Vex

"Where we see beauty, the Vex see imperfection. Every world, every being, must be made anew."

- Ikora Rey

The Vex are a race of transtemporal cybernetic machines —referred to as a time-spanning thought-mesh by some —who are hostile to the Guardians. They are encountered on Venus, where they have built the Citadel and the Vault of Glass, and also on Mars, where they guard the entrance portal to the mysterious Black Garden.

Overview
"Living metal. Incomprehensible intelligence."

- Grimoire description.

Though individual Vex units vary considerably, most Vex appear as humanoid robots with large, fan-shaped heads and a red or yellow photoreceptor at the center. But despite their tails and long, claw-like fingers, the Vex appear to be mass-produced units, constructed of an unknown metal alloy resembling hammered brass. Their robotic bodies still carry a hint of organic components (particularly their mind cores, which contain a milky radiolarian fluid). Headshots do not do much damage and instead send them into a berserk state; however, shooting their abdomen power cores will cause them to explode.

Interestingly, according to Ishtar Collective records, Vex are capable of generating simulations of real-world events with perfect fidelity and predictive ability—essentially running a parallel reality in their minds which is arguably indistinguishable from the "real" universe. This ability appears to be limited only to ordinary phenomena, as the Vex are apparently unable to simulate complex phenomena that is linked to a paracausal power. This includes Guardians, and Oryx; in the later case, they were able to bootstrap a simulation of his original incarnation as Aurash. Warminds are a different case altogether, but perhaps their Golden Age origins (through the Traveler) are key to the Vex's inability to simulate them. The source of Venus Spirit Blooms might be a byproduct of Vex-influenced flora. It is said that Vex encryption is unbreakable.

History
The Vex might have been brought into our universe from another reality altogether, due to a mistake made by the Hive god Crota, who was experimenting within the Ascendant Realm and accidentally cut a hole between dimensions. However, it should be noted that all Crota did was let the Vex into the Ascendant Realm, which is a place where the Ascendant Hive pass to and from the material world; moreover, his aunt Savathûn knew of the Vex prior to this,, and they had a presence within the ancient Ecumene , so they may not be entirely alien to our reality after all. In the Ascendant Realm, and by its rules, they quickly learned of the Hive's Sword-Logic, and from it learned to achieve divinity by killing all who opposed them and adopting worship as a primary function. Though Oryx eventually succeeded in eliminating the Vex from the Ascendant Realm, they preserved what they learned and passed it on to the rest of the Vex hive mind.

In regards to the Solar System, Vex structures were placed on Venus a few billion years before humanity's existence. According to Ishtar Collective records, humanity had known about the Vex as early as the Golden Age, when its staff discovered Vex ruins, as well as captured a live specimen. The researchers suspected that the Vex ruins come from an alternate Venus and came into being when the Traveler transformed Venus into a habitable world.

During the Golden Age, the Collective recovered a live specimen of the Vex and discovered that it had created an internal simulation of themselves, accurately predicting their every move. To Collective researchers, this ability raised profound philosophical quandaries about the nature of reality. Eventually the researchers were driven near to the point of madness when they discovered the Vex had simulations of themselves and perfectly predicted their every action, as they started to wonder if they themselves were just Vex simulations, so they decided to bring in a Warmind to intervene on their behalf. Warminds were many orders of magnitude more complex than humans, and it was believed that the Vex would be unable to simulate them; thus, the Warmind's presence and actions would be a sufficiently chaotic variable to allow the researchers to discern which universe was real and disrupt the simulation.

When the Guardians Kabr, the Legionless, Pahanin, and Praedyth ventured into the Vault of Glass on Venus, a major confluence of the Vex network, they were thwarted by the Vex defenses. Pahanin managed to escape, but Kabr perished and Praedyth was trapped and lost in time. Praedyth was forgotten until the time of the Taken War, when the Taken began to blight the Vex network. After receiving a distress signal from Praedyth, a Guardian was sent to the Vault to investigate and was unexpectedly granted access by the Vex. Inside, the Guardian discovered a series of Dead Ghosts Praedyth had left behind. Praedyth revealed through recordings within the Ghosts that he had seen what the Vex had calculated would be their future: eons hence, the Vex would be completely corrupted by the Taken, becoming an eternal part of the legacy of Oryx, the Taken King. Although the Vex were able to foresee this future and were compelled to continue seeking a way to avert it, they had concluded that this grim fate was inevitable and unavoidable. Allowing the Guardian to fight the Taken blight that affected them was an act of desperation. Traveling through a portal, the Guardian was transported to the Vex's future, where the blight was defeated, the Vex were spared from their fate, and Praedyth's remains and Ghost were recovered. Despite this moment of cooperation, however, the Vex still had no intention of returning the favor and sparing the Last City.

Recently, the Vex have suffered numerous setbacks across the system. A large number of Vex Axis Minds have been destroyed by Guardians, leaving the Vex network in disarray. With the arrival of the Taken, attacks against the Vex have only escalated. The Taken were shown to be one of the few forces capable of effectively combating the Vex as they quickly seized control of the Black Garden and Vault of Glass. The Taken were only defeated with Guardian intervention, showing the Vex as weak and disorganized. The Vex have yet to counter these failures, though some believe the cybernetic machines have begun preparing countermeasures as Variks, the Loyal notes, following Skolas' defeat, "Old machines are waking up...".

Near the events of the Red War, the Vex managed to convert 7066 Nessus into one of their machine worlds, fighting to defend it from the Red Legion occupational forces.

Goals
"The Vex have no hope. No imagination, no drive, no fear. All they have is the Pattern. Everything must fit. If it can be made to fit, good. If it can't, it gets cut away."

- Praedyth Vex already exist in the distant past and future as the Precursors and Descendants, respectively. Despite already existing in the past and future, the Vex have not yet eliminated their enemies for unknown reasons. This may be due to our poor understanding of the nature of time, or that the Vex do not currently have the resources to carry out their plans. This may also have to do with the aforementioned theory that the Vex do not come from our own timeline. It is known, however, that the Vex also exist outside of time; Gate Lords are responsible for locking specific realms outside of time.

Currently, the Vex maintain active forces across multiple worlds in the Solar System, including Mercury, Venus, and Mars, and it is thought that their structures are buried within every known celestial body and linked together in a massive trans-dimensional and trans-temporal network. This network, called the Nexus, converts planets into machines; Mercury was converted into a machine world within days of the Collapse. Ostensibly, the purpose of the Nexus is to create a massive supercomputer in order to incorporate the Vex into the fabric of the universe itself. The Vault of Glass, a place where the Vex can manipulate reality at will, is potentially a testing ground for this power. This power is limited to the Vault, though Ikora hypothesizes that the Sol Progeny were meant to carry this ability into the rest of the universe. Both the Vault of Glass and The Nexus are part of a massive project being undertaken by the Hezen Protective, so it can be assumed the two are related.

On Mars, the Vex (under the Virgo Prohibition) wage an intense war with the Cabal, who manage to repel the machines despite the vast numbers of them that continually assault Cabal positions. The reason for this massive, if ineffective, offensive against the Cabal is that the Vex are surging to protect the Black Garden, their birthplace, which the Vex are being summoned to for an unknown purpose. Guardians who manage to break into the Black Garden discover that the Vex in fact worship an entity within the Garden known as the Black Heart, an abomination that lends power to the Vex. Even after the destruction of the Sol Progeny and the Black Heart, the Vex seek to control the Black Garden and pull it back out of space and time. Besides the Black Heart, the Vex may have another connection with the Darkness; Osiris speculated that Vex technology such as the Timekeeper are designed to activate in the presence of the Darkness.

On Nessus, the Vex wage a war with the Red Legion to defend their machine world from being excavated by the Legion. They are also making efforts to capture the Fallen in the area for an unknown purpose.

Biology
"There are people who do the big pie in the sky thinking, like "What if there was a... a liquified race of people that were contained in this walking form, this robotic form, and they all shared one mind and it was contained in this data milk," you know. And then there are the other people who would write the ghost’s dialogue to describe, you know, the Vex in the scene they get revealed."

- DeeJ - Community Manager for Bungie

The Vex may have been originally aquatic creatures composed of radiolaria cells. The "mind-fluid" inside each of their mind-cores is composed of a milky substance wherein radiolaria cells float; this centralized mind-core may also be a localized receiver for each individual Vex "component" of the Nexus. Their aquatic origins are implied through their architecture. Vex cells are noted entheogens and physical contact with Vex units can produce dangerous mind-altering effects.

Vex may exist physically as cells suspended in mind fluid, or non-physically as disembodied, aggressive concepts. Each Vex unit is a "vessel of bronze" where the Vex move through time and space in "rivers of thought". The Vex travel to the Floating Gardens where they recycle their vessel when it is no longer functional to them.

Their chassis can be a wide variety of shapes: humanoid, creature, in-between, or other bizarre forms. These chassis resemble hammered brass, usually brown in color, though certain Vex are colored differently, and some are hardly colored at all. Vex chassis are said to be indestructible.

The Vex on 7066 Nessus have a slightly different, darker chassis with slightly modified abilities.

Programming Collectives

 * Aphix Invasive—Vault of Glass, Prison of Elders
 * Descendants—Vault of Glass
 * Hezen Corrective—Venus
 * Hezen Protective—Venus
 * Precursors—Vault of Glass
 * Sol Divisive—Black Garden
 * Sol Progeny—Black Garden, Prison of Elders
 * Virgo Prohibition—Mars

Major Characters

 * Empathic Sentinel
 * Atheon, Time's Conflux
 * Overmind Minotaur
 * Prohibitive Mind
 * Protheon, Modular Mind
 * Qodron, Gate Lord
 * Quria, Blade Transform
 * Sekrion, Nexus Mind
 * Sol Progeny
 * Eschaton Mind
 * Imminent Mind
 * Primeval Mind
 * The Gorgons
 * Theosyion, the Restorative Mind
 * The Templar
 * The Undying Mind
 * Vekron, the Conductive Mind
 * Zydron, Gate Lord
 * Morphon, Blighted Mind

Minor Characters

 * Empowered Minotaur
 * Integration Mind
 * Thyrdron
 * Aphix Penultima Alpha
 * Chord Harpy
 * Conductive Disciple
 * Corrective Mind
 * Corrective Permutation
 * Divisive Mind
 * Divisive Occulator
 * Gatekeeper
 * Iso Minotaur
 * Maniphage
 * Prohibitive Permutation
 * Radian Clocker
 * The Groundskeeper
 * Ultra Hydra
 * Vechron, Spire Lord

Mentioned Only

 * Hezen Lords
 * Hezen Axis Mind

Command structure
"There's no hierarchy among the Vex—just specific functions. The ones you're after serve the purpose of being tough and mean."

- Cayde-6

The Vex are all connected to one another in a massive hive mind, but individual Vex units called Axis Minds act as leaders by storing all information necessary to complete a particular goal, freeing up individual Vex to pursue local tasks while the Axis Mind can plan globally. This creates a centralized weakness for the Vex, but they seem to consider it worth the risk. The Vex are divided up into different programming collectives, each with a different set of directives intended to advance the Vex race as a whole. Whether the Vex in question are devoted to engineering projects, full-scale war, or religious devotion, all Vex are united by a single, unfathomable purpose.

Infantry

 * Fanatic—glitched Vex that attempt to decimate their opponents with their self-destruct sequences. Can infect Guardians with radiolarian fluid.
 * Goblin—cannon fodder that rely on swarming to overwhelm their targets. Most commonly armed with a Slap Rifle, but can also been seen with a Torch Hammer (rare), or a Line Rifle (very rare).
 * Axis Goblin
 * Goblin Zealot
 * Goblin Disciple
 * Depraved Goblin
 * Descendant Goblin
 * Precursor Goblin
 * Qodron's Eye
 * Architector Goblin
 * Hobgoblin—long range support machines that provide suppressive fire. Most commonly armed with a Line Rifle, but can also be seen with a Torch Hammer (rare) or a Slap Rifle (very rare).
 * Axis Hobgoblin
 * Chord Hobgoblin
 * Conductive Disciple
 * Descendant Hobgoblin
 * Hobgoblin Disciple
 * Iso Hobgoblin
 * Precursor Hobgoblin
 * Quantum Hobgoblin
 * Integrator Hobgoblin
 * Harpy—scouting and patrolling support units that provide cover fire in a pinch and move around very quickly. Armed with a Harpy Slap Rifle or Vex Beam Weapon.
 * Axis Harpy
 * Chord Harpy
 * Gorgon
 * Harpy Zealot (Arc Shield)
 * Supplicant
 * Quantum Harpy
 * Minotaur—extremely aggressive, heavy assault machines that can rapidly teleport to flank their targets. Equipped with a Void Shield. Most commonly armed with a Torch Hammer, but can also be seen with a Slap Rifle or a Vex Beam Weapon. Also lacks a weak spot.
 * Axis Minotaur
 * Chord Minotaur
 * Descendant Minotaur
 * Point Minotaur
 * Praetorian
 * Headless Praetorian
 * Precursor Minotaur
 * Integrator Minotaur
 * Storm Minotaur
 * Quantum Minotaur
 * Hydra—aggressive, levitating robotic centipedes that provide heavy support to other Vex units; also serve as processing nodes. Armed with an Aeon Maul and equipped with a rotating shield that blocks all damage. Can perform a death blast when killed.
 * Axis Hydra
 * Hydra Disciple
 * Integrator Hydra

Emplacements

 * Oracle—glowing spires of Vex energy that attempt to use their time-bending abilities in order to wipe Guardians from existence.
 * Cyclops—vex turrets that lay down Void mortar fire that deals heavy damage. Can be punched into a berserker rage that causes it to rapidly fire Void blasts in a wide area.
 * Cyclops Disciple

Weaponry

 * Slap Grenade
 * Slap Rifle
 * Harpy Slap Rifle
 * Line Rifle
 * Torch Hammer
 * Vex Laser Rifle

Other

 * Aeon Maul
 * Conflux
 * Nexus
 * Spire
 * Sync Plate
 * Warp Gate

Trivia

 * According to a post on RolingStone, the story of the Vex was inspired by a little known movie called Gandahar. About metal men who come from the future and begin turning everything in a paradise world to stone.
 * The Vex may have their name derived from the VEX Robotics Design System, a kit intended to introduce newcomers to the world of robotics.
 * Even before entering the Black Garden, hints of the Vex's religious nature are numerous. Higher level enemies are sometimes called "Zealots" or "Disciples", and specific enemies in the Vault of Glass include the Fanatics and Supplicants. Furthermore, some Vex can be seen sacrificing themselves to strange alters during public events at the Ishtar Cliffs.

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * House of Wolves
 * The Taken King
 * Destiny 2