- "All is lost. (The end has come!) Tonight the sun sets; there will be no dawn."
- —The Fates' prophecy in Lights Out
The Fates are a trio of Artificial Intelligences and "goddesses" affiliated with the Cosmic Powers; chief among them is Destiny. She and her sisters serve as supporting characters in Red vs. Blue: The Shisno Paradox.
Role in Plot
The Fates are first mentioned in the prologue of The Shisno Paradox, where Muggins says that their last prophecy came too late to prevent the events of "Epilogues". Kalirama later identifies herself to the Reds and Blues as "mother to the Fates", among other titles, before they escape into the past.
When the Cosmic Powers gather on Starseeds to discuss the problem of time travel, Burnstorm asks why Destiny and the Fates were unable to foresee and warn the other gods about the possibility of the Reds and Blues releasing Chrovos; Atlus reveals that they have not spoken in some time, having fallen into "sleep as deep as death". He also suggests that a traitor within the Cosmic Powers may have caused this; Genkins replies that it was him, but is ignored.
After making peace with the Cosmic Powers, the Reds and Blues travel to Starseeds in person to discuss the plan to repair the damage done by time travel. However, after Carolina reveals the true extent of Washington's injury and Donut betrays the group to aid Chrovos, they instead decide to travel back in time once more to fix things. Subsequently, the Fates finally wake, returning to Atlus and the Cosmic Powers with another prophecy: the battle has already been lost, and the world is about to end.
During "Paradox", Chrovos tells Donut that he intends to kill the Cosmic Powers and their agents after being released. Due to the intervention of Donut, however, Chrovos remained sealed in his prison until time and space are broken thoroughly enough through paradoxes to release him.
Trivia
- The Fates each wear identical armor, including the Engineer helmet and Hellcat Onslaught body armor. They share this armor configuration with the "goddess" Apovos.
- The Fates are based on the Moirai of Greek mythology, who were also known as the Fates (in keeping with the Cosmic Powers' many other connections to ancient mythologies); they were a trio of goddesses who represented and controlled the fate and destiny of all beings.
- They also mirror the role of ancient oracles, who provided prophecies and wisdom from divine sources. The most famous historical oracles were also Greek.
- Interestingly, Apovos' name is also similar to Atropos, one of the Moirai.
- Several viewers have found their singing and unison of voices to be rather unsettling, in a similar fashion to that of the Grady twins from Stephen King's The Shining.