds...

[Spacetronaut]

When your warframe gets shot by Grineer, the Tenno inside bleeds...

Again, cyborgs = organic + technology. They can still have blood and organs. They're just modified with artificial pieces.

[Ryme]

I think Hydroid is the closest to what we actually are; sentient puddles of meaty goop, poured into a "frame" of predetermined shape and appearance, that we then operate. This explains our relation to the Infested, the body swapping between gender-locked frames, and other various lore tidbits, like Rhino's recent codex update.

[Xeo_Nespydonum]

We, by our purpose, can not be cybernetic in a traditional sense.  Tenno are bioweapons developed by the Orokin empire to combat the Sentients, a race of hyperintelligent worm like beings with an unrivaled mastery over digital technology.  All the Orokin empire's tech was useless against them due to their hacking aptitude; so Tenno were made to go punch the Sentients in the face as hard as possible while not getting hacked.

 

We may, however, be augmented with "biological enhancements"  Maybe extra cerebral implants based on some technocyte nonsense to improve our reflexes and perception or something.

[(PSN)obsidiancurse]

I like to think of us as Daleks, little brain squid things piloting our war machines.

[Spacetronaut]

A Warframe is, by and large, most likely a Cybernetic construct in some way, although I'm more inclined to say that it's approaching true Technorganics than Cybernetic. Between the Infested materials we require in a Warframe's construction, and the mechanical, it seems plausible that they're not Armour in the same way as we would understand it. There is actually technology in development now that has Neural interface to mechanical augmentations, as shown in the linked Ted talk. Well worth watching, especially in light of this discussion.

 

However...from there it gets tricky. Looking at Rhino Prime's Codex, the implication seems to be that a Warframe, or at least a Proto-Warframe, had autonomy. It was only when it neared the supposed Zariman children (I call it Zariman Proximity) in the 'cell/morgue' thing. Which led to a complete change in action, contrary to the prior behaviour of said Proto-Rhino. This leads me to suspect if the Zariman Proto-Tenno 'possessed' the Proto-Rhino as a suitable body. Which takes into a very interesting line of thought.

 

Personally, I'm of the view that a Warframe is a whole construct. It's a living machine in it's own right, and the reason why we're trying to void being shot to death; the Warframe bleeds, it breathes and by extension, it can die. This Technorganic body is inhabited by a Tenno, akin to how an Ego inhabits a Morph in Eclipse Phase; should the body die, the mind goes with it. I'm currently suspecting if it's possible the Zariman victims were 'decompiled' much like we do Capture Targets, for 'ease of storage' and significantly less evidence to hide.

 

Meaning that, if this is 'reduced to data/energy' were the case...the space you need to physically store such an 'essence' is significantly reduced. That 'cell/morgue' could have been a massive array of servers, containing...well...who knows how many 'souls'. We're never given an indication of how large the Zariman as a ship was, making it very plausible as to why the children had such an easy time hiding. A 'few' is relative to a value and we don't have that relative comparison.

 

When we take into account that the Orokin were not only incredibly advanced technologically, but on the genetic engineering level as well, it seems reasonable that the next step would be the union of these disciplines to a new, unclear form. The addition of the Void power Tenno possess, resulted in the Warframes and Tenno being far greater than the sum of their parts.

 

Of course, this is just a theory, and I'm keeping it short as I discuss it more thoroughly here. It's a long read, but if you're interested in what I've said, I'm sure that's no problem.

 

Also, a small bit of 'argumentative jerkery', and I apologise:

 

If the Rescue Targets and Cryopod Users are actually Tenno, it would be very easy for DE to simply say 'yes, those are what Tenno look like'. The fact that they have not stated as such and it is only for people to make the assumption these are Tenno, lends weight to the argument that they're just civilians. The Rescue targets are perhaps agents of the Lotus, whilst the Cryopod targets could simply be civilians from the Orokin Era who used the Cryopods, especially in the Void and Derelicts, as a sort of 'escape'. Risk of death was high enough that they hid. There's been no account to imply that Cryopods are only possible to be used by a Tenno, so far as I'm aware; if it has, please, cite and link me the source.

 

It's entirely possible I'm mistaken. Theory crafting entertains me, so nothing wrong with being proven wrong eventually.

 

End of the day, the concreteness of our theories are only as good as we can draw reasonable conclusions from the evidence provided.

First, let me just say that I'm immensely impressed with the amount of information you just shared. That's more than twice the lore I thought I knew originally, all in one post.

I think the people we find on Rescue missions, in Cryopods and now in the Vesper Tenno Hub, I have two new possible theories.

1) The Tenno we play as in-game are Tenno that were released from cryostasis. We are the "original" Tenno. The "original" Tenno must be affected somehow by the past; the Infestation they thought they eradicated from the solar system up until the present may have infected them and, perhaps in a way, created them. Under our suits as the original Tenno, we are a "mutalist humanoid" (if that's apparently the name we give the Infestation now. I like it; it's catchy.), in a sense that we take humanoid shape, but are formed by the Infestation. This gives an answer to the shape-shifting required to switch between Warframes. These modern Tenno, the ones we rescue and somewhat interact with, are "purified" Tenno. They are "offspring" of the original Tenno that have managed to genetically advance past the Infestation and clean their genes of the infection.

I also would like to think that, similar to Master Chief from Halo or <insert name I forgot here> from Crysis, the original Tenno may need the full-body suits in order to keep their vital signs intact. I can't think of an explanation why, due to the fact that the Infestation can exist in an oxygenated environment. Perhaps the Infestation we know how are the stronger genes that have evolved to be able to survive in oxygen, but the infection we posess is unable to survive except for the oxygen its host requires to keep living. If we were to take off our suits, the Infestation we posess but somehow have managed to overcome would die off and take us with it.

2) As mentioned in my previous posts, the Tenno are cybernetic and/or are heavily modified under the suit artificially, to the point where we're able to transfer all the information from our brains that allows us to be individuals to other Warframes. This would partially support your theory of being in a state similar to Capture Targets, where we're "data" that is stored inside the suits, which are self-sufficient up to the point of needing a pilot to control it. That explains us being transferred to other 'Frames. The modern Tenno we see more and more of each update could be Tenno that have advanced to a different stage of their technological modifications so that their suits are significantly more lightweight than our suits now, but unfortunately weaker and lack the special powers that our Warframes posess. They could also posess powers that are just much weaker to make up for mobility and stealth since the weapons we use are much more advanced than hundreds of years ago. This is supported by the civilian(s) in the Vesper Hub using the revive animation on an object in one of the rooms (I think it was a fountain or something).

3) The modern Tenno are these "trapped" Tenno you explain. Similar to the "data" or in some other way. These suits make up for the permanent loss of our original bodies. The modern Tenno we see now are "freed" Tenno. They were either not trapped or have escaped the prison that they were once contained in and managed to return to their bodies. The reason we see them now in Rescue missions is because they were in cryostasis along with us but were awakened by Grineer/Corpus forces and captured for whatever use the opposing factions may believe they posess. They are the modern resistance and we're the long lost heroes that will dominate the other factions for the good of our cause.

Let me know if I've mixed up my info because my ideas are scattered and I might have repeated myself a few times.

[Blakrana]

Ah, I'm nothing special when it comes to things. I just get curious about an idea and run with it...and share it if I think it's worth other people's scrutiny. Kind of helps improve my confidence.

 

The main problem with your first point is that it implies the Infested could be involved in making the Tenno what they are during Cryosleep, however the Tenno were made what they are during the Void Era of the Orokin Empire. Whether there is additional mutation, if any, is uncertain but certainly possible pre-Cryo. However, once in Cryosleep, suspended animation kicks in, and nothing is capable of acting in that time.

 

After that, the issue is that by rights the 'Purified' Tenno wouldn't so much be 'free' of Infestation, but merely an extremely evolved form. And that's...chilling to consider. Entirely possible, I suppose, but it puts me in a mind of Akuma Level 4 ala D.Grey Man more than anything else. Apt maybe...Mezner would sure be happy. Brr.

 

However, the general notion that a Tenno and their Warframe are symbiotic, and require each other to survive, is certainly something I can see as quite likely. One of my working views is that a Warframe is a 'Battle Quarantine' device, so that the Tenno can fight, but not affect the environment beyond those parameters. To quote myself in another thread, 'to keep them away from sensitive Orokin eyes'.

 

A note: at the end of Halo 4, Master Chief is seen getting ready to have his armour removed. He can actually survive without it, and the Mjolnir armour is only dangerous to normal humans due to the exertion it puts on the user. In fact, in Halo 2 he had been equipped with the Mark 6 rather than the Mark 5 from Halo 1.

 

Your second point seems to blend a bit into the third, and in general, reasonably plausible. Although, to clarify my 'trapped' hypothesis, it's mostly in the sense that the Tenno original bodies, even if they weren't destroyed by the Orokin, would still have been lost to time. At most, my 'loss of original' hypothesis would require Tenno to create their own 'human' bodies to occupy should it be correct, and they desired to use a body that wasn't a Warframe.

 

Which, I suppose based on my view that a Warframe is a specially engineered Technorganic body for a Tenno to 'Pilot', couldn't be impossible although that depends on what 'stock' the Tenno would draw from to make a human 'shell' to use. And then the question of how the Void energy Tenno have as part of their being would interact with a human host; the Codex doesn't refer to them as the 'twisted few' for nothing, I wager. Again, the possibility that the Warframes serve as a kind of inverse quarantine suit comes up a lot for me.

 

At any rate, I hope that this was an interesting response. I am currently working on seeing how my Posthumanism theory works in a narrative context, although so far it's required a fair bit of Naming convention theory and Identification convention theory as well just to give me a basis for the next part. Silent protagonists are great for OC's, up until the point you actually need to give them an actual character, you know?

 

I'm going to need a lot of Fire Resistance...

 

But, on a brighter note, it's nice to have other folks talking Theory.

[Spacetronaut]

I really admire how deep you go into this. Have you just followed the story this deeply? Do you have some confirmed lore links by any chance?

As for the theory, first off I meant that the Tenno were previously infected with the infestation before being put into cryosleep. Perhaps they even thought that was a way to prevent any further spreading of the Infestation and/or cure it, kind of like a final act of their cause. Or seemingly final.

Also, I got my Halo lore wrong! How could I possibly manage that? Uuuuggghhh-

Anyways, the Tenno we play as can only be symbiotic in a sense that they can only survive inside a Warframe. They are not bonded to the Warframe and can freely transfer from one Warframe to the next, but if this is true then the process is probably very dangerous but perfected to a degree.

As for the issue regarding the lost bodies, the Tenno we play as in our full suits... our bodies are lost. If this theory is true, that is. However, the citizens we see today that I'm just going to call "modern Tenno" until I'm confirmed wrong by devs and/or correct lore links or whatever could have found their bodies before they were frozen. Maybe during their Era, they had a resistance of some sort that wasn't infected. Their goal was to help fellow Tenno recover their bodies or put them into the suits we now know as Warframes to preserve their lives in some way. Then they were frozen and awakened again in the present and help fight the modern fight we do now.

I eagerly await to find out what plot holes I made this time. I'm not as experienced in the lore but think I know more than at least some.

[Blakrana]

I just...analyse things a lot. Between that, an actual degree in Philosophy and my general propensity to ask 'What If?' and then work out from there, the theory threads I've made just collate my thoughts after they hit 'coherent argument' point. I recall spending about...two or three hours writing up the first post of the Posthumanism theory thread. Old essay habits die hard, especially for subjects I enjoy; in this case, game lore.

 

However, there are people definitely more qualified to discuss the Lore than I would consider myself to be, Morec0 for one.

 

Still...as far as we know:

 

The Tenno are originally victims of the Void experiments conducted by the Orokin after/during the Void Era. Socially, the Tenno are either a fiction for the layperson, or a monster if they exist at all. Before the Sentient War, it seems likely the Tenno were akin to an Area 51 secret, and it wasn't until the Sentient War and the events alluded to in the Rhino Prime Codex that the Tenno came into the foreground.

 

It is...uncertain just what the state of the Tenno is, and whether they are infected themselves, or the Warframes merely use the Technocyte as a medium to channel Void Energy, a trait that seems akin to the Technocyte strain Hayden himself possessed in darkSector: when he acquires his Shield Power, he can literally make an energy shield without any clear indication where that energy derives. It is...possible that the Technocyte and the Void are interlinked in some manner.

 

The Infestation, as we know it, seems to have been an Orokin bioweapon, a possible modified Technocyte strain, but whatever happened its behaviour was either too random, too virulent or something because they turned to that before they turned to using the Tenno. The Tenno, with their Warframes, count as the 'Godzilla Threshold' for the Orokin war effort, by extension. And, to be fair, that's reasonable considering a lone Tenno can kill an army. Remember, Original Mirage had a ship crash onto her and she still kept fighting and she's a caster-type Frame.

 

After the Sentient/Old War as varying accounts dictate, the Tenno apparently slew the Orokin Emperors at Terminus, enough to effectively bring the Empire crashing down soon after; this is Stalker's grievance with us, and why the Corpus dub us Betrayers. As I'm sure you're somewhat aware. Depending on the context of the Tenno and the relationship with the Orokin, at any rate the Cryosleep and the amnesia it causes them in general seem to be potentially...desirable, if you wanted to forget something that burdened you; what greater burden than the memory of your real body, forever lost?

 

And when it comes to confirmed lore, I'm afraid I can't provide anything more than direct links to the various Codex Lore entries, and a few of my other threads where I attempt to do some theory crafting within the provided framework. As I'm sure you know, the very nature of the Tenno is rife with debate, and every bit of Lore we have currently is so contested that the best I, and indeed most people, feel we can do are create Theory posts. Confirmation is a...weighty thing which could make or break a lot of things for people.

 

At any rate...best suggestion I have? Follow the line of reason you feel makes the most sense, and enjoy where the 'If this is the case, then...' thoughts take you. Stay open to the possibilities, and be careful on getting to attached to a theory; like with any theory, new evidence can undermine it, if not outright destroy it, and that's the nature of the game right now.

 

Personally, I see it as a chance to try and grow as a writer. Not sure where that'd go, but it'd be nice to have something I can pretend I'm good at.

[Omnimorph]

Hmm, ok saying the rescue people are Tenno Operatives introduces another unexplained fiction into the menagerie - "operatives", unless a Tenno operative is just ... a Tenno without a Warframe.

 

Occam's razor would suggest that they're just Tenno without Warframes, and that's what Tenno without Warframes look like, and the reason DE haven't said anything is because it's obvious, but they enjoy watching all the lore argy-bargy from the sidelines :)

 

It is clear that the suits have their own AI of some kind, and are very sophisticated techno-organic constructs, but it seems they need a living, organic person inside them to make them Tenno.

 

The thing that would mitigate against what I've just said is that the lore elsewhere suggests that Void powers can be manifest by some Tenno outside their suits.  The people we rescue don't manifest any Void powers, which means either that they're just happen to be not the types of Void-touched people who can do that, or that indeed an "operative" is some sort of term of art for a member of some sort of Tenno support team led by Lotus.

Edited December 12, 2014 by Omnimorph

[MisterUltimate]

I could see Tenno being Void touched Humans with cybernetic implants that allow them to channel that energy, rather than be corrupted by it.

[Spacetronaut]

I could see Tenno being Void touched Humans with cybernetic implants that allow them to channel that energy, rather than be corrupted by it.

Upon playing the game and observing the animations and interactions with the world that your Tenno has, I've started to believe something like this (I change my mind a lot, don't I?).

 

The old Tenno we are with our full Warframes could be how you put: "void-touched". The Warframes are ancient technology that we've mastered crafting and also discover throughout the solar system, and they are our way of controlling our void power into melee channeling and our powers. Our Energy, to put it shortly.

 

Each Warframe is modified with different controls; different powers. The Energy we use is like a neutron in an atom: it can turn into a proton or electron, whatever is needed. Only instead of two choices, we get an amount of choices only limited to the amount of elements, weather, strengths, and other natural and even artificial environments we can throw ourselves in. Rhino gets buff like the Hulk, Trinity controls our vital signs and can even disperse energy to create more from our enemies, Hydroid can use his Energy to shape water into whatever force he pleases and at any speeds, and so on.

 

The "void-touched"-ness (for lack of a better word) could also explain how us Tenno don't exactly die. We revive. Perhaps there's some "connection" between us and the Void and when a Tenno "dies", they are reborn again like a phoenix but lose part of that connection (4 revives, or you can buy more. That could be like a "meditation cost" thing or something, I don't know). Tenno never die. They can even be mutated, which regards Alad V's Zanuka Project. They cut our Warframes into pieces and morph them into some abomination. However, it looks as though he morphs the ENTIRE Tenno, not just the Warframe.