A second look at Mirage Prime's Trailer

[FoolishSparky]

Looking back on some of the prime trailers, something stood out to me in Mirage Prime's. The way Ballas speaks, and what he says exactly, it all seems different. Now, generally, people assume he's speaking about Margulis, because thus far Ballas has only either spoken as though he's directing his words towards her, or towards an assembly of other high ranking Orokin, but in this, I think he may instead be speaking directly to the tenno themselves, to us.

 

"Oh, how you suffered to become this beast. Yet you laughed at me. Others writhed and raged in the vice, but you, you played the fool. And so it was, that you distorted my design.

 

A sanguine trick. A murderous comedy. But no one is laughing anymore... except you."

 

-Oh how you suffered to become this beast: In Rhino prime's Codex we learn of the horrific dissections and experiments the Orokin performed on the children of the Zariman. (as well as the unspeakable horrors of the void the suffered through)

-Others writhed and raged in the vice: We learn in Titania's quest that transference is all but lethal to all except the tenno, and in the war within the grineer queen even talks about how the adults lose their minds due to the corrupting energy of the void ocean, but the children themselves are at ease within it's depths. 

-A sanguine trick: In later lore we learn of the Lotus's utilization of the tenno to undermine the Orokin (initially for the sentients to return, but later for her own reasons)

And the last line;

-But no one is laughing anymore... except you: In stalker's Codex we learn of the slaughter at the terminus, all but wiping out the orokin for good.

 

If this theory holds up, this is the first time Ballas has directly spoke TOWARDS the tenno in a lore sense, and it gives some incite as to how much he truly hated them. Not only for what they did to Margulis, but how they "twisted" his designs. I haven't seen anyone bring up this possibility (maybe I haven't looked hard enough?) so I want to know what everyone else thinks.

Edited April 26, 2018 by NuclearWarlord666

[hodginstheraven]

I never thought about this like that before, but going back to the trailer now I can definitely see it.

[CalculatedMurderMachine]

Woah

woah

woahhhh

WOAH

Damn this is awesome

+woah

[Sloan441]

Ballas' musings in the trailers are just that. He's not really addressing anyone--though an argument might be made for the Vaubon Prime trailer. That seems more like a sales pitch than Ballas dictating his memoirs. The rest are like reminiscing. The sort of thing he'd be dictating for his memoirs or an interview done on the subject of the early days of warframe creation. 

The Mirage Prime trailer fits into the memoir aspect quite well. It has some far reaching implications, but essentially it's Ballas remembering that this is one warframe project that didn't turn out quite as expected because the subject was resistant in ways that were unanticipated. 

Of course, the ultimate fate of the warframes was somewhat unanticipated, but maybe not completely. Ballas most definitely has reservations about them, as seen in the Valkyr Prime trailer. He knew very well they were dangerous and he was riding a tiger when using them to fight the Sentients. Desperate times and desperate measures. 

What's interesting is he almost entirely focuses on the warframes themselves, while largely dismissive of the tenno. At most, they're only mentioned in passing, like in the Valkyr Prime trailer. "Tenno tamed, but only just." Then it's all warframe commentary. 

Why that is so is very arguable, but it's seems they either make him uncomfortable enough that he is loathe to talk (or even think) about them, or he regards them as a non-issue when it comes to security of the Empire. They are locked in a dreamstate at that time and entirely in the Orokin's power--they're housed on the Moon, in the heart of the Empire. They can't get up to much physically and are seemingly utterly under control--until the Lotus shows up. 

And there we're never seen Ballas refer to the Lotus. Margulis, yes, and extensively. Never the Lotus. Yet we know he was aware of her. The relationship between them is very murky and it might not be out of the question that Ballas was involved in her creation. He might also have had designs on the Empire itself. Perhaps using the tenno to leverage himself into sole autocratic power, or just to burn the whole corrupt mess down in the end and start over.   

All this seems more than a bit incomplete and flat reeks of another shoe ready to drop. Perhaps we'll see much more in Sacrifice.