A History of SIVA in the Destiny Universe

Perhaps the most Metal Gear Solid-esque sci-fi equivalent in the lore of Destiny, SIVA was one of the last major discoveries players made in the first game before moving on to Destiny 2. As part of the Rise of Iron expansion, guardians learned of a long-lost malevolent force that humanity had created a long time ago. After the Fallen House of Devils re-discovered the imposing Golden Age tech, SIVA prompted a return of the Iron Lords as guardians put down the hijacked super technology and sealed it away once more. Since then, SIVA has largely returned to the shadows, with cosmetics being the only reference to the tech in Destiny 2, unless a recent leak is to be believed.

With the recent "Season of the Splicer" name leak for Destiny 2, that name virtually has only one possible reference to previous Destiny lore, and that's SIVA. The interesting thing about SIVA is that, despite its relatively small narrative importance in the current context of Destiny 2's story, SIVA is still a very significant threat for guardians. For it to return as a possible obstacle in the form of a seasonal threat makes the most sense, as it's not necessarily a primary threat compared to the Darkness or Savathun's schemes. A season dedicated to SIVA's return holds a lot of potential, so here's why SIVA's potential return is very important for Destiny 2's next season.

Prior to the Collapse, humanity made great strides as they expanded beyond Earth and into the solar system, colonizing once uninhabitable planets in bulk thanks to the Traveler. However, as further planets were being explored and settled, humanity needed a quick and efficient method of construction for a variety to support its expedited colonization. That's where Clovis Bray I, famed scientist of the Golden Age responsible for numerous technological breakthroughs and inventions, comes into play. Among pivotal innovations like the development of the Exos and Warmind Rasputin, Clovis Bray I was also responsible for the creation of SIVA, which changed everything.

SIVA was designed as a form of "cytomachines" (Destiny's version of nanomachines, but smaller) that's a self-replicating technology expressly used for building. As the Golden Age progressed, colonizers utilized SIVA to build numerous structures and settlements in mere minutes. SIVA machines were able to reproduce autonomously to meet the demands of whatever projects they were working on, splitting off into several miniature machines capable of working in tandem to create massive structures with ease. It's unclear what exactly happened to SIVA during the Collapse, but eventually all remaining SIVA bots were encapsulated in a Cosmodrome bunker by Rasputin.

Fast forward to the pre-City age, prior to the events of the first Destiny, the Iron Lords eventually rediscover SIVA. Players who journeyed through Destiny's last expansion, 2016's Rise of Iron, will be familiar with Lord Saladin's origin story. Years prior to the first game, Lord Saladin was one of many Iron Lords, a group of guardians who rose up against the warlords and tyrants who reigned over Earth prior to the establishment of the City and the Vanguard. During an exhibition in the northern regions of Old Russia, deep within a remote portion of the Cosmodrome, the Iron Lords discovered an old pre-Collapse bunker where SIVA had been stored.