Lore Theory -The Black Garden, like the Dark Tower, is the nexus of all realities.

Hey Reapers, I know we're usually too busy shooting aliens in the face to think about the story in Destiny, but as a huge fan of Stephen King's omniwork The Dark Tower, I've noticed a lot of similarities that I think are cool and worth thinking over. I posted this theory over in the Destiny sub-reddit (which I'd recommend checking out for other Dark Tower theories, as well as heaps of useful Destiny info), but felt like some of you Reapers might be Dark Tower fans as well and enjoy this. Be warned, though, there are some big SPOILERS for the Dark Tower if you haven't read those books: "As has been pointed out before, there are a lot of influences from Stephen King's omni-work, The Dark Tower, that have creeped their way into Destiny...I'd recommend the search bar if you're looking for some of these previous posts. This most recent one occurred to me whilst watching the ride along Bungie did on Mars two weeks ago. En route to the Black Garden, in the area where you kill the Divisive Mind, Craig asks if the circular shaft which leads into the heart is some kind of particle accelerator. Jason Sussman says it's actually a data point, and that the garden is surrounded by them, all leading into the heart. Deej asks for clarification, and Sussman seems to imply that it's actually a data point receiver, as in data being sent out from the heart of the garden, rather than in. He then points out the beautiful rain falling upwards as well as the gently drifting rose petals in the air. Now, anyone familiar with the Dark Tower will recognize the time dilation, roses, and spokes surrounding a central hub as clear allusions to the Beams, which are physical forces that surround and hold up the Dark Tower and are protected by Guardians. The Divisive mind may be one of these guardians, the other Vex Minds representing other Guardians of the Beam. So the question, then, is why are trying to destroy the heart of the black garden if it is indeed the nexus of all realities? Well, I would posit that we're not actually destroying it, so much as removing the Vex corruption. We know from the Vault of Glass that the Vex seek to control all time and space; if there were such a place as The Dark Tower, that was the central hub of all creation, they would need to control it to realize their plan. And this is, I believe, where there control of time and space comes from. The seething mass of darkness in the heart is a bio-organic Vex corruption program that grants them the spacetime control they possess, shooting this ability out along the data points through portals into all realities. We are simply restoring the Black garden to its natural, uncorrupted state. How the Traveler and the Darkness fit into all this is a whole other can of worms, but I think we could definitely see a Dark Tower-esque "reset" coming in future expansions, where we travel back to the beginning to replay the events of the Collapse." That was my main post, but one redditors reply prompted an even longer response from me: "I like a lot of the things you point out as a fan of the Dark Tower series, but you're wrong on it being a Vex corruption on the heart. If I remember correctly from the grimoire and hints in the story's dialogue, it's heavily implied that it's actually a fragment of The Darkness in physical form. Because the Vex are worshipping it, it was stated (I forget where) that it has to be something truly immense for a nearly omnipotent race of machines to bow down to. Just my two cents." My reply: "That starts to venture into the whole Darkness/Traveler/Vex can of worms, which is a tough nut to unpack considering how intertwined they all are. There are some theories which state the Traveler created the Vex to tend the Black Garden (heavily implied as the Gardeners in one of grimoire cards) but were then corrupted by the Darkness. It has also been heavily implied that the Darkness is just an inner corruption of Light (Pujari Position on the Darkness grimoire card; also in the Black Garden grimoire card written by Pujari, he is told that the he is a dead thing made by a dead power in the shape of the dead.) This theory is basically an extension/inversion/variation on that, in that the Darkness and Vex are simultaneously always corrupting each other.... so whatever physical form once existed at the heart of the black garden, (be it the embodiment of the Light, the Traveler, etc.) is simultaneously the corrupter and the corruptee. Now, compare this to the Dark Tower lore about Gan and the Prim and you can see some more striking similarities. The Prim is basically primordial chaos from which various godlike figures emerged, including Gan who spun the physical universe from his navel and is the spirit of the Dark Tower. If the Darkness represents primordial chaos, couldn't the Traveler be a godlike figure that emerged from it? And if so, couldn't the Light which once powered its core now be dead, and therefore corrupted? My point is that what you're presenting about the physical fragment of the Darkness does not necessarily mean that it hasn't been corrupted by the Vex, or them by it. What's fascinating about the Darkness grimoire card, is that I think a case can be made that ALL theories presented may be correct. Pujari: Corruption Saint 14: alien armada rejected by Traveler for their sins (probably Hive) Ulan-Tan: universal symmetry to Traveler in cosmic balance Monist: Post-singularity technological intelligence (Vex) Acataleptic: the unknowable and imperceptible (somewhat Lovecraftian) Binary Star cult: Traveler itself triggered the Collapse, sacrificing the Solar System to the Darkness. The fascinating thing here is that in all cases, the Darkness represents an immense power, dwarfing everything it contacts. The Traveler is really only given equal footing in the Ulan-Tan thesis, and even then it's implied that the Traveler's goodness makes it weaker and therefore beneath the Darkness, otherwise it wouldn't had to have sacrificed itself. So if the Darkness is primordial chaos, entropy in action, and the Traveler is but an aspect of it, then the Black Garden is the place where existence coalesces into being from the chaos. The writhing storm at the heart is where the state of UNBEING becomes BEING, but if the balance were ever disturbed, say for instance by a race of time traveling robots, then UNBEING begins to conquer over the BEING, and everything comes unwound. This is exactly what happens when the Crimson King uses Breakers to snap the Beams supporting the tower; a Collapse is triggered (the world moves on) and reality itself begins to come apart at the seams. He seeks to dominate existence by conquering its heart, the Tower, and eventually traps himself inside it, or rather just outside it's structure on a balcony. I see this as a direct parallel to the Vex and their status within the Black Garden; while they may have succeeded in corrupting and/or controlling the nexus of reality, they also worship its power and are still subservient to its dark will. This is the sort of incestuous corrupter/corruptee dynamic I alluded to above, of course mixed in with time travel removing any linear sense of causality." So that's it; sorry for the giant wall of text...I know this is forum is usually reserved for different things, but one of the best things I've discovered about this game is the amazing community that supports it, and I consider all you Reapers to be MY community.