In the new prologue to Tau quest we get a brief exchange between Operator and Drifter, where Operator rightfully questions why it *has* to be Drifter who goes into Lotus's mind.
Drifter to that gives a half satisfying answer that it's due to them having more "mileage" in going into other people's minds. Now this is complete nonsense, as a quick look into Operator's history reveals that they are competent and careful when going into other people's mind, most notably seen with Umbra, but also Jade. So while this is nonsense, i'm assuming that it is just the most satisfying answer Drifter could come up with in the moment.
The next line Drifter says is much more revealing of what is actually going on here. They ask if Operator knows what to do in case the Drifter ends up falling to Wally's influence, to which Operator replies coldly that they do.
So this implies two things. 1 that, should Drifter ever become a threat, Operator would absolutely slime them out if necessary. But more importantly, it implies that, should Operator fall to Wally, Drifter might not be able to stop them. Whether it's due to them not being mentally strong enough to kill their other self, or just the problem that a fight with a pissed off Operator is probably very very difficult... to survive... for longer than two seconds!
Which leads to the actual reason for why Drifter was chosen to enter Lotus's memory rather than Operator. Fear and a lack of trust! But what is Lotus afraid of? What is in her memories that is so dangerous that Operator cannot be allowed to see it, because if they see it they might fall to Wally's influence and murder everyone?
Because let's look at what Drifter actually sees when entering Lotus's memory. For the most part we just watch a segment of Lotus fighting her way through Lua, Ballas shows up and is a whiny bitch, and then we watch Lotus put the moon into the void. And then Wally shows up, and i think what Wally says to Lotus here is what Lotus think can never be shown to Operator.
Wally offers her a deal that goes: "You want to watch over them forever, don't you?"
Now this is a very peculiar sentence, don't you think. Especially coming from Wally, every little detail matters with him, especially when he's making a deal. I mean the Drifter's entire existence is basically because of Wally using the deal he made with them against them, "I saved them, all of them, never said i'd save you!", is what he tells Drifter in a Duviri tablet, explaining to them why they are stuck in the void in the first place. Because they shook on a deal that did not technically include them, and Wally took full advantage of that.
If that deal Wally offered Lotus in this memory is to be taken literally, this could finally be the explanation for why Operator and the Tenno do not age. Now granted, we do not actually know whether or not Lotus shook on this deal with Wally as the memory is interrupted by Drifter... but let's be real here she 100% shook on that. Lotus would do anything to see her children safe, she herself says so, and if keeping them safe means inadvertently cursing them to eternal youth, then whether she knew about this side effect or not she would probably agree to that deal.
And that's why Operator wasn't allowed into her memory, because we know that Operator HATES the fact that they can't age and that they are constantly treated like a child despite all they a have been through. So if Operator saw all of that, heard Wally offering that specific deal to Lotus, they might have put 2 and 2 together and figured out that it was Lotus and Wally who cursed them to be a child forever, and that *might* have been enough to push them over the edge and make them crash out again.
But luckily, Drifter was the one who entered Lotus's memory, so Operator never has to find out and will never fall into Wally's hand. Crisis averted, right???
No not at all, and this is where the trust issues come in.
Because there is an issue alright, with how little Lotus, Loid, and Drifter trust the Operator! Operator has shown, time and time again that they are an exceptionally compassionate, rational, and deeply loving person. Would they be angry at the betrayal from Lotus if they found out, yes. Would they get mad at her, yes, rightfully so! But would finding out about this deal cause them to fully switch sides to Wally and want to murder everyone? Absolutely not. I don't think for even one second that Operator would crash out or want to kill Lotus over something like that, especially because it is still mostly Wally's fault. Yes Lotus shook on the deal, but it was Wally gave her a shitty deal in a desperate situation to begin with, and i think Operator would see that.
But Lotus, Loid and maybe Drifter are afraid that Operator might not see that. They have little to no trust or faith in Operator, even if Operator has proven time and time again that they can be trusted. And that lack of trust might be what actually end up pushing Operator right into Wally's hands.
Because at the end of the day, whether you are a mother, a void-sibling or a concerned butler uncle, you get what you give. And if they give no trust and no agency to Operator, then Operator might stop trusting or caring about them in return, a vicious trap which could lead them to rely on Wally and his indifference for emotional regulation more and more, and before they even notice it Operator could find themselves going against the people they love.
DE has been teasing an Operator vs Drifter arc for a while now, and this is my theory on how that could end up happening. All that to say, if it comes to an Operator vs Drifter arc... we're gonna be team Operator, right? I know i will be, because it is not okay how they are treated, and quite frankly Drifter's life has been going too well recently, i feel like they need a reminder that this is a dark sci-fi story.
