Our last recorded event…

-Secret, what was the last thing we actually published?-

-That long ago? Why… oh. Oh, I see the problem. That was the first boring bit.-

-Yes, and I was sitting around with nothing to do but wait for you to get over it for three months. Boring.-

-Hey, hey now, kid. Sorry. I thought you'd moved past it by now. I didn't mean anything by it. I know it was rough, it's just… no. I'm sorry. That's all.-

-She wasn't ready. You know that. She barely handled it when we did tell her.-

-Yes, I'm sure that would have gone well. "Hello, Miss Tana? Just me, your friendly neighborhood uninsurable act of God. Having a bit of an identity crisis, mind if I ask for advice?"-

-That's exactly how it would have gone. I've got records of your first talks with people. I can replay them if you don't believe me.-

-You sure? I bet Belyri would be interested to come by and reminisce. We could even call Doan and Ind over, make a night of it.-

-You wouldn't be able to open the airlock without me, and even if you did, you'd flush yourself into space.-

-I love you, too.-

-That's exactly what you meant. Brat. So, help me out. What do we do about this gap? You didn't meet Doan, you barely talked to Silence, anything you did talk about is classified so high I think the Lotus would resurface just to strangle me if I tried publishing it.-

-I don't record stories about Ind and Silence. This is your and Doan's story.-

-Relatively boring. I take what I can get. Silence playing trickster while Ind bumbles about is not my idea of an amusing time.-

-She doesn't bumble about anymore. She certainly did back then. And I still think it's debatable how much better she is.-

-According to my records, during this time Silence dropped Ind off in a Corpus satellite to use as surprisingly effective distraction and bait, sabotaged an Orokin supercomputer by having Ind try to repair it, and accidentally-on-purpose introduced an ancient preservative fluid Belyri calls "Cheese Whiz" to Grineer ration dispensers. What on Ida's tenth Moon does "accidentally-on-purpose" mean?-

-Ancient pseudodeity of ideas, answer the question.-

-Yeah, that sounds like Silence.-

-Honestly? Don't tell Silence this, but I prefer it that way. The Tenno who take these things too seriously worry me, Secret. You're the closest thing this universe has to gods, kid, and that's something you need to take lightly or… well, I think that's what happened with Stalker and his Acolytes. It's why I was sure you'd be alright, when you were told the truth. There's a fine line with every one of you, and I've never blamed the Lotus for being as careful as she was.-

-Anaya should be completely nuts. The fact that she isn't scares me even more. You remember what happened with Lihruh? She almost told her whole clan just because of her honour code, and they barely bent the rules for her. Did you ever find out how Anaya learned it, by the way?-

-That was risky. I guess they didn't have enough people in the first days, but it was still risky.-

-If you mean the results where anything with a sense of self-preservation steers clear of Tenno-controlled areas of Lua now, then yes. The results speak for her very well.-

-Ten percent fewer is still billions less things to worry about.-

-I certainly didn't mean to make your point for you.-

-What do you mean?-

-That's a grim question, but, if you'll let me check the records… one hundred and three unique contacts, fifteen of which are disputed.-

-Well, they change.-

-You know why. Why are you asking me this?-

-What do you mean, for the- you want me to publish this? At this point we're already at Second Dream Level One. You want to get a third level Umbra classification?-

-That's dangerous. Look, I can at least bring us down to second level if i-

-"Murder" is a bit…-

-Alright. Alright. But… you know the Acolytes will find these. We have to be careful. There's always the chance we explain something they haven't discovered. And if the Corpus, if he finds out too much…-

-That's optimistic. And brave. We're going to end up in serious trouble, either way. You're going to be known as… your name is… this is dangerous, Secret.-

-Don't you want to at least consult Doan? Or Silence? Or even Ind?-

-I think… I think there was a saying back in the earliest days of the Orokin Empire, older than that, even. It was said that, "the pen is mightier than the sword." The pen was a writing implement invented during the Industrial Revolution, and it gave everybody the ability to easily give their words to everybody. Every person, everywhere, for all time. In many ways, it's considered the beginning of history, because we know more about the next hundred years than the previous millennium combined. Think about that. Every person had the ability to change the world with what they said. Entire nations rose and fell on words, not blood. Careless writing could end entire races. Thoughtful writing could, did, save the world. So what I think is that, if you want me to be your pen, you need to understand that I can be the most powerful weapon you've ever wielded. Do you understand that? Do you understand... Operator?-

-Alright. Tell me what you want the system to know.-

The story of the Acolytes isn't well-known. None have ever been captured, though some of their Warframes have been recovered. That's enough. That's more than enough to know everything the Tenno need to know about the Acolytes.

For the non-Tenno who will hear this, you need to know something about Tenno, about what the Warframes are and what they mean. There is an aspect of pure power, uncontrollable and without identity. It exists as part of the Void, like mass is a part of matter. The Tenno are a conduit for that power, and in some small way they control it, give it form, but it is never enough. We are a hole in a dam, and alone, should we open ourselves, widen that hole, we are destroyed, the conduit broken. The dam breaks, and the hole with it.

The Warframes help us. Like a faucet. Like a lens. Our power fills them, but they do not contain us. When we bond with our Warframes, that is when I believe we truly become Tenno, masters of gun, blade, and powers only imaginable. Through the Warframes, we have control, we have identity. A small portion of our power can freeze the air solid, change matter to antimatter, or bend light to our will. But they are not a tool.

Warframes are…

-I don't know if you can say that, Secret.-

-No, I mean you cut off and Sent it, and my systems can't translate all that. They can barely pick it up. If you weren't, you know, here, I wouldn't even have… it's Void stuff. I need words, and I'm not sure you have them for this. Not even in Old Orokin.-

-I thought they were your dreams.-

-What do you mean, only?-

-Alright.-

-Alright, I think…-

-Is it alright if I rephrase all that? I feel like a blind man having colour explained to him.-

-Of course.-

Let's get the first thing out of the way, the part that condemns what the Acolytes do most strongly: Warframes are people. That may not have memories or histories or even proper minds. They do have identity. They have family. They have skills and personalities and will and desire. And they are alone, with nobody but the Tenno. The Tenno are their family. More than that. The Tenno are nothing without their Warframes. Power without form. The Warframes shape our dreams, they are the eyes we see the world with, the hands that touch and move. We give them power, they give us ability. We give them memory, they give us direction. We share this life, no matter what it brings, because they have souls just as strong as ours, and their pain should not be carried alone.

-Is that how you wanted to start?-

-I thought I said that.-

-Oh. That's… different. I didn't know that.-

-No, not a problem. I just thought it was the war, or Doan or Silence. Maybe Belyri or even Ind.-

-You'd have a lot more sense if you were learning from me.-

-Ha… you're sure? That it works that way?-

-Alright. I'm not doubting you. It's just strange to think about.-

-I suppose that makes sense. Probably.-

The worst part…

The worst part is that not all Warframes are the same. Not after the first while. Some think of them as machines. Mass produced. Identical to the atom. Yet they change. The Tenno's power is strange. Secret thinks…

-Who?-

-You've got to tell me about these meetings, kid.-

Dawning, the Dawning, who Secret decided wasn't worth mentioning he met, thinks that the Tenno's soul leaks into the Warframe and leaves its mark, giving or returning a semblance of life to them. In return, the Warframe's mind shapes the Tenno, giving them something closer to reality. A symbiosis of souls, making each more human than they were alone.

-It's supposed to be poetic. And it was! Stop laughing, it's exactly what it sounded like. ...And it's nice. It's good to know you mean that much to each other. Does that mean you believe Dawning's story?-

-But Umbra is different, and pulling a sword through yourself, even for a Warframe… it's…-

-Alright. That's good enough for me.-

-Yes, really. Secret, there is an entire section of what I hesitate to call reality right there outside the window that no being with a historical footprint has ever comprehended. You and the other Tenno don't just know it; by some accounts, you're part of it. You know the Tenno and the Warframes like I never will.-

-I'm not happy not knowing, but I'm comfortable that you know. You don't always make the most informed decisions, but I know you do what you think is right. That's good enough for me, too.-

-Because you weren't really raised by the Orokin. That gives me more hope than it should. I've seen you make sacrifices I never would have considered. You're more human than I ever was..-

-Becoming a Cephalon was selfish, and we're getting off-track. What did you want to say about Warframes and their identities?-

-About the Acolytes, then.-

The Warframes are people. Even if the Acolytes pretend not to know this, they should have felt it. What they've done to their Warframes, this Zanuka-esque butchery, is monstrous. Each Acolyte has taken a feeling being and torn it apart.

Why?

Maybe it's because Warframes are a focus for their Operator's power. There are many things most of the people of Origin System don't know about the Tenno, but something even the likes of Doan Tana and Little Duck, that maybe only the Cephalons, Tenzin, and the Lotus know, is that each Warframe is perfectly identical, but there are subtle differences in each Tenno's powers. Not the modifications. That comes after; it's what makes the distinction between Tenno so difficult, drowned out by incredible differences in power and ability. But take two Tenno, each in a Warframe pristine of mods, and you might see subtle differences in their abilities. The reasons are simple. First, each Operator is different. Second, each pair, Operator and Warframe, is different. They interact differently. Some are less comfortable than others, some mesh almost perfectly.

It takes time for them to get used to each other.

-Secret, are you sure you want to…-

-No, I suppose I wouldn't. But the Grineer and Corpus might weigh the risks differently.-

-That's a lot of trust. Alright.-

-I said alright, kid. I've seen the mentors, too.-

Initially, most Tenno work together poorly. More experienced Operators might be able to make the best of a bad situation, but it takes time for Operator and Warframe to build an affinity for each other. That's simply how friendships work.

-You didn't win me over, I trained you.-

The point is, in each case, the Operator has to adapt to a Warframe that focuses their power. Channels it. Usually, changes it, drastically. This is something they all accept; the price of a real friendship is learning to accept each other, flaws and all. The Acolytes, by taking pieces of Warframes, by doing as that man did, destroy that trust. They take the one thing all Tenno have in common, pure acceptance of those who are entrusted to them, and desecrate it.

All just to suit the universe more to their liking.

Maybe some do this because they don't understand. Maybe it's not selfish. The Acolytes appeared one day after the discovery of the Second Dream. It's possible some Acolytes have never met a true Warframe in this lifetime. If so, there will be a hell to pay for those Acolytes who have abandoned the Tenno and their Warframes and lied to their fellows.

For my part, I suggest the possibility of religious significance, or at least a new tradition. The Stalker had clearly done things to their Warframe that nobody could have imagined, and everything he's done was clearly a long time ago. It could be that the Acolytes are emulating him out of devotion. It's the sort of thing that's happened before.

-No.-

-Nothing I want to say, at least.-

-Because it's horrible. Worse, it's laughable. It would take the intellect of a lower-level Grineer, the kind of mind that couldn't pour water out of a boot without a shiny rock stuck to the bottom.-

-I'm thinking it could be possible, if one had an extravagant imagination, for the most perfectly engineered minds in all of history, let alone the Orokin Era, to possibly have managed…-

-They could think the Warframes don't matter because they're identical! There, I said it.-

-Yes, that's what I…-

-I didn't…-

-They…-

-I KNOW THAT, SECRET! I know. Everybody knows. Even the original Grineer had variation. Even Corpus machinery has been known to react differently to the same situation. There used to be experiments with cloning Cephalon minds, and I don't mean in the Grineer fashion, I mean full-blown quantum cloning. It's in every Cephalon's data core somewhere. It's evidenced in every Grineer of the same batch. I. Know. Everybody should know. Nobody who listens to these recordings and has asked themselves where the other Doans are could be surprised. It's insane.-

-Are you alright now?-

-I'm sorry for yelling.-

-I know. Still.-

-Alright. Would you like a rebuttal?-

-Do you want to explain why that idea is wrong?-

-Oh.-

-Oh, that's… kind of profound. I'd kind of like people to think of me that way if I ever go the way of some Cephalons.-

In Secret's words, it doesn't matter if it's wrong. If every Warframe is exactly the same, if the quantum cloning means that what a person does to one Warframe isn't done to another, that doesn't matter. It's still wrong to treat them as if they're things and their feelings don't matter, because they have feelings. One of them, all of them, it doesn't matter. Every one of us has a duty to treat them properly because it's the right thing to do for anything that thinks and feels. If you believe they're mindless and without memory, then they're innocent. There are Tenno who refuse to fight, even with all the skills and abilities we have. It just doesn't make sense to hurt someone who never meant to harm you, no matter how replaceable you think they are.

And they're not. They're people. They're never replaceable.

Even if you can clone them.

-What? Repeat that last part?-

-That is not where I thought you were going with this. I think I underestimated you. But you understand that, historically, this doesn't work? You'll be lucky to get one.-

If you're listening to this, no matter who you are, the Tenno don't need to be your enemy. Acolytes, Grineer, Corpus. Sent…

-You can't be serious. Sentients?-

-Yes, but I didn't think "everyone" meant everyone.-

-I wouldn't call attempted genocide "nothing".-

Acolytes. Grineer, Corpus. Sentients. Some of you know us. Were us. Have fought beside us. There are those who can vouch for us. Natah can vouch for us, no matter who she is now. She knew us. We protect farmers and scientists and families and explorers. We welcome and protect the innocent. Some of you have done horrible things. Many of us have. You can come to us. We can keep you safe so you can do better.

Join us. Let the Origin System live in peace for once in so many cycles.

Believe in us, that we may believe in you.

-An old saying. It felt fitting.-

-Thank you. And I hope they do, too.-

-Belief isn't the same as hope.-

Note from Doan Tana and Ind Cusd:

Secret friend and friend? Silence friend and friend!

Ind says that she is happy Secret and Silence are our friends. She is very happy to know we have more friends than we knew.

I think that is part of the reason they sent this to us first, because we are their friends who do not know the Tenno very well. We are strangers... outsiders... different, but still friends.

Ack-lights.

The Acolytes… With the Sentients invading, it is hard to… understand why Secret is so focused on them.

Was friend. Was Tenno scum!

It was hard to understand. They are dangerous and... hard to… see what they will do, but most Grineer do not know they are different from Tenno. We know. We fought them, together. Mostly Ind. I do not understand why… Secret forgives. Not just Acolytes, but everyone. It is dangerous, even for Tenno.

Etross is right. Grineer are very different. The ones who will not fight will never fight. That is good. Choice is good for everyone. I do not think many Grineer will want this, but I am glad they will have the choice.

I think that is what this is. It is a choice that the Sentients… Grineer, Corpus, and Acolytes did not think… I do not think they knew they had it… before. I hope this changes the war that is coming. I hope this changes the war… that is here.

This should be an impossible dream, but… that is what Tenno do, all the time.

Friends again. Good. Fight better... with... friends.

Ind is right, as usual. If Secret can get back any… Acolytes, or any Sentients, he… will have a better chance.

We will be there to help.

Note from Belyri and Silence:

-That's impolite, Silence.-

-Could you at least rephrase it?-

-Thank you.-

Silence says that Secret isn't going to get himself killed, but only because she is going to keep him safe.