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But just as some fans have been quick to defend the moral high ground of players’ Guardian characters in the past, those deep in the lore have been meticulously pointing out that baby Worms don’t equal Hive babies. This would normally be the place where I link to and do a close reading of a dozen different Destiny Wiki pages, but the TL;DR version is that Worms and Hive are separate alien races which form a parasitic bond that empowers the Hive but leaves it at the mercy of the Worm.

A Worm as it appears in the original Destiny game.
Screenshot: Bungie / Shazamikaze
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This was the point user GawainSolus made in a post that recently skyrocketed to the front page of the Destiny subreddit. “They live inside their skulls and eat light,” they wrote. “The closest thing in game to Hive babies we’ve seen are Thrall, and they’re just the youngest combat capable form of the Hive.”

Some players nodded along sagely. Others are still confused. A few resisted this logic. One took it to its logical conclusion: ”We now need a thrall launcher.”

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I remain in the camp of those who resist this interpretation, and not just because it’s funnier that way. It wasn’t the Hive that met the Worms, but the Proto-Hive, who upon forming their new parasitic bond became, arguably, a third alien race. By that logic tiny Worms and tiny Hive are metaphysically inseparable from one another and thus both Hive babies. Maybe the treasure trove of new lore that’s sure to drop in The Witch Queen will prove me wrong. Until then RIP Hive babies.

Update: 2/15/22, 10:59 a.m. ET: Bungie released the launch trailer for The Witch Queen today and low and behold it contains important new evidence in the Hive baby debate:

A Hive witch holds a giant baby worm tenderly in her arms.
Screenshot: Bungie
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Hive babies might not be worms, but worms definitely seem to be treated like Hive babies!