Asher Mir

"Ah, Assistant! You are just in time to join my dimensional anomaly research crew!"

- Asher Mir

Asher Mir was a grumpy Awoken Warlock of the Last City, and a researcher with the Gensym Scribes who specialized in the Vex. During the Red War Asher established a research outpost on Io to study the Vex and discover a cure to the Vex virus that was slowly transforming his body. In addition, he aided his friend Eris Morn in studying the Hive, Taken, and the Darkness.

Encounter with the Genesis Mind
"Be safe, Gensym Scribe. A storm is coming. And I will not be at your side when it finds its way to our shores."

- Eris Morn

While researching the Vex, Asher hired two Hunters to accompany him on a mission. They worked well together and continued to function as a fireteam. They eventually attempted to explore the Pyramidion on Io, where they encountered a constantly changing landscape of impossible geometries. Facing stiff resistance, Asher and his team were resurrected by their Ghosts dozens of times before they discovered Brakion, Genesis Mind by the shores of a radiolarian lake in its depths. The Vex Mind experimented on the Guardians by attempting to inject radiolaria and graft Vex technology onto them. They attempted to flee, but as they fought he witnessed a Fanatic explode and rip his Exo Hunter companion in half. Horrified, he frantically reloaded his Fusion Rifle and looked around for his other friend, who then saved Asher by using her Nightstalker bow to destroy ten Vex approaching him. However, four Vex then appeared behind her, and Asher could not bear to watch as they killed her as well. As he searched for a way to escape, a tentacle grabbed his Ghost and he felt a blinding pain in his right arm before passing out. Somehow, Asher, his fireteam and his Ghost survived and escaped the Vex, with Asher's right arm replaced by a Vex's and his Ghost heavily augmented, now possessing an unblinking red eye like a Goblin's.

Asher made it back to the Last City but fell into a coma from his wounds, with the Vex arm attempting to infect more of his body. Shortly before his friend Eris Morn disappeared from the City, she visited Asher in the Tower's medical bay and explained that she was leaving to find a way to defeat the Hive outside of the safety of the City. Eris wished him well, sadly noting that she would not be by his side during the City's oncoming struggles.

The Red War
Asher later woke up from his coma, and worked closely with Guardian forces during the Red War, conducting research into the Vex and Taken at the same time from his outpost on Io.

Stopping the Taken
"Completely suicidal! The Vex infect whatever they touch. Their self-replication subroutines would consume the Taken from the inside out. Perhaps they simply don't realize the dangers."

- Asher

With the Red War won, Asher and Ikora turned to confronting the other threats that remained on Io. They monitored the Guardian's investigation of reports that the Taken were capturing Vex, and Asher dismissed Ikora's theory that they were attempting to take them, arguing that without a King like Oryx to guide them the Taken had no power to do that. He quickly changed his mind after the Guardian fought Ir Arok, Tongue of Quria, which escaped into a Cabal warbase. Asher informed the others that he could feel something happening to the Vex through his arm, describing it as a presence that wished to rip his essence out of his body, and implored them to stop the Taken quickly. When the Guardian discovered the Vex in Taken prisons, Asher joked that perhaps the Taken had invented law and order, but quickly became serious when the cells converted the Vex into Taken. Asher believed this to be suicidal, as the Vex infected whatever they came in contact with and that their self-replication protocols would consume the Taken. He wondered if the Taken simply did not realize the dangers of Taking the Vex, but Ikora believed they were building an army.

Meeting with the Guardian, Asher explained to them that he believed the Taken were going to use the Pyramidion to Take the entire Vex Collective at once using the warp gates within. He noted that he had lost his arm within the Pyramidion, and feared what they would lose if they followed the Taken inside. The Guardian departed for the Pyramidion, which the Taken had already begun infiltrating, and Ikora worried about the devastation that the Taken would unleash should Ir Arok Take the entire collective. Asher responded that losing the Guardian would to the Pyramidion would also be a blow to the Last City and implored his assistant not to venture further into the Pyramidion than required before also asking them not to die. Soon, Asher and Ikora were contacted by the Guardian and learned that Ir Arok was slain, but that some Taken had entered the Pyramidion through a warp gate before it was destroyed. Ikora thanked the Guardian, but Asher stated that he had something that he wished to tell them only in person. When the Guardian arrived at his camp, Asher admitted that when they first met, he assumed the Guardian was useless and that they doubtlessly understood why. However, he admitted to being wrong, and noted that they had survived entering the Pyramidion, although not to the lake where he and his fireteam ventured. Disconcerted, Asher noted the Vex never failed to leave a mark, a fact he was sure the Taken would learn in time, and informed the Guardian that they warranted his further observation.

Vengeance on the Genesis Mind
At some point during or after the Red War, the Vanguard organized a Strike mission to infiltrate the Pyramidion and destroy Brakion, Genesis Mind. Asher was a correspondent on this mission, and expressed great enthusiasm at the opportunity to see his Vex nemesis defeated.

Deteriorating Condition
"Your Hidden know NOTHING about this illness! The Queen's witches, if they still live, know NOTHING about this illness. No one can stop it! I am beginning to believe there is no sense in even trying!"

- Asher arguing with Ikora about seeking aid for his condition

Despite the Vanguard's victories on Io and gaining vengeance against the Genesis Mind, Asher was still no closer to finding a cure to his condition. One day while examining the spreading infection in a mirror within his dwelling on Io, he worried what would happen when it reached his lungs and noted that coughing was already becoming painful. He was startled when Ikora arrived and suggested he go to the Reef. Angry at the unexpected intrusion and that someone had seen how bad his condition was, Asher quickly put on a shirt and berated her for not announcing her visit ahead of time. Ikora ignored his outburst and noted that Tyra Karn believed that Ives and the Reef Cryptarchs could assist Asher. He dismissed this idea, writing off the Cryptarchs as focusing on theory, and adamantly declared that only the Vex held the answer. She then suggested that he should have visited Osiris with her then, but he also dismissed the former Vanguard Commander as a useless and self-obsessed wretch. Ikora remained silent, and Asher realized she was implying the same description applied to him. Annoyed, he conceded her point but refused to acknowledge it any further. When she then tried to suggest that her Hidden believed the Techeuns could also have answers, Asher snapped and yelled that neither group knew anything about his condition and despaired that no one could stop it and he was coming to believe there was no point trying.

A year after the Red War, Cayde-6 was murdered by Prince Uldren Sov of the Reef while on a mission to the Prison of Elders with the Young Wolf. Asher heard of his death, and when the Young Wolf next visited him, Asher noted that his fireteam's expedition into the Pyramidion had been motivated by greed and self-interest and had exacted a heavy and continuing price. Asher suggested that Cayde's pride had led him into paying a similar price within the Prison of Elders, and cautioned the Young Wolf about letting their desire for vengeance making them pay another price of their own.

The Arrival
"If something steps out of that ship and descends down the pulsing electric corridors of the Pyramidion, through the infinite swirling Cantor dust of its interior... they will find me in its heart. On the shores of my radiolarian lake. And I will be ready for them."

- Asher, refusing to cede the Pyramidion to the Darkness

Days after the destruction of the Almighty at the hands of Rasputin, Asher bore witness to a Pyramid entering Io's atmosphere, holding position above the Cradle at the foot of Echo Mesa. His first reaction was to build a makeshift railgun and fire it at the Pyramid, which he expected to result in the projectile being deflected by a shield, or, in the best case, cause almost negligible damage to the Pyramid. Instead, the projectile ceased to exist, intriguing Asher and goading him into experimenting with the defensive mechanism by firing another projectile detectable via radiation and a radio signal. After launching a projectile equipped as a relay station after it, he discovered that the projectiles still physically existed, but were otherwise invisible. This left him with the question of what the Pyramid was doing to the projectiles, and why.

Asher was later visited by the Young Wolf to discuss what the Gensym Scribe could contribute to the Vanguard's defense of the solar system. Upon seeing his assistant, Asher informed them that he had noticed their enemies on Io were responding oddly to the presence of the Pyramid. He ordered them hunt down their foes and record their findings. He then glanced over at the Pyramid hanging above the Cradle and noted that time was obviously of the essence in this task. When the Young Wolf returned with the data, Asher quickly analyzed it in his terminal. He observed from the data that the interference from both the Taken and Pyramid, combined with Savathûn, the Witch-Queen's recent attempt to assault the Pyramidion through the Festering Core, indicated that something was studying the Vex closely. Looking once more towards the Pyramid, Asher deduced that a "chess game" between two powers was being played and that something did not want the Vanguard to know who won. He ordered the Young Wolf to continue their patrols on Io and that if he needed further assistance and had time to mentor them further he would send for them.

While working to continue his studies, Asher regularly hiked through dangerous Taken infested territories into the Cradle to provide supplies for Eris Morn, who had camped at its center next to the Tree of Silver Wings. During one of his visits, he listened as Eris described the messages she was receiving from the Darkness and how she experienced a secret thrill in tangling with and seeking to uncover the secrets of the Darkness. Asher reflected that he knew that thrill well from his encounters with the Vex and settled into the camp to spend time with his old friend. After some time he brought out a bottle of alcohol and two glasses as he prepared to leave and asked if Eris had everything taken care of, suspecting that his final death might soon be approaching. Eris, intent on the swirling vortex of Light beneath the Tree, stated that she did. Realizing that she did not understand his meaning, Asher rephrased his question, and told her that he needed to know if things would be taken care of. Understanding at last, Eris turned to him and after a brief consideration reassured him that she would take care of everything to the best of her ability. Satisfied with her answer, Asher began the long trek back to his own camp to continue his study of the Pyramids and the Vex.

Commander Zavala contacted Asher a few weeks later to order him back to the City, but he insisted that the data he was gathering was too important to abandon, even if it cost him his life. When the Young Wolf returned to reiterate Zavala's wishes in person, he dismissed the message without a second thought. Instead, he tasked the Young Wolf with helping him to finish his data gathering, by investigating and collecting samples from unusual Taken activity, as well as by searching the Pyramidion for evidence that it is being scanned in order to confirm his theory that something was studying the Vex. When they returned, Asher looked over the data gathered, and concluded that the Darkness must be the entity studying the Vex, and that it would attempt to discern the secrets of the Vex. He declared that he would prepare to fight any agent of the Darkness seeking to claim the Pyramidion at the shores of the radiolarian lake where he lost his arm.

When the Young Wolf left Io for the last time, Asher realized that he never truly expressed his high opinion of some of their work. He contemplated leaving a letter, but believed it would have been relegated to a backlog of tasks he would never be able to complete. Asher entered the Pyramidion, destroying any Vex security in his way. As he continued through the corridors of the Pyramidion, he found that it seemingly began to welcome him, with security laser grids bending to avoid touching him and gravitational anomalies leaving him unaffected by shifting ground under his feet, while the Vex simply observed. Asher found himself next to a pit under the radiolarian lake hidden in unusual geometry. He reached up with both his arms, and pulled the lake down to himself.

It is unknown if Asher survived the ordeal. However, following Io's disappearance, both he and Sloane were declared MIA by Zavala.

Personality and Traits
"Asher can't figure out where you are. If he drops out, it's because he's thrown a tantrum and broken his microphone." "I heard that, you wretch! "Mmm. He feels safe saying such things because he is on Io and I am not."

- Ikora and Asher.

Asher Mir's personality is prickly, as Ikora Rey was noted to have been exasperated with him, while Eris Morn regards him as a kindred spirit and a friend. They related to each other on being changed by alien enemies. He tried to help her with her research on Nokris, but unfortunately found nothing. He is a very whimsical, narcissistic and eccentric individual, not particularly caring for the safety of the subjects that he sends out for research duties. He strongly values evidence and careful planning and has little regard for people who act impulsively or relying on faith. He has particular disdain for Titans, thanks to their "punch first, study later" habits. Though Asher prefers to remain in solitude with his research, he does allow some people to "assist" him and when he is forced to interact with people, he prefers the company of fellow Warlocks. Ghost even wonders how his original fireteam was able to work well with him, given his behavior. However, it is worth noting that since his own mission into the Pyramidion, Asher has not spoken to his old Fireteam.

While his experiences with the Vex have Asher fixated on the alien machines, he is driven by a sense of revenge and scientific understanding, not out of a dangerous obsession to learn the Vex's secrets. As such, while unnerving, his studies on the Vex aren't as dangerous as Osiris' obsessions with the Vex or even Toland, whose morbid fascination with the Hive led to his exile. His one true obsession may simply be science itself.

At times, Asher tends to call the Guardian his "assistant" and tends to give them dangerous missions to aid his studies on the Vex and Taken, not particularly caring for their safety and even when they succeed and aid in his research, he doesn't even show gratitude. Even the Guardian's Ghost finds Asher infuriating at times but can't deny his expertise in science. Despite his disrespect for the Guardian, their efforts and success throughout the Red War granted them a morsel of respect from Asher. He even grows slightly concerned for their safety during their missions involving The Pyramidion, not wanting them to go through what he did, but aids them in destroying Brakion, Genesis Mind. Following Cayde-6's death at the hands of Uldren Sov, Asher notes that he paid a price for his curiosity and self-interest in the Pyramidion, and warns that the Guardian's quest for vengeance will be met with an equal and opposite reaction, a sentiment echoed by Zavala later on. Despite this sentiment, Asher possessed no love for Uldren, actually expressing gratitude that the disgraced Awoken prince was dead.

Asher has an overall bad habit of explaining situations and certain topics using advanced scientific definitions, leaving many confused and forcing him to simplify his answers, annoying him considerably. Additionally, when faced with a conundrum he can't fathom or figure out, Asher tends to act childishly, throwing temper tantrums or refuses to acknowledge that he can't figure it out, as noted by Ikora. Despite this, Asher will, albeit grudgingly, admit when his analyses are incorrect.

His surliness may be in part be driven by a deep-seated anxiety regarding his gradual assimilation by the Vex, and his frustration that all his efforts to halt it have failed. Similarly, Asher possesses a great deal of guilt for what happened to his Ghost during his original mission in the Pyramidion. He attempted to cure her condition but failed and thought about ending his Ghost to spare her from the Vex torment, though he couldn't bring himself to do it. Asher therefore considers himself a coward for that.

Quotes

 * "If only I had more time..."
 * "...Ever-spiraling complexity... Yes, their simulations are potentially limitless!"
 * " I have not been reborn since the accident. In truth, I do not know what would happen. Is my Ghost even capable of such a thing anymore?"
 * "These calculations would astonish even the most hardened of Cryptarchs!"
 * "Every iteration of the Collective nets me more data; I need more information!"
 * "Perhaps if I just... no! I will NOT suffer ambiguity with this work!"
 * "I see your point Sloane. But I fail to see is how resistance problems on Titan affect me out here."
 * "What could you possibly want?"
 * "Dead Orbit's philosophy is the one true way; I'm convinced now. Our future lies beyond these stars... somewhere."
 * "What? NO! Cayde, there is nothing you could teach me about the Vex that I would want to know!"
 * "Dead Orbit had the right of it. System's doomed."
 * "Yes, Arach. I'm willing to pass along my data if you think it will get us out of this graveyard of a system."
 * "Are we having a moment?"
 * "Ahem?"
 * "I'm so close... if I can just--Gah!"
 * "If my calculations are correct- QUIET YOU!"
 * "You're not hearing me, Sloane! There's nothing to suggest--I DON'T KNOW! Get somebody to explain the big words to you!"
 * "It doesn't hurt; not really. My nerve endings have been transformed where they meet with the biocircuitry. None of that matters when I dream though."
 * "You're imagining it! You cannot feel the nanomachines in your tendons! It's just your mind playing tricks on you!"
 * "If you are staring at my arm, leave... NOW!"
 * "I am not a museum specimen!"
 * "Speak or move on!"
 * "This is why I work alone."
 * "Ugh, so once again I must endure the TORTURE of 'collaborative science'.. ugh."
 * "Did Cayde ask you to bother me?"
 * "I am annoyed, and I am armed."
 * "It's hard to calculate with you just STANDING there!"
 * "Go swiftly, Hunter."
 * "Experiment 922: Planning: Radiolarian fluid and exposure to high heat."
 * "Are you seriously telling me that you have access to a Golden Age AI... and you're letting it just SIT THERE!? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!?"
 * "There's no pit in the Pyramidion!"
 * "Spare me your pity, Guardian. I stand before you of sound mind and filled with intellectual fury. What is there to pity?"
 * "I have considered ending my Ghost. None of my research indicates a way to extricate the Vex technology from its shell. This is how I know I'm a coward; because I cannot bring myself to..."
 * "Despite how it may seem, I regret what happened to my Ghost. I chose to enter the Pyramidion. He just... had my back."
 * "Warlock, don't let them see you blink."
 * "I will spare you the torture of vague and repetitive praise. It does terrible things to the mind... but uh... thank you."
 * "As much as it pains me to say it, I predicted you'd succeed. Take my thanks and never speak of it again."
 * "Cause Pandemonium among the Cabal? Detonated vehicles? Pulverize a Commander?"
 * "From the unbearable racket! MY HEAD!"
 * "That horrible interference again. I trust you know what to do."
 * "That is the difference between adequate and proficient."
 * "My condition has spread to my lungs. I fear my heart is next."
 * "Hold to the light."
 * "Use your studies well, Warlock."
 * "It is remarkable how a ticking clock can focus your vision. Redefine what is and is not important."
 * "Speak, assistant."
 * "I know what I'm still doing out here. But you Sloane? What are you still doing on Titan? On some sort of secret mission are you?"
 * "It's remarkable how a ticking clock can focus your vision. Redefine what is and is not important."
 * "So I outlived another one eh? Wouldn't have thought it."
 * "I uh... really should show my appreciation to Ikora more often. She has been very supportive since the incident. Moreover given my.. disposition."
 * "Juicybox, hn."
 * "Lets be quick!"
 * "sigh, I miss Eris."
 * "I don't see how that's relevant!"
 * "Experiment 1008: Radiolarian fluid and exposure to EVEN HIGHER HEAT! TAKE THAT YOU MISERABLE GOOP!"
 * "DON'T DIE!"
 * "Yes, we are done."
 * "What are you into now?"
 * "Guardian!"
 * "That will have to do."
 * "The price is right. I suppose."
 * "The purchase will suffice. I hope."
 * "Your lackluster attitude reminds me of.. eugh, nevermind. I can concentrate again."
 * "Science waits for no one!"
 * "Is there something you need?"
 * "The suspense is killing me. Oh wait! That's the Vex."
 * "PATHETIC OLD FOOL! Can't even solve the Radioloria origin question in order to... quite literally, SAVE YOUR OWN DAMN LIFE!"
 * "Yes?"
 * "DO NOT TEST MY PATIENCE!"
 * "Ahhh... just because I'm Awoken. I have never been to the Reef, Ser fen."
 * "Any word from the Reef? Strictly professional curiosity of course."
 * "Are you satisfied from your quest for vengeance?"
 * "After the accident, my fireteam did all they could to help. But everything they did reminded me of that day. I wonder... I wonder if they survived the attack on the City?"
 * "It strikes me, not for the first time, that Guardians are uniquely ill equipped for grief. We spend much of our formative years thinking we are impervious to it. But... well look at us."
 * "The more I study the Vex the more I believe they are not guided by true purpose. They are just blind entropy, we ascribe them false intent."
 * "The Vex are beautiful. The simplicity of even the basis Goblin, the purposeful design. I still admire them... in a way."
 * "I did not want to come to Io. The crowded nature of Venus, and the Cabal stake in Mars left me with little choice! This was a quiet little moon, until you showed up.
 * "Hope is logical fallacy. Only data leads to concrete solutions."
 * "No Petra, I'm afraid don't have any additional information for you. But I will look over the Warmind's latest analysis."
 * "As if I wasn't horribly behind on my correspondents. I will respond as quickly as I can Serfen."
 * "Unsurprising that the Awoken keep Ahamkara. I've heard far more salacious allegations leveled against them."
 * "Walk away from the Dreaming City. It's a lost cause."
 * "Have you seen anything in the Dreaming city that might help my condition?"
 * "I suspected Mara survived the attack on Saturn. She's far too wily to die to some Hive King."
 * "I hear you've been waxing quixotic. Why do you throw yourself on that curse in the Dreaming City?"
 * "Have you found anything on the Reef that might help my condition?"
 * "Uldren Sov was a conniving wretch. I'm glad he died."

Cayde's Death Quote
 * When I entered the Pyramidion, I was led astray by curiosity and self-interest. I now pay an expeditiously advancing price. Comparable, regrettably, to how Cayde's pride accosted him in the depths of that atrocious prison. As I understand it, retribution has had its claws in you. Bear in mind, assistant, try as you might, there's no circumventing the price.

Story Mission: Sacrilege Quotes
 * All channels. This is a skyshock alert! Someone or something drew the Taken here!
 * Irrelevant! The Taken are sapping the moon's energy. I hypothesize that Io will implode if someone does not intervene!
 * Stop them! Doubtless, those mindless vermin intend to summon every last one of their spectral friends to devour this moon.
 * Then why am I still seeing abnormal neutrino scattering?
 * Ahh! Remedy this mess, you fools!
 *  Don't be so hasty Ikora Rey, we must talk. And as for you, meddling Guardian, I have a few choice things to say to you.
 * Ikora tells me that Commander… Somebody… I-don't-care… has a plan to attack the so-called Almighty. A plan unsupported by any data! However, there are remnants of an old interplanetary defence network here. We shall use it to assess the Almighty's capabilities. Then, we will tell Za-va-la precisely why his plan is wrong! And oh, I will relish that. Meanwhile, I refuse to squander valuable research opportunities. Therefore, you shall be my assistant. Go! All this talk wastes my time.

Story Mission: Fury Quotes
 * Typical Titan idiocy. I'm sure he thought, "Ah, Ghaul has a sun-destroyer? I don't need a plan! I'll simply headbutt it!"
 * Pay them no heed, assistant. You and I can deal with them later.
 * Ha! What a gloriously irritating commitment to safety standards.
 * I find it incredible that those myopic Red Legion ignorami did not realise they were drilling directly into a Warmind Vault.
 * I'm detecting a spike in paracausal energy. Sterile neutrino particles have quintupled.
 * Good! Return to the drill site and get into the Warmind Vault. I am eager to discredit Vuvuzela's plan to attack the Almighty.
 * What? Lift it up, before it collapses the Warmind Vault!
 * This will be rich. I will ask Zavala, "Can you tell me, in zettajoules, the Almighty's expected destructive capacity?". And he will say, "No, Asher. I cannot, because I am a reckless fool!".
 * Poorly. The Almighty is inextricably bound to the harmonic resonance of the sun's magnetic flux tubes.

Gameplay
Asher serves as the vendor and one of the main questgivers for Io. He is situated in The Rupture. Turning in Io tokens, Phaseglass Needles and Phaseglass Spires increases player reputation with Asher Mir and rewards legendary faction gear, shaders and other rewards.

Faction Armor

 * Gensym Knight Armor

Faction Weapons

 * Valakadyn
 * The Rattler
 * Baligant
 * Unspoken Promise
 * Widow's Bite
 * Tarantula
 * Blue Shift
 * Berenger's Memory

Always For Sale

 * Man O' War - upon completion of the Io World Quest.

Trivia

 * Eris Morn calls him a "Gensym Scribe", a rank or even another name. Gensym Lisp is a programming language, with "gensym" short for generate symbol. In this case, Asher's title means he has a new name, speaking to his catatonia from submersion in Vex technology. Alternatively, "gensyn" is a Danish word meaning "reunion".
 * Asher's Vex condition is similar to Kabr's as both could feel the Vex's presence intruding on their bodies (or mind in Kabr's case). Asher knows that unless he can cure his condition, over time he will die.
 * Judging from his quotes, Asher appears to be a supporter of the Dead Orbit Faction, as he finds the Solar System at times to be a lost cause.
 * Asher states that he has considered ending his Ghost, and he hasn't been resurrected since the incident so he doesn't know if his ghost can still revive him. He states he can't feel his arm.
 * There is a small chance that on completion of Flashpoint Io, Asher will drop an Exotic.

List of appearances

 * Destiny: Age of Triumph
 * Destiny 2
 * Curse of Osiris
 * Forsaken
 * Black Armory
 * Joker's Wild
 * Shadowkeep
 * Season of Dawn
 * Season of the Worthy
 * Season of Arrivals
 * Beyond Light