Exos aren't just playable characters in Destiny, they are a crucial part of the Destiny lore. There are many secrets attached to the history and purpose of the Exo machines. During the Golden Age, researchers at Clovis Bray wished to put a human mind in a mechanical body. A scannable in Braytech Futurescape explains, "Exo science managed to encode the Human consciousness into a form that could be digitally processed."
Exos are shrouded with mysteries, but lore from Rasputin, the Brays, and Cayde-6 give a peek into Exo life and history. With the Deep Stone Crypt raid launching with Beyond Light, some information about Exos needs to be highlighted. Here are some things to know about the Exos.
10 The Exos' Real Purpose Is Unclear
A grimoire card called "Ghost Fragment: Exo" gives insight into the purpose of Exo creation. An unnamed Exo claimed that Exos are war machines, but they question if that was the sole purpose. They asked why war machines need to have human emotions and physical structure. This is a valid question since Frames don't have sentience, yet they can learn. Also, Shaxx's Redjacks are Frames equipped with guns.
The lore concluded by them saying that perhaps someone may have wanted to live forever in the body of an Exo, not just create a war machine. Interestingly, Elsie Bray did become an Exo. The actual reason behind Clovis Bray's Exo science research is unknown.
9 Exos Were First Made In Deep Stone Crypt
The Deep Stone Crypt is a subroutine that created the first Exos. Exos dream of a Tower where some walk to it in peace. On the other hand, some face an army of everyone they have met and have to kill everyone to get to the Tower. Some of the people they see are from past reboots too or perhaps from before they became an Exo.
Cayde-6 threatened the creators of the Deep Stone Crypt in his stash. He said, "Guess you better hope I didn't tell anyone about the crypt. Or about the, uh, what was it? Oh yeah… Long Slow Whisper." Deep Stone Crypt may have a sister role in Destiny. In Beyond Light, an entire raid is dedicated to the Deep Stone Crypt story.
8 Reboots Wipe Out Most Memories
Reboots are a way to repair Exos. However, Exo's having human consciousness makes this complicated and an uneasy process for Exos. When an Exo is rebooted, they lose their memory, but not all of it. Cayde-6 explained that a reboot "reshuffles the fragments like a dealer riffling a deck of cards" rather than completely wiping the slate clean.
Also, Cayde-6 once had information wiped from his memory after he witnessed Vex civilization remains when he was at the Ishtar Academy. This hints at the idea that reboots and memory wipes can do more than repairing Exos.
7 The Exos' Numbers Tally How Many Reboots They've Had
The number after names like Ada-1 and Cayde-6 shows how many times that Exo has been rebooted. The first reboot generally happens after the human mind is transferred into the Exo body. This allows the mind to be reborn in a new body without rejection. However, each reboot results in memory loss or fragmentation.
Reboots can be done multiple times to ensure survival, but Clovis Bray scientists estimated 20 times is the maximum. A scannable found at the Tower shows Banshee-44's unsuccessful login into a terminal, since Banshee-41 locked himself out with his failed attempts. The Ghost even says, "All those reboots might have finally gotten to him."
6 The Human Mind Rejects Exo Bodies
Scientists at Clovis Bray considered Dissociative Exomind Rejection a major challenge with Exo development. This phenomenon affected Nascent-Proto Exos, and Exos developed life-threatening symptoms of this cognitive disorder which often led to their deaths.
This happened because the human consciousness was not able to accept its new body. Typically, reboots are the go-to solution for Dissociative Exomind Rejection. Another solution is to put artificial human behaviors in the Exo, such as eating. This would explain why Cayde-6 drank at bars or ate spicy ramen despite not needing it.
5 Cayde-6 Lived Many Lives
Cayde-6 became an Exo to repay his debt to Clovis Bray. Cayde-6 had a lot of knowledge about Clovis Bray, the Deep Stone Crypt, and his past lives. Cayde-6 kept journals and caches which helped him learn about his life before and after becoming Exo. The journals and caches discussed what he knew about Exos.
In the Ace in the Hole mission, he talked about the minds behind the Deep Stone Crypt. In the Treasure Island book, he discussed reboots and his Exo life. In The Man They Called Cayde-6 lore book, he talked about his Guardian life, but also his Exo memories. Cayde-6 has been the biggest source of information about Exos.
4 Cayde-6 Was Possibly Made On Enceladus
In Cayde's Treasure Island book, Cayde-6 hinted at the place where he became an Exo. He describes it as "Saturn. No, someplace else. Someplace colder. This moon has been almost completely converted, a sarcophagus of ice and iron." This may relate to another hint left by Cayde-6 in the Ace in the Hole mission.
Cayde-6's secret message to Petra Venj says that something is on Enceladus. Enceladus happens to be an icy moon of Saturn. The Beyond Light new location is Jupiter's icy moon, Europa. There's a chance that the Deep Stone Crypt raid could send players to Enceladus.
3 Felwinter Is An Exo
Felwinter is known as an Iron Lord and he even has a weapon named after him. During Season of the Worthy, it was revealed that Felwinter was an Exo created by Rasputin to gather data about human behavior. This shows the potential of Exos since Felwinter was part Guardian and Warmind.
According to the SIDDHARTHA GOLEM lore piece, Rasputin ran a protocol called SIDDARTHA GOLEM through Deep Stone Crypt-342, which created Felwinter. Rasputin may still have access to Exo science technology and knowledge about the Deep Stone Crypt's function.
2 Ana Bray's Secret Exo Chassis
The lore book "Duress and Egress," released during the Season of Arrivals, contains a lore piece called Black Box which is about Ana Bray. After the Pyramid ships arrived on Mars, it was no longer safe for her and Rasputin. The Black Box says that an experimental Exo chassis was on board her jumpship along with Rasputin, who is encrypted in an Engram.
The experimental Exo chassis could mean that Ana Bray will try to create an Exo of Rasputin. It's also possible that Rasputin could create a copy of himself like how he created Felwinter.
1 The Brays Mistreated Exos
Cayde-6 generally has a sour tone when referring to Clovis Bray. Also, the Bray family was known for their unethical ways. An example of this is in the Legacy lore where Ana Bray's past during the Golden Age was explored.
At Caelus station near Uranus, Ana bray learns that she was the Warden at the station and chose the Exos who worked there. When she discovered the station, an Exo attempted to kill Ana while yelling, "Die. Warden." Ana Bray and the rest of the Bray family may have mistreated Exos, which may be why the history of Exos is tucked away.