The Dark Aether Pt II - Mythological Inspirations

[caljitsu]

(If you'd prefer to watch and/or listen, you can find the companion video here)

 

After some thought, I felt my prior thread required a sequel, as there was just too much mythological background left unexplored. As such, I strongly recommend you visit the prior post in order to make sure you can follow along with this one. Specifically, we will be examining the mythological backdrop to the Aether and Dark Aether, specifically from the Norse myths, and how this can be used to help us going forward. Disclaimer: I am not claiming that any of this is canon, merely an inspiration for elements of the Storyline.

 

Laying the Groundwork

Our first introduction to the Norse undertones of the Aether Storyline came during the GKNOVA6 Viral campaign in Black Ops 1, wherein we received a zombies-related cipher.

 

Among other interesting points, I would like to highlight two. The mention of Yggdrasil, and the reference to Welteis. As some of you undoubtedly know, Yggdrasil is the centre of the cosmos in Norse Mythology - a colossal “world tree” that connects together all the various planes of existence through its branches and roots. It’s a huge constant throughout the entire Norse mythology and its trembling is what signals Ragnarok - the Fate of the Gods. Parallels may already be forming for some of you, but just keep this in mind for now.

 

 

The next thing to address is Welteis. This was a pseudoscientific theory first posed by Hans Hoerbiger in 1894. Having a “dream” or “vision”, Hoerbiger believed he now understood the fundamental design of the universe - that Ice was the “cosmic aether” or fundamental building block of everything. The theory was discredited within a decade or so due to the discovery of the Atomic Nucleus, however by the end of World War One, and in the foundations of the Nazi Party, the idea began to once again gain support as an alternate theory in contrast to the “jewish physics” of the Atomic model. This should come as no surprise, as Elite Nazis both in our story and indeed in real-life were known to be obsessed with the pseudoscientific and the occult.

 

Constructing a Model

It may start to become clear now as to why these two concepts were twinned together in the all-important cipher. When you dovetail the two concepts, you essentially get a metaphysical model for what The Aether is within our storyline. The connecting realm between all dimensions, that is simultaneously present in every molecule. It is worth pointing out here that within the Norse Myths, Yggdrasil is at a few select points referred to as a Forest, as opposed to a singular tree - such as in the conclusion of Ragnarok. Applying this back to what we already have, what do we get? A Frozen Forest. Where’s the evidence for this? Well firstly, when teleporting in any map since BO1, but made specifically obvious in BO3, is the presence of Snow-like particles after teleportation. Furthermore, in Revelations, there are glowing blue tree roots at the border of each area, a visible illustration of the Aether’s connection to all the various maps. Even more than that, when the initial fracturing occurs in The Giant, a sudden snowstorm occurs, as if the Universe itself had - fractured - and the essence of the Aether was seeping through. And as a final point, it can be argued that the cause for Element 115’s retcon to a blue colouration is to make it appear more ice-like.

 

So with that established, it’s fair to say that The Frozen Forest - regardless of where it may actually be - is a metaphysical surrogate for The Aether. Equally, that Ice is a substitute for Aetherial Energy and/or 115. But how does this tie into the Dark Aether? For that, we must dive back into the Norse Myths, and look to the very first moment.

 

Myths of the Ancients

Enter Ginnungagap. The Primordial Void. Literally meaning “gaping abyss”, Ginnungagap was a place of nothingness - not Darkness, or Destruction, or Evil, but literally nothingness. However, at it’s two edges lay two realms. To the north was Nilfheim, a place of Ice, where water could not run and everything was still - perfect stasis, if you will. To the south was Muspelheim, polar opposite to Nilfheim, where all was fire and everchanging - perfect chaos. Eventually, these two primal forces met in the centre of the void, and at that moment, creation began. Furthermore, a single being came into existence*, Ymir. Sound familiar?

 

Within our storyline, we know of The First One, and we know that he existed at the beginning of all things, but we don’t know the conditions of his own creation. In the Norse myths, we have a realm of ice where all is in stasis - a near-perfect analogue for The Aether - that eventually meets an equal and opposite force, beginning Creation. If that’s the case, within this context, Muspelheim is the analogue of The Dark Aether. This would mean that, potentially, just as Ymir was formed from the Stasis and Chaos meeting in the void, as was The First One. This is of course speculation, however from a narrative perspective, this makes him undoubtedly more nuanced, than a simple “god” hailing from the Aether, and in-fact, may explain the reasoning behind The Shadowman’s ambition and affinity for The Dark Aether.

 

Testing the Theory

Let’s step back and more closely examine the connection between Muspelheim and The Dark Aether. One would expect that, just as The Aether and Nilfheim have the affiliation with Ice; the Dark Aether would share Muspelheim’s aspect of fire. Interestingly, this actually does occur. Firstly, let’s look at the Alcatraz Pocket. Though not technically present within the Dark Aether, it’s affiliation with the plane of existence is undeniable, with the entire island serving as a colossal dark mechanism in order to force open a gateway to the Dark Aether. Usually, when we encounter floating debris barring our way, it is coated in 115, however in Blood of the Dead, whenever this debris is found, it’s covered in Fire. Mob of the Dead has no debris, however a similar Fire is present during lockdowns, barring you from escaping. 

 

The only other map this occurs in is, interestingly, Gorod Krovi. This map is almost certainly not in The Dark Aether, however certain inconsistencies, such as the red eyes, as well as the aforementioned flaming debris, make it seem like there is a possible association. We can’t be sure as to the reason why, however we do know that not only is the MPD no longer existent within the Agonia Fracture by the time of Gorod Krovi (due to the moon's potential destruction), but given that the original dimension is fractured beyond recognition at that point, as well as the fact that Primis have just come from Alcatraz, there are definite possibilities for the influence of the Dark Aether to seep through.

 

Finally, I want to examine Tag Der Toten’s main quest. During the course of it, we acquire the Agarthan Device, designed to resolve the duality between Light and Dark. In the process of the Device’s finalisation, it causes all 115 in the area to, according to Nikolai, “evolve”. In practice, this means all of the ice present within the map suddenly becomes that of fire.

 

Conclusions

Within Black Ops Cold War, we will likely not see the Dark Aether necessarily as a place of fire and brimstone as that of Muspelheim or the Biblical Hell, but instead, a realm which takes on the far more important characteristics of Muspelheim, pure and cosmic chaos.
 

[anonymous]

Brains to this one! I feel like we never had a thread discussing the Norse mythological aspects of our story, possibly because all connections are so indirectly. 

 

Yes, the GKNova6 document was our first introduction to the tales of the Edda. I'd like to quote the entire sentence about Yggdrasil because it holds more importance, I think: "Tabular rasa ex yggdrasil ad rem cui honorem". 'Tabular rasa' means something like innocent children, which undoubtedly refers to Samantha and Eddy: The innocent children from Yggdrasil (the Frozen Forest, the Aether). In the Norse tale of Ragnarok, the world was war-torn, a long winter had begun and the World Tree Yggdrasil shuddered. However, there was a saving grace, as a male and female had hid out in a forest (some say the World Tree) when the winters of Ragnarok hit. The idea that the Frozen Forest and Yggdrasil stands for the Aether is strengthened by the video in which Dr. Monty says that this is it, the Aether, the infinite, while moments later he is seen standing in the Forest.

Though it wasn't untill Origins when we got our first direct references to the Norse myths again, Black Ops I was filled with references to the Vril-Ya and Nazi occultism, which was largely tied with certain Nordic aspects in such a way that Nazi occultism is sometimes even referred to as the 'Nordic-German cult'. For example, Ragnarok is sometimes said to be the same as the 'Great Thermonuclear War' in the Vril-Ya mythos, and the Aryans from Hyperborea are thought to be the extraterrestial ancestors of the Norse folks from Scandinavia.

 

Regarding this theory, I really like your idea of the Aether and it's polar opposite, the Dark Aether, now being both sciencifically and mythologically explained. Your idea about how it stands for Fire and Ice reminds me about the thermodynamic concept of 'Entropy': the measure of disorder and chaos in an isolated system (the Multiverse). Entropy, and thus chaos, increases when something is burning (FIRE), as solid molecules are now converted into particles randomly spreading through space. On the contrary, entropy decreases (and order increases) when something liquid turns into solid, e.g. when water freezes (ICE). In simpler words, the Ancient Scandinavians weren't that wrong when they considered Ice as order, and Fire as chaos.

 

Now it also reminded me of the whole issue revolving around the colour Red versus Blue, of which @clueless started a wonderful discussion here. Having the idea of Fire/Muspelheim and Ice/Nilfheim in my head, I would be appealed to say Red is Muspelheim, Chaos and Dark Aether, while Blue is Nilfheim, Order and Aether. While there are many cases where this would make sense (115 roots are blue, Apothicon blood and Dark Aether orb are red), there are also many cases where this doesn't make sense (Keeper portals are red, Apothicon Sun is blue). How do you feel about relating the two colours to your theory?

[caljitsu]

1 hour ago, anonymous said:

 

Now it also reminded me of the whole issue revolving around the colour Red versus Blue, of which @clueless started a wonderful discussion here. Having the idea of Fire/Muspelheim and Ice/Nilfheim in my head, I would be appealed to say Red is Muspelheim, Chaos and Dark Aether, while Blue is Nilfheim, Order and Aether. While there are many cases where this would make sense (115 roots are blue, Apothicon blood and Dark Aether orb are red), there are also many cases where this doesn't make sense (Keeper portals are red, Apothicon Sun is blue). How do you feel about relating the two colours to your theory?

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought of the Revelations skybox. I didn't include it because I thought it might be slightly indirect.

 

The "Apothicon Sun" (or Shadow Star) being blue makes sense to me, as ultimately it's just a giant fusion reactor, making 115 from Aetherial Energy instead of a normal sun fusing Hydrogen and Helium (I'd expect, at least). As I postulated in the prior thread, the Dark Aether and (light) Aether are attracted to one another like opposite poles, and so that explains why Humanity messing with 115 (Aetherial Energy) allowed the Apothicons to escape from the Dark Aether. As such, it directly benefits them and/or the Dark Aether to seed 115 into new realms, as you essentially extend the Dark Aether's reach.

 

The colours themselves don't totally map. Take the Dark Aether being purple, or the Keeper Protector being a navy blue. They are definitely important, but I'm not sure we'll ever find a definitive meaning in them.