[Compilation+Speculation] The Lore of the Drifters - and their Other possible identity ∰

@Uriel_Paradisi_Anteovnuecci
Very amazing work on the lore work you do. You’ve possibly made much more content than I can digest for a while :stuck_out_tongue:

Though I have a few observations myself, that I don’t know will make sense in the ‘established’ theories. It focuses more on the Drifters in relation to the Triglavians than the other way around. It seems the accepted idea is that the Drifters are not the Enheduanni, who would be the guardians of the Sleepers. But why not?

We know the Drifters and the Sleepers have a special relationship. It seems like we rarely find one without the other. It is assumed because the Drifters and/or “The Other” have some angle to play and exploit the Sleepers.

On the subject of The Other, it is said that he broke the rule of the one body one mind rule, by existing without a body. But what of the Drifters? As you would see multiples of the same Drifter on grid, it seems to me that the Drifters also break this rule, not by being mind without a body, but a single mind and many bodies. Would the Strategos play the role of the one mind, and every other Tyrannos be the body as an extension of his will? (The best reference to such a setup would be the Pain arc in Naruto: Shippuuden, where corpses were gathered and converted to a squad of mindless but deadly elite fighters controlled by the will of the one master)

So are the Drifters evil? Well, they seem to do exactly the same as the autothysian lancers do; cold autonomous work that is efficient, precise and with a resolve of steel. They have no vocal cords, they have no need to be a ‘people’ and no need to actually communicate with each other. They are machines, they exist as literal machines with the need for biological traits instead of the traditional human that became machine. Sleepers have been described to ‘not be aware of their actions’. Could Drifters be the same? Now this piece is going to be a bit far stretched, but bear with me; a section of names and meaning:

The Drifter name is an interesting one. Are their names self chosen or did CONCORD name them? If they are self chosen, all the Drifter and Sleeper related names are very interesting. All the Drifters are called Tyrannos (after the Tyrants I suppose), but the most common Tyrannos you would find is Artemis and Apollo, both prominent characters in Greek mythologi. They are actually twins, representing many things but one represents the sun, the other the moon. Very alpha/omega ish.

When you attack the Autothysian lancer (which by the way means self-sacrifice), one or more Cassandra Tyrannos appears. Cassandra in Greek mythology is a woman blessed with the gift of prophecy by Apollo, but since then cursed by him so noone would believe her. So does this symbolise that the Lancers are quietly and selflessly fulfilling a purpose, and by attacking it, we are not believing their purpose/prophecy? Cassandra was unable to change the course of history despite her divine knowledge of the ominous future, I wonder what secrets Cassandra is preserving.

Enheduanna in ancient Sumerian mythology was a priestess of the sun and moon gods. (Artemis and Apollo were gods of sun and moon).

I’ve read in your works that at some point, Eosian sleeper drones were harvesting Drifters for relics (and possibly on the side of ‘good’). In Greek mythology, Eos is “a Titaness and goddess of the dawn and who rose each morning from her home at the edge of the Oceanus”, quote Wikipedia. And who was Oceanus? A divine being seen by the ancient greeks as a ‘giant flowing river, encompassing the world’. Sounds a bit like ‘The Flow’ doesn’t it?

So it seems a lot of the sun and moon theme is surrounding the Sleepers. Most Drifter related names are positive proud words. Even the Vigilant Tyrannos. Vigilant means they are watching over something or someone. If not the Sleepers, then who? But then there are the exceptions:

Charybdis and Scylla are monsters in Greek mythology, who were terrorizing the Strait of Messina. Apate (Tyrannos) is the personification of deceit. Hypnos Tyrannos. Hypnos, god of sleep, sibling of Apate, and son of Nyx, the mother of darkness. Hypnos was a god that that is said to “be a calm and gentle god, as he helps humans in need and, due to their sleep, owns half of their lives.”, quote Wikipedia.

The Triglavians describe the Abyss as ‘The Flow’, both in literal and spiritual meaning. In the Abyss we find two types of Tyrannos; Karybdis and Scylla.

Speaking of The Flow, the sleepers inside have the prefix of Lucid (Deepwatchers etc). If they are indeed lucid, those sleepers would be aware of what they are doing, and chose to align themselves with the Drifters.

The Drifter symbol is three lines in a row, which shows almost a kind of military discipline, where Triglavians are depicted by a triangle, three lines but united. For both people, the number three bears importance, but why? People theorize whether this ancient race became that other race, but is it possible that several factions broke apart and was reunited, hence the repeating number of 3 in both Drifter and Triglavian symbols?

Okay that was a lot of incoherent rambling. A recap of my points:

  1. The Drifters and Sleepers are closer aligned than it would seem.
  2. The Drifters could be the Enheduanni (They are watchers of something/someone)
    2.1. The Enheduanna (mythos) was merely a high priestess for the divine sun and moon gods.
    2.2 If the Drifters were not the Enheduanni, the Enheduanni could have brought upon the existence of Artemis and Apollo Tyrannos (and the gang) to carry out their own prophecy of protecting the Sleepers for infinity.
  3. The Drifters may see themselves as righteous, almost godlike and virtuous figures, that may believe they are following a prophecy.
  4. The Drifters could simply be One mind (Strategos Tyrannos) controlling many bodies (the whole Tyrannos line)

Thanks for reading. Your lore universe had my head spinning for a while, and simply had to look for clues to their intentions :stuck_out_tongue:

Edit:
My theories partly goes hand in hand with your ‘crackpot theory’:
“The Tyrannos mirror the Tyrants, taking up their legacy”.

That could be their prophecy. Nostalgia is a strong force, yo :smiley:

Edit 2:
I forgot a few extra crackpots!

There are the ‘deities’ of EVE, such as the Serafim for the Amarr, who “came to them during the eclipse”, and left during the eclipse (more sun and moon mentions). A kind of being that was able to do impossible things, and a kind of deity that would also serve the Minmatar faith.

You wrote of the Hikanta Tyrannos, which is guarding vaults with names of ancient fortresses or sentries. The real world equivalent is the Hikanatoi, of the Byzantine Empire, an elite guard situated in or near the capitol of Constantinople.

Last crackpot: While associated with the Serpentis release and so on, the Asklepian implant set was released. It was of course snake themed, as Asclepius was the greek god of medicine and the asclepian rod featured the snake. But Asclepius was the son of Apollo. Could this hint a connection between the Serpentis and the Drifters?

Dramatic exit

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