EXO5 - What did it mean?
chibri
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I've never been all that interested in the storyline/investigation aspect of Ingress, but there is one particular thing that I've wondered for over two years: Why was EXO5 chosen as the name of an anomaly series? What was the meaning behind that name?
The only hint I ever found: EXO5 is a gene.
The function of the EXO5 gene according to https://genecards.weizmann.ac.il/v3/cgi-bin/carddisp.pl?gene=EXO5 :
Single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) bidirectional exonuclease involved in DNA repair. Probably involved in DNA repair following ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and interstrand cross-links (ICLs) damage.
See also:
The anomaly series was given the name of a gene that heals DNA damage after either:
- exposure to ultraviolet light irradiation - which can cause genetic mutations
- accidental connection between DNA strands - which will lead to cell de ath
Please discuss.
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Comments
Typo of "de ath" intentional because the language filter is sooooooo sensitive. (How does one even have an Ingress storyline discussion without involving the word "d e a t h"?)
Not sure exact about the number but exo = exogenous. The five might be a number of events? Like anomalies or story sub-arcs
Someone else also mentioned "exogenous" as being the inspiration for the name. What's the basis of that? (Not challenging the validity... just wondering the source.)
The first three letters are the same, and nothing else really makes sense in its place. Also see link below for FevGames post about the Exo5 series, including an excerpt from a more lore-based perspective.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/fevgames.net/new-ingress-anomaly-series-announced-exo5/amp/
A-ha! "Five years ago at the Niantic Project" ... that explains the 5 of EXO5!
I still like the potential connection to the EXO5 gene, but it seems like maybe that was accidental.
Definitely accidental. This was indeed a five year anniversary reference, and the lore at the time related vaguely to some sort of mysterious exogenous contact (including some odd shard-like things that appeared for a while and vanished, IIRC without much explanation). I was at EXO5, and was never able to get the whole story on what was supposed to have been going on with the exogenous entities and such; seems like that thread then got dropped and never really developed. I would love an explanation, if someone knows the Actual Lore on what happened with those shards and whatnot.
The EXO5 gene product does look interesting, though; it apparently uses an iron-sulfur cluster. I would expect that it's there for catalysis, but Teh Googlez suggest that it can be structural in at least some endonucleases, so who knows? Perhaps we'll get a whole lore thread involving electron transport....
Interview with Hank in Taiwan: 2018
Q: Recently, Hank, I would like to know your opinion about a hot-hot-subject recently.
Actually it’s about the Exogenous.
A: Well, for something it’s about like such a complicated question, the answer is fairly simple.
Exogenous is the term that we use to refer to the Shapers, to the N’zeer, to anything else that we might stumble across or that might introduce themselves to us.
That’s the umbrella, that is they are going to refer as all under: Exogenous Entities. I wish it was a lot more cloak and dagger. I wish there was something new to reveal. But, that’s really all it is. It’s just a category that we’re using. Again, I wish there were a lot more spicy stuff, but… But it's not.
Q: I see, but you have [info], right? Tell us! I think everyone wants to know. What is it?... Like the first day of the Anomaly, after that, the Shards those things revealed in the Portal Network. Is it tend to the Shapers? Or tend to N’zeer?
A: Well, at first, we thought that the only Exogenous Entity was Entities were the Shapers. We thought that they were millennias old inter-dimensional beings that were crossing over and influencing humanity and human beings. And then, we were stunned to find out that, much like there is the Enlightened and the Resistance. There were the Shapers and the N’zeer. and they had been colliding for millennia. and we needed a generalized term. So basically, the Exogenous Entity just refers to inter-dimensional beings. And, right now, as I said, all we know are the Shapers and the N’zeer. And I think we can… I feel like we’ve got a handle on them, anything else that might come alone we’ll have to play that card when we find it.
Credit: Adam via Date-Maru