It's canon, although a really well-hidden bit that I've incorporated ahead of any big reveals. (Disclaimer: I haven't touched the new game yet and I have no idea if that reveals anything, but I doubt it.) It was hinted at early in various bits of evidence (Exo minds are suspiciously, unnecessarily similar to human ones, the Golden Age use of robotic 'explorer proxies' that scientists could link their minds to etc. )
But extra material confirms that one of the Exo characters remembers being human - specifically, being some type of special ops soldier deeply, deeply in debt to Clovis Bray (basically, Stark Industries with more amoral R&D). Then Bray sent him a 'job offer' that would wipe his debts, which involved him traveling to a secret facility on probably-Europa and, well... "came here flesh and bone. Gave everything to the ice. Started over. Rebooted."
It's left unclear if this involved uploading people to robot bodies or using their minds as templates for the Exos: either would fit themes the devs have explored before. I leave it open, but lean toward the upload scenario because I think it fits the evidence better. (Bonus: some other expanded material involves Clovis Bray injecting people with nanites and doing extremely shady things to cover up how badly it goes. The subjects are induced to keep quiet... because they came in desperately in debt and need the settlement money. Hmmmm....)
Blaze doesn't know most of this, of course, but so far she basically refuses to accept it as canon. She's savvy enough to realize how many ethical questions are involved but doesn't have enough information to judge whether it was all above-board, whether Bryn volunteered, whether the goals were noble... and she hates that kind of existential uncertainty. Plus, there's the very personal aspect that she's always been happy thinking of herself as a machine, and of her Golden Age creators as the kind of people who could just build a new form of life and live in harmony with it. The new version isn't so rosy and it invites a lot of awkward personal questions.
And needless to say, she feels very awkward at the idea of mentioning any of this to Adia. ;) She already feels uncomfortably like she's lying by not bringing it up sometimes. Her feelings regarding Khan and his Augments are also about a hundred times more complicated than she's let on to anyone but Ghost.
MY (SEMI-)FAN THEORIES, LET ME SHOW YOU THEM (i'm sorry)
But extra material confirms that one of the Exo characters remembers being human - specifically, being some type of special ops soldier deeply, deeply in debt to Clovis Bray (basically, Stark Industries with more amoral R&D). Then Bray sent him a 'job offer' that would wipe his debts, which involved him traveling to a secret facility on probably-Europa and, well... "came here flesh and bone. Gave everything to the ice. Started over. Rebooted."
It's left unclear if this involved uploading people to robot bodies or using their minds as templates for the Exos: either would fit themes the devs have explored before. I leave it open, but lean toward the upload scenario because I think it fits the evidence better. (Bonus: some other expanded material involves Clovis Bray injecting people with nanites and doing extremely shady things to cover up how badly it goes. The subjects are induced to keep quiet... because they came in desperately in debt and need the settlement money. Hmmmm....)
Blaze doesn't know most of this, of course, but so far she basically refuses to accept it as canon. She's savvy enough to realize how many ethical questions are involved but doesn't have enough information to judge whether it was all above-board, whether Bryn volunteered, whether the goals were noble... and she hates that kind of existential uncertainty. Plus, there's the very personal aspect that she's always been happy thinking of herself as a machine, and of her Golden Age creators as the kind of people who could just build a new form of life and live in harmony with it. The new version isn't so rosy and it invites a lot of awkward personal questions.
And needless to say, she feels very awkward at the idea of mentioning any of this to Adia. ;) She already feels uncomfortably like she's lying by not bringing it up sometimes. Her feelings regarding Khan and his Augments are also about a hundred times more complicated than she's let on to anyone but Ghost.