tenno politics - lets start a dialogue
it’s 12 am. I have thoughts.
do you ever think about the politics around tenno? these are child soldiers, but not everyone knows that. tenno are expected to either be violent monsters or saviors, but thats it. fate of the system is in the hands of them whether they like it or not. either because the lotus forced them to or because thats the expectation from most peaceful civilizations. like how many of these kids didn’t wanna be heroes?
how many tenno, as soon as they remembered they were human beings who were unwillingly given supernatural powers and shoved into a biotech suit, decided to drop their weapons and pursue a more domestic, peaceful life? like not all of us are made of the fabric it takes to be a galactic savior.
then it goes onto whether other tenno see the ‘peaceful’ tenno as cowards or traitors. is it ethical to force a tenno to keep fighting simply because they have the means to?some questions to consider
1. is it right to expect the tenno to keep fighting, even if they themselves never wanted to in the first place?
2. are defect tenno traitors / cowards if they pursue a different lifestyle?3. would any civilization the defects settle in expect the tenno to still behave as their personal heroes? (ex. if a tenno settled as a fisherman on cetus)
4. are the people who know that the tenno were unwilling participants in the old war and warframe project, such as teshin and ordis (who was forced into his role as well), part of the problem?
5. obviously lotus had her own motivations, but now that she’s out of the picture, what’s keeping tenno from forging their own paths?
now that’s not to say that it’s WRONG to be a hero and genuinely wanna save the system. there’s obviously a great need for change in the origin system, and tenno seem to the be only ones who stand a chance. I’m sure there’s many tenno who take the fight very seriously and would want nothing better.
but not every child is made of the same mold. not every child has the same dream.Never really gave it much thought, but with The New War coming, I suppose it’d be a good time for this.
1.
The Tenno children always had purpose: under the Orokin to control the Warframes, later in turn deciding to undermine the Orokin and take charge of their own future, and until recently under the Lotus to stabilise the Origin System.
I wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t want to fight before, being slaves and test subjects of the Orokin, but with their independence after the Collapse I would assume they’re essentially free agents by now: the Lotus offers missions in the Origin System but never forces us to do anything - we could spend all our time working for the Ostrons or Solaris if we wanted.
But after all that the Lotus has done for the Tenno, I feel like there’s a lot of personal emotional investment in her welfare, and watching Ballas whisk her away to become a Sentient warrior again seems like one hell of a motivation to keep fighting.
2.
Defection is a rather strong word, and it depends on what these Tenno are doing or intend to do that apparently classifies them as defectors. If it’s just pursuing a different lifestyle instead of fighting things all the time, I think it’s completely fine.
Of course it would be nice to help out their space mother who wakes them up and clothes them and lays out chores for them to do. Especially now that she’s gone rogue with Ballas, I think most Tenno are grateful for everything she did for them, and they’d want to get to the bottom of this.
But if some Tenno want to spend their time fishing and mining, I feel like they deserve a chance to try that out and not be labeled a defector. Keep this in mind, because I feel like most of these questions have that underlying implication and I disagree with that.
3.
It is difficult to shed the skin that defined you, and for most people the Tenno will always be heroes, past or present regardless. The civilians and non-combatants seem to be extremely friendly and understanding towards the Tenno, as they’ve served the Origin System very well in recent history and are generally a force for good to the local populations.
As far as Cetus goes, the community spirit is strong among the settlers, and I don’t think the Tenno will be put on a particularly large pedestal that would get in the way of any sedentary lifestyle they might be pursuing. Having walked around and idled in the marketplace for a ludicrous amount of time, I enjoy the dialogue and greetings from the townsfolk, and find their kind opinions of the Tenno very heartwarming.
4.
I don’t think individuals such as Teshin and Ordis will be part of any problem. They have only known the Tenno to be fighters, but they have been shown to feel strongly for the Tenno too. I’m sure they would understand if some did not want to continue fighting.
5.
The Lotus is not out of the picture at all, in fact it’s quite the opposite: once the maternal figure behind the saviors of the Origin System, she is now its greatest threat. And the Tenno who have been under her care, and who I’m sure feel some sense of duty towards her and the mantle of responsibility she has put on them, would not simply take the opportunity to have their own lives - it would be abandoning her and putting the Origin System at great risk.
.
I understand that the Tenno are created and crafted for the specific purpose of war and being bloody good at it, and that those who wish to walk away from it all and live peacefully might be scorned for doing so. And I can see why: if you are the best candidate and you choose not to do your job, there is some degree of selfishness there.
But let’s not be cynical for the sake of argument. I’m confident that the Tenno will rise to the occasion if called upon, and I’m sure that everyone else will let them live their own lives in the meantime. They’ve definitely earned it.
