Because we need one.

Ragnar Tornquist has stated that he has the game planned out for about 24 DLC issues, or around 7 years worth of material. We're at Issue #8. We've delved into only a fraction of the material. Hell, I've finished the main story to date and I still don't know shit.

Hints are everywhere. Tornquist himself stated that everything in the game means something and fits into a larger whole. Nothing is thrown in just to be cool, so I figure we could use a space to speculate and try to figure out what the hell is going on. I have my suspicions, but my suspicions change a lot as I discover new stuff.

I need to hurry up and get further through the storyline.

I really want to know what's up with the magic space bees, why they chose who they chose, whether they make delicious honey, etc

I think the "bees" are biomechanimagical--I feel like I've seen things that allude to them being at least part machine or at least maintainers of a machine. The station master says they're honey is really sweet, but with the strange aftertaste of machine oil. That's the only thing I can think of off the top of my head, but I feel like I've seen the allusion elsewhere in the game as well.

Also, many cultures associate bees with the afterlife, divinity, and immortality.

Pulled from the google-

In some areas of New England and Appalachia, it was believed that once someone died, it was important for the family to "go tell the bees" of the death. Whoever kept the bees for the family would make sure the bees got the news, so that they could spread it around.

Ancient Egyptian pharaohs used the honeybee as the royal symbol, during the period between 3000 b.c.e. and 350 b.c.e.

In Celtic mythology, the bee is a messenger between our world and the spirit realm. Bees are also associated with wisdom.

Looking for an Eastern Europe reference now

*so much bee history

I love how bees are used in the game. And yeah, that machine oil statement from the stationmaster is very telling. And if you look around agartha, all the custodians are mechanical. Early on there are references to Gaia as machine or engine. One piece of lore you find in Agartha states:

Agartha Lore wrote:

Technology and magic interlock like a two-headed calf. The craft is beyond the scope of your species. Yet the clever secret worlder can learn to ride the anywhere paths to reach far away places. The anima-touched may enter.

And another one says:

Agartha Lore wrote:

Come see the immaculate machine. You know her name. It rests on your tongue, a comforting weight, when you walk in the dark. "Gaia."

As far as why the bees chose us, I'm not sure why they chose us specifically, but I do know why they began blessing a larger percentage of the population. At the beginning of the game, when you visit Sarah's memories of Tokyo, the subway incident, you pretty much learn all that. That incident was caused by an ancient filth-related relic that someone placed in that subway. The subsequent explosion of filth was so huge it caused gaia to choose more bee-blessed, people to be hyper-infused with anima so they can fight the relentless tide of filth. What I don't know (and really really want to know) is who the hell planted that relic there. It could've been just about anyone.

I know who found the relic and who it was that probably shipped it to Tokyo (they now regret their actions), but I don't know who received it and set it off. Orochi seems the most likely group but they are so fucking inept. I almost never find a living one (it's a running joke among players "I saw a living Orochi - it ruined my immersion") Plus the Orochi are almost too obvious.

i don't think the Illuminati would do it, unless we thought we could control the results. The Dragon may have done it for some mysterious, butterfly-effect, weird Dragon reason. Can't see the Templars doing it. Phoenicians deal in relics but they're more about moving and collecting them, not about using them for terrorism and wanton destruction. Morninglight? I should probably take them more seriously than i do. And other secret societies haven't had enough presence in the game.

Could it be another organization? I can't see many people having much motivation to release an ancient ultimate evil on the population like that unless they're somehow involved directly with the Filth. Not that I know much about the Filth at all, that's just my suspicion.

Isn't the Morninglight kind of a doomsdayish cult? I mean, not really front and center in their teachings, but I think I heard some NPC talk about them like that.

No one knows much about the filth. My suspicions are just suspicions.

But what if one of the "good" factions did it in order to force gaia to make more anima-infused people? I can see the illuminati wanting more bee-blessed members to become more powerful. I can see the Dragon doing it because they somethingsomethingDragonrandombullshit. But the Illuminati has stated time and time again "the world ends when we say it ends" so I'm not sure they'd risk starting a filth-related apocalypse.

The Orochi has a few horrible secrets, but I don't think they're filth-bomb horrible. Whomever it was, I'm dying to find out.

They are crazy cult-ish. Have you guys done their 'personality test' at their lil kiosk in London? I heard from -I think- some NPC that they've been recruiting people hardcore lately too.

Templars seem like the 'for the greater good' types
Maybe they want more anima people? The way the bee blessed are chosen seems a bit random for their tastes though.

The Morninglight come off as kind of a scientology-esque cult, with their happy pamphlets and their weird personality tests. But I think they're a lot more sinister, and Morning light just reminds me of Morning Star, so they could be straight up satanists, but in this game, hell half the Illuminati have some kind of deal with demons so that in itself wouldn't make them evil. One piece of lore states they "feel" much older than they appear.

i could see a single templar going rogue and planting that bomb so he could have lots of nasty monsters to murder for a good long time. There's some indication that in present day, the Templars were losing their relevance until that bomb went off. So I guess maybe they're a candidate as well.

I'm leaning toward the Morninglight for sure. I think all the factions have their own reasons that you've brought up, but, from a meta perspective, I can't see the designers singling one of them out to have caused the Filth bomb. It certainly could have been a rogue agent from one of them though....

I'll just stick this here since we were talking about this event. Here's a comic artist's rendition. I don't recognize the guy.

I will note that the issue says May 2014.

Oooo are there more?

No, those are the only pages for Issue #9. It's just a teaser to make those of us itching for Tokyo feel even more pain.