![[predictions-cover.png]] *Published on February 16th, 2024* --- Hey there, Comet here! We're getting closer and closer to Season 7 and I am incredibly excited to experience what DICE has in store for us! While there hasn't been a lot disclosed about the new season, what we have received does have some secrets that haven't been talked about yet. I also have some rather *wild* theories that I've had fun crafting. Let's get into it! <br> ## When Does the Chile Map Take Place? ![[predictions-asset-1.png]] When this image was first shared, the focus was on the posters applied to the walls. The symbol depicting a lotus flower is a major piece of information. The conclusion drawn from this is that some version of the Pan Asian Coalition is coming into the fray in Season 7. An interesting point was brought up when I was speaking with my friend Gene. He mentioned that the flags oddly stood out to him. Sure, the flags prominently showcase where this map is. However, there is also a sign above the posters that says "San Pedro de Atacama." So, even if the flags weren't present, we could deduce where the map takes place given the sign. Following this logic, I believe there is some significance to the Chilean flag being plastered all over the San Pedro town. One assumption that you might have drawn is that the people of this town are celebrating a holiday. This would make sense given the abundance of flags. After researching holidays in Chile, I found a candidate that could reveal when this battle takes place. The Chilean Independence Day, known as Fiestas Patrias, typically begins on September 18th; this date is significant because it was the start of Chile fighting for its independence in 1810. The use of the Chilean flag during this event is written into law, and dictates that every building must have hanging flags and that the blue box is presented on the left to its viewer. I have to note that the image shared of this map does have flags with the blue box on the right, which could either be an error or a piece of evidence against this theory. The image was a look into the map during development, so such details might have not been the focus to the developers. Nevertheless, based on this theory I believe the battle could occur late September 2048, or at the latest early October 2048. If this theory is true, then there are some interesting things to discuss. The timeline of Season 6: Dark Creations isn't as cut and dry as other seasons. One of the only dates provided to us was September 2048, which was when [Paik wrote a log](https://www.ea.com/games/battlefield/battlefield-2042/the-world-of-battlefield-2042/specialist-stories) detailing her infiltration into the Scottish Boreas facility. This could be the first time in the narrative where events overlap into two seasons. With past seasons, there was a sequential fashion to the events, each season took place after the other. From my estimations, Gambit Squad ventured to the Boreas facility during the timespan of November-December 2048. <br> ## Where Could the Second Map Be? I've shared this theory on [[Valkyrie and the Amassing Enemy|another blog post]], but I'd like to include it here as well and expand upon it. This theory centers around the accident that happens in Sudan during a Shearwater-2 deployment. This event also ties into a new character introduced in Dark Creations: Leila Zekkal. She was a No-Pat who was helping with Shearwater-2, but unfortunately was in the village that was devastated by a mudslide. Leila awoke and found herself in a cage along with her injuries dealt with. There were countless other No-Pats in this cargo ship. All they could do is wait for them to arrive to their destination, that being the Boreas facility in Scotland. Leila was no longer a No-Pat, but rather a test subject for the dangerous Project: Pallas; an initiative that sought to fix the issues with enlisting humans into war by creating a highly advanced synthetic army. The fact that a Shearwater satellite caused another accident - while not the same scale as The Blackout - is something that Arkangel would want to keep confidential. They want nations to benefit from this miracle tech so the organization can prosper even more. After cleaning up the destroyed village, Arkangel tasked the ERF with holding any witnesses in a secure location. What do I have to back this up? The answer is a pair of cosmetics in the Season 6 Battle Pass. The "Panopticon" set for Casper and the "Generation Blue" skin for the Rorsch Mk-4 stand out in a Battle Pass focused on the Unit 86 and BCS factions. They both resemble gear that would be used in a desert environment. I noticed on Casper's set that there is a patch on one of his shoulders. ![[predictions-asset-2.png]] *Patch recreated by Gene.* From this, we can see some kind of bird, which I believe to be a clue as to where this ERF unit is operating. In Sudan's emblem, there is a secretary bird, which matches what's depicted in the patch. Furthermore, the secretary bird is Sudan's National Bird. The European Recovery Foundation helping in Sudan doesn't fit their name, but they do have a strong partnership with Arkangel. >“Without the ERF’s help, it’s doubtful the Shearwater program would have even expanded across western Europe.” - Arkangel Going back to my original statement, I believe that this second map will feature a large building to hold witnesses of the Sudan incident. This ERF unit has been dispatched for security of this building. I came to this conclusion because of Casper's set name: "Panopticon." The concept of the panopticon is an institutional building that is circle shaped with a central observation house in the middle. The idea is that the prisoners aren't aware if they're being watched, and are less likely to create a disturbance. The question that is hard to answer currently is how will this area become engulfed in war? If ERF and Arkangel were successful, the accident in Sudan should be a complete secret. This is where Tombstone Squad comes into play. They went to Scotland to investigate a cargo ship that was incredibly toxic. Whatever happened there was hard to discern until they discovered a blood trace matching a No-Pat named Leila Zekkal. She went missing six months prior to when Tombstone traveled to Scotland. This is crucial evidence that can be used to solve when exactly these two events occurred. The issue is: which month to we count six months ahead? In other words, when did the Sudan accident happen? I think I have a lead on this. In Season 5, US Colonel Greenland contacted Irish for the Czechia operation but he couldn't accept the offer because he was "wrapped up elsewhere." What if Irish was involved in helping with the aftermath in Sudan? This would mean that this event occurred sometime around March 2048, as the Czechia transmission happened on March 3rd. Additionally, Tombstone must have traveled to Scotland in September 2048, in accordance with the "six months prior" statement. You might be wondering, with such a gap in time between the Czechia operation and the visit to Scotland, what did Tombstone do? I believe that they stayed in Zlín, Czechia for a large span of time in order to combat any further attempts by Russia to push forward west. At the same time, they were also trying to pass Valkyrie's tests and solve the hints given to them. This proposition makes sense with the other events in Season 6, namely Paik's infiltration of the Boreas facility. As aforementioned, Paik wrote a log in September 2048 in which she was in the beginning of her mission. Let's say she was in the facility for at most two months, so roughly end of October/early November. Paik then went to Doha, Qatar and left all the intel she gathered inside a container, a site that Valkyrie's organization uses. This is critical because Tombstone then had to pass the test and unlock the container during their initiation. My thought process is that once Paik finished her mission, she was told by Valkyrie to go to the Doha site which meant it was time for Valkyrie to start with Tombstone. As a summary: - The second map could be in Sudan, where the ERF is holding witnesses of the accident in a panopticon. - The Sudan accident likely occurred in March 2048. - Tombstone traveled to Scotland to investigate in September 2048. - Tombstone's initiation likely started in late October/early November 2048, which is most likely around the timeframe that Unit 86 and A.O.S. rebelled in the Boreas facility. <br> ## There's Truth in Music I had to talk about this. In the recent months, Manuel Llanes, Creative Director on 2042 Live, has posted some songs on Twitter. It's important to note that he has teased certain things regarding the game by posting various things. After looking into the lyrics, I think there are some interesting details that could correlate to Season 7's narrative. One of the songs is "Symphony of Destruction" by Megadeth. The message is how power can corrupt one who has too much of it. Found on the [Genius page](https://genius.com/Megadeth-symphony-of-destruction-lyrics), there's an interesting quote from songwriter Dave Mustaine: >Basically what this is about is you take a person, a typical stereotype numbskull, and you give him the old shit, shower, and shave, throw him in a monkey suit and he can run the country…It’s about the masses being led to their own destruction by a leader who’s more or less a puppet of a phantom government. This could also refer to how society is causing nature’s destruction and our systematic suicide of the world. There are multiple connections that can be drawn to 2042 lore, one being Henry Blackburn. It's heavily speculated that Henry is the Dragon, a member of the Dark Market Council. One of the Dragon's quotes is, "The ones you elect aren't the ones in charge, they're puppets - for people like me." The Dragon is not only in charge of the Dark Market's militia venture, but he's also concerned with elevating his political power, such power that he used to have. Granted, by being in the Council, he already has a massive amount of influence over the world. How does this connect to Season 7? After the Road to Season 7 was announced, Manuel replied to his original post of "Symphony of Destruction" with the picture of the Chile map. We can see from the picture that the local people of this town aren't favorable to Arkangel, calling them "the devil." I believe that Arkangel is expanding their reach to South America, and there is some evidence to back this up. At the end of the Season 6 Narrative Hunt, Tombstone was tasked with destroying an Ascension Satellite, a repurposed Shearwater satellite that is speculated to collect data from soldiers and feed back into Project Pallas. This was done in Kourou, French Guiana. We know that Arkangel has focused primarily on the recovery of Africa and Europe, but we haven't heard about anything in terms of other countries. Coming back to the song, I theorize that Blackburn has installed a puppet in the Chilean government that allows Arkangel to slowly wrap their control over the country and the continent. That is the explanation for the posters we see in the San Pedro town. <br> ## Valkyrie's Role There's still so much to learn about Valkyrie and I am eagerly waiting for more interactions between them and the Exodus No-Pats. At the end of the Season 6 narrative (at least so far), Gambit Squad was ordered by Blackburn to erase all sensitive Arkangel data from the Boreas facility. They did so, but also made a copy by the request of Valkyrie. Irish wanted to release this damning information immediately, but Paik assured him that the data will be released when Valkyrie's plan comes to fruition. Obviously, it's difficult to speculate what Valkyrie's plan entails, but they will contact Gambit Squad when they're ready to proceed. I believe this is what will happen in the Narrative Hunt, which could be rather soon. I did think the Narrative Hunt could be Tombstone Squad's search for David, but with Season 6 being centered around Gambit Squad I think it makes sense to do Gambit's initiation. <br> That's all for this blog post. I hope you enjoyed it, and I look forward to covering everything Season 7! Thank you for visiting and reading The Exodus Archives, Comet