The Collector's Edition of Destiny: The Taken King contains a copy of Treasure Island, which contains a passage of personal experiences by Cayde-6. After reading this (thank you AnonPig), something monumental has clicked in my mind. The short passage begins with Cayde's musings on wiping and reboots. [quote]See, the reboots, they dont wipe it all away. Not everything. And the new life-plus the Light it does somehting real funny to what's left. Amplifies it, scrambles it, reshuffles the fragments like a dealers riffling a deck of cards, putting the hands we've already won and lost back into play.[/quote] He spends much of this time wondering over flashbacks and memories, like the one below, which give incredible information into not only his background, but into that of the Exos. [quote]Floating in the black. Ive been listening to nothing but my heart knocking for over twelve hours. EMU's low on air. I promise myself this job is the last. Promise myself this time i mean it. I feel the hull vibration through the station's thin metal skin. The airlock pump hisses. Long wait's over. Clovis Bray sends me a bill for the hull damage... Surprise it's not just a bill. There's a job offer tucked in. Seems old Bray's been looking for someone like me. Willing to forgive my debt, and not just for the orbital station. All of it. Suddenly, I aint so mad anymore.[/quote] This section reveals some amazing info. First off, this takes place during the Golden Age, when Clovis Bray is in full swing. Second, Cayde has a heart and a breathing apparatus. Why would a robot need air and a heart? Anyway, Cayde takes the job at Clovis. [quote]Saturn. No, someplace else. Someplace colder. I came here flesh and bone. Gave everything to the ice. Started over Rebooted.[/quote] Cayde went to Saturn as [u]flesh and bone[/u], but he gave everything to the ice. He [u]rebooted[/u]. [b]Cayde was once a human[/b]. This is supported by the Ghost Fragment: Exo card: [quote]Why are Exo minds human? What's the design imperative? I think someone wanted to live forever.[/quote] Exos were once humans. Every single one of them. It's possible that many humans had contingency plans in case of death, where their minds would be uploaded into Exo bodies through a subroutine known as Deep Stone Crypt. This is further supported by a sketch in this book of a face that is half human, half Exo, which a picture next to it of a pure Exo face. But on we march with Cayde. [quote]Every big brain in the system has their sights set on the Academy. We were there for the Ahamkara, parasite reptilian critters that appeared out of thin air. Inexpliciable genome, new protiens. So much potential. And me? I'm there for her, Dr. Maya Sundaresh. She's poured into the research on the brink of another breakthrough, focused on devouring every new data point. Brilliant. Driven. Beautiful.[/quote] So not only did Cayde work at Clovis Bray, but he also worked at the Ishtar Academy with a Dr. Maya Sundaresh. Curiouser and curiouser... [quote]I'm out in plain sight. Sky is torn open and there's nothing and nobody left in this ruined world but me and the boiling shadow all around. Whatever it is hits me before i can level my gun. Doesnt matter. Tendrils of pain crawl over my splayed fingers, my outstreched arms, my shoulders, my neck, my screaming mouth as it consumes. I'm being enveloped. Everything is wrong. Primordial. My systems go sideways all but my sensors. It wants me to withness this, the world. It's world now suffocating in the black poison. I collapse. We all collapse.[/quote] Cayde, in his Exo form, was killed by the Darkness. Personally. He watched the Collapse happening, the Sol System suffocating in the Dark. Let's think on what we know about Cayde now. He was a human, he worked at Clovis Bray and the Ishtar Academy, he knew Maya Sundaresh, he loves gambling and making bets, and he is one of the most lovable sarcastic little shits in the system Hold up. Who else do we know that fits this same exact bill? Oh yeah... [b]Dr. Shim[/b]. Let's look at some info about Dr. Shim. [quote]"Well I'll be a [profane] [profanity]. This is extremely [profane]. That thing has us over a barrel." "I wish someone would simulate you shutting up." "You two are adorable." Shim makes a loud obnoxious awwww at them. "I wish I could go back and change you into someone else." "You would've hated it at Clovis. We both know you're happier here." ...two hundred and twenty-seven Dr. Shims making cynical bets with each other about how long they'll last...[/quote] Dr. Shim and Cayde-6 seem to be two peas in a pod, don't they?