Purity of Essence=Hyper evolutionary virus

[Roland]

I started a thread on SC2Armory to discuss Purity of Essence, which is super vague and undefined, as the manual, which is one of the only sources of information on it, is unclear. Mid sentence in one of my posts a theory occurred to me though, which I will paraphrase for clarity. Original thread.
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It's worth prefacing all this by noting the Xel'naga may have planned the ability to infest in the Zerg from the start, here's a quote from the SC manual, Through Xel'naga proto-genetic manipulations, the Zerg survived the torrential firestorms of their world and thrived"

That quote from the original SC manual is worth noting, as it prefaces and description of the Zerg, meaning the Xel'naga may have begun with infestation in mind.

To understand my theory you need to look at the specifics of how the original Zerg infested. They were a small fragile parasite which would burrow into the flesh of tougher creatures until it could latch onto the spinal cord. Here it would feed off the nutrients in the spinal fluid, and could control, the parasites would eventually be able to control all the brain functions of the host, allowing them to use their host body to control their environment. The Zerg parasite was extremely selective even before it had a collective mind, infesting only the most advanced species on Zerus, so they had an instinctive ability to recognize what was good beneficial to their whole, as they were already assimilating genetic strains of their hosts at this point. The manual states that after only a few generations their hosts had mutated to forms unrecognizable to the original, so obviously the Zerg were already using the hyper-evolutionary virus. It is one of the key traits common to all Zerg.

Infestation in the present day probably works much like this, Terran certain mutate in any number of ways when infested, probably using something very similar to the original parasite. We also know it can be controlled, as Kerrigan was able to experiment on Terran to change it's effect, and she herself is obviously not the same as a centaur, or the classic infested Terran. Infestation seems to have three parts to it, assimilation-control-evolution. The Zerg absorb the genetic code of anything they infest, gain the ability to control it, and to manipulate it's evolution.

My theory is that the Xel'naga essentially have the ability to infest as well, meaning it is Purity of Essence. Although for their purposes they may only use it to control the evolution of a species, or to control other species to serve them, they would probably avoid really assimilating a species though, as doing so could taint their perfection, considering they can't reproduce though, that probably wouldn't be a problem as the lesser genes they may accidentally absorb would only be visible in biological off-spring. All Zerg don't get wings the moment the first mutalisk was infested, you have to create a new strain to be grown out of larvae.

1) This would very neatly explain why the Protoss, despite reverse engineering much of their technology from the Xel'naga are never hinted at having the ability to manipulate biology like the Xel'naga did, they just got all the physics, and none of the biology. The xel'naga weren't using technology, if my theory is right, they were using their own biology.

2) This could offer insight into Duran's origin, he may have been of a species which was infested by the Xel'naga aeons ago, and when he lost his masters guidance, he continued to try and serve them via hybrids. He did it wrong without their guidance though.

3) Obviously the Zerg changed biology much faster than the Xel'naga did, this can be attributed to how much more delicate the Xel'naga's work is, they're not trying to grow giant wing-claws, they're trying to perfect the physical form of a species. They may have infected every original Protoss with the hyper-evolutionary virus and just tweaked and observed their biology till they thought they could reveal themselves. Keep in mind smashing the genetic code of the Zerg and Protoss is creating abominations, simply super-charging the biology of the Protoss would have been to fast and brutal, what lead to their eventual rejection of the Protoss is that they advanced the biology to fast, even with all the care they took. Obviously, this isn't something you can rush.

4) An obvious issue is that Protoss cannot be infested, thus, the Xel'naga couldn't use infestation to affect their biology. I'm not saying they did, the virus may not be exclusive to infestation, it could theoretically be applied without the need to really infest.

5) The temple on Bhekor Ro could be seen as evidence of this, when it activated many native species disappeared and were replaced overnight by apparently more highly evolved species, reptiles-mammals. If I'm right then it may have been caused by the release of a hyper-evolutionary virus. Obviously it didn't affect the Terran, Zerg, or Protoss, which I don't have an answer for.

In summery, my theory is that the ability to infest is essentially Purity of Essence, as it would explain how the Xel'naga manipulated the biology of other species, without the Protoss apparently having the technology to do so, it would be a very reasonable alternative to the hive-mind theory, and it could offer insight as to Duran's nature.

[Visions of Khas]

To me, the Overmind itself is what embodied the Purity of Essence; the collective consciousness of all Zerg gave rise to this entity, which drove them all. A sort of feedback loop. Nothing could override its directions because each minion was, in a sense, the Overmind. The Minion's will was the Overmind's will, and vice versa.

However, it remans to be seen whether this is the case, and whether the Purity of the Zerg has been damaged with the Overmind's death. Perhaps this structure/system still exists, and the Overmind was merely the voice that echoed through the channels, his now being replaced by Kerrigan's.

The Virus (which should be quantified, like the Gauss gun -- get Kimera, STAT!) was a means of bringing new creatures into the fold. The Zerg are numerous in body but one of mind. That body is unstable, shifting from one form to the next. The Virus simply yields more viable bodies for the mind.

I was about to say that the New Xel'Naga (distinguished from Duran's Hybrids) wouldn't need this Virus, as they would be pure and at the top of the food chain. However, the Virus would have the addeed benefit of completely eliminated war: new organisms would be made into Xel'Naga, who would then be bent to the Will of the Collective. No dissent, no conflict. That is the only reason I'd see the Virus being retained in the next Cycle. Otherwise it would go dormant until the Cycle nears its end.

This last theory I really like, as Tassadar's and Zeratul's warnings would still be relevant even with the Overmind's death, and would carry on in the Xel'Naga: "It would assimilate us into itself... destroying all life..." "It is the key... to the end of all things." Ominous, eh?

[Gradius]

Maybe it's a little more broad. Purity of essence doesn't have to be the Hyper evolutionary virus, it can just be their general ability to infest/assimilate. Some assimilation is done by the original Larvae strains, and some is done by Overlords. Infestation is done by Queens and maybe even Infestors.

[Roland]

To me, the Overmind itself is what embodied the Purity of Essence; the collective consciousness of all Zerg gave rise to this entity, which drove them all. A sort of feedback loop. Nothing could override its directions because each minion was, in a sense, the Overmind. The Minion's will was the Overmind's will, and vice versa.

However, it remans to be seen whether this is the case, and whether the Purity of the Zerg has been damaged with the Overmind's death. Perhaps this structure/system still exists, and the Overmind was merely the voice that echoed through the channels, his now being replaced by Kerrigan's.

The Virus (which should be quantified, like the Gauss gun -- get Kimera, STAT!) was a means of bringing new creatures into the fold. The Zerg are numerous in body but one of mind. That body is unstable, shifting from one form to the next. The Virus simply yields more viable bodies for the mind.

I was about to say that the New Xel'Naga (distinguished from Duran's Hybrids) wouldn't need this Virus, as they would be pure and at the top of the food chain. However, the Virus would have the addeed benefit of completely eliminated war: new organisms would be made into Xel'Naga, who would then be bent to the Will of the Collective. No dissent, no conflict. That is the only reason I'd see the Virus being retained in the next Cycle. Otherwise it would go dormant until the Cycle nears its end.

This last theory I really like, as Tassadar's and Zeratul's warnings would still be relevant even with the Overmind's death, and would carry on in the Xel'Naga: "It would assimilate us into itself... destroying all life..." "It is the key... to the end of all things." Ominous, eh?

If the Overmind embodied Purity of Essence then wouldn't an infested Protoss be a new Xel'naga? That's one of my biggest reasons for distrusting the collective as Purity of Essence. Not to mention that genetically combining Zerg/Protoss to achieve a rigid command structure seems unnecessary.

I also doubt that a new species could be made into Xel'naga, you can't infest a Terran and turn it into a hydralisk can you? I think they'd use the virus just to enhance and control a species natural evolution, not change it into themselves.

@Gradius, Why should the Xel'naga need to infest anything? They're virtually perfect already, I was speaking of using the hyper-evolutionary virus as a method of evolving species with Purity of Form and Essence to further the Cycle. Assimilating seems useless as there is nothing with traits superior to their own. Of course they may be capable of infesting, just having no desire to incorporate it into themselves. That could explain Duran's fanatical devotion. He could actually be infested, just not by the Zerg, by the Xel'naga.

[Visions of Khas]

I think I may be seeing things more from your perspective.

The Virus is the one thing all Zerg have in common, regardless of their connection by means of communal instinct. Even with a disruptor in play, the individual remains undeniably Zerg. Moreover, this Virus manifests the innate strengths of a creature. Of course, this is mediated and directed by the Hive Mind, who determines which traits should be super charged and refined.

wouldn't an infested Protoss be a new Xel'naga?

It's been confirmed that the Protoss cannot be infested, except in certain circumstances. They are protected either by the Khala, or the energies of the Void allow them to resist. Something or other just breaks it all down. I doubt the infested Protoss in that Frontline novel could be considered a viable start for a new breed.

[Gradius]

@Gradius, Why should the Xel'naga need to infest anything?

Isn't that what you're saying though? If the purity of essence is just the hyperevolutionary virus then that means a race with the purity of essence is a race that can be infested/unified?

I have to admit I'm kind of confused by this theory because the purity of essence is supposed to be a trait, not a noun. You might be on to something in that the Zerg control the evolution of species like the Xel'Naga do, but the hyperevolutionary virus is exclusive to Zerg. Xel'Naga protogenetics work over millenia, and the only real similarities are that they "optimize" the target species.

[Roland]

The Sc manual refers to the original Zerg parasite attaching to the spinal cord of of it's hosts, feeding off and controlling it, and then applying the hyper-evolutionary virus to control it's evolution. Point being that infestation and the hyper-evolution virus can possibly be mutually exclusive, you don't have to control anything, or incorporate it into your own gene pool to use it. Doing so could taint the otherwise virtually perfect Xel'naga. I'm saying that the Xel'naga could be using the virus more subtly than the Zerg (they are certainly aware of the risk of failure, which is nonexistant to the Zerg, as they can simply start over if something goes wrong, given that they have absorbed the genetic code of the species they're working on). Like I mentioned above, the temple on Bhekor Ro may have jumped the evolution of native life forward very rapidly, as no one was guiding the technology present. It would also explain why the Protoss, despite having reverse engineered much of their technolgoy from the Xel'naga, appear to be unable to manipulate biology like they did, possibly because the Xel'naga used a biological, not technical method.

Your right that I'm referring to it as a noun instead of a trait, but I don't think that's really an overriding issue, a trait can be a noun, and most traits break down into several nouns.

[Norfindel]

From Wikipedia:

In the manual to StarCraft, the Xel'Naga are described as a race determined to create the perfect lifeform. The Xel'Naga are also stated to have come from another galaxy and to have "seeded and cultivated thousands of various species" in their time.[46] It is this pursuit of purity that led them to the Protoss; the Xel'Naga steered their evolution to achieve high levels of psionic power and a "purity of form". However, after revealing themselves to their seemingly successful experiment, their presence caused the Protoss to devolve into a fearful and tribalistic mindset. Believing their experiment a failure, the Xel'Naga were shunned and eventually attacked by the Protoss while departing Aiur.[47] Believing their efforts to create a perfect form had destroyed the essence of the Protoss, the Xel'Naga consequently started another experiment on the Zerg, pushing for a "purity of essence". The result of their experiments was deemed a success as the Zerg managed to retain their essence throughout their rise from a simple parasite to a space-faring species. But the Zerg, on becoming aware of their existence, attacked the Xel'Naga, infesting and destroying the greater whole of the race.[48]

Now, when did the Xel'Naga deem the Protoss as a failure? When they lost their original psionic link.

But you can think of the Zerg as been all the time linked together, because of the way they work as a race. Mostly because the Xel'Naga themselves put all the collective minds of the entire race together, then that Overmind relayed it's orders to it's minions.

However, the Protoss retain part of their individuality even inside the Khala. The Zerg are completely different.

I don't know how the Xel'Naga are, but they probably share some kind of link. If they are individuals that work for a common good, i wonder if they have commited a huge mistake with the Zerg. I don't see how a Protoss-Zerg merge can result in something that won't destroy the whole universe. They probably aim to mix what they need from every race, and probably the hybrids are just a dna mix, and they will destroy all the universe, as the "ethernal swarm" was probably going to do.

Also, if the link is what the purity of essence is all about, maybe the Protoss can reach both purities at some point of their evolution.

An interesting fact, is that the Zerg, after all this time messing with dna, cannot reach purity of form themselves. Anyone would think that the Zerg are the most likely to develop purity of form.

.

[Roland]

It's worth prefacing all this by noting the Xel'naga may have planned the ability to infest in the Zerg from the start, here's a quote from the SC manual, Through Xel'naga proto-genetic manipulations, the Zerg survived the torrential firestorms of their world and thrived"

That quote from the original SC manual is worth noting, as it prefaces and description of the Zerg, meaning the Xel'naga may have begun with infestation in mind.

To understand my theory you need to look at the specifics of how the original Zerg infested. They were a small fragile parasite which would burrow into the flesh of tougher creatures until it could latch onto the spinal cord. Here it would feed off the nutrients in the spinal fluid, and could control, the parasites would eventually be able to control all the brain functions of the host, allowing them to use their host body to control their environment. The Zerg parasite was extremely selective even before it had a collective mind, infesting only the most advanced species on Zerus, so they had an instinctive ability to recognize what was good beneficial to their whole, as they were already assimilating genetic strains of their hosts at this point. The manual states that after only a few generations their hosts had mutated to forms unrecognizable to the original, so obviously the Zerg were already using the hyper-evolutionary virus. It is one of the key traits common to all Zerg.

Infestation in the present day probably works much like this, Terran certain mutate in any number of ways when infested, probably using something very similar to the original parasite. We also know it can be controlled, as Kerrigan was able to experiment on Terran to change it's effect, and she herself is obviously not the same as a centaur, or the classic infested Terran. Infestation seems to have three parts to it, assimilation-control-evolution. The Zerg absorb the genetic code of anything they infest, gain the ability to control it, and to manipulate it's evolution.

My theory is that the Xel'naga essentially have the ability to infest as well, meaning it is Purity of Essence. Although for their purposes they may only use it to control the evolution of a species, or to control other species to serve them, they would probably avoid really assimilating a species though, as doing so could taint their perfection, considering they can't reproduce though, that probably wouldn't be a problem as the lesser genes they may accidentally absorb would only be visible in biological off-spring. All Zerg don't get wings the moment the first mutalisk was infested, you have to create a new strain to be grown out of larvae.

1) This would very neatly explain why the Protoss, despite reverse engineering much of their technology from the Xel'naga are never hinted at having the ability to manipulate biology like the Xel'naga did, they just got all the physics, and none of the biology. The xel'naga weren't using technology, if my theory is right, they were using their own biology.

2) This could offer insight into Duran's origin, he may have been of a species which was infested by the Xel'naga aeons ago, and when he lost his masters guidance, he continued to try and serve them via hybrids. He did it wrong without their guidance though.

3) Obviously the Zerg changed biology much faster than the Xel'naga did, this can be attributed to how much more delicate the Xel'naga's work is, they're not trying to grow giant wing-claws, they're trying to perfect the physical form of a species. They may have infected every original Protoss with the hyper-evolutionary virus and just tweaked and observed their biology till they thought they could reveal themselves. Keep in mind smashing the genetic code of the Zerg and Protoss is creating abominations, simply super-charging the biology of the Protoss would have been to fast and brutal, what lead to their eventual rejection of the Protoss is that they advanced the biology to fast, even with all the care they took. Obviously, this isn't something you can rush.

4) An obvious issue is that Protoss cannot be infested, thus, the Xel'naga couldn't use infestation to affect their biology. I'm not saying they did, the virus may not be exclusive to infestation, it could theoretically be applied without the need to really infest.

5) The temple on Bhekor Ro could be seen as evidence of this, when it activated many native species disappeared and were replaced overnight by apparently more highly evolved species, reptiles-mammals. If I'm right then it may have been caused by the release of a hyper-evolutionary virus. Obviously it didn't affect the Terran, Zerg, or Protoss, which I don't have an answer for.

In summery, my theory is that the ability to infest is essentially Purity of Essence, as it would explain how the Xel'naga manipulated the biology of other species, without the Protoss apparently having the technology to do so, it would be a very reasonable alternative to the hive-mind theory, and it could offer insight as to Duran's nature.

I edited the original post, I think it's much clear now, by all means read it.

[Gradius]

So why were the Xel'Naga "alarmed" that the Zerg hosts became unrecognizable after a few generations, if that's what they were trying to achieve in the first place?

Now, when did the Xel'Naga deem the Protoss as a failure? When they lost their original psionic link.

Keep in mind that they're not actually a failure from the Xel'Naga's perspective, only the Protoss'.