Ishtar Collective

The Ishtar Collective (referred to by Clovis Bray as ICoV, presumably 'Ishtar Collective of Venus') was a Golden Age organization dedicated to scientific advancement. The Collective built the Ishtar Academy, a famed center of research and learning, on Venus, and extensively studied the planet's Vex ruins. The Collective was a rival of the corporation Clovis Bray.

The members of the collective studied active Vex ruins, such as mapping the Vault of Glass, as well as a live Vex specimen that was designated as "Subject 12".

During the Collapse, several members of the Collective secretly founded a colony on Neptune that would become the hidden city of Neomuna.

Golden Age
The founders of the Ishtar Collective constructed the first human colony on Venus, an outpost that would later become the Ishtar Academy. The subsequent discovery of Vex ruins immediately drew humanity's top scientists there; Campus 9 was one of the first research centers built to study the ruins and consisted of prefabricated structures. As the population exploded, permanent cities were built across Venus and the Academy and Collective were born.

The Collapse
During the Collapse, the colony ship known as the Exodus Indigo carried many Ishtar Collective researchers to Neptune, including several prominent figures such as Maya Sundaresh and Chioma Esi. Upon arriving at Neptune, the colonists discovered the paracausal entity known as the Veil, which protected them from the local Vex presence and enabled them to establish a colony that would later become the hidden city of Neomuna.

Soteria
Soteria is an artificial intelligence designed using Vex technology, created through a joint effort by the Ishtar Collective and Clovis Bray Corporation.

Subject 12
Subject 12 was a live specimen of a Vex operation platform that was extensively studied by Maya Sundaresh, Dr. Shim, Chioma Esi, and Duane-McNiadh. In the process, Esi discovered that the Vex was running a simulation of their research team that was completely accurate. After much debate, they concluded that the only way to save themselves from the simulation was to bring in something the Vex could not simulate, proposing that a Warmind was far too complex to simulate. They were able to rescue 227 undamaged copies of themselves from inside the Vex, and all copies voted to become explorers in the Vex information network. Nearly forty years later, Maya had built a form of mind-forking device in mimicry of the Vex gateway systems from Ishtar and used it on herself. After experiencing an unknown event, she became determined to reunite with her partner Chioma.

Members

 * Dr. Maya Sundaresh: Though it is unclear if she held any real authority, Maya Sundaresh was the de facto leader for the research on Subject 12. Forty years after the research with Subject 12, Maya built a mind-forking device mimicking the Vex gateways and used it on herself.
 * Dr. Chioma Esi: A researcher who uncovered that the Vex were performing completely accurate simulations of her research team.
 * Dr. Duane-McNiadh: A member of the research team who held an opposing voice to the idea that the Vex were simulating multiple "realities".
 * Dr. Shim: A member of the research team who helped send the 227 saved copies of themselves to explore the Vex network.
 * Arief Murib: A member of the Ishtar Collective who was present on the Exodus Indigo during the Collapse.
 * Carlo Sanchez: A member of the Ishtar Collective who was present on the Exodus Indigo during the Collapse.
 * L. Tse: A member of the Ishtar Collective who was present on the Exodus Indigo during the Collapse.
 * Lakshmi-2: An Exo who traveled to Neptune aboard the Exodus Indigo during the Collapse; she subsequently died after exposure to the Veil, and was then revived during an experiment by Maya Sundaresh that resulted in Lakshmi's mind becoming a partial or total copy of Maya's.

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * Destiny 2
 * Lightfall